Over the weekend I toured some nearby model homes in a new housing development. I love peeking into model homes to look for creative design ideas. These designers/stagers had some great takeaways which I was going to share on Instagram but instead decided they were worthy of a blog post. I shot these with a…
Greetings from Down Under! This week I’m hanging out with my two American cousins, they’re brother and sister and they have lived in (separate parts of) Australia for over a decade. Both are now married to Aussies and living happily in that country. Today I’m leaving my cousin Andrew after a weekend in Melbourne and…
This post is way overdue, I’ve been meaning to get to it for like ever but at last the time has come. This blog has been a perpetual home tour for over four years as we’ve improved all the spaces over time. I promised a home tour last year and finally got around to assembling…
My friend Nester is having her annual Christmas Tour of Homes party today so I thought I’d share a few images you haven’t seen (and a bunch you have, ha!). I used a lot of blue around the house this season since it really is my favorite to decorate with, but there is some red…
Hey all, as promised here are a few shots I took over the last couple of days of our home this holiday season. I’m keeping it simple, my decor this year is mostly garland for scent, poinsettias scattered here and there, ornaments in various vessels, and always branches ~ simple touches since I want to…
I’m a kid in a candy store when I get the chance to explore a model home. On Saturday, Blu Homes, the widely popular manufacturer of modern prefabricated homes, was offering a peek into two models they built for a client in Sonoma, and I had the chance to visit and photograph them. Blu Homes…
Last week I was invited to the opening event for the Traditional Home Napa Valley Showhouse event and was so excited to attend! I love to read about the Showhouses all over the country but never get a chance to visit due to distance, so I was really happy to hear Traditional Home was hosting…
Regular readers and Instagram followers are aware that after a long search, we bought a house in Florida. There are several reasons why we’re making this move which I’ll go into in greater detail at a future date. Mostly it’s just a feeling that we need a change after 40+ years living in California. We’ve…
Who dreams of a cabin in the woods? (Me, raising hand.) I’ve spent a few vacations in an A frame chalet in Lake Tahoe, so this style of cabin has always appealed to me. A frame cabins were extremely popular from the 1950s to the 1970s as vacation getaways that allowed informal entertaining and an…
Before school starts, I’m building a wall of shelving for my teens, and so I dove deep into the countless options available to analyze what would work best. I may settle on a series of simple ladder shelves like these, but I’m also considering the idea of constructing something unique. Naturally, one turns to Pinterest…
I was catching up on a stack of magazines yesterday. One of my favorite publications is Sunset Magazine, and inside was an article about a family reunion on a houseboat. It’s a worthy read and a well written glimpse into a summer gathering on a rented vessel. When I was visiting Seattle last month, I…
‘Tis the season to be planning a warm weather getaway! Remember when I wrote the article about tiny houses a few months ago? Tiny living is a movement that’s become so popular, not only as living situation but as an opportunity for rental. I’ve always wanted to stay the night in a tiny home or renovated trailer,…
Just about everyone starts the new year looking around their homes thinking “Ugh, how did I acquire all this stuff” accompanied by the immediate need to purge it all. We go around and around with this cycle every year, consuming as the months go by then looking back with frustration and decluttering yet again. Motivated myself,…
Greetings friends! I want to thank you all for your travel tip suggestions for my journey through the south of France. I departed yesterday evening and I arrive in Bordeaux today. Follow along on Instagram, I’ll be sharing a lot of my experience in my stories there. :) Also thank you for the kind comments…