Blog - Decor Fix

Gold Magnetic Letters

Watch out Sesame Street, the abc’s are all grown up and going glam. Can you guess what these gold magnetic letters were in another life? Yep, those cheap, neon, plastic magnets we all had as kids. A couple weeks ago I helped my friend Hannah with a bridesmaids’ brunch she was hosting, and these little signs were my favorite project from the event.

It started with this pin. When I first saw it, I thought they were alphabet magnets. I later realized they were charms for a necklace, but they got me thinking. After a little searching on Pinterest, turns out that lots of people have done similar projects (like this).

I’m finding that even when I think I have an original idea, someone else has already done it. And usually theirs is cuter. Oh well. I love how these little signs turned out; you just can’t go wrong with gold and black. I’ve got some great pics of the brunch to show you guys later this week-lots of eye candy.

This DIY is pretty much self explanatory. Spray paint metal trays black. Spray paint letters gold. Allow both to fully dry before sticking magnet letters to the tray. Voila. You could use any combination of colors for the metal trays and magnets. How cute would these be in a kitchen with a little message like “kiss the cook” or in a kid’s room with their name?

I bought a gold pen and made the juice labels late one night after baby girl went to bed. These were my third version. I find it relaxing to sit and write…Such a shift from all the typing I normally do.

Aside from these gold magnetic letters being one of the easiest projects I’ve done in a while, it uses my new favorite color combo. I’m really drawn to black, white, and gold lately. I find myself wanting to paint every room in my house white, and buy a bunch of black accents for the walls . Mix in some warm wood tones and some live greenery (in the dream land where I can actually keep plants alive). Heaven. Kind of like this place or this one.

Four Ways to Use Washi Tape

| by Heather Freeman

For months I saw washi tape at craft stores and thought to myself, “That’s cute. What the heck would I do with it?” A simple Google search of “washi tape uses” will show thousands of ideas. The four I’ve got to share today are by no means original, but they’re how I’ve used washi to make things a little more colorful around our house.

Four Ways to Use Washi Tape

1. NAME TAGS FOR CUPS
This takes just seconds to decorate plain white cups and add guests names. I didn’t bother to cut the tape; just tear and stick on. So flippin’ easy.

2. CODE YOUR CALENDAR
I use three different colors of tape for this: one for my stuff, one for Stu’s stuff, and one that affects both of us. It’s such a nice visual and really helps you get an overall picture of the month. *As much as I try, I can’t get away from needing a paper calendar…I use one on my computer that’s more detailed but I just like being able to write the big stuff down and have it up at all times.

3. DECORATE A PLAIN FRAME
I purchased this clear plastic frame from Wal Mart for less than $1. You could do so many cute patterns and even write messages on the tape if you wanted. These would be make inexpensive gifts too.

4. PERSONALIZE A NOTEBOOK
Like the last idea, this one takes a plain issue and jazzes it up. You can buy the most simple (cheap) notebooks and customize them however you choose. This would be a fun back to school project for kids. Plus, they’d be the only one in their class to have a “one-of-a-kind” creation.

Speaking of back to school…

Today was the first time since kindergarten (hello, 1987) that I did not go back for the first day of school. All my teacher friends and their kids started today. This week I would normally be living in my classroom and hunting down the bargain bins to find everything I need to start the year. I would have picked out my “first day” outfit, spent last night getting my classroom just perfect, and showed up to school this morning with butterflies in my stomach and iced coffee in my hand…

Except that I didn’t. For the first time in almost a decade I did none of those things. Instead, I wore yoga pants. I took Gemma on a walk with another work-at-home momma and her girls. I grazed on my lunch instead of scarfing it down in 14 minutes. I took as many bathroom breaks as I needed. I didn’t glance at the clock 42 times to make sure I was on schedule. I worked when Gemma napped and even managed a conference call. It felt like a HUGE life change. (In case you missed it, read more about my decision to stay home here.) I realize that technically my first day as a WAHM was in June. Being a teacher it didn’t feel real until today when I wasn’t there standing at the door greeting my students for the first time, listening to a symphony of clanging of locker doors and bells ringing.

