How to style an animal bust on a wall

There is something about animal heads hanging on walls that is so irresistible to me and I am always on the hunt (groan!) for a good safari bust to add to the walls of my home. There’s something so awesome about papier mache horns slapped on the wall with a few basic Target white frames, or the byproduct of one of Uncle Derwood’s deer hunting trips next to a stretched canvas print. They add some 3D interest to an otherwise flat, boring (dry) wall.

On my biweekly perusal of the HomeGoods clearance aisle, I snapped up this cool silver longhorn to add to my collection. It sits above a framed picture of the Capitol and an old wooden chair that Wes picked up off the curb in D.C. way back when he first learned of my appreciation for dumpster diving.

Animal heads, at least my herd of them, are best hung in arrangements of at least three items. They need something to anchor them to floor of the room and then draw the eye upwards but not distract from everything else going on (a la Gaston’s living room from Beauty and the Beast). It’s something I saw done well at Pretty People Vintage in Virginia (an equally wonderful source of interior inspiration and vintage clothing): they styled a papier mache zebra bust with a bright yellow chair and a few frames, and tucked it into a small space next to a display shelf. (I also love the purple walls and more-is-more approach to décor.)

This picture has been in my interior inspiration file for a long time, and has influenced most of the rooms in my tiny little house: if you visit, you’ll find a wine rack-and-mirror combo topped with a silver moose; a fireplace mantle stacked with books and finished off with a pair of deer antlers; and a desk with a few pictures hung beneath an elephant bust. And now a pair of longhorns in our bedroom!

How to wear denim overalls

Confession: there is a pair of worn out, oversized overalls stuffed in the back of my closet that I have never worn in public, but occasionally wear around the house with a pair of tall heels Google-imaging how I could potentially wear them in the future.

This weekend, I will wear them with a tube top, kooky glasses and a sun hat just like Jennine at Eat Sleep Denim. She is a real jean genius (or, a jean-ius, if I may go there) and pulls off denim overalls better than anyone I have ever met. I love this look because her overalls are just a little too big that they hang just right, and that she paired them with a printed bag, cool heels, simple accessories, and loose hair. It is such a fun look and makes you want to be her best friend! Hop on over to her cool blog to see more of her styling tricks for overalls.

The best low-carb dessert ever

Normally, my sweet tooth can sniff out a dessert scam from miles away and gets scared off by any description preceded by ‘low-fat,’ ‘low-carb,’ or ‘low-calorie.’ I was tricked a few weeks ago when my friend Ashley introduced me to a recipe for low-carb vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls and was smart enough to make me taste them before telling me what was in them. Now I cannot get enough of them! There is a sheet pan filled with these chocolate chip cookie dough balls in my freezer at this very moment and I am known to eat them by the half-dozen.

My addiction to actual chocolate chip cookies has been completely transferred to these amazing (much healthier) little nuggets, just in time for summer. They are best served a few minutes out of the freezer and have a nutritional profile that will help my body with it’s recovery from a winter-induced case of pale smushiness. Make them, taste them, and bask in awe that you’re eating chickpeas! You can thank me, Ashley, and Elissa Goodman, the genius nutritionist who original created this recipe.

Vegan, low-carb chocolate chip cookie dough balls

Ingredients

• 16 ounces cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3 T raw organic honey
• 1 T coconut palm sugar
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 4 T raw organic almond butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips (minis work best)

Directions

Combine chickpeas, honey, sugar, baking soda, almond butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process until smooth.
Remove to a bowl and stir in half a cup of the chocolate chips. Form into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid.
In a double boiler, melt remaining cup of chocolate chips. Dip the balls into the chocolate until covered, then place back on parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Freeze until chocolate has hardened, then store at room temperature.

Photo is Shutterstock.com via mindbodygreen.com

A stylish solution to your clutter problem

“Clutter” is a loose term, but in my house it usually means wayward clothing, piles of purses, cast-aside neckties and other items that don’t quite make it home to their designated dresser drawers.

Although I wish I could blame Wes for all the mess, it’s a problem I’ve grappled with for a long time: the constant battle between my closet hangers and the insurmountable effort of getting my dry-clean only blazer hanging on one of them after a long day at work. It’s just so much easier to toss it on the back of the couch or crumple it in a corner.

To save myself those extra trips to the dry cleaner, I started installing wall hooks around the house in those little, rarely noticed places. They service a niche market for storage found between the commitment to using a closet to its fullest potential and the lukewarm interest in keeping clothing off the floor. My purses and blazers typically land on a brass pineapple hook in a corner of the front hall. Wes’s ties land on one of the hooks decorating our bedroom walls. (Actually, I purposely keep one of his marigold silk bowties draped over a hook as part of the décor).

Over the years, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of brass hooks that have become part of my housekeeping system as well as the utility (and charm) of my house. Little walls that once stood for nothing became coat racks and blank spaces behind doors became closet extensions. It gives me something to look for when I peruse through stalls in flea markets, and they’re always on my eBay watch list (like this one, this one, and these).

Huaraches have made a comeback

 

I’ve been on the hunt for the right pair of huaraches sandals for awhile now and finally snagged a (legitimate, vintage Brazilian) pair on Etsy for a steal. They’re the perfect walkable, wear-with-everything sandal for summer (and I plan to do miles and miles of walking this summer with my latest impulse purchase: a two-year-old boxer mix named Sophie). They’ll pair perfectly with my growing collection of distressed denim, and work well with all of the oversize breezy cotton dresses that I’ve accumulated.

 

The inspiration for easy ways to style my new huaraches is Gracey in the picture above – I love how she paired hers with an easy striped dress (and I may also have to copy those aviator frames). She has a lot of great ideas on how to style these shoes (like pairing them with chambray, black pleats, and floral print) on her cool blog – it’s filled with amazing ideas like this matching Goodwill combo that’s breathing new motivation into my commitment to thrifting my way through spring.

 

In case you’re not into the vintage, already-been-worn-across-Brazil versions of these flats, Sketchers has a surprisingly affordable-yet-quality version for sale on Amazon. 

 

 



 

(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,’script’,’//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’); ga(‘create’, ‘UA-46889504-1’, ‘thestyleheist.blogspot.com’); ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);