Black Friday Deals 2014

Hey! I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving!! :) For today's Friday post, I thought I'd share a few Black Friday sales that have caught my eye!!

Banana Republic is offering 50% off one full price item (Code: BRFIFTY) and 40% off the rest of your purchase (Code: BRFORTY) (Free shipping on orders above $50) Love the double zippers on the neck of this Textured neck zip pullover sweater.

Buy more, save more at West Elm: 10% off $100 or more, 15% off $250 or more, $20 off $500 or more, 25% off $1,000 or more (Code: SUPERSALE) I'm LOVING these Bentwood barstools!!

Organic chevron duvet (one of my favorite duvets, love mine!!)

Old Navy, up to 50% off the everything (extra 15% online off with code GRAVY). I have several of these waffle knit thermals, and love them - super comfy and they wash well (no shrinking!) (also, I like to wear one size up from my normal size so it's a little loose)

Nordstrom is offering up to 40% off select items. Love this Kate Spade striped tote!

Urban Outfitters is offering an extra 25% off sale items online, this pouf is on sale for $75 (price shown in cart)! (Free shipping on orders over $50!) 

Brushstroke lamp base, $38 (price in cart) 

Kirklands is offering and extra 15% online orders with the code TAKE15, love this stacked glass lamp! 

Target is offering sales in store and online (free shipping on most orders). How great is this Nate Berkus Faux Fur stool !? It's SO good! 

Pottery Barn is offering 20% off any full price item (Code: GOBBLE) (furniture isn't included) I'm obsessed with this Oh You. print! 

Lulu & Georgia is offering 20% off order of $250 or more (Code: PUMPKINPIE20) 25% off orders of $500 or more (Code: PUMPKINPIE25) 30% off orders of $1,000 or more (Code: PUMPKINPIE30)

Love the green and aqua color combo of this Nanette Lapore Greek Key pillow!

How great is this Heart snapshot print from Minted!? This would be for a gift or the perfect way to print your favorite Instagram photos! 20% off holiday cards or photo art orders $150 or more with Code: 20BF and 15% of orders $100 or more with code: 15BF

Do you plan shopping in store today? I'm over the busy crowds and long check out lines .. I'll be doing most of my shopping online this year! I hope you have a great weekend!! :)

p.s. don't forget to enter yesterday's giveaway!! 

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Everything But The House | Online Estate and Consignment Sale + Giveaway

You know what I love the most about thrifting? The hunt. I love walking in, quickly scanning the room - you never know what you'll find (at an amazing price!) Many times, I leave empty handed, but finding an amazing piece every once and a while keeps me coming back for more!

In the past year, I've had pretty good luck at my thrift stores, but I know that everyone isn't as lucky, so when I was introduced to Everything But The House, I was instantly intrigued. Amazing items at reasonable prices for everyone! I love their tagline - the thrill of discovery (much like the thrill of the hunt from thrifting, but at the click of a finger!) EBTH is an auction site and sales last for a few days. EBTH is located in Cincinnati OH, Columbus OH, Indianapolis IN, Lexington KY, Louisville KY, and Nashville TN (new cities coming in 2015!) But if you don't live in those cities, shipping is available! As you can imagine, shipping is pricey for larger, heavy items, but smaller, easy to ship items are pretty affordable.

Here are my top picks! I would LOVE to have any of these in my home!! (selected across all sales, location of the item is on the listing)

porcelain lidded jars // turquoise and black vase // original figure drawings // mid century modern candelabra //  mid century modern dining chairs // S letter // pair of twin peacock headboards // vintage carved quartz horse bookends // original portrait watercolor // mid century modern lamp  // chinese chippendale chair //  henry link faux bamboo dresser (other favorites not in photo: mid century modern bamboo mirrors // marble foo dogs)

Wow!! Right?! The current bid on most of these items is pretty low, most of the items have a few days left, so the end price just depends on who's bidding. If you purchase any of these items, let me know. I'd love to see pics of them in your home!

Ready to shop? EBTH is giving away a $100 credit to one lucky Sarah M. Dorsey Designs reader. Open to US only for one week. Winner will be announced next Wednesday! Enter on the widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much to Everything But The House for introducing me to their site and for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

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DIY Parsons Desk | Tutorial

Hey! First, I want to say thanks SO much for your kind words on my where we're living post last week, your support means so much!!

