#CB2

Weekend Meanderings- Georgia, Summer Dresses, Consignment Shopping & More

July 30, 2022 By kimwheeler 29 Comments

On this Weekend Meanderings..my trip to Georgia, a great casual dress you need, my favorite new pajamas and more..

I’m back with Elizabeth and Juliet. I hope your week has been good. Last week I was away at the Haven Conference in Atlanta, Georgia and it was really a great time in a new place and I learned so much..

Georgia

This was my first visit to Georgia and it exceeded expectations! I truly have never encountered so many nice folks. I also was wowed by the food, and how green and pretty it is there ..Very different from our golden hills here in summer. Our view flying into Atlanta below. I marveled at the huge lawns..

The plan was for Juliet and I to meet up with our friends and fellow bloggers, Annie and Mary Ann at the conference. Juliet got Covid, a few days prior and then Annie also came down with it the next day! I felt so bad for both of them. Mary Ann and I debated about still going and then she said, ‘Let’s do it!’, so I knew then I had to get it together and travel alone without Juliet, but I made it and it was great.

Our stylish Atlanta pal, interior designer Sherry Hart ,took us to the best Restaurant, South City Kitchen where we had fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, trout, cornbread, biscuits and we ended with a peach sundae! I wish I could take Max, who is from Kentucky. He would have been over the moon. This is a fabulous spot if you are in Atlanta..

Sherry with Mary Ann and I ..If you are not following Sherry you are missing one of the best interior design accounts! She is so funny and real and I adore her.

We loved our pretty hotel, The Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. My room had a fantastic view of the city and the green beyond. Mary Ann had a double room with a window in the bath that was so lovely.. They also had peach everything and we tried the peach flatbread and peach spritzer, so delicious!

The conference was good and we learned a lot of new things so we can stay relevant blogging and on social media..i.e. Instagram. We also met many cool people, many influencers doing DIY accounts, and some gifted women flipping (refinishing) furniture or couples flipping homes. Lots of future Chip and Joanna Gaines were in attendance and so darn talented. I will try and share some of those accounts on my Instagram stories this week in case you want to follow them!

What helped me going alone on this trip was to not overthink it. I just packed, and went. Uber was the scariest thing to me, a bit of an unknown, but I wandered the airport, found the pickup spot, clicked the phone and my driver, whisked me to the hotel. We even had a good chat about politics and next thing I knew, I made it!

If I can do it, anyone can. It’s good for us to get out of our comfort zones and I definitely need to do this more.

I have this on my pinboard and look at it when I need encouragement..

Georgia O'Keefe Quote 'I have been scared..

I come from a mom who had a huge fear of flying. I know in my brain flying is safer than driving around the corner to the grocery store! Still, every time I ever took a flight my mom was like, ‘You’ve been a great daughter..’ Seriously! So it’s taken me time to get okay with flying.

Traveling alone was not bad either.. In fact, it might even be preferable. You can check out, read, rest and binge shows with no guilt. I LOVED it. I read my whole book, The Guncle and binged the best show, Hotel Portofino. I adored both.

What I packed..

I bought a few summer dresses for the trip and I will share the two of the dresses this Tuesday as we are doing a linen post on Signature Style.

The other dress was this new one from Pilcro..

Pilcro blue print tunic dress. — With Mary Ann in her pretty MaxMara dress she bought in Europe!

Haven Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. — With Mary Ann in her pretty MaxMara dress she bought in Europe!

This Anthropologie dress is a good choice for travel and humid climates. It’s made of a heavyish cotton/linen blend and though feels light, it holds its shape, never needed ironing, even after the suitcase, needs no slip and..has pockets! It has a pretty, but casual vibe..

I loved the rough hem and white stitching that gives it an almost denim feel.

It also comes in a soft pink and a pretty orange floral and in Plus and Petite sizing… This is a dress that will flatter a lot of figures. I bought a small and I an 5’4 and 135ish.

New Pajamas!

