Happy Fall!

Here are my FALL inspired planters...

I had the tall white birch sticks, glittery black twigs, and gold wheat plumes from last year. This year my friend, Sheri Ely, added the Indian corn, mini pumpkins, and bright red leaves. She did an incredible job giving my planters a fresh look!

I added four spiders to the fill the empty spaces where my hanging baskets used to be...and added a few new pillows to my rockers.

(Before)

(After)

Stay tuned in a few weeks as the planters transition into Thanksgiving with just a few tweaks.

A Glimpse into my Mind...Linen Closet REorganization

So this what I did this morning...

I Reorganized my linen closet...and am feeling so accomplished!

Blurry photo...but you get the idea...new clear bins and labels from my new label maker.

Sheets and blankets for summer camps all in one place for my daughter.

Junk towels all in ONE PLACE.

Light bulbs upstairs...so I don't have to trek downstairs to get them.

Same idea for extra tools upstairs...

Organized sheets...thank god. 

Call me if you need my crazy organized mind to help you!

Bittersweet...more sweet than bitter.

This time of year is always bittersweet for me...more sweet than bitter.

This time of year means saying goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall.

This time of year always reminds me of my grandma...my Gaga.

This time of year reminds me of my Gaga hunting down the most beautiful bittersweet that she could find and displaying it wildly in a large copper vase in her cozy breakfast room.

This time of year now means that I carry on her tradition of "the hunt" for the most beautiful bittersweet around...and I did not disappoint her with these gorgeous bittersweet wreaths found at Seven Gray!

What is better than one gorgeous wreath full of fresh bittersweet?

Two gorgeous wreaths full of fresh bittersweet!

Next up?  These urns will be full of FALL, so stay tuned.

Love where you sleep! A bedroom REdo....

A friend/client of mine recently moved into a new house...a blank slate...excitement and fear...a new beginning.

There is A LOT to REdo in this new space...but I keep reminding her that life is a marathon, NOT a sprint.  She is a "do-er"--as am I--so this is a hard motto to live by!

One of the spaces we decided she had to LOVE sooner than later was her new bedroom.  In a male dominated house, this is the only space that is truly her sanctuary, her girly space.

Here is a before photo of her master suite...awful brown walls and ceiling with black trim and doors...depressing!  The only girly thing about this room is the PINK tiled bathroom that is attached to her bedroom!  It is dated, but super cute in a retro way.

After a blink of an eye, she and her mom had the room transformed with just a few coats of paint in a soothing gray to the walls and a crisp white on the ceiling.  The two sets of non-working closet doors where pitched into the trash...and the wood floors were brought back to life with a quick refinishing!

Within a few months this is what her room has morphed into...looking amazing, but still not serene...a bit unfinished.

This window was one of the unfinished areas.  The sheers needed to be hemmed...the full length mirror needed to be, well, more full length and substantial, and the scale needed to be hidden...forever.

Looking better with the sheers hemmed, but the room still felt off balance.  It felt too heavy on the right side and needed more balance...

We decided to move the dresser from the right side of the room to the left and centered it under the problematic window area.  Bingo!  

Balance...and chaos on top of the dresser.

A little organization goes a long way...top of the dresser is clear and clean and peaceful.

Hunting for a better full length mirror was easy...HomeGoods to the rescue again!

Serene.

Balanced.

Peaceful...a place to call home.

Next up?  Her hall closet...serenity now!!!

Asian Inspired Bathroom REveal!

Ta Da!  

Here a close-up photo of the actual wallpaper in the bathroom!  

Stunning.

Blah.

Ta Da!

Love how the extra large mirror makes this small bathroom seem so much bigger! I also love the consistency in the accessorizing...all dark finishes on the mirror, the trashcan, the small vase, and the door.

Blah.

Ta Da!

Love the new flooring...crisp white penny tile...brightens everything and is more period to this old house!

Ta Da!

And....the most unexpected ZSHUZSH to the bathroom?  A pop of bright yellow on the ceiling surrounded by crisp white crown moulding!  

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Ta Da!

Finally, she added a simple lantern-style chandelier...to add to the Asian flair. It's all in the little details...and the ZSHUZSHING!

This project was so fun because it really reflected my client's personality. Classic, but with a flair.

Remember...a little ZSHUZSHING goes a lonnnngggg way!

Boring Bathroom in need of a good Zshuzsh...Asian Inspired!

Here are two before photos of a VERY boring bathroom...that belongs to a VERY unboring client of mine.  

Blah.

More BLAH...needs a good ZSHUZSHING!

Here is our inspiration...!

This client lived in China for two years with her family...so why not bring a little bit of China to Missouri?

Stay tuned for the REveal!

Color of the Year--2014

RADIANT ORCHID

Who is brave enough to pull this off?

Send me your photos, if you are!

Happy Spring!

MIGHTY HEARTS for SALE!

Today (and EVERY day) is the perfect time to BE MIGHTY! 

Show just how MIGHTY you are by showcasing a MIGHTY HEART in your life.  You can hang these one of a kind MIGHTY HEARTS anywhere you want...a tree, your house, your office...anywhere you need a little zshuzsh!

Each MIGHTY HEART is hand drawn, hand cut... 

...and lovingly hand painted!

Celebrating MIGHTINESS!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, OAKES!

And, remember to ALWAYS...

Want a MIGHTY HEART?  Stop by my front porch and grab two small ones or one large one for just $30!  Drop your cash/check through my mailbox in my front door.  You can make your check out to MOHF  (MIGHTY OAKES HEART FOUNDATION)...all proceeds go directly to helping HEART BABIES and their MIGHTY families!

Sewing Room Stools REupholstered!

On this snowy day, I decided to start and FINISH a quick REdo project in my house.  I chose a project that has been on my "to do" list for the past TWO years.  This project is so easy…it just takes a little bit of time and bit of "elbow grease"…as my GAGA used to say.  

REcovering stools for our sewing/craft room to a more cheerful seat fabric was today's project!

The first step was to take off as many layers of fabric as possible to lessen the bulk when REcovering the seat with the new fabric.  When I removed the denim fabric that I had put on over 13 years ago, I realized why I had REcovered them in the first place.  Nice stains…gross!

By the way, here is what you need to REcover a chair seat…fabric, scissors, an electric staple gun, staples, and a steady/strong arm to guide the gun…with a bit of patience to unjam it!

Step two…pink fabric for the first layer…so it can peek through the top fabric, which was bit transparent.  Cut the fabric about 2-3 inches larger than the seat you are recovering.  Fold the fabric over the the edge of the bottom of the seat and staple it about 1-2 inches from that edge.  Gather the corners of the fabric last…pull taut and staple as best as you can!  It won't be to pretty…but just cut away the extra fabric to clean it up and voila!

Comparing the two chairs…new, cheerful fabric to the old, but very reliable, denim.

Close up of the vintage Lilly Pulitzer remnant fabric I found a few years back…LOVE!  Notice you can see just a tint of the pink showing through the flowers…!

You can do it, too!  Such an easy, quick, and inexpensive way to update any room in your house!