*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.*

Congrats to Elizabeth who needs help with her two-year-old triplets’ {yes, TRIPLETS!} shared bedroom. Forget the bedroom, I would need help with the kids alone!

Do you know Jackie of Teal & Lime?

Well, she’s one of H*T’s sponsors and she’s pretty amazing. Jackie quit her dull job with a big corporation last year to focus on her family and her passion for decorating. {Sounds familiar, right? But I think her focus is better than mine!} She believes that the best person to decorate your home is YOU although we all need a push in the right direction sometimes.

One of my favorite tweaks of Jackie’s is her faux malachite knobs. A teal Sharpie never looked so good!

Earlier this week Jackie launched Teal & Lime Interiors and now offers a range of design services online. She’s celebrating by offering up a FREE mood board to one lucky H*T reader. Need a gentle shove in the right direction? See entry details below.

PRIZE: one custom mood board for any room of your choice {$295 retail value}. Winner must complete a questionnaire and provide as-is room pictures within two weeks of being contacted. The winning mood board and source list will be shared on Teal & Lime. View Jackie’s portfolio here.

RULES: You must be a U.S. resident and at least 18 years old. One entry per email address.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this post proclaiming “I’M MOODY!”

DEADLINE: Enter before noon EST on Sunday, May 19th. One random winner will be chosen and announced Monday, May 20th.

WHILE YOU’RE AT IT: Since we’re talking moody…what room/project/decorating conundrum has you feeling moody these days? Can’t find the perfect dining room table? A DIY project didn’t turn out as expected? I’ll go first. We’re in the beginning stages of adding a platform deck onto the back of our house but, so far, my kiddos think it’s just a big mud pit to play in and then track inside. Ahhh! I’m patiently awaiting the day the mud pit is transformed into a deck.

images: Jackie for Teal & Lime

I’m one of 18 bloggers participating in the Home Depot Patio Style Challenge. Considering this is what the back patio off the mudroom looked like when we bought the Underdog…

…and this is what it looked like after we removed a bunch of dead trees {and replaced the roof and converted the original dining room window to french doors}…

…and this is what it looked like when we excavated the entire yard last fall {yep, the old cracked patio was ripped out}…

…and this is what the newly poured patio looked like pretty much all winter…

it should go without saying that we have a burning desire for a decent outdoor living space. Ideally, we’d like to see the patio off the mudroom used as an outdoor dining area. The goal is to make the dining area reflect our style {simple, modern, cozy} and make it feel like an extension of the indoors. To achieve the look, we’re using some new pieces, incorporating items we have on hand and doing a little DIY. Here’s the plan.

1 – I’ll bring in a pillow or two from the living room to cozy things up outside. I just bought these Crate & Barrel pillows and they’re great. I was recently asked to suggest a non-IKEA place to grab pillow inserts. C&B pillows are affordable and a feather down insert is included with your purchase. Can’t beat that! Of note: These are not outdoor pillows so I’ll only toss them outside when we’re enjoying nice weather.

2 – Stringing globe lights above the patio will give the al fresco dining area instant ambiance and a sense of festivity. Party on the patio!

3 – We’re giving Ariele Alasko‘s reclaimed wood wall panel our own DIY spin. Her pieces are amazing!

4 – On cool mornings or evenings, I can throw in a wool blanket that usually lives at the foot of our bed.

5 – My heart is set on a large succulent centerpiece for the outdoor dining table. I’ll use this oval concrete planter to make it happen.

6 – We’re using a simple outdoor dining table and coordinating benches for the basic dining pieces. I hope to show how this practical dining set can be personalized by mixing it with items from other sources.

7 – Mabrey enjoys pulling to stand {no steps yet! she can take her sweet time as far as I’m concerned} with the help of this leather pouf. On warm, sunny days I’ll carry it out to the patio for her to play on – or maybe I’ll prop my feet up on it if she’s napping and I have five minutes to sit outside in the sun. Dear summer 2013, please give me five minutes of sun-to-myself time at least once!

