“Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
~ W.B. Yeats (1865-1939)
Have a wonderful weekend, friends! xo
[Image courtesy of me from the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.]
Posted in Happy.
– May 18, 2013
Over the course of the last several years I have hosted this blog, my entire life has changed. Almost more than I can handle, when I stop to think about it for too long. It was initially a place of desperate refuge while I was in the midst of a career that made me miserable. I was so lost and needed a place where I could remind myself who I was, what was important and what brought me joy. Not the endless grind of Corporate America and its countless polyester cubicles.
But then our time out west was up and we moved to the other end of the country, to a city that challenged me more than I could ever have imagined but also caused me to discover so much more about myself – my strengths, my weakness, my creativity, my fears, my anxieties. I fell in love all over again while living in New York with my husband. I remembered how much I love our life together, life in general. I love our independence, our adventures, our preference to be with one another over anyone else.
And then after nearly a decade of togetherness, we found ourselves welcoming our baby boy into the group. Grey. Our little bird. And I was suddenly a soppy, dramatic (more so than before, if you can believe it), ridiculous mess of love for this perfect little person. I realize now why people like kids. Granted, I am still NOT a kid person, but I adore my OWN. He is clever and adorable and funny and… my baby.
“…I am his open arms, he is my running leap,
I am his way home, he is my new path…
I am his quiet place, and he is my wild.”
So I am starting a new series of weekly posts of my Wild. And while I promise to not completely take over this blog with pictures of my Little, I can’t help but create a place to store a few memories.
Who is your wild?
Poem credit and Inspiration credit
Posted in Baby, You are my Wild.
– May 16, 2013
Ever since my first job as an interior designer, helping the elderly set of Minneapolis choose the perfect pale peach plaid vinyl-backed wallpaper for their lake cabins “up north,” I was hooked on the thrill of finding new design inspiration for people who want a beautiful living space, but don’t quite know how to get there on their own. Even when their taste is entirely removed from my personal preferences. But isn’t that the beauty of working within a creative field? Being able to dream, imagine and inspire outside of yourself and help other people find their own version of beauty? Even when it involves pale peach plaid wallpaper. Ah! I digress from my original point…
I have always had a love of wallpaper, but have feared the dreaded (and inevitable task) of taking it down when it has run its course. The horror stories I have heard over the years from clients! Take my sister-in-law who recently moved into an adorable new home, with the only downside being a main floor completely covered in out of date wallpaper. Poorly installed wallpaper at that. The kind that takes hours and hours to peel and pick and scrape away a mere two foot section. I admit to digging deep into my decade old wallpaper removing arsenal of tips and tricks, and still she is hard at work getting it off of her kitchen walls! Ugh! Good luck, Sara!
And yet, I still can’t help but embrace the beauty of the perfect wallpaper to an interior design scheme. Recently Hygge & West has come out with a removable wallpaper option. Remove-a-what?!? I think I might just die of excitement. And you KNOW some it is going up in my bedroom. Stay tuned…
Posted in Interiors.
– May 15, 2013
All of us girls are mothers in some way to someone, whether we have a baby or not. So give the women in your lives some extra love this week… And check out yet another picture of my sweet Little. After lots of morning all day sickness, stupidly swollen ankles and thirty extra pounds he came screeching into this world last summer. And it’s been a wild ride ever since. He makes me a better person… enough said.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! xoxo
– May 13, 2013
On Saturday afternoon I was missing my social life in the big city and remembering several bleary Cinco de Mayos spent with good friends and several pitchers of Sangria over the years. So I decided to throw a party on Sunday. My boy was out of town and it had been too many consecutive hours of me talking to my Little who only knows how to yell incoherently at this point. Needless to say, not the most sparkling of conversations. So the invites went out – what did we do before text messaging? Seriously, I’m asking. What did we do? – and errands were run.
Coronas? Check.
Limes? Check.
Fixings for a nacho bar? Check.
Succulents? Check.
Mustaches? Check.
Spanish music playing? Check.
Custom made onsie for G? Check.
And before I knew it, a festive party was in full swing. Sometimes all it takes is a few text messages… Olé! Cha-cha-cha!
And check out these absolutely genius sombrero sugar cookies my talented sister brought over… I almost died of cuteness!
– May 7, 2013
I stumbled across several different design inspirations on varying online sites this week, all of which seemed to have a similar feel and flow. And then I realized they were all part of the same London home of Rose Uniacke and David Heyman. Their home is quite literally simply grand. I think the images speak for themselves…
[Images via NY Times]
Posted in Interiors, Uncategorized.
