I’ve been blogging and reading blogs for years now and there are lots, I mean lots of design blogs out there and it’s probably because I read so many I’ve gotten a little burned out and a bit tired of reading sorta the same thing over and over, heck I know I’m guilty of talking about what others talk about I mean there’s only so much you can talk about if you post everyday.  I’ve also gotten busy outside of the blog which seems to happen to a lot of people who blog for awhile, it brings other opportunities.  (Yea for that!)

Speaking of what everyone is talking about I picked up this last night…

I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet but I hope it doesn’t disappoint (it was $11.99!) I also hope it gets my decorative mojo going!!

So for the time being I’ve decided to cut back on the amount of posts I do and try to focus on more original content.  If you don’t feel like visiting everyday, please feel free to subscribe to the blog so it comes directly to you!

I promise I still have lots to show off & thanks to all of you who visit everyday!!

While I was online looking for items I want need I noticed almost everything I was putting on the list was black and white.  I guess it’s true your wardrobe matches your design taste!  Of course I have lots of black in my closet but honestly over the last few years I’ve been way better infusing a little color in my home and wardrobe so maybe it’s time to treat myself to some basic black!!

Here’s some of my favorite things on my need list!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Holiday!!!

Instead of finishing up on the chair for my booth I’m just going to show off an ikat bench I put into the booth a month or so ago.

I don’t have a before photo (sorry) but to get an idea of what it looked like before I found this photo when I googled Walmart footstool! (:

My stool was actually way worse then this one to be honest, the fabric was disgusting and I had to take it off and add a new cushion to it. I painted the stool white and then used some left over fabric I bought awhile back from Calico Corners.

I love the result and it’s one of those pieces that I’d be fine if it didn’t sell in the booth!

I’m not sure how the rest of my week will go hopefully I’ll wake up tomorrow (Thursday) all better (a girl can dream!)!!

The trip was incredible and also very relaxing.  Our first stop was Mount Rushmore.

It was so cool to see it in person but I have to admit it was smaller then I imagined in my head but no less spectacular in person.

Then it was off to see Crazy Horse.

This was enormous and we learned you could fit the entire Rushmore monument where Crazy Horse’s head is.

My favorite part of the trip was a car ride through Custer State Park.  We saw antelope. (I think that’s what they were!)

My favorite part was when we went up a large hill and when we came down we saw this…

Seriously my husband is lucky I didn’t bring one home, the buffalo were the sweetest things I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Needless to say they weren’t at all afraid of us, look at how close this one got!

Seriously don’t you just want to hug him??

We went through Jewel Cave, drove up a very scary summit, checked out Deadwood and searched for waterfalls too.

On our way home we drove through the Badlands, which was absolutely breath taking.

Luckily for all of you I won’t share the 200 photos we took while we were on the trip but seriously if you haven’t been to all these places you should put it on your bucket list.

Tomorrow I promise a design related topic!!

It’s no secret if you read my blog that I love flowers.  I have a pinterest page just with floral inspirations.  What do I love more then flowers…free flowers!!

So after a walk around my neighborhood I had 3 free floral arrangements for the house.

One for the bedroom…

One for my office…

and the last one for the living room.

You don’t have to use flowers in the house you can also cut branches off your trees,  think outside the box!  I also put away the faux fur throw and fur pillows to lighten the look of the living room a little bit.

I’ve been busy around the house lately finishing up projects and trying very hard not to spend any money on the house.  We’re having the exterior of the house painted in a few weeks so that’s going to be our big project and big expense for the year.  I’ll for sure take lots of photos of the process.

Totally off subject but I wanted to repost the photos I retook on my big girl camera of one of the design trends of 2012 I incorporated in my home.  The iPhone photos weren’t cutting it for me.

I’m off to the booth today to bring up a chair I refinished today, I’ll show you the before and after tomorrow!!

