Autumn's shorter days and chilly nights have us wanting to make our homes especially cozy this time of year. It may seem strange, but one of my little joys is walking through the house each evening to switch on the lamps or light a few candles to offset the earlier sunsets. Soft lamplight (as opposed to harsh overhead lighting) makes such a difference in the way a home feels. It's an eas[...]
From learning how to sew custom curtains and reupholster furniture to gaining knowledge about wine tasting and how to grow your own organic food--Create Academy literally brings all this and more to your fingertips! I recently discovered the trove of curated, expert-led, online courses and fell in love with their concept of "joyful learning." Create Academy aims to help peo[...]
As I rounded the corner into September, it took me a little while to find my way into a new routine. I almost felt like it was January and I had the "post-Christmas blues." I was definitely missing summer. But after thinking about it, I realized I actually felt overloaded by my children's new school year routine. In years past, I didn't feel that overwhelmed by the amount of scheduled time[...]
As a longtime admirer of James T. Farmer's aesthetic, I happily added his newest book to my collection. Celebrating Home A Time For Every Season has got to be one of the prettiest entertaining books I've seen in a long time. Arranged by seasonal gatherings, each chapter begins with a lovely watercolor invitation and often a sentimental poem to mark the occasion. I found myself slowly turni[...]
Last Friday, Farrah and I did something that felt a little indulgent. After dropping our girls at school and kissing our husbands goodbye, we packed up the car and headed to the mountains for a weekend of relaxation, spa treatments and design. It felt wonderful to unplug for a bit and soak up the mountain air, along with lots of inspiration at the Cashiers Designer Showhouse.[...]
Traveling this summer my family journeyed to Yellowstone for one week. As you might expect, there were numerous activities at our fingertips. Hiking, visiting landmarks, swimming, fishing, rafting, or just relaxing and enjoying the phenomenal view. Montana is not short on beautiful scenery - in fact you can’t escape it. But the one aspect that really had me thinking about national par[...]
Farrah has written about this in the past, but I also find joy in reading and prefer escaping in a book to watching the latest show on Netflix. Compiling a summer reading list is even one of my nerdy, little pleasures. Each year I try to jot down at least a handful of books I'd like to be able to check off by the time September rolls around. Now that it's August (and my kids are back in[...]
I'm back with another "five little things" post to share some of the small stuff that's been making me smile lately. Inspiration for this summery post struck at our recent book club meeting. In addition to selecting a book to read and discuss, we've taken to occasionally swapping our favorite things centered around a theme. It's so much fun to discover the unexpected items that your frie[...]
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