Flamboyantly Wild Prints

Thank you all sooooooo much for your kind comments on Bela's room re-do! I am thrilled with how the room has turned out and hope to provide a follow-up post at some point.

Full disclosure, I'm giving myself an ulcer realizing that I have not responded to even one comment. Literally, I am cringing right now. Please know you are all so lovely and I appreciate you taking the time to leave a sweet message. I don't know what my problem is in not replying...  

In other news.

I fell in love with a sofa Kris showed us this week from Everything But the House. I even calculated just how far away it would be to drive to Ohio and pick it up. {Answer: too far.}

via EBTH

Sold. Bummer!

I imagined it in my kitchen sitting area. Which, frankly, is not that imaginative because the couch currently sits beneath two windows with wide-slat faux wood blinds (mine are white). But I do love the visible wood frame. The large scale floral print. The button tufted bolsters. If it can't be mine, then I hope it went to a good home...

Anyhoo, go check out the post here because there's also a giveaway and you should get in on that action.

Kristin broke my art-loving heart further with this gorgeous post. The color combos are so amazing! But this painting with all my new favorite colors?

via Chairish

That's right. Sold.  :(

I did, however, search a little bit and found that the artist--Linda Colletta--has some other pieces for sale.

And then I had to check out the chairs. It's in the name: Chairish. 

Mamma Mia!!

via Chairish


I love that there are two--may lightning strike me down if I ever purchase anything less than a pair of chairs again. I love the velvety sumptuousness of the texture. I love the lines. And I love, love, LOVE the wild fuschia palm print.

Can you guess where I'd have to drive to pick these babies up???

Miami Beach. It's farther than Ohio...

So, have you seen anything great lately? Anything you missed out on because it was already sold? Do you feel it would have been wildly inappropriate to put these chairs together in a room with that sofa and art? I kind of dig it.

One Room Challenge: Bela's Room Re-Do: REVEAL!

Pencils down. This is it. Reveal Day. 

In six weeks I refreshed my eight-year-old daughter's bedroom. We mostly used what we had and kept the budget low while I also learned how to do some new things (like wallpapering).

I styled shelves and created a gallery wall.

And generally tried to create a special space for a special girl!

Thank you all so much for your encouragement! A kind word goes such a long way! And a great big THANK YOU to Linda @ Calling It Home for dreaming up the One Room Challenge, inviting us to link up, and make our homes more beautiful one room at a time! Please visit the rest of the links and the 20 official participants to see an overwhelming amount of talent, inspiration, and beauty!

Dear Carolina + $1,000 Shopping Spree!

Today would have been Nellie Bly's 151st birthday. This is worth mentioning because not only was she a trailblazing investigative journalist and adventurer extraordinaire, she was my first hero. Before I was even old enough to go to school, I was pretending to be her and I'm sure, somewhere deep down, my love for books can be attributed to her fearlessness.

Today is also a big day for my friend Kristy Woodson Harvey. She wrote a book! It's called Dear Carolina and is about mothers. --Perfect for Mother's Day--

The story is told from the dual perspectives of Jodi, a nineteen-year-old who's had a rough life and finds herself pregnant and alone, and Khaki, a successful interior designer whose family feels incomplete without a baby. And it.is.amazing!

Dear Carolina is set in North Carolina, which is where Kristy lives in real life with her husband and three-year-old son.

Kristy Woodson Harvey

I'm a fan of Design Chic, the beautiful blog that Kristy and her mom, Beth, co-write. Kristy also connects with readers at kristywoodsonharvey.com and is a regular contributor for The Salisbury Post, Domino magazine, and Houzz. Kristy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's school of journalism and holds a Master's in English from East Carolina University. In other words, girl can write. And let me tell you, this book is GOOD!

I started reading an advance copy of Dear Carolina this past weekend, and I just want to lock myself away so I can tear through the rest of it (and I would be done if it hadn't been the last weekend of work on the One Room Challenge). Anyway, I just cannot wait to see what happens next. A real feat considering I know the big outline of the ending: Jodi will ask the "ultimate favor"/Khaki will adopt baby Carolina. There are so many interesting, well-developed characters in the book, and the supporting relationships in the story also contribute to the theme that families are made, not just born.

My favorite authors have a way of using words to cut right to whatever it is I'm feeling. It's like they have a special window into my soul. That's true with Dear Carolina. A story about a mother who sacrifices her own role in order to give her child the relationships she needs and a woman whose heart breaks to ask "what if I never get to buckle another baby seat into the back?"

Buy it from one of these sellers:

BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND | BOOKS A MILLION | AMAZON | POWELLS | TARGET | iTUNES | GOOGLE PLAY | KOBO

Catalano Architects via Design Chic

To see more beautiful pictures of the houses of Dear Carolina, visit this blog post.

 

And enter a special contest to win a $1,000 shopping spree!!!

Cinco de Mayo for Your Home

What a week for celebrations! Yesterday was all about Star Wars and today, well, how often does Taco Tuesday fall on Cinco de Mayo?! I think finding lots of reasons to celebrate is a sign of a happy spirit.

But first, a short history of the holiday -- because it is so much more than margaritas and Frida Kahlo-inspired housewares.

Baskets / Blanket / Kilim pillows / Votive cup / Pompom pillow

Choosing a few items with a bit of Latin American flair can add some color and interest to a space. These fun choices are from Dot & Bo. Every friend who joins gets $20 off their first purchase of $50 or more and I get a bonus for referring you.

Local Haven Blog

And for a simple but sophisticated margarita recipe, check out Gimme Some Oven's here.

Will you be celebrating today?