My Little Place

Recently, there have been a few people ask me why I never post pictures of my place. Weellllllll, there are a few reasons for this:

1. I feel an extreme pressure to have a space designed to the level of my clients. But let’s face it, it is always easier to use your talents for other people and have mental blocks when it comes to using it for yourself.

2. I live in approximately 700 square feet. I am not complaining I am very blessed in my life.

3. I have a significant other who prefers to NOT see me spend money on my own decor every time I am out shopping for a client.:) It’s the “its a temporary place so why spend money when you will change it all again” speech. All of us who are into design have probably heard this lecture a time or two. :)

So, this is my encouragement to you guys with small spaces who are stuck. You can have a clean, organized, moderately designed space without investing in major pieces-just yet- or spending a ton of time.

It all comes down to a few small rules/tricks.

Go for a white wall vs. a tan. This works well to open up the space and let you go all neutral or have bursts of color without being over/under whelmed. However, I have my very small kitchen and bathroom painted Urban Bronze (basically black) for contrast and drama.

I used my dresser as a living room piece for my TV. It allows more bedroom space and gives me a significant sized piece for my living area. For a small space furniture should be to scale but I would recommend fewer substantial pieces vs many smaller pieces.

Get rid of or store (somewhere other than your place) everything that is not absolutely necessary.

Use the bar area where bar stools would typically go as a desk area. Well, I work more than I cook so this may only apply to a select and ridiculous few. ;)

Use a see-through basket for your books. And if you have a neutral color scheme you can cover your books with craft paper from Hobby Lobby. I prefer to cover some and leave a few uncovered.

Live simply. Use pinterest to remember things you want in your future home. Because chances are if you live in 700 sq ft or less it is not a permanent place.

Confession: I am not completely done. I am waiting on a white cowhide with gold stripes to layer over the living room rug as well as wall lamps that will hang beside the antique doors for either side of my couch. Shhhhh, I also have my eye on a new sofa but I am going to be responsible and buy it after I have saved for it.

Warning: these photos were taken from my ipad:

It would be hard explaining where everything came from but if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

- A little love and inspiration

If you had a hidden camera in my place this past weekend you would seriously ask yourself if these girls were 15 or 30. And not the sliver of a 15 year old’s life that consists of gossiping and temper tantrums. But the part that is carefree and full of slumber parties.

From Friday night to Sunday morning I hosted my friends in town for my best friend’s bachelorette party. And we laughed so hard that most of us were hoarse by the end of the weekend.

The week was topped off by being completely inspired by attending the NSAI awards in Nashville. Where the best (past and present) songwriters in Nashville are awarded for their creativity, process, and extreme talent. I heard speech after speech of songwriters who moved to this town with a dream, a passion, and a nickel who went on to write country songs like “The Dance.” And in case you were wondering Garth Brooks took the stage to sing a few songs and I nearly lost it..

To sprinkle this blog with a little dose of reality (so that you don’t get the impression that my life is all peaches,) I was faced with the drug addiction of a person very close to me. This person is so deep in that I am having to accept the possibility of losing them. My heart literally broke into a thousand pieces after visiting them a few weeks back and hearing from them this past week. Seeing their frail body and hearing the hopelessness in their voice was one of the hardest things I will ever do. FYI - that person does not read this blog and I am one of the few people that know about their drug addiction.

I live by these words and they ring more true this week than ever: Go hard after your dreams. Be open-minded. Love people.

My week at a glance:

Got the new dining room light in for one of my clients:

Bach party

Nashville Songwriter Awards Show (yes that is Garth)

This was such a fun and different experience for me. I have never seen a football suite designed but why not? We are not completely finished as we are waiting on pillows, TV’s and the company logos but I wanted to share a little sneak peak! Go Titans:)

Warning: these photos were taken on my iphone.

I am thrilled to share the final photos of one of my latest projects. I absolutely adore this client and their outdoor space.

As promised I am on a mission to capture my latest work so there will be many more spaces to reveal.

Enjoy,

Happy Labor Day everyone!

A little labor goes a long way:)

If you haven’t noticed it’s Tuesday.  But since it feels like a Monday to me I am going to pretend (while I write this post) that it is yet another Manic Monday.:)

I am right at the tail end of a completing a few homes and wanted to take a moment to show my appreciation for the people who trusted me into their homes and gave me freedom to be creative and grace for any learning curves I might have went through during their projects. So here is a big thank you to Maureen Shorter, Marci and Mike Munchak, Desiree and Russ Jones, Shannon Terry and Falon Hammer. 

I will have photos completed by mid-September:) Oh, and I can’t wait to tell you about some upcoming super-fun projects I am taking on. Hint: You might see a canoe hanging from the ceiling.

So enough chit-chat. Here is my last two weeks at a glance:

Bachelorette party for my best friend

Family visit and camping in Michigan with the love of my life

Designed and completed a colorful outside space. Sorry for the bad iphone photos. Real pics to come:)

New Zilla pillows as the final touches for a living room space that I will complete

this week:)

And I cooked. To most of you this might seem like an everyday thing. For me, it equates to a 7 mile run kind of task.

