Yesterday was so much fun! We had a blast at a local Wine Country event and then attended a throwback 80s party later in the day, complete with a DJ playing classic tunes, a favorite film from the decade, and everyone wearing their college alma mater singing old school songs, good times! It’s ‘Best of…
It’s that question we all face at some point when decorating our homes, how do we incorporate the big black box into our everyday decor? In my home, we’ve done it two different ways (see #4 and #6 below), but everyone’s situation is different. Some people have both a living room and a family room,…
Hello all, I’ve invited a special guest here today! From time to time, I ask stylists and designers I admire to chat with me here, and today’s guest is Stephen Saint-Onge, also known as “Designer Dad”! Stephen is the Contributing Home Editor for Family Circle Magazine and his expertise is in creating comfortable and livable…
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…
Greetings all, welcome back from the long holiday! We had a blast down in So Cal soaking up the sunshine and I spent an afternoon helping my oldest move into a new room in a house she is renting with roommates. The bedroom is small measuring 10 x 12 feet, but we were able to…
Happy Labor Day everyone! We’re taking one more day of leisure here in San Diego before heading home, but it’s a new month which means it’s time to share the best of the last! Here are the top ten not-to-miss posts from August. 1. The family computer armoire got a makeover; 2. There’s a new…
Hello all and Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! We’re spending a few days down in San Diego visiting some family and hanging out at the beach, soaking up the sunshine on the last summer weekend. I helped my stepdaughter fix up her first off campus college room yesterday and snapped a few pics of the…
Hey everyone, are you getting excited for the long weekend? We’ve got plans to make a quick trip to a special location to celebrate the last official weekend of summer, but I can *almost* feel fall in the air! I’ve invited Shannon of AKA Design back to share with you a list of five natural…
There’s been an ongoing debate in our house over the past few months around the wall map that used to sit in the kids’ playroom which we’re converting to a study. It was a giant 8’ x 10’ wall map in earth tones from National Geographic and a definite conversation piece in our home, it…
One of these days, I have to get Matt to sit down to type his love/hate letter to IKEA. Just to get it off his chest. Like me, he loves the cost savings but many times I’ve asked him if he would make the round trip to IKEA for me and then it ends badly. …
We’ve had this computer armoire for over ten years, we bought it when we were first married and it used to sit in the corner of our family room and hold our huge 300 CD stereo equipment and speakers, remember those days before the iPod? A few years ago we got rid of the stereo…
Hello everyone, it’s time for another round of ‘best of the blogosphere’ where Amanda and I team up to bring you our favorite picks, enjoy these inspiring projects and ideas! Here’s a clever way to make a canopy bed – with curtain rods attached to the ceiling. Discovered on the pages of Lonny magazine. …
I followed my own advice yesterday and tackled a project that I’ve let go all summer long. Those lazy days of summer led to laziness around the house which led to a messy kitchen zone with piles of who knows what’s in there and I came home from vacation to a cluttered mess. Yay. I’m…
Last week, we were on vacation on a whirlwind trip to New York City and then a road trip north across the border to two places we’ve always dreamed of visiting, Montréal and Québec City. We loved both! After visiting, I have discovered Québec City to be one of the most beautiful and charming places in all of North…