impulse

i am the queen of cheap. i almost never buy things at full price, unless that price is really small or the thing in question is a pair of jeans. jeans are always a good investment. i'm not afraid to toss around a few c-notes, but boy you betcha i'd better get a pile of awesome in return. nothing thrills me more than a good deal. i'm going to go ahead and blame this trait on my father. the man scours grocery stores around the city all day in search of a deal for chrissakes. he's probably there right now. and there's a 95% chance you'll see him on your next trip. tell him i said, "wazzup!" he loved that commercial, and he'll think you're hilarious.

the thing that makes me different from my dad is that instead of carefully researching items and weighing my options to find the best deal, i carefully research items and then randomly end up buying something completely the opposite of what i originally wanted because it's on sale. case in point: the living room rug. what follows is a sampling of the rugs i've been drooling over for weeks now, mentally decorating my living room on top of them and cataloging the curse words i'll throw out when my dogs and/or husband ruin them with muddy feet.

there's the almost-affordable-on-overstock.com (martha stewart):

the this-will-be-destroyed-in-five-minutes-but-i-don't-care (shades of light):


the why-doesn't-it-come-in-8x10-that's-just-stupid (safavieh):


and the doesn't-match-my-couch-but-whatevs (ballard designs):


(actually none of these match my couch in its current upholstery. eh, no big.)

so after hemming and hawing over the cost of rugs and the pitfalls of light colors and old marley dog's carpet-licking compulsion, we finally made a purchase. i don't have a picture of the actual rug, because it is still rolled up, patiently waiting until we re-paint the living room before its big reveal. i also can't find a picture online, because it was on super clearance at the pottery barn outlet...a $1,600 williams sonoma home rug that we shelled out $262 to take home with us. CAN YOU BELIEVE THE DEAL. geez oh pete, we couldn't. anyhoo, it looks somewhat remotely similar to a 9x13 natural fiber version of this (minus the fringe):


LOOKS JUST LIKE MY INSPIRATION PHOTOS, HUH?

i am insane. bear with me.

here's why this is an acceptable alternative: i have been collecting inspiration photos for forever, and when i look back through them, i start to notice patterns (sometimes, literally). in case this post doesn't have enough pictures already, here are a few (whose sources i don't know..oops) from my inspiration file to illustrate my point:



and my fave...


apparently i have a thing for striped floors. and lucky me, now i get to POSSESS a striped floor, and i don't even have to whitewash my hardwoods! win-win.

in related impulse-buy news, i satisfied my trellis-pattern fetish by ordering a pair of these fab bodrum throw pillows from today's one kings lane sale for 50friggin% off, booyah!


dear gorgeous new throw pillow,

can't wait to meet you in 12-20 business days.

love,

insanely affordable new striped rug