New to my REsale shop:

(2) POTTERY BARN Studio Wall Shelves---espresso finish
$349 for both

These Studio Wall Shelves are still being sold at Pottery Barn for $349 a piece...so this REsale opportunity is a GREAT deal.

If you are interested email me...and I'll get back to you ASAP!

I'm happy to REsell furniture on my site for you...give me a jingle if you want to unload some gently used furniture, etc...!!!

REvitalized chairs REveal!

So...as you might remember from an earlier post, I was given these awesome old chairs by a friend to REvitalize.  

One of them needed a bit of work...and both needed to be primed.

Although the needlepoint work was beautiful...I decided to REcover them in an updated and FUN fabric.

Here is the color I decided to paint them...glossy HOT pink!

The fabric was a bit harder to choose, but it was love at first sight when my friend, Kim, who owns the shop 7 Gray found it.  We both decided the fabric should be turned a bit...to give it a quirky and more modern look.

Tada!

I mean...seriously!  Aren't they so cute?  I LOVE THEM.

These darling babies could be yours...one for $85 or both for $160!  Check them out at the cutest shop in town, 7 Gray...in downtown Webster Groves.

Let me know what you think...

MIGHTY LOVE for a MIGHTY BOY.

Oakes Lee Ortyl is the MIGHTIEST little boy I have ever known.  His short life has forever changed mine, but, more importantly, the lives of my children, Graham and Emily.  Oakes did this in the MIGHTIEST of ways...by living each day he had here on Earth with nothing less than the MIGHTIEST LOVE possible for anyone he touched.  He shifted the way we look at life.  He taught us to enjoy the simplest of pleasures...to stop and just BREATHE.  He taught us to enjoy each and every day and live in the moment.  He taught us to live life with the intention to be MIGHTY in anything we do.  And because of Oakes and these small and simple lessons that he taught us...my family is forever changed in the MIGHTIEST of ways.

This is Oakes with his MIGHTY arms spread wide open to show just how MIGHTY he was!

Right after Oakes passed, my daughter, Emily, and I were given the honor of putting together the photo boards for his Celebration of Life.  We tried to capture the MIGHTY LOVE this little boy magically and MIGHTILY created.

Each of the photos on this board were of Oakes wearing a different "sticker" on his forehead describing him...STUD and FIGHTER and LOVER BOY don't even begin to describe this MIGHTY boy!

Be MIGHTY!  Please donate to www.mightyoakes.org!

Oakes' mom, Becky, is truly one of the MIGHTIEST women I know.  Her grace and strength and gentle, but MIGHTY spirit is the perfect combination of what a mother's love for her child should be.  She is as real as they come...and continues to show her love for her baby boy through her work with The Mighty Oakes Heart Foundation.

And, of course, Isla, Oakes' big sister, had some MIGHTY love for her Oaksie!

Heart Strings to Heaven...

As many of you may already know, Oakes' mom and dad, Becky and Greg, and big sister, Isla, live directly next door to our house.  I think it is safe to say that many of you have probably seen the RED RIBBONS that have been tied to trees in my neighborhood.  The story behind those red ribbons is made even sweeter when I tell you how those ribbons came to life.  Those red ribbons came alive with with the death of Oakes when a handful of MIGHTY neighbors (who had never even met Oakes) got up before dawn on the day of his Celebration of Life and tied well over 100 red ribbons to trees and telephone poles and fences starting at Oakes' house and ending at Holy Redeemer Church...where his Mass was held.  They did this to honor this MIGHTY little boy, but also to show his family that all of us have been touched by his sweet little life.  It was quite possibly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen...so tearfully touching in the MIGHTIEST of ways.  

Since that day, many friends and neighbors have tied red ribbons around the trees in their yards.  The sight of these ribbons can still bring a tear to my eyes...as they are such a strong reminder of such a MIGHTY boy and his amazing family.  

It seems lately, though, that these once vibrantly red ribbons have started to fade and show their wear.  

So...that has led me to feel the need to do a little"zshuzshing" with the sentiment of these ribbons in mind.  

After a bit of brainstorming with Oakes' mom, we have come up with a brilliant new idea to keep the love for MIGHTY OAKES and the MIGHTY OAKES HEART FOUNDATION visible and alive on our trees, fences, telephone poles, houses and in our hearts.  

Here is what we came up with:

Isla, the sweetest of all sisters, drew a bunch of hearts with none of them being the exact same or perfect in shape...because ALL hearts are uniquely perfect in their own way.  (Thanks for teaching us that, Oakes!)

Next, Oakes' and Isla's Grandpa Dale, who lives in Oklahoma, cut the hearts out of wood and set them with Grandma Ena to Saint Louis to give to me.