8 – This woven chair looks good enough for an indoor dining room but it’s made of rattan-like plastic and is suitable for outdoor use as well. I think it’s airy feel and white color will contrast nicely with the clean-lined, dark brown dining set. I also like the fact that it’s light enough to move around easily. We can move it up to our future deck when extra seating is needed.

9 – We have a bright green garden stool leftover from our previous house but I think it could use a fresh coat of brassy gold spray paint. I paid less than $40 for the green stool. Transforming it with gold paint will be a cheap DIY version of pricier drum stools.

That’s the gist of our plan. Of course, I’ll be adding greenery and maybe a surprise too. I can’t wait to share the reveal in early May on The Home Depot’s Apron blog. In the meantime, click over to check out a bunch of other inspiring reveals!

I also have a patio-related post on Wayfair today with a few more before shots of our patio and a brief discussion on painting the french doors. What color would you paint them?

images: 1-4) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking  5) Polyvore collage by Dana Miller, linked within

Last summer I mentioned that I would like to start creating mood boards for clients – for a fee. I asked you guys to help me out with pricing. After that post, I worked behind the scenes to nail down a tiered pricing sheet for design services. Then I emailed all the people who had asked for my help over the years {I have a special folder devoted to ‘Help me!’ emails} letting them know I was open for business with my pricing sheet attached. I’ve been booked ever since.

I didn’t announce my design services publicly here on the blog because I didn’t want to schedule myself too far out {that feels really overwhelming to me, knowing that “x” number of people are awaiting a mood board} and I wanted to see how things went since it was my first paying go-around with mood boards. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about my approach to seeing and decorating other people’s spaces.

I prefer quality over quantity. I’d rather give my attention to a few clients at a time than be pulled in different directions with a bunch of clients. On that same note, I like to take my time getting to know the client and their space. Which means I’ll look at pictures of their room and go over their wants/needs then let it all sit with me a while until I get a good feel for their style and how to inject that into their space. I like to carefully curate items for mood boards. I refuse to churn out a mood board within a week’s time if I can’t find just the right lamp or pillow or rug or whatever it may be. It’s really a thoughtful process to me and I like to pretend I’m “in” the space.

As you may have guessed, I’m not a one-weeker start-to-finish mood board creator. From beginning {which requires the client to provide room pictures, dimensions, inspiration images and answers to a brief questionnaire} to end, it usually takes me 2-4 weeks depending on the scope of the project. And sometimes longer if I’m not happy with a particular item or concept. This also has to do with the fact that I don’t have childcare {not that I couldn’t use some!} and I have three children. Mood boards are created late at night after everyone else is in bed. I can only survive so many 4-hour nights of sleep per week.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that even though a client may ask for only the most basic of services {i.e., overhead lighting, fixtures, color scheme, flooring, etc.}, I end up providing more. Either the client directly asks for it because they need help visualizing the rest of the room or I throw it in because I think the client needs to see the bigger picture to understand the basics I’ve suggested.

Finally, as much as I hate to admit it, I think I’m undervaluing my services. I have been charging $175 for the most detailed tier. Over the past eight months, I’ve had two clients come to me by word of mouth – not via House*Tweaking. I provided them with design services then asked them to pay me what they thought my help was worth. Both paid me more than what I would have charged according to my pricing sheet.

So to answer the most frequently asked question that pops up in my inbox: Yes, I do provide design services. However, I’m currently booked until late summer. You can always email me and I will keep your email on file and contact you when my schedule opens up. Also, I’m no longer going to provide tiered services for the reasons mentioned above. I will provide a comprehensive mood board that encompasses everything from furniture arrangement to finishes to accessories. Most likely, pricing will increase although clients already on the schedule won’t be affected.

To keep you in the know, I like sharing the mood boards I create – with the client’s permission, of course. Here’s one of my recent projects.

Ali wanted help with her living room and dining room. In the living room, Ali was hoping for a more functional furniture arrangement conducive to adult conversation, a little telly action and guitar playing {her husband plays} but also kid-friendly enough for her six-year-old twins. {Ali’s house has a separate family room for primarily watching TV and relaxing as a family.} When Ali contacted me, the room was being used only as a quick dropzone upon entering the house.

