Simply Beautiful.

If the blogosphere is any indication, all of you have done all you can to support rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti. While the last two weeks have been heartbreaking, it's also been amazing to see what can be accomplished when people come together to help others. I'm very proud to be from a country with such a generous spirit. I hope that spirit stays with us for a long, long time and embeds itself in our communities as well as abroad.

I know many of you have already seen this, but I've had it on repeat on iTunes, so I thought I'd post it as well. It's the Justin Timberlake/Matt Morris cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.  I love me some JT, but man. That's some raw talent coming from MM. If you love it, too, hop over to iTunes and pick it up. You'll be glad you did. 

Long time, no see.

And that's my fault. I'm sorry!

But we've got something big in the works here at Simply Perfect Home, and when I'm at liberty to tell you about it, you'll understand why I've been so busy/MIA!

Until then, however, I have been on the hunt for a very important household staple. Besides new bedding. And no, we haven't come to a concensus on that at our house.

We need new rugs. Baaaaad. It's embarassing. Several of the rugs in our home were purchased at Ikea, and while I love the price, and frankly didn't expect them to hold up as well as they have for 3 years a)in a high traffic area and b)while being exposed to a darling, but slightly mad little pup, it's time to change 'em.

So, we're looking for a few perfect rugs.

First on my list is this indoor/outdoor rug from Dash and Albert:

We have a smaller version in green in our kitchen and I. love. it.

Seriously, these are amazing. It's SO easy to clean, it's comfortable to stand on and it keeps really well. AND, my fave store in Dallas, Uptown Country Home, carries the entire line. So it's easy to order!

Only thing is, I finally took my chairs to be upholstered and I wonder if the Chiang Mai and the diamond pattern are a little much. Maybe this is a better choice for another room...or our patio?

I found this much simpler version over at Overstock.com:

 Not a whole lot going on there. Which really is a-ok. Just wonder how it will hold up to T after she's had a bath and feels the need to run 26.2 miles around the coffee table as fast as she can.

I also found this rug on the Pottery Barn website:

It looks comfy cosy for our bedroom, but I have one small problem with Pottery Barn rugs.

They smell.

Anyone else notice that? I've purchased 3 PB rugs in my life and all of them have had the exact same smell. That never, ever, ever goes away.

And finally, in my la-la-land dream world, I want a personalized rug from Jonathan Adler. This, if I was keeping it neutral:

But this, if I was kickin' it up a notch:

By the way, if you haven't spent time on his Design Your Own site yet, leave now and go play. Just make sure you have at least 2 hours set apart. And an unlimited budget. You will not be able to stop with just one thing, I promise.

Changing it up.

Our bedding, that is.

Last week, Allen announced that he was "bored" with our bedding. Specifically the matelasse coverlet that, in his words, shrinks every time we wash it and now just looks sloppy.

He's right, actually. It DOES shrink, and now when it's on the bed, it doesn't even cover the sides of the fitted sheet.

He also doesn't really love our duvet cover, which is Dwell's Chocolate Dot pattern.

We don't have the sheets, just the duvet cover and two king shams. And since I bought it on bluefly.com and not Dwell, I had NO idea that it was a kid's pattern!! Hilarious.

Needless to say, however, I am taking advantage of this rare opportunity (rare being when he wants to change something like this of his own volition).

So, I've been on the hunt for a fabulous new set.

Here's what I want:

Matouk Mirasol.

Unfortunately, it's a little out of my budget. Just a smidge. ;)

He really likes this:

Good ol' Restoration Hardware satin stich ivory bedding. And I really like it, too, but I wish the colors were a little less muted.

I'm also sort of digging this:

Is it too girly for a guy?

And I really love this, from Garnet Hill:

Has a bit of an Anthro vibe.

Help, blogfriends!! Any secrets you can share on bedding shopping? I'm overwhelmed.

Baby, it's COLD outside!!

It's fuh-reeeeeezing in Dallas! This morning, as I left the house in sub-freezing temps, I had to face the cold, hard truth about myself (no pun intended)...

I'm a colossal wimp. I grew up in Wisconsin, for pete's sake! I should be able to handle normal winter temps. Alas, that's not the case. I've even found myself pulling out the puffy coat for (this is embarrassing) 40 degree days. So this morning, I was a popsicle. 

In an effort to channel a little heat, however, I've sorted through my clippings folder and come up with a bunch of fireplace pics, guaranteed to make you feel just a little toastier. 

And since these miserable temps are planning to stick around for a few days, that's where you'll be able to find me...in front of our fireplace. ALL WEEKEND.

Elle Decor, via Shelter

via Style Redux (but originally from Domino. *sob*)

 Via Desire to Inspire

New Year, New Needs

Or, otherwise titled: "New Year, New things that I can fall in love with and then spend colossal amounts of time hunting around Dallas for more affordable versions."

Sigh. 

Without further ado:

No, this isn't a joke. How cool would it be to have a bunch of vintage arcade games in your game room and be able to be all, "Hey guys, for Sunday Funday, instead of sitting in this kind-of-gross bar, let's just go back to my house and spend all afternoon playing vintage arcade games?"

One plus and two minuses---plus first. Allen would officially think I'm the coolest wife ever. Now for the minuses: First, I don't have a game room. Probably won't have one of those for awhile, if ever.
Second, I haven't even been able to convince myself to spend the money to buy a Wii, so pretty sure I'd have a hard time shelling out the dough for these when there are things like this to purchase....

Soooo much more worth it.

Now, for something really bizarre. I hate going to the dentist.

Yes, I realize that's not bizarre or unique.

But here's what is.

I love this vintage dentist's cabinet. What an awesome place to store linens. Those flat drawers would be amazing.

So, once upon a time I bought a similar table at a really great store in Dallas and was so excited I could barely wait to get it home. When I got it home, however, and showed it to my husband, he was less than enthused. Long story short, the table was returned. I think of it often and wonder who gets to enjoy it everyday. Love this table. Someone please buy it.

And finally, one last little item to brighten your day...

I must have these in my kitchen, stat. How stinkin' cute.

I am resolved.

Happy New Year, blogfriends!! And yes, I do know that I'm a few days late, but I took a little break from blogging over the holidays. :)

Did you make resolutions this year? I do, every year...and then without fail every year I break them after about 2 weeks.

But this year I'm going to try again!

My resolutions this year:

Be a more heathful eater. I'm a vegetarian (well, actually, a pescatarian because I eat fish, but does that word not remind you of the scene in Notting Hill when Hugh Grant's friends try to set him up with that hilarious character who only eats things that are already dead?), but I'm not great about fresh fruits and veggies.  So, I'm following the pyramid (for at least 2 weeks).

On the health front, I'm also revolving to get back into attending yoga regularly. I was SO good about that when Allen was in Switzerland and New York all summer for training, but when he returned home it was so much more fun to hang out with him after work than go to yoga class. But I really do love it and the difference it makes on my stress level.

And no, that's not me.

My final resolution is to do all of the little projects around the house that I simply HATE.  Like redoing the trim that I slacked off on in our bedroom and looks like &^%&.

That's it for this year! Maybe with just three, I'll actually accomplish them.

P.S.  Oops, one more. I resolve to give mad props to my husband when he works really hard on things like our Christmas lights and then I forget to blog about them, despite my best intentions.  They looked really pretty. Next year, I'll blog about them twice. :)