Christmas 2013

The Christmas Holiday is almost a distant memory now, but I still wanted to post some of our holiday fun and decor ideas.  Hope you had a beautiful Christmas and Holiday season best wishes in the New Year!

Cupid Designs did our Christmas...found on Etsy. I highly recommend as they were fast and easy to work with.

Front Door Decor

This year we decided to do an all white, silver and gold tree.

We entertained with a cocktail party-tons of food...no one went hungry!

Deviled Eggs, Brussel Sprouts &Garlic Aiole Sauce,  Roasted Asperagas with Dipping Sauce.

Macaroons

Chicken Salad

Large plater of mixed grapefruit slices, smoked salmon on mini blanched potatoes with chive creme friche.

Tons of wine, and cocktails abound!

Latest Project...

Easy living at it's best. Perfect for the joy of  everyday living with kids, and dogs.  Casual but elegant-ready at a moments notice for friends and entertaining.  Just add food and flowers. 

This latest project has been one of my favorites over the years as it's the home of my BFF and her family. She is creative in her own right as a marketing director for a major food distributor, food lover and photographer.

I hope you enjoy the tour. See you soon!

Power of Belief

It is easy to get caught up in the downward spiral with what one sees on TV, the news, or the trouble family,  friend or maybe even you are going through.  When we don't replace the negative with positive proactive information either from leadership recordings, books or inspirational stories we can fall down that rabbit whole.

Sometimes we have to stop focusing on where we are and where we've been to start focusing on where we are going to. It's important to look beyond our present circumstances and believe we can have a better life. I love the saying "focus on what you are going to not what you are going through". 

Rereading the book "The Magic of Thinking Big", I am reminded that the concept of setting aside what you think is impossible, to say something is possible, is all it takes for your powerful mind to work out a solution.

This takes me to the "Secret", I never really understood that concept, even though I've read the book several times and seen the movie.  Now I see more clearly what they were saying.

You really do have to check your dis-beliefs at the door.

Here are some practical steps, taken form a leadership seminar presented by Dean Fry-Team/LIFE leader, to change your limiting beliefs:

1  Association: Look at your key relationships and who you spend the most time with. Are your associations positive or negative? Who are you hanging out with that is taking you further or closer to your dreams.

2.  Activity: Are you acting like you are going to win.? Are you trying or doing? Be in the game. Learn to push yourself. Give someone permission to push you. If you are feeling down, call someone that will encourage you.

3.  Personal Growth: What did you get out of something read, or heard on a CD? What did you learn? How did you grow? What is your self talk like? Are you committed to your own goal(s)?

4.  Finishing: Finish what you started. Stop "quitting". Push through and run till the last minute to achieve a goal.

Remember to put your goals and dreams on paper and play the what if game and let your powerful mind go to work on solutions. Be patient and allow your self time to sit and think. 

I think the old saying still holds true today "where there is a will there is a way". 

Change is good...

A year has gone by once again since my last post and so much has changed...so it is time to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

In doing so it was time to change the site too. The overall concept is the same. I will continue to blog about dollops of goodness for your home and your life with a little different perspective.

I closed my professional design business in pursuit of new goals and dreams. To the outside it may look like I was going backwards, but for me it is all forward progress.

2012 will be an amazing year filled with monthly decorating ideas, personal growth concepts and making life better in the process.

So stay tuned to what's to come....

Great Collaboration…

Pretty much every project is a collaborative effort between client(s) and designer but this project was even more so because I partnered with my good friend and fellow designer Aimee Miller of Designed To Move.

It was great to have someone to bounce ideas around, shop and edit the perfect choices to present to the clients....

The clients had moved from a smaller very modern house to a quite large Mediterranean home. We were pretty much starting from scratch. There was a family room sofa and chaise, a master bedroom bed, a guest room bed and a breakfast table and chairs. This house needed life, personality reflective of the people living there.

Here are a few shots I hope you will enjoy!

Before:

After:

Here we used an Oly Sofa, Chairs from Duralee, Paul Ferrante coffee table, Ironworks Light fixture, Visual Comfort Floor lamps, and the Mirror from Hinson. The drapery hardware is from Bradley at Donghia.

Before:

After:

The bed frame was one the clients had purchased prior to hiring us. So we added Night Stands, Sofa from Robert Allen, Ottoman also from Robert Allen and the bedding is a mix of Peacock Alley with custom pillows. Drapery and pillow fabric both from Schumacher. Last but not least is the beautiful hanging fixture from Ironies.

Before: After:

The guest room features a cane bed the client's had purchased prior to us. We pared with it 2 night tables form Global Views, Lamps are from Visual Comfort and again we mixed Peacock Alley bedding with some custom pillows. Drapery and ottoman are all Robert Allen/Beacon Hill fabrics.

All my best!

What we did last summer...

I can't believe I forgot to tell you about our summer vacation trip in Hawaii....
My husbands cousins are great at planning a family reunion every other year, but this year was different...1st we weren't suppose to have a reunion this summer as last year we met in Bodega Bay. 2nd one of the cousins wanted to do it big. I mean really big! His nick name is Big Daddy. Anyway it was his 50th birthday. So he and his wife Zoe, well mostly Zoe, planned an all expenses paid extravaganza at the Grand Wailea in Maui, but not just at the hotel...oh no, we had 9 condominiums at the Grand Wailea. Did I mention there were sixty people??? So here are a few of the highlights from the trip...

We took a day trip to another Island which includes a day of snorkeling, volleyball, sunning and dinner...

Our host "Big Daddy" his wife Zoe. There last name is Campbell like the soup so they call there family Team Soup....and as you can tell Team Soup had more flavors to be added to the long line of soups...see below for the latest....


One thing that is traditional with the family reunions is that every family usually takes turns hosting a dinner. This year was a bit different because of the sheer quantity of people. So we mostly band together by condo to host a meal. We worked with our condo-mates to create a feast of a dinner. Included grilled fish, lime-coconut rice with cilantro, chicken wings, Chinese long beans and a mixed green salad with nuts, blue cheese and raspberries. Sorry for some reason no photos?

We didn't make dessert that night so I did make cupcakes one night mostly to celebrate Team Soups upcoming additions...
No Hawaiian trip is complete without the quintessential Luau....

There were so many amazing moments, we cannot express how much this trip meant to us nor can we possibly even begin to thank Kevin and Zoe enough for all the memories...

Congratulations on their new additions to the Soup Mix!

Race for the Rescues 2010

So it's the 5th Annual Race for the Rescues at the Rose Bowl Sunday Oct. 24th!!!

A 5k, 10k & Kids Fun Run to benefit 10 non-profit dog/cat rescues and animal welfare Foundations.
Run, Walk, Shop or Adopt to help save the life of a homeless dog or cat!

Meet celebrity hosts Jane Lynch, the star of "Glee," Carrie Ann Inaba from "Dancing With The Stars" and Danielle Fishel from the Style Network's "The Dish."

Come out and enjoy and help support a great cause the weather is scheduled to be cool and sunny-perfect for to make a difference!!!