Reader Nursery

I love when readers send me pictures of their rooms and recently I opened my mailbox to find a gem. Of course I am always looking for nursery inspiration these days but to have one this cute delivered right to me was such a treat! The owners did almost the whole thing by themselves with LOTS of paint and it really paid off. Thank you Angie, I know Evie is loving her new home!!!!

Memorial Day

I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who is serving or has served our country so unselfishly, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. I debated posting this video since it is not the typical content you come to a blog for, but I think it is a great reminder for today.

Quiet Time

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Ecclesiastes 11:5

Let's Go Outside

While catching up on my pile of catalogs I was loving all the new options in outdoor furniture, so many great options these days.

Above images Ballard Designs and below West Elm.

Also, spotted this at World Market, it could add happiness to any patio.

I would love to spend some time on any of these catching up on my magazine pile next. Have a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend!

Help- Can You Indentify This Wallpaper?

By any chance does anyone know the source of this wallpaper seen in an Spring West Elm ad?

Any help would be appreciated!!!

Love The One You're With-Paula of Two Ellie

Today I am so excited to have not only a talented blogger guest posting but also a dear friend! Paula is such a genuine person and that comes across not only on her blog, Two Ellie, but also in her house! You have already seen her kitchen on H&H here, and now we get to see another part...
I am so excited that Marianne asked me, Paula of Two Ellie, to share in her series "Love The One You Are With". As I have shared with her countless times on one of our coffee or lunch dates that our home is simply not my dream home. It was purchased as a home we were only going to stay in for two years and then we were going to buy "the one", but of course times changed and now we have been in this house for over 4 years. Ha. Needless to say this series is perfect for me. I had to learn to make this home into "The One I Love". The living room was the room that gave me some trouble. It has a funny layout within the open floor plan. From the entry you walk into this space. The fireplace is in the corner, the kitchen is to the left, the door to right is the master, and the sunroom now dining room is directly behind. There aren't many walls to work with so everything kind of has to float. A standard sofa felt funny in this room. Made it to angular for my taste so when the Mr. and I came across this sofa from Rowe I was smitten. We got a killer deal on this piece so the fabric is not exactly what I would have chosen, but saving over a grand made up for that. This room has evolved over years. The always constant is my antique coffee table. It was my first big home purchase when I was in college. The pillows on the chairs are not really mine. They are from Tracery. Doug was kind enough to let me borrow them when I was shooting my home for a local magazine. My pillows were on back order and I needed something to fill the space. To be honest if I hadn't already bought the others these would have had to of stayed home with me!So this was the room that gave me the most trouble, but I must say it's now one of my favorite spaces. It is perfect for movie watching, greeting clients, and just enjoying family. It holds so many pieces that are dear to me. It also makes for a great pass through for the kiddos when they are riding their scooters indoors. I must say I am now content and this is now home for however long that may be. It truly became the one I love.

Thank you Paula, I can say with first hand knowledge your home is so warm and inviting and full of personal touches!

The Nursery: Wall Thoughts

I would like to wallpaper the nursery but I have not had a chance to look at paper yet. In the meantime I am exploring other possibilities, can you tell which hues are on the mind?Are you cross eyed yet? If I do the wall a color then I will probably wallpaper the ceiling...not sure. Just getting started....

PS-Lights, TV, etc. are remains of the office that have not found a home yet.

Gift Wishes

The ole birthday is coming in a couple of weeks and I am adding these to my wish list...

All from Ann Taylor Loft

Quiet Time

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5:22-23

It's The Little Things Really

Rarely does a day go by when I don't have a moment of gratitude for having my own business. After all, I knew from a young age I wanted to build my own company and when dreams come true you don't take them for granted. While the big moments are great, like moving into an office, little moments can mean just as much. Which brings to this- the most boring picture I have ever put on this blog...

Yesterday I opened the mini fridge in the new office and it made me smile. Not really sure why, I guess because it looked so like me. And just like that, for whatever odd reason, I was reminded why I work like a crazy person.

Another inspiring moment came recently while reading this quote from Emerson of EmersonMade:

The first thing is to decide on the deepest level that the thing you love doing is worth doing, so much so that it is worthy of obsession. That’s the fire that starts the engine. After that, you must promise yourself to work extremely hard and do good work everyday, and that you will never give up, no matter what. Just say, “I will never give up, I will never give up, I will never give up,” like the little engine that could. When you decide this, everything you want is yours —it’s just a matter of working hard and pushing through the hard parts with a grin on your face. The grin comes from knowing you can do it because you decided you would.

