Today is Your Day!!!

Welcome to the world my sweet niece Lyla! today is your day!!!

July 19th: Tangerine (Pantone 15-1247)

Inquisitive

Talented

Independent

Being born today: you are constantly learning and exploring life and all its wonders. Whether you are an artist or an analyst, you delve deep into whatever it is that captures your interest. Although you are social and need to interact with others, you have a very strong autonomous side.

How Tangerine will benefit you:  Your personal color helps you integrate the outgoing with the introverted side of your nature. Wearing and surrounding yourself with the color tangerine increases clarity and receptivity.

It works wonderfully with your Mom's least favorite color (but your auntie's favorite)...Pink!

and thankfully, because you will no doubt grow up to be a huge Tar Heel fan like the rest of the family...

it pairs perfectly with light blue!

Welcome to the world Sweet Baby Lyla! 

I can't wait to meet you!

xoxo

hate it or love it, the underdogs come out on top...

"Hate it or love it, the underdogs come out on top."
-50 Cent

For anyone who has been house hunting lately, I am willing to guess you are about as over granite counter tops as I am. Now, I mean no offense to anyone who has these- they are a lovely upgrade option in any home but in this world of mass produced homes and their "upgrades" I am loving that some unlikely materials are finally getting their due and breaking into more main stream homes...  So as the summer comes to a boiling point and drives you back inside and you start to ponder ripping up your kitchen consider using a less traditional material.

Stainless Steel- the material de jour for your kitchen appliances has hit the counters as well! They are sleek and hard working and scream that you know what you are doing in the kitchen. Stainless Steel will not patina and it is non-porous making it a great antibacterial and stain resistant option. It does scratch fairly easily so you will need a cutting board around constantly... but it adds character when you do mar the surface a bit...

Eleek tiles are 100% recycled aluminum and offer a slightly easier install than a solid surface like the stainless steel. However, these babies run about $95  per square foot so they are a really great statement for a small kitchen.

Zinc has a bit more of a traditional feel to it, especially is you let it turn to the blue-gray patina... a staple of oyster bars, it makes a great statement in a house- especially for a large center island.

Alkemi is one of the most fun new products on the market...scrap aluminum shards are sunk into resin forming the unique squiggle pattern that gives depth of pattern but also reflects light and gives a bit of shimmer to a kitchen.

Keeping with the more modern feel, glass is appearing all over the place as an option for counter tops. It is sleek and cool and very low maintenance. you can also use lighting under the counter to create stunning visual effects in your kitchen that you would never have conceived before...

For a truly gorgeous traditional touch consider pewter. A more formal and decidedly french touch, the edges are often molded into a decorative pattern and left untreated it turns to a soft charcoal patina that hearkens the romance of a french bistro or brasserie...

And my current favorite underdog...copper!

Not just for pennies, this super material is perfect for counter tops...it is highly antibiotic- without any extra help e coli dies on copper within hours of contact (it can survive on other surfaces for months-gross!)

You can keep it polished to maintain the golden glow or let it turn into its unique patina of burnished greens and browns- even the living finish maintains its antibiotic traits!

So as you sit around enjoying the AC during these dog days of summer, consider giving your kitchen a truly unique upgrade with a new counter top that I guarantee your neighbors will not already have...

She whom you can neither name nor measure...

Legend states that Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality was actually born out of sea-foam. For a goddess who had many lovers and whose beauty could incite war it is fitting that the descriptors for Sea Foam (Pantone 12-0313) are Capable, Enterprising and Talented.

July 13th's color, Sea Foam, encourages action, joy and participation with others... all things that Aphrodite had no problems with- so why not bring a little into your life.

When paired with tomato red it gives a fresh feel that is a far cry from the sea foam schemes of the early nineties florida style I instantly think of when i hear the word sea foam..

the sea foam accents are soothing and complementing of  the neutrals while the red pops and enlivens the whole room

Aphrodite's not the only thing to come from the sea foam...sea shells look perfectly at home on display against a sea foam wall

golden accents sparkle like the sun in a sea foam and neutral palette

I have a huge weakness for sea glass and old bottles... group them in clusters where the sun can catch them or use them for impromptu vases for flowers from your yard...

and it's not just for your walls- sea foam actually looks amazing with a deep golden tan (full disclosure- I feel 31 is a bit too old for sea foam nails but if I was 16 again I would totaly rock it!)

