Nursery Inspiration

In a couple of weeks we’ll find out the sex of Baby C, but in the meantime,  I love looking at gender-neutral items for a nursery and imagining how we will decorate for the little one.  The reality of our situation is we’ll only be in our current home for three months once the baby arrives, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to invest in designing and perfecting a nursery.  That line of rational thought doesn’t stop me from perusing tons of sources and mentally designing one anyway.  And while we may not go full out, there are some darling things out there that may eventually have to come home (I mean that sheep rocker – I’m dying it’s so cute!)

Here are the things I’m loving today…If you’d like to see the sources, please check out my Pinterest board!

P.S. – My favorite blog for nursery inspiration and design

Let’s Play a Game…

Recently I stumbled upon an article on AD that combined my two favorite things – 1) celebs and 2) thoughtfully designed kitchens…so if you want to play a quick game, match the celeb with the kitchen.  I found some combinations to be very surprising!

Match these six celebs with their respective kitchen below.  Answers at the bottom…

Sir Elton John and Giada De Laurentiis

Gerard Butler  and Lance Armstrong

Jada and Will Smith

A. Open and inviting

B. Combining old and new

C. Rustic and warm

D. Starkly white

E. Bright and modern

Answers: A) Lance Armstrong B) Gerard Butler C) Will and Jada Smith D) Giada De Laurentiis E)  Elton John

Brooke Shield’s Home in AD

Back from the dead (or lack of blogging), I came across these lovely images of Brooke Shield’s  NYC town home on Architectural Digest.  It’s quite feminine and a bit quirky with painted portraits of her daughters in crowns hung on the wall and a French Empire commode on the mantel. And though I can never imagine using a heart as the most eye-catching accessory of a room, I’m quite drawn to it’s sweetness sitting between her two daughters.  Maybe it’s just good timing with Valentine’s day around the corner…What do you think of Brooke’s home?

I think the pink, grey and neutral colors make a lovely combination…

A bright, modern kitchen with kitschy art work

Lovely wallpapered dining area with lucite lamps and a bold chandy

Yes, this bath will work.

all images via Architectural Digest

Home.Sweet.Home

One of the things I find when I’m home is how much I want to decorate, rearrange and experiment with furniture and accessories in our apartment.  Working from home this week gave me plenty of time to ponder over how to make it more functional and pleasing to the eye. I’ve been very happy with our place since we moved in, but there are always improvement opportunities – and in my opinion, a home should never be “done.”

Here are a couple of ways I spruced up at our place this week…Excuse the dark pictures – it gets dark at 4:30 p.m now!

Added the the gray and beige West Elm Casablanca pillow cover.

 

Closer Up…

Added a cheerful table runner made by my talented cousin-in-law – check out her Etsy store,The Turquoise Pear (and excuse the crazy tulips!)

Spruced up the bar area…

 

Added a yellow patterned chair from World Market

Small changes can make a big difference.

Hope you had a good weekend!

Be Merry

…and have a wonderful holiday season!

Love,

The Chenaults

Card designed by Chena Design

Holiday Decor

Since we’re spending most of December in Texas or Colorado, we sadly are not doing any holiday decorating this year at our home in Evanston.  I stumbled upon the cutest vintage store, Roost, in Andersonville last week, and one of my finds, serves as our sole holiday decoration shown below.  

Pretty sad…I’d rather have one of these

image via Lonny

Ski Nerves

In a couple of weeks we’re going to Telluride with Lee’s classmates and their Sig Others as part of Kellogg’s annual ski trip.   As much as I’m looking forward to the trip, the only time I’ve been on the slopes, it was a disaster.  Immediately I fell off the ski lift upon arriving to the top of the mountain creating a horrible ripple effect for the people behind me.  I didn’t wear the right clothes (wool mittens = frozen hands), and I got altitude sickness.  The rescue ski mobile had to take me down the mountain, since there was no way I was going to get on the lift again. 

This time I’m taking some precautions like 1) doing research on what to wear to stay warm and 2) going to ski school for two 1/2 days (this is kind of humiliating since my guess is I will be the oldest student x3).  Ideally I’d like to spend the majority of the time in one of these beautiful ski chalets shown below, sipping a warm drink and enjoying the mountains (from a heated room).  Alas, that is not the Kellogg way, and it’s time to get back on the horse (ironic, because I also have a fear of horses after being bucked off one at the tender age of 8-ish).

Enjoy the pretty pics, and please pray for my well being as well as the other skiers in my vicinity.


 


Heated pool – so gorg!

images via Vogue and AD

Chena Design Holiday Photo Cards

Hello Blogosphere!

Wow - it's been awhile since my last post. The holidays can be crazy for everyone, and this year is no exception for us.  I hope you had a wonderful, restful Thanksgiving.  We were lucky enough to have both sets of parents to Chicago and managed to eat and drink our way across this great city.

Though I haven't bought a single gift or done any decorating, I’ve taken care of one thing…Our holiday cards, ordered from my lovely and talented sister-in-law.  If you haven't ordered yours yet or want to have something different this year, I highly encourage you to check her out!

To see her entire catalog of offerings, please click here. Here are a couple of samples below.   How cute are they?! 

