Working on the Weekend

As I put work off all weekend I told myself, with determination, that today, Sunday, I would buckle down, be super-productive, transform into a quick-thinking, incredibly focused genius girl, and complete every task I've intended to all week.

My desk looks something like this one... but without the chandelier, and the dress is probably from H&M, and the champagne is Trader Joe's...

I have often wondered how those who work from home manage to get anything done.  I can be so focused working out of a loud, busy coffee shop, but entirely unproductive working from my desk at home.  Or, how at work I can whip out a seemingly boring administrative task (data-entry anyone?) with gusto, then ask for more, but at home I'll write one sentence before my mind wanders.

I think of a thousand things I need to do before I start working, excuses that often make some sense, but always take me away from the task at hand, maybe for an hour, maybe for a day.

Sitting at my desk my mind wanders... maybe I should shower now, I might as well be self-tanning while I'm sitting around the house, a snack might do me good, I should head out for a cup of coffee, I probably deserve to watch a little tv...

  

Another tendency I have, and have had since I was a kid actually, is to redecorate, rearrange and reorganize my room... I should organize my books, I need to de-clutter these shelves, how could I possibly be productive with my desk facing east??

I found this article on creating a productive home office had some good tips.  But then again I'll start in on the remodeling, maybe take a trip to Ikea for a proper desk lamp, consult a book on Feng Shui...

  

I HAVE to organize my closet, and my dresser top and jewelry is a mess, a lovely view of my apartment will certainly do me good... obviously I need to do a little remodel.

In the midst of writing this post I got up to shower, use a hair mask, and apply self tanner, then went out for coffee... ohhh the power of suggestion.  Somehow I managed to stop myself from rearranging my jewelry.

How do you who work from home manage to stay on task?  Does anyone else use redecorating as an excuse not to work, or is that just really weird (it sounded kinda weird in my head as I typed it just now...)?  I know most bloggers work from home, how do you do it?

I hope everyone had/is having a maaaarvelous weekend! bisous, xo Caitlin

Images: 1, 3, 4 Dress, Design, Decor, 2 Oh! You Pretty Things, 5 Sterling Style, 6 Cherry Blossom Girl, 7 Oh, Hello Friend, 8 Cupcakes and Cashmere.

Mother's Day DIY

 Since these days I don't really have the means to buy something really special, I like to make gifts for the people I love.  I think people really appreciate the effort that goes into something you've made yourself, I know I really do.  Recently I've been on a flowers kick;  I love how they cheer up my apartment, and I love buying them for myself.  I imagine flowers are the most common Mother's Day gift, but I wanted to give my mom something a little more personal and permanent than just a bouquet; so I stepped in up a notch with this DIY project.


What you need:
1. A vase (or jar, glass, bottle... anything that will hold flowers). I got tons of them in all shapes and sizes from a thrift store for around 75 cents each (Thrift Town in El Sobrante if you're local). The vase doesn't need to be amazing as is (i.e. don't use your Tiffany's crystal), the whole point is that you are going to beautiful it yourself.
2. Glass marbles with one flat side, the type usually used inside a vase to hold the flowers in place. You can get these in the floral department of any craft store (I went to Micheal's in Emeryville).
3. A glue gun (also available at craft stores).

All of the inexpensive vase-type glassware I got on the cheap (and flowers! pretty!):

Glue gun and marbles (don't rest the glue gun directly on any surface you care about, it will drip and that glue dries fast and hard... hence my folder):

These marbles come in all colors, I chose clear and a pretty rose-quartz color)

Squeeze a dot of glue onto the vase and press one of the marbles against it. Keep doing this around the base, and then in rows up the vase (note: starting at the base instead of the top isn't necessary, but it worked well here). You can cover the whole vase as I am here, or in any pattern you like:

The finished product! much prettier that it started out I think:

I made two more. The small one is really just a water glass. I used the pale rose colored marbles at the top and the clear at the bottom making sort of a gradient effect. The larger one is really a big jar, like for flour or something. I just did a few rows of the pink marbles around the rim:

Voila! my Mother's Day gift. I think she will really like the trio (and hope she isn't reading this post quite yet)...

