I just impulse bought a couch

That's what I do.

I pour over couches for months (YEARS!) without making a decision. I go from wanting something vintage to something traditional to something ultra-contemporary. But never modern. Meanwhile I've endured the inherent homelessness a freebie couch under a way-more-shabby-than-chic dropcloth, asking my husband to stand up in the middle of Game of Thrones so I can re-center the ever-uncentering fabric. And then one day it's Tuesday and POOF! I have a new couch on the way.

It's sort of what I always wanted in the way a couch on sale is sorta like the $10,000 one from ABC Home that I visit in the showroom more often than I visit my parents.

The "chosen one" is from West Elm. And I never tested it out. I didn't go see it in the store or take swatches home or even note what the fabric is. The cardinal rules of sofa purchasing are finite and unwavering and yet I broke them all. How I got to this devil-may-care attitude might have something to do with the fact that I got an $1800 couch for less than $500 or maybe I was just so full of upholstery self-hatred that I could bear it no longer. Or perhaps I have spent too many hours circling an oval track at 10k pace over the past few months and I miss my design blog.

I need to come back!

Oh yeah, so about the couch... It's a sectional which will do a great job of visually dividing my loft and the color is neutral because I always change my mind about color before I can ever get around to committing to it. Now I just need a new coffee table because this is a low couch which means I need a low coffee table for all my friends in low places. And then a tall floor lamp. YES!

via

Sure, things might not work out with the couch, but couches always grow back. Oh no wait, that's hair. But you might as well take risks in design because you're bound to make mistakes anyway and it's stupid to live in paralyzing couch fear for as long as I have. This style, the Baxter, gives me some flexibility which is peace of mind. I can purchase different pieces if I decide I don't like this shape. Or slipcover this badboy if (when) it gets stained or I want a color or pattern.

It's not coming for a couple weeks, but I'll take some pics once I get it settled.


In the meantime, help me pick out a new coffee table that is equally low! Have you seen my Pinterest board on coffee tables? It's called "Coffee talk" get it?! Haha! Sooooo funny, see I work in comedy.

Riot on,
Beth

Auctions are my form of Gambling

Eff the NCAA tournament and the endearingly indifferent homosexual who won your office pool. Don't waste your time on Poker, or Blackjack, or Roulette, or Russian Roulette, or Chat Roulette or any other type of Roulette that has an entry in Urban Dictionary.

Instead, check out LiveAuctioneers! It's my new Atlantic City.

I've never taken to gambling, but I LOVE the drama of an auction. I've never been to one in person, though I've had my auction bidding strategy plan in place ever since I was a kid watching 80's sitcoms with the obligatory auction episode  (Did the fast-talking auctioneer and arcane bidding conventions trick you into accidentally high-bidding on the bazillion dollar naked lady sculpture? Cue canned laugher!).

Truth is, the real reason I've never been to a live auction is more so because they're typically held in sad hotel conference rooms than any fear of accidental purchase. LiveAuctioneers is incredible because it takes the sad conference room out of the auction, and inserts your pajamas, laptop and favorite couch. Yes, it's an online service that allows you to bid live on auctions held all over the country and world. But it's not Ebay, which is entirely online and has therefore formulated its own unique auction rules. LiveAuctioneers is more like absentee bidding- placing you right in the middle of the action with a live tracker so you can see bids coming in from the auction real time.

Even better? The selection is very appealing and the starting prices are like gateway drugs. 

So far I bid (and lost) on these at their starting price of $50:

They would have been cool- they sold for $125.


And I really wanted to bid on this, which, in order to appreciate the scale, I must tell you is about 5ft wide by 4ft tall:

But evidently my husband doesn't share my taste in art. And he didn't take too much to my proclamation that he would "get used to it."

But you love it, right? RIGHT?!!!

Starting bid was $150, I believe it sold for $275. Now the fucked up horse belongs to someone else :(


Now that I've tested the waters, I don't think there's any going back for me. I'm in too deep. I'm already eyeing some other cool things, but I'm not telling you fools! Go check it out for yourself

Quiet Riot

I'm in one of those moments in life where I'm in a bit of a funk. I'm having a crisis of purpose, I suppose. Maybe it has to do with recently turning 30, or the running injury that fucked my plan for this year, or maybe it's stress and restlessness from work, or maybe it's all of these things combined with the fact that I'M 30 AND NOT IN MY 20'S ANYMORE AND GETTING OLDER AND WILL SOMEDAY DIE.

