…if this wall isn’t a huge success! It has been my happy and my hell for a solid two days now and I still have at least 3 more ahead of me (no pun intended!) before this space is complete. I swear, you don’t realize just how big 1700 sq feet is until you have to cover every single inch of it in 3 weeks! But we have made huge progress, huge. I could bore you with the details but I’m honestly too tired so I’m just going to let the pictures speak 1000 words for me!
As I ‘m about to take on a complete re-do of our living room, I do what I normally do when in need of some inspiration, I buy books. I know this seems a bit old fashioned but there’s something about book stores that I’m just drawn to and turning the pages of an actual book and having something tangible in my hands rather than on a computer screen or my phone that colors me happy. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t hit up Pinterest, Domino, Apartment Therapy and all the other usual suspects for design direction but I simply loooove books. And I’m pretty much always looking for an excuse to check out who’s published somehitng new…
All you need: A garden hose, the sun and some smiles! (Pot of gold optional!)
Me!! (Possibly). I’m not entirely sure if it’s out of genuine concern or our seemingly inherent nature to love a train wreck, but some of my friends have started asking if I’m afraid my parents will find out I lost my job through this blog. I laugh every time, and I can’t help but laugh for two reasons. The first is that the idea of either one of my parents accessing a blog is simply comical and second, that what I write 3000 miles away from my former home would somehow make it to their IP address. Now, I fully understand how the Internet works and that anyone can read this anywhere in the world and that distance has zero…
Because I took A LOT of photos this week, I thought I’d share them with you here. 5 moments that made me laugh and love for my 5 Fav’s Friday. Hope they add a little happy to your weekend too!
Ok! I did it! And I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the results, this was much easier than I anticipated, but only after I abandoned the laser level and ditched the Sharpie. Yup, no Sharpie and no laser level. So let me explain. As far as the Sharpie goes, I just couldn’t get into the feel of it. It was awkward to write with, especially with letters so large and it just wasn’t bold enough. I can understand why people use it when creating the large straight lines in some of the other DIY Sharpie Wallpaper tutorials but it just wasn’t for me for this project. So, I abandoned Sharpie and picked up my paint and…
Ok, so call me crazy but here is where my happy is leading me today. I want to try the DIY Sharpie “Wallpaper” I’ve seen popping up all over my favorite sites. And just this week the perfect idea popped into my head. I was flipping through Happy Handmade Home by the super talented and oh so clever sisters behind A Beautiful Mess and it hit me. In the book, one of their bedrooms is displayed with a stunning hand made accent wall. It’s gorgeous. And I want it. So here’s my plan, I want to replicate this look in our guest house with the phrase “be my guest.” Currently I just have wall decals above the headboard, I know,…
For Mind Blowing Update, scroll to the bottom! You can’t miss it. I understand fully why meditation is considered an art and why the most successful people I can think of, both personally and publicly, all seem to share at least some version of “being still” as part of their success. There is immense power in getting quiet, but I also want to tell you it can be a bit misleading, the “quiet” part anyway. What I have learned in the 60 days since I lost my job but found my calling is that when you can quiet your mind, the universe speaks the loudest. And the fastest if that’s what you’re asking for. Enter all the journals I…
If you haven’t figure it out already, this experience has changed me. For the better. I’m not only happier, I’m more connected to my feelings and my thoughts and in turn more present and able to really enjoy my life and all it’s flaws (I’m working on them). And it turns out this new outlook I have is a tad infectious or annoying, depending on which side of happy you fall on. And my friends have no problem telling me when I’ve crossed the line into hippyville. So, to keep it light, I’ve complied the top ten reasons why my friends think I’m going to start wearing crystals and never change out of yoga pants. 1. I believe in…
This is always the hardest part of any project, waiting for all your goodies to arrive, the excitement of opening all the boxes combined with the slight anxiety of evaluating your purchases — I love it. All of it. Even the anxiety, because that’s where I’m forced to get creative, even if only in my minds eye and everything ends up better than expected in the end. But if I have any doubts, the waiting game allows me to get my own game plan going, think of solutions to marrying styles, textiles, colors, you name it. Waiting also allows me a chance to get all the prep work done, and there’s always more than you think before you can start…
…I made these pretty little guys! Remember these heads from my Home Goods score? Well, here they are all dressed up and ready for Nicasa! All I used: faux flowers, yarn, my trusty scissors, a needle and thread and in once case, some metallic paint and therefore a paintbrush. Other than that, no rules, no instructions, no real how-to adorn your faux head with flowers or how-to add flowers to antlers. Just start creating what makes you happy. Seriously, it’s that easy. I didn’t even stick myself with the needle (this time)! And all while you were sleeping. 🙂
