Random Monday Lovelies!

Hope you all had a great weekend!  Here are a few random lovely decorating ideas, along with a few words of wisdom sprinkled in between, for whatever it's worth...:)

Something about this room really calls to me.  At first I assumed it was a kitchen but it's more of a wet bar area.  I adore the fresh lines, marble counter tops, incredible light and those great dark windows that open into the next room for serving.  What an awesome space!

How gorgeous is the detailing around that front door, not to mention the iron work?  I should have included this in my window boxes post but I just came across it.  Sooo classy!

If/when we ever build, shelving like this will be next to the master bathroom tub for towels, apothecary jars filled with beautiful soaps, lotions and potions in pretty baskets and a few lazy reads...I like the addition of a few personal photos too.

I think I might faint if I were house hunting (somewhere in Europe?) and walked into this apartment.  SO much potential here!  

Yep.

Books, books and more books.  

Speaking of books, I just finished reading Unbroken.  Have you read it?  It's a heartbreaking read, but so inspirational and educational.  

It's the best book I've read in a while and would love to find something good to follow it.  Any good book tips out there?

AMAZING windows. Love the greek key rug too!

This room as so much style!

A trip to Buenos Aires is rattling around in my mind...doesn't this rustic architecture look appealing?

MUST do this.  I love it every time I see it!  These shelves are particularly nicely styled, I thought...

A fun chair with traditional lines that throws all of that to the wind with the punch of color and refreshing pattern.

Occasionally I watch YouTube videos -- mostly because I am far too impatient to put up with commercials anymore!  Recently I came across this discussion with Jada Pinkett Smith, talking about motherhood, marriage and a career.  You can find it here.  

One thing resonated with me:  she said every morning she meditates, deciding what each person in her family needs from her that day, including what she needs for HERSELF.  Regardless of what you think of her, I thought it was a great way to make sure you channel your daily energies in the directions that are the most important.

(Also,is it just me or is she getting more beautiful with age??)

Wouldn't you love to blog here?  I think the computer would have to have am embossed leather cover to fit in...

Just because it's pretty.  :)

I hope you enjoyed this random post!  

Thanks so much for reading.

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My 2 Cents

Hi Everyone!  I hope your week is off to a good start.  Mine certainly is in blogland!  I am thrilled to be part of Monika's "2 Cents Series" on Splendid Willow today, talking about my favorite room, along with some other wonderful bloggers. 

Monika's blog Splendid Willow and her thriving shop Splendid Willow Avenue are inspired by her Swedish heritage, so you know she makes major points in my book for beautiful design!  Mon and I also now both call Seattle home, so a meet-up in the  near future is already in the making.  I can't wait to meet her in person to learn about her take on life in Seattle.  Thanks so much for having me Mon!

Eight Things, Doughnuts & Bruce Willis

Funny title for a post, huh?  This is a random post, and I was in a silly kind of mood, so that's what popped out!  

The roofers are starting to put our new roof on our future home today, so I'm about to dash off to bring them doughnuts.  Everyone loves a doughnut, right?  I thought it couldn't hurt to be nice to those guys.  We move in next week and we are all sooooo ready - two months in limbo is enough for all of us!  Come to think of it, maybe I deserve a doughnut.  ;)

Anyway, before I do, I wanted to let you know that today I am lucky enough to be included in a fun series over at The Treasured Home:  "Eight Things You Might Not Know About Me".  This blog is authored by another Barbara and she always has fresh ideas for traditional spaces with a beautiful twist. 



So, just in case you'd like to know a little more about me - including about the time I met Bruce Willis - head over there. I think you'll really enjoy looking around her blog!

Silver & Gold Resolutions for 2012

To kick off the new year, I was honored to be asked by Marilyn Storey of MS Design Maven to guest post about my 2012 design resolution, my color inspiration for the year, and a fun cocktail to ring in the new year.  She has asked several designers & bloggers to post about these topics, and I am thrilled to be in such impressive company! 

reddirect.co.uk

Click here for the first post - and keep checking back because there is more to come from her series!

What are your design resolutions for the year?

The Blog on Fire Award!!

Good Morning everyone!  I had a very nice honor the other day - I was awarded the "Blog on Fire" award by Maureen at Eclectic Revisited.  Maureen did such a nice write up on my blog and my upcoming online boutique - I was very flattered.  Thank you so much Maureen! 