There was a hint of bittersweet emotion as I reflected on things…I will miss the amazing people I worked with and the sense of community you get from working in a school. After 3:30, I texted my teacher friends to ask about their first day back. It felt surreal being on the other end of that question. In a way I’m leaving part of my identity at school. “I’m a teacher,” no longer works to explain who I am. I have experience, credentials, and a network of contacts in education. Now I am a newbie parent and start-up business owner who several times a day feels very shaky filling both of these roles. I’m not nearly as confident in what tomorrow brings as I would be if I had entered the classroom this fall…I think there’s beauty in that. I feel a bit raw today but am trying to “lean in” to the uneasiness that comes with such a huge life change.

Oh, and here’s one more thing you can do with washi tape…

Shapes Board for the Nursery

| by Heather Freeman

Gemma has reached a point where diaper changes are an annoying interruption to her play time. She squirms and kicks, looking around for something to keep her occupied while I work fast to swap a clean diaper for a dirty one. If she could, she would probably be saying, “I’m bored here, lady. Hurry it up”.

I wanted to put something colorful in the space that could hold her attention. Since she grabs for everything right now, I thought foam shapes that she could play with would be perfect. (Note: That is not an actual changing pad cover. It’s a blanket that I wrapped around the plain ole’ plastic pad because I wanted to impress y’all. Normally we don’t have a pad cover. Who needs one more piece of laundry? Keeping it real here…)
Supplies:
-canvas
-foam
-paint and brushes
-painter’s tape
-velcro strips

Steps:
1. Use painter’s tape to mark shapes on the canvas.
2. Mix paint and apply to canvas. (I wanted very light pastels, so I added white to my paint choices.)
3. Allow paint to dry before peeling tape.
4. Cut shapes from foam.
5. Apply velcro to canvas and foam.
6. Plant baby with dirty diaper, and let the educational play time begin.
I’m not sure how much longer this little board will hold her attention, but I figure the good thing about the velcro is that I can keep changing out the shapes. The foam is nice because she can bend it, put it in her mouth, and it still bounces back.

This kid is literally becoming more human everyday. It’s crazy. She is rolling everywhere and screaming for no apparent reason, but she thinks it’s funny. She laughs now, more than just a chuckle. It’s full on belly laughter. I find myself doing any ridiculous thing to make it happen more often. (Totally get the Friends episode where Rachel and Ross sing “Baby Got Back” to Emma.)

Also, I’m gearing up to launch my local business in the next month. Things are a bit hectic trying to pull it all together with baby in tow. That’s why things have been quieter on the blog…Bear with me. I can’t wait to share more with you about my little venture. I say “little” because in the world of business and commerce, it is microscopic. In my world, however, it is huge. Scary, and big, and totally out of my comfort zone. The decision to do this is now real and in my face, not a “one day” wistful thought in my head where it lived for so long. Lord help me and pass the chocolate.

DIY: Painted Floral Table Cloth

| by Heather Freeman

Earlier this week I promised to show how I made my table cloth from the “garden party” brunch. Get this…it’s a canvas drop cloth! After seeing Jordan’s tablecloth on Oh Happy Day, my crafting juices were pumping, and I wanted to make one. I kept trying to decide if this was one of those DIY’s that would end with me in tears or fist pumping into the air with paint brush in hand. Well friends, it turned out to be a tear-free crafternoon!

Let me tell you, you don’t have to be an artist to tackle this project. Those flowers? Just swirled circles with little dots in the middle. If the flowers still intimidate you, stripes are low risk and look great by themselves. Polka dots would be super cute too.

Since I used a mixture of paints I already had on hand, the whole project cost me under $20. The drop cloth was only $13. (I’m already scheming more DIY’s with this little gem.)

Painted Floral Table Cloth
Step 1: Iron a 6 x9 drop cloth using your iron’s high setting. (I tried the dryer first, hoping I could save myself some time…It did basically nothing to the wrinkles.)
Step 2: Use painter’s tape to tape off center stripes. I used a pencil to mark a 10 inch space in the middle. I marked spots about a foot apart down the length of the drop cloth and laid tape to line up with the markings.
Step 3: Use sponge brushes to dab on paint. I applied thin coats to try and avoid bleeding. Allow to dry about 30 minutes before continuing.
Step 4: Mix other colors on a palette. I used a small tester of white interior wall paint to lighten my craft paints and make them go a little farther. Plus, it made the paint a bit thicker which I think helped it stand out more on the cloth.
Step 5: Practice swirls on paper to get a feel for your flowers. Don’t worry about each one being perfect-you’re going for an overall effect.
TIP: Vary the sizes of the flowers. Make one color your largest and pick a couple more to be medium and small flowers.
Step 6: After I painted the flowers on the drop cloth, I laid it out on the table to paint on the leaves. I ended up adding little mint polka dots to fill in more of the white space.