In the dining room, Ali asked to keep the existing dining table and chairs. She hosts meals for family and friends often. She wanted both of the rooms to be comfortable for entertaining. Ali admitted she was confused by her style. She loves simple open spaces, industrial elements, natural wood and exposed brick but is also drawn to the colors and textures found in Indian textiles. And, of course, she was on a budget.

For the living room, I suggested a new furniture arrangement {see the very rough sketch above}. Here’s the mood board:

1 – I suggested painting the walls a warm creamy white {i.e., Benjamin Moore’s swiss coffee} and hanging simple white curtains floor to ceiling at both windows.

2 – To accomodate guitar playing, I chose an armless sofa {in the brushed heather cotton gray haze option} for the main seating. HH plays a little himself and I know how he likes to sit forward with his guitar resting on his thigh when he plays. A sofa sans arms also helps to make the smallish room feel more roomy. I suggested placing the sofa on the window wall. I chose a few non-matching throw pillows found here, here and here. A leggy floor lamp placed next to the sofa provides light for evening gatherings. Instead of hanging a mirror or artwork above the sofa {so predictable}, I suggested that Ali display her husband’s guitar. He can easily remove it to play. Hanging the guitar on the wall also frees up precious real estate.

3 – To round out the seating area, I found a masculine leather chair with a small footprint. Like the sofa, the chair is armless to accommodate guitar playing. I decided to forgo a coffee table and chose a drum stool instead. The stool can be moved around the room and used as extra seating when necessary. A patterned dhurrie rug grounds the seating area and adds interest to the space.

4 – I suggested placing the TV on the same wall as the front door. This way, the screen isn’t the first thing you see when you walk in the door. A rustic media console supports the TV and its components. The console can also handle mail, a few toys and sheet music. I recommended creating a gallery wall around the TV screen and incorporating the frames in the dining room. To light this side of the room, I found a glass table lamp. A vintage brass bowl catches keys and sunglasses.

For Ali’s dining room, I suggested pulling the dining table out from the window a bit {see another very rough sketch above}. As is, it was looking a little cramped. Here’s the mood board:

1 – I suggested painting the walls the same warm, creamy white as the living room and hanging the same white curtains high and wide around the dining window. To bring in more natural light and fool the eye into thinking the room was larger, I suggested hanging/leaning a large floor mirror on the wall furthest from the living room. After the dining table is in its new, less crowded position, I’d love to see this wire globe light centered above it – possibly swagged from the lightbox. It would reflect into the mirror when lit, doubling the ambiance.

2 – Ali needs to keep the current dining set so I suggested breaking up all the dark wood by removing the two chairs closest to the staircase wall and replacing them with an upholstered bench. The backless bench keeps the flow of traffic to the kitchen/living room open. I would top the dining table with a simple greenery arrangement to keep the focus on the pendant light.

3 – For interest, I suggested laying down a kilim runner in the pathway from the living room to the kitchen. In place of the open bookshelf in the original pictures, I’d use a sleeker closed cabinet and flank it with the two dining chairs that were replaced by the bench. A pair of gourd table lamps tops the cabinet for added lighting. I recommended relocating the large framed art piece in the living room to the wall above the cabinet so that the lamps overlap the artwork a bit for a layered look.

And that’s it! What do you think of Ali’s mood boards? Any favorite pieces? Personally, I adore the gourd lamps {only $35 each!}, the armless sofa and the rustic media console.

FYI – Learn to create mood boards for free here, here, here and here.

Click here to see who won last week’s giveaway!

images: 1 & 2} Ali  3 & 4} polyvore collages created by Dana Miller, linked within

Today I’m mixing and matching pillows. I have a few thoughts on mixing pillows. They are by no means rules – just things I consider when I’m shopping for pillows. To keep things simple, I’ll discuss pillows on sofas but I use the same guidelines for beds, chairs and benches.

1. I like to combine a solid, a large print, a small print and some texture. It’s okay if one pillow meets more than one criteria. For example, an all white furry pillow is a solid color and provides texture.

2. I consider the backdrop the pillows will be resting against. My choice of pillows is different for a slipcovered white sofa versus a rich leather sofa. Very light pillows will get lost on a white sofa while all heavy, dark pillows will weigh down a leather sofa.

