i wish i had that bike (or any bike)...i think a nice bike ride is just what the doctor ordered...but then again all of these images seem quite pleasant.  hope y'all are enjoying this beautiful day!!

*images courtesy of brown dress with white dots, unknown, kelley moore creative media

i'm having a little R&R...i hope y'all have a wonderful weekend.

*images courtesy of oh so beautiful paper, farrow and ball, lisa stickley london, are so happy tumblr

i apologize....i have neglected y'all.  and i am sorry.  life is busy but that's no excuse....
here's what i have been up to.  the other day i went to an art auction.  i purchased a painting b/c i love the artist a lot.  it's her first original work.

i was kind of taken aback when i turned over the painting and saw exactly what the artist's subject matter was:

as far as i know, i don't own any orange unitards but apparently taylor thinks i would look nice in one.
i also went to metrolina a couple of weekends ago.  i have to admit, i have been spoiled by scott's.  i only walked away w/ a painting (not the one above).  but on the way home, we stopped by the stark outlet.  my home desperately needs rugs.  i saw "outlet" so i thought i would score an amazing deal.  i fell in love w/ this bad boy:

it was a carpet remnant that happens to be 12' x whatever you want to cut and bind it.....the only problem is she's real expensive.  the word "outlet" basically means out of my budget.  which makes me sad b/c i looked at the rug in this picture and low and behold, it's the same one:

we were totally meant to be...and the colors couldn't work better. *sigh*
to make up for the rug that's out of my price range, i bought this piece.

world market, on sale....i like her.  and the box serves as entertainment for the kiddos...i told them it was a boat.  it worked for about 20 minutes.

sunday was house "work day"....we did some rearranging (i moved the stools to the LR)....and finally hung the pictures throughout the house that have been sitting on the floor for 3 months.

that's what's going on here....hope y'all have a happy tuesday!!

*image of bedroom is courtesy of veranda

lately a lot of the photos i have been saving for the house have one thing in common: groupings of art, symmetry, and order.  all of these things are lacking in my household (especially right now since everyone in the fam is recovering from the flu)!

*images courtesy of atlanta home magazine, celerie kemble

tay's window treatment

i take forever to make decisions when it comes to my personal home....too much great stuff at my finger tips combined w/ indecisiveness.  it leads to an undone house.  i often tell my clients to store inspiration photos somewhere so you can use these as a tool to show your sense of style.  i have a storage folder for my house on the computer.  and one thing that keeps popping up are these window treatments (you will start to see patterns in the photos you keep).  so since i find myself drawn to these, it's time to just do it!!!  i'm thinking tay's room....much like pic #1 (she already has light pink walls)-white linen roman shade but i think i am going to use the leftover la fiorentina from her headboard as the border accent.

Walt Disney World

taylor turns 4 in may and the girl talks about cinderella nonstop...it's time we take her to the castle.  but every time i go to book the trip, i get soooooo overwhelmed.  please help!!  i need advise:  where to stay- in park vs. outside of park, what to do if we are going to be there for 4 days, where to eat/ should we do a character dinner, if we should rent a house, take a stroller, bring food into the park, splurge on the dress up princess thing, which parks to visit w/ a 4 yr old, transportation to get to the park....whatever you feel the need to tell me, please do!!
y'all helped me so much yesterday w/ the mailing....hello, why did i not know that?!!!

*images courtesy of pigeon + pudding, disney world

i love this quote....seriously.  i'm pretty sure that all moms that stay at home w/ their children probably feel the same way.  a working mom has to learn how to juggle things.  it's taken me a while....but i am learning.  what am i learning?  well let's take today for instance- by the time 10:00 got here, i have already: feed myself and the kiddos, showered, bathed my kids, got dressed, dressed my kids, dried/ straightened my hair (the only reason i did this was b/c my hair needs to be cut so badly i'm running out of options), loaded the kids in the car, loaded 15 boxes into the car, dropped tay off at school, had an impromptu paint consultation in the parking lot of the school, drove to the post office, carried 15 boxes and walker into the post office, mailed 15 boxes while i sat walker on the counter at the post office (i debated the floor but i thought people would judge me), had a conversation  w/ the postal worker about how to be more efficient w/ my mailing and what to do w/ a teething baby (i guess she felt the need to give me advise b/c walker was eating my keys and drooling all over the counter), did a major victory dance when i left the post office b/c i mailed 15 boxes by myself w/ a baby on my hip (i do this every day and it is seriously the most challenging part of my day), drove home, paid the mortgage, gave walker a bottle, put him down for a nap, did a post at the designer's attic, and now i am finally sitting at my desk getting ready to answer emails....thank you lord for providing coffee and work.  i love being a mom and to have work in this economy is a blessing.  i know that all of you moms out there probably go through the same kind of things on a daily basis.  it makes me feel proud.   you should too....try doing a victory dance (i did it to florence + the machine this AM).  it's very powerful.  and everyday when i leave the post office, i say- i did it...all by myself :)

*1st pic taken by taylor (she's 3 and can't quite get the camera in the right position)

do you ever find a song and it's just totally you....i do it all the time....and then i listen to it on repeat for an entire day and then i am tired of it.  this weekend, this was my song....still not tired of it (but i am probably pushing it).  on a different note, i just got a lulu dk chant pillow on ebay...if you love lulu like i do, check it out (someone needs to buy that twin duvet cover)!!  happy, rainy monday.

*bottom image courtesy of brown dress w/ white dots, the urban farmhouse, kml design, kristen panitch gramercy

yes please.

*images courtesy of pretty stuff, the decorista

my husband totally gets me....he called at lunch and here's our conversation:
me: our house looks like a bomb went off, seriously....i think, i will go into the bedroom and dump out our drawers just to make it look a little better.
hubs: it's awful.
me: i know.  i am suppose to have a play date this afternoon....we are totally going to the park. no one can come into our house.
hubs: if someone knocks on the door, just run outside and start crying and act like we got robbed.
he's a genius :)

*images courtesy of camilles styles, design darling, the alternative bride, traditional home, shelter

i spy...

well, i'm officially off of my sick bed (thank you for the emails checking to make sure that i was not kidnapped by the strange van in my neighborhood...i totally left y'all hanging and i apologize).  i caught some awful bug from walker and have passed it along to just about everyone i know.  so i realize that i was going to show y'all my demilune purchase from scotts (please note: my house is a work in progress) i still need a mirror, lamp, to paint the pot the orchid is in, an entry way light, and i want to have my wallpaper lady cover the outlet w/ leftover wallpaper...but money doesn't grow on trees and i like the process of finding things so that's how i roll :)

and "i spy" isn't fun w/ just one photo, so i thought i would show y'all taylor's headboard...yes, i made it months ago and i forgot to ever show you the full thing....again, not styled....just a made up bed (kind of rare)....her room is also a work-in-progress!!  happy monday y'all!