I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I like to have something nice to sleep in and you never know who will want to pop by for coffee or chat in the room when going with pals right? While at Bloomingdales last week, I saw these uber soft and cute summer pjs by Kate Spade and bought a set.

I like that they have pockets and cute piping on the pant bottoms. I bought the colorful dots, but I’m thinking I want them in the black now too. They ran slightly large and I bought XS. I am in love with these!

My latest vase obsession

I fell in love with another vase from CB2. I had my eye on this Voir vase at the Santana Row store, and when I went back this week, I noticed they have just a few left and it’s marked down, so I grabbed it for $39. I am loving it with protea, but it’s even pretty empty.

I think it would be gorgeous with white flowers. Each piece is unique as they are hand blown.. Right now CB2 has their summer sale with 30% off many things and 40% off their outdoor, so a good time to get pieces for the outside!

A day out in Palo Alto – lunch and some consignment shopping..

A great day out with a friend is Town & Country in Palo Alto. I love all the shops there and met my friend April- ( she used to write the Ms B in the bay Area blog) this week. I love Cafe Douce France, a charming little bakery started by two friends from the Alsace region of France, it has the flakiest croissants and wonderful lunch and coffee. .

Afterwards, I love to stop at my favorite consignment Fillmore & 5th to see what is new. This is a great place to go if you aren’t used to consignment or shopping vintage. They have clothes and accessories from some of the nicest parts of the Peninsula, so you can always find a gem or two. This time I found a ‘new with tags’ Frank & Eileen button up for $37.

If you haven’t shopped vintage you need to start. All the cool kids do and it’s so much better for the planet..I just met a new friend in tennis class and we were all gawking at this gorgeous Prada bag she had. I’d never seen one like it. She said she only does vintage and collects things others don’t have..

She is going to give me tips, so stay tuned. I may be sharing soon. Make it a goal to get to one of these stores if you haven’t. If it helps you feel more comfortable, bring a friend like I did!

Well that is my weekend meanderings for this week.. Please check out Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs to see what good things they are sharing…

PINECONES AND ACORNS

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

Thank you for being here!

Kim

If you missed my last Weekend Meanderings, I did a special travel themed post with a beautiful resort fashion book, links to trips to London, Hawaii, Bora Bora, packing tips, and advice for taking kids to travel abroad, like we did for many years!

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Weekend Meanderings- the New CB2 at Santana Row, a Little Black Dress, Healthy Pasta & More

April 29, 2022 By kimwheeler 32 Comments

It’s Weekend Meanderings time with Elizabeth and Juliet, and our chance to share some cool things that have come to our attention this week! I hope your week has been good. I finally am back out after my Covid bout and safely able to leave the house. That felt so good after after more than 10 days in.

The new CB2 at Santana Row

One of my first adventures out was to the new CB2, at Santana Row. For those unfamiliar, CB2 is Crate & Barrel’s sister store and a bit more modern. It carries generally the same things minus the appliances and has a more design centered merchandise with a bit of fun.

Prices are similar. I had a blast exploring this beautiful new outpost where the former Z Gallery was. It’s been beautifully redone and I can’t believe it’s the same store. I left with two white vases, but took a ton of photos and am considering a rug, pillow and a few other things from them.

If you are into plants and vases, they are your go-to with a huge offering of options. I bought this Tier Vase for $17 ( on sale now) and grabbed these tulips at the grocery. SO much impact from a $17 purchase. They made my tulips look like an art piece!

I also kind of fell in love with this little guy, the Celia White Vase. Isn’t the shape fun? Something about it was really appealing. I think this would be cute on a bedside table or with a rose in the bath on a tray. All their white vases here. I have a little drop-in faux fern in it, above.

Then the tabletop/bar area .. You must go! Beautiful serving bowls, dishes and how about this pretty china? I LOVE this Chelsea dinnerware, a collaboration between Goop and CB2. Did Gwyneth have something to do with this?

As my hubs is a bird person, I may get some the pieces! I just think it’s quite pretty. I’d love to have some of these plates for a ladies’s luncheon. See all of CB2 merchandise here! They have great outdoor furniture, sheets, bedding and towels, beautiful rugs and more.

