If anyone is interested in an Interior Designer that specializes in Bali style…Give me a call! I would be happy to fly there and find you some treasures

Here are some inspiring Bali pictures to get you going for the day…

Eat, Pray, Love.

Have a wonderful day.

I have already bought a little yellow wall clock and re-wrapped an old lamp shade in yellow fabric. Now, to spray paint some old frames yellow and blue, then find a matching throw rug. While I do that, you sit back and view some inspiring photos of beautiful blue and yellow. Pictures of my own space to come. Enjoy!

Not NEW, but BLUE!

This vintage-looking blue dresser would be perfect for a kid’s room or could even be a darling addition in the foyer or hallway. Can’t you picture it with white porcelaine handles and a gorgeous bouquet of field flowers atop? Too cute and its only $40 bucks!

Beach'n Barstools

Paint these babies white and replace the fabric with an interesting nautical pattern and you have two super chic Beachy barstools! $30 bucks a pop.  

If you want to get your hands on some amazing vintage pieces without taking your bottom out of your chair then surf online at ETSY.COM      You will find anything and everything! I have my eye on this nice little Amber color glass hanging lamp for $42.

 I located these two vintag orange rocking chairs for tykes on Etsy.com as well. They are $72 each. What a steal!

I really want this one! This red metal shelf would be pefect in my office to throw fabric scraps into and hang my ribbons on. $38

 White and yellow are such trendy colors right now. These retro chairs are too cool for school and look way comfy. Perfect for a small kitchen. I imagine this set of chairs and table in a kitchen with white beadboard chair rail, funky frett patterned wall paper, farmhouse stlye pendant lights and a snazzy cobalt blue glassware. $150 bucks for the set. Wow!

Thats it for today. Happy Shopping :0)

 click here for : LAUREN & SUZANNE

Ok, so now the point of this posting today: DIY projects featuring pieces with “GOOD BONES,” as Lauren and Suzanne say. Go to your local thrift store, goodwill, or a garage sale and purchase a cheap not-so-pretty piece of furniture. Somebody’s trash is going to be your treasure! Use your imagintation and think how wonderful that old dresser, mirror, frame, chair, etc. would look with a new coat of paint. Get creative and add new knobs, wallpaper on the inside, a coat of shiny lacquer, nailheads, rhinestones, whatever you like. YOu are really going to save some money and the best part is…You’ll be adding a touch of character to your home!

Take a look at some examples of DIY projects are found surfing the web:

(photos Courtesy of LAUREN & SUZANNE)

Photos Courtesy of Design sponge online . com

 (thenest.com)

Courtesy of Casa Sugar

 (marthastewart.com)

 Apartmenttherapy.com

Now, get out there and start digging/painting for that gold!

Happy March  

“What some view as trash, Linda and John Meyers see as raw material. The wife-and-husband team—subscribers to the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ ethos—have perfected a design strategy that will save you money, help the planet, and provide hours of DIY fun. The strategy? First, visit a yard sale, construction-site dumpster, or even your own attic. Select something that somebody (even you) thought had outlived its usefulness. Then, transform that castoff into a piece that’s interesting and usable.”

Linda Wary and John Meyers… I love you!

I think  I must share a brain with this couple. The style and concept is making my heart want to explode.

Visit Linda and John’s site for more beauty 

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I made my very first Palm Springs visit.  Since, I have been dreaming about the 50′s style loveliness

that consumes much of this cheery land. My head is filled with images of white furniture, poppy-red and turquoise accent walls, funky wallpapers, and gold accessories. 

Someday I will get to deck out a Palm Springs pad, Im willing it to happen.

HOW DELICIOUS.

And this designer really knows her stuff! Jealous much? Yes, I am.

Please visit hr site for more talent: M.Design Interiors 

Take a look at this website and  you can learn how to help out small business in your neighborhood.

I fell in love with this little shop in Encinitas called 42nd and Orange: M.O.M It was opened by a daughter and mother who devote all of their free time crafting and creating out of their small studio in Encinitas. Its right next to UNIV.

Pick up some unique holiday gifts here, they have the cutest stuff!

