That Ikea Rug

This is the rug Cath and I settled on at Ikea this past week. We almost got the fluffier beige one and then decided we would dislike anything so blah under our toesies. So this one is wool and a bit scratchy, but isn't that pattern nice? 

We're almost to the point where we can take more photos of our place. We just need to get some art up on the walls and then we'll do a sneak peek a la DesignSponge!

LL

AsianCajun Seal of Approval

We've been huge fans of Heliotrope ever since it opened in Decatur a couple of years ago. For those of you who've never been, imagine your favorite gift shop and then multiply that by ten or better yet, check out Heliotrope's online store. Pretty fantastic, right?

So when the good folks over at Heliotrope offered to set up an AsianCajun discount page (for a limited time only!), we said, "Hell yes!" Actually, it was more of an inarticulate jumble of "what?!?! omg. yes please! Thank you!" And here's what they came up with:



We picked out our favorite items and now they are available for you all at a discount! (It's very recessionista friendly.)


Click on each of our favorite items and you can see what we love about them:


The AsianCajun shopping agents page will be up for the next couple of weeks, so make sure you check it out and take advantage of the discounts. Heliotrope ships worldwide so all of our lovely readers can part-take. Woohoo!

A big thank you to Julia, Tommy and Marc for making this happen!

CL

Christmas in Our Appartment

After a busy week I've finally gotten around to posting photos of some of our Christmas decor as promised. Since the post from Monday, there's been an addition to the tree. The cute little felted gnome (we've named him Klausy) is actually a boiled egg warmer, but we think he makes a very nice tree topper.



The garland and lights are from Big Lots. No one can accuse us of not being frugal this season!


It took me over an hour to polish all the silver pieces (most of them thrift store finds) on top of the shelf.


Our mini pink Christmas tree and pink roses from Trader Joe's.


For some more Christmas decor inspiration, visit our fellow fashion bloggers at Hiking in Stilettos and We Wear Things.

CL

Family Time

Lar and I flew up to D.C./Maryland for Thanksgiving and have been unable to check up on the blog as frequently as we usually do in Atlanta because 1) we've been spending some quality time with the family and 2) our parents' computer is slow and cranky (it was a struggle just to upload the images below).

So we'll be responding to everyone's comments later on this week, but until then, here are some things that we've been up to for the past few days:

Lar and my dad heading towards the Pentagon to check out the Sept. 11 Memorial. The memorial itself is very impressive, but the website is oddly very unofficial looking: Pentagon Memorial.


The National Building Museum is probably one of my all time favorite buildings in D.C. and the exhibits are always fantastic. It's also located a couple of blocks from Chinatown, D.C. where my dad was born and raised so it has a special place in my heart.


Lar trying on some sunglasses at Cafe Hon in Baltimore (or "Bawlmore" for you natives).


Our parents took us to The Walters Art Museum (also in Baltimore). It has a very impressive collection for being located in a non-international city and puts Atlanta's art museums to shame. Part of the museum is an 1850s mansion known as the Hackerman House. The rooms are so elegant it almost made me wish women could still wear giant hoop skirts - minus the tight corsets and the subjugation of women.


Lar is peering up at the stained glass sunlight at the top of the stairs of the Hackerman House.


So there you have it. Proof that we haven't been sitting on our bums all day eating Thanksgiving leftovers and being too lazy to even scroll around our favorite fashion blogs. I promise we'll be back in real AsianCajun fashion once we get back in town!

CL

A Mini Selby Tribute

The Selby is really one of our favorite places to visit for inspiration (see AsianCajun tribute here): getting a glimpse into other people's homes and their methods of nesting are really fascinating to us.

These are just a few quick shots around my room (Cath's is much more organized and orderly). Much of the bric-a-brac are photos/drawings I've done. The rest are books and second-hand odds and ends I've picked up along the way or have been given.

Doe anyone recognize the movie paused on my Mac in the middle photo (hint: it's not Arial)?

