{raising the roof}

Here's the deal.  We are about to raise the roof..literally.  We bought a home.  We are currently renovating.  The above kitchen is now a white box.  The old floors have been torn out.  I think we are going with one of the wood floors pictured in the top photo.  I also have decided against marble in the kitchen.  Don't worry I have found quite a few options that will give me a similar look and of course will be sharing with all of you dear readers.  In the meantime I'm a little bit scared coupled with excitement.

I read over here that making it through a renovation is sort of like trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. If you can make it through that then you can make it through anything. I too now believe it to be a stressful thing.  In fact selling all of our stuff and buying a home not on prime land on Maui has never sounded so good.  Did I tell you about the time one of our servers over on Maui told us he had just purchased a 1800 square foot new build home 20 minutes away from Paia..for $280,000..it is true..and I've pondered that thought on more than one occasion.  I also ponder about the fact that all earthly possessions do not mean that much in the end but that it is also important to have ones surroundings feel good.  Anyway I guess my objective is to remain calm while doing this on a budget.  I just hope that I can pick out things and achieve a certain look that I will still like in a decade without spending much more than a couple shiny nickels;-).

Alright, pls. confess if you have done a renovation..did you survive?  Any tips?

precious glossies {international style}

Do you still like grey walls and herringbone wood floors...cause I do. Do you have a split design personality..cause I do. I find myself very attracted to international design magazines. The above images come from this months Architectural Digest Spain. Let me tell you it is a pretty darn good issue. I feel very inspired to think outside of the box when I see some of the spreads in these international magazines even if they would not exactly translate to things I would do in my own home.

You owe it to yourself to at least buy this months online copy of Architectural Digest Spain. Found here.  Doesn't take much for me to convince myself that I owe it to myself to by a magazine...such a major weakness.  In fact I recently had a friend text me with a picture of her large very organized collection of magazines with the following:

"With Pinterest and etc should I be hoarding all of these mags?  Feel guilty throwing them out.  But will I ever find the ideas I need out of them"



Within minutes I then shot her back the below image..there were no words needed.
I am just so thankful for kindred spirits who make me feel normal about certain tendancies.



I do not know why it is so hard to get rid of all my glossies.  Anybody else have this problem?




P.S. - I especially love the color of the above herringbone wood floors.

fabric commitment issues {inspiration for girls room)

Uh oh I just bought a substantial amount of the above Paule Marrot fabric. I have commitment issues with fabric.  Its a done deal though because it's making it's way on over from the east coast.   Hopefully we can work this one out.  My little girl told me her favorite color was green and that fabric looks like green exploded all over it sooo....

Currently the room has been painted and the bedding has been purchased (as seen in the last post). With the ever changing mind that I have..I now find it necessary to ditch the faux bamboo headboards and aquire a pair of brass beds. I know I surprised myself with that one too..but I have it in my head that there needs to be brass beds..not like Grandma's brass beds but some really cool brass beds. Now I could change my mind again on this one due to budget issues but I'm thinking Craiglist will come through. (will you pls, join me in using the secret on this one)

I'm not set on any one of the above items..except the fabric because like I said it will be here any day this week.  Another notable is that I really wouldn't mind if there was a hint of art deco and a dash of chinoiserie going on without looking too fancy.  The above etagere is on Craigslist and I think would look great all painted and such.

WORK IT OUT..work it out.

lamp/art/bed/bench/duvet/

{fleeting sunlight and quarters glued to the sidewalk} Happy Monday!

It's not quite cool enough to really get the full effects from a Sunday afternoon stroll. I did however notice while we were on our walk how the fleeting sunlight lit up the kids hair (wish I could bottle that one up), the many gorgeous established trees (I think I took 12,000 pictures of trees when we were out), a quarter glued to the sidewalk (we fall for that trick every time), a cool black and white feather, a dreamy treehouse and some really cool architectural details. There is a particular home in my neighborhood that always gets me dreaming of a place we used to see on our walk from Santa Monica Blvd. on up to grab an ice cream sandwich at Diddy Riese in the historic Westwood village.  Historic Spanish cottages and ice cream sandwiches are a good combination.

I scored love points on the life-o-meter today {Happy Friday}

I am usually way too uptight for my liking when it comes to our morning routine...perhaps my neighbors have heard me hoopin and hollerin at my children while I attempt to get them corralled into the car so that we are not late.  I can pretty much count on one of my kids in particular to make our family high risk in the tardy department.  This morning I could not get that kid going.  I was annoyed but then I felt so strongly that this would not be the morning to let her know of my strong feelings.  I also knew that in order for this little girl's twin sister to not be late we would have to all get in the car even if she was not ready.  Usually if I think that there is no way we would make it to school on time I would make the other twin wait because why would I want to make two trips to take kids to the same exact school.  Well this morning Maren came home with me after we dropped off sissy.  In the end it turned out beneficial for both of us.  It gave me a chance to hang out with her in her room at a much slower pace as we continued to get her ready.  While we were in there I looked around the room and many of the things that usually bug me seemed to all of a sudden strike a different chord.  The girls room is always so cluttered because they save every last thing and they like for all of these items to be displayed. In fact I think all of my thumb tacks have disappeared even though I have told them to stop using the thumb tacks to hang every single paper and handout on the wall.  This morning though I saw bright happy artwork that gave character and when I saw Ramona Quimby displayed ever so neatly next to the Brave doll I saw and felt love.  All of their other treasures were telling me so many great stories this morning.  I especially smiled when I saw that Maile had saved some leaves and flowers that a little boy had given to her on the bus...they were beautiful.  I really was just so touched by what my kids add to our home.   You know what...I think that if anyone is holding anybody back it would be me and not them.  It's interesting because from the outside I am sure it may appear  to some people that my kids are the ones holding me back when in reality they are the ones that are helping me to advance further in this life than I could ever do without them.

