wall decor ideas

Images from stylefiles and martha stewart.

1. I love the fresh, clean lines in this home office, especially the grouping of pictures placed on white shelves

2. The rustic wooden table paired with the bright orange patio chair make for a whimsical work space

3. This statement wall of oversized frames dwarf the desk and chair. Stunning!

4. I never thought potholders could look modern and chic!

5. Similar to #1 in the simplicity and double shelving, but what I really love is how the black frames compliment the soft yet masculine bedding. I never thought I would find black in a master bedroom so appealing.

6. The next three are entry way ideas. As you can see, I'm a big fan of using framed pictures for wall decor. This picture shows that excessiveness should be limited. I think a pair of shoes on the bench would be quite cute.

7. Love how much storage this entry way offers without taking up floor space!

8. I like the color scheme here, but it's clearly contrived. How many people own blue and peach boots? The best part is the organization that four separate yet connected corkboards offer.

9. These are six different clipboards that have been covered in paper (wallpaper, scrapbook paper- both work) to create eye candy for a small work area. I could see someone wrapping gifts or writing notes on this desk.

home vids of the Becker/Rennie pups

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPTnhTxN0tA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KZEmKXa2NY

beware: new obsessions await you.

paper paper paper I stinking LOVE paper. which is why I almost fainted with pleasure when I was introduced to this website: ohsobeautifulpaper.

a little of this and a little of that makes for a lovely morning blog to read.

other people's creativity is always inspiring, so why not steal ideas from designsponge.

look inside the stylefiles and be prepared to gasp.sigh.want want want want.

well, looky here...just found about a dozen or so things that I absolutely have to have.

more paper here.

people, make me stop!!!

finally, a day of rest.

In the past week I have often signed on to write a new post, but no words have been suitable for all that has been going on. My work didn't seem important enough to write about, and the biggest news- that my Grandpa died last Thursday morning- seemed too important to write about.

Now everything is over and I can try again.

A lot of anticipation and anxiety was spent over traveling to northern VA for the viewing and funeral. I have an absurdly large family, and to add to that friends and business associates and coworkers and even friends of friends...well, you can imagine overwhelming and exhausting it was. Wonderfully touching, but tiring.

A happy change has occured in our family as well. My parents adopted a dog on Saturday and she is the cutest thing. She is a one year old feist/lab mix and is 20-something pounds. We didn't name her until last night, but the decision is final:: Elinor Dashwood, aka "Ellie." We named her after one of our favorite Jane Austen characters. Ellie took to my dog Casey immediately and they are constantly rolling around and chewing on each other's legs and ears. Great entertainment!

I finished both of the Rosamunde Pilcher novels (Wild Mountain Thyme and The Empty House) that I set out to read for the week, and now I'm not sure what to read next. If I want to have read 4 books in 4 weeks then I need to hurry up and get one started!

thoughts on a rainy day

This has been such a great week. Last Friday I was honored to go wedding dress shopping with one of my dear friends and was blown away by how perfect the dress she chose is for her. I was at my parents house over the weekend and enjoyed having everything done for me! They fixed our favorite salmon dish on Friday night and my mom made mashed cauliflower and green beans to accompany the fish. Mashed cauliflower is prepared like mashed potatoes and has a fantastic texture and taste.

I so wanted to finish my book by Monday and accomplish one of my New Year's resolutions, but I was distracted by magazines all weekend (speaking of which, where the HECK is my Real Simple January issue!?!?). I only have about twenty pages left and I'm planning on knocking them out while the kids are in the tub tonight. I'm reading "The Guinea Pig Diaries" by AJ Jacobs and I'm not loving it as much as his other two books. The best thing about his work is that you're laughing and learning at the same time. For example, I learned of George Washington's list of virtues. My favorite is "shift not yourself in the sight of others." I never thought George Washington would make me giggle.