LL

Inspiration: Anthropologie

We've been big fans of Anthropologie for over ten years. Of course this doesn't mean that we've bought much from there (who can afford a $178 night gown?). Nevertheless, the feminine/world-traveler lifestyle feel of Anthropologie stores is right up our alley. The clever window displays and rustic interior designs are always great sources of inspiration.
The window displays are the same at every location (whether you visit the Anthropologie in NYC or ATL), but the interior displays vary. Having frequented a number of Anthropologies around the country, I can say without a doubt that the Rockville, Maryland store has the most creative interior displays.
After a four-day business trip in Philly, I took the train down to Maryland yesterday to visit my parents and had a chance to stop by the Rockville Anthropologie. Below is proof of the creative genius that you'll find there.

Hanging from the ceiling in one of the alcoves are these blue paper vines. My dad pointed out that they were cut by hand because each one is varied. I can't imagine how long it took to cut them all! I love how they create this great underwater/jungle-like effect:

This is one of my favorites. It looks like the decorator used a white paint pen on black craft paper to create the "wallpaper." Take a closer look (upper left side of the photo) and you can see two book spines were sawed off and glued to the illustrated shelves to add texture:



All the different door knobs for sale are displayed on this charming, hand-painted sandwich board:


Burlap is gathered on the walls to look like soil. The vines and vegetables are made out of felt:


I love this little sign on the underwear table:


Bottle caps are flattened, painted, and stuck into round pieces of wood to serve as price tags:

Just looking at these photos again makes me want to start a craft project. Maybe I'll paint something or embroider a pillow or flatten some bottle caps and glue magnets to the back of them. Whatever I decide to work on, I can't wait!

CL

New Resources

After a delicious Easter meal with some friends, I spent the rest of the evening online window shopping. Below are a few new (to me) websites with reasonably-priced items that I bookmarked so I can revisit them on payday.

Tulle

I stumbled upon Tulle's website the other day. I've never heard of it before. It doesn't have a huge inventory, but I love how each piece has something kind of unexpected about it. Like the sweater below could almost be from Gap if it didn't have that great exaggerated collar.

Tulle's price range is around $50-$70, but the best finds are the items on sale (see the five images below).

Waffle Knit Funnel Collar Sweater $26

Cotton Voile Smocked Tunic $27

Herringbone Tulip Dress $31

Canvas Bib Jacket $32

Poly Knit Retro Dress $26

* * * * *

Etsy: Karen Hilton Designs

Lauren and I have been looking for some Union Jack pillows for our living room. Karen Hilton makes them in almost every color combination you can imagine. Other great Anglophile pillow designs from the store include the Queen Elizabeth II stamps (pictured bellow), flower power-theme and terrior dog portraits.

Queen Elizabeth II Stamp Cushion/Pillow $65

Pink and Green Union Jack Cushion/Pillow $60

* * * * *

Matter Matters

This website mostly has ridiculously expensive accessories and home wares, but there are a handful of affordable items that would make any home look like something featured in Dwell magazine.

Cristal Carafe $55

Still Life Fruit Bowl $95

* * * * *

Muji

I fell in love with Muji during my first trip to London. Every item seems so utilitarian and efficient. All the travel and desktop items make me want to be organized. The furniture and kitchen items make me wish that I lived in one of those scarily minimalist homes. So I was quite pleased to learn that the store ships to the U.S.

Cup and Saucer - Heatproof about $6

Square Face Watch about $60

* * * * *

Smil

As this cute, little German website states, Smil carries "accessories that make you happy." It's like a German Fred Flare. All the items are so endearing and the creators seem to have an affinity for dachshunds.

Teckel brooch in pink around $14

Air mail pouch about $27

My regular online window shopping usually includes a stop by CB2, Fred Flare, Heliotrope, Asos and Museum of Useful Things.

What are your favorite online window shopping sites?

CL

Embracing Orange

I mentioned before that I want to include more orange in my wardrobe. Lauren does it nicely with this turtleneck dress from American Apparel (cardigan and belt from H&M, boots from Tarjay). For those of you who are curious, she's standing in my parents' laundry room - they're not scared of color!

Here I am trying on a cardigan that I eventually bought at American Apparel (turtleneck from H&M, Cheap Monday jeans and Payless boots). My favorite thing about this cardigan is the contrasting buttons. It's a little frumpy around the waist so I'll have to wear leggings or skinny jeans with it.
C.L.

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas! To celebrate the day we've included a few images of our Christmas decorations.

A 1.5 ft tree in Lauren's room:
You can never have too much glitter during the holidays:
Our Frida Kahlo tree:
Close-up of the Frida tree:
C.L.