Currently Inspired By...

... the fresh and ethereal color palette in Cynthia Steffe's Spring 2010 Runway Collection...

Get the Look {on a Budget}: Blue Chandeliers

I love blue chandeliers -they make gorgeous stand-out pieces...

via here

via here

via here

...they can be pretty expensive though. Those made of murano glass, for example, can set you back a couple of thousands. Luckily there are more affordable options for getting the look.

This Crystal Drop Chandelier from Anthropologie is moderately priced at $998.00

This Hampton Bay Routtura 3-light chandelier in blue/chrome from Home Depot is a lovely little bargain at $106.00

This Blue Beaded Chandelier from Statements by J is a steal at $80.00 -it's on sale right now {through Tuesday} over at HauteLook, reduced 55% from $179.00.

Beautiful, no? They're the kind of pieces you could design a room around.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

There Is a Way

Oh how I love this song! Cue the gospel singers. :)

First, you have to slide down to the bottom and mute the Playlist.
Happy Friday!!

A Few Tips I Learned on Getting Published

Photographer Eric Cohen shooting Gwyneth Paltrow's home for House and Home
via Habitually Chic

This Wednesday I attended Westweek at the Pacific Design Center which featured a keynote moderated by Elle Decor's Margaret Russell. While there, I picked up several tips on getting projects published in a magazine. Although I may not have a use for these right away, its good-to-know info that I'll be keeping in mind for future reference and thought I'd share here in case they're useful to you {whether now or later}. Here's a bit of what I learned:

• Before making any submissions, really assess whether or not your work fits in with the aesthetic and point-of-view of the magazine your sending it to. A project that may be rejected by Architectural Digest could be perfect for say Elle Decor or Traditional Home.
  

• Know who it is you're sending submissions to. Call the magazine office(s) and ask who handles submissions, then send directly to them.

• When emailing an editor, make your message clear. They get a ton of emails and you don't want yours to end up being identified as junk mail. In your subject headline for example, don't use phrases like "Hey A Thought...". Instead maybe state what company you're with and what project your message is regarding.

• Don't expect editors to go to your website to check out your work. Instead send a few good pictures (small files only!) of your best work.

• Don't forget the regional/local magazines and publications as such can often help you reach a more targeted audience.
  

• If your project doesn't make it onto print, don't get discouraged -there are other forms of media that can gain you just as much {maybe more or more targeted} exposure. Maybe your project is right for an online magazine {say maybe Nesting Newbies or Lonny}, website, or blog.

• Jillian St. Charles, VP and Site Director of HGTV.com noted that they accept a lot of online content -of special interest to them right now is work related to small spaces.

• At EditoratLarge.com you can submit your work for review by several top international, national, regional and online design publications.

On My Calendar Today

Annual Mammogram Time.

Have you had yours?

Loving Right Now...

Crochet, Brocade and Lace...


image via here

L: brocade magazine file R: lace basket

photo by belinda marie

L: via here; R: via here

via here

via here

L: via here; R: via here

Chick Chick Here

Changing of the guard on the kitchen table.

These little chicks made their way home with me today.

Aren't they cute?

Monday Morning Sunshine

photo by Kristybee on flickr


photo via reed danis on flickr

Good morning! I'm off to work but will be back here later today. Hope you have a great start to your week!

Where Cheryl Creates

I want y'all to meet one of my BFFs, Cheryl. Truly she's one of the sweetest people you could ever want to know. I want you to see the darling craft room she has just created for herself.

Cheryl is the girl who paints, does paper crafts, sews, takes pictures, scrapbooks, creates the most darling gifts all perfectly wrapped, you name it!

The creative type person we all wish we were...you know. :)

Anyway, they've just created a media room in their house and that left them with a space that she claimed for her own. In this room she took all kinds of items from around the house and transformed them to make the most adorable craft room.

She painted polka dots on containers, put ribbons on cans, hung a hat on the wall and a boa on the curtains!

Doesn't it look fun?

Oh I didn't tell you that she's like me and has two boys.

She needed a girly space to enjoy.

Don't you love it?

One day I'm going to sit in her room and color something!

Happy First Day of Spring + LF Update

image via here

Thank you for all your sweet comments regarding Little Foot! Thankfully everything went well. Here' s a recap:

Thursday morning as soon as we walked into the vet's office, he started trembling as if he knew he wasn't going to have a fun experience in there. Last time he had been there was when he was getting treated for Parvo, and I'm guessing he recognized the smell of the place. Although saddened that he hadn't stopped trembling after several minutes we kissed him goodbye and handed him over to the nurse. After about an hour of dropping him off we got a call from the vet. He told us that Little Foot's double front teeth were a problem. His adult teeth had come in but were being impacted by his baby teeth which hadn't fallen off yet. So he recommended they pull them out since he'd be under anesthesia anyway.

We picked him up that evening. The nurse handed us over his four baby teeth and gave us a cone in case he was licking too much. He wagged his tail happy to see us but we could definitely tell he was in pain. He was swollen and had stitches. Not surprisingly he didn't want to eat and remained mellow through the night.

On Friday though he had a lot more energy and as of today he's back to being a hyper little puppy :-)

Happy first official day of spring! Enjoy your weekend!

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

It is the first day of spring. Can't you tell?

We just have to laugh around here.

It's So Close

Spring is so close we can feel it!

Windows and doors are open this afternoon.

Made our first trip to the nursery today. :)

We have an azalea bed on our garden plan.

What's on yours?

Little Foot Getting Neutered

This morning we're sadly taking Little Foot to get neutered. It's a law here in Los Angeles that all dogs must be neutered (unless you have special permission to breed) which is reasonable since there are so many dogs for adoption at the various shelters. Just makes me sad since he's my little boy and has to go under the knife. I'm also hoping his personality doesn't change too much as a result. If you're a dog owner, what experiences have you had? Did his personality change much? I've heard it becomes easier to potty train (LF is still not fully trained). How long after the surgery was he back to running, playing, etc.

Southern Living

For 22 years

Southern Living magazine

has been my very favorite.

What's your favorite?

Which magazine makes you stop what you are doing...no matter what?

Which one reflects you the most?

All pictures from southernliving.com