Pepper Design Blog

A Little of This & That... Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

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Falling For Fall… A Little Inspiration Board

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It is a crisp but sunny day here in San Diego and I am soaking up our delicious fall weather. Fall has always been my favorite time of the year and especially for the weather right around this time, too. It’s cold enough at night to enjoy slippers and coco (I’ve made myself a mug a couple of times this past week, with marshmallows – I totally recommend it) but still sunny enough during the day to enjoy being outside for a nice walk at lunch or after work.

I’ve been known to pull out fall wear too early in September and October – you can’t wear knee high boots and layers of socks and cowl neck sweaters in San Diego during these months or you will boil. But now we are close! Maybe a couple of weeks away. And to all of you enjoying snow in your parts, insert my jealous grin here :).

Gold sequin dress, cowboy print, glitter nail laquer, baby fisherman’s cardigan, baby Frida skirt, rocking bird, button booties, rock lamp base

That baby fisherman’s cardigan is amazing, as are those leather booties! And the cowboy print. Hope you are enjoying your fall!

Kitchen Addition: New Breakfast Nook, Part 2 – Bench Seats

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The new breakfast nook (shared about here) is on its way! I crossed my fingers, gulped twice and ordered those above-the-fridge cabinets that match the rest of our kitchen cabinetry and are perfectly sized as future bench seats for a breakfast nook. (For reference, they’re cherry wood shaker-style KraftMaid cabinets from Lowe’s in a honey spice finish.)

And then they arrived! And are just as perfect as had hoped. I opted for drawers rather than doors so that as I move my bench pieces around the kitchen (I’d like these guys to serve double-duty as all sorts of seating options) the contents won’t come spilling out. The drawers provide a nice little stash place for tablecloths and runners and such, too.

The drawers came assembled straight out of the box, but rather than add a toe kick to the bottom of the cabinets so that they aren’t directly on the ground, I thought that legs might look a bit nicer and will add a little industrial detail.

Ikea came through with two varieties that I thought would work well – one a solid metal ‘skinny’ leg with a round foot, the other a pewter-painted ‘fatter’ leg with a rubber foot. The skinnier guys won based solely on ease of installation (I could drill the legs directly to the base of the cabinet without the screws interfering with drawer functionality).

You can see that the fatter legs actually require a decently sized pre-drilled hole and something to screw the current exposed screw into (which is probably customary on the Ikea cabinets you’re supposed to buy them for). See how the legs would sit into the underside of the cabinet above and not flush with the bottom (as I had imagined them showing up)? That plan was a no-go.

My skinnier legs are attached to a cabinet by securing each with four small screws, a perfect solution when a drawer must function on a track that is in the way of potential screws. The small screws were about 1/2″ long and didn’t interfere with any sliding motion when drilled through the base.

I totally dig my Ikea industrial legs. They don’t look very Ikea-ish at all and are perfect for the kitchen!

Don’t mind the dusty floors.

Now it’s on to pretty cushions to top these rather uncomfortable drawer cabinets with, and then a table and maybe a few cool chairs. The breakfast nook is coming together!

All kitchen posts can be found right here (we built this space from scratch, at one point in its past life it was actually a den).

What’s Your Morning Routine?

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A bit of an off-topic post today, but in lieu of a wardrobe style board I thought I would share a little sneak peek into my morning face routine (mmm, there has to be a better way to say that?) – and essentially my very favoritist make-up bag contents. In the cosmetic world it’s kind of sparse (I think?? at least compared to my sister’s!) – but it’s basically my prep for the day be it at home or when traveling. Except that I take the mini little plastic jars with me for luggage purposes when on the go.

I always find that the best products to try are those from personal recommendations, no? If you have a love in your life feel free to share it as well!

1. Time Balm concealer in Medium: for the eyes, nose, you know…

2. BareMinerals in Medium Beige: still very much a fan of this product – perfect as an allover (light) coverup for everyday use.

3. Stila One Step in Pop of Pink: this stuff is fantastic! Maybe my favorite item in the bag. Perfect for travel (brought it all over Europe) as it’s a great primer/shadow for the eyelids, lovely cream blush and adds a little color to the lips.

4. Mac Eyeshadow in Sable: if I must choose an all around perfect eye shadow, this is it. I imagine it goes beautifully on any skin color and can be dressed up or down depending on quantity applied and eye liner.

5. Benefit, Big Beautiful Eyes: bought this for traveling and have found it’s perfect for everyday. A little color for the eyes and a darker liner or eyebrow filler for fancy occasions.

6. Blinc Mascara: I have a relationship 8 years strong with this magical mascara. I really hate make up remover… and this particular brand comes off in cone shapes (basically the covering of each individual eye lash) without any assistance except for your face wash. NO red eyes, NO rubbing off of black paste – it’s seriously perfect.

7. Cover FX Skin Prep Serum: this primer is on the pricey end but I use the smallest dab in the mornings to prep my eyes for concealer and the tube lasts me a life time. It’s my favorite primer – and if you’ve never applied concealer or eye shadow with a primer, you are in for a treat.

8. I love Sephora’s generic line of brushes (the ones with the silver handles? Couldn’t find a link online) and I ended up making my own set of brush covers so that I could toss the brushes in my bag on the go (and switch them from briefcase to diaper bag to drawer cleanly). Hmmm… maybe I should market them.

9. Garnier, Skin Renew Daily Moisture Lotion & Sunscreen: I’ve tried a variety of brands but I keep coming back to the affordable, light weight sunscreen that is this guy. Love it.

10. Murad Clarifying Cleanser: Best face wash ever for my very problematic skin. Nuff said.

What do you think? Any favorites that you love and want to share? Could you survive with just a few eye shadows (I have a bigger stash in my drawer that I need to part with…) or are you a lip gloss-only girl anyhow?

Happy weekend!!

PS Apparently ‘Rice Krispy’ is actually spelled ‘Rice Krispie’ – oops! Previous post corrected :).

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