Weekend with The Suze

The Suze came to visit me over the weekend and we had a great time. It's always nice to have an extra hand when I'm planning one of my kids' birthday extravaganzas.  And it's fun to have somebody to talk to about decorating stuff who truly loves everything as much as I love it.  I don't think there's anyone out there who is as much on the same wavelength as me when it comes to our surroundings as my Mom.  It's a great bond. 

While The Suze was here, my dad sent us some pictures of the new kitchen lights they installed that day.  The Suze was so happy she declared, "oooh, it's like a charm bracelet!!" (Anyone who knows The Suze knows that a charm bracelet is the ultimate in happy sparkles for her). 

I believe these are the Benson Pendants from Restoration Hardware.  The polished nickel keeps them classic, but I do believe these are such a big step in The Suze's recent style evolution.  She's very true to her roots, but just a bit cleaner lines, less cluttered and fussy.  I love it.  You also get a peek of their new kitchen.  The marble is covered, but you can see the sink fixture is gorgeous too.  This all opens up to the family room, which we are soo excited about!

Also, you can see just off to the back left is a built-in that was supposed to be for cookbooks.  It was the first thing they did that The Suze was not in-town for and that's when she realized she was going to need to micro-manage a little more than she thought she would.  It's not at all deep enough for any books.  There's still a lot she can do with it so it's not that big of a deal.  I suggested she display her silver pieces in it.  Like this little nook of genius from Sage Design:

I just love when a house that's less formal turns it up a notch and brings out all of the pretty things.  And for the near future The Suze won't have any kids rollerblading through her house like she did for the last 20+ years (seriously we all did it, like it was no big deal) so she can finally really be fancy again. :)

When The Suze comes in town, she usually does a lot of laundry and dishes (mine), goes to the grocery store 25 times (milk for the boys, wine for the girls) and plays with the kids or tries to teach them to nap (to no avail).  This time we stole away for a bit to check out the nearby Mission Road Antique Mall.  I hadn't been in years (it's not a great place for strollers or monkey children).  It's fun to go to places like this with The Suze because she can show me what's really nice and a good deal and talk me out of something that might sound like a good idea in theory.  We found lots of things we loved.  I came home with these antique egg prints and gold sconces (thanks mom!)

 

I'm going to frame the egg prints with thin gold frames and put them up in my family room.  The sconces will adorn Theresa on either side.  

We also popped into Coveted Home, a local interior design and home decor boutique, that I've been dying to visit since my friend Tobe at Because It's Awesome told me about it (a long time ago).   It's taken me forever because (sorry sweet boys) kids.  Y'all know how life with little ones can be - they're great snuggling and laughter, not so much for home decorating.  

The store is really everything I hoped it would be and more (see these images from their Fall Open House).  It's expertly-edited and really only filled with quality things.  

I loved this pretty blue and white pillow. 

and this gorgeous tassel trim throw. 

We met Joslyn, the owner and designer.  She's a wealth of information and so sweet.  I love finding local Kansas City talent and look forward to following her work more closely.  That's one of my goals this year, is to shop more locally.  I'm the queen of internet shopping (although Coveted Home does have an online store and blog as well!). 

And finally, The Suze and I both decided we had to have this fabric in our houses.  It's gorgeous.  It's soft and velvety, but not velvet.  The texture is really what makes it.  I just want some pillows for my sofa.  I think The Suze needs to cover a big tufted ottoman with this for right in the middle of the family room between her two white slip-covered sofas on her sea grass rug :) 

Well, that's all for now! The weekend was a blast! This blog would not be what it is without The Suze and her excellent taste.  Now that she's getting "her house" finally, I have a feeling I'll be sharing a lot more of The Suze's inspiration with you!