Ask Me Anything: Part 2

Aaaand, we’re back! True story: This week was hard and I’m feeling a tiny bit trapped. Remedy: Planning an ice cream sundae and pizza party for myself and Charles (he doesn’t know yet, well…he does now) and I CANNOT WAIT. I think the key to staying sane in all of this is making plans that you can control and having things to look forward to. For me, that usually revolves around food ::shrug:: I’ve also taken a liking to destroying my 10-year-old twin nephews in Mario Kart over the internet (ha kidding, I suck). 

I know parts of the country here in the US are opening up. I read an article in the Washington Post (a newspaper I don’t normally frequent but an old professor shared this piece) about the state of things in places like Georgia and it was just frighteningly delightful yet infuriating at the same time…you’ll understand if you read the article. At first, it made me very angry. Tales from the now-open mall, of people just deciding they were done with it all and going about their business as if it were pre-pandemic 2019. But then, in a twist that even surprised me, there was a part of me that very much understood the desperate need to feel “normal” again. To stroll around the stores, carefree and maskless with a friend, contemplating dinner at P.F. Changs or whatever.

While I don’t agree with most of the things I read in that article, the human inside me that wants to put aside all political leanings wished it all could be fine if we carried on in the way these people were. I miss LIFE. I miss LIVING. I miss driving 40 minutes to Sherman Oaks to the CVT ice cream truck on a lazy Saturday afternoon, quickly licking chocolate-vanilla twist (THE ABSOLUTE BEST SOFT SERVE IN ALL OF LA) from the cone as Charles and I sit on the nearby bench…him satisfied with his vanilla, me thinking about what the next meal was going to be, no pandemic cares in the world. 

But my ennui is not what this post is meant to be about. Enough of that for now. It’s doing neither of us any good. Last week, I answered a handful of questions you guys sent me on Instagram Stories, but I didn’t get to them all and NOW I’M BACK WITH MORE! Far less of you unsubscribed (yay!) so I’ll take that as a sign that you were into it and finish up. I’m planning some fun things and new formats in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that. 

Until then, let’s get to more of your questions (and ALWAYS feel free to send me inquiries via email or Instagram. Happy to help…and hey, you just might inspire a newsletter topic!). 

Let’s do this: 

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Q: What is your favorite color palette for the home?
A: Coming in hot with the hard-to-answer questions. Oof picking a palette depends on SO much: the style of the home, the vibe you’re going for, what the light looks like in a room. One color palette might work beautifully in a room in one home and be a little off in another. What I will say, since I want to be helpful, is this: pick 3-5 colors you love (pull them from an inspiration like a rug, a piece of art, a fabric, even a photograph you’re drawn to…and yes “metals” and “wood tones” can count as some of your colors) and then be sure you’re pulling through colors throughout your pieces but in varied tones. That is the key to a beautiful color palette. You could design a room using only one color, but if the shades and tones were varied, it would be great and layered. Plus, I love throwing in one random thing that’s a little “off” just to shake things up. A few color combos I’m super into right now:

1. peach and ochre or mustard
2. rust and slate-y blue
3. rust and olive green (rounded out with warm woods and cool black)
4. mint, mustard, black and white with blonde wood tones
5. sky blue, mustard, olive green and burgundy

Q: Got a big blank wall in my living room and know I want to do a gallery wall, but how do I keep it from looking cheesy?
A: Funny you should ask this. I was just talking about this with my sister (who, after purging some stuff, has a big empty wall in her family room and was asking for my advice). I plan on filming a video talking through my own gallery wall, some thoughts for what I think makes for a successful one, so stay tuned. I’m hoping to do it this weekend (maybe as you read this!), figure out how to video edit quickly (ha) and then post.

Q: How to stage a vacant home on a budget?
A: Oh boy! I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer this one. I’ve never staged a home for resale, which I know is far different than designing a room for a person (or myself). BUT, I’ll just approach this one as I would anyone who was just looking for how to fill a room well on a budget: buy second hand. Look, IKEA is great…I have plenty of IKEA things I love that work, but for key furniture pieces, look to Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Let Go, etc. There are SO many treasures sitting in your very neighborhood already for considerably less money than buying anything new. I love the account The Makerista because so much of her home is thrifted but OMG it looks like a friggin’ palace of sophistication.

Q: I’m totally lost when it comes to “tablescaping.” I don’t like anything too cluttered. Any advice?
A: Here’s a trick I don’t hear enough when it comes to styling: find some photos you like and COPY THEM (at least when you’re starting out). I ALWAYS do that with tables because they can be so tricky. And guess what, even if you copy a table, it’s going to look a bit different because you have your own plates and flatware and napkins, etc. I wrote this piece last holiday season, so it’s not super timely, but there are lessons to be learned. If you pull back all the seasonal greenery and decor and just look at the actual plates and napkins situation, you’ll come away with a handful of different ways to set everything. If you don’t care about setting a table right now but are wondering what to do for every day, I wrote this piece a while back and it still holds true.

