sitting room reveal

For a while, I've been trying to find the perfect couch for our sitting room. It had to be tufted, it had to be in a neutral color, and - oh, yeah - I wasn't willing to spend thousands on it.

Here's what the room looked like before:

We were using it as an office, and (as you can see) storage for whenever we got packages. Because our house isn't huge, we needed the extra space for entertaining, so we decided to turn T's office into a sitting room.

The deer print on the right is one of T's family items that had to stay on the wall, so I went with it and made this the "deer wall". 

Sprout's tree is up!

 (Yes, that pillow on the floor is supposed to be there. Sprout is spoiled.)

 Overall, I'm thrilled with how it came out.

2013 holiday gift guide: shop local

one // two // three // four // five

six // seven // eight // nine

Small Business Saturday is coming soon, and this year I'm inspired to give gifts that are meaningful and support small businesses. A personalized dog bowl for my sister's new puppy, monogrammed jewelry dish for my newly married bestie, and an adorable animal print for our friends with a new bundle of joy, all supporting local artists and business ladies, are some of my top picks for this giving season.

Do you make a conscious effort to support small businesses?

leopard print in Napa

I can't remember the last Halloween when it was ridiculously sunny and in the high 60s. But that's probably also because I've never spent Halloween in California, where such things are possible. We did two vineyard tours/tastings back to back, which made for a very full afternoon. At one of the vineyards, they let us eat grapes off the vine. Most delicious. things. ever.

(Yes, I always carry bags this big. If it can't fit half my life, I can't use it.)

The scenery was incredible. Occasionally this meant driving up very, very windy roads. I have a thing about heights, so that wasn't cool. But the wine and the view were spectacular once we got to the top.

leopard-print button down (old from J.Crew, similar here) // Banana Republic navy sweater (old, similar here) // Banana Republic jeans // nameplate necklace from Etsy // Ray-Ban sunglasses // Michael Kors watch // JPK bag (this one is another great option)

loving leopard

leopard print button down (old, from J.Crew Factory- also love this one) // black skinnies // boots (last Fall season- also like these and these) // new ottoman (I also love it in blue velvet!)

I've been wearing a lot of leopard lately, so naturally I've been hunting for the perfect leopard coat to wear when the weather gets chilly. But I'm debating on whether to go tailored trench or fun and fuzzy.

images via

one // two // three

This one is fun and looks really warm, but I'm not sure about the fuzziness of it. This one is a contender (especially if it means I can wear long gloves a la Kerry Washington), as is this one.