Things Are Getting SPOOKY Around Here!

I started putting out Halloween a few weeks ago but it's still a work in progress~~

I love this witches hat that I found a few years back~~I tuck it on this little chair in a corner. Very Cute!

I like to display things that light up or make noises here and there~~my daughter LOVES the things that make noise!

My little pumpkin dolls are fun lounging on my couches and chairs~~

I don't know if you can see the witches sitting below the dishes....they move and laugh when you walk by! They are my youngest daughter's favorite Halloween decoration!!

These are little pumpkin votive candle that I put all over the house! They're actually very pretty when lit in the evening for a little sparkle!

I'm starting to add more and more to my papier mache collection~~here are a few pieces. I love the little bobble heads below! They have glitter on them and you know I LOVES me some glitter!! So that's a little glimpse of my Halloween decorations! I'd love to know what you put out for the holidays!

Hippity Hoppity!

Easter is tomorrow and my little girl asked me last night why the Easter Bunny hasn't brought her the little sugar eggs you can look into for the past few years!?  Yikes!!  I don't remember where I found them?? I'm on the hunt now!!  My house is all decorated but I need to stuff the eggs for the hunt in the morning!  I'm making an English Trifle to take to my sister in laws house!  If it turns out to be fabulous I'll take photos and add the recipe for you!!  Happy Easter!

Finding My Vision

thedecorologist.com

swedishinteriordesign.co.uk

getgoinggirl.com

Veranda

Finally, more and more, I'm becoming more clear on my design aesthetic.  My front room is coming together in my mind!  My color palette is muted tones of beige & blue-green.  I just got back the framed antique prints of Paris (my favorite city in the world) and they are stunning framed!  I only have 3 and am searching the web for just the perfect 4th to complete the wall!  I'll add a photo for you soon. 
I went to the fabric store yesterday and found gorgeous swatches of drapery & upholstery fabrics to form my story board...I've ticky tacked them to the wall so I can stand back and look at them.  I'm actually getting quite excited about having it all come together!  I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Pretty Porches

I've always loved big front porches!  Perhaps because when I was a little girl we'd travel each year to San Antonio to see my grandmother and all my cousins for a late Christmas!  My Uncle would sit out on the front porch and smoke his pipe while all the kids played in the yard.  I always loved the way his pipes would make the air smell sweet!  I have vivid memories of my grandmother holding my youngest daughter on that front porch while reading to her from a book of prayers for children.  We called her Meemaw and she's no longer with us but I cherish those sweet childhood memories at her sweet little home.  Meemaw had a white iron glider on her porch~~I loved sitting on it as it would slide back and forth as my feet barely reached the ground.  It was old and peeling but I loved it nonetheless.  Now that we're blessed with a big front porch on our new home I want to find some furniture to make it cozy so someday I can sit out there and make memories with my grandchildren!  I really like grey wicker chairs in particular but I'm just starting to look.  Here are a few photos I've found online of pretty porches! 



Image Source~blog.hgtv.com

Image Source~musingsofanightowl.blogspot.com

thisarchitecture.com

countryliving.com

interiordec.about.com

House Beautiful

Gustavian Design

As I've been looking online for ideas for my living room, I've come across the most gorgeous rooms to use as inspiration.  These room as soft, monochromatic, weathered yet elegant.  I love the ease and comfy feeling these rooms have.  I would want to lay on that couch and get lost in a wonderful novel & never leave!

Notice the beautiful woodwork above the door frame!!  What a lovely touch!  Everything is whitewashed for a clean feeling!  And I love the chandelier!!

Here is another view of the same room above.  The reclaimed wooden doors are gorgeous.  There a simplicity about this room.  It's so elegant yet easy and unpretentious.  I'm ready to move in!!

Photography by Gilles Trillard

Drape Dread!!

We've been in our home now for almost a year & I have to say, that while decorating has been fun, there's one area that I really have not enjoyed doing...drapes!  I find drapes to be so tricky.  I'm not a professional decorator, so the measurements, choosing a fabric & having them installed...it's all a little intimidating to me.  And for good reason ~  I had custom drapes made for our front dining room & the creamy color fabric, when turned into drapes & hung up, showed way more yellow than I expected.  They don't work in the room.  Let me tell you friends, that's an expensive mistake.  So now I need to figure out what to do with these beautiful, yet too yellow for my paint color (Linen Weave) drapes and have new ones made. 
I tend to be drawn to serene rooms.  The drapes I'm seeing lately that I like are pretty simple, so I really have no idea why I'm torturing my self over this aspect of decorating my home, other than the big mistake of the last drapes turning yellow on me! I'm such a silly goose!  I know what I love.  I like monochromatic, quirky, elegance.  Comfort is Queen!!  I lean very far towards Swedish/Gustavian decor.  Let me show you:
This is what I'm aiming for~~
This house was from the Fabulous movie, "Something's Gotta Give"  I love the color palette of this house.