3. I try to visualize a pillow arrangement in my head and buy accordingly. Which pillows will be nearest the back of the sofa? Which pillows will be front and center? Remember back in elementary school when the music teacher lined everyone up on the bleachers for a performance…tallest in the back…shortest in the front? So it goes for pillows too. I always make note of the size of a pillow and how it relates to any other pillows I’m considering before I make a purchase.

4. I think of how the room will feel when deciding on a symmetrical or asymmetrical pillow arrangement. Symmetrical pillow arrangements give a polished and posh feel. Asymmetrical arrangements give a looser, laid-back feel.

5. In general, the more pillows the more formal the sofa looks to me. Of course, a larger sofa can handle more pillows than a smaller sofa before it starts feeling too formal. Using fewer pillows lends a more casual, simple vibe.

6. I don’t buy all pillows for one sofa from the same source. The last thing I want my sofa to look like is a catalog replica. My all time favorite resource for unique pillow covers is etsy.

7. I prefer to splurge on one to three really great pillows instead of suffocating a sofa in mediocrity. In the long run, it costs me less. I’m more likely to keep a high quality pillow cover on my sofa for years versus a spontaneous budget pillow.

For fun, I’ve put together three pillow looks for three different sofas.

Sources: sofa//black and white corner stripe pillow cover//Turkish kilim pillow cover//gold and linen pillow cover//perpendicular striped pillow cover//Mongolian lamb pillow cover

Blog sponsorship. It’s a touchy subject. But the truth of the matter is, if you have a blog that receives a fair amount of traffic, blogging turns into an expense – financially speaking.

When I first created House*Tweaking, I had a free Blogger account and I was working part-time as a pharmacist. Blogging was purely a hobby. Over the years, with an increase in readership {I’m still not entirely sure why you guys choose to follow House*Tweaking with so many amazing blogs out there but I’m truly grateful that you do. Thank you!}, I’ve obtained a URL and transferred House*Tweaking from Blogger to a “meh” web host and then to a private server. Oh, and I left my day job. Those things combined have made it necessary for me to look into sponsorship opportunities in the form of side bar ads, affiliate programs, writing elsewhere and collaborating with reputable companies. I am not looking to get rich. My hope is to cover the costs of maintaining this blog, DIYing projects and decorating our house so that I can continue doing what now has become a passion.

In working with companies, I always try to feature businesses and products that I would use myself. I say no to potential sponsors ten times more than I say yes. I really want it to be a win-win-win situation. The company gains some traffic. I cover my costs. You are introduced to an inspiring and useful product/service.

All that mumbo jumbo to say I’ve been brainstorming new ways to partner with businesses. When I signed on to write for Wayfair’s blog, My Way Home, I had an “a-ha!” moment. Why not feature items from their site that I would like to use in my own home? I had shopped Wayfair before {I bought the saddler’s bench shown above} and was really pleased with my purchase. I pitched the idea to Wayfair and the monthly “Wayfair in the House” series was born. This is the first of such posts! Here we go…

I’m so ready to have a cozy bedroom. I tried capturing a current pic of the room but was immediately photobombed by three rugrats. It’s hard to tell from the image above but there are random paint sample patches painted throughout the room. There’s even painted foam board living in our closet and paint swatches propped on the windowsill. Do you spy them? My nightstand drawer is full of color swatches and paint decks. It’s bad. I’ve tried no less than a dozen colors and don’t like any of them. This northeast room with not great light is tough. But one swatch I’ve kept in the mix is Benjamin Moore’s 2126.

Namely, I’m really drawn to anchor gray 2126-30. It reminds me of my favorite jeans. In thinking about our bedroom {and I do it waaaaaaaay too much}, I really want it to feel like a room that I would wear. And I like nothing more than wearing my favorite dark jeans with a heather gray top, leather boots and simple gold jewelry. HH also wears a lot of denim and gray so having masculine navy and gray in the room feels right.

Then I found this.

