January 13, 2010

feeding a habit

Hi, my name is Amber M., and I'm a catalogue-oholic.

Hello, Amber.

I have this liiiittle habit of ordering catalogues. Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, and Crate & Barrel are my favorites. But every once in a while I wind up with West Elm or Williams Sonoma in there too. And whenever I get that "If you do not order something, this will be the last catalogue we can send to you" notice, I hop online and purchase something I've been coveting for months on end. Luckily, it's usually on sale or clearance by that time.

My most favorite thing to do is let my catalogues build up into a nice pile. Then one morning, I quietly tiptoe downstairs, brew myself a piping hot cup of Plantation Mint Tea, and arm myself with four things: my catalogues, my Xacto knife, a notepad, and a pen.



Oh the sheer bliss that comes with each crisp turn of the page! The delight I feel as my knife slices through my favorite displays. The utter contentment of seeing something I love and writing down the idea or plan of how to do it myself!

I know! I have a serious addiction!

Sometimes, I come across something as simple as colored soaps. I might cut out the page, or I might just use my notepad and write down that it's something I'd eventually like to buy. A photo can even fix an issue I had lurking in the back of my mind for months! I'll add that to my notebook. Or, every now then, I'll just remember that I need more paint. So that goes on there too. Then, the notebook and pen go into my purse--just in case I happen to be out and want to give that little old list a once over.

However, other times those glossy slick pages just feed my brain. I get color inspirations, design ideas, accessory assistance--you name it, I'll probably find it in those pages!

I so wish we had the space to do something like this in our house right now.



I pink puffy heart open shelving. Especially when the shelves and dishes contrast so beautifully like black and white. And those gorgeous pops of yellow! Swoon!

So now you know. I have an addiction. And I'm pretty sure ordering all these catalogues has increased my carbon footprint by about 50 points. But I recycle them all when I'm done! That counts for something, right? ;)



7 comments:

  1. "I pink puffy heart open shelving."

    *hee-hee* You crack me up! :) I had to forcibly remove all the catalogs from my mailbox by moving several times just to avoid them. They are so tempting --- but great for mining for ideas even if you find other ways of creating the same look.

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  2. I love them. When I was a kid, the best day of the year was when the JC Penney Christmas catalog came out. All those toys! I also remember swooning over the page of Fiestaware at a very tender age.

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  3. @Jitterbug--mine tend to follow me everywhere I go. I've actually had to call stores and tell them to stop sending me extras because I'd wind up with three of the same!

    @Steph--aw! That brings the cutest image to mind! I can just see you in jammies and pigtails circling the Fiestaware! LOL.

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  4. My hubby hates the stack of catalogs and always tells me that "online shopping was invented for a reason" *sigh* He just doesn't understand...glad to see that someone else shares my catalog obsession! =)

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  5. Which catalog is the picture from? I am loving the rug!

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  6. @Crystal--Glad to know I'M not alone! ;)

    @Judy--That would be Ballard Designs. It's their "Farrah Indoor/Outdoor Rug." Looks like it's more grey on the website (because it looks brown in the catalogue).

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  7. "Be nice or I will delete you!"...I LOVE it, it's gold! :)


    You're too cute and funny.
    I can relate to this post big time, only I do it with fashion magazines...I cut things out and pin them on huge corkboards.
    One for makeup ideas and inspiration, the other for fashion inspiration.

    My friends have always teased me about it and I always get embarassed if people see them when they visit, as I know it looks kinda odd.

    Still, I'm not as bad as I used to be. I also used to keep like 6 or so flip files too!

    Do you think it's that we're a bit addicted to organizing, as well as our hobbies, yours being renovating and mine fashion?!

    Have you had a lovely weekend miss productive! I read your to do list above...my lord you put me to shame :)

    <3 xxx

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