design crush: dream studio tour

To some, this studio may look familiar. That is because it is the headquarters for Pink Loves Brown, a Chicago based stationary line designed by Nicole, of the popular design blog, Making It Lovely (home of these great photos).

I will cut to the chase and admit that I have a huge design/career crush on Nicole. Her lifestyle in Chicago incorporates a successful business and a house worth blogging about- two things that I hope to one day achieve on a similar level. I have the business part started, but my own jewelry studio is "cute, but no cigar" to this amazing 150 square foot workspace. Can you believe that all of this wonderful resides in a spare bedroom of an Oak Park bungalow?

Moral of the story?
1.) It can be done.
2.) I have some work to do.

Just the right shade of blush for the walls.

Nicole installed these bamboo floors herself!

I. Adore. These. Shelves.

FYI: My packing station has some explaining to do.

Genius! I have this same shoe caddy from Target.

no paint artwork in 15 minutes

Simple white canvases above my bed.

I never really thought too much about these canvases until my cousin mentioned they were his favorite pieces of art in my apartment.

"Art?"

What was once an unsuccessful attempt to make jewelry displays later became an inexpensive way to fill the space above my bed. Nevertheless, I will accept the compliment and now I am excited to share this simple no paint project (read: apartment friendly).


I bought two $22 primed canvases from Blick, a spool of textured charcoal thread, and a foot of charcoal starched linen-like fabric. I cut the gray fabric into 14-18 leaves for each canvas and cut a small slit in the center of each leaf to make room for the thread.

Then, I wound the thread across the canvas front to back about 12-20 times, threading leaves as I went. Once I was out of thread or liked how it looked, I cut the end and knotted it to the first thread. Done.

Can this even count as a project? Seriously?

There are a million ways this could be evolved into even more elaborate artwork. If anyone tries this project, please send me a picture to post!

divine wine on a dime

Everyone seems to be antsy for spring, and though the weather may still be chilly and the farmers market may still be closed, there is one favorite spring tradition that can be enjoyed right now: white wine. I discovered this Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc - Voignier at The Melting Pot. Last year Erwin uncovered a hidden secret: The Melting Pot has free wine tastings on Friday and Saturday night while you wait for a table. Let's just say we have informally taken a free* Wine 101 semester via this secret and Miguel, the "wine man" knows us by face.


Of the dozens of wines we have tried, our favorite remains this Pine Ridge. My preference used to be Pinot Grigio, but this blend is a bit more crisp with lots more flavor. And for $10.99 at Binny's, it's a great bottle for the price. To see what an actual wine review click here.

So drink up. Spring will come (eventually).


* Erwin disagrees about the free part. Sure, we didn't pay for the wine tastings, but the meals aren't budget friendly.

dressing charlotte

For Dressing Charlotte this week I channeled one of the easiest looks I have for going out to dinner in the Loop, or just about anywhere. By layering a cardigan over a halter top I stay warm and look divine. Plus, if I go somewhere else later that night, the cardigan comes off and the look is still chic.

Great halter for going out on the town

Halter + cardigan = dinner and drinks in the winter

Second string halter + cardigan

This look makes accessorizing easy- stay away from necklaces and stick to statement earrings and a great cuff or bracelet. My favorite choices from Jess LC to complete these looks are as follows:

Elm St. Metal Double Circle Earrings

Elm St. Double Diamond Earrings

Addison Three Strand Bracelet with Links

before and after: medicine cabinet

Part of my quest to live with intention includes living in a beautiful space. This is not a terribly difficult feat for me considering I share a 353 square foot studio with my boyfriend. Less space = less to make beautiful. One of the best and most recent improvements has been my fresh flower revelation. But this weekend I got antsy. I needed a new project and my web wandering led me to the most miraculous medicine cabinet I have ever seen.

Inspiration Medicine Cabinet photo found at Apartment Therapy

Resting my eyes on this image inspired me to take action. Below is what I have looked at every morning and evening. For 547 days.

Hers and his medicine cabinets. Gross.

So I headed over to Target this weekend and bought a $10 roll of contact paper. I was a bit disappointed by their selection (polka dots weren't at the top of my list), but I settled upon a natural cork contact paper that resisted mold and mildew (read: bathroom friendly).

Complicated tools for Project Medicine Cabinet

Once home, I measured the cabinets and cut the contact paper to size. It took about 20 minutes for the whole project (most of the time was spent cleaning the glass shelves).

1. Empty Shelves 2. Cork lined shelves

Painfully beautiful medicine cabinets

Now that the project is complete, I cannot believe I put up with that ugly sight for so long without taking action. Next up: disguising the bathroom's "Jamaica." Don't ask. Once the situation is under control the story will be told.

february: makeunder my credit card

unfortunately not my actual credit card, but boy is it funny! photo found on flickr

A few days ago a friend mentioned that in order to curb unnecessary spending, she chose to stop using her credit card for a month. I was incredulous. A whole month with no credit card? I am the type of person who never carries cash- I pay for everything on a Mastercard - to the fury of many a cabdriver.

