Monday, December 18, 2017

Christmas at Balsam Mountain Preserve

Once again, I had the pleasure of creating some Christmas spirit at beautiful Balsam Mountain Preserve. I added some holiday decor at the Boarding House, and by the front entrance which I'll show later.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

What? You don't like fruitcake??

If there is one food I cannot go through Christmas without, it is my mother's fruitcake. Yes, I said  it -- fruitcake.

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Monday, December 11, 2017

North Carolina farmhouse Christmas porch

I was super excited to find out we were going to get snow before Christmas! It seems like forever that we actually had snow during the season. 

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Thursday, December 7, 2017

Christmas Home Tour

I'm so excited to invite you all in for the Christmas tour of our little house in the mountains of Western North Carolina and thankful to Marty for inviting me again. She's the sweetest, and I'm honored to be part of this tour. 


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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Super simple Thanksgiving table

It certainly seems like this season is flying by at warp speed, so I got myself together and set my Thanksgiving table. 

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Monday, November 6, 2017

Setting the Thanksgiving table

Let's talk about the Thanksgiving table, shall we? 
I love Thanksgiving so much and always look forward to it. We have spent many Thanksgivings either with troops and families overseas, or sharing with neighbors in our community who were in need, and I have always found it to be an inclusive and unifying holiday regardless of how or where I spent it. 

Now that we are settled here, I always host and love the chance to set a pretty table. I really think you can use just about anything -- from the good china and sterling to the everyday stoneware or whatever you use for everyday.
Just don't use paper plates, if possible, which are so wasteful and will end up in a landfill. However, I do realize there are situations where that is the best option and it will be just as special as anything else.
In any case, mix and match what you have, whatever that is, and you can make it special. 

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Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Fall porch

 I struggled to get my porch decorated this year. With other design projects going on, combined with my own indecisiveness, I honestly thought I'd not get anything done.

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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Balsam Mountain Preserve -- Fall at the Boarding House

I had so much fun creating some seasonal decor at Balsam Mountain Preserve again this year and wanted to share what I did at the Boarding House.

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Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Easy Fall centerpiece and morning shadows

 There are so many reasons I love this season, but one of my favorite is how the light changes and becomes so much more intense. 

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Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Autumn dining

I was looking through photos on pinterest and was reminded how I used to set pretty tables at least once a week. Sigh. So I decided to get out the plates and flatware and set one.

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Monday, October 2, 2017

Hickory Ridge Fall at Balsam Mountain Preserve

There is nothing like getting the opportunity to design something for an amazing house, right? So naturally I was excited to add some fall flair to Hickory Ridge at beautiful Balsam Mountain Preserve.

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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Solving the dining chair dilemma...

I never shared with y'all my choice for dining chairs to replace the Duncan Phyfe chairs. 

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Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Fall Porch inspiration

It's that time again, and not only am I styling my own fall porch, I've already started some fall design work at Balsam Mountain Preserve, so my head is full and overflowing with ideas to welcome this beautiful and colorful season.

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Thursday, September 14, 2017

Colorful Fall Home Tour

This. Is. My. Favorite season, and I look forward to it all year. I think it's all the yummy gorgeousness we can enjoy here in the North Carolina mountains, and there is something seasonally amazing for all the senses -- from roadside farmers markets and BBQ stands, to hay bales and corn shocks in the fields. Not to mention walls of saturated mountain color underneath Carolina blue skies. It's all good, and I always want to stop and take it all in as slowly as possible.

Today, I'm so excited to invite you into my mountain home for a fall tour. Marty, from A Stroll Thru Life, has put together this tour that has been going on all week. Be sure to click on each of the links at the bottom of this post so you don't miss any amazing inspiration. 

First, though, I always like to give a little background for anyone who is new here so, hopefully, things all make sense. If you are a faithful reader, skip on ahead:-)



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Sunday, September 10, 2017

Death by cheese board

Yes. That is a real thing people. A very real thing.

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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Cristian's room -- after

So, I did it in a weekend. For real. I cleaned out all the clutter, painted, rearranged furniture then styled Cristian's room. He is a happy guy, and I'm a happy mom to have a clean and organized room.

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

Fall inspiration

I do not know how it happens, but every year it sneaks up, and again, here it is right around the corner -- Fall. I love everything about it, so no one is happier than I am anticipating the first cool morning and Carolina blue skies. 

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Friday, August 25, 2017

Vintage Pillow Store

 Y'all know how I love my kilim pillows and rugs, so it should come as no surprise that I am ecstatic to welcome a new sponsor that offers some of my favorite things! Welcome to my world 
Vintage Pillow Store!

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Finally -- Cristian's room

Finally, after 10 years of living with the baby nursery, and I'm tackling Cristian's room. The before is so bad, I didn't want that to be the first thing y'all see, so here is the inspiration and the direction I'm going.

I know I should do something neutral with plaid, yada yada, but I was more interested in doing something cool and fun, and something that will inspire his creativity. 

Cristian, who is 11, loves space, minecraft and roblox. Over the summer, he started a youtube channel and is making instructional gaming videos. He also downloaded Blender and taught himself animation, (I mean, who does that?) and seriously is evenly gifted with art and science. 

He also loves Star Wars, so I thought that would be something fun to do.  I had already ordered this mural a few months back so that is my starting point. 

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Thursday, August 17, 2017

HGTV feature

I'm so excited to be featured over at hgtv.com with an overlooked storage solution. The funny thing is, it is my kitchen island I'm always talking about ripping out and rebuilding:-) Funny how things work, ha.

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Head on over to hgtv.com and see the great ideas they have put together!




Friday, August 4, 2017

Sometimes all you need is a little change

 ...or a big change. Sometimes changing something small can actually make the biggest impact. 

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Friday, July 28, 2017

Summer Front Porch

I thought it was about time to show y'all my front porch -- before Fall arrives, right? 

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Friday, June 30, 2017

The dining chair dilemma...

Despite my excitement on finding eight of these Duncan Phyfe style chairs on craigslist seven years ago, they have proven to be super uncomfortable and not very practical. 

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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Hickory Ridge Porch at Balsam Mountain Preserve

I have loved the opportunity to do some seasonal design work at a friend's house at Balsam Mountain Preserve.  When she asked me to add a little summer pizzaz to her porch, I quickly jumped at the chance. 

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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Bohemian Summer Home Tour

Is it summer already?? It is certainly in full swing here in the North Carolina mountains, and I'm happy you are here for a tour of our little house. I'm honored to be part of Marty's Summer Home Tours again, and so glad you came by after visiting Debbie's beautiful home! 

Be forewarned that I love color. And lots of it. For real. 

We don't really have an entry so everyone comes through a set of french doors that open into what also serves as a music space. My hubs and I are both musicians so I have finally embraced the fact that there are instruments everywhere. 


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