Home & Garden Blog

My friend Kasey recently got married and I was thinking of unique wedding gifts that will stand out from the everyday china and tea sets that people tend to purchase.

I came across this Personalized Beveled Glass Photo Frame from Personal Creations. You’ll make their wedding day memories even more treasured with this gracefully curved frame. It stands on its own, and is meticulously engraved for truly a one-of-a-kind gift. We’ll engrave the invitation in script as shown into the glass to make a cherished keepsake.

Choose from a gold or silver frame. Warning, please enter and review text carefully; item can not be returned once engraved.

Price $49.95

To purchase or shop for the Personal Beveled Wedding Photo Frame, click here.

Ahhh, but this is simply purrrrfect! Ha! Check out this weeks funny photo of the week…

Check out Aviation inspired home decor that reeks of 1950’s glamor and is oh so chic!

Happy Earth Day! Read about all the global attempts at being more Eco-friendly and what can be created with a touch of imagination and a little ingenuity…

Bamboo is both beautiful, is a 100% natural resource and incredible resilient! See all the different way you can decorate your home with Bamboo!

Let the kids cool off in the Sun Shade Inflatable Pool! Nothing says summer fun like splashing around in hose water and soaking up the sun!

Clean Deal of the Week! If your hankering to re-vamp your trash can look no further than the Suncast Outdoor Trash Receptacle, looks great and will make taking out the trash just remotely funner!

I really enjoyed the movie “Aviator” by Marin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio and Gwen Stefani and a host of other top celebrities! Not only was it well cast and beautifully performed but it is quite an inspirational film in respect to inspiring home decor and fashion. It made me want to hunt for vintage pieces that sparkle with an old fashioned flair and 1950’s glamor.

Consequently when I came across this Howard Miller Propeller Alarm Clock I immediately loved it! I appreciate the antique silver finish and how it features an old fashioned parchment dial with black hands and glass crystal. When you are inspired by a certain theme or era, its just little touches that make all the difference, to overwhelm your home with a particular theme causes the whole feeling to appear costumey and staged.

Whether you choose to hang this propeller clock on the wall or on your night stand it is an eye-catching handsome piece for any home. Plus this little gem does not cost a fortune.

Retails for $29.99 at Overton’s!

To shop or purchase the Howard Miller Propeller Alarm Clock, click here.

Your eyelids are getting droopy, you know your sleepy but you keep telling yourself, let me just finish this one episode of House and I will go to my bedroom and sleep.

Nope! You usually wake up around 6am to find that you fell asleep on the couch, again! Don’t fret, it happens to everyone. Which is why too often the living room couch becomes littered with quilts and throws, remnants of late night television watching gone awry.

If this sounds like you and you need a quick organizational fix for all those blankets and quilts lying around the couch then check out the Blair Metal Quilt Rack!

Graceful flowing brackets display your prettiest blankets and quilts. Sturdy metal base and rods with black powder coat finish will be an asset to any room decor.

Blair Metal Quilt Rack - $39.99

To shop for more affordable Home Decor, click here.

In the quest to decorate my home fabulously, I have been thinking of investing in some fine art to adorn my barren walls. Been shopping around for some nice art pieces from fledging artists, I don’t know why they call them “starving artists” because for the price of some of their pieces they should be filthy rich.

Consequently, I have now humbled myself to search for quality prints from major artists. I know I may not have an “original” on my walls but beggars who can barely pay their mortgage shouldn’t be choosers, right?

Here are some lovely finds:

Wassily Kadinsky Improvision Poster No. 23 - $214.99 (44 x 44 in.)

(click on image or link to shop or purchase)

Munoz ” The National Ballet of Cuba, 2001″ - $139.99 (31 x31 in.)

(click on image or link to shop or purchase)

Thomas Kinkade Renaissance Framed Art - $199.00 (23.5 x 19.75 in.)

(click on image or link to shop or purchase)

If you do not like any of these framed art pieces, feel free to browse our collection of discount artwork, framed posters & prints, Click here!

Earlier this week I received a gift from my friend Karla because she knows how much I love candles! I am quite particular about my candle selection, I use them all around the house. I do not like the ones that emit aggressive scents nor do I like the ones that do not burn clean and leave a gooey mess at the bottom of the jar. Fellow candle lovers know this is a sign of poor quality, lord only knows what you have just burned and exposed your body and house too! Once you start using quality candles, you never look back…

Well she discovered this awesome brand called Black & Light Candles and sent me a couple:

Here they are in all their glory, gracing my lovely bed stand. First things first, I’m all about packaging. I don’t care who you are, you take the same quality item, wrap one lovingly in tissue paper and an artful box and take the other and wrap it in butcher paper, well I’m reaching for the pretty one. Call me fickle, packaging is a girls best friend!

Good packaging tells me this merchant cares about quality, customer satisfaction and style! That said, look at the classy packaging that Black & Light candles come in…

The candles arrived in these beautiful boxes, that are completely re-usable! Mine are currently housing my vast collection of costume jewelry. Plus they didn’t bombard it with sticky logos and banners that don’t peel off (I hate that..) and on the inside of the boxes is a quote from the lovely Anne Frank:

Makes you want to seize the day and all that huh?

