Fall Design Contest!

Recently I had the privilege of participating in a really fun contest that was put on by the company I work for! The Visual Merchandising team and I were challenged to take the front entries of each our stores and transform them into a Fall wonderland! (I really do love my job, so much.) I have no idea who will win as the entire design team is very talented and does such beautiful work! I just feel so blessed to have a job where I am given the support and budget to be creative! So much fun! I was a little worried because I am currently 8 1/2 months pregnant, swollen as EVER, and functioning on very little sleep with a brain that is truly incapable of processing anything quickly these days. Ha! So I was a little nervous that what I thought was 'creative' may actually turn out as scary and a pregnancy brain nightmare, not to mention that my water would break in the middle of hanging a picture! Luckily, that didn't happen and I ended up really enjoying myself!  I wanted to think a little outside the box and not stick only to the traditional fall color palette, so I threw in a deep teal... just for fun! (I have to give a shout out to my mama, turquoise is her favorite color and I always feel like I'm doing a tribute to her when I use it in a display! Love you mama!) Happy October! Now all we need is for the weather to match the season here in San Diego! :) Here are some pictures of my final product! Enjoy!

Here is what my entry (Master Bedroom section) looked like before!

And after:

It's a blustery day in my store (apparently) :) I attached the fall leaves to the wall in a pattern with a staple gun and dabbed a little blue paint on each for fun! The leaves were from the Dollar Store, $1 for a bag of 50 leaves! Super easy and cheap, and love that the staples only create tiny holes in the wall so it's a project you can do at home without having major clean up to do after the season is over.

 Here is my dining entry (torn apart.. it was much nicer before I took it apart to set up. haha) before:

Annnnd after:

Fireplace:

My table runner was really easy to make, I just printed vintage family photos out and attached them to an already existing runner with Fabirc Tac (which I am obsessed with, by the way. That stuff is genius and I use it all the time.) The chargers for the centerpiece and place settings are just slabs of wood from Michael's, I used a leaf as a stamp to add a little of my accent color.

The art installation above the dining table are my "leaf lanterns." They are made of paper lanterns that I covered in fall leaves (attached with Fabric Tac... I'm telling you, I love that stuff) and splashes of paint. And the little acorn bundles are just made of jumbo acorns (Big Lots) and a couple other fun fall accessories bundled together into little clusters. 

And that's about it! Hope you enjoyed!! Have fun decorating your homes for fall! 

xo,

r.

The Little Explorer's Nursery

So... the last time I posted an entry on my blog was LAST Christmas?! Wow... That is a very serious version of slacking on my part! :) My apologies! But I promise it was for a good reason... My husband and I have had a crazy crazy year so far. This year has been jam packed with a knee surgery, both of us starting new jobs, and we found out in February that we are expecting our first child! To say we are excited would be the understatement of the century! She will actually be making her appearance this month! In the meantime we have been making all of the preparations, one of which is the Nursery! We wanted to give her a sophisticated and whimsical nursery that encouraged her to discover the world. We had SO much fun putting together her very first room! Here is a sneak peak into Selah Grace's little explorer themed nursery!


The accent wall is a world map I found on amazon.com.. made by National Geographic. When it came in it wasn't as "antiqued" as I wanted it to be so I purchased some wood stain rub from Home Depot and stained the map with a rag.

The changing table is a second hand table from craigslist that I sanded down and painted black, the drawer fronts and the changing pad is covered in the same fabric that I used for the crib bumper, drapes, pillows, & wall flowers and it was only $9.99 as I used a King Sheet & Pillow set from Marshalls! Such a steal and got so much use out of it.

The rest of the fabrics used (for the wall flowers, pillows, embroidery hoops & bed skirt) were from Joanne's. 

The bed crown is made from a shelf, red paint and two curtain panels. All you need to create it is a staple gun! The wall decor above the crib was made out of different sized embroidery hoops, white paint (for the borders) and fabric.

The Grandfather Clock/ diaper cabinet was a second hand ($60) from a thrift store. We removed the parts, added shelves, sanded it down and painted it red. 

The Pom Pom'swere created by my sister in law for our baby shower! Loved them so much I had to put them in the nursery!

And last but not least, the "You Are My Sunshine" sign was made by my husband, Selah's Daddy... and truly says it all! :)

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I challenge you... Christmas style.

I've been wanting to post a new blog for a while now but there are some days where sitting down and typing something out seems virtually impossible.... That was my entire week. Work was brutal this week as we had the owner's out for a big inventory that only happens once a year. I happened to get hired on about 2 months before this "big week." Meaning I've been spending most of my time in preparation for it. It's funny how things work out though, the less I stressed about it the more I realized it was a blessing in disguise! As a Visual, I am more inclined to remember something once I've seen it. I had the opportunity to physically touch every single accessory we have in our showroom. At first it sounded like an impossible task, but quickly became my saving grace since without it I would still be lost among thousands of unrecognizable pieces. With that said, it was a crazy week. 

In the meanwhile, Christmas decor had to go up! In retail Christmas decorations are up as soon as Halloween is over, so I was SUPER excited to bust open the huge boxes of decorations in my office that had been calling my name for the past two months! 

As I opened them I busted up laughing and thought to myself, "Oh ok, this is going to be a challenge."