Did you have a good weekend? I hope so! I worked on the gallery wall in my office. Still more to do, but I'm loving this side!

I painted a large canvas, inspired by this painting. I photographed a few succulents over the summer and made the print this weekend (frame was thrifted for $4, I just spray painted the mat white and the frame gold). Swoosh watercolor was painted by me, inspired by Sarah Swanson. M was thrifted (old aluminum letter from a sign). Oh You print is from Pottery Barn, I love the color and font!   

Last week, I shared our new Parsons desk, I love love love it!! Today, I'm sharing a tutorial (it's actually more of a guideline, since the desk (with the drawers) is fairly detailed and the post would be long .. So, good if you just need the general gist, but not if you need a full tutorial. This desk without the drawers would be a much easier project, so consider that if you're looking for a simpler version. 

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For the top: 

We cut a piece of 3/4" birch plywood and surrounded it with poplar. The front edge (a piece of poplar) was cut at a 45 so that the drawer sits flush (the drawers are cut at a 45 too) 

The poplar side pieces were attached with hidden pocket screws, created with the Kreg Jig (one of our favorite recent purchases!!) 

The poplar 45 was glued in place. 

On the drawers, for the center to work, the outer edge has to overhand to allow for the face to align over the slide in the middle. 

For the legs, we purchased 4x4 pieces of pine and cut to size. Then we ripped all four sides down so that it was exactly 3"x3"(this also removed the rough surface) (our table saw blade wasn't tall enough so we did two passes on each side. Then we notched the top (on the table saw) so that the leg would lock inside the support. (Table legs are typically expensive, so this was an affordable solution. Each 8' 4x4 was around $8 at Home Depot, so each leg ended up being about $4.)

If you're interested in making your own, I hope that the photos and diagrams help a little! Note: our drawers took a little sanding adjusting since our 45 (for the drawers and the front of the base) wasn't precise. The plate for a our table saw wasn't wide enough for the blade to be adjusted to a 45, so we cut it without. I'd highly recommend having the correct tools (especially for precise areas) to avoid frustration!

My TN office is almost done, just a few more finishing touches! Can't wait :)

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Thrifting and/or Craigslist lacking in your area?? (or if you just like deals in general) Make sure to stop by tomorrow for a new to me site, can't wait to share!

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Friday Five | 11.20.14

Hey!! I hope that you had a great week!! Here are a few things that caught my eye recently!

Please pin from original source provided below the photo, thanks! 

I'm loving these monogram door knockers from Anthropologie!

anthropologie

Amazing photography tips from I Heart Organizing!! I just ordered the light kit! 

I Heart Organizing 

We tried Blue Apron the other week and I fell in love with the caesar dressing (recipe included in the link). So simple and tasty!! 

blue apron

Bethany from Dwellings by Devore recently revealed her bedroom makeover and I'm in LOVE with the bench!! a. it's a fairly easy project b. it's hard to find a long bench - this is the perfect size!! 

dwellings by devore

Last week, I received my November Must Have Box from Pop Sugar! If you're unfamiliar with the Must Have Box, it's a monthly subscription (3 or 6 month) with hand selected items in beauty, food, and home - for $39.95 a month. Each box is a surprise, so it's like Christmas morning every month! The retail value of the November box is around $160, so that's a pretty good savings! 

Here's what's in the November box! (all items are full sized)

Carmel and Cheddar popcorn (carmel corn is my weakness, I can't keep it in the house! I've never had it with cheddar popcorn, but it was so so good! // Full size Simpatico lotion (I'm waiting to open till mine runs out, but looks good!) // Stationary designed by Pop Sugar, printed by Tiny Prints (there is also a $25 coupon to Tiny Prints inside!) // Drink glass pens (perfect for holiday get togethers!) // Dominique Ansel cookbook (I loved flipping through it, can't wait to give a few recipes a try .. looks good with the cover on or off, so it would make a great coffee table book too!) // Sorial messenger clutch (perfect if you just need to carry a few things and keep your hands free!) 

