Sadie Olive

I love it when I come across beautiful and inspiring blogs. Sadie Olive is a must read. Her home is beautiful and filled with antiques and treasures she has collected. This picture above is her bedroom. She is a blog and web designer, an antique collecter and a photographer. Sheesh. A talented girl indeed.

http://www.sadieolive.com/theblog/

My Beach House

If I had a beach house this is what it would look like. It's cheery, bright and filled with colors of the sea. SIGH......

Her pretty princess dress

My daughter, Brooklyn in her princess dress. I had to call it this in order for to cooperate. She did so well and walked down the aisle carrying this pomander ball which I think weighed three pounds! We are so proud of her.

On another happy note....

This is the wedding cake. Yummy cupcakes from Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica, Ca.

It was such a sweet ending to a beautiful day.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend

We are off to Pasadena tomorrow for my dear friend's wedding. My daughter will be in it too. I am crossing my fingers that she will cooperate. You know two year olds.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Burlap chic

Burlap never would have been my first choice for chosen materials to use around the house but these days I am seeing it everywhere. I am loving it. It's so versatile just look at the images below.

images courtesy of Country Living

A beautiful table setting from a beach cottage

courtesy: www.abeachcottage.typepad.com

Fun & Flirty

Credit: Shoshanna

I love these fun and flirty dresses by Shoshanna. Time to get the tanning cream out ladies and maybe start on these leg exercises.

DIY bookcase

Turn a trashy dresser like this....

into a bright and cheery bookcase like this
visit http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/diy-bookcase-0609
for complete instructions.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!!!

My daughter Brooklyn had her second birthday this past weekend and we had a blast planning it, creating it and sharing in this special day. It was a fish theme.

The birthday girl

Digging for treasure. I threw in colorful seashells and plastic sea creatures.

The cake consisted of 26 cupcakes shaped into a fish. I clould kill myself for not taking a picture before we devoured it. It not only was delish but so cute too.

Our hillside had various fish cutouts stapled to wood stakes. It looked like an under water fish tank.

The favors were fun to put together. Each pail had fish crackers, stickers, crayons and bubbles.

The mystery fish game had my husband on the other side of the sheet and the children were to pretend they were fishing. He would then place a toy on the other end of the hook and give a little tug. The kids loved the treats on the other end.

My homemade birthday sign. I brought out all of the dusty scrapbookig supplies and papers for this one. I had fun making it for her. She can hang her name up in her room after the party.

Another project for the yard (Someday)

I love this table. It's elegant and romantic. The greenery softens it up and the touches of nature make it lovely.

Sparkley Bathrooms

SWOON
These bathrooms by Sarah Richardson make my heart skip a beat. This is just a taste of her work. Check out her lovely rooms at www.sarahrichardsondesign.com

Oh how I want a bathroom with these details and elements. I picture rest, relaxation and tranquility. SIGH

Happy Mother's Day

BEFORE I WAS A MOM

Before I was a Mom;

I made and ate hot meals,

I had unstained clothing,

I brushed my hair every day,

I had quiet conversations on the phone,

I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.

Before I was a Mom;

I cleaned my house each day,

I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,

I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom;

I never thought about immunizations,

I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,

I never looked into teary eyes and cried,

I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

Before I was a Mom;

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,

I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,

I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

Before I was a Mom;

I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,

I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so important,

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.

Before I was a Mom;

I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,

I never knew that I could love someone so much,

I never knew I would love being a Mom,

I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.

My project for the garden part 1

This is my inspiration

I plan on buying a potting bench

to use for both gardening and entertaining

I just love this one above. The bright colors are cheery and would make me want to garden all day.


I can see galvanized canisters hanging from hooks on this trellis. The canisters can hold utensils, condiments or gardening tools.

Pretty things for moi

I love these pretty dainty charms. Perfect for mother's day. (hint-hint)

credit: Juicy Couture

credit: lisaleonardonline.com

When life happens.....

After having my second daughter in November, I got a personal trainer, cut out the coffee and sugar and changed the way I ate. I made these changes because I was so tired all the time and moody. Yes, I did have an 8 week old at the time and a toddler too. I had two under the age of two and I wasn't enjoying it. I felt tired, sluggish and irritable. How can this be happening at such a wonderful time in my life? I needed to change. So I hit the gym, ate clean meals, drank water and it was getting better. My energy was up and I wasn't depressed.....

Now it's the present and I am back to feeling lazy, unmotivated and tired? My diet could be better and my exercise routine, don't ask. I can't believe this, here we go again.....

I decided enough is enough so I went to the market bought some fresh produce and flowers( always cheers me up) and I am heading my way to a healthy fit lifestyle. (crossing my fingers)

When life happens it can throw us off balance or rhythms. For me, I give up on everything. My once creative and enthused thoughts are shut down. I feel hopeless and overwhelmed. My consumption of water, healthy meals and green tea are now overriden by the occasional coffee, soda and fast food meal. It is so easy to go down this path. Our culture makes it attainable because it's everywhere. It's a mental game.

I may sound like I am being hard on myself but I have to in order to make healthy changes. I am writing this because I figured myself out. Amazing, such a simple concept and it's taken me years to fugure it out.