Happy New Year!

Here's to 2011!

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don't be tardy for the party.

especially if you are wearing one of these numbers. so, for some reason this week was a fashion blog week for me. maybe i'm trying to tell myself something? dress more fashion-y. you ARE a designer! it's new years eve. holy shit. i can't believe 2010 is gone. done. finished. only to look forward to another year older and much more business success. amanda and i have so many great things up our sleeves in '11 that i think you will all squeal with delight and excitement. so, what are you doing for NYE? i'm going out to a bar with yummy food and great people. who knows, maybe i'll score one of these dresses for the occasion? jolene.

the one above and below are my favorites. of course, now that you know my confessions you can see why...they have pattern and color.

though, this one has sleeves...and we all know i like sleeves...

happy 2011 everyone! may the new year find you happy, healthy, and our blog follower!

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On the Eve . . .

Of something promising.

I hope you're ringing in the New Year with dear friends and lots of cheer! 

To warm us up for 2011, I thought I would share some amazing pictures from a very extraordinary architectural firm on the west coast - Bosworth Hoedemaker.  If this doesn't make you want a lake house or a friend with a lake house, nothing will.   

The water in this shot doesn't even look real to me.  It looks like a swimming pool.

The tin roof . . .  those french doors.

Talk about a fabulous place to hang out. 

Of course you must have a telescope for boat watching and star gazing.

All those small details do add up. 

It's hard to believe this is new construction.  The entire space looks like it has so much age and character.

Loving the transom windows over all the doors - yum. 

Not to mention the six paneled doors and wide plank floors.

Too much - deep breaths. 

Whole new meaning to reading nook.

Alas, waking up to that view. 

all photographs via Bosworth Hoedemaker

So . . . 2011 - Bring it on!  See you next year!  OK, I do love saying that on New Year's Eve. M.

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So close yet so far.

Wow... A bit of before and current.

Before: Family Room & Kitchen

Before: Living Room 

After: One Big Kitchen Family Dining area...Stay Tuned

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i'm a sucker for tucker.

ok, i have many confessions to make for this blog post, so here goes. confession 1. i hate how my arms look in tight shirts. solution for confession 1-baggy sleeves. confession 2. i like solids in rooms and not a ton of pattern, but i like to wear pattern, so confusing. confession 3. i really like wearing dresses, but i get so self conscious for some reason and i always want them to hit at my knee. so bizarre. (keep in mind, this happened after college...during college, i did not dress like little house on the prairie.) so with all of that in mind, when i first found out that tucker was going to do a line for target, i kind of let it go in one ear and out the other. i didn't follow gaby much, so i didn't know what i would be missing. fast forward to target's last days of tucker and all of their sale items waiting for me in the back, dark corner. i'm in target with amanda and i see all of their goodness on the sale rack (another confession--i'm a sale girl. always will be). i immediately buy three dresses (i will show you the purchases below, but can't find the solid orange dress...) and one blouse. they are just so adorable! i'm dying. anything baggy with pattern (or like a garbage sack is what the husband says) is perfect for my taste in clothing. so keep in mind nothing i bought was over $20 per item. i say i got a deal. so yesterday i saw a girlfriend and was wearing my tucker blouse (below) and she said, wow that looks like a tucker blouse, is it? i immediately said yes (if asked, i would have said target, not tucker...not knowing how great this designer is) she said i was going to buy one the other day at a boutique store and it was $300 so i just couldn't bring myself to do it. (are you bleeping kidding me? do i own a steal or what?!?!--is what i'm thinking). so needless to say, i got home to see if she was accurate, and that she was. tucker is designed by gaby basora, and this lady is totally singing my song when it comes to clothing design. i have added some pictures below of some of my favorite outfits from her collection. hold onto your seats. it's going to be a beautiful ride. jolene.

this is the blouse i own. i just love it. (i typically use all of the buttons) and now i'm going to love it even more since i'm going to be adding a jacket to it much like the picture above. genius!

this dress is so darn cute. the pattern is perfect, and the blue-gray color is to die for. all around a great purchase. i wore it when i met madison from million dollar listing (shown below). who knew i was so stylish :)

this is the other patterned dress i scored at target. i typically wear them with a separate belt, but now that i see how great they look like with the matching one, i might switch it up!

now, here are the inspiring pieces that i wish i could own. now i'm going to become obsessed with them. that's how i get. confession: i find something i like and bam, i'm now obsessed. poor amanda...she gets to go through my crazed phases that happen once an hour. regardless, i hope you agree that gaby is a genius and i am crossing my fingers and toes she does a second collection for the large, red bulls eye.

