Glamorous Inspiration

Anyone who knows me knows I am a true girly-girl and a total magpie so it came as no surprise to my boyfriend when I decided that for my birthday I wanted a mirrored vanity. I had gotten a mirrored jewelry armoire from Pier 1 for Christmas and had been fawning over the matching mirrored vanity ever since. After receiving my gorgeous vanity I decided that my bedroom was not near glamorous enough and since then I have been on a mission to "glammify" my boudoir. Here are some photos I have been using as inspiration...

Hayworth Vanity from Pier 1

Christian Louboutin Shoes

Via {flickr}

Via {simply seductive}

Rita Hayworth

Via {Frou Frou Fashionista}

Marilyn Monroe Via {Beautiful Things to Share}

Via {Frou Frou Fashionista}

Via {captivate me}

Via {Frou Frou Fashionista}

Christian Dior

I Love My Mama!!!

Well, this Sunday is Mother's Day and in typical Shannon fashion I have waited until the last minute to get my Mom a gift, partly because I have absolutely no idea what to get her but mostly because I am the biggest procrastinator ever!!! (I hate deadlines and I refuse to wear a watch.) Even though it may seem as if I'm a selfish, ungrateful child because I am 2 days away from Mother's Day and still have no gift, I've been thinking about my Mom a lot lately and what a loving, caring person she is. My Mom is one of those people who truly loves everyone, she always has a smile on her face and she makes everyone around her feel welcome. There really are no words to describe how much I love my Mom, and one day when I'm a Mommy I hope I'm as good a Mommy as she is and has been. My poor Mom! I feel so bad when I think of what a spoiled, bratty teenager I was and all the trouble I caused!!! But she never gave up on me; don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of "come to Jesus" meetings (mostly at the behest of my Dad because of something snotty I said to my Mom) and punishments, but she never stopped loving me. She was there for me when my heart got broken, and cheering me on when I picked up the pieces. She urged me to return to college and get my degree, and proudly yelled her ass off when they called my name at graduation. And, when I move to Baton Rouge I'm gonna miss seeing her everyday and talking about whats going on; but, I'm sure she will help me get through that as well. She'll be there when I walk down the aisle and when I have babies of my own. My Mom is truly amazing, she has taught me that if you want something bad enough you have to go and get it, even though it might be scary and uncomfortable to do so. So, to repay her for all the times she was there for me when I was scared of where life was taking me, I'm going to be there for her... Next Saturday, May 16, she is putting her artwork out on display for the first time at The Big Easel in River Ranch and I know she is excited and at the same time scared (its scary to let people you've never met see your work!!! I would be petrified!). So I'll be there to back her up and cheer her on, partly because she's my Mama but mostly because she's my inspiration. I love you Mama!!!


Here are a few pieces of my Mom's work:

Running Hot and Cold

Galaxy
(2 pieces that fit together)

Silver Lining

Also, her blog is katcrosbynofearart.blogspot.com to check out more of her artwork!!!

Festival Internationale

Sorry its been so long since my last post! Things have been crazy around here lately and are about to get even crazier! Wednesday April 22nd is the kickoff of Festival Internationale de Louisiane 2009! Festival Internationale is an annual visual & performing arts festival held in downtown Lafayette, LA and it celebrates the French cultural heritage of southern Louisiana (a combo of French, African, Caribbean, & Hispanic cultures). Over 300,000 people attend the 5 day free, outdoor festival and are treated to some of the worlds greatest performing, visual, & culinary artists. Festival Internationale weekend has always been a favorite of mine (it's right up there with Mardi Gras) and for the past 4 years Festival Internationale has been one of the most highly anticipated events of the year me. You see, I work at Antler's, a restaurant/bar located in the heart of downtown Lafayette. Antler's is a family run business (my mom's best friend is my boss' sister) and we are known for our daily plate lunch specials (especially the smothered porkchops), the great live music we feature after Downtown Alive each Friday, and our southern hospitality. While the weekend of Festival Internationale is often physically, emotionally, & mentally draining (think 5 straight 16 hour days spent on your feet, running the length of a 50 ft. bar while mixing drinks and being upbeat & energetic for the customers the entire time) it is also the time of year where we all come together as a "family" (whether we have the same last name or not) in order to "make it happen." It is from this time each year that most of my memories about Antler's come from... laughing, dancing, & singing with my girls behind the bar, doing shots of Patron with my boss to kickoff Festival and WooWoo's to wind it up, laughing at Julie & my Mom fall off their barstools... the list goes on and on. Even though the hours are long and sleep is basically non-existant Festival Internationale remains one of the highlights of my year and I am definitely gonna miss it when its gone. Happy Festival!!!