Not too shabby, huh? Le drop cloth, might be my new favorite DIY item. Next I’m thinking about pillows, place mats, and table runners, but there are probably 100 other good uses. I’d love to hear if you have an idea for my next drop cloth DIY.

Heads up-blogger and Lovely Cupboard contributor Tan and I are prepping for our $1 Store Craft Challenge. Check back a week from today to see what we come up with!

Indoor Garden Party Brunch

| by Heather Freeman

The irony of a self proclaimed “black thumb” throwing a garden party is not lost on me. I had originally planned to host this brunch outdoors, but 89 degree heat at 10:30am had me scrambling to rearrange furniture, and my living room acted as an air conditioned “garden”.

The guest of honor for the Indoor garden party brunch was my BFF, Tanya, who happened to have a birthday and big life change happen all at once. When Tanya moved back in town after being gone several years, we were so excited to be in the same time zone again. We even lived in duplexes 100 yards from each other. And now she is moving again…this time it’s away. Not too far, but far enough to matter. Close enough so that we tell ourselves, “It’s just three hours. We’ll totally see each other all the time. Totally.” All the while we know that our visits probably won’t be as frequent as we hope. The move is so right for her family, and I know great things are ahead for them. But I still get a knot in my stomach thinking of Gemma growing up without her “Aunt Tanya” in town.

So what do I do to hide my emotions and ignore the reality of the move? Plan a going away brunch, of course! (Then the day of the party I cried at least six times and just wanted to wear pj’s, have her all to myself, and share a stack of pancakes.)

The girls all pitched in, making their specialties. On the menu was lox bagels, spinach quiches with Gouda, and bacon wrapped dates. For sweets we had apricot scones and blueberry French toast. A slight disaster involving the wrong burner being turned on had the French toast burning when we thought it was cooling. I could out my husband right here and tell you how his one job was to make a pot of coffee and instead he narrowly avoided ruining my favorite dish. But I’m much too forgiving to do so. (A long shift on daddy duty cleared him of all wrong doing.)

I tried my hand at a painted floral table cloth (DIY coming later this week), and the lovely folks at Minted provided the rest of the decor. We ordered Gemma’s birth announcements from Minted and loved how they turned out. When they approached me about doing a post for their new line of party goods, I did a little dance of joy and spent a solid hour on their site devouring all the decor eye candy.

As soon as I saw the Guapa line, I knew it would be perfect for this brunch. It’s feminine and colorful but also has a subtle sophistication. Usually I DIY all the details of a party myself. Sometimes, however, it’s nice to have an option to throw a beautiful party without the hours of prep before hand. (As in, I have a four-month old and am barely sleeping-forget spending hours cutting paper.) Minted has several options for grown up parties like this one or this one.

I had guests write their favorite memories with Tan on the cute little hola! cards. The scalloped drink tags made sure that the champagne mimosas weren’t confused with the Perrier versions.

And then there were babies…lots of babies. Out of six of us girls from college, four had babies this year. Now we are all mommas with nine babies between us! I so vividly remember an autumn evening about 11 years ago as we walked back from an intramural football game. We came to conclusion that we were going to be each others “real grown-up friends”, the kind who are bridesmaids in your wedding and who your kids call “aunt”. Since that night we have been through graduations, weddings, death of loved ones, getting jobs, losing jobs and all the ups and downs that your 20’s bring. I guess somewhere along the way we did become “grown-ups”, but none of us remember exactly when that happened.
These girls have literally shaped who I am as a person, especially this one. This girl who can come over unannounced and I never bother to straighten up the house or put on makeup. This girl who will always share two desserts with me. This girl who will use a hair brush as a microphone when we sing old school Destiny’s Child on road trips. This girl who I have prayed and laughed and cried and gorged on ice cream with more times than anyone else. This girl who is taking a massive step of faith and seeing new doors open for her family. This girl who does not share my blood or upbringing but most definitely is my sister.

