Farewell 2010

Here's to a happy and healthy 2011!

Happy New Year!

What I'm Loving...

I'm loving all the fun, sometimes cheeky, photographs, quotes and art over at Pinterest. So many of these images would be great art for transitional and contemporary spaces.

This would be great in a gilded frame over a vintage drink cart.

Don't we all need to be reminded of this?

I'm seeing a lot of these prints on old book pages lately. There were a ton at Marburger, and I'm also using a couple vintage illustrations on top of old book paper for a nursery I'm doing right now.

Sweet.

yep, me too :-)

I need to have this on my nightstand!

This made me giggle.

Check it out...there's much to browse through.

Happy Wednesday before Christmas, eeek!

What I've Been Up To...

New construction - Master bath
Here are a few images of what I've been up to for the past few months. Every image represents a different project. About a handful of my clients aren't represented here because their project isn't far enough along. Some that are farther along, but nothing to show yet, just have a fabric sample image.

Family room and kitchen redecorate


A sweet little girls room

House from the 20's - redesign and remodel master bath

Family room - redecorate

Master bedroom - redecorate

Complete kitchen redesign and remodel

Formal living & dining - redecorate

Another house from 20's - master bath remodel

A sweet nursery - gender surprise :-)

Kitchen remodel and redecorate

House from 20's - complete home restoration and remodel - lots to show coming up with this one :-)

Another sweet nursery - gender surprise also :-)

Complete new construction in Austin - complete home design - there will be lots to show very soon on this one as well

Living and dining - redecorate
...And about a handful more that will be further along in the weeks and months to come.
I hope you have a great start to the short week :-)

What I'm Loving...

I am pretty enamored with this line of chairs from a new L.A. based vendor I've just been introduced to.
This vanity stool just might have to come home to live with mama. Isn't she lovely?


The frame of this chair reminds me of the Greek classic, Klismos chair...and all those nailheads, stop it! Plus she's got a hot finish on those gams!

So, so happy when I see this :-)

Are you as tired of seeing the typical wingback as I am? This one has some fun lines but still feels like a wingback for the traditionalists out there.

Ok, you had me at tufting and nailheads! What's that you say? You want to live in my dining room?...Oh okaaay! Money, ahem, I mean Honey, can I have these for Christmas???

I hope you're having a great week!

Happy "What I'm Loving" Wednesday :-)

What I'm Loving...

Our Christmas decorations, and everyone else's that are everywhere right now, for that matter...who doesn't?!
We are traditionalists around my house. We do a collected, sentimental tree. It is what I grew up with and something that I look forward to putting up all year. I've never been a fan of "decorator trees" personally. They are very beautiful, trust me, I've decorated my fair share of them in my profession, but I love the character and the stories that come from sentimental and collected ornaments. I even love colored lights. In fact, every year our tree usually has colored lights but I thought I would see how I liked all white this year. I think they are beautiful but I'm going back to colored lights next year for sure. Some might think that's 'throw back' or even kind of country, but it reminds me of the trees we had growing up and I love it! We also always do a real tree. This can be impractical and inconvenient in many households but I seriously love the smell. The whole house smells like pine. And, we always do a noble fir. I like the fluffy, waxy needles :-)
When my husband and I got married, we began a tradition of buying an ornament every place that we traveled to. This has been really fun, sometimes a pain, but fun, especially when we get to pull them all out and remember our adventures.

Here are some our my favorites...

This is just gorgeous. This gilded Florentine wood cross is a true reminder of why we have a flippin' tree in the middle of our house to begin with. It is very easy to get lost in the decorating of it all. This is a true reminder of the reason for the season. We bought this in a little shop, down a cobbled street in Florence, Italy.
This one isn't actually from travels...it's from Tarjay, but I love peacocks so I included it :-)

This one is so cute. I bought this in New York right after my husband and I got engaged.

Of course this is a favorite. Is anyone (who reads this blog) surprised to see the black and white striped ribbon? I had to wiggle that in there somewhere.

There is plenty of whimsy mixed in with all the serious too. We bought this moose on our trip to Alaska. If you pull the star his wings flap. Ah, simple joys.

I have a few versions of these little guys all throughout. I love little mushrooms...it goes back to youth and my Alice obsession.

...ending on a serious one. We bought this beautiful Murano blown glass nativity in Murano, Italy.

I also collect nutcrackers. These guys make me happy! Another childhood obsession, with the ballet of course.

How do you decorate for the holidays at your home?
Happy Wednesday!

What I'm Loving...

This gorgeous cabinet that I am using in a stunning living and dining room design. The wood is a perfect weathered gray and the iron x fronts and cremone locks are classic details that make me drool. A couple more details of this project...


I will be finishing this one up soon. It is looking lovely!
Happy "What I'm Loving Wednesday" :-)

Thankful

We all have so much to be thankful for. I hope that your day was filled with family and friends...and a yummy, over-indulgent dinner of course.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

If you like pumpkin pie and cheesecake you are going to thank me for this one. It is like the two got together and had a love child! It's g-o-o-d!!!
I don't have a lot of down time these days, with my workload, but I've got to take a little to keep myself sane. During these times you can find me either watching some mindless reality TV show or cooking/ baking something. These are the times when I am truly relaxed. Sunday, it was overcast and cool and so I took a little time for myself and baked.
If you are interested in whipping this up yourself, which would be perfect for Thanksgiving, here is what you are going to need:
10 graham crackers - finely crushed
1/4 c. finely chopped pecans
1/4 c. melted butter
4 pkg. (8 oz. ea.) Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
cool whip and ground nutmeg for serving
9" springform pan
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, pecans and butter and press into the pan and about 1" up the side like below. Bake for about 7 mins, remove and cool. Beat the cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended and fluffy. Add pumpkin, spice, and vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, with the mixer on medium.
Pour into cooled pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 mins, until the center is almost set. Turn the oven off and let it sit in the oven with the door open for about 20 mins, then move to a place to cool completely. Once it is cooled completely, move it to the fridge for at least 4 hours.

A little trick with cheesecake - put a water bath below during baking and this will keep the cake moist. Something I learned from the food network ;-)

After you remove it from the fridge, use a hot knife to run around the edges before you remove the springform sides.
It makes the prettiest variation of oranges and light browns, perfect for your Thanksgiving spread.

Serve with a dollop of cool whip and a dusting of ground nutmeg.

If you try this out, let me know how it goes and if you love it as much as I do :-)

Enjoy!