Sometimes It Takes A Week

Hello blog friends! I promise I will be back regularly soon but I am learning that everything takes a lot longer when you have a two week old baby. For example, it took me a week (even with great help) to finally paint my nails which I had wanted to do since I bought this new polish....

I must say though, it was worth the wait, love the very deep teal.

Fern Window Boxes

This past weekend we added window boxes on a whim.  I've always wanted them and they were on sale at the garden center so we went for it.  I loooove quick projects and this one was simple.  (Especially for me watching while Dave was up on the ladder ;) ;)

So far, I've been caring for them through the windows and I went with ferns because they do so well with the moisture from that air.  I'm completely blanking out on the other plant I chose but I loved it's almost flourescent color & white blooms.

The plants are so pretty from the inside too.  You can see them from the window and it feels like they're in the room with you.  We recently switched the boys' rooms so now they're sharing a bedroom and the second bedroom is a playroom.  (Over the summer when we stayed with my dad they got used to sharing a bedroom and wanted to keep it that way when we got home.   I love seeing them so excited to be together.)  Christian's "job" is watering the plants because he knows mommy runs a plant hospice.

Over the next few months we taking down a closet in the boys room to make room for a big boy bed for Justin.  I'm planning on doing duvet covers out of one of my fabrics, "Filigree Chevron" and I can't wait to see how they turn out!

We're going to my friend & photogapher Helen Norman's farm this weekend to shoot my new line of fabrics.  The crazy amount of rain we've had has but a bit of a {literal} damper on our original plans which included lots of field shots, but Helen's property has so many beautiful spots I'm not worried.  My  first textile collection is completed and I have 14 different designs with multiple colorways in each pattern for a total of about 60 different fabrics.  I plan on adding a few new designs seasonally.  I've pulled a ton of inspiration images and can't wait!!  love the idea of stacking the fabrics inside a piece of furniture like this one:

{image from theselby.com}

Enjoy your day!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Oh My... Must Try

This weekend was a good cooking weekend.  With a bit of Fall in the air this past week, I craved soup.  I love {attempting when there's time} to make weekly soups during the colder months so I pretended it wasn't going to be 95 degrees on Sunday.  I broke out an old cookbook I bought in college full of yuuumy simple recipes.  (It's called "Quick & Easy.")  I tried out the Lemon & Chicken Soup and it is Heaven...

{Seriously Heaven....  I try really hard to take pretty food pics but I just don't know how people do it.  I promise it's waaaay better than it looks.  }

The kids loved it too.

I also must really love you because I'm literally typing out the whole recipe here.   ;)  

It's that good. 

 (I made a few teeny changes)

Ingredients:

4 tbsp butter

8 shallots, thinly sliced

2 carrots, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups precooked chicken.. ( I used some grilled drumsticks we'd just made)

3 lemons

2 quarts chicken stock

Angel hair nests (you can do angel hair if can't find the pasta nests.)

2/3 cup heavy cream  (I'm sure you could substitute this if you were trying to be healthier but it is good.)

salt & pepper

Fresh Parsley & Lemon Slices to garnish

Directions:

1. Cook the shallots, carrots & celery in the butter in a big pot.

2. Thinly pare the lemons & boil the lemon peels in water for 3 mins.  Squeeze the lemon juice in a bowl.

3.  Add the lemon peel, (Ok this is so new to me!  Yes, you can eat lemon peels once they're blanched!)  lemon juice and chicken stock to the veggies in the pot.  Bring it all to a boil on low heat and simmer for 40 mins, stirring every once in a while.

4.  Add the pasta and let it cook (this is why I like the nests... they take 3 mins) Add salt & pepper to taste and add the heavy cream.  (mm mmm mmm)  Heat through but don't boil once you've added the cream or it'll curdle.  

5.  Pour into bowls, add the parsely & Eat!

Seriously, I love this soup.   

ps- I found this cookbook at the grocery store in college and it's full of the easiest & tastiest meals.  (So many soups & pastas, which I love.)  It's called "Practical Cooking: Quick & Easy" by Parragon Publishing.