                       Photos from the fabulous http://hookedonhouses.net/                      

Stairway to Haven

This may not be a big deal to anyone but me, but let me tell you, I was SO excited when the installation of our carpet went onto our back staircase!  I had seen this carpet in a magazine or online years ago and saved it in my "dream house" file.  When I went shopping for carpet for the stairs I decided I had to have it somewhere in my home.  I thought about putting it in our gameroom but ultimately settled on the back stairs. The stairs are at the back door just off our driveway, the one that a lot of the girl's friends will be using to go upstairs.  The antelope print is so fun and it makes the stairs just a bit more, well, special!  It also really ties well with the golden marble in our kitchen.  In case it's on your list for your dream home, Karastan, Stark, and Couristan all make this pattern.  I couldn't be happier with the look!!

Here are a few more photos of how this print could be used in a home.

Enjoy~

                                            

Room by Jan Showers

                                              

photo by Pieter Estersohn

image via Dallas, TX MLS listing

XOXO

Turquoise Tiara ~ A Teenage Haven

Here it is, Sally!  This is the turquoise room in all it's unfinished splendor.  I am currently waiting for another side table to arrive and looking for art work for the walls above the mirrored furniture. I also plan on purchasing the IKEA white slip covered sofa for the kids to hang out on while they splash their fruit punches all over it. LOL Luckily, and smartly if I do say so myself, I found this white Shabby Chic bedding at Target, as my daughter has already gotten red marker stains on it...how adorable is that??  I'm a huge believer that custom or expensive bedding is ridiculous for kids and teens.

 

I found this super fun fabric for the drapes at High Fashion. It makes the room fun for a teen.  It looks like some sort of animal print. Elissa wanted funky yet elegant~~

kind of a tricky combo but I think I've pulled it off! 

    

The paint was a HUGE decision as turquoise can go really bright, too blue, or too green.  Erin at Turquoise House had some great suggestions.  A few of her favorite colors were Robin's Egg Blue, Sky Blue, Seafoam Green, and Ocean Blue.  They're all really gorgeous colors! I ultimately found and fell in love with BM Blue Diamond.  I think I did it 75% to make it just a little softer. It's not hard on the eyes and goes really well with the mirrored & iron elements  in the room.

The mercury glass finials were found at Loew's, of all places! My drapery seamstress told me that they had finials and I was in a huge time crunch so I ran over there and was surprised to find these really perfect finials to go with the mirrored furniture!  Who knew?

The bed was custom made at Eloise Abbott at the Decorative Center, but there's one almost identical to it at Anthropologie that a friend bought for her daughter, so I know that one must be quality as well.  We plan to hang white gauzy fabric from the poles to make it very ethereal & dreamy.  It's on my list of To-Do's for this room. 

                                      

For the mirrored desk I plan to get a clear acrylic chair. I don't want to take away from the mirrored furniture by adding anything clunky! (I still need to hang her bulletin board :)

And how perfect is this trash canister?!  I love it!

So there you have it so far! I'll update it as it starts to take more shape but I'm really pleased with how it looks so far and, most importantly, my daughter LOVES it!  Let me know what you think! You can leave comments below~~

XOXO

Afuera!

As Usher would say....Oh My Gaaa-aawsh~~~

It's HOT here!  I'm so down-on-my-hands-and-knees, full on, thankful for our new yard!! The pool isn't a luxury in Texas...it's a necessity!  We've been in it every day.  The kids and Todd & I have so enjoyed diving in, hanging out, reading, playing with Kyla the super Sheltie, and having friends over to just relax in our pretty back yard. 

I thought I'd share the photos of the backyard renovation with you!

And like all else, it wasn't easy.  Is putting in a pool ever a smooth process?  Just wondering...

Staking out the pool. At this point there was absolutely no

landscaping whatsoever~it was a huge blank canvas!

Watching the hole being dug was surprisingly exciting!

My daughter had fun crawling down in there with her friend.    

 

This is the Pebble Sheen crew~What a production!

Now this was a huge decision for us...whether to go with Pebble Sheen or Plaster.

I had really wanted plaster for it's smooth texture but the longevity of Pebble Sheen won.

We chose the color Prism Blue.  It has little flakes of Mother Of Pearl and sparkles in the water!

It's gorgeous.

http://www.pebbletec.com/product_swatch.aspx?image=/images/prism_blue.jpg

For more info about Pebble Sheen check out their website:

 http://www.pebbletec.com/pebble_sheen_swatch.aspx

So far the surface isn't bothering anyone, except me just a little~

I really prefer super smooth surfaces.

My husband chose the tile.  It was a toss up between a very natural, monochromatic glass tile

or a green/blue glass tile.  I liked the green/blue but was concerned about how it would look next to the

yellow toned travertine.  So we went with the beigey tile and it turned out lovely!

Viola!  So pretty!

This is my morning hang spot~I bring my devotional books & coffee out here,

turn on the overhead fans, read my books, & watch the trees.  The sound of the water fountain in the pool is

super relaxing.  Now I just need a few wind chimes hung in the trees & I'll be all set!

We wanted the entrance to the backyard to be pretty so we planted

hydrangeas and placed travertine pads as a walkway...it's very soothing.