What's in a name?

Hi everyone!  Well, everyone still checking in, that is!

Now, I have a little explaining to do.  You may have noticed my comments on your blogs - they look like me, sound like me and are signed off by me.  BUT - the name published by Blogger has been 'The Decorating Emporium'.  Are you confused yet?

Well, the exciting news is that The Decorating Emporium is my new venture!  I've taken over the store from some lovely friends, and am proud to tell you that our online store is now live!

www.decoratingemporium.com.au

So, please support the store, by having a look, (making a purchase if you like!), liking our page on Facebook - you might find spot specials there from time to time, and following us on Twitter - @DecoEmporium.

I intend bringing in new stock quite regularly, and am happy to try to source special items for you where I can.  Another feature of the store will be pre-orders for those hard to get items.  Info on pre-orders will generally be published on Facebook and Twitter.  I will also be starting a new blog, just for the store, so please feel free to come and check it out as well.  Oh, and we offer flat rate shipping across Australia (some conditions may apply).

As for the house...  As you can imagine, it has been slightly neglected lately.  However, I'm pleased to announce that I'm only one item away from finishing the big girl's room and the landscaping required to complete the pool is coming along swimmingly (haha!).

I'll see you around, hopefully more regularly than I have recently!

Is it worth it?

I really love some of the trends in American decorating right now.  There seem to be so many fabrics and styles that just aren't available here.  So, I had a little bit of extra cash, and thought I would splash out and start organising a few things for the new house (yep, that's the one, the house that hasn't even commenced construction yet.  Whatever).

This is what I chose...

Gorgeous curtains for the Guest Room 

Bathmat

Veneer Spheres

The prices were all pretty reasonable, and the bathmat was even on sale.  Then, this happened...

The shipping fee...  I have to say, I was thinking maybe $50.  Now I realise that was wishful thinking, given the cost of postage even just within Australia. 

But, is it worth it?  To have items which I love and are not readily available in Australia?  Are the mailing services that you can use any cheaper than this?  Should I suck it up?  Is the solution to just stop reading all the gorgeous American blogs that I pore over?  Heeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllppppppppppppp!!!

All images from here