Kara’s style is eclectic to say the least.  It’s amazing how she mixes the rustic, romantic, glamorous and the quirky to design truly original rooms.  Be sure to check her out.  You will love what you find.  Oh…and did I mention she DIYed much of what you’ll see and she’s great with a budget.



When I found this, it reminded me of something I would find at Anthropologie.  I’ve always admired this chair, but it’s definitely out of reach for me.  Also, I like the fabric pattern more so than the shape of the chair.  Don’t get me wrong, beautiful chair, but it doesn’t really fit my decor.

Bed Bath & Beyond Daintree Toss Pillow

I’ve been searching for a way to update the decor of our very brown and turquoise bedroom.  It is looking so, oh how shall I put this, 2005.  I am not over the turquoise and brown color palette yet, but I want to spice things up a bit and add a few additional accent colors.   Given my post a few weeks back, about Pantone’s 2010 color of the year, I felt inspired.  I fell in love with this pillow because it gave me an opportunity to introduce orange and green into our bedroom decor.  These are colors that I also use in other parts of our apartment, so it will give our space a more cohesive feel.

This is what our bedroom currently looks like…

…and with my new color palette and some additional pieces, I’d like to transform it into this…

Eventually, I’d love to do something else with the walls.  Perhaps, add an accent wall and / or repaint the bedroom a softer color, but that’s not an option for now.  What do you think?  Should I go for it?

My wish list:

1. Crate & Barrel – Jack Table Lamp

2. Z Gallerie – Palmer Stool

3. Crate & Barrel – Antiqued Bronze Mirror

4. Nature And Art (Etsy)

5. Target – Canary Storage Bench (LOVE this.  Can you believe it’s from Target?)

6. Target – Ceramic Green Table Lamp

First up, is A Punch of Color.  Sheila and I share a common design philosophy.  That philosophy is simply color, color and more color.   I love browsing through all the photos on her site – total eye candy.

However, looks can be deceiving.  Larry Hart (pictured right) decorated much of the house himself.  What are some of the favorite tools in his tool box?  A glue gun and a cake-decorating kit.  Surprised?  In fact, Larry glued on all the adornments on the comforter pictured below and used the cake-decorating kit to create the architectural elements around the fire place.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not a fan of Larry’s decor style, but I think we could all learn from his ingenuity.  I’m intrigued by some of these DIY projects, but I am concerned about their durability over time.  What do you think?

Now, I know some of you may be thinking Turquoise!  What’s so new about Turquoise?  And to be honest, I have no idea.  I guess what’s old becomes new again.  I feel like I’ve seen turquoise for a number of seasons.  For a while it was popular to pair turquoise with brown.  I then saw a trend of mixing it with greens, blues and browns with pops of orange.  I pulled together a few palettes from ColourLovers to illustrate my favorite turquoise color combinations.  For this year, I like the more muted turquoise with mauves and grays.

Anyway, I’m interested in your thoughts.  What do you think about this year’s color?  How would you incorporate it into your home decor?

Turquoise with Brown

Turquoise with Greens and Blues

Turquoise with Browns and Orange

Muted Turquoise with Mauves and Grays



What are your favs? Also, I would love your opinions / reviews on any of the books listed below.

I am feeling lucky.  Are you?  I just entered the HGTV’s Dream Home Sweepstakes for a chance to win this fabulous home.  It’s the first of about three entries I’ll be making daily.  I even have my husband entering.  I promised that if he wins, I’d let him convert the guest house into a “man cave” (whatever *sigh*).

I’d never considered living in New Mexico (being an East Coast girl and all), but this would make a perfect vacation home for us.  I love everything about this house.  It has a luxurious master suite, two additional bedrooms with a Jack & Jill bathroom, a spacious great room, a kitchen to die for, a separate office and a guest house.  Take a virtual tour here and be prepared to fall in love!

1. Set aside a little time for myself at least two-three times a week to do the things I love. Its so easy to get caught up in being a wife, a mother and working full time that you can loose sight of those things that made you happy (before you stepped into those other roles).
2. Workout for at least 20 minutes five times a week. I can no longer blame my pregnancy for these extra 10-15 pounds.
3. Clean up / pick up around the house daily. I’m tired of loosing all my Saturday mornings and weekends to housework.  So I’m going to clean as I go.
4. Continue to invest in small improvements around the house that make me happy.  For over a year I’ve virtually made no new purchases for our apartment or made any improvements.  We were so focused on the baby and the possibility of a move that I decided I would wait until the big move.  Well, its been over a year and we are no closer to our big move so I am renewing my subscription to the philosophy ” love where you are right NOW”.

These are my major resolutions for the new year my life.  I have a few smaller ones, but I’ll just stick with these for now and see how it goes.  Hopefully, I won’t live up to this cartoonist’s expectations. =)

Happy New Year everyone!!!  What are your resolutions?