May I recommend...

My cell phone of choice is my...iphone! I am known that when I love something I tell everyone about it! I do love this phone! Why, you ask? Well...I have been talking up my ipod for over a year now for reasons such as; exercise playlists, the organization of the music, all my pictures at my fingertip...I can go on and on...Well, the iphone does all that PLUS all the great features of my smashed Smartphone. I got hooked about syncing up my calendar via Outlook to my Smartphone. Now I can do that, but also have my Ipod and the internet on it. Plus the map feature is so cool! If you type in a restaurant name it will locate it in a second for you and tell you how to get there from where you are. We now even loaded some of our DVD's on it and the screen is great for my kids to watch a movie when I really, really need them to chill.

IF I have not sold you yet...check out this really cool "skin" from http://www.decalgirl.com/ to stylize it like no other.

Light Up My Life

I am crazy about chandeliers, as many of you know. When we moved into our home five years ago we had a very plain fixture in our dining room. Instead of replacing it to glam it up I wrapped it in ribbon and embellished away! At that time the room was very plain so I needed a focal point. Now the decor has worked its way around this elevated bridal bouquet. I have made a handful since, a little less adorned, but never get tired of the graceful silhouettes of chandeliers. Check out these fab prints fromhttp://www.ballarddesigns.com/ Hmmm, Christmas is coming...

"We will NEVER get a dog!"

Famous last words huh? I never wanted to submit my children to the heartbreak of the loss of a pet. I was emotionally scarred from the loss of a goldfish (I am not kidding!) and my own dog growing up, so I vowed that no love and responsibility was important enough to put my kids through that same type of loss. Well...I had always thought Shih Tzus were a cute breed and my youngest, D. was beginning Kindergarten. I felt anxiety about my youngest flying the coup so I picked up the phone and responded to an add in the paper. I thought, "they won't have any puppies left", they did. Then I said, "I won't think it is cute", he was. And that was that! Jupiter became a member of our family without me not only consulting my kids, but my husband either! He has turned out to be an almost perfect dog. As I just turned 35, one thing I have learned about myself is that most of my major life decisions I have jumped in with both feet and then look back to evaluate. Sometimes it was a good decision, sometimes not. This one, about Jupiter, was a good decision...today at least.

a favorite fall centerpiece

This is my own take on a centerpiece that I saw in a magazine. I am not much of a Halloween person, but I loved how these white pumpkins looked in my very floral dining room. Just a few side notes: the glasses my mom hand painted for me with mismatched garage sale crystal. The screen door in the background was in front of a house waiting for the garbage man to pick up. I went to the door, asked permission to take it, power-sprayed it and put a mirror where the screen used to be. The wing chair was from a garage sale that I always wanted to reupholster, but is now growing on me. What does your fall centerpiece look like?

inexpensive artwork

I fell in love with this storefront in Paris (of course). Since we travel on a budget it was easier to take a picture of it, plus easier to pack in my suitcase. Thanks to Shutterfly I made it into a poster and am looking for the perfect frame for my living room. I don't think there is a flower out there that I don't love. What type of creative artwork do you put in your house?

My Happy Place

On a recent trip to Paris I learned that there is no more perfect
place than lying on the grass, at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
We all need a happy place and this is mine. I will share! If you
have not had the experience to see the E.T. sparkle, every hour
on the hour, it will take your breath away. As a matter of fact
when it begins to sparkle you will hear a loud gasp from all in
view . Where is your happy place?