I found these beauties on Etsy... summer tan + flowy sundress+ sea foam earrings= summertime chic

no one can love you quite like a sister...

or embarrass you quite like a sister can. I love my sister, my big older sister (she has a complex about being the BIG sister- but she is taller than me...) she is my best friend in the whole world and even after 31 years I still look up to her as if she hung the moon. However, my wonderful sister has recently gotten it in her mind that embarrassing me shall be her new summer game...

 Not being the type to just take things lying down- I feel as though I will go ahead and make a preemptive move- I have no shame...

I am a 31 year old American that has never eaten a hamburger- I'm not a vegetarian...I was a picky kid and now it is just a matter of principal.

This is my idea of camping...

I am a huge nerd about light bulbs...but really it can be handy to know what kind of light is most flattering and most energy efficient- I mean really it is just good sense to know these things!

I love The Office and still frequently use "that's what she said" as a come back line.. and yes- I am an even bigger nerd that I have the floorplan to the Dunder Mifflan office- I am aware of that!

I have a thing about bath tubs... I love them!

need I reference the previous embarrassing bathtub posting???

Oh well- this could be the beginning of a war so if you missed it here it is again

I sometimes play with my food...opps! sorry sissy that embarrasses you not me- remember???

I have a mild severe obsession with the color pink, however I have learned to love my birthday color of Golden Apricot...

I can be quite the snob about flowers... I love flowers but HATE baby's breath- it is just a filler flower!

I have wasted hours of my life flinging little birdies at piggies...

I still love Disney Princesses and I still believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers

I indulge in bad television...from teenage dramas to soap operas...

I think sweet tea is the only kind of tea there should be! and no one does it better than Bojangles- I don't care what you people up here say about Popeyes- I'm a Bojangles kinda girl! and yes- I do have a passionate opinion on the matter!

there is a very real part of me that thinks I would have probably done better in the 1950s... after all owning 2 sewing machines was much more of a status symbol back then than it is now...

                                                                                                                                                                    So my dearest sister- bring it on! You are the one that taught be to be brave and bold and to always be proud of myself and to stand up for what I believe in and for that I will always be grateful...but I warn you, if you want to start the embarrassment war- you also taught me how be scrappy and how to push your buttons right back!

But no matter if you do succeed (or even if you just embarrass yourself in the process) you will always be my BIG older sister and I will love you no matter what!

No matter how busy you may think you are...

"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance" -Confucius

I fully admit- I am a Kindle user...I love it- it is so light, fits in my back pocket- really it rules. But I do love books- the ones I love I read over and over again. I had kind of forgotten the romance of a good book till a rather charming young man put one in my hands as I was headed out of town for the 4th of July holiday... I love the way a book can speak to you in subtle ways - the page that is worn more than others or the page that the book falls open to because of the spine being cracked... So after a few days of taking up residence in the hammock and reading an actual book it is making me question my beloved techie gadget a little...
 

Few things make as lovely a backdrop to a room as a bookshelf full of stories and memories...

merchandise your shelves with art and artifacts that compliment your favorite tales

or choose your own unique method of arranging them!

Books are a universal item- they go with any style house and any type of decor from sleek and modern to cozy and traditional

stack up your favorites on your coffee table- they not only say quite a bit about you but make for wonderful conversation starters...

have trouble sleeping? surround yourself with old classics- it worked in high school for putting you to sleep...

Books can serve as your pop of color of color in a neutral room

lining the walls of hallways with shelving is a great way to get some use out of an otherwise often over looked area. Plus I love the juxtaposition of hanging artwork on the shelves too...

and unless you have a super extensive wine collection what other thing can you collect that would warrant installing a motorized harness in your home??

I love this idea of using books as wall art!

Little windows on the spines of old classics take me right back to childhood and The Indian in the Cupboard...can you imagine the wonder on a child's face if they spied these books on a shelf...

Not quite sure what you do if you  if you want to read one of those books but I love that this coffee table was constructed of books!

For the couple that shares a book loving passion this display was the perfect backdrop for their wedding festivities

And for those of you who are determined to make the 100% shift to the Kindle way of life there is still a little something for you to help show your love of other's words...

Bookshelf wallpaper! 

So....

DLR-thank you for reminding me...