Its a bird? Its a plane? ITS NEW COUNTERS!!!

Its happening!

Its finally happening!!

Our kitchen is getting a little make-ova'! (And by little, I mean HUGE!)

I'm around beautiful products all the time, and until now I've been very good at looking-but-not-touching. However, when I found this linear mosaic blend tile I fell. In. Love. Hard. As I was stroking the tile with the back of my hand, I asked my sales rep to pllllllllease order me a sample. (Or two. Or three...) so when they arrived about a week later, I was head over heals with my tile. Yes, MY tile. It became mine within a nanosecond. I received three pieces of three rows of my tile. So I laid them on the counter, and drooled. Then it hit me- TAPE THEM UP!

So I did...

I hung some up here (I used the blue tape to hold them up because its a low-tack tape, so it won't pull off my drywall when its done holding the tile in place!)  

And put some over here too...(don't mind the canister of mini M&M's...I feel its vital that every kitchen have some M&M's!)

And over here too!! Yes we will be putting the tile on the side of our panty. Why? Because when they installed the laminate side splash, they glued it to the side of the cabinet. So when we rip it off, we would have a yucky (yes, yucky is a totally 'professional' word) surface, so we are going to cover the whole area with the pretty tiles and call it a day!

Now it might seem like a simple task; just find a counter to go with the perfect backsplash tile, Erin. Shouldn't be a big deal, right? I mean, this is what I do for other people...I should be able to do this for my home without incident, right? Well...I thought solid black counters were going to be the way to go. I was certain it was all about the solid black. I got a sample of Black Uba Tuba and moved it around the kitchen, and kept feeling like "its oooooookay". It wasn't that shock of electricity through me like, "YES! This is THE one...". I knew something was off, so I moved it around and around, and finally I put it in the laundry room so that when I was folding laundry, I could really "look" at it. And that's when it hit me. Somewhere in between socks and t-shirts, I realized what the problem was. It was green. 

I asked the hubs when he came home:

me: Do you see green?

hubs: Green?

me: Yes. In the sample, do you see green?

hubs: I see green outside. I don't see any green in the counter. 

me: You're sure?

hubs: Is this going somewhere?

me: I see green

hubs: I see your crazy

me: Oh. 

Realizing I wasn't gonna convince him that there was green in the counter, I emailed my granite rep, explaining my epic dilema. Mainly that I don't have anything green in our house. Like, NOTHING in our home is green. Its all black, white, gray and beige. Not green. And my perfect backsplash tile wasn't green. AHHHHHH. And could she please knock me off a sample of the gray granite? She emailed me back, told me she doesn't see green in the granite either, but she wanted me to be 100% happy, so if I saw green, she saw green and she'd happily knock me off a piece of the gray. 

I brought home the gray granite and put it next to the "black" one. Hands down, I knew. I got that tingly feeling with the gray...but I withheld my giddy-happy-dance until The Hubs made his decision. 

me: So, here they are, side by side. Which do you prefer?

hubs: Uhm

me: YOU HAVE TO THINK?

hubs: Uhm

me: This was the quickest, easiest decision ever

hubs: So its the gray one, right?

me: DUH!

(and that's how we communicate)

Because I'm me, I've been moving around the sample of granite too. Its been in every corner, under every item (like our soap dispenser) I have that lives on my counter...I've hung it over the side of my sink (because the new one will be under mount...and I wanted to see how that would look and feel...) I've sprayed my sample of granite with my usual cleaner, just a wet cloth, a sponge with soap...all to find out which will leave a streak and which won't...

My version of an under mount sink...sorta

 ...and next to the sink

Our little granite sample has become my favorite coaster...and trivet, and cutting board...I might actually miss my little sample. Oh wait, I won't have to have a mini sample anymore...because in two weeks we will have a GIANT counter to use a coaster! EEK! I can put a hot pan on my counters! I can cut directly on the counter! I can TAP DANCE on my counters!! SQUEEEEEEEAL! I'm so excited! 

Here are the two samples together:

Perfect harmony...

We're poppin' ovah here!!!

 One of my favorite things about Spring is when the sun comes out, but the air is cold. Like today for instance, its sunny, blue skies but with the high of like, 50. That's perfect weather for me. Why? Because I don't like being hot.

Yes, I lived in Florida for 14 years which only cemented in my brain how much I don't like being hot. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't like being cold- like bitter cold, blue hands and toes; that's not my cup of tea. I just like it brisk. Yes, that's the best word to describe it, brisk.

To prove that Spring is popping up in random places here are two examples.

First: We like to go to a bar/restaurant called The Winking Lizard (which has a HUGE live lizard who lives in a cage in the middle of the dining room- AWESOME!) and while walking out of it the other night, I noticed these in the window of the Sherwin Williams store that's right next door.

