Before & After

I love a good before & after. But then again, who doesn’t!

I have always loved the idea of the entry table and I knew I wanted one for multiple reasons. To start, it is the first place that welcomes guests into my home. Additionally, I wanted the space to reflect me, my life, my interests, and give a glimpse of what’s to come throughout the rest of the home.

I wanted the space to catch some incidentals like mail, keys, and Amazon packages, – until I can get to them of course. All those things needed a proper home in lieu of the kitchen island, bar stools, or living room coffee table.

The tricky part was finding the right size table for the space. The entrance itself is long and narrow, so I measured the space to work with, and then I went to work.

With any new decor endeavor that will take my before to the optimum after, I tend to follow a step by step formula to design my project.

  • 1. Start with Pinterest, I always start here. Pinterest has a surplus of inspiration.  I also re-acquaint myself with my overall decor vision, and I will add pins as necessary. 
  • 2. Check what decor accessories I might have on hand to add to the space.
  • 3. Go to YouTube and visit a few of my favorite decor channels and search for more inspiration.
  • 4. I finally make a list of items needed, to then start the saving and purchasing process.

With this particular project I knew I didn’t want to spend a lot. I also knew that if I approached it from a ‘capsule’ point of view, I only needed to buy a few key pieces. The console table, a mirror, and a lamp, and the rest I could fill in with what I already had.

I initially bought this entry table from Amazon – just to get notified the week it was supposed to arrive, and after waiting the 6 week lead time, that it was damaged and it was their last one. Thereafter, they canceled my order and refunded me my money. I wish I could say this didn’t upset me – but, it did.

After an hour of woah-is-me, to anyone who would listen, my husband finally said look for another one. I ended up finding the exact same one at the Ashley Furniture online site, and on sale. Thank you furniture universe! I ordered it AGAIN, and 4 weeks later she arrived.

Putting the table together wasn’t without its difficulties. It all seemed simple and straightforward, in theory. 1 large top piece, 4 long legs, 1 bottom shelf, 4 short legs, and then just fit the drawer handles to the exterior. Simple enough. NO!

Retrieving the short legs from one of the drawers they were packaged in required a knife to push through the top slit to cut into box that was wedged in there so crammed that it wouldn’t allow the drawer to budge, yet alone slide open. Headache.

One of the glued corners from the bottom shelf that attaches the long and short legs was completely separated, along with the wood peg that fit inside of it. So I improvised, I broke a pencil to the appropriate size to replace the wood peg and used Gorilla Glue to attach the pieces back together. This seemed to do the job.

Next, I spray painted the metal drawer pulls gold before I attached them. In some photos you can even see the pulls hadn’t been attached yet.

When that was done, I had the husband drill the screw into the wall to hold the mirror, thank goodness, that thing was heavy. Then it was time to pull it all together.

The cat loves the before and after. Now, I’m not completely finished with decorating the space. I also like to move things around until they feel right. I find that decorating my space is like working on my mental game and personal growth – constantly a work in progress. Honesty, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

That being said, I really do enjoy the entrance, and where I am going with it. Since I took the original images, I have already made a few changes – I removed the brass lantern & the large candle, and I also swapped the vase & lamp – as seen throughout in the after-after. I definitely prefer the after-after so far, – let me know in the comments which you prefer.

I do love the potential of the space, and I am excited to watch the space transform along with me. Time to buy so flowers to fill the vase.

Quaintrelle Aspirations

Years ago I was perusing Pinterest when I came across the word quaintrelle, along with its definition.  I had never heard or seen this word before, so as I read the definition I took pause and read it again, and again, and again. The word resonated so strongly I found myself simply captivated by it.

Quaintrelle — (n.) a woman who emphasizes a life of passion, expressed through personal style, leisurely pastimes, charm, and a cultivation of life’s pleasures.