I guess I just love life today..and can't help but get it out there...so I 'm just going with it.

PEACE & LOVE!!!

P.S. - I think it is very fitting that Maren is wearing her heart shirt that she made out of bleach.

{reach for the stars}

I really love the look of star wallpaper on the ceiling.  Today I am considering either buying paintable wallpaper and painting my own stars or just buying a stencil and forgoing any wallpaper and just go to town with some paint.

UPDATE:  Reader alerted me to some really cool decals found here.  Thanks Ashley!!

Below are a couple stencils I am pondering.  They can be found here & here.



On a nother note I am off to find some treasure.  Do you shop consignments shops?  I recently picked up this little number but in a different color.  Apparently I got a good deal considering that they are kind of hard to find and considering that on 1stDibs I couldn't really pick one up for less than $10,000.   I'm thinking that the $250 that I paid isn't too shabby.



P.S. - I love the idea of a room with built in wall to wall beds. Erika Powell did such a great job designing such a space.

{pretty color palette}

Completely inspired by the color palette of the Still, TORRI, Paris Installation by artist Landon Metz.  The above color combination has to rank as one of my favorites as of late.  Just a little tidbit but Landon Metz is from Phoenix, AZ.

If only we could all go to Paris to see the art in person.

Speaking of color palettes, according to Martha Stewart the above paints are what she recommends for super neutral decorating palettes and projects.

{pendant lighting}

Let's see..the latest thought on my mind has been pendant lighting...for say like over a kitchen island or bar area. I have lots of children so I am envisioning something with 5 barstools where I can quickly serve them up some snacks while we talk about all of the important things in life. Of course there will a great countertop but the thing I look forward to choosing and installing the most is the jewelry of the kitchen AKA as pendant lighting.

My latest obsession for pendant lighting is the "Lucille" from Bradley Hughes. The J.Crew shop in San Francisco just installed a handful of that very same lighting over their cash wraps. I need to find the price point. In the meantime I'm showcasing a few pendants that have caught my eye..some even are at a very inexpensive price point.

I also have a lighting pinboard right here if you'd like to see a little more.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14

ponderings for the weekend

It is my weekend wish that every single one of us are as happy as kids at a free splash pad.

I am absolutely crazy for the above pictures that my sister took when we got the cousins together this summer.  I am also absolutely crazy for my kids dialogues.  In fact just this morning two of my boys were reflecting upon and discussing their tea that they had the night before.  One of the boys was telling the other boy that he went back and and grabbed the honey to put more in.  Wells (one of the before said boys) then said, "Hey I did that too but it made my tea too sweet and I didn't like it anymore".  Other brother then said not mine it was so much better with more honey.  They kept going back and forth until their big sister Maile decided to intercede by saying, "guys everyone doesn't have to like the same things..like some people eat tripe and like it...Mexicans like to eat tripe and it is good for them..other people do not like to eat tripe and that is ok..we all like different things"  She then said "but I think most people in the world like to eat ice cream though".  Seriously out of all that comparisons.."tripe"????  Oh and she did make sure to educate the boys to the fact that tripe was cow stomach..kids these days!!!

Whenever I can feel summer winding down I always seem to feel a charge of inspiration take over in the form of decorating, crafting, finishing projects, cleaning and cooking.  The following are a few things coming and going through my fall focused mind.



Remember a year ago when I covered an ikea malm table in faux snakeskin? Well I started pounding in the upholstery tacks and never finished. It will get done this weekend if it is the last thing I do. I just used fabric and an upholstery staple gun, It has held up well. This week I came across some really great instructions on how using Modge Podge to cover a table with fabric. Go and visit Emily to get the shake down. Isn't her styling just great??


Below is the mother of all snakeskin upholstered pieces..found here.


I can't get shoulder patches and fabric studs off the brain. I feel a DIY coming on.


Ok and speaking of fall and pumkins, I think Jaimee Rose and her mother made a cool version of a decorative white pumpkin. I'd copycat for sure. Jaimee has been blogging on her newer website and in fact updates us quite a bit with things that outta make one excited for the change of seasons.


A little bit obsessed with the color of the below dress and the backsplash in Lilly's kitchen as featured in this months Lonny.



Pretty blankets for when it gets chilly. Found here and here.



The below has me inspired to find some pretty plates while on a tour de thrift.  Photo found here.



I will make a wreath this year and it will look like the below.  I also want to use more brown craft paper in my life.  Perfect for hosting a party.



Happy happy weekend!!!

deep dark blue in the kitchen

Today I have kitchens on the brain.  I love white kitchens but dark deep blue cabinets have been making special appearances in my thoughts.  Even if a deep dark blue does not make it into my next home don't worry because you can almost 100% count on cement tiles making the cut.  I am so loving cement tiles..we can save that for another post though.

above tiles found here.
above paint colors are BM Hale Navy and RL Lancaster Blue