What Happens When a Design Student Has Too Much Free Time?

They spend it doing bad things to their wallet! It seems like every time I have a semester that does not offer me any interior design classes, which seems to be too frequent lately, I spend all of my pent up design energy on my own home. It is so much cheaper for me to make design boards for pretend homes!


Anyway, I have been looking for a piece of furniture to put in my entry and I finally found it at Pier 1:

I thought this was a fun addition that would be a more unique look. Unfortunately they were out of stock so I will have to wait a couple of weeks to bring it home.

I also picked up a lantern, new throw pillows, a really cute fuchsia glass "rubber" duckie for the bathroom and this:

I will never buy shredded cheese again! I will only purchase it in block form so that I can use this fun mouse cheese grater.

Now I am dreaming of the Orla Kiely line of bedding and I really think this would be perfection in my guestroom.

I have also talked Gabe into helping me paint the wall behind our bed in the master bedroom yellow. I need to go back to work tomorrow before I start knocking down walls! ;)

And Our Winner Is...

Congratulations Jewelry Rockstar! You are our weekly winner!

Thank you to all who entered the contest this week!

A special thanks to Irith from Rio Rita for allowing us to see her beautiful shop this week! Best of luck with your shop!

Have You Seen This Etsy Shop?

Let me introduce you to Rio Rita and allow this Etsy shop to transport you to the Meditteranean. Created by Irith, Rio Rita is a handmade jewelry shop specializing in one of a kind gold and silver works. What sets Rio Rita apart from others, though, is that Irith resides in Haifa near the Mediterranean Sea. Her workshop is located near the sea. The inspiration that she gets from such beautiful surroundings definitely comes across in the colors and designs that she creates for her shop.

Green Sea Glass Sterling Necklace

This vibrant green necklace was created from sea glass that Irith found while walking along the beach. This wiill definitely be a conversation piece.

Green Chalcedony Tear Drop Sterling Silver Ring

Chalcedony is said to clean impurities and have emotional, mental and physical balancing qualities. That is easy to understand, because if I were gazing at that vivid yellow all day I would certainly feel happier! This ring is also sterling silver and has 14 k gold balls on each side of the stone.

Silver-Wire Necklace with Tear Drop Pendant

So simple, yet so stylish. This sterling silver necklace features three dimensional shape with the teardrop design and flower pendant. A Cornelian cabochon stone decorates the flowers center.

So now that you have been transported to the sea, come back to your computer and let me show you what we have for you this week! This week our giveaway item is a beautifully handcrafted pair of earrings from Rio Rita!

How do you enter?

1. Check out Rio Rita on Etsy. Come back here and let me know your favorite item in Irith's shop. This will get you one entry.

2. Be or become a follower on this blog and that will earn you a second entry.

Entries will be accepted through Friday midnight. Come back on Saturday to see if you are the lucky winner!

Rio Rita would also like to let you all know that now until January 31st all items in the shop are 10% off before shipping. Buyers will be refunded through Paypal shortly after the purchase.

As You Get Back to the Daily Grind..

here's wishing you a work week that does not require headache medication or antidepressants! :)

Happy Monday!

Photo courtesy of flickr

Seriously John Edwards...

how could you have thought that no one would find out you had fathered a child with your mistress? The baby looks exactly like you!

In a day and age where Maury Povich and TMZ exist it still amazes me how folks in the public eye can still think they can get away with things. Brad Pitt can't even get coffee without it being documented on TV, but John Edwards thought that he would not get caught having a baby with a woman who was not his wife?

I guess it is good for his conscience that he is finally admitting that he did in fact father baby Quinn with his mistress. The timing is a little more than strange, though. Edwards former aide Andrew Young, the man whom Edwards tried to con into saying that he was the actually the father of the baby, is releasing a tell all book on Feb. 2. The book release may be a little more than coincidental to Edwards sudden burst of morality.