The outside would look something like this…

(Jenna Lyons)

Nothing too fancy or too big just refined, quaint and a mere 3.8 million dollars! (:

Once you walk into my humble abode you’ll be in my colorful and eclectic entryway designed by Liz Caan.

Then because I’m so cool and hip and have money to burn I’ll have Miles Redd design my living room.

I’ve told him I want something traditional yet quirky and fun and I think he listened to my wants and desires perfectly!!

Now onto the bedroom…

(Madeline Weinrib)

I love the color of this room and the playful mix of the patterns.  Even though their is a lot going on in this room for some reason I still find it very peaceful and a place I would love spending lots of time in.

Even though I have plenty of money I of course will need an office. (Probably to manage my millions.)

(Jenna Lyons)

I love the use of color in this room too but I think it works because there is lots of gray and other neutral colors in the room to balance the color out.  I’m a believer the room should have a little ugly in it to bring it alive. Oh and the window frames seriously rock!

I don’t like to clean bathrooms (Although with my millions I guess I wouldn’t have to clean it would I?) Regardless I love this bathroom by Eddie Ross.  It’s simple but eclectic and if a bathroom could have a soul I think this one certainly does!

My kitchen would be my favorite room in my house and where all my guest would end up during my legendary parties.

(Cococozy)

I’m talking brass, marble, herringbone patterns and parisian styled chairs. Oh and go figure some more black window trim!

Of course my legendary dinner parties with my many many friends would require my guest to linger outside when my kitchen got too full.

(Style at Home)

Again, the space not crazy big just enough to keep the gardener busy!!

So there you have it my dream place!  Please tell me I’m not the only one who dreams big?

(I found this photo on Design Manifest last week and had to post it because I have that exact same bar for sale at my booth at this very second!!)

See ya next week!!  Oh and if you want to tell me how you get out of a funk or design overload I’d love some tips!

I really like almost all the trends that are out there right now but one of my favorites are terrariums.  I got a chance to make one this weekend because of this little problem.

Seriously, I cannot keep a plant alive for more then 3-4 months.  But obviously I keep trying so I thought this was the perfect chance to plant some succulents.

I found the glass container at my local Goodwill, I think I paid $2.00 for it.  The succulents are from Lowe’s, I’m pretty sure I paid $3.00 a piece for them and I bought 3 of them.  (I like odd numbers.)  While I was at Lowe’s I noticed they’ve caught wind of the terrarium trend too and were selling them for over $30.00.  (DIY people.)

I already had the potting soil and I also had the pea gravel from our many outdoor projects from last year.  So I put some soil on the bottom then arranged the plants and buried them with more soil and then covered the top of the soil with pea gravel.  I used a small paint brush to get the dirt and pebbles off the plants.

This whole thing took all of 15 minutes to do and I love the results!!!  (Even if I didn’t do it justice by using my iPhone.)

and this…

and this…

Lonny

This was the first weekend in months I was able to sleep in and also the first weekend that there was absolutely no volleyball played.  Sloan kept me busy as her taxi cab driver and I did some work at the booth but I did get some me time and had a nice grown up dinner at Ruth Chris.

I also tackled a few projects around the house that I will show you this week to remind everyone you don’t always have to spend a lot of money or invest a lot of time to make a difference in your home!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

I’m not sure if I actually have figured out what I really want at the end of the bed but I found a super sturdy coffee table that was like $7.00 so I decided what the heck turn it into a bench.  The only money I spent was for the padding, which I got for 50% from JoAnn’s using a coupon.  I used a white coverlet to cover the table.  The table was originally pine so I sanded the piece, primed it with Kiltz and then painted it with some left over white eggshell paint I had laying around.

Sorry I don’t have a before picture, my camera ate it but if you’d like to read a great tutorial on how to do this project just click here.

Here’s a little peek at my new bench.

The bench is working out great for now it’s the perfect height and it’s pretty wide so my daughter comes into the room alot and lays on it and watches t.v. with us!

I’ll share the entire bedroom next week!