Giveaway: KC Home Show Tickets

We're starting to feel official over here at Edit with our very first giveaway - two tickets to this weekend's Kansas City Home Show and Flower, Lawn & Garden Show!

The home show, a true KC tradition running 65 years strong, is Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24 at Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City.

We can't wait to go check out all of the exhibitors showcasing spring home and garden projects ... and also take in this lovely lady - HGTV Design Star alumn Lonni Paul. Remember Lonni? We do!

While we write more about fashion and our kids (whoops!) here on Edit, we do love home design too. Decor and home improvement projects can just be so overwhelming - and expensive - especially when you have a 100-year old home like Melina or a dated 70s split like me ... and you tend to spend your money on fashion and your kids and/or fashion for your kids!

But we're hoping this weekend's home show will give us some inspiration and also a close-up with Miss Lonni. She'll be speaking on the Spaces stage at 2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The home show also features several other speakers (architects, designers and floriculturists - did you even know that was a word/profession?), as well as a Kids' Corner with the KC Bricklab, Wayside Waifs adoptable pets and The Bee Guy with working bee hives - yikes - giveaways and more.

So, how can you get tickets? You can purchase yours online or at Hen House, Sun Fresh or Bank of Blue Valley or you can WIN them from us!

Good luck - and hope to see you there!

This event is presented by the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City and the presenting sponsor is MattressFIRM.


- Kara

A Space of Our Own

While Melina and I love our Edit blog and boutique business (and can't wait for our two trunk shows this week!), we feed our families through Edit Communications, where we do public relations, marketing, writing, special events, social media and pretty much anything our clients ask of us!

For the last four years, all of this work has been conducted from my home office/guest room - which is also home to all of the Edit merchandise, laundry that needs to be folded, bills that need to be paid and countless Barbies, princesses and coloring books ... But not anymore!

Today, Melina and I were handed the keys to our very own office!

We are now the proud renters of 500 feet of office space in Prairie Village - just barely three minutes from my house! Here's what our space looks like now:

Great dark wood floors, lovely built ins in the back, a large picture window up front ... not the best lighting in the world, but we're certain it has great potential. And we can't wait to get our hands on some paint rollers!

We've already been doing a bit of online shopping for our new space and can't wait to share the "after" photos with you soon. Until then, here's a sneak peek of where we're headed:

IKEA white computer desk workstation, Amazon

Herringbone rug in teal, Urban Outfitters

We also plan to have some gold accents and touches of our favorite color ...

We are so excited!!!


- Kara

Almost ready for baby!

Now that we're at 30 weeks, we're officially done with our baby showers and progress has been made on the nursery. It feels so real once you get that crib sheet put on the mattress and start folding little onesies. I can't believe our baby boy/girl will be here in 10 weeks or less. Crazy!

While we still have a few things we're waiting on, such as the light fixture, which is STILL on back order, an end table and a few other things for the walls, the nursery is nearly complete!

- Melina

Best Night Ever: Time Warner Cable Party

Last week, I had the pleasure of planning one of the best events ever - seriously, people did say that!

Time Warner Cable sponsored the event at a home in the Ward Parkway District. I had the privilege of managing the event, with Moxi Events by my side dreaming up and coordinating all of the amazing details.

The party was for the patrons of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art's annual gala, which Mark and I are attending this Saturday night!

Dan Meiners is responsible for the amazing furniture and florals and even attended the party himself.

Time Warner Cable was able to show off its advanced technology and Signature Home products.

Even 3D with George Brett!

It was a chilly evening, but our tent, heaters and fire pits did the trick. I think everyone had a great time!

We also had the coolest entertainment - garden nymph dancers/acrobats at the beginning ...

 

 

 

And then Phat Strad, an international cast of classically trained beautiful girls playing futuristic electronic instruments with an  industrial strength club groove. So, so cool!

 

 

Everyone LOVED Phat Strad, as well as the yummy signature cocktails from Manifesto with our logo ...

My favorite part of the night, however, was meeting and actually spending time (hours!) with designers Jonathan Adler and Genevieve Gorder!

I had to post that last one again, as it was taken with Genevieve's phone and posted by her personally to Twitter ... plus I'm right next to her! Dream come true!

