Last Saturday Tad and I were able to spend some time in Raleigh. I LOVE Raleigh, mainly, and I know this sounds shallow, for the shopping. They have absolutely everything! Saturday we were shopping for some wedding gifts for friends’ weddings we’re attending this summer, but mainly we were shopping for inspiration. By this I mean, we were looking around some of our favorite stores and snagging ideas that we can use for our home (and save $$ in the process!).

Our first stop was Williams-Sonoma. If you’ve never been there, WS is a kitchen store that is filled with the most wonderful kitchen gadgets you’ll ever see. They have great ideas for packaging (homemade) mixes (bread, cake, scones, etc.) to make nice gifts for friends. Their website has lots of recipes you can try at home. We loved these little birds nests (warning: nests were everywhere [I’m so ahead of my time], so be prepared to see more pictures in this post!).Next up was Crate and Barrel. I seriously could spend 45 minutes staring at their wall of kitchen gadgets. They have everything from spatulas, honey dippers, bottle stoppers, thermometers, and more. (They also carry some things we like to make fun of, such as cake testers [we use a toothpick!], tea bag squeezers [what?!], and avocado slicers [how many times a year could you possibly use this?].) We love looking at their selection of espresso cups, glassware, coffee mugs, and seasonal offerings. We thought these little egg cups were too cute (not that we’d have much of a use for them… but adorable they are)!
We also loved these little square dishes, even though they don’t really match our decor/serving style. But wouldn’t they be cute for a party?Our trip to Pottery Barn definitely gave us the most inspiration for home decor. Between what we saw in the store, the pages we tabbed in their catalog, and what we found on their website, we have lots of pretty pictures to share!!

First up: using antique keys as wall decor. A couple of years ago, I purchased a small lot of vintage keys on ebay, with the idea that I would use them somehow one day. I thought about framing them in individual frames, but I like the idea of hanging them on nails and grouping them all together as well. We loved the hanging mason jars they were selling to add ambiance to outdoor festivities. But at $8 a pop, we realized we could make our own for much less! Mason jars can easily be found at Goodwill and other thrift shops, and you may just have a few lying around your house as well! Twist some heavy gauge wire to form a handle, fill with some sand or rocks and candle, and you’re done! We might make some to hang from our big front porch since we plan on doing a lot of entertaining there this summer.If you know me well, you know I also have a (not-so) hidden love for apothecary jars. We used several to decorate our wedding reception, and I have been looking forward to using them to decorate our home as well! We loved seeing them used at Pottery Barn to hold everything from bath salts, cotton balls, and soap to rubber bands, paper clips and rulers. They also look great when filled with fruit or fresh flowers! These can be purchased at a lot of different locations (and I even snagged some small ones at Goodwill!), so buy a few and experiment with using them in every room.

Does this pillow look like it was made just for me? Yes, I think so!! Any ideas on how to re-create one? (I can sew a pillow… I just don’t know how to get the writing on it like that.) It would be SO perfect for our living room!
We loved these little nest placecard holders! Thought they wouldn’t be to hard to make myself with some wire.
I really think that Pottery Barn can make displaying toilet paper look elegant! Case in point: here is a collection of towels, q-tips, sponges, and more all corralled under the sink in beautiful baskets and jars. So elegant! It’s all about presentation… even in the bathroom!
Last but not least, I would like to say how much I loved these drapes. I love how clean and simple they look (they don’t take over the spotlight in the room), while still adding something so refined to the overall look of the room. We would love to find lots of inexpensive panels that look like these to use in our home!
Oh, one more thing we should mention. We also stopped at Trader Joe’s for the first time on the way home. I’m a little bit envious of those of you who live near one… their produce prices are GREAT! I also love that they give little sample cups of coffee for you to enjoy while you shop.

Hope you enjoyed experiencing a bit of our shopping trip along with us! We’d love to hear from where you gather your decorating inspiration.