Last week I shared gift ideas for the hostess, yesterday I shared gift ideas for the home lover and today I’m sharing my third and final gift guide with you guys, my own Christmas wish list. Although I’m very blessed and don’t really need anything, there are some fun things I would like to have. 😉 Maybe you guys can get inspired by some of these gift ideas, too. Especially if you are looking for gift ideas for someone who loves cooking…since we have a new kitchen, several things on my wishlist are for the wanna-be-chef in me! 😉

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my link, I may receive a small commission for the referral at no additional cost to you.  

1. Smeg juicer – I make a lot of fresh squeezed orange juice. Now that we have a functioning kitchen, I’m back to making it nearly every day. Currently, I do it manually. I’m not crazy about the idea of a bunch of small appliances that take up storage space or worse, counter space.… Read more

Happy December! It’s officially the month of Christmas and I’m back today with my second of three gift guides: gift ideas for the home lover. Did you see the hostess gift guide I posted last week? Don’t forget to come back tomorrow, because I’m sharing my Christmas wish list with you!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

1. Match Striker – You can’t really strike out with this. See what I did there? Everyone loves candles and if you have a candle, you need a match striker. It’s a cute and convenient way to keep matches next to candles around the house.

2. Wick Trimmer & Candle Snuffer Set & Cute Matches – While we’re talking about candles, this wick trimmer and snuffer is a great gift idea. You could even combine it with a candle and a cute box of matches or a match striker for a gift set.

3. Ring Doorbell – A doorbell with a camera that allows you to see, hear and talk to your visitors.… Read more

I didn’t plan to do any gift guides since they’re alllll over the place, but when I did a poll on Instagram, most of you voted in favor of them. However, I’m not going crazy and I decided to limit it to three gift guides, centered around my primary blog topics: one for the hostess, one for the home lover and my own Christmas wish list. Today we’re jumping in with holiday gift ideas for the hostess.

Entertaining is one of my favorite things! I love decorating for a party, a good tablescape and anything that can make entertaining prettier and easier.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of my links, I may receive a small commission for the referral at no additional cost to you. 

Gift Ideas for the Hostess

1. French cutting board – A vintage French cutting board is the best of all the gift ideas for the hostess.  They are typically large, making them perfect for displaying a cheese and meat tray. While you can buy them new, I recommend a vintage one so it’s extra special.… Read more

Hiya, friends! It’s been a while since I have blogged (I miss it!) so I wanted to touch base with you and just give ya a little heads up about why that is and whats been going on over here.

Design Work vs. Blogging

I feel so lucky to be taking on more design clients, but with that comes less time for blogging and I haven’t found the balance yet. I want to be able to do both, the blog has been my priority from the start so I need to figure it out. There’s a lot of day-to-day behind the scenes design stuff going on that I typically don’t share until the client project is finished, but I’d like to figure out a way to blog more about the process and bring you along for the ride.

(This shot is from the most recently wrapped client project, my friend Rana’s photography studio.)

Stylistic Shift

Aside from client design work, I’ve been experiencing a little bit of a creative rut lately in terms of blogging. Or maybe it’s that I’m expending so much work and creativity into the client work that my creative gas tank is running a little empty when it comes time to brainstorm blog topics.… Read more

Friends & Family Sales

Happy Friday friends! There are some great friends and family sales going on.

Serena and Lily is offering 20% off everything now through 3/19.

Lulu & Georgia is offering 25% off everything 3/19-3/26 using the code SPLURGE.

Staircase Project Update

The staircase reno is still consuming my brain. We have the tile situation figured out and now I’m contemplating the railings. We were going to attempt to DIY the project but because we need SO much railing (about 80′ total) with many turns and angles, I think it’s best to hire the project out. The railing is a meticulous project with lots of precise measurements and safety is important so I think we’ll let the professionals handle this one. I have an idea of the overall look I’d like to achieve but we’re still contemplating verticle vs horizontal railing, and if we do verticle, whether or not to take each baluster to the floor or do a horizontal bar on the bottom. 

I’m leaning toward verticle balusters with a bottom horizontal rail so that it’s easier to clean the stairs and so that we don’t have to destroy the new flooring by attaching each baluster but I do love the simplicity of each baluster carrying all the way to the floor.… Read more

Happy Friday, Friends! It’s a long weekend, so you know what that means…SALES!

Here’s some info on a few President’s Day sales from some of my fave stores and brands.

• Target is doing up to 30% off home items + an extra 15% off rugs with promo code GEORGE. Valid 2/18-2/19. I’ve got my eye on this outdoor sofa.
• Lulu and Georgia is offering 15% off all purchases under $500, and 20% off all orders of $500+ through Tuesday, 2/20. They have a bunch of new arrivals, like this rug that I love!
• World Market is doing 15% off plus free shipping over $150 through FEB 19th and 50% of ALL rugs!!!

Weekly Recap

The weather is warming up and the pups are taking advantage!

As a result of the warmer weather, I’ve got outdoor entertaining on the brain. I am DYING to get the back patio cleared of all hubby’s tools and guy stuff so I can make it pretty! I’m itching to have dinner outdoors before the Florida summer heat sets in – which happens well before summer, by the way.… Read more

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

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Hiya friends and Happy December! I was reluctant to throw away my pumpkins but I finally did. While I’m going very minimal with holiday decor this year since we’re traveling over Christmas, I did fall in love with some unique global holiday decor that you must see.

The Citizenry is a great company offering home goods from around the world – my favorite kind. They believe “our homes should be reflections of the journeys we take. Our personal spaces deserve designs with a soul, a story, and a purpose.” Isn’t that awesome? They partner with artisans from around the world and offer unique handmade global goodies.  The African mudcloth stockings and tree skirt is sooooo, so good. And that other geometric pattered stocking is from artisans in Peru, an amazing place I recently visited.

1. African mudcloth stocking / 2. African mudcloth tree skirt / 3. Estrellas geometric stocking

And speaking of boho Christmas decor, check out my Christmas tree last year. I used lots of these cute little woven macrame ornaments, which I still love.

Happy December you guys!… Read more

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves memories no one can steal.”

I am sorry for being MIA the last few weeks but sometimes life happens. My family recently suffered an unfortunate event. My father-in-law, a great man, passed away after a battle with ALS. While he was sick, we thought we had more time with him then we ended up having. It’s very sad but we’re all trying to find joy in the memories we have with him. He always read my blog and so I wanted to just say a few words about him here.

Frederick Michael Daly was his full name, but I always called him “Mr. Fred” because when I first met him when my now hubby and I were in high school, “Mr. Daly” felt too formal but “Fred” too informal so that’s where I landed. He was the most patriotic person I ever met. He spent time in the Army during Vietnam and always flew an American flag in his yard. He was very thorough in everything he did. He was also very frugal.… Read more

Wooohooo! I’m so excited to have our shiplap built-in featured today on Apartment Therapy! You can see more on the built-in project here, here and the reveal I blogged here. 🙂

… Read more