Out and About Chicago: Randolph Street Market

Despite the fact that I have had zero time for blogging I felt I absolutely had to share photos from my Saturday "boondoggle" into Chicago to celebrate my CSIL's birthday. My Mother in law, Therese and I met for coffee at La Colombe and then ventured on over to the Randolph Street Market and oh my...!

Despite the fact that the market is celebrating 10 years this year, I never had the opportunity to visit it when we lived in Chicago (you know how it is with young kids...) Wow was I missing out, this place had an amazing array of talented and wonderful vendors, eye candy for certain, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.....

Air plants, antiques and the cottage look were big...

Industrial was even bigger....

Textiles galore, in fact the king was painted over a stretched fabric.

My girls, lamps and other amazing goodies...

I even met a lovely fellow Madisonian, Krizia of Oak + Olive. Her shop had a delightful array of repurposed and refinished furniture as well as lovely handmade pillows.

If you live within a couple of hours of Chicago I can't recommend this market enough, fabulous vendors, music and amazing food options, they even serve wine and beer!!! The vibe was hip, yet very down to earth and family oriented, a must see!

Here are a couple other vendors whose cards I picked up: 

Gypsy Temple - Bohemian clothing and accessories ( I picked up a lovely embroidered tunic)

Mayseek Global Treasures - stunning textiles from around the world, Kantha quilts to Suzannis

Olde Good Things - refurbished tin

Creative Harmony Studio - metalsmith, furniture to art

This by no means covers it all so check out the Randolph Street Market website and plan a visit during the market season!

What fun adventures did you have this past week-end?

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

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Life lately.....

The weather in Wisconsin this past week-end could not have been more delightful, sunny, warmer (almost too warm for my liking,) and perfect for all things outdoors. Since we will be hosting a graduation party here in July, the focus has been on the many projects involved in getting one's yard ship shape for entertaining. I spent all day Saturday working on edging and weeding the planting beds (nope, did not eradicate the dandelions.) I also started a couple of DIY projects...

Like this wicker chair that my youngest trashed and my husband tried to put on the curb, but I saw the possibilities in....

And these, particle board pieces cut out just before the "thunder squall" commenced yesterday, which are destined to be tabletops.

So as you can imagine, my plate is full around home and then there are the fun client projects I have underway (yes, I am very behind on sharing those with you, patience grasshopper.) I am hoping to keep my DIY-ADD in check and not only get these projects done but all of the other stuff involved in the big event of graduation.

Speaking of which, I am not sure I have shared what my oldest's plans are for the Fall, 

He is going to be a Badger! Yes, The University of Wisconsin - Madison will be his new home for the next 4 years.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that he would end up here, but we are all so excited for him. And I told him that even though he will only be 7 miles away he had to pretend he was at least 4 hours away, which means he can't come home until Thanksgiving!

I think that since the day we decided to move to Madison 7 years ago, Ryan was destined to be a Badger and we just didn't know it.... 

I mean look at this, what do you think???

August 2006 - My family, along with my handsome brother, on our way to our first Wisconsin football game!

So I do hope that you'll bear with me as I anticipate that my blogging here on Room Rx will be taking a back seat to all of the other things happening around these parts! 

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

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5 essential elements for a teen bedroom

One of my latest projects is helping a client transform her daughter's room into a sophisticated retreat.  Today I thought I'd share some of the advice I have given on this process. 

 I'll start with the design concept I created for her....

one.

Of the utmost importance is to involve the teen at every turn, this is about them after all. The space  should reflect who that person is, what they need and what they love. This young woman was looking for a feminine, sophisticated space that reflected her love of fashion and her need for a soothing retreat.

two.

Purchase or add pieces that have longevity. Well made doesn't necessarily mean new,  Grandma's chair could be reupholstered or new life could be given to the chest that Dad had when he was a kid. A classic, but stylish bed frame/ headboard, you get the idea. A comfortable mattress is key, it's time to invest in one to support that growing, changing body. Every piece could potentially be part of your teen's first apartment so keep that in mind. 

three. 

Storage...and more storage. Teenagers have lots of stuff...clothing, mementos, sports equipment, etc it needs to have a place to go otherwise it will be all over the floor (which honestly, if my own kids are any indication, that's where it is likely to land anyway!)

four.

A place to lounge. This might be a nook or a desk, a chair, large pillows, etc.  for when friends come over, for reading, studying or sulking. 

five.

Artwork with meaning. In the room above, my client is a girl with an interest in designer fashion so we added the framed fashion illustrations. But maybe your teen is a budding photographer or a huge sports fan, while you want to skip the theme, make sure to inject meaning.

If you are in the process of designing or re-doing a teen's room I hope you'll find my tips to be a good starting point!
Have you recently done a teenager's bedroom? I'd love to hear if you have anything to add.....

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

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Patio updates

The stretch of nice weather over the past week had me motivated to pull things together on our patio so that we can finally enjoy spending time out there. I even jumped the gun a bit and did some container gardening (which I will surely regret this week-end when the overnight temps drop and I have to cover everything.)