A Little Dose of Happy

LOVE this room! The shelves, the table and chair combo, the light, the wall color, all of it. Every last thing.It is also excites me because the pink cushions for my office chair are in and I can't wait to paint the chairs and show you the finished product.

Via Elements of Style

Quiet Time

One of the best parts of being pregnant and now having a new born is the kindness of friends and strangers. I was blown away by all the well wishes I received from random people in stores, etc. while pregnant. While in Atlanta for Market a homeless man crossed the street and approached us. I assumed he was coming to ask for money but instead he came over to say congratulations and wish me the best of luck...and that was it, on he went. I have thought about that moment so many times since for two reasons- feeling bad for being assumptive about him and how his simple, kind words touched me so much. Now with a baby, support and generosity from friends and family is abundant and I am filled with gratitude. It makes you think what the world would be like if we were all just a little kinder to each other, not just during special times but on a small, simple everyday basis.

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality." Romans 12:9-13

Peeks from Yesterday's Installation

Yesterday we installed "phase 1" of one of our clients' homes.  The day started out like this...

...With a truckload of furniture for the house.  Our clients completely and completely renovated their home so it could better suit their family's needs without increasing its footprint at all.  They were able to remove an unneeded living room to increase their kitchen & dining rooms and the family room is now their main living room.  They moved out for the summer while the renovation took place and have just now moved back in.

My client looooooves color and wouldn't you know her favorite is also my favorite:

{This is an old coffee table that our client's mother turned into an ottoman a while back.}

{The original piece}

We had our workroom -Paul David Design- create a new beautiful mitered top out of an indoor-outdoor fabric for the family room.

She loves green & was looking for a comfortable, happy and FUN vibe in her home.  Her husband is more traditional while she leans a little more towards the modern/colorful end of the spectrum so we ended up with  a sort of "funky" Traditional that's perfect for the family.  Our clients fell in love with their home because of its large big-treed yard, so we really wanted to bring all of that green inside and kick it up a notch.

Here's the living room palette:

The furniture is a mix of new upholstery and casegoods mixed in with family antiques & vintage pieces. 

We had lots of fun taking risks and I looove their apple green front door:

We did a massive pair of botanicals for high-impact in the dining room:

I hung family photos in a gallery wall and Paul & Nancy (of Paul David Design) handled the larger items like the mirrors and botanicals.  Meghan (my assistant) ran around like a madwoman (in a good way :) helping to get it all done in time.  Our client was out of the house for most of the day and at 5:00 we toured it with the family for the big reveal.  It was so much fun!! 

In the end we were all thrilled with  how the house turned out.  I'm insanely lucky to have the all of the wonderful clients I have and this family is really incredibly special.  The kids were already breaking in the chess table we found for them. 

...And Lizzy was breaking in the chairs:

{I can't handle her}

When we're completely finished & Helen takes photos, I'll be sure to share "after" pictures.  Hope you had a great day & thanks so much to everyone for all of the great childcare advice.  We're in the process of finding a nanny now so I'll keep you posted!!

And also thank you so much to my clients!!  (You are amazing.)

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Around Here

One week ago we were welcoming Henry into the world, it is hard to believe it has already been 7 days! Since then we have been doing a little of this and little of that. Henry has been working on his tan (or decreasing it I should say)...

Which we are happy to say is all cleared up. And while I am not working for a while that doesn't mean that the deliveries stop, they just come to the house instead of the office.Which meant HBS experienced his first job with MSI, delegating the deliveries (please excuse the wet hair, etc. I was lucky to even be dressed!)...

I loved everything that came in for clients, but I am most excited about this art/photography, can't wait to show you when it gets to its final destination- a law office fittingly.We have been getting used to being a family of three, the best transition one could ask for...

And in case you were wondering (although probably not) the stumps have lost their bark thanks to some help from Patrick (more on that later).

Hopefully very soon this one will make its way to the nursery as a side table. As you can tell it still needs a lot of work. Thank you for all the advice from this post. We have followed every comment and researched where you said to go, so helpful!

Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!