keep calm ... and a little different version

my new mantra and the picture that hangs in my office ... 

 

the hysterically funny card my sister sent me this week (that is sometimes what i'd rather do) !

my daughter's room

i wrote a little article in a new local magazine which (thankfully) forced me to step up and get my daughter's room photographed. this is the combination of a mommy who loves beautiful things (and turquoise) and a four year old who adores pink! i think it's a room she can grow into. (i've even been offering to trade with her!) when i designed the house, i was very careful to make sure our kids' rooms were larger than your average child's bedrooms. this way, her queen bed can fit, nice sized bedside chests, etc. each child also has their own bathroom and walk-in closet. they aren't huge by a long shot, but by using a few tricks here and there, we even "made" a little space!

 

 

 

splish ... splash!

we held our son's 2nd birthday party recently for all of his little friends. we weren't sure he would really understand what it was. boy were we wrong! he LOVED it and definitely knew it was all about him. i love having parties at home (and so far have done all of the kids' birthdays at our house.) we did a little back yard theme with boats and whales to celebrate as it is HOT, HOT, HOT here! i generally choose a color theme or the invitation (of course!) first and then run from there. this time, i went with green and navy and ran. very nautical colors and boyish! wish i'd gotten a few more pics but was enjoying spending time with the birthday boy!

 

 

sneak peek

here is a sneak peek of the great playroom nook i mentioned here. isn't it going to be amazing for these sweet kids? i would love it myself. how fun!!

tuesday's turquoise

 

tim street-porter

caldwell flake

letting the outdoors in

i am currently working with a couple whose young family loves the outdoors. as we design the concept and visualize the house, we are focusing on seamless transitions between the outdoors and in. here are some images i've been running across and constantly emailing to my client! i also have tons of windows in my own house so we always feel like we are outside and i LOVE the idea of doors and easy access from nearly every room!

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tuesday's turquoise

there are many sources of inspiration for my home designs as well as weddings and paper. beautiful jewelry, especially TURQUOISE, is always inspiring!

images via and via