Here’s why these candles rock:

• Once lit, the candle literally glowed! Hard to describe but awesome. The entire pillar emanated a lovely glow from tip to tail. Normally candles only emit a light from the top, near the flame, I don’t know how they constructed these candles but they GLOW! Super cool.
• Completely Scent FREE! Burns clean, pure and scentless! No headaches, no cheesy pineapples or fruit cornucopia scents drifting through your bathroom and hallways.
• They are beautiful, I can see them highlighting a variety of home decor settings. Plus, they have a wide selection of styles and patterns to choose from, so have at it.

Honestly, I can’t stop gushing about them! Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself…you’ll thank me, I know it!

To shop or browse the Black & Light Candle Company, Click here!

Ever wanted to be a Geisha? Does the thought of being ceremoniously wrapped in layer upon layer of exquisite silk and tightly bounded in a silk kimono sound divine? Well, I do!

It’s one of my better dreams, I love koi fish, cherry blossoms, Samurai, all of it! So the next progressive step to make my fantasy life a reality is to begin purchasing Japanese themed home decor.

I have always wanted to purchase a room divider. There are hundreds of styles, colors and materials available and I feel they are excellent way to utilize space in studio apartment living.

My personal pick is the Morning Crimson Shoji Screen Room Divider! (product image featured above)

A fine black finish, large pane shoji screen, with a lovely Japanese brush art rendering of a cherry tree in bloom, printed on the front of the shades. Crafted from durable, lightweight Scandinavian Spruce, using Asian style mortise & tenon joinery, the shade is strong, fiber reinforced, pressed pulp rice paper; which allows diffused light, yet provides complete privacy. Lacquered brass, two-way hinges mean you can bend the panels in either direction.

Best of all, the room divider is currently on SALE! Was $201.99 Now $154.99!

Also, Modabode offers FREE SHIPPING!

To purchase the Morning Crimson Shoji Screen Room Divider, CLICK HERE.

To shop hundreds of discount room dividers in assorted fabrics, styles and textiles, CLICK HERE.

Me and my friend Denise at Geisha House, We show sliver of wrist to entice! - Ha!

Yesterday I went to visit a friend and we went to visit his parents house, and they had a fish tank coffee table!

So the good news is it’s super cool! Straight away it broke the ice and was an instant conversational piece, on the other hand her home decor in general was a tad 80’s slash dental office. (Shhh!) All I am saying is there definitely could have been a water bed behind door number two, cue Vanna White… ha!

I think that the fish coffee table in a different house and surrounded by modern or normal decor would definitely be an asset to any home. I literally could have sat there and stared at the fish all day! Plus, she said that maintenance on the aquarium coffee table was equal to any other fish tank, no more no less.

Check out this great deal I found: Midwest Tropical Aqua Coffee Table 

• Holds 25 Gallons
• made of acrylic and beveled glass and 36 inch square glass top
• table is complete with lighting, extension cord, decorative plants, food, water conditioner, two-stage submersible filter pump and aqua block algae inhibitor
• Price: $524.99
• (image featured above and if you want to purchase click on any of the links in this post!)

My final answer: I love it. What do you guys think? Love it or Sink it?

What was cool and fresh in other Home and Garden Blogs?

• Check out the witty and practical list of Top 20 Household Uses for Velcro at Apartment Therapy, Los Angeles!

• Florian Kräutli has created a Magnetic Curtain! The key feature of this curtain is it’s ability to take any shape you desire, due to the magnets embedded in the material. Finish reading the full article at Moco Loco…

• Hmmm, revolving door generates energy? Designed by Fluxlab and described as “an ingenious sustainable energy harvesting idea that makes you wonder why no one else has thought of it before.” Finish reading about the pics and pans of this concept at Treehugger.com!

This week in Smarter Home and Garden:

• Shop our vast selection of Tropical Plants! Perhaps they will bring you luck, success and above all a tranquil and beautiful garden…
• Never want to pay an electrical bill again? In fact you can receive money from Power, Gas and Electric for saving so much energy! Watch the short Youtube clip from designer Michelle Kauffman’s Modern and Green Living Home Designs.
• Looking for discount home decor, check out the Retro Mirrors offered by Chiasso, tre’ Chic!
• Happy Valentine’s Day! Write a funny comment on our hairy Photo of the Week!
• Discount Shelving Deal from Wrapables.com! The Growing Together Shelf Unit with Tube Vases is a contemporary option that will help decorate and organize your entertainment center, DVD, CDs and much more.

If you are in the market for a lighting option that doubles as a genuine piece of art than look no further than the Hot Air Balloon Chandelier by Just Too Cute.

As seen on Good Morning America and in magazines across the country, Teresa Thompson’s chandeliers, lamps and tuffets are works of art to be passed down from generation to generation. Each child’s lamp, chandelier and tuffet is created by hand with strict attention to detail and exquisite workmanship. Whimsical designs, soft colors and classic themes make this line of children’s lighting irresistible. With an adorable lamp or shining chandelier from Just Too Cute, your baby nursery or child’s bedroom will stand out from the rest!

If you are interested in reading more or finding out how to purchase the Hot Air Balloon Chandelier, click here.

Click here to shop or browse additional custom crafted chandeliers and lighting for children.