Let’s break apart the definition, a woman who emphasizes a life of passion — what is a life of passion?  Defining passion wasn’t quite as straightforward as I thought it would be. So I decided to use only one part of the five various definitions available — (a.) ardent affection, (b.) a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, (c.) object or concept, and (d.) an object of desire or deep interest.  

I like to interpret that ‘a life of passion’ is a life filled with passion and purpose.  I believe purpose is the internal calling on one’s life.  What exactly that “purpose” is for me, is still being fleshed out and clarified.  Until then, I feel as though my passions are fueled by my purpose.   

Personal style — it’s in the phrase, personal style, and it is personal for each of us.  I know it is for me at least.  I love beauty, beautiful clothes, home decor, art, music, and every other facet one can claim as having style or being stylish.  My style is definitely a reflection of my life — my past, my, likes, my studies, my interests, and even my future self — the woman I want to be.  The best part, I love how this allows for authenticity for each of us.

Charm — the definition of charm is the power or quality of giving delight or arousing admiration. The power or quality of giving delight — but I’d also like to make it about allowing delight.  I believe charm is two-fold – being & allowing.  More importantly I believe we are all responsible for the energy we put out into the world.  I want the energy I put out there to be delightful and admirable. 

A cultivation of life’s pleasures — to prepare and acquire the happy enjoyments of life. Pleasures are most definitely personal, they are preferences that we have acquired, cultivated, and adopted over time. One thing I know is that pleasure are purely subjective. Now, happiness is a different topic all together. One of my friends, & life coach/ mentor, Brooke has a theory about a happy life. That theory is that life is 50/50.  Half of life is happy and wonderful & the other half is rotten & utter crap.  I happen to agree with her theory.  

In the 48 years I have practiced being human, I can vouch that the “fifty percent bad” range varies from horrific shit that no one should have to experience, to the simplest of unsettled feelings, (you know – all that self induced negativity we seem to welcome).  Nevertheless it is a drastic range between the two, but they all fall within that negative energy scale.  

But I believe life is about contrast, light and shade, positive and negative — life is what it is.  It is in accepting the 50/50 theory that allows me freedom from trying, and ultimately failing, to change the past.   It also provides me an opportunity to practice putting labels of good & bad to rest.  

I find that the silver lining within that negative half is a lot of growth, and a lot of lessons learned.  Fascinating enough, getting through all that crap makes the better half of life taste that much sweeter.  I am only the woman I am today because of the life I have experienced — and I honestly wouldn’t want to be anyone else. 

When we accept our unique calling and share our authentic selves with the world, we show up in ways that alter not just our lives, but the lives around us. This new journey I just embarked on is going to require me to show up in ways like I never have before – this is going to be a very interesting ride!

Why You Need a Coffee Table Book Collection

DO YOU HAVE A LOVE AFFAIR WITH COFFEE TABLE BOOKS?

I recently uncovered this obsession of mine that has been slowly creeping into my space for a couple of years now.  Let me preface, the aforementioned “obsession” has only reared its head over a course of two year — but my love for them have been decades in the making. 

What I am talking about my friends, are COFFEE TABLE BOOKS.  You know, the adult version of a picture book, yeah — those!

Yes yes, I’m an art historian, a photographer, and a lover of aesthetics.  And yes, I am visually driven, so this will come as no surprise to some of you.  Funny enough though, I still found myself a little surprised by the realization of my growing collection. When I thought about the why of it though, well that wasn’t so shocking.  

Aside from the fact that these books are incredibly beautiful with stunning imagery throughout.  They are also inspiring, with incredible stories, insights, and the creativity throughout is rather palpable.  They take me away to far away places, movie sets, to museum collections, front row to fashion shows & vintage runways, and to dreamy interiors that make want to do some serious decorating.

More importantly, they all continue to bring a smile to my face every time I flip through them.  And that feeling alone continues to drive me to collect even more.  If you haven’t yet begun your own collection of coffee table books I highly recommend it!!