"Antler's Band"

My "Family"

Me & My Girls

Antler's at Night

A Packed House

Inspiring Blog

A few days ago I was killing time surfing the web and I came across a VERY inspiring website, Snippet & Ink. Its a blog devoted to wedding inspiration and I fell in love immediately!!! If my boyfriend knew I spent the next hour and a half pouring over this blog and dreaming of what my wedding day will be like he would probably tuck tail and run!!! But, like many "little girls" out there, I have dreamt of my wedding day since I got my first Bridal Barbie and this blog makes it easy to fantasize. Not only does it offer great inspiration for your wedding day but it also offers great inspiration in the form of the many Inspiration Boards that are posted on the site. When looking at the Inspiration Boards I found myself thinking "Wow! That would be a great color scheme for a room!" Here are some of my faves....

Board #327: Spring Watercolor

Board #341: Mustard & Blue

Board #298: Emerald & Aquamarine

Board #250: Aqua & Poppy

Freaking Out A Bit

Ok, so I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Habitually Chic, just now and she posted an excerpt from Page 6 about how ever since Conde Nast publishing decided it was going to discontinue Domino magazine several fan sites of the magazine have sprung up on the internet. She then wrote that there are rumors that Allure magazine may be next! WTF???? I am so upset right now! I know its probably really petty & I should probably be worried about something more important, but oh well, I don't care, I'm a magazine addict & this is very upsetting to me!!!! First Domino & now possibly Allure!!! I'm sick right now! What do they expect me to read? The backs of my shampoo & conditioner bottles? This is just absolutely ridiculous! I was upset when I first found out about Domino going under because it was my favorite home decor magazine and featured beautiful, livable interiors for real people, unlike some home-design magazines whose rooms are stuffy & showroom-esque. And now I find out they may pull Allure from the shelves too!!! I've been reading Allure since I was 18!!! If there is anything I love more than interior design its make-up! I am just disgusted right now. They can't take away my Allure too! They just can't!!

Lovely Lavender

Hey! I hope everyone's Valentine's weekend was wonderful! Mine was bittersweet... My boyfriend and I live about an hour away from each other and since I had to work on Valentine's Day I wasn't going to be able to visit him this weekend. I decided I would be a "good girlfriend" and told him if he wanted to he could go deep sea fishing with his friends instead of coming to see me, since I had to work on Valentine's anyway. I was upset I wasn't going to see him but I figured "I'm not going to make him miserable by asking him to drive in just to come to work with me..." I really think I have the best boyfriend in the world because Saturday morning I woke up to a text message that said, "Cupid's here. Come outside." Sure enough, I walked outside and he was standing there with roses & candy! He's my heart!!! I mean seriously, any other 26 year old man from South Louisiana would've been long gone on his fishing trip! He got major brownie points for that one! Anyway, its Sunday night and he's already left to go back home :( and I'm sitting here thinking about how every time I think I've got him pegged and that he's just another "Typical Guy," he goes and does something unexpected & romantic. I saw the first pic tacked up on my inspiration board and thought to myself, "That's how I feel right now." I decided I would share it with y'all along with some beautiful pics of lavender rooms & things. Enjoy!

Lavender Inspiration
I think I originally got this pic from the blog {this is glamorous}

Another pic on my inspiration board of the inside of a seashell

A beautiful lavender bedroom from Living etc. Very Romantic!

Living room in shades of Lavender

I just love this fireplace!

This mirror from Horchow is so romantic. It makes me think of a fairytale princess...

I have an entire folder on my computer with nothing but pictures of chairs & this one is one of my faves!!! Its so ethereal & dream-like... like the inside of a bubble.

Some of My Favorite Rooms

Hey! For my first post I thought I'd share some pictures of my favorite rooms with y'all. I've been copying pics from the Internet and saving them to Microsoft OneNote (best thing ever!) for a little over a year now, so I'm really sorry but I don't have any references for where I got the pics from but I'm sure most of them came from Domino.com. I'm sorry!!! Anyway, these are just a few of my favorites and hopefully one day I will be as talented as the designers who have designed these rooms.

I absolutely adore this bedroom! Its so elegant, soft, & romantic and very French!

Love this office! Its so chic! Very Breakfast at Tiffany's!!!

This room is so elegant but the leopard bench seat with pink pillows makes it funky & original.