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Designer Profile: Sarah Richardson

I am so excited to feature Designer Sarah Richardson.  Only after reading her bio and seeing snapshots of her from earlier years in her career, did I realize that I used to watch her show on HGTV years ago!  This talented designer from Canada has had an amazing career in Lifestyle Television.  With three hit shows, Sarah is about to begin a fourth, Sarah's Cottage.  A wife and mother of two daughters, I don't know how she does it!

I hope you find the photos of her portfolio as inspirational as I do.  Enjoy...

The soft blue color on the wall falls onto the upholstered headboard, pillows and onto the rug on the floor.  The mix of other blues, greens and white in different prints is perfection in this cottage guest room.

Who wouldn't love sitting in this basement on the rich navy blue sectional watching Sarah on HGTV?  It's a wonderful mix of comfort and elegance.  I want to put my feet up on the fun ottoman of circles!

This laundry room/mud room is absolutely smashing.  This makes doing the laundry very pleasant.

The sitting are in this bedroom is divine.  I am a sucker for ANYTHING skirted, especially box pleats!  The pattern on the set of chairs is perfect.  Can I have a cup of tea and a book to read please?

The family room with it's mix of pattern, pillow and two paint colors on the walls is the look I typically go for in my design.  Down to the contrast print on the back of some of the pillows.  You never go wrong with a mix of patterns and textures.  The more the merrier, the better the design.  The dark color on the tv wall is brilliant.  The tv blends in so well and does not stick out like a sore thumb.  Don't forget the pattern in the rug, very important too.

Again, love the geometric print on the chairs.  Works so well with the window panels in cream and navy.  One of my own signature styles, the bands on the edge of the panels.  I do this in most of my projects and continually is a big hit.  A classic look that never goes out of style.

So often, an office only consists of a desk, chair and filing storage.  If you have room do it, please add furniture!  If you work from home, do you sit in your desk chair for eight hours?  It's nice to sit in a comfy chair for a change.  Another room for house guests if the guest rooms are full.  Or perhaps a quick power nap to get your energy back.  Notice the stripes not only on the chairs, but on the wall as well.  Brilliant, horizontal stripes.  Another one of my favorite paint treatments, the back of bookshelves in an accent color.

What a treat, I hope you enjoyed it too!

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Deep Breaths and Happy Places....

So this whole living through a re-model thing is no joke. I am certainly no stranger to it because since I can remember, every childhood home I have ever lived in has been is various stages of construction. My Dad is a builder and has basically bought homes and demolished them for a living the majority of his life and mine.  My earliest memories as a kid involve watching walls come down and go up and hearing saws and nail guns blasting away.  Maybe this is why I became a designer? It's in the genes. Anyways fast forward a decade or 2 and the constant noise of construction has now infiltrated baby G's life. Wonder if she will grow up being drawn to live in a constant state of sawing and smashing? Haha. Our house is Loud and chaotic and I am LOVING every second of it...seriously. I may moan about the living quarters and the fact that the heat was off last night and we were a bit cold (thermostat read 56), and I wine about the fact that we had no hot water, but I have to be honest in saying...its my favorite kind of pain in the arse! The kind that in the end will result in one AMAZING KITCHEN and all my dream home ideas will come to fruition. .... Some more progress shots.

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russell & bromley.

so these another in-my-dreams shoes and boots, oh and handbags. i just had to share them with everyone. of course they are out of england, where everything is cool and hip. check them out. jolene.

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