We'll start with the wreaths... and I'm not talking about the little ones you hang on your door... I'm talking 60 inch wreaths that a grown man could use as a hula hoop! Which may have been beautiful masterpieces 4 years ago, but were now tattered and sad hot glued disasters. The hot glue being the challenging part... 

Needless to say, I was excited to tackle them and see what I could come up with. I knew it was going to be interesting because I had limited resources and was only able to use what was already there. I felt like I was on a design show and this was one of the challenges... (Except in the end I'd win nothing and have to go find a place to hang them. lol)

After peeling away hot glue and broken glass I started over, making bows out of crinkled pieces of hot gluey (yes, gluey) ribbon and creating make shift christmas ball hangers out of paperclips. Oh boy. When all was said and done I was sort of proud of my little wreathy creations. They weren't at all what I would've chosen to create from scratch, but sometimes you gotta make it work. Old wreaths need love too! :)

Below are a few of this week's "Challenges." Enjoy! 

    Before:

   After:

Before:

   After:

Before: (For this one I had to use a box of random purple decorations.)

After:

Before: (A Centerpiece... I think?!)

After:

And so, I challenge you. Find a torn and tattered Christmas decoration that needs a little lovin.. and love on it! It's amazing what you can do with some scissors and a little determination! :) 

And I'll leave you with this:

Our 12 foot Christmas tree (And a box of tree decorations that didn't match. haha!) 

Found the ones that worked together and tada!!

r.

Dyson Ball-Yee haw.

Ok so, I know that 300-500 dollars is A LOT to pay for a vacuum. I do. But I am completely convinced that the Dyson is not a vacuum. It is a robot that knows exactly how to make my vacuuming experience amazing. It all comes down to this: It's "simple." The buttons are in all the right places, they do what they say they'll do, and the arm sucker thingy (yes, I just called it that) is hidden in the perfect spot, just the right length and extremely user friendly. 

My huz and I bought one when we got married and lived in our carpeted apartment. Less than a year later we bought our first home and put in hardwood floors throughout... So we were left thinking, "what the heyyyooo are we going to do with this expensive vacuum?!" Common sense tells you that you're still going to need one... If you have wood floors you know, dust bunnies live EVERYWHERE.. all the time. So you need a vacuum.. badly.. unless you feel like sweeping every single day. (Yea, no thanks.) But of course we wondered if we really needed a $400 one. Hmm...

Luckily we chose to keep it... figuring we'd still use it for the area rugs and to suck up the occasional dust bunny, even though the floor salesman SWORE it would ruin our floors.

I'm not one to read instructions... like, ever. So I didn't know that you can stop the rollers when you are vacuuming on hard surfaces (as not to scratch them!) Another awesome feature... How? Just press the button that has a picture of the rollers on it! Again, simple. But of course I found that out when I accidentally sucked up a robe and they stopped on their own... I thought I'd broken it and almost cried, but finally figured it out. (I will credit that to me always making something more difficult than it is... and never reading instructions. Ha!)

So, in conclusion: Whether you have hardwood floors, carpet, tile or laminate, a Dyson Vacuum is a very good investment. I plan on loving mine for many moons to come...

Dyson DC24

My only regret:

Not waiting until they came out with the RED one.

Red Dyson DC25

Rats! ;)

It's Christmas time... Almost.

I cannot even begin to explain to you how excited I get about Christmas. If it were up to me Christmas music would be playing all year long, Starbucks would ALWAYS serve me drinks in little red cups and Home Alone would be on the tube every night just in time for me to get in my PJ's and cuddle up on the couch. Seriously, I love Christmas... and since I was recently blessed with an amazing design position; this year has the potential of being the best yet! This coming week I will be transforming my showroom into a Winter Wonderland... which truly is one of the best things about designing in a retail space; Christmas begins as soon as Halloween ends. Don't mind if I do! :)

Here are a few ideas I will be working on... as well as links to where you can purchase pieces to create the same feel in your home!

I lalalalooooove the Antler Chandelier... and I am definitely a sucker for a good lantern or two... The photo above has inspired some very 'Christmas in a cozy wood cabin' ideas in my mind and I am liking it a whole bunch!

Here is a link to a similar chandelier (an affordable version... I am a bargain hunter to the core.):

Hampton Bay Antler 5 Light Chandelier

If you are looking for something more high-end:

Cabela's 12-Antler Cascade Reproduction Whitetail Antler Chandelier with Down Lamp

and if you are truly blessed... the Antler Chandelier of all Antler Chandeliers:

The Grand Teton Whitetail Antler Chandelier


If you're anything like me, you'll search Craigslist first... you never know what you'll find! One girl's trash is another girl's treasure, right?!

Enjoy your Christmas fun search! Please feel free to share your Christmassy ideas! Trust me, this won't be the last you hear of mine! ;)

r.

Welcome!

Wonderful world, thanks for visiting my blog! Let me start by saying, "Sometimes I start a sentence with no idea where it is going and just hope that it comes to me along the way." - Michael Scott

With that said, I am not and will never be... in any way... by any means... for any reason... at anytime... in any place... ever... at all... in any way...

A writer.

Of blogs that is. Songs, yes... But blogs... No. So, you'll have to forgive me if I spell things wrong (which I will), or make no sense at all. Because to tell you the truth, non-sense happens to be my favorite kind of sense! :)

Please feel free to leave me comments! Nice... or not so nice. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible! If you would like to see some of my work or contact me you will find the appropriate links located at the top left of my blog.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

r.