FEATURED

My living room is being featured on Flourish, Design, & Style today! It's finally finished and it only took me a mere 3 years, ha! Being thrifty takes time, a lot of time apparently. I have had quite a few changes and hope you enjoy.

Beach Bound

We are beach bound and I could not be more excited. The beach is my most favorite place to be. As we head down to the sand I will sport a one piece because that is how I roll. My towel won't be nearly as pretty as this one, but it will get the job done none the less. Of course my sun protective self will be sure to have sunscreen and a lovely hat. A simple beach bag will be filled to the gill with sand toys and a good book for me. A pair of sandals are a must and will be sure to protect my feet from the hot board walk. Oh, and that pretty urchin vase can hold the a few buds that I am sure my husband will get me. Why so blue? Well, it simply reminds me of the ocean.

Thank You

Thank you all for your sweet, sweet words. I wish I could let you all know how truly happy you all made me feel. Blogging is such a funny world and some of the friendships I have leave me feeling very blessed. I feel much better and things are lining up. I may not know it all but I have comfort in knowing we are in God's hands. So all in all I am going to learn how to lighten up and not worry so much about the little things. And what's a post without a picture? I made this pillow the other night, just a simple envelope back and I now realize I should have ironed it better. It's Barbra Barry for Kravet. I got it from Jenny.

GROWING

I am feeling a bit uninspired as of late. We are going through a time of change and uncertainty. Hopefully after today and a few meetings things will be a bit clearer. I am one of those who enjoys knowing the future of life, but that can not always be the case. So I am once again having to reaffirm my faith in the Lord. Of course, that makes this the best place to be. Thankfully I have these two to keep me on my toes...

{we call him buggy}

{a bit of sweet sass}

And this one to do this thing we call life hand in hand...

{a pic taken by the family of one of our brides, love them}

Oh, and for those who are wondering I am a mere 5'3 on a good day and the husband is a good 6'7. I always forget the height difference until I see a pic like this. We are quite ridiculous.

A Bit of Shine

I never thought of myself as one who could do sequins, but this little top has me thinking other wise especially paired with the pretty drapey pleated short. I do know that I am not one to go without shades and aviators are my style of choice, well at least for now. I think a nude sandal would be lovely and help my short little legs not seem so stumpy. This bracelet had me at hello when I tried it on in the shop the other day, so pretty, but alas it stills sits in the shop. I would give my face a little color with this blush and it's gold little speckles. I think this outfit would work going to the zoo or a small casual dinner party. Since we went to the zoo yesterday then I am thinking dinner party and at my dinner party I would light the lovely candles on the lovely sconces and serve an array of cheeses on this lovely platter. Would you care to join me?

Elizabeth Dinkel Design

I posted the kitchen to this house earlier this week, but the rest of the home is just as smashing. Even though this home is on the grand side I love how it still feels cozy. It seems like every room is used and I could easily see children running throughout. To me livable design is design done right.

via here

A Sofa with Detail

It seems many new homes are being built with an open floor plan. In many cases this means the sofa must float in the middle of the room. This is the case in our home and we found a sofa by Rowe with a curved back that fits the space (and our wallet) nicely. I think it is important to take into consideration how a sofa looks from the backside in this case. Yes, a console table would work, but like in our case sometimes they just won't fit. I think this sofa would be rather nice with it's pretty detailing. I have become rather smitten with it actually.

Color My Way

I adore this kitchen by Elizabeth Dinkel Design. Mostly white with touches of green and yellow is perfection. I always say I can't do color, but I could so do this. Aren't the pendant lights just fabulous?

via here

Vignette

I rather like a pretty vignette. I think the key is to keep it personal. Use what you love and things that have meaning. No one wants to live in a showroom.

via here / here / here / here / here

Outfit to Room...

I thought it was that time again to do another outfit to room. It's been much too long really. I thought this little diddy looked ever so perfect for spring...


Outfit to entry way...

I rather like this little table, but...


I would add these pretty little knobs instead.

A lovely lamp of course.


