I'm Back!

Ah, back to work + blogging today after a relaxing, much needed break! I feel rested, motivated + anxious to start the new year but before I go into a big spiel about my plans for 2012, I thought I would share with you a few of the things I did during my week-long Chicago staycation.

I ventured up to Andersonville to check out some of my favorite stores along Clark Street.  Fist stop, the Brown Elephant resale shop.  I was hoping to find an inexpensive bookcase for my office...instead, I walked out with a 36 piece set of this fabulous greek key china. 

While in Andersonville I also bought this AMAZING marble lamp with brass feet for a mere $20!  I really do love anything with a paw.

Let there be light!  I finally got around to organizing my home office.  The small space is situated behind the kitchen + has no windows or overhead lights.  The lighting situation really drove me nuts so I purchased this Leran pendant on sale at Ikea, cut off the electrical connection + added this white cord so I can plug it into the wall.  I really love the texture that the rattan adds to the space + the scale of the lamp is the key to what makes it so interesting.  Total cost of this project?  $30...bam! 

I convinced my parents to redecorate their family room...

I ordered this Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Chester sofa for my client's living room. 

 

I celebrated a friend's Birthday at the Pump Room (Happy Birthday, Liz!).  I snapped this picture because I'm completely obsessed with these "Cheers" gift tags I purchased from Paper Sugar.

The food was great but the highlight for me was definitely the decor.  I just love the way the green velvet banquets pop against the neutral surroundings.  And those light?  Hello!  I want to live here or at least rent a room at the Public Hotel for my next staycation.

So as you can see even when I'm on "vacation" my life still pretty much revolves around design (nerd alert).  I'm obsessed + this break made me realize that I need to really kick things into gear this January so that I can turn my passion/obsession/dream into a viable career.  I've been trying to balance my full-time finance job with client projects for far too long.  The stable paychecks + great benefits have been a safety net but have also left me feeling trapped.  So in 2012 my goal is to conquer my fear of the unknown + to wake up every morning feeling happy because I'm doing what I love!