Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 'Round Here

This weekend, when nearly the whole population of the United States was gearing up for the Superbowl, I was hard at work spiffing up this blog of mine. What changes do you spot?

I started by revamping the blog header, which now is made up of Sister Parish's "Albert" fabric.

In addition to changing up the blog header, I tweaked the font styles throughout the blog and love the new look that a great typeface can bring. 

Oh, and just in case you needed more Ashley and Meet Me in Philadelphia in your life, I finally got with the 2010 program and joined Twitter (@MeetMeinPhilly).

Want to follow along?  I'd love to here from you!

I promise to share all of my best Ashley witticisms with you there.

There's nothing like a little change to make a Monday great.

TGIF, 2/3/12 Edition

February is my birthday month and in just a few short weeks, I'll be another year older. Another year closer to 30.
Am I the only one who does a lot of reflection around birthday time?

Oh, who am I kidding, I reflect all the time. I reflect uh lot. I'm in my own head even more than Angela Chase.
So much reflection means so much over-thinking on my part, you know those thoughts that we're all subject to:
--Why did that relationship end that way?
--What could I have done differently at that job?
--Why don't ___ and I hang out more?
--Should I have worked harder in school?
--Why haven't I been to the gym in so long?
--Where is this blog going? How can I advance it to where I want it to be?
--What is my next move?
(insert your own particular neurotic thoughts here)

So, I've decided to make a personal 28th-birthday-promise:
To stop being so damn hard on myself.
To forget  this person or that person who caused so much sadness or grief.
To show the world that I'm pretty spectacular and funny and clever and cute (okay, maybe I'm not that bold...yet).

To celebrate this resolution of sorts, I'm getting my hair did today, getting back to the gym, and treating myself to the best life possible. To 28 and all that follows.

Happy Friday, everyone.
Thanks for reading and for making each day a little brighter with your comments, emails, and support.

The Green Vase Brightens Any Winter Day

We're a few months away from the blooming buds and vibrant flowers of springtime, so I thought that I would use the occasion of February 1st to highlight the spectacular work of Livia Cetti and her company The Green Vase . The Green Vase offers a seasonless take on flowers that can brighten even the bleakest, coldest mid-winter day.

Cetti's floral work, if you're not familiar, regularly appears in Martha Stewart Weddings and is sold in choice shops like John Derian. What makes Livia Cetti and her company so unique you're thinking, right?

Livia Cetti produces awe-inspiring floral arrangements and bouquets made of candy-colored crepe paper!

For all of us who were born with a black thumb, Cetti's flowers are perpetually bright, beautiful and need no care at all.

How gorgeous are these pieces of floral art?

(all via The Green Vase)

If I had to choose, I'd gladly welcome the aubergine hollyhock arrangement above into my home.

Cetti's florals aren't simply meant for wedding editorials though, and can be purchased on The Green Vase website as well as at John Derian in New York. Chelsea from Frolic snapped these paper geraniums, which require extra-close inspection to see that they are actually crafted from paper and not created by nature.

(via Frolic!)

Would you consider bringing one of Livia Cetti's expertly crafted crepe paper blooms into your home?

You sure know I would.

More Changes to My Living Room

Thank you all for the lovely comments to yesterday's roman shade tutorial that I shared.

I included a few "after" photos in the post that showed I also made several small but effective changes to the living room.

One change sparked another, and another, and so on.

Since several of you had commented on my dotty spotty pillow, I thought I'd mention that it's Groundworks print called "Twister". I bought it as a fabric remnant from Ebay because it's awfully spendy at full price.

I also relocated some of my artwork to add a bit more color to the space, including our Carter Kustara silhouettes and the Bella Foster print that we received as a wedding present.

Remember the $22 Moroccan-style table I found in Maine over Thanksgiving?

At such a low price, the table wasn't exactly in the best of shape and definitely needed some TLC.
A careful coating of "Wrought Iron" paint by Martha Stewart for Home Depot in a semi-gloss completely changed the overall look of the table and played off of the deep navy from my Groundworks pillow.

Just a couple of quick, easy changes to the living room that make it feel fresh and new.

Easy-Peasy Custom Roman Shades

Thank you all so much for your very sweet comments to Friday's sneak peak--I could hardly wait to make the reveal! 

Well, Monday is here and I'm excited to share my easy-peasy (and inexpensive) custom roman shade project with you all. 

WARNING: This post is long, but the project was very simple. I hope you'll  humor me and read along.