Sorry I'm not sharing this project a little earlier, but keep it in mind for next year, or birthdays and other holidays coming up. And to any Mamas out there, Happy Mother's Day!  xo Caitlin

a Sunday Kind of Love...

Bed

by andreas von einsiedel

Breakfast (and blogging) in Bed

by Rita Konig

a Trip to the Sunday Market

(mine being, the Temescal Farmers' Market)

Cooking for a boy

Photo by Corrie Bond

BFFs

Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin

Hair, Eyelashes

Celia Hammond, 1962 by Terence Donovan

Familia

S/S '10 Missoni family ad campaign by Juergen Teller

Seamus the Wonder Pup

my parents home

Winning!

I just learned I am the winner of Simply Luxurious' oh so generous reader giveaway! Treats, eats, style... I'll be stalking the mailman until this arrives.

I want a Sunday kind of love
A love to last past Saturday night
And I'd like to know it's more than love at first sight
  I want a Sunday kind of love - Etta James

Happy Sunday my loves, happy Easter if you're celebrating, and happy day off if you're normally working. xoxo, Caitlin.

...also, a song that makes you cry a little:

She & Him, "You Really Got a Hold on Me" MTV Canada. July 23rd, 2008.

Dream Home du Jour/A little hoarding is A-Ok

ohhh, sitting here in my trashed apartment, where one must wade through piles of clothes ankle-deep just to cross the room/ in near darkness, no less, stubbing toes on the clunky shoes strewn everywhere, because my overhead light, too high up to tend to myself, is dead and I could never let my landlord, or anyone, see this disaster/ starving, because my kitchen is useless without a single clean dish (dinner was a lime popsicle)/ I wish for self-discipline, follow through (clean the apt has been on the to-do list for a week), a housekeeper, a simpler, cleaner, less colorful, cluttered, and hoarder-esque decorating sensibility (bff calls it "organized chaos", not sure where she is getting the organized), and (obv!), Niecy Nash (Linsay Lohan - secret celebrity hoarder??  checkitout)...

However, instead of cleaning, I find myself collecting inspiring images of my super clean, airy, not-cluttered, someday house, images I'll share here to give some relevance to my procrastination:

Elle Decoration Magazine December 2002 via moodboard

Elle Decoration Magazine December 2002 via dress design decor

homes and gardens magazine via dress, design and decor

above via sterling style

via moodboard

someday...

I mean, I don't want to become a celebrity hoarder like Lindsay, but it is really hard for me to get rid of things, and many times I end up grateful for that.  For instance, I just came across a pair of shoes buried in some box of shoes in my parents garage.  They are these awesome vintage, brown, 70's looking, wood-soled platform sandals.  And I love them now!  and have worn them twice in the past month.  Also, when going through my closet trying to get rid of things, I found this long-sleeved, black, off the shoulder, leotard-type top I bought from Forever 21 my senior year of high school.  I pretty much had only been keeping it in case I took a ballet class or something and wanted to be style-y (hey, I might take a ballet class, one never knows), but when deciding whether or not to keep it, I tried it on with a high-waisted skirt and a long necklace and now I am pretty much in love with it, after eight years (ahhh I'm old...).  Anyway, I'm not sure what the moral of that story is; a little hoarding is okay?  

I just want to get organized mostly, and actually figure out what I have.  Right now I have the biggest closet of my life and it still doesn't nearly fit everything all my clothes and shoes.  Still, when I do start to go through it all, as I have been these past couple days, I come across these great clothes that I've forgotten about and I actually feel guilty - like I've neglected all these perfectly good things while crying about having nothing to wear.  Anyway, I've said it before and probably will say it again, but I am going to get as clean and as organized as possible, then commit myself to keeping it up as best as I can (at least until I have a housekeeper... or Niecy Nash).

Sweet Dreams, Beauty Queens

xoxoxox

la maison de mes rêves

domestic dreaming...

Wide open kitchens: 

via everything fabulous

 

 via apt. #34 

Dreamy sleep spaces:

via material girls and coco+kelley 

This Bathroom:

via apt. #34

This laundry room!

 via everything fab

A window seat:

via everything fab

Outdoor living:

via nuevo estilo


 And tomorrow... well, today, is another monday.  I know I'm less than prepared for the week ahead; still, I must say, it seems this year, each one gets better than the last.  Sweet dreams mes petits choux.