Heroes vs Monters

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Although we did not get any time for get in a game of Magic: the Gathering over the weekend, we did spend an hour or two trying to work out a standard list featuring Obzedat, Ghost Council.  We have to admit that we still are stumped at creating a decent list for Friday Night Magic restricted to just two colors.  In fact we have a short list of cards we're thinking of getting at MTG Mint Card and breaking it out to three cards.  If you have any ideas, drop us a line or use the comment thingy below.  We definitely want to score the FNM Promo for April - Call of the Conclave with this new build.

Anywhoos - news today - today on the mothersite, the next Duel Decks were announced!  Expected this fall just before the release of the next set (Theros) is 'Duel Decks: Heroes vs. Monsters' !  Here's the 4.1.1. from WotC Trick Jarret.
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Monsters worthy of legend have always threatened the civilizations of the Multiverse. Heroes of many worlds must prove their worth by confronting these immense creatures. These heroes grow stronger with every encounter as they assail threats beyond their imagination.

Materializing out of the mist, monsters loom large on the horizon. Terrifying and relentless, these mythical creatures ravage the countryside. Enrage your monsters into jaw-dropping monstrosities and send them rampaging toward the enemy.
 Duel Decks: Heroes vs. Monsters

Duel Decks: Heroes vs Monters will contain six preview cards from this fall's Magic set Theros, making them your very first chance to play with the set's new cards!

Deck Design and Deck Development: Chris Millar, Kelly Digges and Sam Stoddard
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGHVM
Languages Available: English, Japanese
Release Date: September 6, 2013
MSRP: $19.99
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Unfortunately, there was no art provided so there really is not much to speculate on.  We are very interested in the fact that there is expect six cards to appear this this Duel Decks which also will see print in Theros which has a very mythological feel to it.  Perhaps something along the lines of the Greek Hero Theseus and the Minotaur he slew in the Maze on Crete.
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4 Things

Well hello friends.

I'm sorry for my lack of blogging.

To be honest, I just haven't felt much like doing it.

I'm on medication that's giving me ridiculous headaches and in combo with the lack of sleep, I just sort of feel crappy miccrappersons.

So, for today, a quick hello and some announcements.

1. It's time to announce the winner of my Candy Shop Vintage giveaway.

A huge...

/via/

...to...

...ombdesigns...

And PS, this is your second jewelry win on my blog- lucky, lucky ducky!!!

2. The dream house idea might be replaced/put on hold because we've got something else cook...turns out that we might just very well be building a cottage in PEI across the street from my family's one.

This has me very excited!

And of course, my brain is already reeling with possibilities.

I'm dreaming of an all white facade with a tin roof and giant veranda...Chassity's house in mini form essentially...like this...

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Inside, things will be durable and VERY budget friendly...I'm thinking finishes very similar to those in my basement...laminate flooring in grey, subway tiles, black windows etc. etc.

Stay tuned.

3. A little public service design announcement...IKEA has fiddle leaf figs for sale for $14!!!  

/via/

4. I've got a few wallpaper/project updates.

a) #projectvicarious

The wallpaper in the little girl's room is up and wowzers...in combo with the pink lacquer, it's sooooo yummy...

b) #projectfoyer

As you know, I've been working on the house that belongs to #projectlittlemiss

Right now, moulding is being applied to the foyer...progress pics on that coming soon.

I've also been helping with a small scale re-do of the bedroom belonging to my client's son...we'll call it #projectwoods...and this is why...the whole scheme stems from a little wallpaper action...this time, it's the classic, Cole and Son Woods...

As you can see, we also painted out all the trim in a deep charcoal.

The room will also see windows covered in this Schumacher goodness...

Delish.

And that my friends is all I have for now.

Nursery reveal is coming tomorrow!

xo

 it's spring break here and so i'm taking the kids to beaufort to visit my parents and to relax (my parent's screen porch is calling my name)!!  hoping that the weather stays nice enough for us to go to the beach and not freeze.....we love looking for shark's teeth.  i also plan on eating breakfast at lowcountry produce market (best ever and the interior design is to die for).

*images courtesy of the sun isn't rising w/out you, splendid sass, at home in arkansas,  house beautiful,  vintage mulberry, lucas studio

New Living Room Rug

I was sad to see it go, but we decided to replace the jute rug this month. I loved that rug, and still think jute is a great option for some people, but those people are not pet owners. :/ Linus had two throw up accidents on the rug and I scrubbed and scrubbed and vacuumed for hours both times and there was a bit of unfortunate discoloring. Big bummer.

Also, the rug had dried up a bit during the winter especially the part that sat over the floor grate, and it was starting to shed a little bit. It wasn't a huge deal on its own and actually I think I was supposed to be misting the rug with water once or twice a month to prevent the over-drying, and I never did. But between the shedding and the discolored spots (which you can sort of see in these photos), I felt like it was time to start looking for something else.

So here was my thought process.

1) While I loved the pop of red from the persian I had layered on the jute, I knew I wanted something more neutral. I'm going to bring in a bright orangey red or a hot pink on new pillows I think (I loved that combo with the green velvet sofa).

2) This rug needed to be a wool or wool-like pile for clean up purposes. For stain-hiding, I am a big fan of persian style rugs, so I was hoping to find something neutral but with a bit of an irregular pattern.

3) In apartments especially, where 90% of the action happens in the one living room, it's pretty inevitable that spills and stains are going to happen with kids and pets in the house. During my search I actually found a completely gorgeous antique silk Oushak in beautiful light colors from one of my dealers for about $3500. Pricey, but it was seriously worth every penny. I thought long and hard about investing in that rug. It was stunning, but what happens when someone sneaks juice over into the living room or when Linus has an accident? It would be hard to not freak out, and that's just not how I want to feel about the stuff in my house. So I passed on the Oushak and I kept looking.

