Things That Matter

Another thing to look forward to is a NEW book due to be released October 16, by Nate Berkus.
The title is Things That Matter. A great quote of Nate's, "I believe your home should tell your story. The way you do that is through your things. What do you own that tells a bit about who you are?"

Hmm... well, I guess my things would tell the story that I am a mother, I own pets, and I like new things and I like vintage things. I have a huge problem picking out accessories, and art for my home. I hope that this book can help me release my fear and insecurities of what to buy, and just grab things that make me smile. I will surround myself with only things that matter, hence the title of the book.
I already own his last book, House Rules and can't wait to see this new one. You can pre-order, The Things That Matter on Amazon now. If his decor pictures are as fabulous as his dreamy front cover, I think we are all in for a treat.

A Vacation in My Mailbox

As a self-professed "design junkie", I am also a home-decor-magazine (and book!)-aholic. I can't wait until my subscribed magazines starting pouring into my mailbox each month. It makes me giddy. I know that may seem weird to you, but they are a form of escape from the real world for me.
I get House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset, Country Living, Southern Living, Coastal Living, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, and Traditional Home.

I think I love looking through home decor magazine so much because they are such a visual treat to my eyes. I want to jump into some of those pages some days, and live there in some of those rooms. I envision sitting on a crisp white comfy couch, where there is no hint of dust, animal hair, toys, or shoes strewn around the floor. In a room, where there is not a pile of dishes waiting to me washed, floors that need to be cleaned or toilets to be attended to. Everything is in it's place and everything is at peace. The colors are appealing, the fabrics and textures are inviting and they call me in to jump on in.

My favorite magazine is Coastal Living for it has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to own a beach house. Living in the Pacific NW, we are close to the water and I know many families that own beach homes. Unfortunately, my husband and I  haven't gotten to that point in our lives,where we are able to make that jump into having double mortgages but I hope to one day be able to.

There's something about the sand in my toes, the sound of waves lapping onto the beach, the sound of the seagulls talking to one another, the beautiful colors of summer sunsets and all those wonderful memories that pop into your mind when you think of the beach. Just thinking of those images, makes my blood pressure lower and a sense of calmness surrounds me.

So, each month when I get a new Coastal Living magazine in my mailbox, it's like a mini dream vacation for my brain. I take my magazine and curl up on my couch. I am able to escape a little from the long list of "to-do's", tune out the dog barking, kids fighting, TV blaring in the background and wistfully get drawn into the articles of seaside towns, beautiful pictures of white sandy beaches, and unbelievable chic beach homes around the world. I am able to fantasize of how I would decorate my own beach home and all the great memories our family could have like the ones in the magazines. You know the ones, where everyone is smiling around a clambake or sitting on a porch swing sipping lemonade.

Don't get me wrong, I am a smart gal and I know even my perfect beach house wouldn't always be perfect. I would still have the dishes to do, floors to mop and shoes strewn about. I would still have my kids that occasionally fight with one another, and I would have the added bonus of a wet dog barking and bringing in sand into the house. I know the grass isn't always greener on the other side, and I know it wouldn't be as perfect as the well-appointed homes in the magazines play it out to be. But it still is a huge dream of mine, and I still love to be able to dive into the magazines each month and be taken away for a little while.

What is your favorite home decor magazine, and what is your big dream you hope to achieve someday?

Pinning my days away.....

Wow, how can a girl get anything done during the wakeful hours when there is constantly new social media sites and new decor sites popping up all the time?
I got sucked into the whole Facebook thing, took a spin on Twitter (didn't like it at first, but now am back on), on LinkedIn (though I don't use it), and now Pinterest. I LOVE Pinterest! I mean L.O.V.E it!
I can just spend hours pinning my dream room makeovers for my house, pin a dream beach house that I do not own, pin dream vacations that I hope to be able to take someday, pin sayings that make me giggle, pin cute pictures of sweet baby animals, and pin recipes that I have thoughts of making someday. Pinning is like a black hole where time gets sucked into right before your eyes. But I do enjoy it.
If you find yourself on Pinterest as well, go ahead and follow me too. I won't feel so bad if I know there are others out there just as addicted as me.
Wish I husband would be as appreciative of my hours spent pinning, as my "pinned" husband.

Homegoods coming soon....

Though I have never been in a Homegoods store before, I have been hearing about it constantly. I see designers on HGTV shopping there, people on blogs talking about their great finds, and of course I have seen their advertisements.
Finally I will have the opportunity to check it out myself very soon and see what all the fuss is about. A new store is opening up in Lynnwood, near the Alderwood Mall on June 24th, and I can't wait to see what they have to offer. From what I've seen and heard they have great knock-offs and great prices. Yea, can't wait!!!

