cleaning 101...

i think i have told y'all this secret before- i really am not good at cleaning....like it's a huge struggle for me. my husband doesn't get how one person (now two, tay has inherited my gene) can be so messy. which explains why i was really excited yesterday when i found a guide to cleaning (how dorky does that sound) on the real simple website. it broke things down in time frames: ie. if you have 15 min. do this...so with my "positive outlook" i decided to give it a try....it worked....i think i dreaded cleaning b/c i was doing it wrong (who knew that you had to let the disinfectant sit in the sink for 15 min in order to get it clean??). also, my old school tactics (like i still used the powder comet) took so long. now with these helpful hints, i feel like it's something i can try and be better at. i even went as far as going to target to buy the "supplies" they suggested. and my cute neighbors were so nice and gave me an electrolux for christmas b/c they know how much i despised my current vacuum....(it makes vacuuming a daily activity). so, stay tuned and see if this "new shannon" hangs around...

back to life....

back to reality....i kept saying that monday was going to be a sad day- reality would set in...no more eating yummy, high calorie food w/out caring, or drinking wonderful wines daily, shopping would come to a complete stop, and the grind of daily life would kick back in (unfortunately w/ tighter pants)....

i cannot believe that we are now in 2009 (i think i blinked and 2008 vanished)??!! i didn't make a new year's resolution (is that terrible)....but this morning i thought to myself (and maybe warren said it out loud before leaving for work) *be positive*. so i am going to start out today/2009 happy and positive and make a conscious effort be to happy in the moment i am in! i hope y'all had a wonderful holiday- i missed y'all!!

*i promise tomorrow i will return to design related posts vs. my personal life :)

how are you spending your break??

i spent it on the sofa staying up way too late to watch this great flick....it instantly took me back to high school circa 1994 (the clothes and the clunky mary janes- painful)....but i adore this movie (and the soundtrack). i couldn't quite remember what it was about but the second it popped on my tv, i was hooked...singing 'my sharona' and suddenly liking ethan hawke again (greasy hair and all)....hope you are spending your time off eating chocolate pie, watching cheesy movies, and loving every minute of it :)

you better watch out, you better not cry....

you better not pout i'm telling you why....
i am officially signing off to go and eat breakfast with my fam, look at the "small tree" with a ridiculous amount of gifts under it, and remember what christmas is really all about. i hope y'all have a wonderful holiday and thank you so much for a fabulous 2008. i could have never imagined having a response like this when i randomly created this blog. y'all are the best and have made me a better designer/ person b/c of it. wishing you and your family a merry christmas and happy new year- much love, pink wallpaper

the final countdown....

can you believe its the week of christmas??!! i have officially started my holiday vacation and am enjoying spending time with my family. last night, dad and i went and got/dug up a tree (yes, dug up one). we went to a christmas tree farm and my dad didn't like the idea of cutting it down, so he asked the man for a shovel and put the little guy in a bucket...after christmas, he is going to plant it in their yard next to last year's tree. he's a lot nicer to the trees then we are...kind of makes me feel bad for our "cut" down tree. i guess we will be decorating it sometime today...it's a small guy much like these...i guess the older/wiser you get, the less you desire having a huge tree to decorate.
we have many things on our list today to tackle: wrapping presents, painting an adorable gift my dad made tay (he's so good, i can't wait to show y'all), buying some stocking stuffers, making christmas cookies...the list goes on and on...i hope y'all are enjoying time w/ your fams as well and not reading this silly blog at work...and if you are, tell your boss that working during the holidays is for losers :)

just hand me the bottle....

well by now i am sure all of your homes are decorated perfectly for christmas, right? or you could be like me who started w/ a big bang and then it just dwindled off (like never finding my wreath hanger and so my fresh wreath has been sitting on the bench outside for two weeks)....

anyways, i thought it would be fun to move on to the party...isn't this idea so cute? they are mini bottles of champagne...now that sounds like a fun christmas party!! that's the one sad thing about working solo...no christmas party, no festive cookies, and no cute mini bottles of champagne...

merry & bright

how cute is this little diddy that was in my inbox this AM? love the fact that urban electric does custom coloring w/ a majority of their light fixtures....nothing says christmas like kelly green!! i'm off to eat cheese cubes and goldfish...aka my daughter's school christmas party! have a great day!

i heart christmas....

i just don't know how you can't have a permanent smile on your face at christmas time...there is so much out there that is special...the presents just aren't important in my book. having these christmas memories is something i will always cherish...we took taylor to her first christmas parade last night and despite one tiny meltdown (that was solved w/ a quick lolly pop given by the elves in the parade), it was a blast.

christmas is so much fun experiencing it through the eyes of a child...the lights, the decorations, the music, the spirit of it all!!

where i have been for the last two + days....

sorry i haven't been around much this week. i have been staging a house for a party that was last night. it is a spec home that i have been working on for the last 10 months and it is finally finishing up. kind of makes me sad. i told my husband that if we won the lottery, i would love to buy this house. it's funny how much of yourself you put into a project...at least i tend too. the builder/client decided to furnish the main rooms downstairs and i think it was a great idea. it really allows the perspective buyer to envision themselves living here vs. a huge empty room. i painted the entire downstairs (minus the master) white and i love the effect....the ceilings are a pale blue and it is such a soothing palette. it really allows you to show off the moldings and furniture. if anyone is in the market for a fabulous house in a great area, it could be yours :)

Mrs. Howard, Part II

Dear Phoebe,

Let's be friends......

Highest Regards,

PW

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas (kind of)...

despite my husband having the flu and me in the beginning stages, we managed to get our christmas tree in the house and decorated...i still have a lot of stuff to do with the house; right now there are ornaments and plastic containers all over the place. i need some more inspiration for my table and entry way.....how is your house coming?!! i'll post pics later...this is the first year taylor has discovered the christmas tree. we had to put all of the nonbreakable ornaments on the bottom....i'm hoping an 18 month old can't pull a tree down....

*images all from country living

beautiful is right....

if only i could read the site i have been on for the last hour...but the images speak for themselves...