Happy Friday! Now I know if you’re like me, you want to get a move on your weekend! And that means read less and do more. So, to keep it simple, here are 5 of my favorite little things that made me more than merry this week: 1. Still in love with my Nate Berkus Sheers. 2. Headspace — this is a really creative little mediation app that you just have to try for yourself. It starts you off with a challenge, 10 minutes for 10 days. And has cartoons! Want more to love, your guide through the meditation has a seriously dreamy voice with a foreign accent. Someone did their research. 3. SAMSPELT pink deer from Ikea. We have this…
from a photo
from an art print Society6
Sebastian's gallery wall
from our doodles
When trying to decide what my first DIY du jour project would be, the decision was a happy no brainier. Ever since I stumbled on a post a few months back (while sitting at my desk at work, clearly distracted) on how to turn your photos to canvas I haven’t stopped doing it. It’s crazy cheap, requires all of 6 things, and you defiantly already own 4 of them. And the BEST part is you don’t have to stop with photos. If it fits on canvas (or at least some part of it), you can pretty much “turn” it into canvas. This project is an amazing way to display your fondest memories or give as gifts and a let minute…
I’m going to be completely honest here. Before I decided to go on this journey of mine I was not on Instagram, or Twitter. I don’t know how to Snap Chat or Vine and I have never ever had a Facebook page or a MySpace account (yes, I’m that old to remember where it all began). I subscribed to all of zero blogs and YouTube was merely something to occupy my 3 yr olds time. I was on Pinterest but I hadn’t “pinned” a single thing. And I wasn’t even on LinkedIn (talk about asking for it) until a few weeks before I was let go — which BTW I have yet to edit because I’m digitally linked to my…
I didn’t see the text that came in at 7:11 this morning from my friend Kim because I was asleep. Not that that is unusual for many but for me, a mother of 3 toddlers, it is. I was asleep because setting up this blog while having 3 toddlers means I do it when they go to bed and therefore I don’t. Not as of now anyway, I’m learning just how steep this learning curve actually is. But this morning my husband was home and the kids were all good (I’m assuming as I still have all 3 of them!) and I got some much needed rest. My friend however didn’t get much rest and needed to talk, so I…
So in the spirit of dreaming big and shooting for the stars, I’d like to extend my invitation to break the news to my parents to Ellen Degeneres as well. And here’s ten reasons why Ellen and I make good TV (with my messy little dancing monsters of course): Watch them in action as they get down Ed Sheeran, Sesame Street and the Letter O in this video. 1. Everyone gets a chance to dance on ellen, no-one sits it out. By choice, she can literally get everyone and your grandma to wiggle a little somethin’ somethin’. 2. When I close my eyes and think of the happiest people on Earth, I immediately go to Ellen. No one celebrates happy…
It happens every day without fail to most of us. Someone or some thing takes a crap on your happy day. And I’m not talking in the literal sense for all the moms out there, although knowing I ate poop while wiping a chubby butt on my birthday back in April definitely qualifies here. I’m talking about the intentional poppers, the ones who just can’t stand to see you happy and the unintentional ones alike. Crap happens. And it has the ability flush your day down the toilet. And often its hard to recover, set yourself straight and get out of the gutter. So when my friends started calling me for advice, knowing I’m paying close attention to the choice…
Home Goods happy, no way! I’m on a Home Goods high. Seriously, I feel like I’ve hit the Home Goods lottery. And for anyone in the Los Angeles area, it was the Westchester Home Goods to be exact, near the airport. I’m telling you, s e r oi o u s l y good stuff right now. The kind of stuff that begs you to scrap whatever you came in for and head off in a whole new inspired direction. I made two trips this week and neither disappointed. But let me back up. Remember that friend I mentioned in Mysterious Ways, the one who resigned without a plan? Well, she made a plan and she has a vision. …
Oprah made me do it. I think thats what I’m going to tell my parents — when I finally tell my parents that I lost my corporate job and that no, I’m not looking for a new one — that I’m leaving it up to the universe to guide me, along with a boat load of determination and a heap of blind faith. Sorry mom, sorry dad. I’m blogging (all the way to happy). Crickets. Now you’re either shocked that its been more than 30 days and I’m more than 30 years and I can’t fess up to my parents, or that I’ve made Oprah my scapegoat. My guess is both and I’m okay with that. But before you judge,…
Be happy and get messy…more! That's my approach to design and style, strive to thrive, not for perfection and surround yourself with what brings you joy. Forget the rules, accept what is and work with your messy life to design the one you want. Keep it approachable and attainable and you can live in style. And most important, don't be afraid to get messy, if you're messy, you're in the moment. Don't just be alive, feel alive.