What is it about October that makes us all want to hang out in dark cozy spaces. I believe it’s the combination of Halloween and candlelight flickering against the walls that casts alluring shadows plus the cooler weather and daylight savings time that brings the night faster. What I notice with dark painted walls is…
I spent the first week of August exploring the state of Oregon, a place I had never been to before even though it’s my neighbor to the north. On my road trip, I stopped in Ashland, Portland, Hood River, and then drove the entire Oregon coast home all the way back to California. It was…
I have this thing with the wood aisle at Lowe’s. They have a great selection of short poplar pieces in various sizes and they always inspire ideas, like these table leg candlesticks from last year and these basket planters a few months ago. I spied a chunky 3×3” piece and thought, hmmm, if I wrapped…
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…
I had a lovely birthday weekend! My best girlfriends picked me up on Friday and took me wine tasting then out to dinner, and the rest of the weekend I’ve been relaxing and taking it slow. Practicing the art of slow living leads to such good things. Food tastes better, plants and flowers are more…
Hello friends, how is your September so far? I’m a bit sad having had to postpone my trip to Spain but I’ve been enjoying our California fall weather so no complaints! My birthday is next week and a group of my girlfriends are planning a special outing and I’m not allowed to know the details.…
I was walking through the Presidio in San Francisco and on my route was The Lodge, a hotel in the middle of the historic property. When I entered, I spied a giant ocean wall mural of the Pacific Ocean in the hotel dining room. Landscape murals make a fantastic focal point that tell a story…
Happy holiday weekend! I’m headed to San Francisco for the weekend, the weather is always so good in September. I’ll be having dinner downtown to celebrate our wedding anniversary and taking a long hike through the Presidio tomorrow. Things are progressing fast on our flip project. The kitchen cabinets are installed, now we’re waiting for…
Blonde wood is everywhere, it’s made a major comeback and rightfully so. Natural wood brings a modern organic vibe to a space, especially when it’s paired with white walls or used to create contrast with dark hues. I chose a blonde wood floating vanity cabinet for the master bathroom in the house I’m remodeling right…
I love to burn candles, especially during the colder months, but I wanted to try something new for scent. My seventeen year old daughter is really into incense and she’s got me feeling nostalgic for when I used to burn it in college. I thought I’d make myself some incense holders using oven bake clay…
If you search “travel poster” or “retro travel poster” or “vintage travel poster”, what will pop up are colorful prints with fonts layered over the top of illustrations of famous places around the world. Most of these prints or posters are made by graphic artists using Adobe Illustrator or other vector based drawing software and…
I’m in Portland today sitting in the midcentury modern decorated lobby of The Huxton Hotel typing up this very post. My road trip has been interesting so far, I’ll write up a full post of my experience here soon. Today I’m headed up the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River, which is supposed to be…
In the past I’ve had mixed feelings about shadow boxes, they’re used to display memorabilia, sports jerseys or shell collections, that sort of thing. I’ve come around on this style of frame for wall displays now that I see them in a new light. If the subject matter of the shadow box is simple, I’m…
Sunday hellos everyone! I spent extra time this week at our flip property with the electrician and receiving the kitchen cabinets. The property is in Sonoma which gives me an opportunity to sneak away to cool lunch spots or stop on my way home for a quick wine tasting. No complaints from me! I’m flying…