Hello? Is anyone there?

Posted in Life Stuff by Mallory

Hi. You may not remember me but I’m the former blogger who disappeared into oblivion 5 months ago without a trace. Where did I go you might ask. What have I been doing you may inquire. Well, to quote the great Donna Summer: she works hard for the money.

The day job got the better of me. I love what I do, and think I’m damn good at it. But I definitely have been earning my paycheck lately. Countless late nights in front of a computer screen and over 30,000 miles flown proved difficult to make time for dinner, let alone playing amateur decorator and blogger.

But I’ve missed you all! And missed making things pretty which my life could definitely use a little more of lately. So in the coming weeks I will begin to emerge from hibernation. Frequency and consistency, however, is not the name of this game so bear with me while I get back in the swing of things and find a little more blogging balance in my life.

Bonus – I already have some fun projects stored in my digital attic that I’ve been unintentionally hiding from you! Backyard? Done! Living room rearrange? Done! New artwork? Done and done!

So for now while you patiently await my next impromptu appearance (as I certainly fail to plan these things lately), here are a few personal highlights from my otherwise very professional last few months, courtesy of my dear friend and companion Instagram:

Jefe & I headed to Seattle in May:

Then I headed to NY for 2/3 of the month of June:

But over the weekends, I’d hop the train to head home to Lancaster, PA for much needed reunions with family & friends.

Once I got back, I did manage to find a few moments for a little beauty while at home. It was peony season after all!

Jefe & I spent my second favorite holiday at the Hollywood Bowl:

And later in July we headed to Anaheim for the annual Red Sox / Angels match up. The Wells men came to represent:

We also experienced the first Anaheim cancellation due to rain in over 20 years!

A few weeks later I headed out to the Rhode Island Film Festival for work:

After all that travel Jefe and I tried to escape for a few days. But an excruciating LA heat wave kept us from the beach and Disneyland so we escaped inside to the LA Natural History Museum. Dinos!

Later in August, Jefe & my friend John and I hit up the LA Food & Wine Festival, complete with a performance by The Roots! This picture does NOT do it justice; we were 15 feet from the stage!

Once September hit, I was knocked off my butt by a serious cold & cough. But I had to suck it up as it was time to run the 5K I had been prepping for with Jefe & my brother who came to visit just for the occassion. It was brutal, but I made it. Slow and limping wins (well, at least completes) the race.

And like the good USC alums we are, we headed to the SC vs. Stanford game with our friend John.

Two weeks ago I left for a 9 day business trip to attend a few film festivals. I was pretty stoked to travel internationally for the first time since I was 16!

I also happened to fall head over heels in L-O-V-E with London. I’ve already plotted how Jefe and I could change careers to make the move. L-O-V-E.

Unfortunately the love affair was short lived as I had to keep on moving. This time for Vancouver. Most of this leg was spent either working here:

…or in screening rooms at the festival. I did manage to snap this beaut on the way en route to the airport on my last day:

And this one while landing later that night.

I came home carting a handful of gifts for Jefe but he happened to have a surprise for me too!

I hope everyone had a less eventful, but fulfilling summer!

7Jan2015

Happy New Year

Posted in DIY, Life Stuff, Redecorating by Mallory

Happy New Year friends! I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing holiday. I’m still nursing my second cold in the last 3 weeks so it’s been slow going on the restart here at Chez Sledge.

What is it about the last 2 Decembers that they just flew by? Another holiday season, I blinked, and next thing you know Jefe and I are hauling our sad, dry skeleton of a Christmas tree to the curb for recycling. We had all sorts of plans this year, most of which we accomplished. It did, however, leave little time for blogging. So here’s a little recap of the Holidays with Sledge:

Black Friday – Jefe and I continued our tradition for the 5th year in a row of braving the masses at Disneyland. It truly is the happiest place on Earth and best place to start getting in to the holiday spirit. Everything is covered in lights, ornaments and general festiveness. This year we decided to try out a few new restaurants as we’ve done all of the rides so many times.

After watching CHEF, we were craving beignets and heard raves about those shaped like a Mickey at Cafe Orleans. Our lunch was delicious, especially Jefe’s Croque Monsieur, but we were left so full that there was no room for beignets. Sad Mickey :-(.

For dinner we trekked over to California Adventure to Carthay Circle. It looked like something you’d find in Beverly Hills in the 1920’s. Just a stunning combination of art deco meets spanish mission. And the food was good enough to rival any trendy restaurant in Weho.

The next day we piled in the car and headed to our favorite tree lot to pick this year’s winning Noble Fir. After little deliberation, we decided on the fullest pine tree I have ever tried to decorate. He stood about 7 feet tall. We debated whether we could have gone taller, but the 8-9 foot Firs were not looking nearly as Noble.

