Gift Guide: Gal Pals

Tis the season... To get started on your holiday shopping! I didn't think I would be thinking about all my holiday shopping this early but I went to Starbucks the other day and when they gave me a red cup a little bit of that holiday cheer went right through me! I don't know about you but I just love buying gifts and shopping for all of my girlfriends. I'm starting my shopping lists early this year to be sure that they can all use their gifts to the fullest.... not to mention that I'm a huge procrastinator and last year one of my girlfriends didn't get her gift until March. Whoopsie! Check out my favorite gifts for all of your best girlfriends this year, and of course they are great for home and apartment living!!

Shop the Post:

Pumpkin Spice Latte

HAPPY FALL! It's that time of year again! Tis the season of yoga pants, over the knee boots, infinity scarves, and warm Starbucks lattes. For me, I'm a sucker for a plain jane caramel latte but I know how girls get when the PSL's hit Starbucks. {girls go crazy for PSL's} So, in typical trendy fashion - why not dedicate todays Moodboard Monday to the oh-so-popular PSL itself. I mean, it is that time of year right?

Who else is excited for the other important things like over the knee boots and infinity scarves..? I know I am!

Blueberries

I know this isn't one of my brightest moments I'm about to publicly share. But with that said, it does make for a great story... So here we go. Friday afternoon I accepted a 24lb. box of blueberries from a complete stranger.

I know what you're thinking. WHY. Don't take it. Trust me, it went through my head too. But before I knew it there I was standing in my living room with this box of frozen blueberries. {Large Box, might I add} My first thought was Holy S#*% what did I just do? I ran out onto my back porch with this "box of blueberries" and all of the questions of a paranoid twenty-something female ran through my head. Are these safe? Are they really blueberries? Why did this man come to my front door to give me these?

Long story short...Yes, my freezer is now full with frozen blueberries. Yes, they were safe {you can check out the company here} and yes, I'm fully prepared to look like Violet Beauregarde in a few weeks.

via

Thanks to the strange man who decided to knock on my front door and kindly give me that 24lb. box of blueberries.. I'll be repaying this random act of kindness by sharing my baking skills with my work and my neighbors! As for the first blueberry endeavor.... These delicious blueberry crumb cake muffins.

Creating a Vanity | One Kings Lane

I'm so happy to be working with One Kings Lane today bringing you my vanity essentials! One Kings Lane is hosting a blog campaign called "Reflect Your Style" where a variety of bloggers are given a selection of mirrors to choose from and design their dream vanity surrounding it! Sounds fun right? Well, this campaign hit home for me particularly because as most of you know I recently moved into a house.  Yes, not an apartment in the city like most post grads, an adorable little duplex in Charlotte within walking distance to the city and everything! The only thing about a house is not having the luxury of oversized walk in closets and each roommate having their own bathroom. So while there has been some compromises, I love my little house with a close up view of the Queen City Skyline.

I've been torturing myself with actually getting down to it and putting together my vanity in my bedroom {a compromise of sharing a bathroom} I have a writing desk and a vintage looking table lamp.. but how do I complete the look I want is the question I ask myself daily when I sit there to put on my makeup each morning. One Kings Lane's Reflect Your Style campaign was the perfect opportunity!! And not to mention how much I love One Kings Lane..

Here's my dream vanity inspired by their Line Mirror:

I love mixing vintage looking items with boho chic accessories and decor. And just can't get enough of these colors! This vanity would be my little oasis! Can we talk about this amazing ginger jar? If you ever find yourself stumped on how to incorporate a mirror into decorating a space, One Kings Lane has put together 7 great ways to help you out!!

See other great wall mirrors here & shop this look from One Kings Lane:

One Kings Lane has also worked with me to create an invite link for Defined Designs readers! Click here to sign up with your email and get your $15 credit! You don't want to miss out on the amazing items that are up for grabs!!

{All views and opinions are my own. I will not accept or review anything 

that does not represent myself or the foundation of Defined Designs.}

Celebrate

I'm so happy to say that Defined Designs turns 1 today!! This little blog that I started just a month out of college has turned into something so much more than I ever expected! I'm so grateful for the blogging world in itself - It has opened up so many great opportunities, I've met so many amazing people, and I have discovered so much about myself let alone the design & blogging world! With that, I'm so happy to announce some exciting news!!!

But don't worry!! The blogspot address still works also! {it just redirects you back to here!!!}For today's festivities, I'll be keeping it simple and showing you a few of my recent loves for a good floral design.

Decor8
I love the idea of using that anthropologie coffee mug for flowers!!

Image Source

Waiting on Martha
See the link for some amazing tips on how to create a perfect bouquet for a hostess gift!!

Like always, thanks for stopping by!! This blog wouldn't be what it is today without readers like you popping in, keeping up with what I'm posting, and leaving your lovely comments!! I love to hear from you all!

Moodboard Monday

Monday Monday Monday... I started sharing moodboards on Mondays not only because it sounded catchy, but because living the post grad life, living a grown up life, and even life in school or on an internship lets face it - Most everyone dreads Mondays. I love sharing a little splash of color or pattern inspiration to help brighten up your day and bring a little smile to that dreadful Monday morning!

Hows it working? Have you been following along each monday?
Either way - here's a little dose of turquoise to brighten your day!

Moodboard Monday

It's Monday and you know what that means! It's time for a moodboard - This past weekend I went to Maryland to visit some college friends and attend one of our best friends Baby Shower!! It was so much fun and great to see and spend time with everyone {especially the momma to be!} Remember this amazing bathroom transformation? That's her! They will be welcoming a beautiful baby boy into the world in just a few short months! It was so exciting to be a part of such a wonderful shower.

