what will be will be

I have been thinking a lot about resolutions. I usually do something really huge every year, like earn a degree or move across the country. Those things are never resolutions, it is just the way my life has been. Last year I decided to move in March and moved August 1st! So this month I am thinking about just writing down the main things that WILL happen this year. That way they are not resolutions that may be forgotten or set aside, but actual plans that I will follow through on.

1. Become a great cook. I have started cooking with my mom (via phone or skype) on a weekly basis and I really love it. She is an amazing professional cook and I get freaked out boiling water. I am going to become a confident, accomplished cook this year with all the tools I need to create great meals.

2. Learn CAD, and some Italian. I took CAD in design school but I have never used it and have completely forgotten it. I will take online classes this year and get great at it. Also, my fluency in Spanish makes Italian both easy and confusing, so I will study up on it for my trip in July (see #3).

3. Travel. This is easy since my mom plans and executes this one every year. Last year was the Dominican Republic, which was amazing, but my sister has never been to Europe. So this year we are going to Barcelona, Monte Carlo, and maybe a few towns in Italy and France. I am always the translator for Spanish, so I need to break out the Italian and French study guides!

4. Finish decorating the cottage and get it photographed/published. I am so happy and proud of my little cottage. I just need a few more touches to get it where I want it and it will be ready for professional pics and hopefully publishing!

5. Of course I have to decorate my mom's house, too, and work on our coffee table book with her. I have major spending coming up this year as my wisdom teeth have to come out and my brakes need to be fixed. I really loved 36 and I hear that 38 is the best year, but 37 has definitely been weird. I have been adjusting to life in California and I just want 2014 to be a happy time with no major stresses. More time with friends and family is the most important thing.

What are you going to accomplish this year? I hope every year you grow and get better....love!
E

What I have been up to

Hi, guys - it has been a crazy work week. Things are going great at the new job and so much else is going on...

These awesome Nate Berkus pillows landed in my house. They are so textural and boho - and only $30!

I have been cooking like crazy! I am 37 this year and that is the age at which Julia Child started cooking...I keep telling myself that in hopes I will be a good cook! I have made pork chops with mushroom sauce and dirty rice, sausage and green chile quiche, and shortrib cassoulet. This week I am going to do pesto burgers and fries. I just need to take prettier pictures of my results!

My client and friend got the Mouille knockoff that I have been wanting, but in white. It looks amazing over her dining table - excuse the dark photo! I recommend this light to everyone I know. It absolutely works EVERYWHERE!

Finally, I painted my bathroom in anticipation of the Susan Dory painting I got for Christmas! My bestie Leslie, who owns an art gallery, gave me this amazing painting by Susan, and Susan agreed to gift it to me. It looks like poured melted candy - photos do not do it justice! I will post before and after pics of the bathroom when I get the painting hung... it is the one on the right in this pic.

Hope you are having as great a week as I am! Talk soon...
E

Kourtney's house

The best (and only) reason to watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians is to look at Kourtney's house. All the other's homes are way over the top glamorous, but hers is mostly gray and absolutely gorgeous. They all work with Jeff Andrews, who is amazing all the time. She is about to sell, so here is the first time photos have been published. I really love the living room best, and I have always wanted to do a neon art piece. Enjoy!
E

Bold is beautiful

I am in a holding pattern regarding my bedroom. Finishing this room will allow me to photograph my cottage and post it or hopefully get it published. What's holding me back is fear - I want to put a crazy falling cubes pattern on the bed. I know I will hate it in a year and have to recover, but for the sake of doing something interesting and different, I just have to.

Classic is wonderful, but not if you want the room to be wow, to get noticed. Classic is for my family and clients, something they can live with for years because they will not change things up every year like I do. Bold is best for me.

When I get scared of bold, I look at some of my favorite unforgettable spaces. These people went for the gusto and I love it! And of course they were published and talked about.
BE BOLD.
E

New Year, new house

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your friends and family. I traveled to New Orleans and Mississippi to see my loved ones and it was amazing. Except that my sister and brother in law were sick the entire time! My mom and I went out to look at a house that she had been eyeing online. We never met a piece of real estate we didn't like! She is really wanting to do a clean white farmhouse look, but this property is more adobe style. We loved it at first sight but I honestly never thought my stepdad would move on something over the holidays, or at all so quickly. We thought we were just looking for fun.

The day I left, she took him to see the house and they made an offer on it the next day. They got the house and close on Valentine's Day! I can't believe it but I am so thrilled for them. It is so unique for Mississippi, and though it needs a lot of work, we are going to make it a stunner! I have not designed anything in the modern adobe or hacienda style, so I cannot wait!

The best part of this house is the interior courtyard with the covered walkways going all the way around the house. I am in love!

Isn't it amazing? I will keep you posted on the changes we make. My stepdad is not a fan of painting wood or pulling out rustic elements, but I would love to clean it up and pare it down even more. Happy hump day!
E