Remember my initial mood board for the boys’ shared bedroom? Let me jog your memory…

You can read more about it here. Or you could save your time and forget it. Because things have changed. I loved the mood board. Really. I did. But there was a problem. Layne and Everett didn’t approve. They said it was okay but too boring. Since I want the boys to have a room they’re excited about, I asked them how I could make it better.

“I want it to feel like a hideout.” – Layne

“I want it to be colorful.” – Everett

So, now I have the task of creating a colorful hideout that still looks like it belongs in our house. I’m working on it. Recently, we repainted the boys’ bedroom switching out the light blue-gray walls for taupe. {It’s Valspar’s dry riverbed in case you’re wondering. It was the color of the front living room in our previous house.} Then we hung floor-to-ceiling curtains around the bunk. Take a peek – don’t mind the messy beds and non-ironed everything. These are by no means ‘afters.’ This is real life. Be happy there’s not a naked four-year-old photobombing every picture.

The curtains are four LENDA panels in the bleached color. The ceiling track is KVARTAL with coordinating glides. I cut the top loops off the curtains and sewed RIKTIG gathering tape onto the backs at the top so I could hang the curtains from the glides. {Everything I’m referencing here hails from IKEA.}

I tried the RIKTIG clips {seen on the right above} but thought they looked unfinished.

I’m all for casual but the clips weren’t cutting it.

Ahhhh. Much better. One curtain hangs at the foot of the bunk and three panels hang along the side.

The boys don’t like their enclosed bunks. They love them. I love that they love them. And I like the way the curtains soften the metal bunk but I have to admit…the floor-to-ceiling curtains remind me of the triage units at the hospital. I tried to make them feel more posh by hemming them so they pool on the floor.

Fun fact: This time last year, I was watching the Super Bowl from a similar curtained bed in the labor & delivery triage unit. I was in pre-term labor with Mabrey.

I’m still wishing the boys would have chosen a wooden bunk bed. But, whatever. It’s their room.

Each boy has their own book light and ledge.

Sometimes I’ll walk into the room to find the boys camping out on their beds with the curtains closed, lights on and a pile of books at their disposal. It makes my day.

So, I think I’ve got the hideout thing covered.

I’ve got work to do on the colorful part. I’m not good with lots of color. Now, pops of color I can do. Hopefully, they’ll appease Everett.

I’m thinking that ladder {it’s separate and removable} would look cool if it were different from the rest of the white bed. Spray-painted yellow? Wrapped in rope?

If you’re looking for an easy way to DIY a freestanding hideout bunk…

My boys love it and I can live with it. More to come as the room evolves!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

So I’ve been brainstorming ideas for reoccurring posts. I don’t want House*Tweaking to have a strict posting schedule but having regular posts scattered in with more spontaneous, of-the-moment posts seems like a good way for me to keep hitting ‘publish’ and feeling happy about what I throw out into the blogosphere. One idea I’ve come up with is Mix-n-Match.

These posts will be as much for me as they are for you. We’ve all heard that mixing styles, materials, colors, patterns, textures {yada, yada, yada} go a long way in making a space more interesting. But when I’m at a store or shopping online, I’m still reluctant to mix metal finishes and wood tones. Hopefully, Mix-n-Match posts will help you and me both to see how mixing all those previously mentioned things and even sources {I shop everywhere from Walmart to West Elm to etsy to thrift stores…and everything in between} can work together. One post might focus on basic pieces for a family room while another post may tackle throw pillows. Some mood boards might actually fit into my home while others will pertain to fantasy rooms or spaces that I think up in my daydreaming head. There are so many things to be mixed and matched. The possibilities are endless!

Without further adieu, here is the first installment of Mix-n-Match. I think this assortment of accessories would mix well in a masculine kitchen with rustic touches. A few of them might even make their way into my kitchen – if they haven’t already.

1 – Turkish kilim rug Area rugs have a way of warming up a kitchen that makes the space feel less utilitarian and more homey. This works especially well in kitchens that are open to other rooms of the house. I’ve been searching high and low for a vintage rug for my own kitchen but am having a hard time putting money down on a piece that will surely get splattered with spaghetti sauce. A patterned rug is probably going to be my best bet.