I recommend perusing Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or even go visit your local bookstores and discount stores – TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Target also have selections to choose from. Start first by looking at the genres that interest you the most. Look for topics that inspire you, motivate you, or even excite you. I have linked nine coffee table books below that I absolutely adore and would highly recommend.

Afterall, there is nothing better than taking a break from Netflix, settling down in a cozy spot with a blanket, candle, & warm beverage – and simply escape into the beautiful glossy pages of a fabulous coffee table book.

If you have any favorites, drop them in the comment section below. I would love to see, explore and add more of these beautiful coffee table books to my ever-growing collection!

You might also enjoy exploring a variety of genres from Valentina’s list of favorite coffee table books!

Let’s Rendezvous

The word Rendezvous came to me about 4 months ago when I took a workshop from life coach Tonya Leigh.  The workshop was called “Live Like an Editor”.  At the heart of the workshop you are coached to live your life intentionally, designed and orchestrated by you, while ruthlessly editing it to make it exactly what you want.

I’ll admit it, the appeal to this workshop was definitely in the title alone — the fact that it only cost $37, well, that was a bonus!  But, within the 5 day workshop I devoured the content. Admittedly the notions within the workshop were not new to me. Having dabbled in the personal growth arena for some time now, I was well versed in the core principles presented. HOWEVER, it was the way the pieces were presented together for me that struck a chord.

Here is the simple truth, I’m a visualist.  I tend to absorb most of life visually, which probably explains my degree in art history and my penchant for all things visually pleasing.  What Tonya conveyed in her workshop, and then drove home again & again through her podcast and SOSI program was just how important our visual surroundings are, and even more importantly our perceived self images are to our personal growth, development, and ultimately our success.

Merging the three components of mindset, personal style and surroundings struck me deeply.  I knew I have always been affected by my surroundings, my personal style & my mindset (whether sitting still, moving forward, or spinning chaotically).  This trifecta of awareness resonated and ultimately help reset a shift with my perception.

Back to the “Live Like an Editor” workshop — one of the first assignments was to name my magazine cover, of course I have a magazine, I am the editor and I get to name it — all of which made me as giddy as schoolgirl.  

The title of my magazine was/is Rendezvous. I played around with another word, but this one won out in the end.  Rendezvous — to meet or come together at a particular time and place.

Rendezvous, I love this word.  I love the way it sounds when rolling off the tongue. I love its implied french-ness. I love the meaning, to meet or come together.  The essence, which spoke to me – was to start showing up consistently in my own life, my real world. I need to rendezvous my current life with my well curated dream life within the code of the Pinterest algorithm. 

The “Editor” workshop was a gentle nudge to stop with just daydreaming. Instead start living — start living my life, believing this current life to be my dream life that I get to edit scrupulously as I walk it out. I don’t have to wait for all the stars to align before being grateful for how it is now, how it feels now, & or how it will feel when those proverbial stars do actually align.  I don’t need permission or validation to move forward in my own journey, this is after all, my life!  I don’t need to grapple with society’s definition of perfection to know and believe that everything in my life is actually pretty perfect. Because everything is as it is supposed to be. And if I don’t prefer something I can alter it, I can change my mind, and I can shift my trajectory.

All that to say, I have decided to rendezvous with myself, for myself.  My aim is to be me, please me, and make this journey about me, all while enjoying myself along the way. This, my friends, is next level self-care.

Following the live like an editor thread, I have decided the word Rendezvous will also be my word of the year for 2022.  And as you can tell, if you are here reading this post, I have also coined the word rendezvous for my new website.   

I am excited to see this space take shape. I plan to use it as a platform to share pieces of me, things I think, things I love, things I find beautiful, things that inspire, and essentially just moments in life I feel worthy of noting.  I hope you join me in this journey and rendezvous with me regularly.  

But more importantly, I wish you all the beauty & joy this life has to offer. 

Ciao for now,

xo — Suzette