The more I thought about my credit-free-friend's monthly balance being $0, compared than my bloated rather bloated January statement, I became inspired. Although I pay off my card in full each month, I am willing to wager that I will spend several hundred dollars less this February if I rely on cold hard cash rather than plastic. Online purchases will require the card, and I will need to do a bit more preparing as far as ATM withdrawals, but overall I hope these four weeks will help me become more aware and mindful of my spending. And hey, maybe I will have enough cash left over to splurge on a tropical vacation.

One can always hope.

a pocket full of posies for less than a pocket full of change

This is the coolest trick ever. Okay, maybe not the coolest, but way up there. Up there with turning a tangelo into a dessert bowl. It's that cool.
Here is the deal: every two weeks I shop at Trader Joe's for groceries and I struggle to determine whether or not it is worth buying fresh cut flowers. On the one hand, they are beautiful and will enhance my space, my mood, and Erwin might like them too. On the other hand, they are semi-expensive for something I don't "need" and only last about a week. [Side note: I also have similar silent debates about manicures, but that is a whole different post.]
During my most recent bi-weekly T.J. trip I discovered a solution to my internal dialogue. I found a bouquet of various flowers for $3.99 (they were aptly named the "Consumer's Bouquet" for like minded individuals trying to save cash). When I got them home and started rummaging for a vase, I realized I didn't have one large vase, but rather several small vessels. Eureka!
Take a look at how the $3.99 bouquet has been divided and conquered- bringing cheer and color to four areas of my apartment. By splitting up the bouquet I now have four punches of color for a buck each. Not too shabby.

where i work. part 2

With a lull in the day I thought I might follow up with the rest of the studio tour. Here it goes:
This is a big empty frame that hangs above my computer desk. I simply taped a piece of fancy paper from Paper Source and started adding things on top of that almost as if it was attached to the frame. The little Buddha and small stone are there to keep things in perspective.
This little wire basket is the mate to the corner shelf/basket thing hanging on the wall in Part 1 of the studio tour. Here it holds bowls of chain and wire for the jewelry we make. The little square is actually a ceramic egg holder from Anthropologie for about $9.
This dresser is one of a set of my-best-friend's-mom-from-when-she-was-a-little-girl-in-the-1960s. My best friend from childhood, Carol Beth, used it when she was growing up and when she got married she didn't need the set anymore. When it arrived in my hands for $0, it was worn, bright white with fading flower appliques, and had yucky yellow brass hardware. I sanded it, painted it "popcorn white" and added all antiqued knobs rather than handles. I adore the double knobs rather than traditional pulls but really it happened out of necessity. They actually don't make drawer pulls the same size as this piece any longer.
This little piece is the nightstand to the set from my-best-friend's-mom-from-when-she-was-a-little-girl-in-the-1960s. It serves here as a entry table and spot to store some running stuff.
GREAT IDEA! Since my bathroom has no storage besides a medicine cabinet I needed a place to stash my blow dryer and cleaning supplies. So I bought this vintage picnic basket from my trusty Ann Arbor thrift store to do the job. (The wine holders hold the blow dryer and brushes.)

So there it is. All in all when I moved to Chicago in August of 2007 I think I spent a total of $2000 on all the furniture, accessories, and trusty U-Haul. No cushy corporate moving and relocation reimbursements, but it's pretty darn cute anyway.

where i work. part 1

So for those who wonder why "makeunder my life" is the title for my blog, I will explain (a little). In part it has to do with my belief that great things come in all sizes, large and microscopic, and that my life though humble, does not need to be void of style. Even if one (read: me) doesn't have a lot of money to invest in her environment, that does not mean she cannot enjoy great design.So I thought I would share some photos of my studio (which is now actually the Jess LC jewelry studio exclusively- but at the time of these photos taken last summer, I also had a bed to sleep on in the studio as well). Please keep in mind this is a ~400 square foot space - about the size of the dining room in my parents house. I did mention I had a "humble abode," right?
This is one of my favorite tablescapes ever- the table itself is a bench repainted (twice) that I found on a run with my dear friend Catherine in high school. The black box was $4 from a thrift store in Ann Arbor, Michigan which I dearly miss here in Chicago. The plants are all under $6 from Trader Joes. Loveseat is from Ikea.
The (fake) painting was $100 from Bed Bath and Beyond and the adorable bird statue is from Ann Arbor's awesome Heavenly Metal.
A $4 Urban Outfitters lampshade got a makeover with my Grandma's vintage pins.
The two green hang-y things are from my high school days playing decorator in my old bedroom. They are filled with pine cones from old holiday decor and the middle piece is actually a corner shelf hanging with it's bottom against the wall. Inside that are some pine cones and a birds nest. The strings actually are not really supporting the pieces- they are there to make that dowel rod from my old Christmas decorations look like it actually has a purpose.
These keys got a lot of attention on the Apartment Therapy blog post about my studio. They were about $12 and in a rusty black color when I bought them. Using a foam brush I painted on a gold coat to make them look more "schmancy." The big glass vase is standing in a vintage candy dish, the candle holders are my Grandma's, and the two glass votives were $1 each.
This is one of my favorite (and really easy) projects. Inside this simple frame is a $4 document I found at an antique store from October 21, 1865. It is a deed to some land in Georgia - but it's current validity is under suspicion. The 'mat' is actually just a fancy embossed paper cut the width of the frame. Voila - a historic piece of art for about $12.

All this storytelling makes me wish I could decorate some new spaces... any takers?