bohemian hellhole

Moxie & Oliver for your Home

Moxie & Oliver is a Seattle based, homegrown company, offering hand tooled leather goods in pretty much any form you can imagine. {Messenger bags, clutches, iPad cases, flasks, belts, guitar straps, pet goods, and more!} As owner/artisan Caitlin puts it, Moxie & Oliver is all about 'Combining traditional and innovative leather-working techniques, offering line of accessories for the rugged urbanite.' You can see what is currently available at the Moxie & Oliver Etsy shop, or contact Caitlin for a custom piece.

Last week I received a package in the mail that I had been looking forward to for quite a while. A beta test, if you will, of a new Moxie & Oliver product: Cabinet hardware. Our hallway was in need of some new pulls, and I couldn't find anything that I liked. Then I saw some super expensive leather pulls in some magazine somewhere and thought...those would be so much better if Caitlin made them. So we started brainstorming ideas. Really, truly, they are so much better than I thought they would be. I've never seen anything like them, and they work perfectly. Knowing how well made the Moxie & Oliver product line is, I knew they would last forever.

I think these would look amazing in a little modern kitchen, powder room, on a dresser, or a wardrobe. As always, there are endless color and pattern combinations to choose from.

Making smoothies, Alice

Yellow chairs for the Yellow door

These yellow Adirondack chairs were only $14 at Fred Meyer! Yes, they are plastic or vinyl or whatever, but they look fun, match the front door perfectly, and now I have somewhere to sit with a cup of coffee!

Cleaning the basement, Alice

The Woodsman Market

If only I could always shop here...

The Woodsman Market  4537 Southeast Division Street, Portland OR.

Drinking coffee, Alice

Poppy Tree Frames {and a $100 giftcard!}

I recently came across Poppy Tree Frames and immediately was taken with their unusual and fun look. I am always on the lookout for framing options, and thought these ones would be really fun for so many applications! Many of their gallery photos show kids photography displayed in the frames, and also really large sizes, which I instantly thought would look great with a mirror inside rather than an image. I was happy to correspond with the owner of Poppy Tree Frames, and he is going to give one of you a $100 gift card towards anything they carry! The frames come in 18 different styles, 42 color options, and 49 print options. The prints are especially wonderful. If you want a chance to win the $100 gift card, simply visit their facebook page and 'like' them. Then, post a comment below letting me know that you did! If you want additional entries, you can find them on twitter and  retweet one of their tweets, or repin one of their pins on Pinterest.

The winner will be announced on Friday, June 1.

Have fun!

Making toast, Alice

Want a New Bedding Set?

I do. The last time I bought new bedding, it wasn't even new, it was from an after Christmas sale at the Ballard Goodwill. Trust me, I washed it plenty, and it was still in the package, but you never know. Since then it has been abused, spilled on, washed, spilled on, and not washed...and now it is looking a little worn. Actually, I may never have bought a brand new bedding set for myself in my whole life. Enough about me, let's talk about you.

I have the opportunity share a giveaway with my wonderful readers {that's you!} from Bedding Style. They are celebrating 7 years in business and want to spread the love by giving one lucky blog reader a free designer bedding set. If you haven't heard of Bedding Style, you should, they carry a large variety of brand name bedding at great prices online as well as bathroom accessories, they have great customer service, and all their bedding is high quality...Here are some sets they carry that I am especially fond of:

Marimekko's Lumimarja in Celery

Tommy Hilfiger's Sweethearts Sheets {because they're awesome}

I feel like I have to recommend the Laura Ashley Rowland Blue Quilt set, because it's almost exactly like the one I have now... and if I could pick anything, it would probably be this one...Once I land on something, I don't take to change that easily. I'm like an old redneck with a truck.

There is something attractive about this pink set from Tommy Hilfiger though, in an extra preppy Elle Woods sort of way.

Oh, and I might have to replace my current Marimekko shower curtain with THIS ONE, since it's YELLOW!

To Enter: 1) Visit Bedding Style and pick a favorite item, then name it in a comment below.

2) For a second chance to win, Follow Bedding Style on Twitter or Like Them on Facebook with a link to this giveaway and mention @BeddingStyle  or Facebook  in your post.

One random winner will win a Bedding Set from Bedding Style.