As for the navy and orange - these are the colors of their nursery!! Navy is such a popular and widely used color right now but the orange added the perfect pop of bright color to the space! I felt as if it was a perfect fit for today's moodboard! I hope you enjoy this little preview of inspiration!

Here's a little group shot from the shower! Happy Monday!!

Mother's Day Gift Guide

Mother's Day is right around the corner! If you left picking out this years gift to the last minute and you've found yourself in a scramble to find the perfect gift, have no fear! Here is my little gift guide to the perfect mother's day gift with a little help from one of my go-to stores, West Elm.

all images courtesy of West Elm

1. For the Reader {Agate Bookends | $32 Set of 2}

2. For the Chef {Wooden Cookbook Stand | $30 ON SALE!}

3. For the Entertainer {Tile Print Glassware | $32}

4. For the Collector {Glass Shadow Box | $69 ON SALE!}

5. For the Organizer {Stacked Apothecary Jars | $34-$49 MONOGRAMMED!}

6. For the Lounger {Chain Lock Throw | $69 ON SALE!}

7. For the Coffee Lover {Potter's Workshop Mug | $8}

8. For the Gardener {Brass Base Terrarium | $ 29-$59 prices vary with size}

9. For the Foodie {Serving Platter | $80 ON SALE!}

Which gift would best fit your mom for Mother's Day?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Who's excited for the weekend?? I know I am... It's moving weekend! The next time you see me I will hopefully be all settled into my pretty new house!! {don't worry it's just a rental} Not only am I excited to be moving into a house for normal reasons, but hey hey who wants a home tour?? I'm so excited to have a clean slate and all new inspiration to post about!

Well, getting back to the fact that it's finally friday. Here are my favorite pins from this week!

Style Me Pretty

I love this nursery. I have a bunch of girlfriends who are expecting right now so if there's a nursery on Pinterest you can bet I'm all over it! I love the look of the mid century modern dresser and the watercolor paintings are to die for!

Design Manifest

This may only be a portion of what leads on to be a beautiful living room but that is alright. Look at that side table. Driftwood side tables will never go out of style {i'm convinced!} Love the combination of mixed patterns and colors also!

Pinterest Image | Shop acrylic on Wayfair

One word: Lucite. Ahhhh my latest obsession. Lucite accent furniture and decor is right up my alley so I couldn't pass this one up. For those of you who don't know, lucite is just a fancy word for acrylic.

Makely 

And just one more thing I love, gold accents. This DIY gold leaf vase is an amazing project to spice up any part of your home on a budget! Time to get crafty!

Home Design Collections

Don't you love the look of this eat in dining area? Taking this cozy casual area another notch and adding the pink table base screams creativity. Such a bold move pulled off flawlessly.. my applause.

Design Improvised

Ohh the joy coffee brings to the world every morning around hmmmm 8am? This coffee nook is so adorable I want to create something just like this in my new home!

Coffee Table Books

I can't believe I've been in Charlotte for a year! All this moving, packing and excitement about my new place has got me on a shopping rampage. I've got the typical designer fever - new home means new stuff....{completely redesigning my new home is acceptable right?} Well, lately I've been hitting the good ole' internet during my lunch breaks, and the wee hours of the night just dreaming of all the pretty things I want to buy and wish I could afford. {post on where to shop on a budget coming soon!}

For today, Here's a list of my favorite coffee table books that I've been swooning over! Cupcakes and Cashmere has been one of my favorite lifestyle/ fashion/ design blogs for a long time now and of course Emily's blog-titled book was the first to start my collection. {i'm also guilty of gifting this book to friends.. it's THAT good!}

Shop these books on Amazon here:

Which books are your go-to for the coffee table? Will you be adding any of these to your collection?

A Look Inside: Abby Larson

Everyday I pick up inspiration from everything and anything I can get my hands on. Like most people, I'm a very visual person and really like to see things put together different ways to get an idea as to something's potential. This partially is why I started my "Look for Less" posts. You never thought about doing that with an ikea bench... did you? Visual items don't have to be staring right at you with stores and price tags though - It's definitely nice, but Pinterest images do a good job also! Today's design inspiration isn't from Pinterest, however it is from one of my favorite websites & online design references. If you have never heard of or browsed through Domino before, I highly suggest you do - It will change your life!

One of this Spring's features on Domino is the home tour of Abby Larson.  You might know her from another one of my go to sites, Style Me Pretty. Abby is the founder of Style Me Pretty and if you're like me and are constantly swooning over the beautiful content on these two sites, why wouldn't you want to see what the inside of her home looks like?

Now, if you love neutrals and tend to chose them over anything else - But you also love color, this is some inspiration for you! Here's a look inside Abby Larson's Home:

[All images are from Domino]

Shop the Look on Domino

Shop the Look on Domino

Shop the Look on Domino

Shop the Look on Domino

Thoughts? Comments? Isn't this home to die for? If you would like to know more and see more on this feature, you can read the whole story here.

Beautiful Blooms

Can you believe it's already March? Trust me I'm not complaining, I am more than ready for spring but I feel like New Years Eve was yesterday.

Here in North Carolina the weather has been acting overly bipolar and teasing us.  But the fact that this week and last has been in the mid 60's to 70's, it's got spring on my mind.  I'm ready to drive with my windows down, go for walks outside and around the beautiful city I live in, brunch on patios with my girlfriends, the options are nearly endless when the weather is nice. But most of all, I want to fill my apartment with beautiful blooms and bring spring inside!

Here's a little spring inspiration:

Have I ever mentioned my obsession with peonies?

Who's ready for spring?