I have some projects that have been brewing since we moved in October. It’s been a little too cold to have the windows open or to do the work outside, so the smellier projects have been on hold. Now that we’ve cleared some stuff out and are enjoying sunshine in our  windows, I’m itching to get started. I’m tired of the dark dark dark look we’ve had going and am ready to change some things out for spring.

Actually, if our house could look just like this one from House Beautiful last month, I’d be a happy girl. Soft colors, natural linens, mingling woods in their au natural beauty. Sign me up.

All photos from House Beautiful.

Now, realistically I would never have ALL glass cabinets. Storage is there to store things – and not all things I want to display (like Crisco, crackers, tin foil…). But I love when there is a cabinet or two, or maybe a special built-in unit, that features a few see-through cabinets. Or heck, ditches the glass all together (chicken wire, anyone?).

Yum. Now you all know what my future kitchen (once I own a home and can demo the heck out of it) will look like!

Photos from (in order): Martha Stewart, Home Sweet Home, Mark Olson as seen on Desire to Inspire, design*sponge.

Gardening in Heels is a tumblr blog full of outdoor pictures from magazines, blogs, and photographer’s portfolios. Not just one garden. Not just practical “this is what an aphid looks like” photos. Just loads of day-dream inducing images.

So if you are working on your own garden and starting to think “what’s the point” or “I worked all afternoon and all I have is a box full of dirt”, then pop on over and click through a few pages. You’ll be energized and ready to head back out. You’ll also want to build a greenhouse, a patio, get a fountain, and stomp grapes to make your own wine to serve in a grassy field under mason jars filled with tealights. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Here’s a sample. Enjoy, my dears!

All photos seen on Gardening in Heels.

This is pretty much where I’d like to be today. Big fluffly bed with a million big fluffy pillows. Maybe take a moment with some coffee in one of those yellow chairs wrapped in the cashmere throw. Sleeping the day away.

I never seem to sleep well Sunday night (I woke up at about 3 a.m. and only dozed after that with weird dreams that kept waking me up). Maybe it’s the anticipation of having to wake up to an alarm in the morning. Or going back to cubicle-sitting all week.  But I usually wake up Monday still tired and more than a little cranky. Here are some of my tips for getting energized for a new week:

1. Wake up to a clean and organized morning. Friday afternoon, tie up loose ends and lay out things to tackle first thing Monday morning. At home, doesn’t it help to wake up to a clean kitchen and an outfit already chosen?

2. Use a fresh-smelling soap or shower gel in the morning. It will help ease you out of sleep in a pleasant way.

3. Have a good breakfast. This could be a healthy breakfast or a treat-yourself breakfast. But have something that you enjoy – no cold, half buttered toast that you’re shoving in your mouth as you run out the door. Take something portable, like a yogurt, to enjoy later in the morning if you’re in too much of a rush.

4. Listen to some pump-me-up tunes. In the car, blast your “power song”. On the bus or train, please use headphones. Stay-at-home moms and dads? How about while you’re showering?

5. Have something to look forward to Monday night.

How do you keep from getting the Monday blues?

In the main room, dark walls, vintage art, caned chairs, and black lampshades all make my heart go pitter patter. I also love the use of the benches under the low console (with the bar handy, of course). This is a great use of space for those of us with small homes who love to entertain. Note that none of these pieces look particularly expensive (you could find similar chairs for a steal with a little hunting).

I just adore the duvet and shams in the bedroom. Other must-haves I’m loving: desks as side tables, iron beds, marble and/or alabaster lamps. Not crazy about the lampshades here (they would be killer in black. Ooh, or bright pink). The pooch is a cutie too.

On the other wall of the bedroom, a great vintage dresser. Love that he kept the natural wood, especially with all the other white furniture in the room. And the mirror is a great addition. I would probably add a pop of color, maybe in a trim on the lampshade – love the base of the lamp though. And it’s easier to see the wall color in this shot. Looks like a soft dove gray.

In the bathroom, which he painted black, I love the use of a pretty vintage chair as a towel holder. Can’t go wrong with a big stack of crisp white towels! I also have a thing for old ship paintings, and this pair together is particularly charming. The little brassy wastebin adds a nice warmth, especially on the cold tile. DIYers take note – here’s a way to get that subway tile look with a possibly cheaper tile.

This space has been in my inspiration archives for a while so I’m excited to finally be getting around to sharing it. What is your favorite part? Or would you scrap the whole place and fill it with modern art and lucite furniture? Do share, my dears!