2 – Stainless steel canisters I would keep these canisters on the countertop next to the stove and fill ‘em with baking ingredients. The steel finish would tie in well with stainless steel appliances.

3 – Vintage pizza board I soooooo want one of these. {Maybe I’d stop burning the tops of my forearms on the oven every time I reach in for a pizza. Seriously, I have four scars from my pizza baking misadventures.} When not in use, it would look great hanging on the wall or propped up against the stove’s backsplash. The wood finish would pick up on other rustic touches while the round shape would help break up the straight lines of a kitchen.

4 – Brass soap dispenser I know what you’re thinking. Can you mix brass with stainless steel? YES. Yes, you can. Try it. You’ll like it. Oh, and if you already have an in-counter soap pump, use this brass baby for hand lotion at the kitchen sink.

5 – Brass lotus bowl Again, brass works. Adding another small brass item keeps the first from looking lonely. I like placing a small bowl close to the kitchen sink for dropping my rings, a bracelet or watch into when washing dishes.

6 – Spiral dots bowl Display this black and white bowl on an open kitchen shelf. The modern pattern is a nice contrast to sleek surfaces and touches of rustic wood.

7 – Elly dish towel In my opinion, every room needs a dose of stripes. These simple dish towels are the perfect addition to a masculine kitchen.

8 – Stemless wine glasses Corral a set of these no-frill wine glasses in a tray stocked with liquor to set up the perfect mini bar within the kitchen. The curvy shape and shiny glass bring a subtle sense of femininity and luxe to an otherwise pragmatic room.

Do you have a suggestion for a future Mix-n-Match post? Please leave it in the comments section below.

FYI – After a few collaborations last year, I’ve officially signed on with Wayfair to write a monthly post over on My Way Home. Expect to receive exclusive peeks into my home that don’t make it onto H*T. You can check out my first contribution here. It gives you a sneak peek inside our fauxdenza.

images: polyvore collage by Dana Miller, linked within

Here’s the deal. A photo shoot will be taking place at our house right after the new year. I know. What?! Who in the world would want to come take pictures of our house in the state that it’s in?

Our front door doesn’t work properly. The garage is completely dysfunctional and in disarray so we have resorted to entering/exiting through the mudroom’s french doors at the back of the house. There are some baseboards still missing in the hallway from our water leak scare. One full bathroom is gutted and awaiting finishes. The TV area above the mantel is open to the cinder block walls. All of the interior doors are installed but need paint and a few still need hardware. The laundry nook looks like we stuck the washer and dryer in a corner. And I haven’t done any real decorating other than Mabrey’s room which I wouldn’t consider finished. Don’t even get me started on the outside of the house.

Luckily, the photo shoot will only focus on three rooms of the house. But even those rooms need a ton of work before they’re camera worthy. With the holiday season in full swing, we’re in a rush to check off a bunch of projects on our to-do list. Nothing like a photo shoot to light a fire under your tush!

The good news is I’ll have a bunch of decor-related posts to share in 2013 but the bad news is you have to wait until 2013. And since I can’t postpone Christmas or the photo shoot, the blog is pretty much taking a back seat to everything else in my life. Which sucks. Because I really enjoy blogging. I write mental posts in my head all day long. I have 4,188 unpublished posts just sitting in my brain taking up space. In fact, that’s why I started this blog. To empty my brain. Oh, my brain is so heavy right now. My neck can barely support it. THE AGONY.

We’ve been fortunate to have a little financial help in the way of a photo shoot budget. The money is going towards projects and decor that we had planned on funding already. We’re not doing or buying anything that we wouldn’t have done or bought otherwise…just getting to it sooner than we had anticipated. This ‘recent purchases’ installment includes some of those photo shoot items AND some other random stuff. I won’t tell you which is which. Because I like surprises. Especially when I’m the one doing the surprising.

1 – Endless Topography 4 I found this amazing original artwork via the Aldas Project on etsy. The plan is to hang it in the kitchen. HH and I are stoked about incorporating some real art into this house. We were drawn to the colors and movement of this abstract piece.

2 – Seagrass runner This rug is for the hallway that leads back to the bathrooms and bedrooms. I wanted something durable and simple. Seagrass was the way to go.