I don't seek therapy, I don't take pills. Instead, I run, I think, I cry, I roll up in a ball and hide under the covers until I have the courage to come out of my cocoon a stronger, happier person. I have never been a shouter, an intimidator, a confronter but I do think I'm a fighter, in my own way. This is just how I choose to fight my battles.

Times like this always turn me introspective. What have I done, or not done, to get myself in this situation? What can I do to make things better? While it might sound corny, I find inspiration from history and successful people. After all, these fools have been through some shit.

Here are a few quotes that really resonate with me right now:

This is metaphorical AND literal advice for me.

Why Do I Love The Most Impractical Things?!

Haider Ackermann Slit Front Long Skirt via Barney's

A skirt with a train. In NYC. Don't even look at the price.

Where to wear: Photo shoots, sterile operating rooms and 5-star hotels.

Sigh.

Paris Flea Market Style

A week or so ago I received my pre-ordered copy of Paris Flea Market Style by Claudia Strasser (of the site / blog The Paris Aparment).

I first heard of Claudia through her online boutique, which has some of the most amazing French antique finds- they are truly from a fantasy. And of course, the first question on my mind was, "Where did she find these amazing things?"

9 Things the Internet Loves that I'm Not So Sure About

I follow the lifestyle mags / blogs / Pinterest world like a drug-crazed fiend (but in a good way). Those of us who are hooked on pictures of pretty things tend to follow trends, which is inevitable. But sometimes I just can't seem to get on the bandwagon. Here are 9 things the Internet-loving universe is all crazy over that I'm just not sold on...

Argan Oil

So many bloggers / beauty editors rave about this product that I threw caution to the wind & bought a full-size bottle of this schtuff for $50 at Sephora. It's touted as an anti-aging, moisturizing, conditioning, miracle-working, unicorn-spotting, Pope-selecting, Peace-in-the-Middle-East-inducing oil. But it still smells like tires. And if I use it anywhere at all and then touch my hair by the end of the day I look like Johnny Depp after a week-long sauna. But I'm sure it's great for some people.

Artsy Fartsy

I'm always on an endless quest for good art that is affordable. Evidently this is an oxymoron because I just heard a collective chortle from Chelsea (gallery owners totally chortle).

Someday maybe I'll drop a year of my offspring's college tuition on some arranged acrylic but for now I'm just an computer browser window shopper. Yeah, I'm too lazy to actually go to galleries but I do check the dimensions online so I can visualize the scale. That's totally the same thing, right?

Here's a few pieces I've been digging lately. And don't judge, I'm no Gallery Girl.

Jean-Claude Terrier via

I see a person standing in a doorway. I see machinations. I see dead people. OK not that last one.

Lindsay Cowles via

This painting is a departure from Lindsay's typically vibrant color palette, but I love how it looks like an aerial of NYC on a dreary day. Lindsay also will make prints in varying sizes of mostly (if not all) of her paintings. So this one really is relatively affordable- check out her site!

Chad Wys

The spray paint gives this a street art vibe & contrasts the oil paint of the original portrait. There's probably some social commentary in there somewhere, but I don't really feel like analyzing my subconscious right now.

Jose Lerma via

I don't know why, I just do.

Air Is Not Enough, Himitsuhana via

This is a print of a photograph. This chick looks boozy, I dig it.

If you've noticed my taste has been devolving- time to class it up again...

Untitled, Xavi Carbonell via

This painting inspired my entire Living With Style pinterest board for the 1st Dibs contest. I just love the color combinations.

Carlo Van de Roer via

Serenity now. For some reason that circle makes it feel not boring.

El Secreto, Maria Berrio via

This feels so Klimt, doesn't it?

Aaaaaannnnd, just because this is Riot for Design and because I know you can handle it:

Fuck You (That Gun Is Always Loaded), Trey Speegle via

Really, someone ought to start a kickstarter fund for me for this one.  

You know, it's funny. I would be perfectly fine hanging swear words on my wall but I still blush at the thought of nude paintings. What about you- where do you draw the line?