I had my eye on this rug called the Beaumont Adileh in Natural from Rugs USA for a couple weeks. I was sold out in the 10x13 size that I wanted, but they have this feature where you can give them your email and they'll contact you if/when more comes in stock.

The reviews were good and they were having one of their famous 50% off plus free shipping sales, so when I got the email that the large size was back in stock, I moved fast. And I'm so glad I did! I love it. (Just checked - the latest sale is 60% off!)

I love the range of colors in the rug: cream, gray, taupe, black, brown, even a hint of apricot. It's totally one of those rugs that changes colors in the light.

And I think it actually looks kind of worn and old. Or at least, it doesn't scream out cheapy fake rug when you walk into the room. My only complaint is the binding on the edge, but for this price, you win some, you lose some.

Man, I love the black in that border!

The rug is 100% Viscose, which surprised me with its softness, even though the rug is pretty thin. And it's hard to tell in the photos, but the viscose gives the rug a really silky look. It honestly looks so much like the sheen of the Oushak that I loved, I just couldn't believe it when I rolled the rug out. And just like silk, it totally changes color when you rub your hand against the pile.

Oh, hello, soft and pretty rug...

So while I miss the texture of the jute a bit, I'm totally in love with the new rug. It is bright and airy and it cleans up like a dream. I'm a very happy customer and now I'm thinking of getting this one for my office... :)

L.A. Mood Comics & Games

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We hope you all had a great Easter long weekend.  Here's a PSA - make certain you get your April's Fools Day mischievous frivolities underway as time is running out - you'll find some good stuff on the mothersite today.  Our fav 'prank' was the announcement from Wizards of the Coast some years ago on 'Ninja's vs Pirates' Duel Decks.

Anywhoos - We had popped back to our hometown, London (Ontario) for the gathering of the Clan for Easter which did not leave us much time for our fav game.  We did howver have an opportunity to meet Gordon and Carol, owners of L.A. Mood Comics & Games.  These great people have been in the business some 20 years, counting 10 at their present location in downtown London, just a block south of Dundas on Richmond.
 

L.A. Mood Comics & Games
350 Richmond st. London, Ontario, Canada 
1-888-621-7018 or Local 519-432-3987
Website - www.lamoodcomics.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/Lamoodcomics
Blog - www.lamoodcomics.blogspot.ca

 
If you are looking to play Magic: the Gathering (or almost any other board game / card game imaginable), check them out.  Shortly after taking over the basement for a play-space at their Richmond store, they had begun to cultivate a healthy MTG community.  

L.A. Mood runs events such as PreRelease, Launch, Game Day and of course Friday Night Magic.  With an average of about 40 to 50 gamers for FNM, you should have no problem at all getting your game on.  The play area downstairs can accommodate up to 70 players and we found it to be spacious, well lighted and well appointed.

Although L.A. Mood was primarily a comic book store, Carol and Gordon indicate that games now make up more than half of their business and is anticipated to grow even more as they have now building an eCommerce component where you can now buy singles.  

We're giving two thumbs up for L.A. Mood Comics & Games - an all-around great local gaming store with a solid community.

Lastly,
Don't forget to keep a weather eye on the horizon as we move quite decidedly into another spoiler season as Wizards of the Coast will soon start Dragon's Maze previews.  Check MTG Mint Card often as start getting singles up as they are revealed.
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Concrete Planters

It's going to be sixty degrees today! What-what! Looks like yard work weather is upon us. I went to the garden center this weekend to pick up some flower beds and a few new planters for the balcony (this is finally happening!).

I found a few big boxwoods on sale and some pretty flowers for planting around the playhouse. And I wasn't sure if I had gone crazy when I was tempted by these flamingos.  #notAprilfoolsing

There were some really beautiful concrete planters at Lowes that I loved, but they were pretty pricey. So I bought a bag of concrete instead thinking I could come up with a DIY. When I got home I found this easy tutorial from BHG. It's just too good not to copy. :)

The basic idea is to use an interesting container for the outside shape with something basic and smaller inside.

Aren't these pretty? I'm really loving the sort of corrugated edged ones especially.

Have you ever done any concrete work? I've not done much yet, but I have at least three big projects using concrete planned for this year so I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot more comfortable with this stuff before long. :)

Happy (Spring?!) Weekend!

It's the weekend! We are so ready for spring around here. This winter has been cold and long. Lately we've been trying to stay outside all afternoon to combat the cabin fever we've been suffering from basically since Hurricane Sandy in October. :/  It's so fun now that Evie's old enough to ride her scooter and we don't have to take a stroller down the subway stairs. It feels like the city is our oyster. My little scooter gang is coming to get you this spring, NYC!

(This photo cracked me up when I found it on my phone (Gracie's becoming quite the little sneaky photographer). Do your kids climb inside your jacket when they get cold? I secretly love the extra snuggles (and warmth!), but now I'm thinking it must look a little weird to passersby? ha!)

Linus and I have been going out for runs together along the Promenade and I'm remembering how much I love this place. I was talking to another woman in my church about how sometimes we just want to move somewhere easier and cheaper to live. She gave me some wise words: Never make any decisions about moving away from the city in the winter, or your emotions will get the best of you. :)

Well, I think spring must be just around the corner because all the fancy brownstones in the Heights are putting out cut flower arrangements in their window boxes. Talk about luxury right? There's some major wiggle room in your budget if you can afford weekly flowers for your neighbor's sidewalk viewing pleasure.

Have a lovely weekend friends! If you're celebrating Easter, I hope it's a great one for you and your family. xo