– May 2, 2013
I am now fully entrenched in my thirties and therefore feel it is high time I invest in a headboard. I love interior design. Love. It. And have spent many an hour and dollar(s) creating a restful and unique living space for my family everywhere else in my home. Yet for years I have neglected our master bedroom. Why is that? It always seems to be the room that is left behind. So my new goal for this year is to reshape our bedroom, and transform it into a place I am proud of and not one I cringe over every time I am in there.
As usual, when I am working on another person’s living space I am able to come up with numerous design ideas and have no problem helping them make major decisions. But when it comes to my own home? I immediately get creative block. Do I want a wooden headboard? Fabric? Iron? Color? Neutral? Decisions! Ah!
But when I really make myself be honest, I personally lean more towards a fabric covered option to lend softness to the space. And while I usually default to neutrals with the bigger purchases in my home (sofas, dining table, side chairs…), I think I might feel brave enough to go bold this time around. Maybe? We’ll see… It’s not forever, right?
Where are your favorite places to find great furniture? What is your bedroom style?
1. Land of Nod
2. West Elm
3. Jonathan Adler
4. Broyhill Furniture
Posted in Interiors, Uncategorized.
– May 2, 2013
The other day my boy and I ditched our Little for a few hours of adult fun at a local pub with family and friends. Walking in, I felt thrilled with the fact I was wearing my favorite AG denim for the first time since before G-bird arrived. I was strutting.
But then someone exclaimed, “You look amazing! I’m not used to seeing you so dressed up!” Needless to say, I was brought up short. What. The. Eff. I mean, come on. I was wearing jeans. I wasn’t THAT fancy, and I used to get “dressed up” every single day. But apparently I have fallen into the classic motherhood trap of too many consecutive days of Lululemon pants. And Hue leggings. Awesome.
Therefore, I will be hosting a ceremonial burning of my yoga pants soon. You are all invited. Formal wear required. Something like The Savoy, a Great Gatsby inspired headpiece by Tiffany & Co., is absolutely perfect for such an occassion. It is just about the most beautiful bauble I have seen in quite some time and is a far cry from sweatpants!
[Image courtesy of Elle.com]
Posted in Style.
– April 29, 2013
Over the weekend we ran in circles with events left, right and center. Family dinner Friday. Moving a brother Saturday. Party to celebrate another brother and date night Saturday evening (no babies allowed! holla! and I learned what a snakebite drink is, yum!). Errands Sunday morning. And party #2 Sunday afternoon at my house. Lots of coffee got us through our busy weekend.
I think after so many successful events in a handful of hours I may just start hosting parties for hire. We officially have it down to a science! Although… did you know that you cannot buy booze in the state of Minnesota on Sundays? What is that!?!?!?! We sadly had to make due with faux-mimosas for Sunday brunch when no one would sell me champagne. Huff.
[A requirement for Sunday's brunch birthday celebration was pointed party hats. I took no prisoners or excuses about messing up our hair.]
[I think the birthday girl was surprised! And thank you, Abbey, for taking great pictures!]
[Have you seen a cuter party-goer? My mini-hipster even wore his suspenders for the occasion. And like the bunny ears before, he happily wore his hat all day. Party on, friends. Party on.]
– April 29, 2013
“I’ll bet someone… is going, ‘Now why don’t [she] write?…” Name that movie.
Lately I have felt a general cloud of guilt follow me around as days slid by without me composing a blog post, let alone focus on any of my other writing projects. What is wrong with me? Why have I not been able to get every item finished on my checklist each day? It’s not like I am currently logging hours in an office the way I once did. Or commuting. Or compulsively checking work email.
And then this evening as I simultaneously unpacked groceries, fed my Little, started the dishwasher, emptied the garbage bins, sent a few embarrassingly late responses to party invitations and cussed out loud when I realized G-Bird had sh*t his pants to the point I would have to SCRAPE IT FROM THE INSIDE OF HIS PANT LEGS, it hit me. I live at work now. And the CEO of this company is still figuring out the art of utilizing the pincer method to shovel small, soft particles of food into his snaggletoothed mouth. And many some times? Motherhood/parenthood absolutely sucks. The last time I checked my former position never left me with someone else’s explosive stool sample beneath my fingernails.
But then I gave him a bath, sniffed his sparse wisps of hair, put him to bed and looked at some of the pictures I took of him playing with his cousin today. Oh yeah, it is definitely worth it. I mean, come on. Do you remember your first fort? I do. And it was awesome.
So tonight I give myself a pass from The Guilt. I think I will sip a glass of wine and watch My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding for a minute- yes, you read that right. (It’s an amazingly horrible show!) And tomorrow I will continue to work to find that balance motherhood seems to challenge me with each morning. Phew!
[First of many forts, I am certain... And please pardon the questionable quality of the image as neither of them felt like holding still for me. Much too much excitement was happening!]
– April 22, 2013
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