DO YOU LIKE MUSTARD?

 

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Growing up I quickly learned you were either a mustard girl, or mayonnaise girl. I always preferred mustard to mayo.

Today I am not referring to the condiment. I am referring to the color mustard.

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It is a color that can’t be warn by everyone if it is close to the face, but it is a color that I personally love to wear.

Mustard can be worn with so many other colors. It is a very versatile color, and a perfect addition to any Fall wardrobe.

I started adding a touch of mustard to my own wardrobe last season, and found I wore it quite a bit.

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I love wearing it with navy, but it works equally as well with grays, and blacks.

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Even if you can’t wear it close to your face you could wear it in a skirt or pant.

You could even use it as an accent in an accessory…….

Often times we don’t consider using a color in our wardrobe because it does not look good with our skin tone, but by using it as an accessory we can add a fun new element to our wardrobes. 

This is a good way to freshen up your wardrobe from season to season.

It is a good way to stay fresh, and current without breaking the bank.

As I looked around the web I found colors mixed with mustard that surprised me. Fun combinations that I might not have thought about wearing together…….

Mustard and Mint

Mustard and Cobalt

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Mustard, Gray, and Purple

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Mustard and Teal

Be sure and look around at what Mother Nature puts with mustard. I think you will be pleasantly surprised……

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Look in your closet and see what pieces you might have that you could add a little mustard to your Fall wardrobe.

I for one am going to enjoy wearing a little mustard  this Fall season!

 

 

 

Craving A Little Coziness

 

What makes you feel cozy in the cooler months? I think it varies in different parts of the country as well as from person to person.

Today I am going to show you some rooms that evoke, warmth, coziness, and just feel inviting to me.

Study the images, and see if you can find something that you might like to add to your own homes.

I will try to point out what I was attracted to in the images, or what is inspiring me as we go along.

A cozy cable knit throw, soft puffy pillows, and candles grouped in a glass cube make this room have such a warm and welcoming feel.

I was inspired by the glass cube full of candles. Notice, nothing fancy, just pure, simple comfort.

Stacks of books always add warmth to a room. Notice the tea pot on the little side table in the background.

There is not a lot going on in this room,yet it makes you want to come in, sit down, and pick up one of those books and slowly turn the pages.

The lighting in this rom adds such a beautiful glow, as well as the natural light coming in the room.

I have read that some designers like to have their chandeliers, and sconces on even in the day time.

Personally I like to have certain lights in my own home on during the day. It  gives a nice glow to the room. Lights, and plants will always add life, and warmth to a room.

Try it! For ambient lighting I use small 7.5 watt refrigertor lights in my accent lamps. They give off a wonderful candle glow light.

Dimmers are also very helpful to lower the wattage and give off a warm candle glow.

Warm woods, family photos, fresh fruit, and flowers will always make any room inviting.

Most of the images I have shown you have been with a fireplace, and warm colors. 

This image shows how cool colors can give warmth, and coziness merely by adding texture with cable knit.

Adding an area rug, and a quilt to a room will also make it feel warm and inviting. In this image you can see that they also left the lamps on during the day.

Now go and look in your own room!

Turn on some of the lights with low wattage bulbs, add a stack of books. 

Place a throw on the sofa, or add a quilt. Bring in a plant, or fresh flowers, light a candle. Sit back, and enjoy your warm cozy space.

(If you would like to see some more cozy rooms you can go HERE to my Fall/Winter rooms board on Pinterest.)

 

 

An Important Lesson I Have To Share With YOU!!

   

Life teaches us many lessons!  I try to be a student of life, so when I learn a lesson I like to share it with people I care about. 

Recently something has come to my attention more than a few times. Since it keeps showing itself to me, I feel compelled to share it with YOU my dear readers.

I believe we are all connected in some way, or another. I also believe that people are brought into our lives for a variety of reasons, but none just happen to be by chance. We can all learn from each other…

Even in blogland we will have the chance to meet others virtually if not in person, and they will have experiences that we can learn from.

Blogland can be a very fickle place, and to be honest I still do not quite get the pulse of things, but I have noticed something that has bothered me for quite awhile now.

I see people trying to become something they are not in order to promote their blog. I have to talk to myself all the time to not get caught up in the politics of blogland.

You see when I started my blog, I did it as a creative outlet, and a means to teach some of the design lessons I had learned in my professional life as a designer. 

I love design, and have a real passion for it. So much so, that even I think I can be a bit obsessed at times.

Blogging was a way to continue feeding this passion of mine. Sadly, sometimes it has also almost killed this passion. Not by anyone’s hand but my own.

The lesson I am learning is you MUST stay true to yourself.

If you gain fame, and lose yourself you have gained nothing. 

I have seen followers come, and go on my blog, and that is just the way it goes in blogland.

But, something I have observed not particularly on my little blog, but in blogland in general, is that you are only as famous as your best, last post.(sounds like Hollywood and movies, doesn’t it?)

Readers will swarm to be next to you when you are in the limelight, but as soon as they see it does not benefit their own goals, or ambitions they move on.

I know we have all felt the sting of this in our own lives, and in blogland.

I find this very sad, and so shallow to be honest. I like to think I personally have more substance than this. 

I  am thankful to say that I also have many friends that have remained throughout the thick and thin of it all.

They seem to get what is truly important in life, relationships vs. fame.

You might not become famous, or in the spotlight by associating with me, but I will guarantee you will have a true friend, one that cares, and tries to reach out when the need is there.

This post will probably not sit well with many, but I am sure there are those that have felt the cruelness of blogland, and felt as if they might be alone in these feeling.

I am here to tell you, as in the real world, blogland can be just as cruel.

Because of this stay faithful to yourself, and to the friends that have been with you from the beginning. Never treat people as stepping stones to take in order to get you where you want to be.

Design is still a passion of mine, and I will continue to write as long as there are readers that let me know they are benefiting from what I write. I want to maintain my passion, and joy that design has given me.

I am thankful to all of YOU who remain faithful in your reading, and commenting, and will try to never take you for granted.

Hopefully I can continue…..

“Enjoying The Process!” Of:

The Good Life Of Design

 

 

It Pays Off To Be Patient When Decorating A Room!

   

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Can you all relate to loving something, then finding it, and then it not working like you thought it would in your room?

That is just what happened to me this summer when I went on the hunt for a sailboat for my family room.

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I had been pinning images of rooms where a sail boat model had been used for quite awhile. I just knew it was going to work in my room.

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I found one, ordered it after careful consideration, and measuring. 

I was so excited the day it arrived.

 

We put in place, and then the disappointment sat in, it did not work! 

After about 4 days of trying to talk myself into keeping it, I sadly boxed it back, up and sent it back. (You can read about it here, if you like.)

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I am not a girl that gives up easily, so I kept the sailboat on my radar, and this week my radar zeroed in on the perfect candidate. 

I am just sure  there were angels singing when my eyes spotted it, there had to be an aura around it glowing beautifully.

Kathysue is one happy lady, and now the proud owner of not one, but two sailboats for her family room. 

That’s right! TWO!!

An original oil painting of two beautiful sailboats sailing on ocean waves, with seagulls, blue skies, and white puffy clouds!

It fits in beautifully for my Fall/Winter look for my family room.

The soft gold frame with some silver leafing is the perfect combination with the touches of brass in the room

I love how it looks with the antique brass wall sconces by Mary Mc Donald.

It sits proudly above my childhood desk.

This is blogging central for me. I have a perfect view of the outdoors in my backyard, and now I can look up and dream of being at the ocean!

It really does pay off to be patient when it comes to decorating! 

DON’T YOU AGREE?