Now you wanna tell me that isn't CUTE?! And clever!! I love seeing everyday items being used in imaginative ways. This made me think "I should do that with Lil' Man!" except I don't want to pull an entire lot of pink tip cards out of their display...pretty sure managers frown on that sorta thing...

Now my second example of Spring is this:

Can you see him there? Hiding? Just to the right of that yellow weed? Right, here's a little story about him.

Because its Spring, that means that the weeds start popping up. (dead pan, yay!) My Action Hero Husband went out with the weed killer and nabbed those suckers straight away (good job honey!) but then two days later, they were all dead and yellow and just looked like Morticia Addams garden. So while Lil' Man was nappin' away, I pulled out my gardening gloves (dusted them off and shook them, making sure nothing living was hiding in the finger holes) and started pullin' up the dead weeds.

Here's something you might not know about me yet. I don't really do live animals. Meaning, live animals that I might come across in the yard, i.e., snakes, things with wings (excluding birds, they don't bother me) ants, mice, things with more feet than me...get the point?

So, while I'm in the weed-pulling-zone, Jack (our dog) is laying behind me sunning himself, I reach down to grab a weed and let out a super girlie yelp, then fall backwards on my bum. Yes, Mother Nature punked me. That little toad didn't even have the decency to flinch while I was busy having a mini heart attack right next to him. He just blinked his little toad eyes at me like, "what's wrong wit' you, lady?"

Needless to say that weed that you see in the photo next to him, is still there.

While all of this fresh air is inspiring me to clean the house I found myself this morning cleaning out the refrigerator. And, as I'm kneeling down to pull out the bottom drawer (that no one really uses...) I'm asking myself, "How did I get here? Right here, kneeling down, in my pajamas with a soapy sponge cleaning out our fridge? How did this happen?" Its like I've been bitten by the Spring Cleaning bug or something. Yesterday I was all hopped up on cleaning our master bathroom. If I was pregnant (which I'm so not) you might call this nesting, but it seems this happens to me every year in Spring. I get bit by the bug, land in the zone and put on my bright yellow gloves. I mean, worse things could happen to a girl, right?

On the design front, I popped into Pier1 last week to buy some pieces for a client's new patio that extends off her master bedroom. Can I just tell you how much I enjoy Pier1? The bright colors, the music, the products...all of it, just makes me happy. Here's the space:

Long and narrow, so I used blue painters tape to give my client an idea of how big everything would be.

We got two of these chairs from Pier1 and put these cushions on them for a little pop of color (I love that they are reversible so when you get tired of one side, just flip for something new!)

And two of these smaller planters from Frontgate.com

Once all the flowers are planted I'll take photos!

Happy Spring!

Smoothie, dah-ling??

My bestie, Cai, had surgery yesterday.

Now, to say she's my sister from another mister is an understatement. Her parents and my parents have been friends since they were in high school...so we literally have been raised together, and our friendship is a lil' more than the usual "bestie" relationship. (Its also totally awesome that she and my brother-in-law have been dating for the last year and a half...SQQQQQUEAL- one day we will totally have the same last name. Just like real sisters do!)

So anyway, today was one of those days that makes me super thankful for being able to do what I do (have my own bid-ness, and work from home). Lemme set the stage for you:

Last week I receive a call from a client I haven't worked with in years. She said she's hung onto a letter I sent her a while back and she wanted to work with me again. I was so excited- but I had to ask, "why?" and do you know what she said? (This part made me smile-big.) "Because since working with you, I've worked with another designer and you paid attention to what I really wanted. She didn't. You gave me your suggestions, but you always let me make my own choices without yours being thrust upon me" So I told her I was doing my 'happy-dance' (because who doesn't want to hear great things like that?) and we setup a meeting for today.

Yesterday Cai had her wisdom teeth pulled. All four. (I had mine done back in October, with some after affects, that still today (March 15) are present- so I feel for the girl.) While I was getting ready for my meeting today she and I were talking and she said she'd really like a smoothie (obviously she can't drive) so I asked if she'd like me to bring her one. "Really?" "Yeah. What kind?"

The stars aligned and my sitter was able to come over a little earlier than planned so I could run and grab some hardware for a client (whose bathrooms we are just wrapping up and OMG, they look uh-mazing!) stop into Smoothie King and get the smoothies (of course I got one for myself), stop at my clients house, drop off the hardware and paint color suggestions, drive over to Cai, drop off the smoothie and go to my meeting at my old client's new home.

Once I got home from everything and I laid Lil' man down for his nap, I was changing and I realized, "That is why I do what I do. Getting Cai her smoothie is why I do what I do." I might have sounded like a crazy banana to anyone walking by (thankfully its too cold for people to go walking...) but it made perfect sense to me. The whole reason I do what I do, is so I can be available for my family.