Eating Better

Max and I have been trying to eat better and not diet, but change habits and get rid of things like chips and having afternoon ‘treats’ or evening snacks. It’s not been easy, but we are doing pretty good. One of the things we do it buy a ton of veggies on Sunday-celery, radishes, big bunches of colorful carrots, and cut them all up. It make two big containers to munch on for the week and we’ve been loving this hummus..Sicilian Lemon. I also love Justin’s peanut butter with the celery.

We also buy a giant box of dark greens and that I add handfuls of to everything – sandwiches, pastas, whatever. We also get a roasted chicken and shread it on Sunday and boil eggs. Having the shreaded chicken and boiled eggs on hand to make easy lunches like a green salad with chicken, or an egg and avocados in a salad is so easy and good

My typical lunch is a green salad with a handful of shredded chicken, walnuts and I sprinkle hemp, flax and chia on it along with sunflower seeds. For dressing I squeeze a clementine or lemon or whatever citrus is in the garden and a drizzle of olive oil and a little Maldon salt. That’s it.

Somedays I’ll have avocado toast with a pile of salad on top.

For snack we have clementines and a piece of dark chocolate. We’ve been liking these healthier chocolate chips from Guittard.

We pretty much drink water all the time, but will occasionally have a drink on the weekend. We are trying to incorporate this, and more densely nutrient meals as our regular thing. Dinners are grilled fish, salad and the occasional pasta.

A healthier pasta

When we do make pasta, this is my favorite old recipe I used to make for my kids- white bean pasta. You get the feel of an Alfredo, but without the fat, and with fiber from the beans. I love the new Barilla gluten free rotelli made with corn and rice which I could not tell is gluten free, it’s so good. .

After I boil the pasta according to directions, I take a rinsed can or carton of cannellini beans and a couple a spoonfuls of milk ( I used oat), you can also use water, and whirl in a mini-prep or blender until creamy. I add a a good squeeze of a whole lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, and a smallish 1/4 c of fresh parmesan cheese grated. Add this to the hot pasta and stir and top with a 1/4 c julienned basil, a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of walnuts roughly chopped, drizzle olive oil and more parmesan cheese and serve. It’s really yummy. You can add the zest of the lemon if you like too.

Speaking of cooking has anyone began the Julia show? I had no idea it was the first cooking show ever on television and the crazy logistics that went into figuring it all out. How they were going to cook something that took two hours in 20 minutes and all that! It’s a great show, great acting and I can’t recommend it enough.

The Perfect Little Dress

Just reviewing my closet while I was home, I realized the things I’ve been wearing in warm months the most are easy dresses. This Brightside Dress from Madewell, is exactly that and the perfect dress to pack for a weekend away or vacation. ( Dress also here at Nordstrom if sizes are out at Madewell.)

It’s totally versatile! With the ruffle on the bottom, it’s a little more frilly than your usual tank dress and feels updated and feminine, yet casual in material (mostly cotton with some polyester which will be prevent fading and wrinkles.)

I’m showing two ways you can make this dress work. A day look…add comfy flats or slides, a woven tote or crossbody, and hoops. ( By the way did you know hoops are back? Think the gold and silver ones our mom’s wore in the 80’s.)

Madewell Brightside Dress/ Bembien Margot Tote/ Charley Double Strap Slide Sandal/ Hoop earrings

Here’s the same dress ready to go out for dinner or a party with a darling clutch, (I’m in love with this bag), earrings and a heel. The nice thing about this dress is your accessories can shine…

Madewell Dress/Loeffler Randall Willa Clutch/Intentionally Blank Kamika Sandals/Goddess Earrings

The dress would be cute with a wrap or jacket over it for cooler times. Just a good design with a lot of posssibilities.

I can’t believe Mother’s Day is next weekend! I haven’t had a chance to pull together gift ideas, but Anthropologie has a nice collection as always here. I always tell my kids just time with them is what I want- and sometimes new pajamas! I’m coveting these right now and these..

