The Chenault Life: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Stunning.

Congratulations to the Royal Couple. May the paparazzi and world give them peace for one day..

My sweet cousin is getting married in England next Spring. I can’t to wear a little hat…

A Royal Earache….

How funny is this tiny attendant in the bottom left hand corner?!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Growing up, we had a Living Room and a Family Room. The Family Room is where we spent about 90% of our awake time. The Living Room was more formal and decorative. We only used it on Christmas and when guests came over. This room may seem to be a waste to some, but I still like the idea of having a room dedicated to looks more so than functionality. If you can have both, that’s all the better. I stumbled across these pretty living rooms this week, and they have me inspired, though I doubt Lee would ever let me do an all purple room.

Haha, I just laughed as I re-read this wondering how I’ll feel about having a spotless clean, fancy living room after children. This blog will serve as a nice time capsule…

What do you think of these living rooms?

Note: Sorry, I saved these images down this week without catching their sources.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom’s 60th Birthday! We celebrated this past weekend in Dallas with a party, pedicures and several delicious meals. I made a story of her life using Shutterfly, and aside from a couple of wrong dates on my part, it turned out great, and she was so happy and surprised! Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I used in the book.

Happy Birthday Mom…Thank you for all you do, and I hope you’ve had the best Birthday MONTH ever…We love you so much!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Bossypants.

I want to make a suggestion. Do yourself a favor, and buy Bossypants, a collection of very funny, touching and quirky essays by the amazingly talented Tina Fey. I can’t say I read this book because in fact, I didn’t…I listened to it for four hours straight. In the car. With a speaker on my lap. If you’ve made the trek from Houston to Dallas or vice versa, you know it’s a long ride. Tina entertained us the whole time (in her own voice) through her audio book version of Bossypants.

I really can’t say enough how much I love this woman. She is not only hilarious (obvi) but she’s so smart and down to earth. I like her self deprecating style, and her ability to turn things into life lessons without ever making anything too serious. There is a great chapter about her time in Chicago at Second City, an improv theatre and comedy show, and how the lessons she learned from improv can be applied to your real life. For example, in improv you will inevitably bomb. While not personally experiencing that feeling of bombing onstage while trying to be funny, I’ve been in an audience when the performer bombs, and it’s extremely uncomfortable for both parties. Her point is – despite the horror of bombing, you can’t dwell on the past, and you must move on. With confidence. This is certainly easier said than done, and I think we could all benefit from that fearlessness.

So if you’re in mood to laugh and be surprisingly heart warmed by her honest perspectives, I’d highly recommend you pick up a copy.

On another note, isn’t the cover crazy? It makes me uncomfortable – and I’m pretty sure that’s the feeling Tina wanted me to feel…

PS: Other books on my reading list are Unbroken and The Paris Wife …What are you reading?!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Trad Home Favorites

Earlier this week I posted about Trad Home’s first issue and the feature called The New Traditionalists. I’m still blown away by the beautiful content and will continue to revisit this issue for years to come for inspiration and eye candy. Here are my favorite rooms and spaces from their first issue:

All images via

Friday, April 15, 2011

Spring Wardrobe on a Budget

How cute are these inexpensive and lovely ideas for Date Night or Girl’s Night Out. Which is your favorite? I love a sweetheart neckline so the top one on the left is perfect…but the green romper is really cute (and looks super comfortable)…And I can’t resist anything with stripes or florals…But at these prices (seriously – the striped dress is $19!) you can pick up more than one!

Via here, here, here and here.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Multi-Tasking Napkin

We’re going to wedding this weekend to celebrate a great couple and reunite with college friends. While thinking about what I’m going to wear, I ran across this cheeky napkin here, and it made me laugh. I think it could possibly come in a handy for a few afterwards…

Hope you’re having a good week!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Design Inspiration Overload::Trad Home

Holy Bananas! If you like design or looking at magazines that feature insanely decorated rooms, you should check out the brainchild of the Lonny and Traditional Homes editors, entitled Trad Home, immediately! Their first issue is crazy long (347 pages) but once I got to their feature on the New Traditionalists – 20 Interior Designers and their works, I wanted more.

Here is just one pic from the spread. I’ll post more later on my faves, but I’d highly recommend cozying up and looking at all this beauty!

Image via

Friday, April 8, 2011

5 Things I’m Loving This Week…

Here is just a quick look at some of the things that I fell in love with this week…

A dark, moody and glamorous dining room – owned by Aerin Lauder. Check out the rest of her beautiful place, here.

Bright, bold dresses – perfect for Spring and Summer

The Hunger Games trilogy …so good!

The quirky white bedroom belong to Sara Tuttle and her adorable pet.

Clothing as art – what a great way to take what you already have and just add some bling!

Have a great relaxing weekend!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Power of Purple

I’m seeing pops of purples, lavenders and lilacs everywhere these days, and I’m loving it – on clothes and in the home. It’s feminine without being over the top, and it’s fresh. I love it mixed with white, gold, and green!