There is nothing more important to me than my family. Never has been. Never will be.

So even while I was super busy today, making sure Lil' man was taken care of, making sure I was put together to go to meetings, making sure my client's were happy and making sure my family was taken care of I still have the clarity (?) to be able to sit back and thank God everyday for the blessings He has given me and my family.

And, just because I can, tomorrow night, St.Patrick's Day eve, I will be hosting our annual party :) (I think I've talked about this before, but I prefer not to celebrate the actual holidays- I like the eve's because there isn't any pressure...and you can serve cheeseburgers and everyone is super happy...why? Because its not the actual holiday and there aren't any rules!! I'll post more about it later!)

12x12 Love

When we (and by 'we' I mean 'me', with the hubs blessing) decided to go with an under the sea theme in the nursery I didn't know how far to take it. Like, did I look for fish sheets? Should I start investing in a huge aquarium? And what about wall art? Is the tidal wave painted on the wall going to be enough? Too much?

See, this is what happens when your a designer. For other people's homes, its really easy (I find) to make decisions for them. When it comes to our home, I tend to over think things or leave things empty until I find the perfect item for the space. (Because I know it exists, I might just not have found it yet...) So when it came time for the wall art in lil' man's room, I got the best of both worlds.

I used (6) 12x12 frames over his crib (three on top, three on the bottom) and put scrapbook paper inside so I could switch them out as I saw fit. One of my favorite reasons for this is that when we switch out the papers, its a project lil' man and I get to do together.

We shop for the paper together, he points to ones he likes...and I point to ones I like. Then we buy the ones that make most sense.

When we get home and make the paper switch, its always fun for me to watch him lay in his crib and look up at the papers and go, "ooooooh" (Especially at Halloween when we hung super cute paper that had friendly spiders and mummies on it. He LOVED it!)

I've found it to be a super fun, easy and cost effective way to spruce up his room each month (or more frequently) and keep him entertained as well. He loves Mickey Mouse, so I try and keep at least one Mickey in the frames...(when he was super little, having his crib against the wall wasn't a big deal, but now he knows he has arms, and they are long, so he can easily touch the frames...so normally his crib is pulled away from the wall about 12"...I'm all about straight pictures! Oh, and safety. Of course!)

Teething rings

I'm amazed at how many teething rings there are available. The other night, I was flipping through my Family Fun magazine (yes, I'm totally that mom, even though lil' man isn't walking yet...) and I came across this teething ring with little finger-like things that "can reach all the way to the back of their gums". So I pulled out the page and put it aside.

Well, you know what happens well you put things "aside". They disappear. No, I'm not joking- I went to bed, it was on the kitchen table. Woke up, gone.

I was thinking of making a WANTED poster for it and placing it in The Hubs line of vision, but decided against it. Instead, I remembered it was from Target.com, so I went there, searched for 'teething ring' and got zero results (which seems weird to me...) so I search instead for 'teething' and up pops a bunch of information about baby Orajel, teething rings (which I knew they carried, apparently their search engine didn't...) and some various tooth brushes. But not the fancy teething ring with little fingers to get to the back of his gums!

So I pop over to Amazon.com and search for teething rings, and you know what? They have like 250 pages of teething rings. And not ONE of them is the one I'm looking for. Isn't that always the case? Himph.

I could go look harder for the missing piece of magazine. I'm sure it still exists in some form- but I have a few spare minutes to sit down (lil' man is nappin' away!) and I'd rather not use them to hunt for a missing piece of magazine.

Here are some highlights from my teething ring search:
- The Bling Ring black onyx teething ring. Doesn't that just sound weird? I feel like this might be something cave men used for their little cave man babies...sticking a rock into my kids mouth doesn't seem like an okay idea for me. And besides, the idea of his little teeth scratching up and down on the ring...just sends shivers down my spine especially if it makes a noise....eeeeeek! Oh, and don't even get me started on the name....Bling Ring? Really?

- The Empire Sterling Silver Teething Ring. Uhm, where do I even start with this one. I'm going to hope that this is intended to be an heirloom teething ring, not an everyday functional one (unless of course your Donald Trump's kid, in which case gnawing on sterling silver is probably something you've been doing since you were born. With that silver spoon in your mouth. Just sayin'...) Also, this teething ring has received FIVE stars, from only one reviewer. Why only one person reviewed it I ask...probably because only one person purchased it. Looks to me like we need more cow bell! Moving on....

- Maple Teethers. Yes, Maple, as in the wood. As in, your giving your baby a hunk of wood to ease the pain of cutting teeth. Why not just give them a piece of mulch and save on shipping?