Party Goods: Minted
Photos: Lark Photography

Rustic Baby Shower

| by Heather Freeman

Have you ever heard of a sip-and-see style baby shower? I hadn’t until recently when we hosted one for some of our closest friends and their brand new baby boy, Zane. Basically, it’s a baby shower that happens after the baby is born, so friends and family can bring gifts and also sneak a peak at the new arrival. By the time baby number two or three comes around, parents don’t need too many of the big ticket items, so there’s no need to have the shower before bebe arrives.Zane’s shower felt more like a party that a traditional shower, which can be a bit awkward at times…You (the mama) are dressed up and opening all these gifts with everyone watching while you are huge and miserable and uber pregnant. You’d rather be on the couch with your gigantic feet propped up rather than try to appear semi decent for pictures. Wait, was that just me? (Disclaimer: I loved my shower, really I did.)

I wanted the decor for the sip-and-see to be “manly” and rustic. Navy, lime, and shades of orange were the chosen colors. I found the green fabric on sale at a discount store and hung it over the fence to serve as a back drop. The paper mache deer head was a $12.99 purchase from Michael’s that I spray painted white.

A friend and I cut strips of scrapbook paper and stapled to chording to make the bunting. This took a little time, but was cheap and turned out super cute. Such an easy way to incorporate colors into the decor. The letters were cut from foam, and clothes pins held them in place.

Here’s the man of the hour… Look at both of these gorgeous kids! There was never a 6 year old more excited for a baby brother as Gianna, our adorable goddaughter. It was such a special moment when our friends Meghan and Dante told us they were pregnant…We have always joked about having babies at the same time. We went out to dinner when I was six months pregnant and 24/7 heartburn was sucking the joy out of every meal. Amidst salsa that I couldn’t eat and ice cold margaritas that I couldn’t drink, we heard some of the sweetest news…

Meghan gave Gianna a little nod, and she almost exploded with, “Hey Hedder (Heather), guess what? You have a baby in your belly, and mom has one in hers too!!” Screaming, laughing, and crying followed for the next several minutes. To say we were happy is an understatement…You know when it’s snowing outside, and you’re curled up in a massive fuzzy blanket in front of a fire place? That’s the kind of warmth we feel sharing this time with our friends who are really more like family.

You can’t see, but the bags are filled with popcorn and Reece’s Pieces, my new fav snack. How much do you love the $1 bins at Michael’s? I got a “Z” stamp that I used on these bags for a buck. A buck!

The future bride and groom…wedding date TBD in the year 2035. Stu holding Gemma and Mister Zane with his grandma. These two babies have no choice but to marry…

Zane’s grandma made two versions of sangria, one white and one red, for the grown ups. We had fruity tea and strawberry basil lemonade for the kiddos. There were a couple close calls when parents caught kids helping themselves to the wrong fruity beverage on accident…We really should have labeled the drink dispensers.

The “family tree”. I enlarged pics of mom, dad, and baby sis and put them in little wooden frames. Here’s the woodsy cupcake stand that I posted about making earlier this week.
This was most definitely a family event. Husbands, kids, and babies flooded our house and backyard. Oh, the babies…Have I mentioned that 2013 has been dubbed “the year of the babies” in our circle of friends? These are just four of the eight babies that will be here by year’s end. We’re realizing that when they outnumber us, we might have a problem. Until then, there will be lots of swapping clothes, toys, strollers and advice. It is so nice to be a first time mom with all of these ladies in my life to help.
Zane and his momma Meghan, Darby and Dana, Gemma and me, Winnie and Lyndsey. (Gemma decided to be a party pooper and nap through all the pics.)
…Finally, a tuckered out baby boy. A “Noble” one indeed.

Texas Caviar

| by Heather Freeman

This post sponsored by Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing.

I realize that to most people, Texans seem like a pompous breed who never shut up about the glories of their state. As a native Texan living in the Midwest for the last decade, I’m sure I have deserved the eye rolls and slightly annoyed shrugs when I rave about kolaches, REAL Tex Mex, Longhorn football, and the magical utopia of a city named Austin. However, we Texans take our chips and dip extremely seriously…and so should you. (See the cockiness coming out? Man, it just pops up out of no where and feels like a comfortable old sweater.)

