welcome

I'm sucker for a great entry area / mudroom, its my fav and a must have for sure. These are some very inspirational ideas that I heart! My own personal touches:

• I most always have an oriental rug
• My coat stand (like the green one above) 
• A bin for umbrella's & yard sticks (why yard sticks? lol I just love them)
• Nice chair or bench to sit while you put boots on etc (I used an ottoman once that was cute too) Don't forget a deco pillow for your seating area.
• Antique hooks hung on the wall - I'm thinking I want to paint mine a fun color this year 
• Metal bins for mittens - hats and dog accessories 
• & the MUST HAVE a small table (I use an antique sewing table) or sofa table with a cute bowl for keys, magazine bin and some tid bits for decoration.

warm slumber

Yesterday Boston's had its first snow of the season... before Halloween! One thing I love about Boston is the season changes but I'm hoping we get to enjoy fall before more winter-like activity. This morning my car read 34degrees burr, getting there was not easy -- it was torture getting out from under my warm covers. On that note here are some dreamy bedrooms that inspired me. Enjoy! Happy Friday!

 



volunteer love

“Awareness-raising is a worthy activity unto itself, but the reality is that awareness without action results in little change. After all, awareness is supposed to inspire people to act!”

I'm excited to report that I have been selected as a Unite For Sight Global Impact Fellow, and I will participate at Crystal Eye Clinic in Ghana, Africa during February 1st-15th 2012.  Unite For Sight is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is the world's leader in socially responsible, effective volunteering and also a leader in providing high quality, cost-effective care to the world's poorest people. To date, Unite For Sight has provided eye care services to 1,200,000 patients, including more than 44,000 sight-restoring surgeries. While abroad, I will participate daily with the local ophthalmologists, local optometrists, and local ophthalmic nurses to eliminate patient barriers to care and to facilitate comprehensive year-round eye care for patients living in extreme poverty.

As a Unite For Sight Global Impact Fellow, I am fundraising at least $1800 to provide eye care for patients living in extreme poverty, but I hope to raise much more - My goal is $3000.  I would be so grateful for your support.  The average cost of a cataract surgery is $50, which means that $50 will enable someone who is blind to have their sight restored, and $250 enables five people to have their sight restored.  Any help is appreciated, and no amount will go unnoticed.  100% of your tax-deductible donation to Unite For Sight goes directly to restoring sight for patients living in extreme poverty.  Can you imagine impacting another person’s life in a more significant way?

I would be grateful for your support of Unite For Sight to provide eye care to many more patients living in extreme poverty.  My goal is to raise at least $5,000, which will provide 100 sight-restoring surgeries. By raising $5,000, I would also receive a volunteer of the year award from Unite For Sight. You may donate through my online fundraising page by clicking here.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.  I look forward to whatever support you can provide.

ups&downs

daily inspiration: i heart a great staircase in a home & ladders up to any built in bookcase.

A wonderful 1900's, 9bdrm brownstone completely untouched -in terms of being original doors, windows, hardware etc.. Just one big lovely house- has come on the market for a great price. It's 5floors! Front&back stair cases- dreamy, I felt the need to rescue this home -- I walked through yesterday with an ache in my heart and picture in my mind of family home with children laughing and running up and down the stairs playing. If things were in a different place I would buy it in a heart beat and brighten the original charm out of it! This home has only been with one Italian family, who've continuously passed it down until now... there's no one left who wants it. Keys are in the hands of a realtor. I fear & know all to well that someone is going to come in and divide this home into 3-4 separate apartments and modernize the (beep) out of it- all for a dollar. I wish there were more people out there that wanted to leave things as is and keep a homes character! ... Ugg, I guess to be continued -- as I'm keeping my eyes pealed on all happenings there ;)

farm

inspired by this table! Off to Todds Farm for treasures... it raining here in the city hope no. shore was spared... bringing my Hunters just in case.

heart u

Inspired while browsing my favorite Anthropologie store.

crave worthy

daily inspiration... ahh dreamy

Interior loves

Here are a few pictures I found & I'm craving this style. Bathroom is clean and simple, love the openness. Book shelves are huge in my house & quite full- think I made need to play more with the stacking and rearrange some tid bits.

Looking for inspiration on how to use all my fun finds has been so fun. Its just trying to arrange everything that has been a challenge. Luckily my mom is a staging professional and leads with great skill and advice, which is a huge bonus.

Love this living room with all my heart! The couch, frames, trunk- so motivating! I also lovvve having some sort of space by the door to drop your keys, shoes, mags/mail... The pics below I thought were fun & gave the right amount of color.

Living in a city brownstone limits my space esp for someone who is a sucker at a flea market and antique finds. Anyway - I'm thinking my first step will be to paint all the room walls white... use it as my canvas. I'm going to keep digging for more inspiration. I hope to have something unique of my own to report back with.

photohunt 270: informative

I have a thing for collecting books and mags of inspiration or just for old shabby covers. One flea market fav is bringing home old books with that old book smell... I have found so many eye catching ways designers have displayed theirs and need to get on that asap. For now my shelves are quite boring.


Photohunt <3

Printemps

Found these cutesy flowers on a great blog & surprisingly found them freshly cut at Trader Joes just shortly after... They add a Shabby Chic feel, which I love!
March is here and its still freezing, typical New England. Trying to get a head start on spring cleaning and bring in fresh flowers for cheer.
Keep Calm and Carry On, spring is almost here =)

deco

What I've had my heart set on purchasing (above) & what we actually took home (below).

four more days

holiday loves

Holiday shopping is done for all near & dear. Christmas cards have been mailed. Wrapping is in process. Deco is done. Tree to make pretty. And last but not least a look at part of my visual x-mas list, I don't need all but anything from which ever pictures he may fancy will do. Can't wait, 6 more days.