Now if I could just get my hands on that dress she is wearing.....

PS-Yes, that is actually V8 in the fridge. Turns out this mom-to-be developed an aversion to veggies once pregnant so I have to get it any way I can.

Quote Here via Sweet Nothings

The Nursery: Crib?

Several people have asked me if I have started on the nursery and the answer sadly is....No. I have started telling people at this rate the baby is going to be sleeping in a basket for a while once he gets here. Seriously though, I plan on starting sometime in June, there is just not enough time right now.

Working on so many other nurseries I thought I knew what I would do for a crib. I thought it would be a painted Jenny Lind...

I still really love this look and I am sure I will use it again sometime (above images are not mine, I will try to dig some up). However, I think I want to do something different. I have really liked this Ikea crib for a while now but I am just not sure. Has anyone out there used an Ikea crib? I would love to hear some feed back. I am drawn to the panels and really the color of the wood too which is surprising.

I might look into just a plain one like this one (but not so red). Nothing fancy but I do not want anything large or ornate for this crib.

The budget will not be going towards a crib but if it was these from Restoration Hardware would be top of my list...

So who knows what it will be. As soon as I really get into gear I will let you know what I am thinking!

Love The One You're With- Isabella & Max Rooms

I am excited to continue the Love the One You're With Series today with Janell from Isabella and Max Rooms. I love the bathroom she shared below. In case you haven't yet, you must go check out her master bedroom and office makeover as well.

I love the premise of this series, 'Love The One You're With'. It is so easy to focus on what remains to be done in a home or what we wish to change as opposed to what we are happy with; being content with what we have.

One room I have been completely content with since it received its makeover is our Master Bathroom. With paint, new lighting, seating, a beautiful frame added around the large plate glass mirror and accessories, the room was transformed into a space I simply love being in!

{Before}

{After}

Thanks for having me here today Marianne!

Thank you for guest blogging Janell, it was an honor to have you over here! The color of your bathroom has my wheels spinning!!!!

Horizontal Inspiration

Horizontal planks, love. Large horizontal tiles...in gray? Double love.

Kathleen Rivers in House Beautiful

Stepping Out

How cool is this staircase?

I would love to see it in person.

Image DDC

Quiet Time

I have said here many times before that I am worrier, it is part of my nature and something I struggle with. However, it has become a lot better as I learn to leave it all in God's hands. A few people have asked me if I am scared to take on a new office- some wanting to know from a business perspective, some wanting to know with a child on the way. No matter what the reason for asking, the answer is yes. Well, sort of.

In the past month I did have a major panic attack, full on sobbing to be honest. Then God reminded me to leave it in his hands and since then I have not worried for one second.

The point of this is to say whenever I take my eyes off of God or try to run my life without Him in the forefront panic always makes its way back in. The other day I realized this so clearly and it made me think of this story:

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14: 25-33

Online Journal

I am off to celebrate with some of my closest friends the future arrival of Baby Strong and his girlfriends (a joint beach baby shower with one of my bffs having twin girls!) I can't wait to see them and share this special time with people I love so much. Speaking of babies and friends several people sent this to me. I saw it the other night on TV and definitely think it is worth sharing.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Perfectly Eclectic

This harlem home of Elaine Griffin is the perfect example of an eclectic interior to me. Also, one day I will have owl andirons from a Parisian flea market.and I really want a large striped rug at the moment....

Images Elle Decor

Love the One You're With - Look, Linger, Love

The Love the One You're With Series continues today with Chassity fromIf you aren't familiar with Chassity you are missing one sweet blogger. When I opened her pictures I almost fell over with jealousy, her house is amazing. But don't take my word for it, read on....

*Also, if the format of this post is funny on your screen it is my computer's fault (yes, the computer's, not the user), not Chassity's post. One of these days it will be fixed.

Hi Everyone! I'm so happy Marianne asked me to contribute to her series so that I could visit today. As a blogger I am often guilty of wanting and "needing" so many things. So it's nice to take a look around and really appreciate all that I do have. And I have a lot of things that I love. Like our master bath. I love how light it is.
I absolutely adore my kitchen. Love the ceilings, the big island, the marble backsplash, and the farmer's sink!

And our dining room is one of my favorite rooms in the house.

And while things move around a lot in our house, I love the way this hall table is set up.

My daughter Lilly's nursery is so perfectly pink, I can't help but feel happy when I'm in here.

And living in Charleston, SC it's really nice to have a pool b/c it's so hot here!

Thank you Chassity!!! I am obsessing over so many parts of your house, I would never leave!