The Lowe's Down

I am desperate to sell my house and get my family together, so I went to Lowe's to look around for some deals for staging and get some inspiration. I forgot how much I love doing this. As a "single parent" right now, my time is not my own and I haven't made much time to do things for myself. I took Noah with me and enjoyed this little bit of time in Lowe's SO MUCH! Not only did I find some GREAT deals (clearance throw pillows for under $6), but I did get inspired. I even snagged some of those free paint sample books, and the new ones by Valspar and Olympic have some gorgeous pictures in them. I got so many ideas for the new home I will have SOMEDAY. I highly recommend a little trip to your local Lowe's when you have some time to just walk around...so worth it!

I hope to add some of my staging before and after pictures once I get some work done this weekend. We shall see.

Thinking Outside The Box

I love some great inspiration! I got these pictures in an email from a fellow Realtor and thought they were amazing. Sometimes we just see things at face value and don't take the time to see the possibilities. These picture should help us all remember that it's what's on the inside that counts... and that we can make amazing things happen with a little elbow grease, and a vision. This looks like a great little 1 bedroom loft apartment, right. A little upscale even? You would totally live in this place if you were a chic' single gal, or guy, right??







It's pretty amazing right? Well what if you knew this apartment was originally a 1940's grain bin?? Isn't that the freakin' coolest thing ever?? I am so impressed with whoever saw that bin, and said, "I can make that into something amazing!" and the did it!! Let's all remember to let things inspire us, and then believe we have it in us to see that inspiration come to be.

A Door For Mom

While reading all of the interior design blogs that I try to keep up on I saw the this picture on La La Lovely and fell in love with it. What a perfect door for summer. I so want it. I know it would be a no-go with my husband.... but I still think it is lovely! It also made me think that my mother would love this door!! (her favorite color is yellow)

Outdoor Dining

It's that time of year when we fire up the BBQ and dine outside with family and friends. Instead of making your guest balance there food on flimsy (and not good for the environment) paper or (worse for the environment) Styrofoam plates, why not give them some style with substance? My suggestion would be to use melamine dinnerware. There are lots of reasons why I would choose melamine. In most cases it is made from organic substances, it's cheap, and comes in all kinds of fun designs. Some of my current favorites would be the floral chintz plates and cups (set of 4 for $19.95) from victoriantradingco.com.







Or these fun chintz and dots prints available from cspost.com.








There are also fun choices from pier1.com and target.com. (The bright colored ones are from Pier1)

I just think our outdoor events could be so much more friendly to the environment, and stylish with any of these great choices. There is no one time use (and then the trash), they are super cute, and if you are a klutz like me... you can drop them all you want without the worry of shattering glass. Happy grillin' everybody!!

Stupid England

Sorry, but this one is a long time coming...I was browsing at Barnes and Noble a few months back (which I must admit is a place Noah and I like too frequent) when a magazine caught my eye. Country Homes and Interiors looked like it might be some pages of pure bliss for me, so I picked it up, opened it, and was thrilled to realize I was right. It was pure bliss!! So, I grabbed it and took it to the register to make it mine. When I got it home I enjoyed each and every page and thought I would have to get a subscription... so I started to flip through it for one of those card thingys (you know, the ones that are always falling out in droves until you need one and then they are no where to be found). I finally found one and then to my dismay saw that it was an English magazine that was only available for subscription in England. LAME. Oh well, I guess the next time I get some change in my pocket (which seems to happen less and less frequently lately) I will just have to drive on over to B&N to get me a future issue, because who wants to miss pure bliss???

California Dreamin'

I am currently living in Southern Utah, and I love where I live. The desert here really is beautiful, and the red rock views sometimes take my breath away. Even though I consider myself a Utah girl now, I was born and raised in Southern California. While there are some thing I don't miss...graffiti, traffic, crazy house prices... there are some things I do miss. Besides my friends and family and the great weather, the thing I miss about Cali the most... THE BEACH!! I have always loved the beach and the ocean. My parents took us there often in the summer and we even camped on the beach for a week every year! It was amazing.

One thing I don't like about Southern Utah is the trend to go desert style with EVERYTHING including the decorating. I am much more a beach cottage girl then a desert adobe girl when it comes to the things I want in my living space. That is why I am SO HAPPY that Stanley Furniture has now come out with a Coastal Living line of furniture. I can bring the beach to me!! Mind you I know I need to sell my current house and buy a new one before I should worry about furniture, but this new line of furniture makes me soooo happy I can't help daydreaming about it. I can almost feel the ocean breeze now!

Old Hollywood!

Oh how I wish I was 100 lbs thinner and made a whole lot more money because I have fallen in love with the Anthropologie swimwear line yet again this year, but I especially love this little number for $198. Isn't it ta-die-for-retro-cute??? Hope everyone is having a happy stylish summer so far.