3 – Navy linen I bought 7 yards of navy linen to DIY a slipcover for the petite sofa in the mudroom/dining room. I had an interesting conversation with the employee at the cutting table. Of course, they always ask what you’re planning on making with your purchase. I told her a slipcover. She said I was braver than she was then said she never sewed anything without a pattern. I told her I was the complete opposite. I have never sewn anything according to any pattern. Not because I’m a particularly expert sewer. It’s just that if I have a pattern then I see all the things I’m doing incorrectly. If I make it up as I go, there’s nothing to tell me I’m doing it wrong.

4 – Tulip side chair We actually bought four of these for the dining room. They’re modern, comfy, kid-friendly and easy to clean…everything we were looking for in a dining chair. They came with plain white seat cushions. I’ll recover them at some point.

5 – Moravian star mirror I found this gorge mirror on a whim while perusing a Joss & Main event last week. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted a pair to hang on either side of the TV above the mantel. They are just the right size and shape to work around HH’s boob speakers. I’ve decided the best way to deal with the orbs is to just decorate around them. We’ll see.

6 – Stainless steel containers I bought four 3-packs of these containers to organize our herbs and spices. When we moved in, I threw all of my cooking spices into the cabinet above the microwave. What was I thinking?! Obviously, I wasn’t. I have to get up on a stool every time I need my oregano. Which happens quite often. Because I love tomatoes. And nothing goes better with tomatoes than oregano. I’ll be editing my spices and what makes the cut will live in these round containers on the side of the fridge.

7 – Chevron runner Nate Berkus. Chevron. Dhurrie. ‘Nuf said. This handsome man lives in my kitchen now.

8 – Batik pillow cover Have you been over on etsy lately? Seriously. Is it just me or is etsy just getting better and better? I couldn’t get enough of this vintage Hmong textile cover. I added it to my favorites and visited it several times a day for a week or so until I decided to go for it. It’s one of those decor items that I would totally wear if it were in clothing form.

9 – Velvet pillow cover I have been wanting a velvet-covered something for a while now. I love the texture velvet brings to a room. The bright pop of chartreuse is unexpected and fun. I’m going to try pairing this velvet cover with the batik one on the leather couch in our family room. No matchy-matchy pillows here!

There it is. My bounty. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some weekend warrioring to do. Yes. The weekend officially starts NOW. Go!

Click here to see who won this week’s giveaway.

images: polyvore collage by Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Layne has his first gymnastics meet this weekend. It’s the first meet for everyone on his team so it should be interesting. I’m predicting there will be some flub-ups from the kids and some giggles from the parents. I’ll be volunteering at the meet and all the volunteers were asked to wear a red shirt. I scanned my closet and discovered that I don’t own one true red shirt but I have several red-orange/persimmon/bright coral/modern red tops. I like to refer to the color as ‘poppy.’ Because that’s how it looks and feels. Poppy! And I’m totally feelin’ it right now.

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.*

Congrats to Mandi who is loving a hand-me-down purple coat!

I’m getting more and more requests for fashion posts. {Um, apparently, you guys haven’t seen me out in my yoga pants smelling like baby spit-up.} So when a girlfriend from my old college days contacted me about hosting a giveaway featuring the well known accessories business, Stella & Dot, I figured it’d be a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. You get a fashion post and a giveaway in one!

Okay, so fashion. Let me start off by saying that I think moms are allowed to be fashionable without feeling guilty. I also think we are allowed to have pajama/sweat pants/yoga pants days every once in a while. You know, for good measure. Personally, I find it easiest to get dressed first thing in the morning. Otherwise, it’s noon and I’m still in my pajamas and I don’t see the point of dirtying more clothes. Call it irrational rationalization. If I set aside just five minutes in the morning to get dressed, I feel more prepared – if only physically – for my day.

My days usually consist of getting the boys off to school {Layne rides the bus or I walk him to school & Everett has to be driven to/picked up from morning preK}, running errands, breastfeeding, cooking and taking the kids to gymnastics…with maybe some cleaning, DIYing and blogging thrown into the mix when I have the time. There’s nothing glamorous about my day. It’s probably very similar to what a lot of you have going on.

