Battersea Sofette

Dear Battersea Sofette,

You are beautiful. Can I please take you home with me? I sat on you in Anthropologie and you were so comfortable and a perfect fit to me.

Back to School Desk Roundup

My husband is going to grad school which means our whole family is going back to school. As a result, I thought it would be appropriate to have an office roundup and pick some favorite desks to get in the spirit of the move and the new adventure ahead. Perhaps it'll be helpful for some of you who are going back to school, have a child going back to school, or need a facelift in your office space. Enjoy!

New West Elm Pratt desk $299

Sloane grey leaning desk Crate and Barrell $149 Great space saver and price!

Go-cart red desk CB2 $149 Fun colors and fun design

Pottery Barn Bedford System....the ultimate organizer!

Newbury desk from Room & board $1499. Love the mid-century modern.

Which are you?

A decorating discussion with a friend the other day leads me to this question... Which style fits you?

Do you prefer more simple, perhaps tailored, matching design where everything has a place a purpose and is clean?

Or do you prefer eclectic design, where things don't necessarily match but they go together...different styles fused into one room..."anthropologie-esque"?

I personally am a mix of both. In master bedrooms, I like symmetry and clean lines and a simple color palette. Bathrooms I feel the same. But in all other rooms I like to mix it up...kids rooms, living rooms etc.... it is fun to play with pattern, color, old and new, and quirky unexpected items.

Seeking shade

Summer is here in Carlsbad.....finally! Good-bye June gloom and hello sizzling sunshine! I hope you all beat the heat this weekend and seek some shade ( or pools and beaches to cool down). Here are a few 'shady' outdoor spaces to dream about while sipping some cool lemonade.

Happy weekend!

La Jolla shops

We are moving in a month, and I have made a list of all my favorite things to do in the area...plus more. I am hoping to get to them all one more time before we say good-bye.

One of those places is La Jolla. It is incredibly overcrowded in the summertime, but what are you gonna do? It is crowded everywhere in Southern California in the summertime.

Thanks to the direction of Caitlin Creer Interiors, I popped in a few new decor stores (Etceteras and Girard Avenue Collection). They had lots of great finds! A bit overpriced (especially because you can get antiques for way cheaper near my hometown in MD) but lots of fun to browse!

LOVE the train station posters....these are of our very own San Fran (was our own and will be again in a month) and San Diego surf spots. One day I will reproduce it myself....

I have yet to see the movie, but I thought this was pretty funny and am curious to see where in the movie the store (Seaside Home) shows up.

How cute would this be as a dresser in a kids room?

In light of summertime, beach cities, and fabulous antique shopping...here are some inspiration photos for a beach house. We can dream, right?

Stripes

Who doesn't love a good set of stripes? In fashion, I'm always drawn to a good stripe...whether it's a shirt or shoes or skirt or whatever.

(J Crew and Tom's)

Same thing in interiors....ticking stripe, bold stripe. I'm definitely a 2 color (not usually a fan or multiple colors unless its in a mexican style rug/mat). Bold or subtle, I can always find a use for a good stripe.

Stripes seem to be everywhere these days- walls and rugs especially!

Coastal Living Seawatch Idea House

This wallcovering featured in Country Living is a beautiful and bold way to display ticking. It fits perfect with the colonial style of the room. It also looks great on sofas and bedding.....PB has a great, standard ticking fabric.

Such a cheery bathroom....the vertical stripes continued onto the ceiling makes the room feel much taller! (material girls blog). Adding something bold like stripes in a bathroom add spice to the home without having to paint a much larger space.

I personally love wide horizontal, two-toned stripes. They are simple to do and can be subtle or bold, whichever works better for you and your space.

Amanda Peet's living room...she obviously loves stripes too :)

Mr. Men and Little Miss

Being a Mom, kids rooms and kids things surround me and are always on my mind. Today while playing with Jack in a local toy boutique, I got inspired by Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Men and Little Miss books. Wouldn't it be fun to frame a few of your favorites and hang them in your kid's room? Hang 3 separately in a row, the whole poster, or maybe four square in the same frame. Perhaps that'll be my next project...once we move of course....