If you're interested in giving the Must Have Box a try, here's a coupon code: NOV14SELECT to save $10 on a 3 month subscription, valid through 12/2/14! 

*POPSUGAR provided me with a complimentary POPSUGAR Must Have box. The opinions I have shared about the box are my own and POPSUGAR did not tell me what to say or how to say it.

Hope you all have a great weekend!! I'm so thankful for the sun and blue skies that we've have the past two days (it's been so gray!) I hope the sun continues this weekend! Living in CA really spoiled us, sun every single day .. I miss that! Wishing you a fun, sun filled weekend!! 

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Shopping with Sarah | Ross

I haven't been to Ross in a while and WOW! did I find some pretty great things!! I think everything below was under $35! I'll add prices where I remember.

Pair of rattan chairs ($35 or $40 each) leave them as is or spray paint them! // I almost bought these geometric lamps for our TN bedroom (perfect for a nightstand!) ($25 each) teal pillar light was so good too! ($35) // gold mirrored serving tray and silver hand (the fingers were a little odd, but it was only $7! great on a stack of books or on a shelf) // Child size rattan chair (love the shape!) // lacquer tall floor pillar ($25) love the fox and chess piece too! // large gold vase

So, have you found some unexpected finds recently? I'm always looking for new places to look!

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Where we're living + my thoughts on the past year

This post has been a long time coming .. honestly, I've been kinda avoiding it. But when I met a few of my favorite bloggers at the BHG Stylemaker event, and realized that no one knows where we're living .. it was time for an update!

First, why we move .. more info here. But in general, David works for a global construction company - which is project based, so we move to where the project is .. it can be several years, or short term, like 6 months depending on the project.

So, why was I avoiding it?

1. It's slightly embarrassing

We've moved 4 times in the past year (and bought a house that we're not living in ..) so really kinda 5 times. We moved twice for work (Ohio and Tennessee) and two more times (same cities) Moving 4 times in one year is typically not the norm .. unfortunately we had issues with the first place we lived (in both cities) and had to move again .. it's been a draining year :/

 2. I don't want to seem like I'm complaining

In the grand scheme of things, I know that we are very blessed. We can support ourselves financially, we have a roof over our heads and we have an amazingly supportive family and network of friends. Remembering these things have really helped us through this year!! So I just want to say that up front,  We are blessed!!



So, where are we living?

Tennessee and Maryland

We're in Tennessee for David's work, so we're there most of the time. We go to our home in Maryland a few times a month (it's an 8 hour drive each way, so that's been wearing on us.. we'll be traveling less in the next few months)

Why do we have a house that we don't live in full time?

We purchased a home for our permanent home base .. it's a short drive from both of our parents, so they help us maintain it when we're not there (that's been a blessing!!) We wanted to put down roots, continue building up equity, and have a place to plant my peonies (which we just did! :)

How I'm feeling ..

The reality is, the past year has been hard for me. You know that unsettled feeling in between moving .. that's the way I've felt for the past year. It's hard to maintain what I'm doing - when I don't have all of my supplies (for short term projects, only a limited weight to move is covered) DIYing takes up a good bit of space and tools/furniture/styling supplies. Don't get me wrong, I've loved the projects that we've done over the past year, but producing those projects has been more difficult than they should be, due to disorganization, not having all our tools and traveling a lot.

What are my plans for the next few months?

I have BIG ideas and plans but our current living situation doesn't allow us to complete them .. so I feel a little stagnate now. I've spent the last few weeks, thinking about what is possible with our current living situation (undertaking full kitchen and bath renos is just not possible while we're not in Maryland full time) In the next few months, for our MD house, we'll be working on our house, but not completing rooms .. we'll be working on painting (hiring out some of it) and refinishing the hardwood floors (maybe hiring out?) Since we're in TN longer than anticipated (originally just 6 months, which would have been Sept.) I'm planning to put together a mini apartment tour, so I'll be putting the finishing touches on our place in TN. Originally, I wasn't planning a home tour since we were only going to be here 6 months, but I'm tired of waiting .. we will be here at least through February, so stay tuned!

What's my outlook on the next year?

Positive!

I believe that having an established, organized home is essential to cultivate creativity and motivation! So that's what we're working towards!