Q: Where’d you get your leather Apple Watch band?
A: Oh! It’s from a website I found called Parkfield Supplies. Mine is the Easy Fasten Leather Band in Brown. It’s on sale for $30 right now!

Q: What is your order of operation when deciding you want to overhaul a room’s design?
A: When you say overhaul…what do you mean? Let’s pretend for the sake of this email that you mean just totally redecorate. I first and foremost always collect inspiration. ANYTHING that catches my eye. I probably save (on Pinterest, Instagram, websites) dozens and dozens of photos. The key is going back to look at everything and seeing if you notice a theme (in color, in textures, in specific furniture pieces). From there, TBH, I probably spend far too much time pulling products from the internet and putting them into Photoshop to create moodboards, seeing how things feel together in a 2D format. I’m really big on the moodboard if I haven’t already said that at some point. I pull in paint colors, textiles, furniture, lighting, decor…as much as I can, knowing that when I finally bring it into 3D, things will likely shift and need another layer to come to life. Make sure you measure at the beginning so you don’t spin your wheels on things you love that won’t fit. Good luck!

Q: I want to know your skincare routine! And if you have any recs for ultra-dry LA skin.
A: I’m immensely flattered by this and this means my Instagram filter-on-filter is working to fool you all! My skin has been HORRENDOUS during quarantine, but I’ll just rewind to when my skin was much better and go from there. I’m a serial skin routine switcheroo-er. As in, I never keep a routine, really. I have skincare ADHD, even when things are working. But here’s the gist of my routine:

Morning:

• Wash face with something (currently using this of which I’m on my second bottle).
• Moisturize (trying this out right now and so far so good; leaves my skin supple but not greasy and hasn’t broken me out).
• Makeup (which usually has SPF in it).

Night:

• Wash face with the same thing as the morning. Wash twice if I have on a ton of foundation and whatnot.
• Tone (I’m loving this new toner I’ve been using the last few weeks. I texted like five people about it after day three because I feel like WHOA it’s already made such a difference in my skin texture and fine lines.) Note: I’ve started using these washable face pads and I really like them. So much less wasteful than one-use cotton pads.
• Oil: I have really oily and really dry skin combined, particularly since moving to THE DESERT THAT IS LA. SO FUN GUYS! Pimples and flakes hurray! Oil serums work wonders for me. I love this one from Sunday Riley SO much. I really see a difference in the “radiance” of my skin (haha that sounds ridiculous) when I use it. I’ll sometimes even mix it into my daytime moisturizer if I’m feeling really dry and it sinks in beautifully without leaving my face greasy at all.
• Moisturizer: Same as the one in the morning most times. Sometimes I’ll use a night mask instead (like this one) and I wake up with super soft skin.
• IF I’M FEELING LIKE A SUPERSTAR OVERACHIEVER: Eye cream. I really like this one.

Q: Have you tried experimenting with that fluffy coffee? If so, thoughts??
A: No! Should I?? Anyone else try it yet? If so, please report back.

“It has a 5-star rating across 1,700+ reviews so it’s promising I think.”

Q: I need a new non-stick pan. Did you ever find one you liked?A: Alright, I just got this one in the mail from Misen. I haven’t used it enough to say whether I love it yet because nonstick pans have a way of totally betraying your trust a week or two in. I promise to give you an update if I end up singing this one’s praises (it has a 5-star rating across 1,700+ reviews so it’s promising I think).

Q: Watched any good shows lately?
A: Ha! I wasn’t expecting this one, really. But yeah! We’re in the midst of finally watching Ozark, which is heavy and a lot but SO good. Halfway through season 2 and can’t get enough. For something a little more light-hearted (sort of), I enjoyed Upload on Amazon Prime, and binged Nadiya’s Time to Eat on Netflix this weekend. It features Nadiya Hussain who I loved from Great British Bake Off. It has a “fast, family-friendly” angle, but whether that’s your thing or not, she is a DELIGHT to watch people. A DELIGHT. Her kitchen design is also like a literal candy store for the eyeballs. It’s just happy, and I think we all might need a little bit of that right now, hm?

Q: Thank you for mentioning thick ankles/legs with reference to boots. Any other recommendations?
A: YES. Finding boots of any kind is SO hard with bigger legs. I was on a mission to find Chelsea boots that fit my legs for YEARS. I found the ones I linked to last week from Madewell and they took about two wears to stretch out enough to feel comfortable. I have a few more recommendations and was actually going to do a post about it so stay tuned! I did luck out with a pair from Soludos that, of course, they do not sell anymore. 🙁 I always see booties fitting with so much space around ankles in the photos…NEVER a reality for me sadly. 

And thus concludes issue 8 of the Arlyn Says newsletter. TWO MONTHS! Thanks for being here. It’s never lost on me that you’re spending your time with me reading this. Thank you, thank you. Again, find me on Instagram or shoot me an email anytime. I’m around! :wave: