truth be told, i am not the most domestic of gals.  i mean, i am a bit of a workaholic who never made learning to cook a priority.  in the past, i have lived with people really enjoyed cooking, and far be it from me to take that pleasure away from them!  I hate to make such a claim on beth’s behalf but i am afraid my bff do not just share common interests but dis-interests (cooking, baking and the like) as well.

She, recently married, has been taking measures to change and has found some enjoyment in the kitchen of late.  I cannot have this.  But alas, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em right?!  So I have been forcing myself into the kitchen.

In general, it has NOT been going well.  I broke out my JOY OF COOKING to make chicken breast and a salad…and it was only mediocre.  I made tacos, which were in fact a success…but that is not really anything to brag about now is it?!?!?

So, this holiday, along with the gifts i bought for the girls that helped me in my store this season, I wanted to MAKE SOME TREATS!!!  I recruited my BFF Beth and the two of us took an afternoon,

and made a SERIOUS MESS:

but we managed between our two brains to work out, POPCORN BALLS, THOSE CORN FLAKE WREATHS & CHOC COVERED PRETZELS…not brain surgery, i realize, but i did nearly melt off my hand making those damned popcorn balls, so a hospital COULD have been involved none-the-less.

Naturally I snapped a few pictures as evidence for my mother who wouldn’t believe it if i just told her I made homemade treats.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

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Well,  Charity from I HEART CLEVELAND asked me to write out my Holiday 2009 Wish list, I was admittedly a bit stumped.  I haven’t really thought of much other than getting my store and 216 shoppe ready for what OTHERS may want this holiday season…However, upon further thought there are a few things I AM wishing for this year…in fact, once I got started it was hard to slow down!

my one item to contribute to her blog can be found HERE.  But below is where my mind wandered when I couldn’t stop daydreaming…

Certainly, World Peace, a Free Tibet and a more collective positivity throughout Cleveland would be totally awesome…BUT I thought, personally, it would be more FUN to make a dream list of totally materialistic & ridiculously expensive items I would not hate receiving, no matter how unrealistic.  Of course, i don’t think ANYTHING is impossible, and it usually starts with the idea or dream, so here is me laying the groundwork for some things I intend to have in my lifetime, preferably sooner than later.

AN ORIGINAL PRINT OF BOB DYLAN BY RICHARD AVEDON

As a HUGE photography lover(and francophile and fashion lover), Richard Avedon is one of my favorite photographers of all time.  I LOVE his fashion photography and the especially all those taken in Paris, but I also love Bob Dylan and this image marries my love of Avedon’s great photographic eye and Dylan’s smooth coolness.

A HORSE…PREFERABLY A WHITE ONE.

Every year when I was little I put a horse on my highly organized xmas list (all items selected out of the mega sears wish book and i used gold through blue star stickers to color code the level of importance of each item…from: GOLD= non-negotiable to BLUE=if you have gotten everything else and have more money burning a hole in your pocket…)

Parisian pied-à-terre

well, c’mon…a girl can dream can’t she?!?!?  I think a little place to call my own in Paris would fill me with inspiration that I could bring back to my store….rendering this item more of  a  NECESSITY I would say, rather than a LUXURY…yes, i am certain this is IMPERATIVE to my existence.

SAARINEN DINING TABLE

I have coveted this table as long as I can remember.  The only thing that changes in my mind when I dream about it is what chairs to pair it with.  I like the idea of pairing it with its opposite, perhaps some primitive farm ladderback chairs?  love it!  And it is UNDER $5000, so it is TOTALLY affordable (read last statement with sarcastic tone).

GOLDEN GOOSE COWBOY BOOTS

Yes, its true.  As long as we are just fantasizing here, I would in fact, pay $1265.00 for a pair of boots that looked like they have already been worn for 4 years….yes, yes i would…in my dream world.

Canon 50D SLR Digital Camera

this is not really an unrealistic thing, i think it is a MUST have and I may just save my pennies to buy this gift for myself eventually!

OLD VW BUS

My Passat is the most impractical car for my job.  I am constantly having to borrow trucks from friends to pick up building materials or furniture for my store and events….BUT if in ADDITION to my car, I had a handy and charming vehicle such as this to haul things, I would not have to burden my friends any longer…and I could take it on the hypothetical road trips I would be taking in the dream life that would include me owning this bus.

ONE-OF-A-KIND UPHOLSTERED BERR CHAIR (from Anthropologie $1298.00)

I watched the episode of Man Shops Globe as the head buyer sourced these chairs in either Tunisia or Argentina (can’t recall the episode) and LOVE how he updated them with this amazing unique fabric.  I want this so bad it hurts a little.

