The Look for Less

If you have been following my blog the past few weeks you know I’ve spent a lot of time decluttering, downsizing and deep cleaning.

Some of my very tired décor made it to the donation bin and a few things got moved around.

That left my house a little bare and in need of updating.

Pottery Barn and McGee and Co to the rescue.  Right?  Um, no, thank you, not right now.  I love those looks.  But felt like it might be a bit more fun and pocketbook-friendly to find some dupes.

And where I couldn’t find dupes, I subbed with a “Look for Less.”

I’ll be sharing several of my finds over the next few posts and today it’s all the about the living room.

Throw Blankets

This is where it all began.  I kept seeing the awesome throw blankets from Target and Walmart duping PB.  The reviews were excellent claiming near matches.

Since I use throws most every day and am joined by a furry friend most of the time, I didn’t mind replacing some of my older throws.

The PB Chenille Windowpane Throw is a gorgeous knitted throw and the camel color is perfect for my fall color scheme.  The price is $99.

Threshold Designed with Studio McGee at Target offers the Grid Knit Throw Blanket for $35.  It looks identical to me.  The quality is excellent and I’ve used it several times to confirm its coziness.

Barefoot Dreams has the softest products from socks to throw blankets.  Their leopard throws are so popular and on sale through Amazon are listed at $125.

Walmart sells the Wild Leopard Throw blanket for $18.95.  And may I just tell you?  It is the SOFTEST blanket I’ve ever had.  And you know how much I love my Nordstrom blanket. 

This one!

Throw Pillows

Antique Rug Pillows are the hot trend right now and I found a really affordable lumbar ($29) from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart.com and paired it with a pretty embroidered pillow ($23), both from the Dave and Jenny Marrs collection.

The colors are neutral and were a nice transition from summer into fall. My phone didn’t do the colors any justice, but I promise they do all coordinate. And look pretty with the carpet.

Although not neutral, the antique rug lumbar pillow at PB is $68.  And I might add, it’s quite gorgeous.

So I got two pillows for the price of one and won’t feel guilty when I tire of them.

Eclipse

DF Tom Evangelista took some stunning pictures from the annular eclipse and he gave me permission to post them here.

Here is what he said: “Start, moon coming in from the top, apex, sliver of sun, end moon leaving bottom left.”

He used a Sony A65 camera, Tamron 200-400mm lens, doubled electronically to 800mm, F9, ISO 800 at 1/1250th exposure.

I have no idea what that means, but if you’re technical like he is you might want to keep that info in your back pocket.

What I’m Eating

After a couple weeks of hard labor and not much time out and about, I was in serious need of comfort food.

Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese to the rescue.  It’s probably been a year or more since I’ve had Mac & cheese, so not on the normal rotation but man did this hit the spot.

And notice how the pasta is not neon orange?

What I’m Reading

I went out on a limb and listened to Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem.  Out on a limb meaning its way more sci-fi than I’m used to.  David Aaron Baker is the narrator and 100% the reason I listened.

It’s billed as a young girl’s coming of age story on an alien planet in a post-apocalyptic time.  Now that’s quite a mouthful and I’m still not certain how much I liked it.  It gets fine reviews and if this sounds of interest to you, check it out. 

If it doesn’t sound up your alley, skip it.

Northwest Angle by Willian Kent Krueger is #11 in the Cork O’Connor series.  I liked it and I like the series.  I recommend the series but they’re best read in order.

Wrap Up

Please let me know if you like hearing about dupes as much as I do and I’ll continue to post them as I find them.

We are back to summer here this week, but I’ll try to keep in the fall spirit and post some more seasonal décor, food and activities.