Dramatic Dining Rooms

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Bucket List

1. Safari in Africa
2. Go ice fishing
3. Zip line across the rainforest in Costa Rica
4. Learn to do Botox and Restalyne
5. Buy my own house
6. Have a croissant at a cafe in Paris
7. Throw an amazing surprise anniversary party for my parents
8. Run a half marathon
9. Watch the sun set across the Aegean in Greece
10. Stay in one of those private huts on stilts in the water
11. Scuba Dive the great barrier reef
12. Fly fish
13. Go to Vegas with my girls
14. Teach my dogs not to jump on people when they walk in the door
15. Read the entire Bible
16. Rent a cabin in the Smokies in the Fall with friends
17. Host a killer dinner party
18. Sky dive
19. Live in another country for a year
20. Wine taste in Napa Valley
21. Take a trip with just my sister and mom.

To be continued....

This is what I wish I was wearing today. And I love those boots- they are slammin

Picture courtesy of kg4vin on Flickr

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was great- the weather could not have been better. Sunshine and 70--thank you Jesus. One of my best friends from the time we were in diapers (me usually only in a diaper, and her in a perfectly smocked dress with a matching hair bow and Mary Janes) made an impromptu trip to town. We spent the weekend talking as fast as we could get the words out, laughing, shopping, drinking cocktails, and dining at a few of my favorite local spots. As I get older, I realize how precious and few lifelong friends are. I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to be able to say that I have a whole handful that I could never imagine my life without. Catching up brought back so many memories as she helped me (always) sort through my crazy life with such rationality and sensibility and a few glasses of wine.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
—Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Best advice of the day:

"Don’t lose yourself in a guy. The most important relationship you have in your life is the relationship you have with yourself."
-Diane Von Furtenburg


Well said my friend. PS - I love your clothes line.

Dreaming of the Coast

So spring time is starting to show its face, and all I can think about is getting to the coast. I love love love the beach. It is soothing to my soul in a way that nothing else is. Its simple really, all I need in life is to sit on a quiet beach with a good book. Give me that, and I am the happiest girl on Earth. Unfortunately, I don't get any spring breaks anymore, and my vacation time is minuscule in comparison to what I am used to. And it doesn't help at all that my dashing beau is on his way to the beach as we speak for a bachelor party. Its fine, really, I will just sit here and cry into my keyboard as I long for the sunshine, breeze, and sand between my toes.

Etsy Love.

Aren't these vintage inspired, hand made pieces beautiful? I love them. And I just ordered a few pieces to prove it.

You all will have to forgive me. I have "new home" on the brain, seeing as how I hope to buy my first house sometime this summer. I have been looking for months and haven't found the perfect little abode yet, but I am praying something will come along soon. Until then, I can think of no easier/more convenient way to keep all my inspirations in one place than on this blog. So, you may be seeing lots of random rooms, colors, accessories, furniture, etc that I like on this site. Give me your feedback- let me know what you think and feel free to share any incredible design ideas as well. It can be a community-decorate-the-future-house-blog, if you will. And you will, right?

I like these roman shades.

Whistle while you work

How beautiful are these laundry rooms? I can just imagine myself folding laundry with a smile on my face and a whistle (if only I could whistle) in any of these chic rooms. I love the idea of making every room, even the ones guests will probably never see, timeless and graceful.





And I would definitely need one of these...



photos courtesy of Domino's Deco Files

I just cannot get used to this time change thing. It is impossible for me to get out of bed in the mornings when it is still so dark out. I just want to stay in my warm, fuzzy bed and turn off the snooze. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE the fact that it stays light for so long in the afternoons. Helps me feel like I actually have some time to have a life outside of work. But I just can't do the early mornings in the dark. I feel like I am walking around in a haze all day. Coffee is my new best friend. It hardly feels like spring here at all right now, and the snow and sleet are really pissing me off. And that's all I have to say about that.

Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. Romans 8:24-27

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! This weekend I will be busy cleaning out and organizing my entire little home (while drinking wine and catching up with friends.) My buddy, AWT, is coming all the way from Alabama to help me tackle my closets and wardrobe AND she's bringing her label maker! Hopefully by the end of the weekend my closets will look like the one I posted about a few days ago. I will try to take before and after shots so you can see what a organization diva AWT is. She is a master at purging old stuff and making sense of a big ole mess. How lucky am I to have a friend like that?

Have a great weekend!

Future living room idea #1

living room - by haley1227 on Polyvore.com

Nature prints

I have a problem. I think I am slightly obsessed with Etsy. I just love to look around on there and see what kind of home made treasures I can find. Kind of like a garage sale, but without the driving around, haggling, and crowds that I despise. I love these watercolor nature prints that i found here. They would look awesome in my lake house that is still not decorated (after about 15 years--blame it on the boss). I have all kinds of ideas about decorating the space. It has an awesome nature feel, and tons of natural light. All I need is permission and some dolla dolla bills ya'll....

Why does my boss insist on bringing two dozen fresh, hot, Krispy Kreme doughnuts every morning? I stay away from those pesky green and white boxes as much as possible, but if I go to get a cup of coffee the doughnuts start whispering my name. Its okay though- I have convinced myself that I don't even like doughnuts in the first place, why would I want to start the day off in such a bad way anyway? I think he is trying to sabatoge my diet-and I have absolutely no idea why. Pretty soon everyone here is going to start looking like those people on that commercial that walk around with a doughnut around their waist. I just have to keep repeating "fresh hot doughnuts are gross and are loaded with fat and calories and all kinds of terrible things" and stay away from the break room, right?

All dogs go to heaven.

My friend KR shared this with me and I loved it so much, I wanted to share it with you. This is my idea of heaven....

Best devotional, ever.

This devotional is a personal fav. I turn to it all the time for guidance in just about any situation. I have even gone as far as buying about a dozen extra copies off Amazon and giving them to friends and family who are in need of an excellent book. For some reason this book speaks to me in a way that none ever has before. Its always on my night stand, waiting to be read for the 100th time. 

Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On: Trusting God in the Tough Times by Stormie Omartian.