While I consider myself an aspiring minimalist when it comes to my home, I also feel right at home in an antique mall. The collections of Depression glassware, vintage hats and antique chairs really get me going, but how do I exercise my love of these things and avoid my number one enemy: clutter? This […]
What I’ve learned from every biography I’ve ever read and TED Talk I’ve ever watched, is that creating new habits and meeting goals is all about the setbacks. There will always be missteps, but the key is to get back up, not be too self-critical (that one’s hard) and try again. If you’re with the […]
I’m heading to New Orleans this weekend to celebrate my best friend and bride-to-be; and as much as I’m looking forward to the much-needed girl time, I’m also feeling ready to be inspired. I find myself most energized when I’m surrounded by old architecture, eclectic styles, interesting foods, and new experiences. Oftentimes I return from […]
When I scroll through my social feeds it can sometimes feel like I have the only kitchen in the world without marble countertops, built-in open shelving and a giant island. Of course I would love to have all of those things in my kitchen, but I also love seeing the unique ways people show their […]
We all have things we have to do today. We have to drink more water, take more steps, get through our to do list, and go to sleep earlier. This month, I’ve been working on cultivating gratitude and one of the most effective ways I’ve found to do this is with one very small yet […]
My coworkers and I have been talking a lot about self-care lately, and it struck me just how different each of our practices are. For me, it means doing restorative yoga in my living room, for one coworker it’s thrifting, for another it’s volunteering with dogs. It doesn’t matter what you do, what matters is who […]
The trend towards open shelving and open floor plans have turned the kitchen from a functional space to a canvas that you can style and show your design personality in a way that matches the rest of your house. There are plenty of kitchen appliances that will always be better hidden in closed cabinets, but there […]
They say the hardest part of yoga is making it to the mat. That may be the case when it involves changing clothes, driving, parking, and paying for a class, but not when your mat is on your living room floor. If one of your resolutions is to take better care of your body or your […]
Do you find pleasure in the art of creating a relaxing atmosphere in your home? Do you feel content sharing a simple meal with your family or friends? Do you live for the moment when you get home and put on a pair of really comfy pants that you would never wear in public? There’s […]
To me, there is absolutely nothing cozier than a glittering Christmas tree with childhood ornaments, stockings hung on the mantel, and rich velvet ribbon dressing the whole house. I feel warm just thinking about it. One day when I live in a Nancy Meyers home, I may decorate that way, but at this moment in my life […]
Do your regular weekend plans include at least one trip to the nursery? Do you name your plants, and even talk to them sometimes? Are all of your birthday presents green and leafy? You might have a plant addiction. I have one too, and I’m about to enable you because I firmly believe this addiction […]
Shopping for furniture is hard. We may buy a pair of shoes once a season, so after just a couple years you have 5-10 shoe buying experiences under your belt. You learn your taste, what looks good on you, what’s functional, and what you love year after year. With furniture, you don’t have that luxury. You […]
It may be 92 degrees with a humidity of 84% outside here in Austin, and yet I still ambitiously wore my fall boots to work today only to regret that decision by lunch time. For now I’m getting into the fall spirit from inside my air conditioned home. I recently hung a large photo print of a snow […]
A couple years ago I made it my New Year’s resolution to become a morning person. I’m a night owl by nature so it’s taken work, perseverance and all the hacks in the book to get there. I love reading and talking to people about what works for them and trying it out — even […]
We’ve had an ever-so-slight decrease in temperature here in Austin, and all of a sudden my autumn nesting instincts are taking over in a big way. I went antiquing this weekend and felt strong urges to buy Tartan wool throws and glass goblets worthy of a Thanksgiving feast. I know we have a long way […]
In the last few minutes before guests arrive, when I’m running around juggling several dishes in various stages of completion, I always find myself with just a couple of minutes to clear off my dinner table and make it look guest-worthy. Step one is always a quick sweep to declutter the table/workspace/catch all, leaving me […]
When I moved to Austin a few years ago, I had nothing but two overweight suitcases in tow. I spent months making trips to and from stores trying to equip my first home, and still it felt so empty. In some ways it was a wonderful having a blank slate without being restricted by hand-me-down furniture […]
Michelle Adams wrote in HouseBeautiful that she “spent most of my 20s as a magazine editor, photographing stylish spaces in New York City and around the world for Domino and Lonny.com. And go figure: My personal style was all over the map.” I for one have loved that about her style, and have gotten so much […]
Whenever I see an airy, uncluttered room with every thing in its place on a blog, I like to picture what’s going on behind the scenes — I imagine that they’ve moved all of their real belongings over to the side of the room behind the photographer. In my mind, one half of that room is in chaos. So I was […]
Fraying towels, a shower curtain liner that has seen better days, finishes that wouldn’t have been your first choice – if your bathroom is a pain point in your home, it won’t take a renovation to make it your happy place. You can knock out these styling tips this weekend! Cloth shower curtain – Nothing says […]
When I was furnishing my first home I wanted a white sofa, against the better, wiser judgement of my family and friends. I don’t have children yet, I didn’t have pets at the time; my white sofa days were numbered and I wanted to make the most of them. So I bought one and set […]
Do you get the feeling that just about everyone is out of office right now? My Instagram feed is awash in shades of turquoise blue water right now, so I’m definitely feeling the need for a dose of summer, even if it’s in the comfort of my home. It doesn’t have to be a total overhaul, you could […]
I live in a studio so I pretty much have to make sure my bedroom’s presentable when I have guests over, but back when I had an actual bedroom I have to admit, it didn’t get my full design attention. Our untidy habits get the best of us in the areas we know no one will see, like that one […]
Do you ever walk into an art gallery and think “This. This is exactly what I want my home to look like.” I do it every time I walk into an art gallery. When I visited Peggy Guggenheim’s Venice home turned art museum, my favorite part was seeing the old photographs of what the palazzo used to look […]
Stir fries, pastas, fajitas – these are well-practiced dishes in my kitchen. But one cuisine that still seems to elude me is French cooking. I admire blogs like Mimi Thorisson’s Manger that manage to make it look so simple and of course delicious. So this year I’d like to master her roast chicken with herbs recipe, […]