Just a ferry ride away

Yesterday here in the PNW, we were given a beautiful gift of a glorious warm spring day. The kind of day, that almost makes all those cold, gray days disappear from our memory. I think living here in this area, makes us more appreciative of days like this, and makes everyone happy and giddy all day.

Yesterday was also Mother’s Day, and I was asked how I wanted to spend the day. Since the weather was on my side, I decided I wanted to jump onto a ferry and head over to Bainbridge Island. It is a great ferry ride to take with beautiful scenery, and the Island itself is a great little town offering cute shops to peruse through. My main objective was to visit my cousin’s store though.

My cousin, Carrie, opened up Salt and Sea almost a year ago, and it is the cutest store ever! She has such a great eye, and I am completely envious. Even her packaging is adorable.

This was my second time going and I absolutely love seeing all the things she has found. She has some new and some vintage pieces, and some coastal inspired. It’s the vintage and coastal inspired pieces that I am drawn to. I love the history of these items, and the worn, aged look. Items like this puts great personality and detail into the home.

Last time, I was here I purchased these three items.

This time I found this cute gem.

If you are in the area, you've got to check out this shop, you won’t be disappointed. Since she is always getting new things in, I know I can’t wait to go back again. If you have been there before, let me know what you think and what you bought if you found something you HAD to take home with you.

Target and Nate Berkus, two of my favorites collide

I, like so many others fell in love with Nate Berkus years ago when he first appeared on The Oprah Show. After everyone of his appearances on her show, I anxiously awaited his next appearance and couldn’t wait to see what his next makeover project would be.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed when hearing he was going to have his own show after Oprah said her last goodbye of her own show.

I “DVR” the Nate Show everyday and enjoy his fun personality, his design advice and frankly, he is quite easy on the eyes.

I have read sadly that his show ratings have not been so great and they will be pulling his show at the end of the season. I will say, that I did not care for the cooking or wardrobe makeover segments of his show but am disappointed that the network and decided to pull the show all together.

Lucky for us I don’t think Nate will slip away and never be heard of again. Just days ago, Nate has announced his partnership with Target. In October, he will be releasing his own home products line sold at Target at reasonable prices. I can not wait to see this line.

I love how Target has been adding more and more designer labels to their store and they have some really great Pottery Barn knock-offs at times.

Have you seen the new Privet Collection at Target now? They have some great things.

What has been your favorite Target find?

About Me

Home is where life's adventures begin. Home is where the heart is. The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go and not be questioned. There is nothing like staying home for real comfort. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. Your home should rise up to greet you. Your home should be a reflection of yourself.

Those are just some famous quotes about homes. To some people a home is just a shelter, a box and to others it means much more. Your home can be a refuge, a place to come back to that makes you feel comfortable and it wraps you up like a cozy blanket.

I am one of those people that believe a home is more than just a box. I like to think I take pride in my home and am constantly trying to think of ways to make it more aesthetically pleasing to my family and also functional. I don’t believe in having “showcase rooms”, rooms that no one is allowed to sit in. You know the ones I am talking about. I also like to call them "ghost rooms" or "museum rooms".

My philosophy is every square inch of the home should be used. It should please you and everyone else that lives in the home. It should be functional to your family’s life, and it should never be designed solely to please someone that does not live in your home. It is you that lives in the house day in and day out. It should please you, and feel comfortable to you.  You can follow the design trends that you love, but I don't like when I see someone that has taken all the latest design trends and put them all in one room. Your house should look collected over time, and not like you just designed it from a catalog page. Above all else, it should place a smile on your face when you enter the door.

 I have always had a weakness for home design, and I am addicted to home design blogs, magazines, HGTV and Décor books. My new love is Pinterest. I could be on that for hours.

I studied fashion merchandising after high school and found I was more interested in the visual merchandising part of the course. After twist and turns in my life, I ended up being a stay-at-home mom for the last thirteen years to three beautiful girls.  As my girls are now growing older, thoughts keep haunting me on what “I” want to do to with my spare time. I have heard over and over again, find something that you are passionate about and do it. So, what I am passionate about is home design. I have now enrolled into a online interior design course and hope to learn more.

I have started this blog to share what I am learning through this course. Through the years of owning our house, I have definitely made my share of design mistakes, whether it be choosing wrong colors, wrong materials, or making a room just not functional for our family. I hope to share those mistakes with you, and to share projects that I am doing at my own home now. I will share my latest “loves” in design, cleaning tips, and maybe a recipe or two thrown in along the way.

Hope you enjoy the blog and follow along!