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I am working on getting our website updated and pics of some of the amazing new products we’ve got in up here, but in the meantime, here is a little taste of what is happening this season at RS:

THIS JUST IN! at RS we got the KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON water bottle and they are already going fast!

I noticed over at Design*Sponge today that several of their GIFT GUIDE suggestions are available at ROOM SERVICE this year…and even more of the items below we show in similar forms, Silhouettes, diamond cut votives, mercury glass & nautical theme items.

RS offers the flower trivet, the birdcage stamp set, the porcelain measuring containers & the Thomas Paul melamine platter shown below…All CURRENTLY in stock!

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So this week I received my AUTUMN SWAP gift package from  Binyamina at hey hijabi! and was SO THRILLED at the timing.  I was so overwhelmed with work that I had forgotten that I was to be receiving a gift package in the mail.  When it arrived, i really was like…AH!!!! WHAT A GIFT!!!!  and what a gift it was!  First off, I love receiving books as gifts, but to also get a lovely tea towel and tea and chocolates!  ah!  just lovely!!!!

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it is AUTUMN SWAP time again!!!!

you may remember last year when i posted about participating in an international blogger Autumn Swap.  The swap is organized by the lovely Sofia Barao of etre-soi blog (lives in france, hello you know i automatically love her!).  I first wrote about it here, when I sent out my swap item - which was destined to the sunny Los Angeles doorstep of blogger, Shelley of the beautiful blog OISEAUX.

Last year, I sent out to Shelley and received an swap gift package from Jen over at Back Woods Wife, she really put together a lovely assortment of goodies based on the same questions we all had to answer at the outset of the swap.

Well, I participated again this year.  While time was definitely NOT on my side this time around…Inspiration certainly was!  I am not yet allowed to reveal the recipient of my gifts.  All I can say this time, was that i LOVE her blog, and her answers to the questions were EERILY similar to mine!  So I had a lot of fun putting this assortmnent of goodies together for her:

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check this shop out..

“Supermarket Sarah sells a variety of vintage clothes and weird and wonderful objects and exclusive new designers work. The opening image is of Sarah’s living room wall, which will change regularly with a different theme and inspiration behind each one, and you can then click on the items and buy them…”

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When I was in NY for the gift show I stumbled upon a vendor from Seattle (more to come on them later) who upon reading my badge declared “Room Service!?  I read your blog!!”  - I was so thrilled to discover that people other than my family and friends read this, anyhow…she then followed that with…”You love Cleveland, right?!”  and i was like…uh, yeah, I suppose you do have the right person then, I didn’t realize how little I hid that fact!

Well, she was right, i do, and these two new shirts in both mens and women’s sizes, from the amazing, Ohio-based HOMAGE CLOTHING have just arrived at ROOM SERVICE!

YAY!

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If you read my blog regularly then you surely know that my most favorite blogger ever is PIA JANE BIJKERK.  So then, it would come as no surprise that I pre-ordered her book months ago, but what a surprise that it showed up today, on my birthday no less!  what a present!

This book is beautiful and inspiring and will accompany on my next trip to Paris undoubtedly.

check it out here

check Pia’s blog out here

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Look at this floor!  Is this what heaven looks like?

Blue Arrow Records Cleveland

(text below taken from I rock cleveland post found here)

Located just down the street from the Beachland Ballroom at 16001 Waterloo Road, Blue Arrow Records and Books, is the latest venture by Pete Guylas, one time co-owner of Renaissance Parlour in Coventry. While the floor of Blue Arrow Records, exquisitely lacquered with vintage album covers, will be a draw in of itself, it’s the contents of this 1300 square foot space which will have vinyl freaks coming back for more — quality used LPs, 45s, 78s from the ’50s to present day, covering rock, soul, jazz, R&B, and country. And, should your shopping buddy be immune to the vinyl craze, Blue Arrow also stocks books, magazines, t-shirts, furniture, and other vintage wares.

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My incredibly talented friend, Sarah Reynolds is a portrait artist based in NYC and Los Angeles.  This is a portrait of Henry that she did this year that I think is stunning.

I think custom portraits make an extraordinary gift for someone else or yourself.  It is a timeless tradition and a great way to capture your pregnancy, your family, your youth, your life.  This medium seems to capture the nuance of human emotions even better than my beloved medium of photography.

visit her site here for more information and feel free to pass this along to anyone you know that may be interested in custom portraits…humans, dogs, birds, whatever!

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