My style tends to go along with my non-glamorous lifestyle. I’m all about comfort: jeans, leggings, flats, boots, cotton shirts, loose blouses. I rarely wear dresses or skirts. I think the last time I wore heels was to a wedding last summer. As in summer 2011. I don’t follow trends. I’m more apt to invest in one high quality classic piece that will be in my closet for years instead of only a few months. My fashion style and interior design style are similar. In general, I like mostly neutral staple pieces with pops of color in my accessories and some subtle feminine bling. It makes for easy mixing and matching so I’m not wearing the same exact outfit day in and day out. Sure, I’ll wear the same pair of jeans several times in one week but I’ll wear them with different tops, jewelry and shoes to get multiple looks.

Here’s an example of something I would wear on a regular ol’ day:

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1 – I wear earrings nearly every single day. I think they make my face look less tired and instantly dress up whatever I’m wearing. I like shiny studs, feminine danglies and classic hoops. Nowadays, I’m usually sporting simple studs because a certain little lady has taken to pulling my dangly earrings.

2 – I’m a brunette {with a few grays popping up!} and like the way a light colored shirt looks on me contrasting with my hair. White, ivory, champagne or even a light heather gray are my top go-to top colors. ‘Top go-to top colors’ – did you get that? Those basic colors go with just about anything. If my bottoms are form-fitting {think skinny jeans or leggings} I’ll wear a loose, flowing blouse for contrast. If my bottoms are classic in shape {think bootleg} I’ll wear a fitted top or a sleeveless shirt that shows off my arms.

3 – Like earrings, necklaces have a way of bringing some life to my face. I need life in my face. I love any and all necklaces but I’ve found that daintier ones fit my petite build better than bib-like ones.

4 – Jeans. My number one fashion staple. The better the fit, the more I like them. I’m not a spontaneous clothing shopper but I’ve been known to snag a pair of jeans on a whim when the fit is just right. Which doesn’t happen often. I’ve learned to look for jeans with some stretch to them.

5 – I use my shoes to express my mood. If I’m feeling especially happy or energetic, I’ll bust out some girly flats. If I’m tired or having an ‘off’ day, I’ll resort to casual tennies. Most days, I prefer my leather boots. Thank goodness it’s fall!

6 – I always try to include one pop of color. It can be a bag, earrings, a necklace or bracelet. Sometimes it’s my top. I’ve been told I look good in yellow, coral and red-orange so I mostly use those colors to shake things up. I would love to upgrade my five-year-old blah brown wallet to a fun and poppy wristlet! A bright color would be easy to find in the diaper bag when I’m quickly running inside somewhere for just a few minutes and don’t need to bring all the baby paraphernalia.

Enough talk about me. Let’s talk about YOU. Specifically, free stuff YOU could win! See giveaway details below.

PRIZE: $50 credit to Stella & Dot PLUS a foundation bracelet of your choice

RULES: You must be at least 18 years old and have a U.S. shipping address {no P.O. boxes please} to enter. FYI – Those are the terms of the giveaway but Stella & Dot is available in Canada, the U.K. and Germany. One entry per email address.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this post proclaiming “FASHION FOR ME!”

DEADLINE: Enter before Thursday, October 11th at 9:00 p.m. EST. One random winner will be announced Friday, October 12th.

WHILE YOU’RE AT IT: Since we’re talking fashion… what’s your favorite item to wear right now? Is it a newly acquired engagement ring or wedding band? A warm scarf? A happy smile? I already alluded to mine – my leather boots. I love them with leggings or skinny jeans.

BUT, WAIT!, THERE’S MORE: Shop House*Tweaking’s trunk show online this week for a chance to win the hostess rewards! That’s right, as an extra ‘thank you’ I’m handing over the hostess rewards to one lucky shopper.

For styling advice, check out Marianne’s facebook page.

*To show you guys how much I appreciate your support over on Apartment Therapy’s Room for Color contest, I’ll be back later today with another unique giveaway! THANK YOU and stay tuned.*

images: polyvore collage by Dana Miller, linked within