Testing the waters

Home decorating has always been a personal passion of mine, and what better use of my current free time now that I have left my hospitality career than to practice my love in my own home. Putting a home together is very personal and can be a slow process. My husband and I have slowly been replacing our IKEA pieces that fell apart a year after we bought them, with items that we plan on having for many years to come. I love using soft and unobtrusive colors with my big pieces, like the sofas seen here and adding splashes of color elsewhere. I save the color for the art on the walls or a colorful throw pillow( which I am currently on the hunt for). If you buy furniture or bed sheets with lots of color and pattern you end up getting tired of them after a year or less. With that in mind, why not get those wild colors and patterns in smaller pieces that you can replace or move around your space. You will also find you will be much more relaxed in a space that is easier on the eyes.

Home inspiration...

While I’m at it... if you haven't already, check out this photographer's website, The Selby - a bit about the photographer (from his site): "Todd Selby is a portrait, interiors, and fashion photographer and illustrator. His project The Selby offers an insider’s view of creative individuals in their personal spaces with an artist's eye for detail…."

Check out how amazing parts of this couple's place is... so dreamy! Some select photos:

http://www.theselby.com/9_21_09_DanM_Shannan/index.html

Nice thought for a Thursday

This poster got me thinking... I know this is not news to you all, but this Spring I've found myself trying to figure out what this (Live what you love) means for me and how work fits into this. Yes indeed, the age-old question - the mid-20's wake-up call... i realize i am not the first nor the last to think about these things (clearly, they make posters to remind people of this!) That said, what the heck, we're all on here to share what's on our mind... so here what's on my mind... I am making a demand of myself to make work also be something I love, or at least be true to what i love; I don't want my entire professional career to be counting down until Friday and vacation. I don't want to settle that these have to be separate worlds; life at work & life outside of work can indeed get married and live happily ever after, right? As Maggie preached and challenged us all to consider, "why not me?” Why can't we obtain this or whatever our personal ultimate goal is...Why can't we figure out how to make it happen and still afford the life we want to live and the things we like to enjoy? I think we can... and when I figure out how, I’ll let you know.

thoughts from the library. part 1.

as many of you well know, i have been, and will continue to spend 80% of my time in the library. at least for the foreseeable future. but c'mere now, that's not what i'm on about. work can wait, its the books that have got my eye.

inspired by their old, cracking spines, and their yellowed, furiously read pages, i tend to wander and take more breaks then i should, just to walk down another aisle and see what i stumble upon. just the other day i came upon a nice fat book about 2nd wave feminism. before that it was Lolita, before that a collection of pablo neruda's gorgeous poetry.

so what am i on about? well... i love books. i write in them, i highlight in them, i dog ear pages. this goes for all books, most any novel i've read is sure to be just as loved as any school book. but what i love just as much as books, are their homes. i long for the day when i can have wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelves. i want a library in my home. unrealistic, perhaps. (i blame it on the gorgeous library scenes in meet joe black. terrible film, gorgeous set.)

style-wise, i am oft drawn to anything that could be classified as 'country' 'antique' 'well-loved' or 'lived in'. modern, clean-cut is just not my jam. i love the mess. i love piles--albeit not everyone i live with is as enamored with my piles as i am--but i love them. i use stacks of books as a mini table for pictures. or just decor on their own because i love the diversity of their spines all in a row. and so, until i can have this gorgeous room of my own, here are some of the book houses i daydream about. some are definitely me, others are my attempt to give myself a little dose of modernity.

the return of color

well i can't be certain how the seasons are progressing on the left side of the atlantic, over here, spring has definitely spru.. not quite sprung, but by the looks of things, it has ever intention of doing so soon. and with spring comes color, hallelujah! i got my first spring wake-up call at the indian festival of holi a few weeks back. a lovely, joyous holiday, the first hindu holiday of the year, and the festival of colors, so as you might imagine, its loaded with extra punch and pizzaz. its got me on the lookout for that breath of fresh air color brings in. here are a two bits, one from holi and one from the geniuses at hermes, that have spring on my mind.

a blank canvas

Let me digress from our topic of choice for just one moment and present to you my new abode. It is official, we are moving. We have decided to embrace our special california surroundings and will settle ourselves into hillside in a redwood forest (I'm not joking). But really, it's amazing that just 1 mile from downtown mv, you can actually feel like you are 100 miles tucked away.

People always ask me what a youngin like me is doing up in the burbs and well yes, I realize it's a deviation from what your normal 25 + 27 year old couple chooses these days but who doesn't like to deviate? And really, why not? Perhaps our social life takes a little bit of a hit and yes I am faced with a longer commute, but how am I supposed to ignore the beauty and peaceful surroundings that rest just north of the great city of San Francisco? And when I wake up in the morning, step outside onto the deck, smell the fresh forest air and sip on my organic french roast hot off the french press (yes, I love all things French), I'll always know exactly why we are where we are.

Well anyways, the countdown is on. In approximately 30 days, we will make ourselves a new home. Yes, it will be stressful...moves always are, but I feel surprisingly calm. And, of course, excited! And most importantly, I cannot wait to decorate what feels very much like a blank canvas. So think of this as my before picture. And come April, expect to see the after.

I can't help but say it...Over the hill and through the woods to our new home we go!

Peace and love 7girls. I desperately await your arrival.

are the 80's calling?

it's a funny thing this difference in style from one side of the pond to the other. so much of what i see here looks like the finds we pulled from the haphazard racks at goodwill to ready ourselves for an 80's party. and don't misunderstand me they wear it with attitude that is very twenty-ten, but there is still a part of me that hears the old "the 80's (or whatever decade one might be offending) called, they want their shoulder pads back." now, that said, while i do tend steer a clear path that avoids trendy, i too, am human. and as such, have been quite taken with a sweater, that's jumper to you brits, that may indeed hark back to the 80's. its a simple knit, three-quarter sleeves, hits at the hip, in a mild-mannered grayish blue. (note: if it were an antagonizing bright color, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.) so far so good. then we come to the back and find a shredded section that goes from the neck down to the natural waist. i fully appreciate that the day will come when someone approaches me and informs me that unfortunately, it looks as though my cat has gotten the better of my sweater. and yet, i find myself coming down on the side of enjoying the the bad-ass quality the ripped look gives. its unexpected, and subdued. more edgy then 80's. bad-ass for beginners if you will. so, while the 80's may call, i'll be as polite as i can, direct them to the nearest club where they will be certain to find bigger fish to fry.