Dreaming About A Dining Room?????

I have been writing this blog for almost a year now...and I write a lot about the oddities of my life....but I never have really touched on what I do for a living.  I work in the interior design field....and I love it!  It really is a major part of my life.  I spend about as much time perusing design magazines, design blogs, retail stores, and catalogs as I do at work...so I eat, live, breathe decor. 

In the beginning, it was my intention to pepper this blog with my projects, my favorite rooms, ideas and also my home life and familial misadventures...hence "Duel Living".  But...that never really happened.  I found that there were a million design blogs out there that said exactly what I wanted to say and could do it better than I ever could.  Here comes another "BUT"....BUT....I find that there are just times when I can't hold back anymore and have decided to infuse this here blog (just once in a while) with some of my favorite things.  I hope that's OK with all of you.

First off...the room that I have been pining over for over a year.  If only I had the money to do it the way I see it in my dreams.  My Dining Room.  Right now it is a suckfest of mismatched shit and hand me downs.  I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns...that's quite a bit.  The idea of my "dream room"  has always been there behind my eyelids...I can see it...and soon....soon...it will become a reality.  I wanted to share a very rough draft of my vision. 

Behold...."Organic Modern"

The grey toned zebra printed linen will be the window treatments.  (CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE FOR A LESS BLURRY VERSION).  The table is a simple streamlined teak farmhouse style that I have mixed with some modern and inexpensive acrylic and chrome chairs.  That all sits on a very thin wool woven rug with a simple geometric pattern.  The sideboard is also teak and hanging above is a triptych of carved wood that has been white-washed for an organic "ethnic" feel.

The real beauty will be in the details.  The art that I have yet to find.  I see glass floating shelves with collections of pretty silver serving pieces and some found pieces of driftwood.  Stone trays with sage leaves and river rocks.  Things that don't usually match...but the "GO"....and they work.  It's pretty colorless as a whole...but that's where I am right now.  I'm "into" neutrals...soft, serene, simple.  I want to mix texture and textiles....light and dark..."Organic and Modern".

Well...there it is.  I will post before and after pics when I finish....which may take awhile.  But I kind felt if I showed a lot of people....threw it into the universe....maybe the hubby would "allow" the process to begin sometime in this decade.  So...feedback please???  What would you do if you could redo any room in your own house?

That's all for now,

xoxox,

I'm Smitten....

Hello all,

What do you think of the new facelift? This has been in the works for over a month now. I have been working with Smitten Blog Designs and they did a wonderful job! The new look is just what I wanted...playful, whimiscal, humorous....and very me. I found the background red pattern and went from there. The rest came from the photo below as my inspiration.



Okay...tell me what you think.


xoxox,

The One Spider That Didn't Go SPLAT....

I watched a spider crawl across my windshield. I couldn't take my eyes away. Brendan drove, I watched the spider. It wasn't supposed to make it down the highway...it was supposed to fly away...flatten on the pavement...but it didn't. We drove the spider home.

I am feeling like that spider. Here I am curled up in a ball...days whipping by me like the wind. To and from work, street lights passing in my peripheral. Flowers are blooming amidst the spring floods...and it's all speeding by while I'm just trying to hang on. Where are the cops when you need to be pulled over...told to slow it down?

Days and days of rain...now thousands of little mosquito babies will be breakfast for my new spider friend. The sun will warm his 8 creepy legs; he'll stretch them across his silken doorstep. Maybe this is what I need...to get out of the car, slow it down...sunshine on my face....and a little bit of breakfast on my front porch.

I bought khaki pants at the mall...and a spider clung for dear life as we drove home...how very existential.

That's all for now,

Brandi

P.S. I truly hate spiders. They creep my shit out. And of course the minute I start writing about them....one crawls across my computer screen...so...I smooshed it. It was a lil' one...no harm, no foul. Then....the mother of all spiders decides to crawl outta nowhere and try to eat me! (this all happened within a 30 second time frame) But don't worry...a nice thick copy of Lucky magazine and I taught that bitch a lesson. I fear that I have awoken the whole spider kingdom...and they only have eyes for me.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilith_ecate/3521169469/

Heavenly Widened Roses....Seem To Whisper To Me....When You Smile.......

I'm sitting here in bliss as the sound of the rain beating against the windows intermingles with The Cowboy Junkies in my ears. It's the only thing that seems to be making the rain bearable....when it becomes the rhythm behind an enchanting song...and the backdrop for a contented mood.

