Happy Chic

I had some great pictures to show you today (treasure hunting was good to me this weekend), then I left my camera at Clark yesterday with the pictures still on it.  Oh well, I guess I know what I'm posting here Wednesday! With this flip, people keep asking me "how do you know how to do all this stuff?"  Wanna know a secret?

I don't.

But I figure it out or make it up.  That's why I absolutely loved this quote when I came across it on Pinterest.

In other news, did you know that Jonathan Adler now has a budget line for J C Penney??  I've swooned over his collections for a while, but that's all that my wallet would let me do.  Like the amazing non-budget-friendly vignette below.  I think I could die happy with that light in my dining room.  It's only $395.  Very reasonable considering.....

But now my wallet can be happy too!  I still won't be getting that light (sadface), but I have my choice of amazingly budget-friendly Jonathan Adler "Happy Chic" pieces.

My office might need these curtains.  It might need to happen in the near future too.

This lamp is kind of amazing.  If my nephew didn't already have an awesome lamp, I'd require this in his room.

But, thanks to my darling sister, and my impending 29th birthday tomorrow (yes, actual 29th birthday), I am now the proud owner of these Jonathan Adler book ends!

I was originally thinking my office would be their permanent home, but I'm rethinking it.  The white looks so good in the dining room!

images: 1/2/3/4/5

What's in a Name?

As I'm in the process of re-branding this ol' blog of mine, I decided it was time to unify my social media identities as well.  You used to be able to find me under @vintageviolet30, but alas she is no more. On instagram, you'll now find me under the name YofSerendipity. If you aren't already following me, you're totally missing out on some awesome Clark and project sneak peaks like this:

and this

He's getting sexier by the day!  Seriously, this week's update on Friday is going to blow your socks so far off!

Twitter's also been changed to @YofSerendipity as well- pop by and say hello!  And, although my Facebook link hasn't changed,  you should follow me anyway and we can be besties.

In the near future, I'll be migrating this blog from yearofserendipity.wordpress.com to simply www.yearofserendipity.com.  I hope you'll follow me over there!

Wednesday Randomness

I can't believe it's Wednesday- I finally feel almost caught up from the weekend.  My weekend was a roadtrip to Atlantic City for my BFF's bachelorette party.  I'm not much of a drinker, so it's the late night and LOONG drive that wiped me out.  If you follow me on instagram, you saw my weekend in pics and how much I'm enjoying my new iphone.

YAY, a phone that actually works!  And it has a pretty new case too. (I ended up buying this one)

Aside from my new phone, I have another new favorite:  gel manicures.  This DIYer's new best friend.

I'm not generally an uber girly girl- I didn't get my first manicure until college, and pedicure was only a few years ago.  Obviously, being pampered is fun, but I'm cheap, so normally I'll just do my own nails, especially since I'm so hard on them.  Whether I do them myself or pay a pretty penny, manicures generally only last a few days MAX.  It usually peels of the second I get my hands covered in paint, or I scrape it off inadvertently with sandpaper, or I just chip them by scratching something with my nail, or... you get the idea.

Enter the gel manicure (shelac or whatever brand that salon might carry).  This is my second gel manicure ever (got it done in AC this time) and I've loved it both times.  Granted, I'm sure I'll still kill the manicure sooner than someone who's a bit more gentle on themselves, but it's been since Saturday and it's still looking very pretty- already double the longevity of a normal mani.  So far it's held up to power tools, sandpaper, paint, and caulk!  I almost want to see what else I can do to them to see how they hold up!