As part of this award, I am supposed to share five things about me.  Instead of doing exactly that, I thought that I would share five quotes (well a few more actually) that embody what I strive to be every day (some days go better than others :)).  I hope that some of these speak to you as well!



I also get to pass this award on to five bloggers that I think are "on fire"!

Here they are - please stop by and say hello!

The Vintique Object

Life Love & Luxury

Splendid Sass

Chic Coastal Living

Classic Chic Home

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The Versatile Blogger Award!

I was so happy to find out that I received The Versatile Blogger Award from Debra at Acquired Objects over the weekend. What a pleasant suprise! Please stop by her beautiful blog for a visit - I am consistently inspired by her beautiful posts, her knowledge of  gorgeous textiles and much more!

 

To accept this award, I need to reveal seven things about myself.  

This is hard for me - who wants to hear about my life???  I tried to make it interesting.  :)  Here goes:

1. Although I majored in business, I took a detour for part of my university time and studied fine arts in London.  During that time, I learned to appreciate why Shakespeare deserved all that good press!   BTW, Oregon  has a renowned Shakespeare Festival - if you haven't been, I'd recommend it!

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2.  Lest you think I'm a culture snob, you should know that my musical tastes are a bit eclectic. I love Metallica as much as I love Mozart, and have seen live performances of each. Loved 'em both. Does that surprise anyone?!? 

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I decided NOT to include a picture of Metallica, only Mozart - he's nicer to look at. :)

3.    I spent most of my high-tech career living throughout California, including several years in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco with views like this. During that time I really fell in love with beautiful design and the good taste that so defines San Francisco's reputation as a sophisticated and beautiful location. To me it doesn't get any better than San Francisco.

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4.  My otherwise very traditional, yet open minded parents took me to visit the now infamous Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon when I was a child. They weren't thinking of giving away all their assets and joining, which many professionals at that time were doing (Our tour guide was a doctor from Chicago who had left his family and turned over all of his assets to the commune so he could live there). Fortunately, my parents were only curious about this very interesting phenomenon that went on in Oregon at that time. I think that I got my curiosity for exploring exotic places from my parents, don't you?!!

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All of the members wore "energy colors" and the leader had a collection of Rolls Royces...

5. I have a mental list of future hobbies to explore, including glass blowing and pottery. I'd LOVE to learn how to make something like this:

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6.  I started skiing when I was 4 and went on to work on ski patrol as well as race.  I still love skiing and I am starting to really get back into it now that my kids are at an age where they can ski too!  Thanks Dad, for all those years of patient instruction and hot chocolate!

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7. After four years in Munich, I am relatively fluent in German which was a huge personal goal for me. I'm also working on reviving my Spanish. The good and bad news is that my kids have easily passed me on both langugages already! Seeing my kids pick up languages so quickly has made me a total evangelist for early language education in America!

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Well, that's enough about me!  Now for the fun part.  I am passing this award on to the following very deserving bloggers - some of which I have been inspired by for a while and others that are new to me that I am just getting to know.  Please stop by their blogs and say hello:

1. Eclectic Revisited
2. The Design Pages
3. Field Stone Hill
4. Haus and Home
5. The Vintique Object
6. Home Bunch
7. Hyphen Interiors
8. Living Savvy
9. My Wishful Thinking
10. The Lennox
11. Quintessence
12. Belgian Pearls
13. Karina Gentinetta
14. Splendid Market
15. The Buzz Blog

Thank you again Debra - I'm honored!

Also, thanks for all of the feedback yesterday on Eat-In Kitchens. It was very interesting to hear everyone's comments. There were a variety of opinions which I found great - we all have different needs and ideas of perfection, and that's what makes all of this design stuff soooo interesting! :)  Bis Morgen!  (until tomorrow...:))

Behind The Blogger

Today I have the honor of being interviewed by Tina from The Enchanted Home, for her great series called "Behind The Blogger".  Tina interviews bloggers of her choosing about their lives and design style, and I was thrilled when she asked me to participate! 

If you've come over from Tina's blog to visit for the first time:

Welcome! 

I hope you'll take a look around and stay a while!