Shed Building Plans

Shopping in Boston A few of my favorite things!

Since my beloved Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football team is an amazing 9-0, we decided to head out to Beantown to see the Irish DESTROY  play the Boston College Golden Eagles.  We lost a few days to the NorEaster but alas once the clouds parted, we ventured out around town for the better part of eight days.


We did all the historical attractions like Freedom Trail and the JFK Library Museum and it was absolutely amazing to walk in the footsteps of our Forefathers and to walk in buildings which were such a part of covert meetings and colonial think tanks.  But then it came time to spend a little time shopping!


We headed to Newbury Street which is just outside Boston Common and Boston Garden area and it is just the most quaint little shopping area I have ever enjoyed.  I felt like I was in a movie.





I am slightly crazy about  Lilly Pulitzer crazy and since they closed the only signature store in Chicago, whenever I go anywhere on vacation, I always Google to see if there is a Lilly store in the area.  And of course, being Boston, there was.  And it just happened to be on Newbury Street!  Imagine that!




He added his own twist to the preppy staple that is the Nantucket rope bracelet which gets better and better as it gets more worn and frayed.  He has added color, his trademark anchor closure, various nautical knots and the result is to die for.  If I had to pick - seriously I could not decide!








Anyway, good looks and heritage aside - his product line is amazing and I cannot wait to start to build my collection!  My J Crew rope bracelets have about had it - time for something new.  Some women prefer diamonds, I prefer accoutrements of a nautical nature.  Most of the time.

THEN.... my world blew up.  I was sauntering through the streets of Boston suddenly my anglophile sense became quite heightened and there, on Newbury Street, I found it.  The most amazing store EVER.  Like EVER!







The store is like a mash up of Ralph Lauren, RUGBY, Abercrombie, Brooks Brothers and Vineyard Vines.  The sweaters (aka jumpers) are gorgeous and the pillows and the hoodies and the socks and the handbags, and the list goes ON and ON and ON!  Here are the pics I took in the store.  It was decorated for Christmas and they even kept their signature color scheme of pink and navy consistent throughout the decs.  ADORABLE!





















To learn more you can watch this adorable video:  http://www.jackwills.com/en-gb/home

And then I have to finish by sharing the Brooks Brothers Christmas windows.... TARTANS galore!









Ok thank you for coming along on my shopping day in Boston.  Cant wait to get back to my home improvement projects - I have something on tap that is very exciting for me.  Stay tuned....


Shopping in Boston A few of my favorite things!

Boston Inspired Master Closet Make Over!

Boston.  Such an amazing city.  Tonight, the worlds attention is on this American treasure because of the awfulness that occurred at the Boston Marathon earlier today.  My heart is indeed heavy and I am sad, angry, frustrated and even a little bit scared.  I visited Boston for only my second time in November 2012 for the Notre Dame vs. Boston College football game and I fell in love with this historical city all over again.



While exploring Newbury Street, one of my most favorite shopping streets in the world, I was introduced to the world of Jack Wills.  It is a store imported from Great Britain and its signature colors are navy blue and pink stripes.  The store is amazing and I became an instant fan.  I chose to use that Jack Wills inspired color scheme in my master closet makeover.


There arent a lot of great things about being single, but it is definitely a perk that I dont have share a remote control or a closet.  And even though I hold out hope for meeting and marrying the man of my dreams, for now I will seek solace in enjoying MY new closet which is mine... all mine.  LOL

I dont believe I am going to post these BEFORE pictures.  Yikes - this closet held a LOT of stuff.  Everything from clothes to Christmas decorations, lamps and even a big Santa Claus.  Do you have holiday decorations in your closet?  I dont have the luxury of a basement but I still dont know why we do this.  :-)


These lamps were here only temporary so they wouldnt get broken but then there are some Easter baskets and an Eddie Bauer Home Store (now defunct) teddy bear which was a gift from my Mom.

So here we have an empty closet and a hardwood underlayment from tearing up the carpeting.


I started with some basic white stripes and only used paint which I had in the house.  I then moved to a navy paint which I decided against for the dining room.  I knew I had a quart of "oops" paint which I picked up for a $1 last summer to have on hand in case I came up with an idea for it.  :-)



I then primed and painted the floor white an really liked the open feeling of the empty closet.  I decided not to put the back shelf and rod back the way it was.  I had this overcrowded bookcase in the laundry room downstairs and decided to use that in the closet for room for sweaters and folded shirts.


I washed it and covered the shelves in this adorable pink shelf liner from MacBeth.  I found three packs on clearance at Marshalls.  It was the perfect color!



I put the book case in place and placed the large shelf on top which worked out perfectly.  I then cut up the long pole into smaller sections and attached them to the wall and the bookcase.  I covered them as well in the pink shelf liner for a more polished look.  I then had extra wood shelves from the dining room hutch I broke apart and used a circular saw to make shelves which fit between the bookcase and the wall.  This created little cubbies which are perfect for shoes or smaller items.




This is probably my favorite part of the closet.  I hung this bar low to the ground so as not to waste space but to create a place just for my tennis skirts.  It worked out perfectly.


I started to move in some pieces to see how it is all going to work out.  I wish I didnt have a ton of stuff to fit in this space although, rest assured, Santa Claus is not coming back in.  :-)  Cheers!




Boston Inspired Master Closet Make Over!