Spring is Peeking Around the Corner

No snow or ice in the forecast and we may flirt with 60 degrees this week.

While Spring is not my favorite season, who cannot just love it. Fresh earth and fresh air. Fresh starts?

The days that leapfrog between warm and cool

The perfect time to utilize all of the items in your warddrobe. Light & heavy, mix & match.

All photos via bodenusa. I've don't actually own any Boden clothing, but the boys have some mini boden stuff and I love it...unique colors and very well made. I'm torn between the Vintage Hoody in Corn and the Uplifting Mac in Taupe...

~ Happy Valentine's Day ~

Help ~ Our Office Needs a Makeover!

Please forgive my dark photos. This is our office, that is right off the family room via a french door (in other words, can't hide it). In here we have a large desk with matching wood file and...
the Clik-Clak. The Clik-Clak is an incredible pleather futon from Big Lots. I love it more than most of my "real" furniture. Currently, it stays in the down position, so little boys can play, romp & lounge.

My problem with the room is furniture placement (as well as the world traveler wallpaper border left by homeowners past). I hope to erase it in the future but I love my valance (Ebay, 8 years ago, Ralph Lauren Sarah Floral, 2 pieces = $3)

The closet juts out into the room and makes it awkward. I'd like to move the desk away from the wall, but then how do I deal with cords and hard drives, etc... My girlfriend suggested installing wireless internet...what the heck is that?! (neither one of us is technologically sound)

If someone wants to offer some advice I would LOVE to hear. I was thinking about moving the 5x9 rug underneath the desk and angling the 2 main pieces across from each other. I guess I just need to play with it, until I am happy with it. It sure would make paying bills alot easier if the room flowed better!

Have a great Weekend!

{2nd} Homes I Love...

Kill Devil Hills, NC aka OBX. Although we live at the shore, a very similar shore, it's one of my favorite places on earth. I have family that migrated from NJ there, have spent alot of time there and apparently I have a realtor there...Realtor *Greg* has sent me listings for a couple of years now. Mostly the listings are beautiful and unattainable or cheap and really dumpy (I'm talking trailers in marshes with beer bottle art) Then I get this listing. The above is the view from the Oyster Point condo. I'll take a bay~nature view anyday....
Bright, clean and nice doors to the balcony...
Fireplace and built-ins...good, good...
Groups of windows...okay not my "wall of windows", but a nice grouping. Again, clean and bright.
Nice door and pleasant entry, I can work with Parquet flooring...

So I am wanting this place so bad I can taste it...it's literally the price of a luxury car loan (or two). Two beds, 2 full baths, fireplace, low taxes and hoa's, canal front with the sound beyond....TEMP-TING. We are a few years away from having a second home (although Publishers Clearinghouse drawing is mere weeks away...), I can dream....

Who out there has a vacation or second home? Is it comfy or opulent? Furnished new or with thrifted finds and cast-offs? I love the thought of decorating a vacation home purely with found items...talk about a blank slate, it would teach me to be more creative!

Thinking Pink

For a night out
For my Stuff

For my Keys

For my Finger

For my Feet

Many blogs I follow are featuring Pinks & Reds for Valentine's Day. Normally I don't wear either, they don't flatter this hopelessly pasty irish girls skin :-( but all these posts have me a tad envious....I did a bit of "monitor shopping" at Nordstrom last nite and found some items that I could easily incorporate into my anti-pink lifestyle (although the dress would have to wait until August when I have my summer flush)!

On another note, I skipped GO when it came to Valentine's decorating and went straight to Easter ;-p

(Photos courtesy of Nordstrom)

My 1st Blog Experience (and I didn't even know it)

It was the creator of these beautiful pieces, Tracy Porter.

This is the piece that started my obsession when I saw it at a shop in Key West November 2007. Hubby bought it and had it shipped home for me. The name of the line is Artesian Road. When we returned home I immediately googled (or maybe I asked Jeeves) Tracy Porter and was taken to her blog chronicling her life, work, family, etc...It was new to me, getting a glimpse into this womans life (back then in the midwest, I believe she is now in CA) her handsome hubby and beautiful gaggle of sons! And, of course, her LOVELY creations. I think she may have even sold her products via the blog and a catalog which I immediately requested.

It was the kind of catalog that you curled up with and took time to read and placed items in your home, in your mind. Unbeknownst to me before receiving the catalog, she also designed clothing and accessories...Bonus!

However, while I enjoy Mrs. Porter's items, she was always a bit out of my budget.... I receive additional pieces as gifts or I have to admit to heading to Ebay to save a few $.

My latest addition (Neiman Marcus $16 free shipping~go me!). I've found that Artesian Road is very versatile and can mix & match with alot..woods, pewters, etc...HOWEVER, there are so many more pieces I want (and so many more I NEED to actually use these babies at a party, reception, holiday...); I am hoping to score some cake plates that I plan to use for appetizers at our quarterly game nights. I find it ironic that, I too, can share my little life with people. Follow this link to check Tracy Porter and her beautiful merchandise for yourself http://www.tracyporter.com/

Home Tour Tuesday is on hold til' next week ~ I am looking forward to showing you all my boys bedrooms ~ Have a great day!

Some Whimsical, All Beautiful

While Blog-hopping, I found this http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1905139 via the New York Social Diary. The New York Botanical Garden recently held their Annual Orchid Dinner. Orchids were the stars of these breathtaking centerpieces. In the above image, I am very, very fond of the slipcovers and table covering...they take center stage for me!


I am such a fan of oranges and rust colors. This is one of my favorites. The New York Botanical Garden is on our wish list (ok, just mine) this year, they are having a Caribbean Flower exhibition currently and an Antique Garden Furniture Exhibition and Sale (as if) that I'd really like to catch.

My mouth is watering...

Yummy! This screams Spring/Easter to me....edible centerpiece for Easter Dinner? Perhaps...maybe not as extreme as this ;-)

What girl wouldn't want to sit at this table?!

Again, for more images (via New York Social Diary) and a breath of fresh air, please visit: http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1905139. Also visit www.nybg.org if you are in the NY area and are interested in visiting. TGIF ~ Everyone!

Homes I Love...

Circa 1904 ~ they don't make them like this anymore...I wish there was a close-up of the front door. The large arched window was probably added later, I am thinking that it was a drive-thru for autos and horse-drawn carriages back in the day...

The Arch details are amazing....this was a gate house to the Seawood Mansion that is no longer standing

Original flooring and built-ins

The fireplace mirrors the arches throughout the home (I wonder if the mantle clock is original or just a good match?!)

From the Realtor: Own a piece of Spring Lake history! This charming 1904 "gate house" to the historic Seawood mansion has all of the character you'd expect, but has 2010 conveniences. Discover the charm of the brick entry hall, the beautiful "great room" with brick fireplace and beamed ceiling, the 3 bedrooms including new master suite,the original kitchen, dining room with old fashioned cupboards, living room overlooking the private yard, even the original gates. A rare chance to preserve our town's heritage.