So sad for his wife that she not only has to battle cancer, but is also married to a jackhole! He is also certain to have damaged the lives of all of his children. Too bad politicians like George Washington no longer exist. For most of the people who run for election now can certainly tell their fair share of lies!

And Our Winner Is...

Congratulations Janet Faye! You are our winner this week!

Thank you to everyone who entered our weekly contest. Sorry if you did not win this week, but check back on Tuesday for the start of the next contest.

Thank you so much to Michele at Crafty Chick 101 for a very successful promotion! Best of luck to you Michele with your shop!

Also if you were not as lucky as Janet Faye this week, don't forget that you can still purchase items from Crafty Chick for a 10% discount by entering "blog giveaway" in the message to seller at checkout. This offer is good through Thursday January 28th.

The Bad Times Show Your True Character

They say that the bad times show your true character and help to mold you into the person that you are meant to be. Well if that is the case then Conan O' Brien is a pretty kick butt person!

I have never particularly been a fan of either Jay Leno or Conan O' Brien. I watched them sporadically depending on who the guest of the night was. After watching Conan last night, though, he has earned a fan when he lands back on a new network. For someone to be booted from their desk, albeit 30+ million will certainly make a great cushion to fall on, he was so gracious and I dare say a wonderful role model. With all of the falls from grace that children have to see it is so rare that a celebrity actually stands for what they believe in when the going gets tough. Conan O'Brien left a job that he had always wanted, made sure not to get Jimmy Fallon booted from his show by not allowing the time change, took care of his employees and did it all with grace at the end with a heartfelt message. That is a true gentleman and you don't find that very often!

Jay Leno may just find himself with less viewers and less guests when he takes back over the Tonight Show. That remains to be seen.

Just for the record, if anyone wants to give me a few millions to get lost please feel free to do so! :) I am much cheaper than Conan. I will go for one or two mill!

Have You Seen This Etsy Shop?

If you have never seen Crafty Chick 101 then you must check it out now! Michele, owner of Crafty Chick 101, has a new passion that she is so excited to share with you all-vial necklaces! Sending you things like luck, love and magic is her specialty now. This is not just a one stop shop though. Michele has also created bangle bracelets, earrings and other necklace designs as well. Crafty Chick 101 is now selling designs in specialty boutiques as well as department stores, but you all are lucky as you can just click the link and get to Michele's Etsy store from the comfort of your own home.

Come now and take a look:

Love Spell Vial Necklace

Filled with dried lavender and yarrow, two flowers known to attract and keep love, this vial pendant is approx. 1 1/4" tall with cork. It comes to you with a 22" silver ball chain and packaged in a white drawstring bag. I could see this being a great gift for your special Valentine!

Beach Vial Pendant

Sure we are right in the middle of winter, but that doesn't stop a girl from dreaming of a day on the beach! This vial would certainly help to keep the dream from fading into the sunset. Filled with beautiful tan sand and orange starfish motif on the label this pendant will be a perfect accessory now as well as once the summer fun rolls around.

Teal Adjustable Ribbon Necklace with Black and White Floral Bead

I mentioned that Crafty Chick 101 has many different accessories and this is another example of Michele's work. The dark teal green ribbon has a sterling silver core bead hanging from it for an overall length of 17"-19".

So here comes what you all have been patiently waiting for! This week our weekly giveaway item is:

Sunshine Vial Pendant

Filled with yellow and orange glitter, this vial is certain to brighten your day!

How do you get in on the drawing for the prize this week? Easy! You have two ways:

1. Check out Crafty Chick 101 and come back here. Tell us what your favorite item in the shop is.

2. Be or become a follower of this blog.

See! I told you it was easy. Enter before midnight Friday and check back this Saturday to see if you are our winner!

*Contest open to US residents only.

We have another surprise for you all this week! Michele wanted to extend a special promotion to the readers of Joy De Vivre. She is offering a 10% discount off of your order (before shipping). All you have to do is enter the phrase "blog giveaway" in the message to the seller at checkout and wait for a revised invoice that reflects the discount. If you have any questions or need any custom designs contact Michele and she would be so happy to help you out.