With March closing up quickly and the equinox passed, it is now full grown springtime.  As a May baby, I’ve always loved spring. But besides my birthday, it’s a lovely time of year for everyone. Take the above picture for example. Spring is the perfect time to paint something white, add crystals, harvest hydrangeas, and munch on some fruit.

Even though Seattle seems to have skipped the whole “out like a lamb” part of March, I am excited to start April tomorrow and get into the best parts of springtime.

Today, why not celebrate spring in even a small way?

1. Pick up some flowers on your way home.

2. Peruse the seed catalogs and put in your orders.

3. Read a great gardening blog like A Way to Garden or You Grow Girl.

4. Get a head start on dying eggs (and enjoy some egg salad on toast, my favorite springtime breakfast!).

5. Baby animals! Go visit cuteoverload.

Last time I wrote about the garden, we’d decided to grow vegetables and herbs in containers. As renters, we assumed that containers would be the only option, even with our large backyard space. But in speaking to our landlord, he gave us the option of doing some raised or bordered beds. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

Here’s a look at our yard from our back porch:

The big white space is the roof of a garage, and is level with the ground. Near the bottom half of the picture, the ground slopes down a bit. But that little corner behind the garage? It gets great sun all day and is the perfect spot for some beds.

On Saturday we took the measuring tape for a spin and figured out that we can fit two beds, probably about 3×8 feet (it’s a bigger space than it looks!). Our original idea was that the beds would be across from each other, one by the fence, and one by the garage. With a little walkway between, it would be the perfect place to spend an afternoon weeding.

However, it’s important to pay attention to the sunlight your spot gets. Until about 4 pm the plot next to the fence would be in shade… not exactly what our tomatoes and peas are in the market for. So we rearranged our plan so that we will have two beds end-to-end next to the garage.

I’m so ready to get going and start digging! But first we need to get some supplies, like, oh I don’t know, lumber, shovels, soil, fertilizer, hoes, trowels, seeds…

So after raiding our parents’ tools sheds, looks like a shopping trip is in order! Since we’re starting from scratch, and from the pricing we did at Home Depot, it’s not going to be cheap… but that’s what tax returns are for, right?

Anyone else starting from scratch on a garden this summer? Or seasoned veterans, do you have any tips for us newbie gardeners? Must-have tools or lifesavers?

Remember Liz, whose drab bedroom had her and her boy yawning? Beige, beige, more beige. Plus a lack of necessary furniture. On a student budget, they weren’t sure they could afford to make a big change. My suggestion was to spend their few hundred dollar on thrifted finds and pops of color.

Due to availability, Liz made a few tweaks to the design. When she sent me her “after” pictures, I was so excited to see that she was still able to bring in the new color scheme and gain plenty of new storage space, plus dress up her walls (previously bare)! Let’s take a look:

I love that she repeated the teal color in some of the art, and a strategically placed scarf!

Looks great Liz! More pictures of the room are over on Liz’s blog.

If you have a room that needs a little TLC, hit me up! For $75 you’ll get a customized design for your space, based on your wants, needs, likes and dislikes. You’ll get a shopping list and moodboard like the one above and I work with budgets of all sizes.

Oh right, and the flowers are beautiful.

Which is why I was SO excited to see Emerson’s home that she shares with her hubby Ryan (great name!) in New Hampshire featured on design*sponge yesterday. I love her  style, I love her products… would I love her home?

Reader, I was not disappointed.

(For a real heart-stopping moment, make sure you scroll alllll the way down for a glimpse of their pantry. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I am drooling over here.)

We got this cute ceramic baking dish from Ryan’s aunt for Valentines Day. To break it in, this weekend I tried one of my dad’s old standby recipes from my childhood – peach cobbler. This recipe was easy, low-cost, and had us eating warm cobbler in about an hour.

Ingredients

2 cans sliced peaches (I might add a third can of just peaches (not the syrup)).

1 T corn starch

1/4 C sugar

1 C flour

1 T sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 C vegetable oil

1/2 C milk

6-8 small pats of butter

Directions

1. Mix the canned fruit (with syrup), cornstarch, and 1/4 C sugar in a saucepan. Set on medium heat. Heat slowly to a rolling boil, stirring often.

2. To make the dough, mix the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil and milk and mix.

3. Pour peach mixture into baking dish. Top with the butter pieces.

4. Place blobs of dough (a large spoonful should be fine) on top of the peaches and butter.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. We turned our oven down to 375 for the last ten minutes because our oven runs a little hot, so adjust as necessary. Crust should be golden brown and baked through when cut open with a knife.

Serve warm with whipping cream or ice cream. Makes 4-6 servings, depending on how much you like it!