As the year began, I decided that I wanted to go a little bolder with my decorating choices, and I thought the plain white roman shades in my living room were the perfect place to start.

Here the shades were on Thursday of last week--fine but nothing to write home about:

The plain cotton roman shades were purchased at The Christmas Tree Shops (of all places!) about two and a half years ago when we moved into our current apartment. Each shade was $10, and are still available at The Christmas Tree Shops. 

As a matter of fact, they were in this week's flyer.

I contemplated a block print fabric, but I broadened my search and found this batik-style cotton coverlet from Etsy that offered a lot of fabric for about $40. Fabric chosen; decision made!

The color ("that signature Ashley red," as Camille said) was a perfect match for the red-banded curtains in my living room!

Honestly, up until Thursday afternoon, I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to do the sewing myself or hire someone to sew the shades...then, I thought: 

Wait, Ashley, you can do this.

Why spend money for someone else's effort?

You got this, girl.

(seriously, this was my thought process)

After the pep talk, I decided I could use the existing white roman shade as a template, backing, and foundation for my roman shade. If starting from scratch, I'd have to buy muslin, string, eyelets, and other bits that I didn't need with this solution.

I decided to do a little "mock-up" before I made any cuts to the fabric.

Ready to go, I first laid my printed fabric wrong-side facing up on the floor (the largest surface area I had to work with). 

I laid the roman shade directly on top of the fabric, also with its backside facing up. 

With the roman shade laying atop as a template, I was careful to straighten my printed fabric and pull it taut.

Always be mindful of the direction of your pattern before you cut!

Once the fabric was perfectly taut, I began to cut it about 2" wider than the shade on the vertical sides of the shade. 

Cut the fabric 2" longer on the horizontal sides of the shade as well.

The extra 2" on each vertical side then got folded and pinned to the existing roman shade.
I made the hem about .25" wider than the roman shade so that none of the white would show. 

For the bottom hem of the shade, I cuffed and pinned the printed fabric to the back of the shade, which looked like this:

I'll address the top hem (the part of the shade that's closest to the ceiling) later.
With 3 of 4 sides pinned, I was ready to sew the printed fabric front to the white roman shade backing. I chose to sew by hand because I didn't want the stitches visible from the front of the shade, but you could use a product like Fabri-tac or Stitch Witchery if you don't like to sew.
Just remember: when using Fabri-tac or Stitch Witchery, your project is permanent. 
By sewing, I can swap out my front fabric anytime I wish.

The last and final step before hanging the newly-jazzed up shades was to secure the top hem of the shade (the edge that abuts the top of the window). There are several ways to do this, but I pulled out my staple gun and stapled the extra 2" of fabric to the wooden dowel at the top of the shade. You can also choose to glue the fabric to the dowel, if you like.

Okay, are you still reading?! 

I know this was long, but I promise the project was pretty quick. 

All told, the shades were done in about 2-2 1/2 episodes of Dateline on Investigation Discovery (my new metric for time).

So, to refresh your memory, here's the before:

And the after, which I'm absolutely crazy about!

This project was really fun and simple, and made such a big impact in my living room. 

It felt great to reuse the shades I already owned and spend very little (only about $40) for fabric.

What do you think?

Would you try this easy-peasy project in your own home?

P.S. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about this project!

TGIF, 1/27/12 Edition

Where has the week gone?
I've been in the midst of several projects all week and, because I just can't wait until the reveal on Monday, I had to give you a sneak peak (or two)...

For one, a bold change to the roman shades in my living room:

And another--a new pillow for my sofa:

I can't wait to reveal the full step-by-step roman shade tutorial on Monday.
Be sure to come back next week!

Happy weekend, all!

New, Limited Edition Bella Foster Prints!

Are you familiar with the website Stampa? 

If not, let me share with you a little about this great new site which offers limited edition prints from buzz-worthy artists represented by the firm Art Department. Recently written up on the nytimes.com, Stampa offers a rotating list of artists, including Bella Foster, for only four weeks at a time.

I've written about Bella Foster before on Meet Me in Philadelphia (see here and here), and I'm really crazy about her dreamy sort of abstract style. She manages to elevate the most mundane household items into watercolor dreams.

I love each and every print, but here are a few that I'm simply giddy over:

("Cups" / "Tabletop" via Stampa)

 ("Interior" / "New York" via Stampa)

("Love American Style" / "Radish" via Stampa)

There are sixteen prints available for a very limited time, so be sure to snatch up these beautiful pieces of artwork quickly.
Wouldn't they be a great birthday or Valentine's Day present for someone special?