We invited Jefe’s parents over that night to help decorate and quickly realized that next year, we can definitely go with a taller tree thanks to our 9-foot high ceilings, but I’m still more than pleased with this year’s selection.

A holiday coffee spread to invigorate for tree decorating!

So the next 24 hours we spent decking the halls. The only new addition to this year’s festive artillery was a $2.99 traditional star tree topper from Ikea and a few ornaments from Disneyland.

The following weekend Jefe and I jetted off to New York to celebrate my birthday and decorate tree #2, Jefe’s brothers. We did it last year and it was so fun to be able to continue the tradition this year. I also managed to drag Jefe to the ballet for the first time to see “The Nutcracker” at Lincoln Center, did some holiday sight-seeing, did an awesome #museumhack tour of the Met and caught up with my high school friend Beth!

This brings us to mid-December already! After 5 months of living in our new place, we finally decided to host a housewarming / holiday / birthday party. Things were a little harried prepping for guests so I didn’t manage to get any photos but I can say that Trader Joe’s can make a mean appetizer. You really can fool anyone in to thinking something was homemade when it’s fresh out of the oven and artfully displayed on a Santa platter. I’m pretty sure 95% of the food we offered came from TJ’s. Seriously, it’s the best way to host – no cooking, just artful arrangements.

Falalala sign courtesy of Oh Joy!’s line at Target

By the following week, Jefe and I were packing our bags to head back east. Within the span of 7 days, we slept in 5 beds and traveled via UBER, plane, train and mom’s automobile. We made merry in Los Angeles, Lancaster and Tyrone, PA and New York City. It was quite the whirlwind.

Cousins reunion in Tyrone, PA

Jefe & I on Christmas Eve

My brother Casey and his “elf on a shelf” (our nephew Raylen)

And here’s a little tour of my mom’s place all decked out. I get the Christmas love honestly…

No fireplace means stockings go on the chairs 😀

I love me a good tartan tablecloth!

I love this old window-turned-mirror. Wouldn’t be Xmas without some lit garland though.

Excuse the lack of focus. This was prior to 9am and I hadn’t had ANY coffee yet….

And some of Christmas in NY (Jefe was so bummed he missed the Met #museumhack tour, we went again!):

And then I caught the plague which had me laid up on my mother’s couch for the next 5 days. New Years Eve was spent with my family, one good friend who braved my contagion thanks to a hearty dose of antibiotics, and a piping hot mug of green tea. No champe this year for the Champe Champ.

Then Jefe and I headed back to LA where we undecked the halls and dragged our poor tree out to the curb. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing Christmas trees on the side of the road. Their time is so short….

We have a lot of candy canes to get through in January….

Jefe got distracted from un-decorating by a Christmas present…

And to wrap it all up, one final shot of our beautiful tree of 2014:

18Apr2014

Hello again

Posted in Life Stuff by Mallory

Hi friends. I know it’s been awhile. And I could give you a long list of excuses as to my absence, but I figured I’d just give you a fun pictorial recap instead. Since we last spoke I….

….went Rose Bowling and found the nightstand I’ve been lusting after (and since Jefe was on a plane, I prayed he’d like it)….

…. attended the swanky office Oscar party with my very dapper Jefe. Only one celebrity setting (Mr. Entourage himself, Adrian Greiner), but we had a great time minus my killer Monday morning headache….

… Jefe and I headed up the coast to Santa Barbara to celebrate year 4 of being partners-in-crime (and I guess love, too). We stared as some gorgeous shoreline, feasted, and drank our way through wine country. We may have returned with a case of wine….

… Hit up an LA Kings hockey game (they lost)….

…. Went to Pittsburgh for one of my college friend’s wedding. It was great being reunited with so many of my lady friends and I finally got a change to teach Jefe all about all things Yinzer: The Church Brew Works, Pamela’s, Carnegie Mellon University and all of its many weird traditions. We even managed to squeeze in a Penguins hockey game thanks to some stellar seats from a coworker who’s also a Pittsburgh native….

…. Saw MUPPETS: MOST WANTED at the El Capitain Theater that included a live pre-show with Kermit & Miss Piggy….

…. Headed to the Getty with my good friend John after a failed attempt to head to the Huntingdon Libraries & Botanical Gardens (thanks AAA and UberX for getting us out of South Pasadena in one piece)….

….Took a bite out of the Big Apple with some of the most adorable little people in our lives. I got to meet my best friend’s little girl Addie (short for Adeline), and spent some quality time with Geoff’s brother’s family. We also got the opportunity to see Audra McDonald in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” and I can officially check off seeing her perform from my Broadway bucket list….

