19 things...

I was recently inspired to make a list of my all time favorite things, you know those items that make your house and a home. Just as Julie Andrews says.. "these are a few of my favorite things..."

1.   MY FAMILY (the obvious answer I know, but the absolute truth)
2.   Our Pets (I love my little furry friends! A house isn't a home without a little fuzz on the couch)
3.   Family photos (photography is a treasured hobby of mine, photos are the wall paper of our hallways)
4.   Hand-made quilts (made of course by all the grandmas of yesterday and today)
5.   Paintings by my kids (what could be better than one-of-a-kind art, made by the ones I love)
6.   Vintage whale hanging (my grandparents')
7.   Antique transom equipment (Bill's grandfathers'- he was a surveyor and actually used the equipment!)
8.   Colored glass bottles that my grandmother collected
9.   Hand-made furniture that Billy has custom created for our home
10. Hand-painted items that Billy has refinished.
11. Chalkboard in the kitchen (the craziness of family life gets semi-organized here)
12. Paint - you know the kind that you toss up on the walls and it transforms everything about a room with just a days work
13. Apron sink - the amazing farm house sink that absolutely completes my kitchen)
14. Antique washer/ringer that Billy gave me many moons ago (and a great reminder of just how much harder my detested chore of laundry could be)
15. Vintage ice-cream churner (an ode to a simpler life and my all time favorite dessert)
16. 200+ year old french window (I love to imagine the life that this window had before living in our home)
17. Dimmer switches (seriously, I am beyond in love with ambient lighting, and completely loath florescent lighting)
18. Fresh cut flowers (every room, everywhere)
19. Living plants (never, ever fake/faux/silk/plastic ones... NEVER)

Quasi-Traditional-Bohemian-Country-Artist-Loft

(Whewww, thats a mouth full, but that is kinda what I am...)

A long time ago I came across a magazine article that featured a loft owned by an artist in NY. He had such amazing style. Mixing all genres and decorating techniques, seeming to effortlessly mesh them together. That was such an inspiration to me...
Take what you love and make it work!

I have never liked conventional things. Often times I don't like "the rules" that we are supposed to play by. I like to mess with things, turn them on there head, change them up to suit me and my style... take something ordinary and make it original. I think a home should be a reflection of who you are and what you love, the bits and pieces that make you one of a kind.

 lil' bit lofty

 lil' bit bohemian

lil' bit traditional

 lil' bit country

... now mix it all together, sprinkle with lots of love and comfort and then you have... home.

Small change = Big difference

I have been making a list of my favorite things, those little things that make a house a home. I am sharing two of them today. The rest will be coming soon :)

(Favorite thing # 36 Vintage "Drafting Table Stool"
& Favorite thing # 18 Fresh flowers)

 Seriously, I am so stoked that I found these!!! I just happened to be in Cost Plus World Market when I spied my dream bar stools hiding in a corner...

 It seemed like destiny when I realized that I was also carrying a coupon that would allow me to by 3 and get one free... The gods had spoken, these bar stools were to be mine.

 I had admired these ones above at RH, but the insane pricing kept me at a distance (seriously who pays nearly 400 for ONE barstool?!)

These from Crate&Barrel are cool too (and priced a bit more friendly at 200 each) but they lacked the character and vintage charm that I was hoping for.

The Best Gifts of All

It is Mother's Day 2011 and I am feeling the love... not only from being a mom (or for having the world's greatest mom for my own mom)... but the love of family.

 I can not even begin to express how grateful I am to be a part of such an incredible family. We love each other, and I mean it, we really do love each other. Does that mean that we always get along and agree.. HECK NO! But it means that we respect each other enough to laugh at our differences and forgive our "character flaws" this to me is the definition of family! I once described my life growing up as being "Beaver Cleaver-like" to which my brother scoffed "What house did you grow up in?!" haha! He was right, our life was nothing like "the Beavs"... (Thank the Gods!) But I guess what I meant was, our life has always been... fun, interesting, eventful, honest, forgiving, memorable, hilariously sarcastic... and most of all... filled with 

L-O-V-E. 

Lucky for me that I found a man with a similar family. Melting our outlooks on life and family together to form our own little house filled with love. Yep, how lucky I am indeed... Life is short, Family is forever.