Why do this?

I am sure you all have seen the photos of Heidi Montag, from MTV's show The Hills, and her newly made over everything. Juju Chang interviewed her on Good Morning America this morning and her inability to blink or make a facial expression is really disturbing. I will never understand why these perfectly pretty girls would spend so much money to look like every other girl in Hollywood. Unfortunately I think she needs therapy before surgery, but obviously it is too late for that.

And Our Weekly Winner Is...

Congratulations Dorkys! You are our weekly winner!

Thank you so much to Elisa at Wing and Willow for allowing us to feature her shop this week! Best of luck to you with your shop!

So Very Sad....

I was going to post about Project Runway and do an American Idol recap tonight. After watching the coverage on abc news all night about the devastating Haiti earthquake all of that seems so silly. I feel so bad for those people, especially since they are not as well equipped for a tragedy as some other countries are. It is hard to imagine what the victims and their families living in Haiti as well as those living in the US and around the world are going through.

If you wish to help fund the recovery efforts the Red Cross is making it easy. Just text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10. Dorkys over at Dry as Toast has a long list of other charities if you would like to help out in some other way.

I would just like to say to Mr. Pat Robertson. God does not like ugly and you sir are just covered in it! For those of you who haven't heard his horribly ignorant remarks about the tragedy, I'm sure you will. I don't want to post a link and garner him more publicity.

God bless all of the injured, those who have lost their homes and livelihood and the families of the victims.

Have You Seen This Etsy Shop?

Featuring unique laminated placemats and fine photographic prints, Wing and Willow is a shop that is as colorful as its creator Elisa. Take her love of nature, travel, textiles and animals, put in a spin of photography and cut up her prized pictures to create collages and you have Wing and Willow. Elisa is truly the creative type. A trained vocalist, schooled in the arts, a professional hair stylist and an Etsy shop owner. This girl truly has a lot going on and you can now own a part of it! Take a look at her work:

Owl With Flowers photo collage

Printed using professional quality ink and photo paper, this 8.5 X 11 inch print will add a touch of whimsy to your room. I love owls and this one is too cute!

Peacock photo collage

Beautiful shades of blue come together to create this peacock collage. Also 8.5 X 11 inch and made from the same quality products as the Owl with Flowers collage, these prints will resist fading for 100-115 years! So whenever you are able to get the senior discount at Denny's your photo will still look the same!

Laminated Meadow Placemat

Featuring Elisa's Meadow collage this placemat is thermally laminated using super thick 10 mil laminating films. It measures 11X17 is made from 10% recycled materials and is 100% easy to clean with soap and water. Each of the placemats on Wing and Willow is listed separately so that you can mix and match the designs as you desire.


This week we have a treat for your home for our weekly prize! The lucky winner will receive two placemats of your choice! Take a look at how great your table will look when set with these colorful placemats:

How to enter:

1. Check out Wing and Willow's Etsy shop and come back here and rave about one of the items.

2. Be or become a follower of this blog

Best of luck to everyone! Entries will be accepted until midnight Friday.

I would also like to say congratulations to Elisa! Something very special happened to her this month-she got engaged!

Love Architecture and Need to Waste Away a Few Moments Today?

Architecture is one of my loves. I enjoy seeing beautiful buildings and well designed rooms. If these are things you enjoy as well I wanted to share a fun site that I check out from time to time: http://realestalker.blogspot.com/ It is like MTV cribs without you having to listen to the typical, "See what I have in my refrigerator" or "This is where the magic happens". On realestalker, the hilarious writer, Your Mama, takes you on a tour of homes that are being bought or sold by celebrities. This site is a case of the good the bad and the ugly. The decor in some of those homes will leave you shaking your head in dismay, but despite the ugly it is always a fun way to pass a few moments! Happy Monday!