I found this quinoa fried rice recipe which is super healthy and taste exactly like fried rice. I like anything fried and anything with soy sauce:) Or maybe everything taste good with soy sauce….who knows?

Here is the recipe with my own spin on it…..scary.

This recipe is based on 2 cups of quinoa.

- Rinse 2 cups of quinoa and let dry for about 15 minutes. If you do not know what quinoa is you can google it and pick it up at Wholefoods and the like.

-Toast the quinoa over the stove for about 1 min to extract all of the moisture. When I first saw this step in a recipe I had no clue what it meant but basically you put it in a pot over the stove with no water and stir for approx 1 min.

-Add 1.5 cups of water for every cup of quinoa that you use. So for me it is 3 cups.

-Bring to a boil and let simmer for 12 minutes.

-While you are letting your quinoa simmer you can start prepping your veggies. I chop up and saute (with extra virgin olive oil) around 4 cups of veggies. I personally buy the fresh stir fry mix from Whole Foods which comes with chick peas, red peppers, onions, carrots, broccoli and some white vegetable that I can not name. :)

-After they are tender push them to the side of the pan and scramble 3 large eggs. I use very little yoke.

-When those are finished saute some minced garlic. I literally guessed at how much but it was about a pinch. ha

-Mix all veggies, eggs, and garlic together

-Your quinoa should look like this when it is done.

-Add a tbsp of garlic powder to your quinoa and stir in.

-Pour your quinoa over your veggies and eggs and stir. Let them cook in for a few minutes.

-Add a tbsp of parsley, sea salt and pepper and stir in.

-In the original recipe it says to add your soy sauce to the entire thing but I just add it to each serving individually so that it will be soggy free on day 2 and 3 and heck for me day 4.

My meditation for the week:

-Go hard after your dreams. Be open-minded. Love people.

Confession time. I have been really slacking at writing this post. It is hard to find inspiration every week. And I don’t like to read writing that is clearly forced due to some sort of internal commitment. So instead of committing to writing every Monday I am committing to learn something new, capture the moments that mean the most to me, and grow so that my writing is relevant (at least to me.) :)

So, if I had to pick one thing I have been learning to share with you it would be pushing your mind into a space where it can be creative.

The great thing about Pinterest is that is shows you that thousands of people all over the world are reinventing with genius. People are pushing themselves creatively to be original, even if that originality stems from an idea they have already seen.

The downfall of Pinterest is that it has become a crutch to many creative minds including myself.

I have found that dividing my time between exploring the worlds of Pinterest and the like and sitting down with a pencil and staying there long enough to push my mind to put an original spin on something is the best way to produce quality creative work. I am sure this is up for much debate:)

My week at a glance:

Celebrated and hosted my best friend’s wedding shower back in my hometown:

Used the mother of the bride’s wedding dress as decor:

While I was at home I painted my moms fireplace with Annie Sloan paint and will post pics later this week.

Also, I have not had any time to actually capture the after photos of the homes I have been working on. I have 5 houses worth of photos coming your way soon:)

Meditation for the week:

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust

It’s not too late! Add a little punch to your party by incorporating an additional color into your red, white, and blue color scheme.

Here are some options.

Happy Fourth of July!

Don’t have time to dive into the awesomeness of this DIY project.  But had to make the time to share it with you guys. I had a person email me and didn’t understand that the words in light purple were linked to the site I was referencing. So, to avoid any confusion, please click on the words “DIY project” above.

UMMMMMMMM!!!!! Yep, that is the first “word” that comes to mind when I think about how to communicate what I have been learning. It is a little embarrassing to admit but I have such a hard time looking at the constant stream of photos that come across facebook of the people who have mastered the portrayal of the seemingly perfect life. Because for a moment I really start to want what they have. When you see pictures of people with the cookie cutter front yards, the children in the little photos with the scrolling photographer logo, the vacation to the Bahama’s with my “amazing husband who never lets me down…ever,” it is hard to see the extensive lawn mowing, the fits of rage from the little one at the dinner table and the possible argument over how many suitcases they each brought to the airport. Having a great yard, or precious children ect are all great things and they are things that in some ways we all want. But sometimes the satisfaction seems to come from portraying those things rather than actually enjoying them. And then it hit me…I hope this blog never leads anyone to believe that I am the perfect designer, daughter, employee, christian, or even friend because it is just simply not the case. I love my life but not because I am perfect in and at it but more because my imperfect life has made me who I am and brought people into my life that I adore.

Instead of stating more opinions on this topic I am going to present the questions that I have been asking myself.

- What if I spent more time making memories with the the people that have been placed in my life rather than envy the lives of other people that I really don’t even know that well.

- What if I shared the realities of my life with that friend that is in bad situation instead of putting the weight of my “judgy” opinion on their shoulders.

- What if I presented to the world via photos, blog, tweets or hell even real live conversations (haha), the struggles that came along with my successes.

And with that said I was going to post a few photos of my week but I will leave you with one:

My meditation for the week:

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

- Psalm 46:10