KATE KELLY DESIGN
  • Gallery
    • Weddings >
      • North Palm Beach Wedding
      • Greenwich Estate Wedding
      • Greenwich Microwedding
      • Texas Post-Wedding Brunch
      • Maine Wedding
    • Events - Baby & Kids >
      • Kansas City Baby Shower
      • Chicago First Birthday Party
    • Other Custom Paintings >
      • Animal Paintings
      • Chairs
      • Family Trees
    • Interior Styling
  • Things You Probably Need
  • Custom Process
  • Contact
  • Blog

Peace, HappinessĀ and Whimsy in 2014!

1/2/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
Happy New Year! Wishing you all peace, love, happiness and a dash of whimsy this year!

I recently happened upon a super fun peace sign hand sculpture that I hope will find its way to my home in the coming weeks. It just perfectly captures what I hope 2014 will bring: peace, whimsy, and strength... and happiness.

Matt and I were discussing New Year's resolutions yesterday, and I said that one of mine was simply to be happy. "Happy? Is that a resolution?" he asked. "Absolutely!" I said. Happiness, at least to some extent, is a choice and can at times require a great deal of resolve to obtain/maintain. The old adage "fake it 'til you make it" comes to mind here, and the payoff once you "make it" is enormous and enormously worth it. If that's not a resolution, I don't know what is. The universe can have a pretty sick sense of humor at times (and at others, a delightful one), and it's up to us to decide how to handle it. 2013 was a year of some pretty phenomenal ups and some pretty brutal downs, but even now, as I close in on month ten of a debilitating foot injury and finish up week three of a painful surgery recovery, I feel an extreme sense of gratitude for the hand that was dealt to me this year. I'll never know how it happened, or why, but I like to think there was a reason and that the experience will make me a stronger and more compassionate person (even though it is easy to feel pretty worthless and woe-is-me in my current state). Who knows? A girl can dream.

So how did I find that fun little hand? On a whim of course, which is my favorite way to find things. I'll take you on a little tour of my search (a window into my meandering, "creative" (i.e. mildly ADD) mind), because I stumbled upon some great blogs along the way! During a delightfully aimless Google search for gold side tables yesterday (I am planning out a reno of our living room - inspiration board coming soon!), I happened upon a fun blog entry on gold/brass and marble color combos (one of my favorite combos) on a fabulous blog called The Covetable. This led me to The Covetable's "Apartment Envy" section (OMG, what fun!), which featured the apartment of Amelia Canham Eaton, who co-founded the blog The CHICago Life (also a fab blog). In Amelia's apartment tour, I saw this image and thought the peace hand was just super fun:

Picture
Then I saw this image and knew I'd found a kindred spirit - she has my pig bookends!!
Picture
I separately had been looking at the Jayson Home website (a Lincoln Park based home décor store that I wish existed in New York) where a brass peace sign captured my attention. Could it be the same thing? I thought when I saw the hand in Amelia's Chicago home. I do believe it is! At $168 plus shipping though, it's not the steal of a deal that my $29 pig bookends were and thus not something I can just purchase on a whim. I did a bit more digging to see if this happy hand was sold elsewhere, and I think I've found the same one (or an excellent replica) at Zinc Door for $137 plus free shipping. Same dimensions and similar coloring (unclear whether the coloring is in fact different or the photography is causing the difference):
Picture
So, what can this funny little hand represent? Many things! For me, it will be my adaptation (plus an addition) of the "10 to Zen" that has been cheesily circling about Pinterest recently. In other words, the pursuit of happiness.
Picture
What are your New Year's resolutions??

Happy New Year! And peace, man!
KK

2 Comments

(Book)end Game: This Little Piggy Came Home

12/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Well, I'm in love. I just welcomed a new member into the family last night, and he's so darn cute, I just want to stare at him all the time and coo at his cheeky, gilded cuteness. 

I spotted this gold pig bookends set of 2, $29.95, on CB2's website a few days ago. (Okay, fine, I'll admit it: I fell for a "Sponsored Link" on Facebook, and that's how I ended up at CB2's website. I never would have even thought to go to the CB2 website, let alone to buy a set of pig bookends. Those ads work! They work, alright?! Silly targeted marketing. I hate you and I love you all at the same time.)

Soon after seeing this happy little pig online - and for only $29!? - my obsessive nature kicked into overdrive and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I needed to have this pig bookend set in my home immediately. But I hesitated to order online: 1) CB2 can be hit or miss (and is often a miss for me), and I tend to conduct my CB2 purchases in store so I can verify that it is in fact a worthy purchase; and 2) if this fine swine were in fact a worthy purchase -- as I suspected it would be based on my own discerning eye and the 4.6 star rating it had earned from 52 reviewers (excellent sample size!) on CB2.com -- I didn't think I could wait the 3-5 business days that it would take for my little piggy to come all the way home to me. I needed him, and I needed him now. (Full disclosure: I'm getting foot surgery next Thursday, so my sense of urgency isn't totally insane - it's just a little bit insane. The surgery also somewhat helps explain why I want a smiling, gilded, bifurcated pig in my home to cheer me up when I'm laid up in bed. Surgery or not, I enjoy cheeky animal decor.)

And so, despite better judgment (better judgment would tell me to go home and ice my foot), I concocted a plan to hobble over to CB2 on my way home from work last night (it's only a block from the subway!) and see what this golden hog was all about. When I got to the store, I wandered around aimlessly "testing out seating" (when you have a hurt foot in a furniture store, "testing" the seating is a great way to get a little break) and examining price tags until - BAM! - jackpot: There in gilded glory was a whole bookcase full of gold pig bookends; and one smiling, curly tailed set was definitely coming home with me. The pigs were in the back of the store, as if CB2 knew people like me would come in just to see them and would be forced to wander around the entire store first before finally finding them. Well done, CB2. Well done, indeed. (Did this cause me to buy anything else? Of course it did. A gift for our "Yankee Swap" at work next week. You're welcome, CB2, for that extra purchase; and you're welcome, as-yet-unknown-coworker-who-will-be-receiving-my-excellent-$15-to-$30-gift-next-Friday-while-I'm-at-home-on-painkillers.)

The bookends are a little more yellow than they are in the online photo, but when you're in love, you see past small flaws (and the in-you-face gold adds to the kitschy charm). The bookends are made out of polyresin (I mean, whatever that is - ecofriendly, right?) and finished to look like wood, and they are heavy. As the gal who checked me out (who couldn't have been nicer) was wrapping them up for me, she turned to me and remarked, "Man, you could really knock someone out with these!" (True, but let's not go there.) "They'll really hold up your books!" (I would certainly hope so given their express purpose, but yes, also true.) "I mean, they're really heavy! This should be an ox or something instead of a pig." (Yes, that's an interesting interpretation of the concept, but then I wouldn't have bought them. I'm really only buying these because they are pig shaped.)

When I got home after my treacherous commute (no cabs! where's the bus! my brilliant plan is foiled!) and with a very swollen foot, I proudly proclaimed to Matt when he saw the CB2 bag that I'd acquired something really exciting and couldn't wait to show him. "Do you want to see our new baby? It's the cutest thing ever. I don't know which part to open first!" I said, tearing into the bag and vigorous unwrapping one of the two papered-up pieces. "Oh! It's his rump!"
"What is that?"
"Pig bookends!" I opened the other half. "Isn't it adorable? Look at his smiling face! Look at his round butt!" 
"Why did you get that? How expensive is that?"
"Because. Did you see the adorable smile? $29. Isn't it a steal?"
"I think you've lost your mind a little bit."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But at least you're getting it out of your system before you go under the knife."


At least, indeed. And now I have a cute little set of piggy bookends to keep me company while I recover. The pig's cut in half like my foot will be... Deep, right? Totally inspirational, don't you think?

As expected, in no time at all (30 minutes tops), Matt came around: "Actually, I do like it." (Of course you do. You can't resist that cute little pig face and upturned nose.) "But it would look a lot better with some books in it." (You think?)

I'm glad this little piggy came home. I can't wait to get some books in his belly! But until then, he's just happy hanging out in his new digs. More to come on where I end up putting him...

Happy shopping! And happy weekend!
KK


0 Comments

    Subscribe to Kate Kelly Design! Enter your email address to get new blog posts delivered right to your inbox:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

     

    Kate Kelly

    I am a designer and financial professional with a background in comparative literature, business and design. I live in New York with my overworked lawyer husband and sweet, art-and-design-loving toddler son and spend much of my free time dreaming about how to enhance the aesthetics of our little world. I am endlessly inspired and always in search of something new. This is a blog about my search, my inspiration and things I just really, really like or want.

    Follow me on Pinterest!

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2016
    August 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Blogs/Sites I Love

    A Lovely Being
    Annalisa Barelli
    Cote de Texas
    Design Sponge
    Habitually Chic
    HonestlyWTF
    Hungry Poodle
    Little Green Notebook
    MegMade

    Mrs. Blandings
    Paper + Pearls
    Sadie + Stella
    SF Girl by Bay
    Suburban Spunk
    The CHICago Life
    The Covetable
    The Pink Pagoda


    Categories

    All
    A La Recherche
    A La Recherche
    Alice Hair Care
    Alr
    Amazon
    Animal
    Annalisa Barelli
    Anthropologie
    Antique
    Armoire
    Bath
    Beauty
    Bed
    Bergdorfs
    Bloomingdales
    Bookends
    Bronzer
    Candle
    Casual
    Cb2
    Chair
    China
    Cisco Brothers
    Coats
    Color Theory
    Compagnie De Provence
    Craigslist
    Crate And Barrel
    Cute
    Decor
    Diffuser
    Donald J Pliner
    Dvf
    Eames
    Earrings
    Entryway
    Evening
    Everyday
    Experience
    Eyes
    Faux Fur Throw
    Foyer
    Frye
    Gadget
    Gift
    Glasses
    Gratitude
    Hair
    Hair Product
    Holidays
    Inspiration
    Jayson Home
    Jcrew
    Jo Malone
    Juliska
    Kate Kelly Design
    Kitchen
    Lamp
    Le Creuset
    Living Room
    Makeup
    Megmade
    Mirror
    Modern
    Necklace
    Neiman Marcus
    Nest
    Nordstrom
    Organization
    Pig
    Pottery Barn
    Proust
    Resolutions
    Restoration Hardware
    Rosemary
    Rustic
    Sale
    Scott Lindsay
    Sephora
    Sheepskin Rug
    Shoes
    Simon Pearce
    Skinny Jeans
    Spring
    Statement Jewelry
    Statement Necklace
    Subway Tile
    Suiting
    Ted Muehling
    Theory
    Tree
    Urban
    Urban Outfitters
    Vans
    Varga
    Vince
    Wardrobe Staple
    Warm
    Watercolor
    Waterford
    Waylande Gregory
    Weekend
    Weekend Staple
    White
    Winter
    Work
    Workwear
    Wreath

    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
From the 'Gram...

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time.

- Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu
.
​
Page headers currently feature lyrics from Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody),” written by David Byrne. This song, along with The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus,” has been stuck in my head for the better part of 2020 and is making the pandemic more tolerable and inspiring me to create new beauty around me. I hope it brings you some joy too.
© COPYRIGHT 2020, KATE KELLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Gallery
    • Weddings >
      • North Palm Beach Wedding
      • Greenwich Estate Wedding
      • Greenwich Microwedding
      • Texas Post-Wedding Brunch
      • Maine Wedding
    • Events - Baby & Kids >
      • Kansas City Baby Shower
      • Chicago First Birthday Party
    • Other Custom Paintings >
      • Animal Paintings
      • Chairs
      • Family Trees
    • Interior Styling
  • Things You Probably Need
  • Custom Process
  • Contact
  • Blog