Enjoy....
That's all for now,
Brandi

Unburdening My Beast...

I went out to get cat food this morning....in the pouring, driving rain. As "Beast Of Burden" blared from my car stereo, I pulled into my driveway seeing only the silhouette of my own little beasts scratching at the window...awaiting their chopped tuna sensation.

"Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty...such a pretty girl....pretty......pretty......."

I had things on my mind. I left the umbrella in the car and decided to brave the downpour. I was to run in the house, feed the kitties, and then....go on a design consult (ON MY DAY OFF). Simple....quick....back in a flash.

Except...being the complete asshole that I am...I hit the button. The lock....I hit it....with the keys in the ignition, and the car still running. "Beast of Burden" still playing...but in that exact moment...I changed the lyrics.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid....stupid f*cking girl....stupid....stupid"

(I'm an ass)

EVERY SINGLE ONE of my neighbors in the entire neighborhood was at work. All of them. So I tried windows, climbed the roof and tried upstairs windows, tried basement windows...all to no avail.

"I walked for miles....my feet were hurtin'. " (with no umbrella, no purse, no cell phone) Cars splashed through puddles soaking me to the bone. My shoes leaked in the mud. My teeth chattered in rhythm with the pounding rain. I trekked to the nearest gas station and begged them to use their phone. The saint behind the counter saw how pitiful I looked...mascara snaking down my face....snot jingling from my bright red nose....crazy lady humming Rolling Stones tunes....and gave me his phone. I called my Mother-In-Law and luckily...she was able to bring me a spare set of house keys. A blessing!

I shivered my way into the warmth of my home and saw the little red light on the answering machine...it was work...the client had been waiting for me....I was 1/2 hour late. Damn...damn...damn! I called and sorried myself sick explaining my whole ordeal and bathed in her forgiveness and heart felt compassion.

Adventure kicked my ass today. That's how it all went down. Every single thing really happened...crisis transpired.

.....at least that's what I told my client..........




Really??? I must have hit snooze for awhile before the phone rang and my work woke my ass causing in an instantaneous freak out! So...I lied...and now...to you...I confess. I slept through my appointment. "Beast Of Burden" was just a dream....and I had an umbrella the whole time. But since I unburdened this beast of a lie...I feel a little lighter...though my cheeks a couple of shades redder in shame. My pants on fire....can you forgive me?

That's all for now,
Brandi

P.S. Care to share some of your more interesting lil' white lies? I feel the need for camaraderie here.

I Need To Get A Life....

...Seriously, yeah, I've been M.I.A. but I think you should all thank your lucky stars. If I had been posting, you would have had to read about the following"

( I would say that it looks kind of like Fudge Brownie...with a little less fudge. BUT...it could look like Vanilla Ice...with a LOT less hair)

click on picture to enlarge

I have a mouth nipple. No...really...it's a nipple in my mouth. A triple nipple if you will. I went to the doc...it's a cyst (blocked salivary duct)...he stuck a needle in it...which didn't do shit...so it's still large and in charge. I've always wanted a nipple piercing...never got one because the rings would've been bigger than my boobs...and I'm quite sure that look hasn't yet hit the runways in Paris. So now, it's mouth nipple ring time...or a lancing...haven't quite decided!

Uh...let's see...as I said before, I have incessantly been rewatching The Tudors. I highly recommend that shit. It's got love, lust, betrayal, British accents...and some war, a few beheadings, stake burnings and boobs for the guys watching at home. The problem is...I know what's going to happen in every episode, yet every time I watch, I'm always brightened by that hope that THIS time...there will be a different outcome. Maybe THIS time Anne (poor poor Anne) won't get her pretty little head lopped off. Maybe THIS time that fickle King Henry VIII won't be such a prick...but alas...you know how it went....Prickdom.

See what I mean? My life has just been boring as hell. A couple of my super cool and friendly (commenting) readers have mentioned the fact that they were sick of looking at those plum colored balls...all oily. So, I felt compelled to check in, bet you wished I didn't.
I'm dull and blocked. Bitchin' combination!

I will try to have an adventure on which to report later this week.
That's all for now,
xoxox,
Brandi

Back Next Week...

Without realizing it...I took a mini vaca from posting...and I promise to be back next week! The weather has been too nice, my life has been too boring, and I have been spending all of my spare time rewatching The Tudors until 5am.

Priorities....ya know?

Back next week...
that's all for now,
Brandi