Texas bean dip, or Texas caviar, can help anchor an entire meal. You can serve it with fish, on top of tacos, or even wrap it in lettuce for a vegetarian lettuce wrap. We make it for almost every party we host, and usually the bowl is ~~scraped~~ licked clean by the end of the night. A certain BFF of mine, who shall not remain nameless calls me nearly every month to get the recipe again since she loves it so much, but for some reason has never taken the time to write it down. (Tanya, this post is for you.)
Ingredients:

-1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 can black eyed peas (drained and rinsed)
-1 can sweet yellow corn
-1 can white corn
-1/2 red onion
-1 red bell pepper
-fresh cilantro
-1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
-1/2 cup sour cream
-2 tablespoons ranch powder mix (I use Hidden Valley.)
-2 teaspoons hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
(Sometimes I’m feeling super fancy and add a diced mango in the mix. Great in the summer time.)

Instructions:

1. Open beans, peas, and corn. Drain, rinse, and drain excess water. Add to a large bowl.

2. Finely chop onion, bell pepper, and a handful of cilantro. Add to the bowl.

3. In a small bowl stir dressing, sour cream, hot sauce, and ranch powder until combined.

4. Add to veggies. Cover and chill for an hour before serving.

Anytime I make this dip Stu hangs out in the kitchen so as not to leave any lag time from when it’s finished to when he can eat. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the whole bowl will be consumed during one episode of Sports Center. (Oh, do you see that lil’ cutie just chillin’ the background? Bonus!)

As soon as I was approached with the Kraft campaign, I was excited and knew exactly what I was going to make. I buy the Zesty Italian dressing every time I make Texas caviar. Using dressings like this in dips is great because it’s a quick way to add oil, vinegar, and seasonings without measuring each out individually.

Have you seen the ad below with the oh-so-hunky man? Hah! Am I offended by their overt use of the male figure to lure females to the joys of salad dressing? No. Men have Hardee’s, Victoria Secret and a million other commercials. It’s time we had one too, ladies. Zesty!

Baby Love

| by Heather Freeman

Our lives got so much sweeter this week. After a long wait, baby Gemma finally joined our family Thursday evening. Despite a pretty terrible delivery experience with several unexpected turns, she was born completely healthy and as perfect as could be. Stu and I are so surprised how this little human who we just met has become our obsession in a matter of days. People told me I would love her more than anything, but I couldn’t really imagine it until I brought her home. Once everything has sunk in, I’m sure I’ll have a lot to share about our first days together.

It may be a bit quiet around the blog for a while…There is cuddling and cheek kissing to do, and I want to soak up every minute.

Master Bedroom in Progress

| by Heather Freeman

I’ve treated our master bedroom like the ugly step child of our house for a few years. It has been my last priority since we moved in. Design wise, I still don’t know exactly where I’m going with this room. I’ve ignored it, called it nasty names, and thrown it some hand-me-down items from other rooms when I absolutely had to. Lately, I’ve been trying to give it some much needed TLC. Since our guest room has now become a nursery (more pics of it soon!), I needed a dressing table. The only logical place for this was our bedroom. That kick started things just a bit, and the room is beginning to evolve. Slowly. Very slowly. I’m only going to show you a few glimpses and hopefully by this time next year there will be full room shots. (But don’t count on it.)

After months of searching for a vanity that would fit in the small space and serve double duty as a night stand, I ended up with a computer table from Target. (Yep, high class.) I tried to make my nook feel more feminine with a scalloped mirror from Lowe’s and the little white stool I got from Overstock. It’s a bit more cramped that my last vanity, but it’s serving its purpose for now.
Also, we refinished the original hard wood floors that had been buried under very worn out carpet. We loved the look of our 1940’s floors after they had been rejuvenated, but needed a throw rug to warm things up just a bit. I am SO STINKIN’ PICKY ON RUGS that I dread even having to look for one. I decided I wasn’t going to search extensively for specific colors, since I don’t even have a color scheme for the room yet. I was just going to find one the right size that was around $100. This was a liberating experience. Seriously. LIBERATING. Not being confined to a specific color scheme let me just find a rug with a vibe I liked. Sound a bit bohemian and free-spirited? That’s what it felt like.

