Living with what you love

I'm sure you've heard the buzz in blogland about Monica Rich Kosann's new book Living With What You Love, but if you haven't, here's my take.  The book's underlying philosophy (Living with what you love) goes hand in hand to me with creating a home.  We see so many beautiful images of homes every day, but how many of them seem personal and special to the homeowners?  The ones that speak to me the most are the ones that feel real and loved like a "real" home.  (vs a showhouse)  The book addresses  such a simple but core issue in a hands-on way that makes you want to get to work on your own home right away.

{How adorable is this?  I might have to stuff my parrot and keep him there.. haha totally kidding!}

Ove the years, Monica, a portrait photographer found that her clients were also looking to her to help them find special ways to display the beautiful photos she'd taken.  Her "job" expanded and not only does she help families take photographs but she helps them fit them into their homes in ways that are personal & beautiful. 

It's the final layer, the accessorizing, where we can very easily inject ourselves in our homes.  I have so many photos I've saved over the years "to be framed" or "to be hung" or whatever.  Monica's book inspired me to finally get around to doing something with them.  Her book's full of creative ways to display family photos and special items.  I love the little pages of a photo album casually piled on the table below:

Living With What You Love was so great to sit down with and inspired a few projects in our own home that I can't wait to get started with...  One of them being a hallway full of kids' art projects and family photos.  The hallway leading to our bedrooms is & has been totally blah since we moved in.  We addressed most of the main areas in our house& now it's time for the hallways, and smaller spaces, which can make all of the difference.  I'm going to take my time with this one and I want it to grown over the years almost like a huge inspiration board.  

What about you?  Do you live with the things you love?

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

You can click here to buy the book :)

Catching Up

Oh my! I am really behind when it comes to decorating and blogging.

I finally got the Halloween decorations
up on the fireplace mantle. It's the same old black tin houses and wire trees
from the last few years.
But I changed it up a bit with the addition of the
"spooky" cheesecloth from the dollar store.I found those
darling silhouette trick or treaters
at Big Lots.
They were only six dollars so even on my tight budget
I could rob a little from the grocery budget to buy them. Is it wrong to choose decorations over food?
At my house the decorations last much longer than the food,
so doesn't that make them a good investment?

A "French Cooking"-Inspired Dinner Party

This gorgeous dinner party was sent to me by Julie of A Reason to get Together, and hosts a most unique concept.  In Julie's words: 

"It was a "Mastering The Art Of French Cooking" dinner party. I had all of our guests (14 total) bring a dish from the cookbook. People brought appetizers, entrees, sides, and dessert. I sent an Evite invitation so that everyone could view what everyone else was bringing to eat, to avoid duplicates. The guests also had to bring wine that coordinated with their particular dish."

What a fun and clever theme for a party, and Julie's decor was the perfect back drop.  With it's orange and green color scheme, and natural elements, this is a lovely transition into Autumn entertaining.

  

I love a party with layers and layers of details, and from the place settings to the drinks table, this one does not disappoint.  Julie even added nearly 60 yards of hand-made bunting to the space!  This design would be perfect for an engagement party, adult bithday, or bridal shower too.  Thanks for sharing this beautiful inspiration, Julie!

The Beads

After I put my new profile picture up last week, I got a few emails asking me about my wooden beads.  They're by Kayce Hughes, one of our super-talented sponsors, and are my absolute favorite.  I wear them all of the time and they always get compliments.  I wanted to let you know that Kayce's having giving away the beads on her blog!!  Click here to enter.  If you don't know Kayce yet, make sure to read through her beautiful blog...  She's a successful fashion designer, mother to 7 beautiful kids and has a seriously stylish home... You'll love her. 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Teensy Peek of a Client's Project

Remember this design plan for my clients Aimee & Dave that I showed you last week?

Well, the upholstered pieces arrived and look so awesome!!!!  Now, in a perfect world, everything arrives undamaged and flawless...  well, in real life, sometimes there are issues.  Aimee & Dave's custom sofa arrived with some damage so I'm working on getting it fixed with the manufacturers delivery company.  Have you ever heard the saying, "There's no such thing as a design emergency?"  Well, I have and for the most part have to agree...  no matter what, it's not a life & death situation and shouldn't be stressed over... BUT in this case, I have to admit that I totally felt sick to my stomach.  Luckily, Aimee's really understanding and was so excited with the look of the pieces that she sent me some pics. 

We still have to finish flushing out the plan with curtains, pendant lighting, pillows, art work, rugs (potty training right now ;) and accessories but I had to show you what it's looking like. Here it was mid-construction:

And here it is now:

I just LOVE the orange Thibaut fabric!!!  Oh my gosh.    I can't wait to see all of the soft goods in place!! 

Have an awesome weekend!!  Today is Dave's & my 5 year anniversary.  We're celebrating tomorrow. 

I can't believe it's been 5 years - it went by so quickly- and yet it feels like it's been forever in another way.  We met when I was 20, my junior year (his senior year) of college in English class.  He was this cocky guy from New York and I fell for him. hahaha  But seriously, any guy who can take this like a champ is my hero:

We've become "grown-ups" together and I couldn't imagine any of this without him. 

.... maybe not quite grown-ups yet...  but honestly, does anyone ever feel like one???

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Rustic-Glam Halloween Table

One of my favorite blogs for eye candy each day is Save the Date for Cupcakes, featuring gorgeous and SWEET tablescapes.  Tanya recently featured her own dessert table design showcasing printables from Posh Pixels.  You're going to love how she incorporates the printables, and all the  details and ideas she shares.

Tanya used burlap and fall foliage for a rustic touch, but also glammed it up a bit with glittery skeletons, and feather boa - I love the juxtaposition of the two styles!

Other fun ideas include "worm" jello shooters, honey stick infused mini pears, meringue "bones", and pumpkin cupcake toppers from Two Sugar Babies.  You can see more amazing eye candy on her blog.

My new dust jacket

I had such a great time at the Darryl Carter book signing today!!! 

{Darryl & me}

My supersweet friend Rachel James (below) invited me today and I'm so glad she did!!   My partner in crime was Michele Ginnerty of My Notting Hill and we (once again!!) forgot to take a picture together.

So...  Do you remember how yesterday I wrote that I was a little embarrassed about the condition of the dust jacket on my copy of the book.? (I've had it for almost 2 years & it's gotten a lot of use... I didn't want my messed up dust jacket to give the impression that I didn't care about the book.)  Well, today when I brought my weathered & worn copy of The New Traditional to the book signing, there was a new dust jacket waiting there for me with my name on it.  They'd read my post yesterday and gotten me one!

There's no other way to say it other than that I just felt so special.  It was such a simple thoughtful gesture and it made my day.  Darryl Carter is truly all that he seems and it's so awesome to find that someone you've set on a pedestal is deserving.  He's warm & fun and has this great energy about him.   He dresses just like his rooms too; he's got such a handle on his style in every way.

There are so many projects brewing with him & his company and I cannot wait to see everything unfold.  If you haven't read it, you will love the book.  My mom gave it to me for Christmas almost 2 years ago and I remember reading it cover to cover right away.  But then I kept going back to it...  sometimes not wanting to really think, just perusing the eye candy, other times devouring & digesting every line and image, making mental notes and figuring out why I loved something & how I could incorporate it somewhere. 

I'm off to bed but today was just so great.  When I went to pick up the kids at daycare today, the director of the daycare (who's pretty serious with me for the most part) said, "How are you?"  when he walked by me in passing and I just heard myself say, "AWESOME."  hahaha he totally didn't laugh which made it even better.  But it's true, right now, I'm still pretty excited.  awesome.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.