Inspired Design

This is the home of Gary and Leslie Ward of Benedict Canyon, California (found at Apartment Therapy). I love the 1970's California style! So contemporary and fun!

I don't know if you noticed....but they have the same IKEA Elephant tray that I have! :) I think it looks super cute in their kitchen!

Oddities

Don't you hate it when you buy something and shortly after it goes on sale?! Well, I just bought the cutest little elephant teapot at Target for $14.99, and when I looked it up to share it with you today, I noticed that it's on sale! It's $13.49. Nothing to sniff at, but still! It's the principle of the matter!

Anyway, I thought it was just so cute! I had seen similar teapots around (I think Jonathan Adler has one) and had wanted to purchase one to go along with my little elepant tray from IKEA. Here's the official pic from Target.

This is the elephant tray that I got at IKEA a few years ago.

Oddities

Anyone know where I can get these? My boss has a couple in her home and got them at IKEA, but I don't think they sell them anymore. (I couldn't find them at the website) Honestly, I don't even know what to call them. Wooden figurines?

Inspired Design

Everyone knows that the heart of a home is the living room, usually where both family and friends gather to converse and enjoy each other's company, and the heart of the living room is the sofa. So here are some of my favorite IKEA sofas. Enjoy! :)

Kramfors Sofa Combination - $1,398.00

Manstad Sofa-Bed with Storage - $699.00

Knihult Sofa - $349.00

Kramfors Sofa - $899.00

IKEA Stockholm Sofa - $1,499.00

Inspired Design

I love fake plants that look real...or at least sort of real. Why? Because they won't die on you and they look full and luscious forever. A few friends and I had an IKEA day, a while back, and I found this little beauty! The artificial plant cost $5.99 and the Beta plant pot cost $.99.


My second favorite find of the month is this beautiful little, gold bird nest. I was shopping with friends in a little town called Lake Alfred, basically in the middle of nowhere, when we stopped by a little antique store. This store was the most amazing antique store I've ever been in! Not only do they sell antiques, but they also sell new items. The bird nest only cost me $3.99!


I think I want to find either a little ceramic bird or perhaps a few eggs to go in it. In the mean time, it's holding a handful of Hershey's kisses. :)

Holiday Fancy

I know this is late, but I have a few Thanksgiving treats to share. First off, a few days before Thanksgiving I bought a giant pumpkin in attempt to make delicious homemade pumpkin pies. (I've since learned that the best pies come from small "pie" pumpkins.) The pumpkins this size were selling for $20, but this one had a spot that was going bad so I got it for $8.


When I finally sawed the top off, I felt like a champion holding up my prize, the head of my opponent.


Carving out the guts of the pumpkin. Whew! It was harder than I thought it was going to be.


The inside view of the pumpkin.


My younger sister, Loren, scraping out the seeds. We baked the seeds til they were golden brown and salted them. They made a delicious treat!


The two pies that came from our pumpkin. They looked nicer than they tasted. :/ Perhaps I should stick to simply making my pumpkin pies from the canned pumpkin.


A few days ago, I decided to make a decent pie. (I made this one with canned pumpkin.) I used my new pie dish from IKEA, which I LOVED! It was so easy to clean and cook with.


Instead of making my own crust, I bought this pack of two pie crusts from Pillsbury. The crust was delicious and easy to use.


I even used a fun holiday spatula! The pie was delicious and looked so pretty. Thus concludes my holiday baking so far. :)

Special Guest: Katelyn & Charlie Henry

Today's post is very special, because it features my very best friend, Katelyn! I went over to her apartment for a fondue night with she and her fiance, Charlie, and while I was there I took the opportunity to take some photos of her chic apartment. The awesome light on the wall above the sofa was purchased from IKEA. (As was the white Karlstad loveseat.)


I love that Katy has used her trombone to decorate. (She played all through high school, and she is an Awesome musician.) The end table and matching coffee table were purchased second-hand. The standing lamp with the twig cover was purchased from Marshalls.


Katy has utilized space in her apartment by puchasing this really great Expedit entertainment center from IKEA. By filling some of the shelves with both the Knipsa and Kottebo baskets, she created more storage space.


This is just a fun shot of Kate's fiance Charlie. He did a lot of the cooking that night, and the food was delicious!


I love the awesome light that hangs over the table. (It's also from IKEA.)


This is just a shot of our dessert. The dessert was vanilla bean ice cream put into a hulled out orange halve, drizzeled with an orange syrup and garnished with a little slice of orange. Also, delicious. :)


Thanks Katy and Charlie for such an amazing dinner, and for being guests on the Lost & Found blog!

Inspired Design

I found this fabulous chair at IKEA. It's the Agen Rattan Chair for $29.99. Cheap and chic, all at the same time! :) I've been toying with the idea of colored wicker and rattan. This is a really cool example that I found online.

Another great example of painted wicker that I found online.

Inspired Design

So, it's two o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep because I'm way too excited about my new blog. Therefore, I'm getting an early start on tomorrow's post. I bought the cutest apt. 9 elephant statue ON SALE at Kohl's the other day for only $9! (Normally $19.99) I know, what a steal.

Click here for the adorable little statue.

In related news, I also have this great little elephant tray that I purchased MONTHS ago from IKEA. My friend Katy and I both bought one because, not only do they look awesome, but they were only $5. I'm not sure what she did with hers, but I still haven't found a good spot for mine.
If anyone has any ideas for decorating using trays, please share them with me. Thanks!