All images owned by Chena Design

Simple

Recently I’ve been craving simplicity…Simple Food…Simple Clothes… A Simple Schedule…A Simple Life…

It’s hard enough to balance work, play, family and crazy schedules – thinking about what you’re going to wear for the day (or week in my case since I pack in advance) can be difficult.  I love and appreciate creativity in clothing, but sometimes I’d rather put on the same favorite pieces and feel good…

If I had my choice, I’d wear this outfit every single day – only swapping out the shoes on occasion (I mean – a girl’s gotta have a little variety…)

All sources can be found on my pinterest board.

Inspiration in Images

Hello blogworld!!  I feel like I  have neglected you lately, and for that I’m sorry.  You see, my life’s pace has picked up quite a bit, and I haven’t had a chance to visit you much.  That hasn’t stopped me from being inspired daily by the beautiful images people are posting daily on new found blogs, tumblr and pinterest. 

Here are a few of my faves from the week.  I hope you enjoy.

Happy Browsing.

Setting the Bar…

For a long time, I’ve had an obsession with bar carts.  If I had my ideal choice, I’d like something gilded and antique like the little beauty below.  It’s so Mad Men, and I think it’s delightful.

via

Or something that has been repurposed into a bar cart, like this awesome example:

 

via

Instead, I got impatient waiting to find the perfect cart, and I found this little piece at Home Goods at the right price.  To complete the bar, I will be stocking up on fun libations, a crystal whiskey decanter, and a set of paper mache antlers to watch over (and make sure there is no cocktail making before 5:00 p.m.)

And a couple close ups…

Now, come on over and make yourself welcome!

Feeling Quirky

I love these quirky touches in the latest addition of Lonny magazine.  No matter what, they always get it right…

Catch up on your geography in the restroom.

and giggle yourself to sleep with Zoolander quotes

via

Spain Recap #2

One of my favorite activities was visiting The Alhambra in Granada where we took way too many pictures, and I went over heels for the Moorish influence – especially the tiles that still look beautiful and relevant after hundreds and hundreds of years.  They were doing Chevron way before Chevron became cool – I love it.   (I realize this sounds kind of superficial, and I don’t mean to downplay the historical and religious significance of this amazing place).  But let’s be honest,  I was kind of focused on the things that looked really pretty.

Here are some of my favorite pics from one of this gorgeous place! 

Lee looking muy guapo in the garden…

That view!

Love the color pallette in this picture

Those tiles…

 

I think this would make a beautiful backsplash!

  

So happy to be there amongst such beauty.

 

Adios!

A New Addition…and off to Spain

Wow – this week has been a complete whirlwind between settling into our new place, meeting Lee’s Kellogg classmates (and their lovely sig others), trying awesome restaurants and getting ready to leave for Spain!  I can’t believe we’ve been here for a week – it seems like it’s been both the shortest and longest time already, if that makes sense.  I thought I’d share some of the fun moments from the week if you’re interested…

Top Five Moments of the Week:

1. A delicious family picnic and concert at the beautiful venue,  Ravinia
2. Eating at The Girl and the Goat with Lindsay and Reid (lives up to the hype – but NOT for vegetarians (we ate pig face – yeah, really.)
3. Seeing The Help with a group of sweet girls – it’s so good!
4. A celebrity chef spotting – I have such a crush on Top Chefs! 
5. I found this nice (and inexpensive!) piece at World Market, and I love how it completes the living room.  We need all the storage space we can get, so the drawer and shelf are not only cute, but functional

 

Tomorrow at this time we’ll be on our way here!  Have a great week!

The Move in 3 Parts

Hello – and sorry for the lack of posting last week.  As you may have guessed, we were moving to our new home in Evanston, Illinois (just north of Chicago).  It’s beautiful here, and the weather couldn’t be nicer.  A lovely welcome! 

I thought I’d share a few pictures from our moving adventure.  Overall, everything ran smoothly with just a couple bumps (mostly related to our fur baby, Kitty)…All in all, a very good move. Here is our 3 part journey.

Before the move…

Some of the damage – points for spotting Kitty!

All of our belongings in a 20’ truck and one loyal Pathfinder

During the move…(p.s. all these images are via instagram – love it!)
6:00 a.m. Departure – Sunrise Day 2; somewhere near Blytheville, AR

Kitty watching from the passenger seat (aka, my lap)

Yes  - we can see the skyline!

Bikers on Lakeshore Drive – so pretty.  This is when we got really excited!

After the move… and Our new place.
We’ve been setting up our new living space over the last few days.  It’s funny because our old apartment was brand new, had high ceilings and lots of natural light.  It also had a smallish living/kitchen area, huge closets and 2 large bathrooms.  Our new place is older (est. 1955,) has lower ceilings, minimal light, a large living area, one tiny bathroom, and LOTS of character.  I love it!

Old Place – light/bright and airy (points for spotting Kitty)

New Place – Though I’m not done  decorating, I wanted to share a few pics of the new place!  it’s cozy and warm – can’t wait to light a bunch of candles and cuddle up here during the Fall and Winter!

Living area –> considering this console table for the back wall or to place behind the couch





Thank you for the well wishes and encouragement we received during the trip!  Now, come visit us!!