photographer shout out

remember when i posted about giving my business a boost at a local event in november? well one of the highlights of doing the event was meeting desi of desiree angelle photography. she is a super talented photographer who specializes in newborn, infant & toddler photography. desi has a wonderfully creative eye and her photos are beautiful! after seeing them i asked her if she would take a photo of me for my blog...see the new picture to the right. she made me feel totally comfortable and was able to get some really good shots (and i never like photos of myself!). while desi was here she also took some other pictures around my house. i didnt even know she took the one above...and it is my favorite!! she got some great shots of ava's room...but i am going to save those for a later post:)

so...when you get a moment please be sure to check out desi's site. if you are local and need beautiful, professional shots of your children...she is your girl!

jodie

nusery love

i am always pleasantly surprised when someone finds my blog without me telling them to read it:) so when esther from buy modern baby contacted me about the nursery i just finished...i was was ecstatic! she asked if she could feature it on her blog and of course i said yes! her website is wonderful, she rounds up the best of the best in modern baby furniture. it is super thorough and user friendly! so when you have a moment go check it out...even if you arent in the market for baby gear its fun to look at all of the products.

jodie

nursery reveal

remember this nursery i was working on? well we have added a few finishing touches and i think we can almost call it done. then again...is a room ever really done? i was able to snap some photos this weekend. i know i am always saying this...but i am no professional photographer and learning how it take photos is definitely on my short list! for now you will have to suffer through these amateur shots:)

i had so much fun working on this nursery because it was for very good friends of ours. i have been lucky enough to spend some quality time with the baby who now occupies the room! first up is a before picture that my friends took. this gives you an idea of how different the room looked before with the dark brown walls. you can also see what they called their baby all during the pregnancy...but when it was game time little jack showed up instead!

here it is after from a similar angle...

i went a little picture crazy....here are some other views.

here are some closeups of the little details...i love this mobile my client found online, its so sweet.

now a special shout out to the artist in our family....my daughter ava drew the pictures over the crib! my client loves pigs...so i gave ava creative freedom to draw them any way she wanted and these are what she came up with! i am one proud mama! here is a closeup of my favorite...

and look at these cute little crib critters!

here is the corner next to the crib before we took a trip to homegoods that day.

and here it is after. my friend had to have this giraffe...it was the perfect touch!

i always have mixed emotions when a project is actually finished. i love when my clients are so happy...but i almost miss a room when its done?!?

thanks so much for reading....

jodie

color inspiration

while i was driving the kids to school the other day, i was admiring these....

my gloves... they were on at the time:)   i was thinking how pretty the colors are and how nice they would look together in a room.  take a closer look...orange, turquoise, hot pink.

so when i got home i decided to take a look on pinterest to see what i could find. look at this beautiful table setting!

image via

and this ...

image via

isnt this room fresh and inviting? there are all of the colors in my gloves, just interpreted in a different way. my point to all of this is that you can find color inspiration anywhere and everywhere you look.

 house beautiful has a page in each issue called "paint palette" where they show a photo of random objects (food, flowers, rocks etc...) and pull a color story from it. i love this feature. here is an example of it that i scanned in....

these colors are amazing together. i am not usually a purple gal...at all....but this combination works for me. i have been dreaming up a room using these colors. i will try to put it on an idea board and post it at some point.

so next time you are trying to decide on a paint or a fabric color, look around... your answer could be right in front of  you! or on you:)

jodie

kids craft cabinet makeover

i loooooove getting little projects like this done. they are quick and easy and full of instant gratification (my favorite).  this cabinet is near our kitchen table and it is the perfect spot for all of the kids craft needs. we have been in the house for 2 years and i have been talking about organizing it for just as long! so with some extra time over the holidays...ava and i decided it was time to tackle it.

of course i have a before and after for you. are you ready?

wow...that is embarrassing! btw, i didnt even ask ava to pose like that:) after dumping some unneeded things, taking a trip to ikea, the dollar tree and office depot, it looks like this...

ahhh much better!! the inside of the doors stayed just the same...one side is a height chart for the kids...and the other has sentimental photos that arent coming down. i cant tell you how much this kind of thing excites me...i have been opening it for no reason in the past few days just to have a peek!

after living with it the other way for so long i learned a few things. kids need items in open containers...so they can put them back right where they found them. i think the my favorite improvement is having all of the paper/notebooks in stacking trays...that has been a huge help! here are some close ups...

i have this wire basket next to the cabinet for homework items. ethan and ava each have a box for their school things, and then there are a few books that can be grabbed when reading is required.

i am sure kevin would want me to point out his beautiful, handmade, 6" base molding (on the left wall) that he made and installed for our entire downstairs...right after he installed all of the hardwood! lets see if he is reading....because this kind of post does not usually catch his interest:)

lets look at one more before and after shall we?

that is some good clean fun right there! lets see how long it lasts...so far so good!

jodie

happiness is....

 

or would be...me finding time to read these! i love design books, but they always seem to fall into the category of "i dont really need that right now".  i never buy any, so instead i ask for them as gifts.  i was giddy on christmas morning to open the bottom two (thanks mom)! i have managed to already get half way through the home within us . it is soooo good....bobby mcalpine writes so well  about how design really reflects our emotions and i cant wait to finish. the top three books came from and amazing local used book store  that i will definitely be going back to for more.

i am excited about the new year....this time of year always makes it seem like the possibilities are endless...like anything can happen. what i am making happen right now is cleaning. i am putting away all of the decorations and giving the house a much needed deep clean. it is amazing to me that all of the stuff that has been scattered around the house for the past month fits neatly into 4 totes!  i swear the house feels lighter already.

happy new year! i am looking forward to a good year with my business and this blog!

jodie

ps. since i started this post the mail came...with 3 new magazines! now i have to make time to read those as well:)