A Fashion Post

 HAVING FUN WITH YOUR WARDROBE IS KEY!!

Color and pattern are big this Spring. I love it! 

However I am not a big floral lover when it comes to wearing it on my body. 

Give me a colorful bouquet of real flowers and I am delighted, but when choosing patterns for my home, and my wardrobe I am more of a stripe or check kind of gal.

So what is a girl to do? Well lets look at other places we can wear color and pattern. How about your FEET?

Earlier this season I saw a darling pairs of sandals that were very colorful and I have not been able to get them out of my mind.

Via

Look at how many colors are in these shoes, you could wear these with so many outfits! I fell in love with them. They have yet to enter my closet, but they are definitely on my radar.

When I saw these it made me look around for more colorful options....

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These are just so fun, notice how the wedge is not just high in the back but also in the front, this will keep your foot a much more level angle and be more comfortable but will give you some height if you are a bit short like my self. These could be worn with dresses or pants, easily.

This next pair is a flip flop but it could be worn with a cute sundress or shorts easily.

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I think these are so fresh and Summery or Springy!!

If I am being honest with myself this pair actually would have the most possibilities with my own personal wardrobe. They are also more geometric in their design and that is what I tend to enjoy wearing the most.

via

Sam Edelman brand shoe usually will fit my thin foot so that is also a plus. Oh dear what is a girl to do?

This is just another way for you to wear pattern in your wardrobe if you are a little shy using it in a piece of clothing. Just think of the fun nail polishes you could add to the mix!

THINGS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER!......

We all need to have more fun with our wardrobes and adding color and pattern is a way to amp up your wardrobe without having to make a bigger than life statement. 

Remember one of the key things you need to do when dressing is always wear colors that you look, and feel good in, and the other thing is to have some fun with your wardrobe!!

BTW: For those of you who might not be aware of how to find the shoes pictured, just click on the word VIA below each picture and that will take you to the link!!

 

 

NEW HOUSE UPDATE! Backyard Plans Unfolding!

Things are moving right along at our new home. The back yard has been started and we both are so excited to see it completed, but enjoying each stage of progress.

The first thing they did was to stain our fence. Since we have an HOA we had two choices. Natural or a darker reddish stain. I had to go back and forth about this decision because my husband preferred the dark one over the light one.

This is how my brain was working....... I know the darker reddish stain will make the green plants stand out and would make a great backdrop because red and green are opposites on the color wheel. I walked around the neighborhood look at fences stained that color.

Then I treated myself like a client and the very first thing I would ask a client is do you EVEN like that color? The answer was a big fat NO, it was to russet for my liking and my home is bright and airy and I did not want to look out my windows and see a dark fence. So it was settled, we went with the lighter more natural looking fence.

Next came the weed removal, boy was that hard work for them. I am sure glad I did not have to do that job.......

Once all of the weeds were removed the digging for the sprinklers, drains and electrical was placed in the ground. Next came the forms for the cement that would make our patio's and walkway at the side of the house.......

 We will actually have 3 patios, one which is a covered area right outside our great room door that the builder provided, then there will be another rectangle patio that joins that one at the back of the house and it will intersect a circular patio that will be all used brick....

You can see the start of the circular formation in this picture.

On each side of the circular brick patio there will be a small lawn area.

After they compacted all the gravel they began finishing up the forms and adding the rebar. There will also be steps in the lawn area that will go to the other side yard.

When the cement truck arrived it was busy, busy, and the men really worked fast and furious to get it all in the forms correctly. An amazing process and a definite skill when it comes to the finish work.

Thursday two big pallets of used bricks were delivered and they start laying the brick tomorrow. This is the part I am most excited about.

We will have brick around the mow strip and framing (brick end to end) the walkways and the steps, the walkway will have soldier brick breaking up the long expanse of concrete. the circular patio will have soldier brick (brick side by side) around the edges and then a herring bone pattern  in the middle.

Here are some pictures of examples of the look I am going for.

The brick on the outside of the walkway will be end to end in order to give us more walking space, but the division of the walkway will be like this is pictured above.

You can see in this inspiration picture the soldier brick around the edges.

 I will keep you all posted as more changes happen in our yard. Next week we get to go pick out the plants. I also get to pick out some boulders that will be placed on the slope behind the lawn area. 

We are beyond excited and grateful to be able to do this. We have never had any project totally done. In fact when we were younger we were the one's raking rocks off the soil to plant a new lawn, digging post holes for fences. 

So you see, we understand the hard work that is involved, and we do not take it for granted that we get to do this in this stage of life, and have someone else do the work for us.

Lots to be thankful for and excited about!!!

I am definitely .......

"Enjoying the Process!"

 

 

I Made A Purchase With My Heart

 

 

 via

In 2012 I did my once a year color prediction for that year and I chose Kelly green.  Kelly green is a color I enjoy wearing as well as using it in my interiors. 

 

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I still use it 4 years later and to be honest I don't see me not using it in my home as an accent.

 

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Even if you are not a lover of Kelly green I am sure you have other colors that you love and can relate to this post.

 

 via

As you all know I am a planner and even when I make a purchase I have a good idea where I will be putting a new element that I want to buy. 

I know most people buy with their hearts, and find a place for their new treasure, but I would say for myself 9 times out of 10 I have a plan.

EXCEPT when it came to a Kelly Green item that I absolutely fell in love with and gasped the very first time I saw it. It was in my friend's home, Terri of La Dolfina.........

Terri called this her cabinet of curiosities and I called it Spectacular on any or all levels. The one pop of Kelly green with that pedestal made this whole composition sing harmoniously. If you cover it up it is still beautiful, but for me, the pedestal made this vignette over the top.

I told her if she ever sold it I wanted to purchase it. At that moment it spoke to my heart and I wasn't sure where I would put it, but I knew it was small enough to work in my home and the color would work well with my black and white base with touches of cobalt blues.

It was a couple of years later and Terri decided to sell it and I was a happy camper and brought it home. I found the perfect spot for it and it was just the right touch in my all black and white guest bathroom....

It was the perfect piece to  hold guest towels.

It has an Asian motif carved into the plaster column, the top is wood and painted the bright kelly green and washed with gold to bring out the design. It has some knicks and chips, but that just adds to the charm of it for me.

In our new home it will not fit in our very small guest bath to hold towels, however I did find the perfect spot for it.

Once I brought out my Spring pillows it was a slam dunk!!

Now it is used to hold a guest's drink instead of guest towels.

When you love something I guess it does pay to buy it. It's interesting to me that the green in the pillow matches the green in the pedestal even though they were purchased at different times for different rooms. If you love something and you are consistent in your design choices and style you will often be able to use some of the same elements in different rooms.

I was so happy to bring out my treasure and place it in our new home. I think it looks as if it has always been here, don't you?

Think about the elements in your own homes. Can you interchange elements from one to another. Are you consistent in your design choices? If you find that you feel as if you are all over the map. Make a vignette of 5 of your very favorite elements in your home and you will see a style emerge and a direction you should go in your own home. I like to do this for my clients. and I make them choose elements that are at least 3-5 years old so it is a long time love, not a new kid on the block kind of love. You can read my post on and Informative vignette HERE to try out my method to see what you come up with.