May has been a fickle month for us in NYC. The weather can’t seem to settle on a season, though I confess I’m glad we haven’t reached higher temps yet–last summer was brutally hot, which is not much fun in an apartment with just one dinky window air conditioner.

I have a particular fondness for jacket weather, or really any weather where jeans and sleeves (or a light jacket) will get you through the day. While I love the layered look on other people, I always revert to very basic outfits. Uniforms can be good.

{Chance top / J.Crew bracelet / Jack Rogers sandals / Background: Schumacher Zebra Palm Linen Print}

This week I was in North Carolina styling props for the new Society Social magalog and one of the items I brought along was this print. I made the print just for the shoot, but the response to it has been awesome! So it’s in my print shop now, ready to join your gallery wall!

The shoot itself was fantastic, and I can’t wait to share the images when the new magalog arrives!

{Dresses: J.Crew Camille Dress / Mossimo Wrap Dress – Target / Tibi Peplum Dress – Outnet / Kate Young Beaded Shift Dress – Target / See By Chloe Strapless Dress – Outnet / Jacket: Kate Young Satin Blazer – Target / Bottoms: J.Crew Pencil Skirt / J.Crew Minnie Pants / Zara Long Flowing Skirt / Moschino Cheap and Chic Pleated Skirt – Outnet}

I promised another wardrobe guide but instead I’m posting a springy picture I took last week. My mom was in town, and after visiting the Museum of the City of New York, we stumbled upon the Central Park Conservatory, a beautiful formal garden at the northern end. The magnolias last week were in full splendor everywhere, one of those rare weeks where everything seems quite perfect in New York.

Happy weekend!

As much as I enjoy shopping, I’m sometimes a little unsure of what I should actually be buying. The May issue of Real Simple (unfortunately not on their site) had a little section on dressing for your figure, but no pictures! Since I’m a visual person, I put together a cheat sheet of shapes that work for my figure.

Later this week I’ll share the straight figure guide!

{Dresses: Kate Spade Silverscreen Dress / DVF Wrap Dress – Net-a-Porter / Floral Printed Dress – Zara / Saturday Scoopback Dress / Tops: J.Crew Painter Elbow-Sleeve Boatneck / J.Crew Ponte Peplum Top / Topshop Quilted Cropped Jacket / Skirts: Topshop Spot Pleat Skirt / Checkered Jacquard Skirt – Zara / Jeans: J.Brand 818 Slim Bootcut / 7 For All Mankind Kimmie Straight Leg Jean – Neiman Marcus}

We decided to hold off on kitchen planning for a month, but I’m back in the swing of it now. There might have been a cabinet epiphany. Isn’t it silly the way things like a remodel can become so all-consuming that we can call the decision to use mostly open shelving an epiphany? So silly.

So I’ve been looking at the floor options, and in my budget, they are a bit grim. We will likely be doing laminate wood for the ease of installation and cost. I tried to make tiles work, but the square footage costs are almost double in most cases, let alone the labor involved.

But. If I owned this apartment, I would spring for tile, specifically a hex tile with dark grout. It’s historically accurate (the above photo is from our stair’s landing), graphic, and affordable. (Just not as cheap-cheap as I need them to be for this remodel!)

As bonus vintage tile inspiration, check out the herringbone tiles in my lobby:

As an aside, if you ever worry your love of greek key is going to date you as a Shoshanna-style decor trend-chaser, you are silly. Shit is classic!

Ever since I saw this bathroom, I’ve had a bit of a thing for a blue splatter print. Now it’s everywhere! You can wear the print while sitting in your splatter room, eating off splatter dishes! Zach Braff is totally going to use that tableau in his Garden State sequel.

{Hinson and Co. Spatter Wallpaper / The Skinny Jean in Splatter Paint - Saturday / Blue and White Splatter Bowl – Furbish}

I got the Coach mocassin in Ginger, but I’m intrigued by the gold too. If you’re in the market for a new flat, I highly recommend these.

{Coach Nadia moc}

I only have a few freelance gigs right now, so I’ve been figuring out some side projects to keep myself busy. I always had an interest in prop styling, but never quite knew how to go about doing it.  The traditional route is basically… work at Martha Stewart. While I wait on Martha to call my number (ha!), I started a tumblr that’s strictly styling projects: Signifiers of Style.

Since we’re doing housekeeping, do you all use Bloglovin? You can follow my blog here.

{image from my new tumblr}

I painted the chiavari chairs BM Jade Garden, an exquisite color that I’d love to paint a whole room with at some point. I didn’t use an oil-based paint; instead, I used the Advance line, which is an alkyd.  The finish isn’t quite the same as using an oil-based, but it’s close and much easier to clean up.

The tole chandelier was an OKL find from their vintage section. I LOVE those sales. Some of the vintage products are expensive, but this chandy was a good deal. Yes, I could do better on price if I trawled the flea, but hey, when you buy curated vintage home decor, you’re paying for someone else’s eye and time finding the thing. So it’s worth it!

The tablecloth fabric was a happy coincidence (and I love the cat hair in this photo). After one of my mom’s visits, she was lamenting the fact we had no tablecloth–she is old school and doesn’t love bare tables. So I just listed to her the colors I was going for in the room, and she found this fabric. I kind of forgot she had sewn me a tablecloth until some friends came over this weekend for a game night, and I pulled it out. To my delight, the fabric perfectly tied everything together! I thought the painted chairs were looking a little rando, but not with this tablecloth. I love when things  look intentional on accident.