A Santa Cruz Charmer

This darling home caught my attention this week. I occasionally peek at the listings in Santa Cruz and this gem was so charming I had to share. The price is good for here, under $600,000, and while not super close to the beach it’s not too far. It’s in the woods, but look at this.. the ivy, the windows and crunchy gravel yard!

Can you imagine having this as your snug home for gardening and having dinners with friends in the garden? It’s something right out of a Ralph Lauren dream. It needs a little updating, but what doesn’t? The whole listing here on Zillow..

Well that’s my meanderings for this week now please pop over and see what great ideas my friends Elizabeth and Juliet have for you…I’m always learning so much from both of them!

PINECONES AND ACORNS

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

Thank you for being here!

Kim

If you missed last week’s post with the table throws, market tote bags, earth day, a great fish taco recipe and more you can read that post here.

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Home Update- Mirrors in the Bath

June 4, 2019 By kimwheeler 6 Comments

Just a fast post here to say hello and touch on my latest obsession, mirrors! I’ve had to choose them all for the baths, kind of the last thing for those rooms, but obviously important.

I saw this cute combo of a full-length mirror fronted by a table at my local Harvest Home in Los Gatos and I am thinking that is a cool idea for the entry? My version would be a bit less rustic. Love this mirror though which has blue tones…

Most urgent right now though is the baths. I have to get that all squared away and given the wall height and width, it has been a challenge to make them work with the lighting. Mine have to be mounted above the mirrors as I have a window I really wanted to keep at the center of the vanity. The boy’s bathroom has some restrictions too so they have pendants that hang.

I need two matching mirrors for each bath.There are so many places I looked and finally found what I think I want at CB2.

Loving this CB2 mirror with its mix of acrylic and a hint of gold for the master bath and I think it is modern yet feminine, no?

For the guy’s bathroom I cannot decide between this rectangular mirror which is kind of fun, or the clean look of this simple square version. I could opt for brass or black and love the wider shape. I already have black fixtures in there and a black framed window so maybe the brass?

The lights for the boy’s bath hang from the ceiling and will be in front of the mirrors. I chose these from RH as they have brass tones and black. I needed to add something else in for an accent with all this black. I hope it all works.

I also was digging this shield mirror for them- a cool shape and different. I think CB2 has a lot of choices right now plus reviews are good and prices seem reasonable too.

This oblong version was also an option- again in three finishes, a rose gold, black and silver.

Remember this inspiration pic for pool bath/powder room? I am having a version of this built which I am still waiting on. I am excited to have a spot to roll all the pool towels under. The family who is making all my cabinets has been exceeding expectations so far. All the pieces have been so beautiful. I will do another post on the cabinets. Above this vanity will be the watery blue tile I choose- it being a pool bath. I am thinking a round mirror would work in front of that? CB2 has a few of those too..

My favorite of those is this one right now. It comes in the requisite metals so there are options. A wood trim would be nice too though. Lamps’ Plus has a good one in wood. The faucet for this bathroom comes out of the wall and I choose this darker brass/gold.

This is the only place I went with the (possibly trendy) gold fixtures. To me the gold tone will be a good compliment to the wood and the blue tile wall. The tile on the floor is a geometric tan/off white and flows through the bath and the laundry from the garage entry to the pool door.

I had to change that tile just a few weeks ago. The original tile I posted about (the geo grey and white above), was going to cost $10,000 for a laundry room/pool bath and that was dumb. I don’t know how I missed the cost. I found one I love just as much for $400! The blue tile shown in this photo is the back wall in this bath and has a bit of slight shimmer that you can see in some angles.

Thinking something like these hanging lights might be cool in that pool bath. Both of those are from Shades of Light. That’s my next project and hardware for the drawers!

I have so much I’ve been wanting to share and no time to write. Next up a bit about wallpapers, paint colors, drawer hardware, travel and some good books..Maybe I can finally find the time as the house stuff is wrapping up. Move in date is July 6! Hoping you are all enjoying the start of summer.

Have a great week guys!

Kim