Wouldn't this gorgeous arrangement make you smile every time you passed it by?
On the second little self I would add a few of my favorite design books then let this little sphere sit on top.


A mirror or three would work quite nicely, especially when they are as pretty as these.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

KERATIN

After much thought and years of bad summer hair days I decided to get the Keratin Smoothing Treatment. It's definitely not cheap, but I saved for a bit and with my sweet husbands help I took the plunge. My hair after having babies was part curly, part wavy, and part straight with tons of frizz which only leaves me resembling a bell during the summer. During the winter months it's fine. I let it air dry and take a curling iron to all the crazy parts, but it works and I rather like it. The process took about 3 hours and I left the salon looking like this...


Poker straight and softer than it has ever been. I liked it, but must admit the lack of body made me a bit nervous. I am quite used to wearing it with volume. I then had to wait three days to wash it. This is after a wash...


A bit more body and by this time it was not such a shock. This was straight out of the shower and a 10 minute blow dry. Unheard of for me. Let's just say I was ecstatic. Fast forward to yesterday and I was used as a hair model for some training at Morgan Ashley Studio (they also did my treatment). My hair was done by a superb stylist for Bumble and Bumble from New York. This is what she rocked out...



Hello body! She cut it into layers with a flat razor throughout and did an arrowhead in the back. Okay so I have no idea what that means, but it sounded cool. I officially feel like one hot mama, ha!

I am hoping the treatment carries me throughout the summer. I am thinking having easy hair could become addicting.

The products that she used for my new do (all by Bumble and Bumble):
Quenching Shampoo
Quenching Conditioner
Quenching Mask
Tonic Lotion
Styling Lotion
Brilliantine

{any Bumble and Bumble reps who may happen to read this I am lacking the mask and brilliantine, just sayin' I would accept them with open arms}

Lovely Prints

I am rather smitten with these animal prints. I think I may add a few to KJ's gallery wall.

Mother Nature

We have been having the most lovely weather. It makes me want to be outdoors more and more. My go to outfit for right now is a simple tee, comfy shorts, pretty sandals, and of course a gorgeous necklace. As for makeup, what makeup? Sunscreen and chap stick are at the top of my list. I wouldn't mind reading a lovely book chocked full of inspiration while lounging on the porch or maybe doing a mini photo shoot of sweet mother nature. Oh, and when the night finally comes and it's time to come indoors I would sit under this lovely light and just smile.

Tracery Interiors

Tracery Interiors is one of my favorite design firms. Not only is there work absolutely stunning but they are some sweetest people around. They are based here in Birmingham, Al and Rosemary Beach, FL. Doug and I have become friends through this crazy world of blogging and I am always sure to stop in to say hello to Bess when we are at the beach. I was very excited when I found out Doug uploaded some of their work to Houzz. Here are a few of my favorites...






This one is of Doug's living room. Isn't it just gorgeous?


More of there work can be found here, here and here.

9 by Design

I know I posted about their book before, but I could not be more excited about their new show coming out on Bravo. 9 by Design will be airing April 13th at 11 pm. I simply can't wait. It looks wildly fantastic!

They can also be found here.

STUNNING

BEFORE...


AFTER...


After seeing Rachel's bathroom redo on Design Sponge I must say I became quite enthralled with many of her home projects she features on Southern Exposure. She has a background in interior design but is a stay at home mom currently. I suppose that explains her amazing eye for detail. This before and after stopped me in my tracks. The glossy black is stunning, but adding the green and white stripes takes it to a whole new level. Completely stunning. See more of this gorgeous transformation here. Oh, how I would love to recreate this look.

Bird Feeders

It seems here in the south we have completely skipped spring and went straight to summer. That's fine with me though as long as the sun is shining. We have been spending most days outside and I am happy to see that most of my plants are coming bake spite the harsh winter we had. This year I think we will add a bird feeder for all our feathered friends. The first one would go quite nicely with the current Auburn bird house we have.

here | here | here

*And for all of you that asked about my hair, I will have a post about it sometime next week. Pictures and all. It is definitely a complete transformation.