What is your style?

Help!  What is my decorating style?  Where do I belong?? I have had a ton of people asking me questions about decor lately and reading another one of my favorite blogs sparked my interest on this topic. Whether you love Traditional, Contemporary, Country, Shabby Chic, Modern, Minimalist, Rustic, etc there is a category we all fit into.  Or is there? I once considered myself more French formal but have really been drawn to a more relaxed romantic style lately. Everything once had to be heavy silks and crushed velvet now is changing to crisp linens. I couldn't get enough golds and damask prints at one point, but now enjoy old family black and white pictures in mismatched gold frames. I have been working on revamping my super formal gold dining room to white and cream tones. Just some simple touches and junk findings mixed in with my old favorites, makes my evolving style mine.

 Formal French

More relaxed french country

 It seems like my taste is always evolving, maybe the movement towards a casual style has to do with reality. Reality meaning that I have a child, husband, and 4 dogs!  I remember getting my very own first apartment and painting the walls moss green and picking sofas upholstered with a coordinating waverly green/red floral print. Now...that color palate would be the last I would choose. I cannot believe that it was even ME! 

Finally, I have come to realize that it is ok to love and embrace all styles in your home even if they all don't fit into one category. Nothing is "set in stone" or "the right way". Your decorating style is not defined by "categories", but by a combination of different pieces that you have gathered over time and love. Nothing is less creative than copying the pages of pottery barn and filling your home like the showroom. This means it may be a contemporary couch paired with burlap pillows or your hand me down bedroom set amongst shabby chic linens. As long as it represents you and what you love, then that is all that matters. Enjoy your own personal special style, it is yours and it is different.  I prefer to keep mine undefined, but unmistakably me.

Dear Mom,

Dear Mom,

Everyday I think about your strength. Laughing every time we rode up to Boston to Bringham Womens. Giggling as you had fun with your wigs.

Everyday I remember that we lived through it. Together.

Everyday I wonder if it might come back.

Everyday I hope you're OK.

Everyday.

When we went through "The Scare", it was nerve wracking. Waiting for the phone to ring after the biopsy and then surgery. The moments waiting for the doctors to decide if things had spread. Sitting through chemotherapy, radiation, reconstruction, and recovering from chemo brain. Thinking hundreds of times about what I would do without you and how is it possible we can put a man on the moon and not find one small evil thing that infects our world. How does something so small defeat so many? How do we quibble about the cost of gasoline when there isn't enough money for research? That was the only thing racing through my mind during the 26 mile marathon completed in your honor. These thoughts went through my mind constantly and still do to this day. The sheer relief of hearing that things worked out, was like being able to breathe after being underwater and thrashing to get back up.

This week your oncologist gave you excellent news...you are almost a 5 year survivor. We will have one heck of a great day on July 24th, 2011!  I feel so blessed but it is always there, in the background. Almost like it's always waiting to take you from me. I can go through a whole week and forget, and suddenly see something pink and am reminded again. I'll never breathe again quite like I did before that day.

When people are healthy, no one understands how precious the value of their wellness is. So goes the old Chinese saying, “身在福中、不知福” which literally means one is unmindful of the happy life one is blessed with.  May hope be with all friends and family who share this life experience with me, you are in my thoughts.


Love,
M

Words of inspiration

CREATE

Your life is waiting

DreAMS

Make them come true

BE

Who you are

YOU

Can make a difference


I Thought I would share these words of inspiration ...
Imagine being outside in the cold today? I think of how fortunate most of us are for the simple things in life. Every time I visit Penn Station in NYC and see the homeless sleeping on the floor, I get this overwhelming feeling of worry that lingers for days.  When I walk through the station, I turn my head because it bothers me so much. It is a feeling of helplessness that almost invokes fear.I can't stop thinking about them today, especially when the weather is cold and the bustle of the city slows as people stay indoors. The feeling of deep loneliness that I have yet to experience must be awful. Its so ironic to experience  an intoxicating New York fashion show and an hour later experience people in deep desperation. I sometimes wonder if I lived in the city if I would become desensitized or if I would be walking to penn station  in a snow suit with my homemade soup. 
I hope everyone that I know who has had 2 feet of snow is snuggled in  safe and sound. The inconvenience of snow shovels, stuck cars, and cancelations don't seem so bad.  Whats better than homemade soup and warm apple crumb cake on a cold day? It is sharing it with your family and snuggling with your dogs.