I picked out the perfect red (with the help of a few friends...thanks Sheri and Emily) to paint these perfectly imperfectly hearts.  (Don't the two in the middle look like angel wings???!!!)

By the way, these hearts were inspired by the MIGHTY GIANT heart that Becky hand built and painted for the front of her house.  Love it so much!

Stay tuned for the REveal of how these MIGHTY hearts turn out. 

You might be thinking that you'd like to "zshuzsh" one of your trees or fence or house with a perfectly imperfect  MIGHTY OAKES heart.

If so, let me know and I'd be happy to get you one (or two or three) at a minimal cost.  

All proceeds will go toward THE MIGHTY OAKES HEART FOUNDATION.

And please remember to always BE MIGHTY!!!

Heidi's BIG GIRL Office REveal!!!

LOVE.

Happy BIG GIRL in her new BIG GIRL OFFICE!  (Isn't she just soooo cute!)

New bookshelf from Crate and Barrel...purchased on sale.  (Ahem...I put this together, as well!)

Goodbye clutter!

An old Kodak camera becomes art...

  
The fresh wall color, fresh flowers, and fresh photos change the entire feel of this room.

Her new desk is infused with touches of all things HEIDI!

Her "h" coffee cup holds all the things she might need to be productive...lip gloss, nail file, Sharpies...I love this girl!

This "inspiration board" was all Heidi...she recovered the cork with beautiful paper and had it hung on the wall she stares at all day long.  It is filled with ideas/photos she just LOVES.

Gorgeous tea cup ready to go...

Not sure you can see this detail, but Heidi borrowed my label maker and printed out labels for the tabs of all her fun and bright file folders.  She has learned from me...it's all in the details!

She's a lover of fresh flowers...she buys them for herself weekly.  (I am following in her footsteps now and doing this for my house, too...thanks, Heidi!)

She is hiding her "junk" in cute bowls...instead of on top of her desk in a pile.

This amazing lampshade may have started all this madness...right, Heidi!?! The white curtains are from Pottery Barn Teen and are airy enough to give her the natural light she needs to work on her photos.  The curtain rods are from Target and give the sparkle and shine she wanted at a minimal price. 

The new rug brightens this small space without being too busy.  Her calendars are mounted to the closet door, so they are easy to access.  The red chair is used in photo shoots and adds a fun POP of color.  The old dresser was "zshuzshed" up by changing the knobs to shiny silver and glass...and none of them match.  Darling!

Another beautiful bowl that holds her business cards...

Here is the photo collage Heidi sent me of all the work we have done together...LOVE.

Are you inspired?

Hope so!

Heidi's Big Girl Office...in transition!

OPERATION BIG GIRL OFFICE:

Bedford Corner Desk  ordered (at a majorly discounted price!) from Pottery Barn -- CHECK!

ME putting the desk together...not hard, just cumbersome -- CHECK!

Shot #2 of me still putting the desk together... 
(This is what happens when you are working for a professional photographer...lots of unsuspected photographs of yourself!)

Shot #3 of me during the final tightening of the screws -- CHECK!

TADA!!!  

Finally, a desk that is really a desk and is super functional to boot!

Up next (literally)?

Frank (aka Poppy), my stepdad, taking down the old valance and putting up the new panels!

Stay tuned for the Big Girl Office REdo REveal...

It's FABULOUS!

It's Time for a Big Girl OFFICE!

I have a client (who's really my FRIEND) that is an AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER.

You've probably heard me talk about her...A LOT.

Heidi Drexler...and she is AWESOME!

Heidi has grown her photography business, Heidi Drexler Photography, over the past 10 years and has become incredibly successful.

However, she has NOT grown her home office into a BIG GIRL (aka ADULT) space...YET.  

She has tried, but has not been able to give her office a true makeover due to her busy schedule as a mom of two (very energetic) boys, a wife (of a giant), and her thriving business...not to mention the guilt of spending money on herself.  

So....after a bit of prodding from me...she decided to take the plunge and focus on her HERSELF and HER work space.  (YAY Heidi!)

She needed this space to be just hers...a place that screams HEIDI...a space full of color and creativity...a place to inspire her while she works editing photographs that are going create memories that will last a lifetime for her clients.

Here are some BEFORE photos:

Notice her "desk" is an old console table...not super functional.  

Her plastic file cabinet was a fail.

Her photography almost masks the ugliness of what lies below... and she hates to see clutter.

This dresser is functional, but needed a little zshuzsh...mostly so she could forget that it was originally purchased as a changing table for her boys.

The colors of the rug did help brighten the room and gave a glimmer of her love for pattern and texture.  Her valance was fine, but she wanted a change...something lighter and more airy.

So there you have it...the BEFORE photos of Heidi's office.  

Stay tuned for the first installment of her office REdo...

Think a new and improved and FUNCTIONAL desk...DUH!