Contest ends: 5/28/12

Browsing, Alice

Huldra Press

Based in Pennsylvania, Huldra Press is the studio of artist Marianne Dages. She makes books, boxes, drawings, letterpress cards and posters. Her work has finds inspiration in childrens' literature, old books, movies, nature, and craft. I love the nod to pop culture as well as folklore that can be seen in her books and prints. You can read up on current works at her blog. Huldra Press has an Etsy shop where you can purchase cards and prints. She does custom work too, including invitations, stationary and business cards. Her portfolio is great and can be found at the Huldra Press website.

Making tea, Alice

 

In the Bedroom

No closet? Just hang some shelves and hanging rods then cover the whole thing with curtains. {a disco ball is always a good idea!}

via Marie Claire Maison

This room reminds me of several bedrooms from one of my favorite books, Moroccan Interiors. Simply tacking up some fun fabric would serve as a substitute for wallpaper when it wasn't available.

via Wary Meyers

I especially love this Wary Meyers bedroom, with its fancy wallpaper and piles of books. All you would need is some shelving, {Ikea is good for cheap, wood shelves that are surprisingly durable} and a collection of artwork to group around the open spaces. Corner your bed near a window and gather some vintage pillows. I think you could achieve this feel with some art deco print curtains and a warm paint color on the walls, if you couldn't {or wouldn't} wallpaper.

Get this lamp from $90 on amazon, it makes a fantastic pattern on the ceiling when it's on! 

Beautiful Harlequin Arkona wallpaper available at Curtain Up.

Etsy is a great place to find antique animal prints and art.

Reading this awesome book I got for my birthday yesterday, Alice

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Hippo Hardware {and more cheap lights}

I have been wanting to visit Hippo Hardware since we moved to Portland. This weekend a dear friend came to visit and we went on a bathroom light hunt, beginning at Hippo! It was really fun, just wandering around with someone I know, talking and examining lighting treasures, and ultimately scoffing at the prices. I was pretty disappointed in how expensive everything was, but I might have been slightly affected by my last lighting purchase. We stopped by a few other places and ended up at the Rebuilding Center, or as I call it "home of the $5 light". I thought maybe they would have something that I could fit together that might work at least for a while in the bathroom. Guess what? I found a matching pair of Rejuvenation Humboldt lights in polished chrome. Guess how much they were? $5 each. Yes, I am available as a personal shopper, if you ever need a light. Just ask! The shades are probably not going to work, they are frosted square-ish ones that look a little too 'I wish I owned a craftsman bungalow', BUT, the bases with a nice clear globe {or round open} shade will look perfectly modern in the space.

Painting my bedroom, Alice

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High/Low

I recently decided that this was the medicine cabinet for me. Then I realized that in the large size, with polished chrome, it would cost me $650 per piece. So I started looking for a suitable alternative. What do you think about this one? I don't have much to say for Broan's styling and marketing department.

I know the piano hinges don't show {possible to hack?} and that there is no frame around the door {maybe a slim wood frame?} but at $130, it might just be the way to go. Thoughts? Ideas? {Trust me, I still like the other one better, but I so don't have $1300 lying around. If I did, I'd be going to Alt Summit}

Watching the new neighbors engage in possibly illegal activities, Alice

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$19

Please note: the red bird porcelain light switch plate was here when we moved in. There are many more equally atrocious switch plates around the house. Every day I swear I am going to take them down, but I haven't done it yet. It looks like the picture is from some kind of retirement center, and that the mirror is actually plastic. It isn't, I promise!

I got this mirror yesterday while I was supposed to be shopping for others.  I just couldn't help myself. The best part about it? No eagle. These bird topped semi-colonial feeling convex mirrors are almost always adorned with some giant eagle holding arrows in their talons. There are just two regular birds {no idea what kind} up there, hanging out. Not being hugely into colonial or extremely traditional east coast decor, or just giant eagles for that matter, this mirror was such a great find, I would love to know more about its history. 

This image of Cindy Greene's apartment has stuck in my head for years, and kind of gave me a round mirror bug. I never found one I liked until now.

photo via Decor8

Emily Chalmers has a similar one too! It is a mental illness to prefer mirrors to artwork, especially when looking at myself in one is something I usually avoid? I think maybe it has to do with living in tight quarters and wanting more {illusions of} space.

Correcting my posture, Alice