The entire night was so magical - thanks Time Warner Cable for letting me be a part of it!


- Kara

Another nursery update

We've finally made some progress on Baby Bland's nursery! I didn't think we'd ever get this room started. Once the contractor finished up some of the work, we were able to get in there and get moving! Matthew's mom was in town for a week and painted the entire room (thank you!), and Matthew painted the ceiling while I was in Vegas.

bad picture - sorry. We went with Bubbles by Sherwin-Williams.

In addition to being a great painter, my mother-in-law is also a whiz with a sewing machine. She created this adorable seat cushion for our Ikea shelf, in addition to the chevron and polka dot pillows. The dog pillow is from here.

We're going to put a few baskets in the shelf for toys and then leave a few open for books. The main floor of our home is filled with built-in window seats, so I'm really excited about incorporating that look into the baby's room.

And since I hit the jackpot in Vegas, I bought this light fixture for the room. I love the whimsical look of it without being too childish. I think it works great as a "crown" for a boy and a "tiara" for a little girl. We shall see!

- Melina

Before and After: Baby Bland's dresser

Just like I promised last week, this weekend was all about Baby Bland. And yes, it took us about three days to accomplish just one project - anything requiring tools is not a skill that either my husband or me were blessed with.

But let's get back to our project because it turned out a success!

You might recall me explaining that this dresser was given to us by Matthew's mother. It was in his grandmother's house before she passed away a little over a year ago. It's definitely nice to have something of his grandmom's in our baby's nursery. She was lovely.

Here's the before shot.

We had a nice blank slate to work with.

And here's the After shot.

Not bad, eh? It wasn't rocket science, but I do believe it's the first time we've ever sanded and repainted a piece of furniture! For paint color, we chose Serious Gray by Sherwin-Williams. It looks a little blue in the photo, but it's pretty gray in person. I purchased the knobs from World Market. They were just as cute as the Anthropologie knobs and about half the price.

Oh and if you're wondering where the dresser is in the photo? Still sitting in our den with the rest of our baby paraphernalia since our contractor is STILL.NOT.HERE.


- Melina

Nursery Lighting

I haven't given a nursery update in awhile, but we've had an exciting few weeks! We were gifted our crib and mattress by my mother-in-law, along with a dresser that was in Matthew's grandmom's house. We also just got the rocking chair that we had refinished and reupholstered. The chair (pictures to come!) was originally given by my mother to her sister when she was pregnant with her first. It found its way to me in very poor condition, so my mom had it completely restored, and it looks beautiful!

Everything is starting to come together except for the lighting. I can't make up my mind! We're trying to stay under $200. Here's what I'm looking at now.

Honeycomb Chandelier - 169.00

Flower Drum Shade - 259.00

Metal Cloverleaf Lantern - 119.99

Grey Wire Pendant - 129.00

 

 

Thoughts? I like the metal cloverleaf but I'm afraid it might be too small in the room and not give off enough light. I also really like the grey wire pendant. The flower shade has been a favorite of mine for a long time (I would get it in the antiqued brass though), but I don't know if it's worth the money AND if we have a boy does it seem too girly? Thoughts on the honeycomb chandelier from World Market?

Would love suggestions - thanks!


- Melina

Dog Shaming

My husband sent me a link to this site last week, and I thought given our dog issues over the last few weeks (I'll get to that later) that it was more than worthy of a blog post.

The site is called Dog Shaming and it features pictures posted by pet owners of their animals along with a note of what they're guilty of!

Aren't these hilarious?

Now back to my dog issues. Over the last month, Stewart (my 4-year-old lab mix) has begun eating anything left on the coffee table. This includes: usb drives, coupons, work papers, pens, etc. My diagnosis is that he's pissed that I'm now working from home (and have been working exclusively on the coffee table until my wireless got fixed over the weekend - yea), and he's annoyed that I'm not playing with him, so he eats my "work" stuff to prove he's not happy with this new situation.

Matthew's diagnosis: He's not that smart, and I need to stop leaving my shit all over the coffee table.

Either way, this new bad behavior has got to stop, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy reading about everyone else's crazy pets!

Do you have an animal that gets into trouble a lot? What would your pet's sign say?

- Melina