Next time we move, we want to be settled for at least 2 years (preferably our MD home), but right now, we don't know if that will be possible .. we will see.

I was hoping to share news about what the next year or two will bring for us .. but right now I don't know. I'll be sure to share when we know!

So, in summary, I LOVE what I'm doing .. and it is a blessing to be able to pick it up and take it wherever we go. We'd love to be settled (which will allow us to take on bigger and better projects) so that's what we're working towards! Thanks so much for your daily support, it really means SO SO much to both David and I!

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TN Office Progress | DIY Parsons Desk

I've wanted a large, white Parsons desk for a year or two - so the other weekend we designed and built one while we were in Maryland!

Last week, I painted it (in Tennessee) with oil based paint (it took about a week to cure and off gas) and over the weekend we brought it into my TN office.

We modeled it after West Elm's Parsons desk (it's just a little longer - I wanted it to comfortably fit two chairs)

Parsons desks are simple but perfect because of the proportions (top thickness is the same as the leg thickness) and the seamless drawers.

My favorite part of the desk are the two drawers - they are huge!

The drawers and the front of the desk meet at a 45.

I made a few leopard pillows from this Braemore fabric from The Fabric Mill (note: This is the best price I could find online, but shipping was a little more, if you're ordering 1 yard, try contacting customer service and ask for it to be flat folded for cheaper shipping). The fabric is super soft!! (Annabelle enjoyed laying on it while I was making pillows :) I was originally planning on using these in the bedroom, but I'm loving them in here (so maybe they'll stay) I'm hoping to buy or DIY a rug (something cozy? there was a large sheepskin rug at Home Goods the other week that I regret not getting ..), so these would be nice for reading or working on projects on the floor.

Last night, I reupholstered my Chinese Chippendale chair seat with Thom Filicia City Square. Love it!!

Here's a peak at our campaign dresser, which is in my office - we're still working on making new handles for the two that are missing.

Love this Oh You. print from Pottery Barn - it's the perfect shade of yellow and I love the font!

I'll share a tutorial for the Parsons desk soon! My office still needs some finishing touches (art, accessories, etc.) but it's coming along!

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Friday Five 11.14.14

Hey!! I hope that you had a great week!! Here are a few things that caught my eye this week!

Please pin from original source provided below the photo, thanks! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Love this modern and organic tablescape by Craft and Couture 

via craft and couture 

Remodeling your kitchen? This Old House provides diagrams for standard measurements! After living in a few rental kitchens over the past 3 years, I know first hand that having plenty of space between the countertop and island is crucial!! In our first TN apartment, David and I could barely be in the kitchen at the same time and Annabelle was definitely not welcome, I was constantly tripping on her! Our current rental has 46" between the countertop and island, and all three of us can comfortably be in the kitchen at the same time! 

via this old house

via this old house

One of my favorite SUPER easy weeknight meals is baked potatoes with caramelized balsamic onions and bacon. The topping takes it from a side dish to a main dish (at least to me) The best part is, you can customize it based on what you have in your pantry and refrigerator. 

Here's what I do: scrub potatoes (I typically buy organic) pierce it with a fork a few times, wrap them in wet paper towel and microwave them (cooking in the oven, wrapped in foil works too, it just takes longer). Meanwhile, I chop about half and onion and turkey bacon (from trader joes) and mushrooms if I have them. I add a little water or broth to the pan and cook the onion, bacon, and mushrooms - when they are just about done, I add some balsamic vinegar and let it reduce. At the end, I'll throw in some kale or spinach till it is just wilted. 

To finish it off, I'll add a little butter and cheese to the potato, top with topping, salt and pepper and add a little sour cream on the side. SO easy! This week, I cooked some sugar snap peas on the side too! 

Image via Good Life Eats, make sure to stop by and check out their baked potato recipe!  

via good life eats

Love this bedroom revamp from The Hunted Interior!! 

via the hunted interior 

Love this Dhurrie rug from West Elm, 8x10 is currently on sale for $399!

I hope you have an amazing weekend!! We're finishing up a few projects and starting a few more for our TN bedroom and office!! :) See you next week! 

p.s. I added a few watercolors to my Etsy shop that I didn't end up using, feel free to take a look! 

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