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!

via

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

girls night

it was my month for non-bunco (our original name when we started the group six years ago as we assumed we'd talk too much to ever make it around to actually playing) in july and i got to use my amazing new dessert plates that my in-laws gave me for Christmas! since my kitchen, dishes and table (like most of my life) are neutral, i love the splash of color and whimsy and how they update our wedding china, crystal and sterling. i also use this approach of simple with flair in my wardrobe and home.

and i always love a good southern monogram.  side note: did you know that according to etiquette, linens are monogrammed with the woman's initials? technically in olden days, the linens were already sewn and monogrammed before the girl was even of marrying age so they even had her MAIDEN monogram and came to the marriage as part of her trousseau. mine were done just a few years ago and have my married monogram. i spend quite a bit of time discussing proper monograms with brides, but more on that later!

tuesday's turquoise

wishing i were here...

as fitting as the little black dress

this art came for my living room last week and is framed in a heavy black frame ... and i just ordered a pair of these pillows.

it didn't even happen on purpose, but the black felt right in both cases... just like your favorite little black dress. and while feeling so comfortable in my newly completed living room (pictures coming soon), i caught up on my blog reading and magazines only to discover that apparently everyone is decorating with black these days. love it!

via simplified bee

 via domino magazine

 

 

via elle decor

 

via jamie herzlinger

via jeffrey allan marks

via mary mcdonald

is this tommy smythe's living room or his sister's?!? my memory is lacking here. 

sorry i'm missing so many references ... it's all thanks to my ipad!

 via woodson & rummerfield