When it comes to social causes and political matters, I do my best — by choice — to keep that off public radar. I prefer to keep those types of conversations at the dinner table or in my text messages, not on my timeline and certainly not on the blog. But earlier this week, a retailer I’d shopped for years — for myself and for clients — did something some really stopped me dead in my tracks and forced me to reevaluate my relationship with them.
Read MoreFor the past month (maybe longer?), I have been blessed and fortunate enough to have been working from home as we try to protect ourselves and prevent the ongoing spread of COVID-19...aka flattening the curve. Yes, “working from home” sounds fun & easy, but being at home for both work and home life isn’t exactly a pleasure picnic. I also know, firsthand, that working from home as an employee versus working from home as an entrepreneur are two similar, but different experiences; and I had to make adjustments to my mindset and home accordingly.
If you’re a parent, then you’re likely used to your kid telling you they want something new & shiny...
While my baby girl doesn’t ask for things often, when she fixates on a new activity or toy, you better believe she wants everything that’s in its orbit.
After my daughter was born, it wasn’t long before I became an accidental stay at home mom. I eventually transitioned into a work from home mom, juggling growing an interior design business with raising a whole new human.
While I’d heard the term tossed around a few times, and was intrigued, I’d never really put any thought into creating one for myself...till now. I didn’t want to fund a brand new wardrobe that I’d toss and replace again. I didn’t want to buy things on a whim. I didn’t want to replace the things that I clearly kept for a reason. I just wanted a complete assortment. Also mindful of changes my body would be going through, I knew I had to be intentional and creating a capsule would be the best way to go about that.
Read MoreAs someone who does a lot of online shopping — be it for a project or for myself — a question I get asked a lot is how I shop. The time I put in at the beginning saves me time and money in the end. Which brings me to another common question — how do I save money! I’m going share a little secret with you about one of my fav shopping “hacks” that not only helps me save a coin or two, but is basically like getting paid to shop. While a lot of steps go into my online shopping strategy — yes, strategy — this is one step I cannot do without.
Read MoreThankfully, winter is gone, gone, gone, and spring is officially underway, which means time to pack away all that winter wardrobe and decor, and step into some long overdue spring style! Since I am no fashionista, here are my 4 recommended pieces to help you transition your home into spring:
Read MoreNow that we’re all home for the foreseeable future, it’s so easy to not put in the same amount of effort when it comes to our wellness -- there are NetFlix shows to binge, piles of snacks to eat, and lots and lots of naps to be had -- but truth is, it’s probably more important now more than ever to stay on top of it. For me, working out is a welcome mental distraction from everything going on but also a way to ensure I’m not physically susceptible to any nasty viruses out there. Right now, health = wealth and I plan to look good for all of it.
Read MoreTwo years ago I made my very first Grove Collaborative purchase and I have to say, not entirely sure what to expect from a household subscription service. I was intrigued by the idea that I could get cleaning products for our home, especially now that my daughter was way more active and I was now full-time working from home. With spring cleaning around the corner, it was as good a time as any to try Grove Collaborative and two years later I still turn to them for many, if now all, of our household cleaning essentials.
Read MoreSo if you had to ask me what my fav part of designing is, it’s the shopping! In my everyday life I love finding pretty things; and if they happen to solve a problem while we’re at it...well, then I’m #winning.
I don’t discriminate when it comes to my love of shopping, but I used to especially obsessed with shopping for my office, before switching it over to my daughter’s bedroom. A lot of the decor I purchased, I still like to switch out & rotate between my desk, bookshelf, and other areas of our home; but when deciding what to get, my desk def served as a lot of the inspiration, aka the anchor piece.
Read MoreInstead of burdening yourself by worrying about what you could be missing by not being at all the places, with all the people, doing all the things, you take pleasure in having personal time. You can experience JOMO but not attending social events (aka not people'ing) or by simply unplugging, which these days, is a vacation all in itself.
That said…
I do respect the significance that Valentine’s Day has for other people — it’s a day to celebrate and share love, no matter the relationship — romantic, familial, or otherwise.
So I’ve pulled together 20 of my picks for gifts for all the people that you love.
Read MoreThis year one of the things I wanted to do more of was read. Since I’m already an audible user, I figured the very least I could do was use my account more. Over the past two years, while I’d defused my audible account pretty regularly — listening to way more books than I’m certain I would’ve actually read — I knew I wasn’t really getting my full money’s worth. So I challenged myself to listen to at least two books a month — one fiction, one nonfiction.
This month I’d already tackled my two books, both leftover from 2019 — “With The Fire On High” by Elizabeth Acevedo and “Dapper Dan: Made In Harlem” by Daniel R. Day. These are both books that I downloaded (I kid you not) back in November but I just never got around to listening to them.
Read MoreInspiration can be found in all places, in all things, including driving through a “snow storm” after picking up the kiddo from school. Cognizant of how design inspiration can be found in the most unlikely places, I decided to start pulling the palettes from the scene — literally just with a color dropper — just to see what colors were really resonating and it was really illuminating.
From one spontaneous moment in time, I was able to capture what really was (is) an amazing color palette. And now here we are… the first of 12 mood board inspirations for 2020.
Read MoreWhile, in general, I am pretty intentional when I am shopping. I try and myself to prevent buyer’s remorse, but a lot of times, when I am in an emotional tizzy, more often than not I get my relief from shopping. I comb through my wishlists and start adding to cart, or I take a drive to one of my fav retailers and take out my stress on my wallet.
Always have been. I love tinkering with all kinds of gadgets and while I am very aware of the pitfalls of technology, I just can’t help myself. As luck would have it, I married someone equally obsessed with tech & things, and even our toddler is pretty well-versed in using most of our devices without any assistance from us. Being that we rent, we knew that we couldn’t get as tech-savvy in our home as we’d like, BUT that doesn’t mean we couldn’t do a lil somethin somethin.
Read MoreWhen we moved into this condo in Spring 2017, one of the very first things we were thrilled to have was an actual pantry! Prior to this, we’d had really good storage in our kitchens — our studio apartment in NYC had WAY more cabinets than we ever used and our first apartment in WA had a tall pantry cabinet — but this was the first time we had an actual step-in pantry and we were geeked! My husband cooks, I clean, and it’s a glorious arrangement for us. With that, it meant he now had a place to hoard store all his culinary things, while for me it was a place to organize… a win-win all around.
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