I had this idea to create a spooky little village painted black and lit up with black tealights to create Halloween mantel scene. I’m not big into decorating my whole house for Halloween especially since my teenagers aren’t as enchanted as they were when they were little. But I do like to do creative projects…
In a natural response to changing seasons, we welcome darker colors in autumn and winter and opt for lighter colors in spring and summer. Not that fall is here, browner hues seem especially appealing. Earth tones are surging in popularity again, but I find it interesting when we say colors are “out” or “in”, especially…
Friends, welcome to a corner of my home you’ve never seen! Since I started this blog way back in the dark ages (2009) I’ve never shown you this corner of my abode. The reason was that it was just a plain wall painted dark tan for about fifteen years. I’d walk by it every day,…
The floors in our California home are finally done after three long weeks of waiting, starting with their repair and ending with a rich dark finish. Hardwood floors, while beautiful, are not good for spaces with water (bathrooms and kitchens) and our recent toilet overflow proves it. However, now that the floors are done and…
I’m big on saving time when it comes to seasonal decorating. I haven’t purchased or created a fall wreath in several years, and since I recently repainted my front door, I wanted a new wreath, one with classic leaf shapes that would suit the style of our home and one I could reuse for a…
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel since my downstairs hardwood floors will be completely refinished by the end of the week. Just a few more days of living with our furniture in the garage and outdoors, I’ll be so happy to reassemble my home when this is all over. I’m repainting my…
We’ve been living mostly outdoors for the past few days as our floor renovation situation continues. Most of the downstairs furniture is either out in the rear yard or in the garage. We’ve turned it into an adventure eating al fresco meals and lounging on the upholstered sofas outside. Thankfully it’s August not winter so…
A few months ago I ordered decoupage shell trinket trays from a wholesale vendor and ended up selling a dozen very quickly in my local shop. People are drawn to them for their organic shape with the gilded edges and pretty patterns inside. They take weeks to replace via a wholesale vendor because they’re handmade…
My house is upside down this week with painters inside giving the family room, dining room, and foyer a fresh coat of paint in lighter colors. If you saw my Instagram stories you saw the chaos. :) In two days a flooring crew is coming to rip out the damaged hardwood so we can replace…
We experienced a minor disaster in our home last week. The downstairs powder room toilet overflowed onto the hardwood causing moisture damage that traveled about 12 feet into the rest of the home so now we’re faced with replacing the damaged part and refinishing the hardwood floors for the entire downstairs. Ugh. We need to…
I’m taking an impromptu trip this week, I found a great deal on a flight to Palm Springs so I’ll be spending two days in that town and I’m taking a drive out to Joshua Tree to shoot some pictures too. That area is such a cool part of California, you can drive around and…
I’m in Florida this week on a road trip, we’re driving from the gulf coast to the east coast to see a few new towns there. It’s nice to be back swimming in the coastal waters! We’re exploring St. Augustine on this trip, it’s the oldest settlement in the USA, so I’m looking forward to…
We’ve been updating our teenage son’s room for the last few months. It started with a total reorganization plan since he had accumulated a lot of things he had collected over the years and wasn’t ready to let go of. To honor that, we had to add extra storage in the form of shelves and…
I have a mild obsession with botanical ceramics, so much so I’m incorporating palm and floral motifs into my own work at my local studio. I’m experimenting with different techniques, most recently I used a laser cut palm pressed into clay to create a decorative tray with an irregular edge and olive glazed finish. I…