Yes, those are dandelions, en mass, don't judge! We are a family who does not believe in using chemicals and no person could ever keep up with digging up the number we have in our yard. Our neighbors surely hate us for it.....

I may have to give this natural weed killer I found on Pinterest a try!

Let's stay focused on the patio shall we...

I change things up every year for my patio pots and I rather like the way these have come together.

My plan had been to plant the globe arborvitae in the border, and fill those pots with an interesting combo, but really I just ran out of steam, so that will be a fall project and in the meantime they will be the constant.

There are still a few things I still want to get done out there, ( I even have a DIY project in mind for the small table in front of the loveseat,) but I do hope you have enjoyed a little peek. Finished reveal coming soon!

In the meantime, have you seen all of the great backyard makeovers on the Home Depot blog, 

The Apron?

Here are a couple of my favorites:

House *Tweaking

A Storied Style

You must check these out these spaces, they are are inspiring to say the least! 

Too bad the temps are going to be much cooler this week-end. If we are going to hang out on the patio, it's time for fleece and a fire.....

What does your week-end hold? Make it a good one!

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

Contact me for more information about my design services.

The DIY I didn't do, but someone else did!

Last year I posted about this cool side table I found at a local furniture store and gave my ideas for a DIY, which I hoped someone else was more motivated to do than I was. 

Well, my wish came true, when perusing Pinterest I found this fabulous DIY that 

Reeves from The Weathered Door did. 

Check out her amazing results....

Just perfect no?

Then of course I just had to look around The Weathered Door and admire some of the other clever DIY projects that Reeves has done, like these hubcap flowers....

and this darling painted nightstand.

This girl is GOOD! So I looked around some more and you know what I found? Reeves is a college student who has been up cycling furniture and other things since high school and started her blog as a senior in high school for a school project!!!!  Impressive.

Make sure to go over and have a peek at The Weathered Door, Reeves has some major DIY skills and her photography is impressive too. Be sure to show her some love... let her know I sent you.

I'd say she has a bright blogging, DIY future ahead, you?!!!

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

Contact me for more information about my design services.

Prom Boy

Prom Day 2013: The weather looked dicey up until mid afternoon, but then the sun arrived, the temperatures warmed up and the prom photos happened with plan "A" not plan "B."

Prom Boy looked pretty darned handsome if I do say so myself...   

 his date looked lovely, 

 and the whole group rocked it! A wonderful bunch of very accomplished and nice kids.

 And the wrist corsage.... ? I made it myself! When I found out what fresh flower wrist corsages cost, I thought I can do this. So I searched for a tutorial (there are tons out there) 

and mostly went with this one from A Creative Life. 

Then I dug around in my craft supplies and purchased two bunches of grocery store flowers and voila...!!!

I was also "commissioned" to do boutonnieres for a few of my daughter's friends... (loved that, she is not even home and they text me with their orders!)

No tutorial, just winging it because these I have done before. 

 All in all a fun and busy week-end, but that is the norm around these parts! How was your week-end?

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

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Lamp shade DIY and other stuff...

Does felt count as fabric?

 If so here is your dose of Fresh Fabrics Friday...

Using Pam's fish scale lampshade as inspiration, my CSIL was at it again with this lampshade update. I'll let the pictures do the talking here.

Yet again, kudos to Therese, didn't she do a great job?

I love how the light shines through the felt "scales" giving a beautiful pattern to the shade and adding interest without overpowering.

As for the other stuff, I was helping a friend of mine stage some "work" photos for her business website (her husband was the photographer and 

has some mad camera skills) and asked if I could get a shot or two for  an updated profile pic. 

We had such a great time and I think the photos taken using a tip that Jenn shared turned out the best. 

Here I am in all of my gray haired, wind blown glory... I kinda like it, you?

My husband thinks that the combo of my necklace and the neckline of my shirt give me a 

Wilma Flintstone look... 

I must say, I got a chuckle out of that!!!

Finally, after all of your encouragement to pursue the patio furniture I shared the other day, 

I went for it....

only to find out that it was already sold :(

He who hesitates misses out....

Enjoy the week-end ahead. Around here we have prom happening tomorrow, I'll be sure to share a photo or two.

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

Contact me for more information about my design services.

It figures......

Does this ever happen to you???

For ages I was on the hunt for the right piece for the right price for my patio, 

I felt I hit the jackpot when I recently purchased this loveseat. 

Then yesterday what do I stumble upon? (I wasn't even looking, pinkie swear!) 

A vintage, fabulous, screaming deal set which is the long lost family to my

  curbside finds from last year....

I can't stop thinking about them...

Any advice for how to sweet talk my accountant husband into letting me buy these babies so they can come live forever on my patio??? 

My fun little Mid - Century chairs are lonely....

First things first, I'd better send a message and see if by chance, the set is still available...

Wish me luck, on all fronts!

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

Contact me for more information about my design services.