So, I was reading this blog article that was talking about how lame it is to photoshop and alter photos for womens magazines. These magazines crop, cut, paste, soften, erase, blur any imperfections that the model may have with the goal of creating the ideal or “perfect”woman. I don’t want to go on a rant about this topic, instead, I’ll let you read the article for yourself and you can read someone else rant. I will, however, let you read my thoughts.

My thoughts:

It’s funny when I think back to being a young impressionable sponge. Absorbing every criticism or reinforcement that was hurled my way. Hanging on every word of advice given in my YM magazine,  Teen Magazine, or Glamour Magazine. My magazines were like the Holy Bible of getting through the teen years. YM explained that torn jeans and flannel shirts were what I was supposed to wear this season, it told me that Charlie White perfume was going to attract the cutest boys in school, it told me where to find all those special sexy spots on a man, it promised that if I washed my face with Neutrogena I would have flawless skin, it assured me that if I had brown eyes plum eyeshadow and burnt coffee lipstick would make me most appealing.

Oh, how I believed it! I had a never ending collection of beauty products hidden in every drawer and cabinet of my bathroom. I would spend a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes manipulating my hair every morning just to get my ponytail bump-free and my bangs hairsprayed stiff to hold the perfect round “C” against my forehead.  I would spend an entire morning primping and preparing for the day.  I’d arrive to school, quietly sit at my desk and then, sadly, feel just as insecure, self-conscious, defeated as I first did when my naked body stepped out of the shower only a few hours before. 

Sigh. That poor, poor little spongey-brain girl.  

If only I could whisper in her ear and say, “Don’t worry. Someday you won’t care anymore. Someday your skin will feel like it belongs on you. Someday you will no longer think Cindy Crawford is the prettiest person on earth. You will think you are.”

I’m not exactly quite sure when it happened, but there was a moment in life when I heard those words. And then there was a moment when I believed it. And now, I live it. I am living my “someday.”

No more oggling over bean-poles in magazines. No more taking advice about my own damn face. No more mapquest to my man’s body.

Now, its just me and my happy,happy self. Age is sobering. Isn’t it?

It’s like the Italian guy told me, “you are soap and water.” Huh? I didn’t understand it then. But now, there is no better way to express beauty. Simple and pure. Unpainted nails.

In fact, I’m not soap and water my life is soap and water.

Love Bird cake toppers

Love Birds

Hand made ideas

More cake toppers

Cake topper hearts

Hanging Decoration

Hanging Decoration

 The love bird cake toppers are really easy to make if you have some basic sewing knowledge. Just cut out 4 shapes of a bird (this will make 2 birds). Then cut out 8 shapes of the wings (this will make 4 wings). Sew two sides of the wings together, with you sewing machine on zig-zag mode, so that they are two-sided. Sew the wings onto the outsides of the birds body. Then take two black beads and hand stitch them to the bird’s head on either side for eyes. Sew the two sides of the bird together, again using zig-zag stitch, leaving a gap open so you can stuff the bird with poly fill. fill the bird with poly fill, them sew the seam shut. You can use wire to shape as bird’s feet and then hot glue into place as I did. 

The Heart cake toppers are even easier to make: Cut heart shaped pieces of fabric, then sew on smaller pieces on the faces to create texture and dimension. Then sew the two sides together using zig-zag stitch on sewing machine, leave a gap for stuffing with poly fill. Fill with poly-fill. Then sew your gap shut. Take shish-ka-bob sticks and poke the pointy side into the bottom of the heart. You may need to pop a seam with your seam ripper to make a little gap for the stick.

The hanging decoration is the easiest project yet! I bought vine balls, small round mirrors, and ribbon at Michael’s Craft store. Take the small round mirrors and hot glue them all around the vine balls. Then take your ribbon and loop it through the vine ball to make the first length that will hang from the ceiling and tie it in a bow. Then do the same with the next ball- make sure it is completely centered on the ball so that it hangs right. Do not make a bow on this one, make a tight knot and then cut the extra slack and tuck it near the ball to hide the knot. Then do the same thing with the last ball but this time keep extra ribbon so you can make a larger bow and have some ribbon ends that hang down. Thats it, you’re done! Have fun