…. Went to ANOTHER LA Kings hockey game (we lost again and Jefe realized that we’ve lost every game he’s ever taken me too…..) But we had a great time as it was fan appreciation night, the Kings played a great game that led to overtime and 2 rounds of shoot outs….

…. hit up the Rose Bowl Flea Market with my friend Chelsey. I came home empty handed (minus the breakfast burrito and delicious watermelon juice in my stomach), but Chelsey grabbed 2 refurbished dining chairs and Jefe found the vintage sports equipment seller who’s been MIA the last few times. He walked away with a great leather baseball glove and an old catcher’s mask. I did happen to find the barnyard I think Beyonce came from:

All of the above was in addition to a few crazy months at the old 9-to-5 day job (and by that, I mean 9-9ish really). So pardon my blogging absence. I’ve also gotten a little tired of all the same interior decor and DIY I keep seeing rehashed and recycled everywhere and just needed a breather from the blogosphere.

Anyways, I’m back and hope to have some new home updates for you guys soon. First on the agenda – not killing my new little succulent. I have about as black a thumb as they can come so I’m doing my best to revamp my gardening ways.

Happy Friday!

23Aug2013

August Lust List

Posted in Lust List by Mallory

I skipped July. I know. You all were waiting with bated breath, and here we are 2/3 of the way through August and I haven’t given you a list of glorious finds to lust after in MONTHS. What can I say? I’m doing the work of 3 people at my day job and that doesn’t leave much time for blogging. Plus I kind of like to see Jefe for 5 minutes before we literally collapse into bed every night from exhaustion.

ANYWAYS, without further ado, I bring you August’s Lust List!

1) Pacific & Rose Table Runner: Last week I hit up the Rose Bowl Flea Market again and this stand is the first thing you see to the right when you walk in. Every time I go, I’m always drawn to the block-print textiles. They’re not *quite* Jefe’s style, but I’m obsessed with them nonetheless because they’re so beautiful. The patterns are very Pottery Barn meets India. Thinking I may have to snag a blue & yellow one for Momma Sny’s dining room.

2) JCrew PJ’s: I used to be the queen of pajamas back in high school and college. Remember Joe Boxer? Yeah, I was his #1 fan. But lately, my pajama drawer has been leaving much to be desired. After being introduced to Amber Interiors thanks to a “behind the blog” feature on Style Me Pretty Living, I was scrolling Amber’s blog and came across her post on Maison Du Soir. Although I can’t quite afford Maison’s prices, I’m loving the idea of wearing more than a battered t-shirt and some old sweatpants to bed. Besides, I really need something cute to wear while I’m watching Jefe cook me eggs on the weekend… what can I say? The man knows his way around a frying pan.

3) H&M Home Tray: It’s black, it’s white, and it’s New York all over. For these prices, I’ll take the set. H&M Home has quickly become my newest budget friendly obsession. If only it was a few inches slimmer, I’d have the perfect spot on my bathroom counter.

4) West Elm Braided Cable Knit Pillow: India ink is totally my jam. So much so that we already bought this. And anything cable knit just reminds me of a crisp fall day back home. Jefe has been jonesing to add some blue to our otherwise fall-themed living room so I quickly said yes on our most recent trip to West Elm. I promised him we were just window shopping…. we left with a large shopping bag. 😉

5) West Elm Zigzag Shower Curtain: Every since Jefe and I picked up this print and these photos, we’ve been wanting a little less modern feel. So while we were on the aforementioned West Elm trip picking up our cable knit pillow, we grabbed this puppy too.

6) Goyard Classic Tote: I’ve seen these all over the place lately. They’re classic in terms of structure and style but now they’re selling them in such bright, modern and fun colors like this blue. It’s the perfect travel bag for an overnight in Santa Barbara wine country or as your carry-on when making those 48 hour trips to NY on the weekends (or is that just me….)

7) Old Navy Zip-Front Military Jacket: I’ve been lusting after one for these for quite some time. Now they’re finally back in style and with a vengeance. Lucky for me, Old Navy has a bunch of them at a fabulous price. Perfect for those cool, desert nights in LA.

8) Gold Charm Necklace by Mei Elizabeth: Found this incredible jewelry stand at the Rose Bowl last weekend. The stand had a TON of beautiful gold necklaces. I had my eye on one just list this, except the charm was a wishbone. Had I $49 in cash on me, I’d be wearing it right now. And unfortunately she doesn’t have that particular charm on her Esty site. Guess I’ll have to go back next month with enough cash. Live and learn.

So there you have it. This month’s Lust List. What have you all been lusting after? Any new home decor? Maybe a special piece of jewelry?

Sledgehammer With Style

Hollywood marketer by day, design blogger by night.

Tag Archives: New York

Hello? Is anyone there?

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August Lust List

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