vera bradley

DISCLAIMER: if you were given or purchased vera bradley in high school in preparation for college, disregard this post.

i really really really do not like vera bradley. first of all, let's go over all of the places in richmond where you can buy this:

1. kelly's gifts

2. ruth joffre

3. strawberry field's

4. chadwick's

5. hampton house

6. mongrel

7. the jefferson hotel gift shop

8. gayton road shopping mall

9. brighton

OK, I'm sorry, but why would you buy this?

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

This post is not so so about cheap-elegance, but I am simply DYING to put this in my room. AND, it is much much much cheaper AND humane than buying a one million dollar trip to Africa just to kill a sweet little Zebra.

Anyway, I am drooling over this and would love to walk all over it daily.

http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/product.php?cat=&productid=17680

I am such a doormat ...

... lover. I am such a doormat lover. One of the first things I do upon moving into a residence is going to purchase my doormat. I would never transfer a doormat from one residence to another ... I give each new place I live a housewarming gift from me, to the house. The doormat says "Hello, home. I will treat you well and will not do tacky things to you or dirty your floors with my shoe-debris". My favorites are iron or natural fibers ... with some sort of trellis design. While Horchow and other "fine retailers" can sell their versons for $80 plus (say whaaa?!), Target and even the Marshall's / TJ Maxx guys carry really awesome versions that I think even hold up longer. In sum, a simple and clean doormat can really update even the most rotting-doorframe.

Doormats are a vital first impression that gives some sort of insight into the dweller ... be that an alma mater maniac, NFL nitro, traditional toker, or cheesey cheeseball. My friend EH loves to ride horses, and her doormat is some sort of crest with a horsewhip coming out of it. Haha. While I do definitely have my preferences when it comes to doormats, I am completely in love with the idea of using this little 18" by 27" piece of flair to really tell your guests, mailman, or local door-to-door Swann's frozen food salesman just what you are about. Even if what you are telling them is that you are just really annoying.

Speaking of annoying door mats, here is the hall-of-fame:

1. DANGER- Steven's Garage! (ie: Annoying Tool)

2. Hi, I'm Mat. (ie: Turn around now bc I annoyingly spell Matt with one T)

3. . Slide to unlock (ie: iAnnoying)

I have deeply contemplated by doormat-scenario based specifically on each residence that I may or may not live in during my lifetime. Right now I am completely "at home" with my straw and rubber trellis mat ...

Growing Crazy

Today's post is all about ... drumroll please ... houseplants!!! I'm really getting rowdy with this blog aren't I?! Gosh, I am just growing crazy. But back to the houseplants. Houseplants = the cheapest way to update and refresh a room. Houseplants = another dimension when placed in the corner of microsized bedroom or on the lone desert that is the top of an empty coffee table.

I would like to confess that every single one of my plant-purchases was made at KROGER. Oh yes, the ole' Kro-jay. And, every single one was under $10. The plant sales there are fantastic ... and with regular watering these plants live forever. To water the orchid, callalilly and aloe vera (none of these require hardly any H20 ... in fact too much is lethal), I put three ice cubes in each one once a week.

I once lived in a bedroom with a) no closet and b) wood paneling and c) 7 foot cielings and d) disgusting windows insulated with yellowing styrophome. I plopped a beautifully potted (pot from Lowe's!) fern on an elevated plant stand in the corner next to my bed and VOILA! the room looked fresh, new, and clean. The plant made me feel like I was not living in a split level home infested with caspers from the 1970's.

I try to keep one in every room of my home ... here's my personal breakdown:

Kitchen: Basil (try to keep an edible plant in the cocina)

Dining Room: Orchid (elegant standing alone on a dining room table)

Living Room: Callalilly (adds lots of body to a coffee table ... mine is on a silver tray)

Bedroom: Large Greenery ... it can be seen above (you know how I love a fern in a corner)

Sleeping Porch: Aloe Vera (oh-so medicinal ... sun is outside and this treats sun so it is outside too)

Sometimes people say that they love their pet (ginny pig, cat, hermit crab, etc.) because it just makes them feel like they are not home alone. My plants make me feel that way ... whenever I am sitting around watching the TV in my PJs and scrunchie, and my plant is sitting there hanging out with me, I feel like I am kicking back with an old friend. I need a life. At least I am not snuggling up next to this wannabe, fake, polysynthetic faux-plant, bleh!

Houseplants also make me feel kinda like a modern day CZ Guest (see below). Except I do not have a Norwich Terrier or an infinity pool. Or my own book.

I have already requested a rosemary topiary from one of my neighbors for Christmas. Is that presumptuous or what?? At least I know what I want?? BUT won't this look so cute next to the sink in my kitchen?! I really think that this little detail will take my kitchen on a trip across that big old pond they call the Atlantic all the way over to France. I cannot wait to feel like I am cooking in a Provencal heaven. I am so excited about it already... I thank you in advance neighbor S.

And that is it for today's bloop!

HAPPY HOUSEPLANTING!

Why dontcha make your bed?!

The maiden post of The Red Chaise is gonna be short and sweet. It is about making the bed. Yes, making the bed. I have been known to make my bed while still under the covers, then sneaking out in one movement ... so not to wrinkle the comforter or disrupt any folds. I know it sounds ridiculous ... but I just can't handle leaving my house knowing that I will come home to an unmade bed. I find comfort in knowing, while I am out in the crazy, hectic and unpeaceful world, that my bed is waiting for me ... clean, made, and unwrinkley. Here it is ... all cleaned up after a good night's sleep. Hello, heaven ... how are you?

Getting into a well made bed is like opening an intricately wrapped present in beautiful paper. Every day is Christmas day for me when I get to slink into my bed ... no need for themed
holiday sheets in my house. Look at these below ... eeew ... and can you imagine that bed UNMADE? Aaaah!

While on the topic ... I must say that I love sheets. Love them. Bananas. However, I am a firm believer that you can get the same satisfaction out of a bed made in the most luxurious 1000 thread count Frette linens (see above) as you can from a clean, crisp, white pair from Wal-Mart. Even the most amazingly plush king size bed left unmade pales in comparison to a dorm room bunk dressed up in a clean and ironed outfit with a little monogram on its lapel!

Secret: I totally iron my pillow cases ... with starch.

Here are a few of my fave inspiration sources for sheets:

1. Matouk ... their scalloped sheets are a perennial classic.

2. John Robshaw ... can't get enough of the hand-painted pillows and coral pattered sheets ...

3. Frette ... 'nuff said.

4. Leontine Linens ... these monograms are the Hermes scarves of the bed wardrobe.

and now for the real life...

4. Wal - Mart ... srsly! their high thread count sheets are h.e.a.v.e.n.

5. Linens N' Things ... pair their matlesse covers with some white sheets are you are golden!

SLEEP TIGHT!

ps: this is always a favourite (of aerin lauder for one)