See you next year!

Happy New Year to all!  We are planning at low key evening to ring in the New Year.  2011 is going to be an exciting year in our household, one I promise to share with lots of fun details.  Be safe and best of luck for a prosperous year to come.

Images via

Dreamy Canopy

I was catching up on my favorite blogs when I spied this dreamy room from Little Green Notebook, via Lilly's Notebook, by Lilly Bunn Weekes.  I love the notched valences; so beautiful!  This would also be cute for a boy's room in blue or a neutral flax color.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tuesday was my 36th birthday and my husband and daughter gave me this.  I love it!

Tory Burch for Kids!

Have you seen the latest from Tory Burch?  Designer duds for your little princess.  Oh my!

Lacy Oatmeal Cookies

Today was a great day!  The family and I were very lazy and milked every second of that extra hour of sleep we gained last night.  We watched TV, played outside and I baked these delicious sweets.  My friend had them at her daughter's birthday party and I couldn't resist making them myself.  I found the recipe here.

Lacy Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup quick cooking oats

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parcment paper (these are very sticky cookies). Combine oats, flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl. Cream sugar and butter together until smooth then add egg and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture. Drop teaspoons about 4 inches apart. Bake for 6-8 minutes. The cookies should be brown on the edges and white in the middle but darken as they cool. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips over a double broiler and cool slightly. Put in a ziplock back and cut a tiny hole in the corner. Peel cookies of the parcment and decorate with milk chocolate by squeezing the bag when cool.

*Adapted from Mrs. Field’s “Lacy Oatmeal Cookies”

The Cat's Meow

Happy Halloween!

Some of My Work

So do you ever wonder what I am up to when there is dead air on this blog for days on end?  Here is just a sampling of a couple of projects. 

The extremely talented Megan with Toast and Laurel hired me to sew the drapes for her master bedroom that was desinged by Erica from Urban Grace Design.  Here's a peak at her room with the drapes and a gorgeous Madeline Weinrib rug.

Then a few months later Megan sent over one of her clients, Courtney who was having a fall party.  Courtney hired me to sew burlap ruffled tablecloths for the festivities and here they are.  And you can see more beautiful pictures from their fall party  here.

All That Jazz

I recently discovered a gorgeous new nail polish shade that has women of all ages asking me, "What is that color you have on your toes?"   Jazz by Essie is the perfect shade of nude and taupe with no pink undertones and it's my new favorite color for fall.  Next time I get a fresh mani/pedi I'll snap a photo to share.

Yes please, I'll take all three.

My jaw hit the ground when I saw these gorgeous Sarah Storage Towers from Ballard Designs.  Yummy! 

Pretty DIY Play Kitchen

Are you a Master Crafter?  Do your friends bow down to your mad DIY skills?  Then perhaps this precious torquise kitchen is just the project for you.  Check out the full details here.

Fabulous Furniture for Kids

Looking for a little bit of the unexpected in your child's room?  Check out this great post on Good Bones, Great Pieces.

What a Lovely Lady: After Photos of Our Home Exterior

Here are some updated pictures of our major home elevation renovation.  My apologies for the long overdue reveal.  The project has actually been complete for a few months.

This home was built in 1959 and while it has great bones, the archicture of the home was seriously lacking.  Here are few befores:

As you can see the house looked like it was sinking because it was covered by a brick pony wall and large shrubs.

Behind the brick wall was a garden of weeds and more weeds accented with gravel.

The front door; not very welcoming.

And here is the After!  As you can see we knocked down the brick wall and removed all the existing overgrown plants.  The outside was completely resided and everything was painted Martin Senour Linen Weave.  We also added new cedar wood shutters and metal hardware to the second story windows and painted them Gaunlet Grey by Sherwin Williams.

Pulling down the wall gave us added bonus space for a proper front porch.  We had Pennsylvania Bluestone installed to give the porch a solid foundation and expand the overall footprint.  The chairs are from Ikea with custom outdoor pillow-makes for a great spot to enjoy a glass of lemonade or an afternoon cocktail.

We completely overhauled the front door by removing the old door and centering the new one with side lights.  This made the front porch more symetrical, and with the custom gas lanterns and planters much more inviting.  The door is painted Showstopper Red by Sherwin Williams and all though the picture is a little dark, the color is a gorgeous red.

A few other fun details are our new doorbell and mailbox. 

(Can't figure out how to turn these photos in blogger photo uploader.  Very annoying)

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our home exterior!

A Young Gentleman's Room

It's hard to find a classic and chic room for teen boys that can carry them through college and double as guest room.  This design for Atlanta Home Magazine's showcase home has it all.   Go ahead leave the door open when company's coming; it's just too beautiful to hide behind closed doors.

A Pretty Place to Sit

Embarrassingly enough, the current state of my daughter's room is mediocre at best. Her poor room has been shuffled around to 4 different homes and as a result it lacks a sense of style. Lucky for her, mommy is very creative and a master at the sewing machine.

In preparation for her Big Girl Room, I've been squirreling away ideas for the big transformation that will hopefully take place next spring. One of the gorgeous pieces I've purchased is a French settee from Craig's List that I plan to paint and reupholster. The piece will sit opposite her four poster bed and serve as a reading spot, and gathering place for her and her friends to spend countless hours bonding.

Here are a few inspiration photos I've collected so far to help me in with my design decision.  I can't decide if I want to go bold and trendy or neutral and classic.

Via Made By Girl

Via Absolutely Beutiful Things

Via Domino

My Restoration Infatuation

I am constantly amazed and inspired by the beautiful linens, accessories and furniture Restoration Hardware Baby and Child debut. Their new fall line doesn’t disappoint. Here are just a few of my favorites.

I am kind of obbessed with these baskets.  Both the wire and gray wicker.

Beautiful Rugs

Wall Art

LOVE these floor pillows.

Mini table and chairs.

Lots of linens to love!