...and so I will continue my search of the finger teether I found but lost. 

Fun with color!

One of my favorite reasons for working out of my home is that when my product reps want to meet, they come directly to my office- the kitchen table! (Actually, I have my office setup upstairs, but you know, the kitchen table is so much more friendly! 'Specially with a cup of coffee in hand...its more like chatting with friends rather than all business-like)

ANYWHO...

So I met this morning with my Sherwin Williams rep, Rebecca, who covers Ohio and Michigan (talk about a commute!) and she popped in to update me on all kinds of stuff that I already knew (but *may have forgotten about- ok, I totally did. Who am I kidding...) Here's a fun run down of what I re-learned and you should know too...

- Letschipit.com is up and running. What does it do? Well...its a little widget that you install on your toolbar. So let's say your one of those people who adores looking (and maybe drooling) over pictures of interiors that you love- you click your letschipit widget on the toolbar and BAM! It creates a palette of that picture. Could that be any easier???

- I relearned about Sherwin's Emerald line of paints which is as green friendly as they come. Zero VOC's (volatile organic compounds...which is the off gassing of the paint- you know that "just painted" paint smell...THOSE are VOC's...and this line has none of it..which means, you wanna paint your house in the middle of winter, and can't open any windows? That's okay with this product!) It also prevents stains from soaking in, so super easy cleanup and it won't streak or spot when you clean it! I do say, this sounds like the perfect paint!!

- Maybe one of the most important things I learned today was Sherwin Williams Color of the year...and guess what, its not Pantone's Emerald Green...or Erinteriors Navy Blue...its Aloe SW6464!! Its a soft green, a little pastel-ey, super fresh and clean looking...go check it out at SherwinWilliams.com

I love learning (or re-learning) things about my profession. It makes me even more happy when I'm learning these things while lil' Man is crawling around, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on in the background and we are sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee...yup- this is the life. And I'm so thankful for it :)

Snowball men!

I'm sure you read my last post about the cake ball situation...well, here's my experience:

First, I find the boxed cake mix and the icing. Get all excited come home and bake it, which is just mean. Baking a cake, which you can't EAT yet (mean- just cruel!) So the next morning, I break it apart, start mixing in the icing and stuff, roll it into balls- which let's talk about that for a second, shall we?

Red velvet cake mix is DYED red. Which means, when you rub it all over your hands, several times over, your hands become red (should have thought about this a little...) but I wanted to follow the directions- she uses red velvet so I use red velvet. So I roll 'em all up, shape them into little pear shapes, and put them into the refrigerator until Saturday afternoon...

I didn't want my mom to see her birthday cake (balls) until they were all done- but since she got dinner started early in the afternoon, she had to go home and change, I had the perfect window to start the ball process!

Thankfully my bestie, Cai, was on hand to help a sista out. She's all into baking from scratch (I'm more of a boxed girl...) and so I thought she'd be the perfect assistant to help me decorate the little balls! Well, as we were mid-pushing-the-pretzel-arms-into-the-ball she says, "I think he's going to be an amputee" 

It kinda went downhill from there.

After her second snowman she asked if she could be the 'dotter'. I said sure and continued in my happy little snowman induced happy-place. (Who knew I'd enjoy decorating little cake balls so much?!) Once they had little faces, they really came alive! Like, totally...now they just needed hats!

The directions called for tiny little cookies, with chocolate chip cookies on top to look like hats. However,  I couldn't find the cookies they asked for, so I bought some cookies which I thought said, "MINI" fudge cookies...turns out, I get home, it says MINT. Fail. Which meant their little snowmen heads were going to be really cold! 

See, with just a chocolate chip on top, chilly snowmen. Awwww...

And we didn't want to have snowmen with cold heads, so Cai decided to use the MINT cookies (not mini) and here was the result:

Looks like he's wearing a sombrero, right?

 Well, hand a girl some icing and she gets carried away- see that one snowman, middle row, third one back? See how he looks all ANGRY?! Right. So we had an angry snowman, one wearing a sombrero and one with only one arm! 

Can I just tell you though, how much FUN we had making our little snowmen? Might not be exactly what Bakerella had in mind...

...but laughing with my bestie while making something for my mom was so much fun! When mom came back, in her new shirt, she was so excited looking at our little creations! And, let me point out...see in the Bakerella photo, she uses those little chocolate sprinkles for arms? Yeah, I feel like, even though one of ours was an amputee (because the candy coating dried too fast...) the pretzels were awesome! That salty/sweet combination...mmmmm!

And what party isn't complete without a glass of wine that holds an ENTIRE bottle of wine? Just to be sure, we emptied the fresh bottle into the glass, what do ya know- they were right!! mmm