While spending the good part of my summer in the mountains, I love to browse the art galleries in Black Mountain and Asheville. One of the artists I have discovered and loved is Bridgette Pyles-Martin. I love her paintings of mountain landscapes and the vibrant and bold colors she uses. For years I have admired her work that I've seen in the Seven Sisters Gallery in Black Mountain and am waiting to find just the right one for my home. I don't have any paintings that will remind me throughout the year of my love for the mountains. More of her work can be seen here: http://bridgetteart.com/biography.html.
Almost every year of my life I have spent the fourth of July in the mountains of NC. My great grandparents established a tradition of family gatherings here and I am grateful for this. This past 4th, 48 of us gathered to celebrate. I then spent the next few weeks there with my boys to escape the heat and humidity in Charleston. This year's milestone was my oldest son's making it to the top of Lookout Mountain, the tallest mountain in Montreat where we have our home. We were also joined for a week by a good friend of mine and her two kids. Now we are back home facing just a few weeks of summer left before the school craziness begins.
I came upon these prints on another blog and I love the colors! They seem very happy. I have been looking for something like this for my laundry room, which unfortunately you have to traverse to go out of the back door. The prints can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lucileskitchen?ref=seller_info
Found these pictures in the new Lonny magazine. I love the kids' office with huge bean bag, chalkboard table, and bookshelf as well as the little girl's room. I am a huge fan of mixing colors and patterns!
I also love the plate arrangement on the wall in the second picture.
Yesterday was Mother's Day. My boys planted this rose bush for me. I love it and hope it really proliferates. I had such an awesome weekend celebrating being a mom. We spent Saturday in the boat and it could not have been a prettier day. I hope to blog more in the near future. My teaching job has been taking the majority of my time and effort.
I have had a serious lapse in blogging because of a new job I started in January teaching French at an all girls' school here in Charleston. I am very happy with the job but also still interested in home organizing and decorating and all that kind of stuff also. I still have been helping a neighbor with a few things in her home and did a paint color consultation yesterday. I still would like to keep my hands in this business too. One of my real loves is taking photos and even though I don't have a "real" camera, I think I still get some good ones. I have been thinking about investing in a nice camera at some point in the future and taking a course in photography. Here are some of my latest pics---just taken today. I am inspired by pink at the moment and think the colors in these pictures would be great inspiration for an interior design project.
As my life has gotten a lot more hectic with me working part time, I am loving this website. I thought Rachel Ray had something with her 30 minute meals, but this tops it. The Pioneer Woman's website is also filled with lots of other good recipes that may take longer, but look delicious. As I've said in a previous post I have started planning my meals out for the week (not a new concept I know) which has really helped me. The kids also like looking at the menu to see what's ahead, sort of like how they like looking at the school menu. I don't have any fancy way of doing it, just write it down on a piece of paper and post it on the fridge. Planning out for longer than a week does not work for me. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/category/miscellaneous/16-minute-meals/
I will be taking a hiatus from my blog until I can get things All Squared Away. I have started a part-time teaching job, three days a week that for now needs all of my attention. I hope that I can still post things from time to time and hope to continue my organizing/design business on the days I am not working and in the summer. I did want to include my idea for displaying Christmas cards, at least during the month of January. I hate not to be able to enjoy them for a while, so I made this collage by taping them up over the electrical box in my laundry room. The kids and I love to stop to look at them--we are blessed to have so many good friends!
I am now a stay at home mom but in my former life I was a French teacher--I have my B.A., M.A., and A.B.D. (next step to Ph.D. in French literature). I love teaching and miss it but in the meantime I am enjoying operating a part-time home organizing and design business. Contact me for more info if you are interested!
Last Week's Links
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Sorry I was MIA last week. We installed our model home for Ivory Homes
that will be in the Salt Lake Parade of Homes. We actually did two homes in
one wee...
New Things, New York & Happy New Year
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*Hello. Happy New Year. How is it March already? I know its a cliché but
time really does fly. **We've had a nice start to 2014. Some good
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Alaina Kaczmarski's Home Tour
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The lovely Alaina Kaczmarski of The Everygirl recently styled her spacious
Chicago apartment for a photoshoot and I was thrilled to get in on the
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Weekend Reading 12.1.24
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It’s December! Time to decorate and spread holiday cheer! I’m finishing up
two craft projects by twilight and hope to photograph them this week. We
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The End
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It’s not just the end of the year, I’m afraid it’s also the end of this
blog. I feel bad for just blurting it out like this on New Year’s Eve but
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Home Sweet Home! by The Pioneer Woman
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I hope you’ve all been doing well, staying safe, and (hopefully) getting
back to some glimpse of normal. I know normal is a relative term, and I
swear, I s...
HELLO.
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I am back!!! Reasons why I have not had a post in NINE months??? Crazy
life, new job & crazy life. I have tons of great things going on so please
come back...
House Progress: Entry & Living Room
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Happy New Year! I'm back sharing a few more photos of our house progress.
This past weekend my cousin hosted a baby shower for baby girl at our
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Discover the Secrets of Making Money From Your Art
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Making money from your art is largely about talent. You will need to
produce art which is beautiful enough or unique enough to be coveted by
others. As wel...
Oh, the difference a year (or three) makes...
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The saying goes "time flies when you're having fun" and I couldn't agree
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Our Holiday Inn Asheville Vacation
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Hey again! Its been only a month since our last getaway to Aruba, so we
took a family trip to Asheville, North Carolina & brought Noah this time!
To be ...
Missing Cottage Living
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Looking back through some of my favorite cottages... 1. COZY COTTAGE: I.
LOVE. this kitchen. *and this room- great mix of functional, comfortable
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things and thoughts:
have y'all read "what alice forgot"....LOVED it. i'm dying for another
book like that....fill free to give me suggestions.
shovel...
fragrance faves on sale + delicious pasta recipe
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Hey friends, popping in to share two things: an easy and tasty pasta
recipe and a roundup of my favorite fragrances that are on sale right now
that are PE...
Pro Tips for Creative Pumpkin Carving
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Pumpkin carving is one of the most creative and fun traditions of the fall
season. Whether you're a seasoned carver looking for tips, or helping kids
carve...
Easy Cast Iron Cleaning: Maintain Your Skillet
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Cast iron cookware is a staple in my kitchen, and if you're like me, you
treasure these pieces for their durability and versatility. But let's face
it, c...
2024 Holiday Gift Guides
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[image: 2024 Holiday Gift Guides]
Just like we did for our *2023 Gift Guides* and our *2022 Gift Guides*,
we’ve got all three of our gift lists in one sing...
A Month of Reflection
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By Leo Babauta We’re entering the last month of the year, and for many of
us, it’s a darker and quieter season. It’s the perfect time for reflection.
I l...