Check out Kenny Chesney's new digs in Franklin, Tennessee! Franklin is a beautiful city and from the looks of it Mr. Chesney's house is just as amazing.

And Our Weekly Winner Is....

You will win the pair of earrings of your choice from Charitable Creations!

Thank you so much to Belinda and all of the other readers who entered! Thank you to Shelly for opening your shop up for the feature!

I Will Be So Glad When January Is Over...

because maybe in February I can pick up a magazine without hearing about how every single celebrity, I use the term celebrity loosely, is dieting for 2010. Is it too much to ask that I pick up US Weekly and read about where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt took their eighteen kids to eat out? Maybe Britney Spears had a date? Or George Clooney is on a secluded island by himself, oh along with a pesky paparazzi of course, otherwise we would have no picture. Right now Suri Cruise could be raising a havoc in nursery school and I would know none of it for all that is being crammed down my throat right now is diet nonsense!

Show me an Olympic athlete telling me how to get fit and eat right and I will lend an ear. Show me Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Lopez, the list goes on and I will close my ears and eyes! If I had my own meals delivered, my own chef, my own fitness trainer to follow me around the world and my very own plastic surgeon when none of that helped, I would be perfect as well! Until then I shall eat a cupcake and look forward to next month.

photo courtesy of clevercupcakes on flickr

Randomness

Sorry for the lack of updates the past few days. Windows 7 has been the bane of my existence this week. For some unknown reason, well actually it is known after a two hour phone call with the Microsoft help desk but trust me it is a long boring reason, my Windows 7 update was not allowing any of my photos to be downloaded. Basically I couldn't update my blog with any snazzy photos or do anything else with my pictures. Thanks to Gabe and the Microsoft help dude I am now back in action! I have several days of ramblings jotted down to add on my blog. If none of these things blend with the others, please excuse me!

• I am trying to think warm thoughts. Unfortunately Mother Nature is trying to tell me I am insane to daydream about beach umbrellas and boogie boards by bringing record breaking frosty temperatures to Texas. How many days until spring? Please hurry! And if that darn little groundhog sees his shadow I will hunt him down. I don't believe in animal cruelty, but a few more weeks of cold may cause me to change my mind!

• Does it mean my blog has finally gained appeal when I have people trying to gain free advertisement? Today I came home and noticed a lovely comment on my blog in Chinese. After going online to translate this message I found out that they were trying to sell dirty dirty things on my cute little blog here! Message to my dear anonymous poster, just because I have a Sex in the City trailer a few posts below does not mean that you can sell sex in my blog! Cut it out. Thank you kindly!

• What is up with Jay Leno trying to get his old time slot back? Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he want to retire in the first place. Classic case of don't know what you've got until it is gone. I say, bow out gracefully Jay. It isn't fair to take the slot promised to Conan and Lord knows Jay has enough money to last his lifetime if he never works another day.

• There is so much static electricity in my house that I fear there is a high likelihood that I may spontaneously combust every time I turn on a light switch.

• Suze Orman is ruining my Anderson Cooper experience tonight. I love watching Anderson. I feel as if his show is the antidote for all of the reality crap I watch. My line of thinking is that if I know what is going on in Pakistan it is ok if I watch What Not to Wear. It is all about being well rounded, right? ;) Anyway, tonight while I was attempting to gain knowledge, Suze Orman did a segment and in usual Suze Orman form she is about to give me a panic attack. She is so forceful and she talks so fast and oh dear Lord help my brain. I once heard her on some show, Oprah I believe, making fun of a lady who was buying holiday decorations. Does not everyone deserve to live in a lovely home, Suze? Why am I bothering to go to school for interior design if Ms. Orman is trying to shame us in to living in ugly houses! She was focusing on credit card debt, which somehow ended up being likened to a cookie in the cookie jar. Now not only am feeling major guilt over the Christmas ornaments I bought, but I also want a darn cookie! Thanks Suze now I will need medication for anxiety and diet pills! Please look for my bill from Walgreens and send me reimbursement.