I found this indigo rug with lime tassels from Urban Outfitters for $79, a great buy. So, apparently these are the colors I’m going to work with. Luckily the hand-me-down lamp shades from the guest room just happened to have similar colors in them, so they get to stay. (I swear I didn’t plan that.) I still have no clue what I’m going to do for bedding, drapes, or a headboard.
Ok, now let’s chat about this gorgeous piece of art. Remember that darling girl and newest contributor, Lindsay? Well, her shop is launching a new set of canvases. This is just one of the many beautiful new pieces of work in her shop, Lindsay Letters. Obviously it’s striking to look at, but it also has so many nuggets of inspiration. These are great phrases to wake up to each morning. I’m going to be honest…Our bedroom is not the only neglected room in our house. The upstairs guest bedroom is a catch-all space for anything and everything (including items going to the garage sale this summer). Our laundry room is so disorganized that it’s barely functional. We still have Stu’s college couch with a Wal-Mart slipcover in our formal living room. After three years in this house, I assumed that I’d have all the rooms finished by now. HA! The joke’s on me. It can be frustrating, but I have to remind myself that designing your home is a process…a long, drawn out, and sometimes painful process. At some point during this process you may even realize that you already want to change up some rooms you redecorated a couple years ago. (Oops. Is my husband reading this?)

I know we all have spaces like this. Usually there are obstacles that keep us from doing what we want to them. For me it’s usually lack of money or lack of inspiration. I know for others it’s simply a time factor.

Q: If you had an unlimited budget, a week off of work, and a whole Pinterest board full of inspiration, which room in your house would you tackle?

**BABY UPDATE*** No baby yet…I did end up in Labor & Delivery last night becasue the left side of my face went numb and tingly. Apparently I’m in the beginning stages of Bell’s Palsy that causes partial facial paralysis. This can happen in pregnancy sometimes. Most of the time you regain feeling and muscle control in weeks or months after delivery. So just when I’m feeling UBER attractive with my 70 pound weight gain, newly formed stretch marks, and swollen everything-HALF OF MY FACE IS DROOPY. I swear…I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror. One day I’m going to write a detailed post on all the weird ails of pregnancy I’ve had just so someone like me, who had friends with “perfect pregnancies” and was completely unassuming, might at least be aware of all the crap that could happen. Ugg…this kid better be really cute.

Mini Lemon Berry Cakes

| by Heather Freeman

I wish I had confetti and streamers that would erupt when you clicked on this post. I am beyond excited to share today’s recipe for mini lemon berry cakes. It comes with a gorgeous gift…an illustrated recipe card by the very talented Lindsay of Lindsay Letters! (More about Ms. Lindsay below.)

The dessert is a lemon cake with fresh raspberries that’s married to a rich white chocolate icing and raspberry jam thrown in the mix. Best part? They’re personal sized. A perfect little dessert for a special meal with your Valentine. (I hesitated to even say that. Frankly, I’ve never needed anyone else to enjoy making and indulging in desserts of any shape or size.)

Click HERE to download the recipe card.

This was the first time I’ve tried using cookie cutters to make cake rounds. It’s a method I plan on using in the future. Next time I might ice the whole thing, sides and all. But it looks so fancy to see the layers, doesn’t it?

If you’re wondering what happened to the extra cake (that was not eaten during the process), I crumbled it up and saved it with the intention of making cake pops. About a week later, Stu found the cake crumbs on top of the fridge thinking they were cornbread. Oops.

OK, now for an exciting announcement… Lindsay is the creative force behind some of the most gorgeous lettering you’ve ever seen. Her work has been all over the web. We share a mutual friend and have admired each other from afar for a while.

We decided to join forces to bring you recipes and lovely lettering like this on a regular basis. Ms. Lindsay is the newest seasonal contributor to The Lovely Cupboard, and I couldn’t be more excited!! (Yes, two exclamation points.) If you head to her shop, you’ll most likely be there a while, so plan accordingly.

Source: Lindsay Letters Photos by: Lark Photography

CHEESE ALERT…It’s so rare to find someone that you would gladly and blindly trust anything they put their hand to creatively; that is Lindsay for me. Everything she does is just beautiful, feminine, and whimsical. I’m tickled pink she’s on board and can’t wait to see what the future has for our little collaborations. Hand on chin, sigh.

Q: Do you have a friend whose taste you completely trust?