Holiday Home Tour 2012

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…

Christmas Craft Party Highlights

Hello all and happy weekend to you.  I was looking through the links from the Holiday Craft Link Party and there were so many lovely ideas, I just had to share these inspiring projects.     Stitch retro fabric Christmas light ornaments with Our Family Four.   Make a wall merry like this charming display…

Behind the Scenes with Ballard Designs

I’ve been receiving the Ballard Designs catalog for a decade and shopping their online store for the same amount of time.  The new catalog comes in the mail five times a year and I savor the new and the classic furnishings and accessories inside the pages.  I really love their style, European inspired but always…

Sleigh Bells Ring . . .

I found some large colorful jingle bells on sale at Joann’s Fabrics last week and all I could think about was doing something crafty with them.   I thought about making something cheery so I came up with a DIY version of sleigh bells – here they are!   To recreate this simple craft, here’s what…

Mom’s Thanksgiving Table

Happy Monday to you all out there!  We’re still hanging out in Las Vegas with my folks and my sister and her husband sharing some fun times – there have been some Elvis sightings including this dude at the airport!   We prepared a mini Thanksgiving feast since we won’t be together on Thanksgiving Day, and…

BOTB 10.28.12

Sunday greeting friends, Amanda and I teamed up again to bring you a great roundup of inspiring spaces, projects, and posts in the ‘Best of the Blogosphere’ series – here are the ones that caught our eye during these past two weeks. A simple trick yields fab results!  Check out these clever washi tape art…

Make Your Home Work For You

We’ve been talking about removing some cabinets around the bay window in our kitchen and replacing them with open shelving.  It’s something I’ve been considering for a while since I’m loving that style lately, and I might have Matt on board to tackle that project this weekend!  Speaking of tweaking your home to suit your…

Trestle Table Arrival

So.  IT came.  Last week.  And I’m really exited about it!!  It’s our new trestle dining room table!  You may recall this trestle table post back in August where I shared we were on the hunt for a new one and looking at all the options available out there.  I ended up buying the last…

Embracing the Dark Side

Today is Color Day on the ol’ blog and this morning I posted about my favorite hue which is blue.  This afternoon, contributing writer and interior designer Courtney from Courtney Out Loud is back to share his thoughts on color, specifically the darker shades in the spectrum.  Having taken the plunge and introduced a dark…

Traditional Home Showhouse Tour

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…

Shelter Kitchen Remodel Complete!

Well, we’ve done it again!  We’ve remodeled another kitchen in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) and as part of our ongoing Alma Project.  Together with an amazing team and some generous donations, we’re proud to showcase this incredible new kitchen we remodeled for a local emergency shelter.   A little backstory…

Fall Sprucing, Favorite Picks!

I’m excited to spend some time over the next two weeks sprucing up our home for fall since the Fall Link Parties start next week!  I’ll be using a lot of what I’ve got, but I have my eye on a few new things for cozying up the casa. I love the yummy colors of…

Alma Project: Bathroom Remodel

Hello everyone, I’m excited to announce we’ve completed another space remodel as part of our Alma Project!  I hinted a few months ago that we’ve adopted a second house in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) and a team of volunteers has been working on this home to prepare it for the…

Rugs in the Casa

I’ve had a lot of questions lately about the rugs in our house so today I thought I’d share a little more about them and some of my favorite sources for rugs.   We have hardwood floors downstairs so I have rugs in all of the spaces, and a couple upstairs on the carpets too, just…