• Last night I made a trip to the hospital. A friend is making a very courageous fight against cancer and several of us went to visit her. I have said it before and I will say it again, you only have one chance at life and it is up to you to make it wonderful. All of the petty stuff that people throw at us on a day to day basis is so not important when you see someone having to fight to get healthy. Overlook the negativity and live your life with the goal of extreme happiness. Unless you believe in reincarnation this is your one shot!

• I don't want to end on a sad note, so in happy news I received the results back from Barkley's biopsy. He is fine and dandy. No disease and most importantly to him, no more cone! Gabe wanted to buy him the Snuggie for dogs since he has had a hard week. :) I told Gabe that I could not in good conscious buy something that I so publicly said was ridiculous. The Snuggie stayed at the store and my pride came home!

I warned you they were random thoughts!

So do you all have any exciting plans for the weekend? We were going to go see A Chorus Line, but the thought of wearing a dress to the theater in freezing weather does not sound like a fun Saturday night! I think I would rather stay home with lots o' layers and Redbox rentals!

Have You Seen This Etsy Shop?

Are you looking for custom silver and copper jewelry? Does it make you feel better about shopping for yourself if you know you are also doing a good deed at the same time? Well if these things sound pleasing, I have found a perfect shop for you: Charitable Creations.

Our Etsy shop this week is owned and operated by Shelly Medeiros from Massachusetts. Shelly loves creating high quality custom designs. Specializing in handmade silver jewelry, Charitable Creations offers hand stamped items that are made to order. Whether you are looking for a gift for a baby shower, Valentine's Day, birthday or just a present to remind yourself how awesome you are, there is something for you in Shelly's shop.

A portion of every item you purchase will go to a charity of your choice. Whether it be St. Jude's, ASPCA or a different organization, 10% of your money spent will go to a great cause. Of course you all know I love retail therapy, but it is even better to know you are helping out someone who really needs it! Thanks Shelly for doing great things with your shop!


What is in store for us at Charitable Creations? Let's go see:

Silver Turquoise Ring

Hand formed to a perfect custom fit, this sterling silver and turquoise stone ring will be a go to classic for many years to come.

Silver and Briolette Necklace - Touch of Fall

This necklace is stunning with the contrasting colors of the peridot facet, amethyst and crystal. Focused around an 18 inch sterling silver flat cable chain this is a piece that can be worn long after the fall has passed.

All about Family- Copper Necklace

This copper necklace includes an antiqued copper leaf, a cranberry glass bead, family disk and a pure copper square bar. After purchasing this item, the copper square will be customized with the names of your choice.

You have seen great jewelry that you can give as a gift. You have discovered that by shopping at Charitable Creations you can help out others. Now we must do the rundown of what

Joy De Vivre and Charitable Creations can do for you my wonderful blog readers!

Shelly wanted to let you know that one of the lucky readers this week will win a pair of earrings of their choice! Will it be the pair featured below or one of the many others? You decide!

Enter by:

Checking out Charitable Creations. Come back here and comment on your favorite item in the shop for one entry.

You also get a bonus entry for being/becoming a follower of Joy De Vivre.

Best of luck everyone! I will be doing the drawing on Saturday so be sure to check back in!

My Least Favorite Day

Monday is the suckiest day of the week. Not cute sucky like these colorful lollipops, but drag yourself out of the bed while dreadfully needing another hour, or three, of sleep awfulness. They are especially bad when you have had two glorious weeks of vacation.

To all of you feeling the same way I am today, hope this day is a good one for you!

Photo courtesy of Dragan*'s photostream on flickr

And Our Winner Is...

Congratulations Camille! You are the weekly winner! You have won the bottle cozy of your choice from B Doodles!

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest this week.

Thank you to Dorothy and Brandi from B Doodles. It was really fun getting to know your eclectic shop!