On a happy note, I thought I would share a piece that makes me feel like going junking...in Europe that is!
Look at his fabulous cupboard!

A piece from Europe in original color and retouched with a color called Horizon by Benjamin Moore. Who would love to go to France...hint, hint?!?! I would need a personal barge to bring this home. 

And you thought that a snowy day was an excuse to sit around...

Who me? NEVER! After clearing and cleaning the holiday madness, I have this insane drive to organize...everything. One area of my home that has been neglected has been the kitchen. After shopping, making dinner, and cleaning after cooking...I basically am happy that things have been thrown back to "where they belong". Some will laugh when they read this, as I am generally an organized person, but I feel like it could be brought to a new level of organization! 

What's better than a shopping list chalk board?

A pantry's not a place, it's an attitude

It's the secret weapon of a well-organized kitchen: a working pantry. A planned reserve of foodstuffs and sundries used in the home, a pantry saves time, money and stress in the kitchen., I'd love to have a pantry," writes a reader, "but my house doesn't have one!" Sure it does! If there's so much as a spare roll of toilet paper tucked underneath a sink, the household boasts a pantry.

Don't confuse storage space with the reality of the pantry principle. Certainly, it's helpful to have designated cabinet space for pantry goods--but that's not the pantry. Think of the pantry as a reservoir of consumable goods which may be stored in any area of the home.

Read on..

1. The number one rule of an organized kitchen is to store items where you use them. Put your plates near the table, glasses near the fridge and cutting knives and board near island or counter where you cut up produce. 2. If you do any baking, set up a baking section. Store together all items you use when baking. 3. Clean and organize your fridge and freezer. Do a quick upkeep once a week on trash day. If you don't use it, get rid of it. 4. Move the excess clutter. For example, seasonally used items such as platters and holiday dishes are better stored in a basement or attic. Unless you have a very large kitchen, it is best to remove items that are not used on a regular basis. 5. How many glasses do you really use between dish washings? Store only as many as you regularly use (glasses, dishes, wine glasses), and place the extras in storage. 6. Go through your cookbooks and keep in the kitchen only the ones you use regularly. Seasonal cookbooks can be stored with your holiday dinnerware, others can be kept elsewhere or given away. 7. Here's a tough one. If you don't use it every day, remove it from your counters. So many of us complain about not having enough counter space yet we crowd the counters with things we don't even use. 8. Check out all the racks and drawer units on the market to more efficiently store all your kitchen items. You will find a large selection at home stores around the country. 9. Set up a small pantry somewhere in your home for extra cans of soup, coffee and other essentials. You'll save money by buying in bulk or during sales and you'll save space in the kitchen. A small closet can easily be converted to a pantry. Once you have one you'll never want to be "pantry-less" again.

I couldn't resist showing this image from designsponge. It is breath taking and totally inspiring! The best places that I have found for organization supplies are Target, Ikea, The Container Store, and (last but not least) Homegoods! Happy Organizing! If you have tips, please share via a post!

The Writing is all over the...

Walls! I am obsessed with French script...everything! As I am doing a playroom/office redo, I started hunting for accents to bring out the french in my neutral decor. I wanted the colors to feel very soothing (creams and cool blue distressed furniture), but have found that something was needed to add some punch! I stumbled into two fabulous french scripted chairs and it was love at first sight! Although my new office furnishings are very shabby chic, I was itching to add some formality to the room. Here are some of my favorite finds that are "all things" scripted!

Anthropology Love Letter!

$19 on Overstock!

Oh, pottery barn..so predictable and just perfect!

I will be trying to recreate these myself this week, as I am looking for this scripted shade but a more romantic shape. Let the hunt begin! I have a few tricks up my sleeve! As the holiday decor was removed today, I realized how I really need to post some pics! More to come!