Blooms Make the Room

I’m super excited for this upcoming VIRTUAL flower arranging workshop event that I am co-hosting with my fabulous artist designer friend Annie Damphousse of Housse Studio!

Anyone is welcome to join us – virtually – on Sept. 10th at 1pm!!!

Along with getting bunches of farm fresh flowers from Alice's Table delivered right to your door to create a beautiful sunflower filled floral arrangement AT HOME – I will be teaching this part via a private Zoom link – attendees will also get a SNEAK PEEK inside Annie’s studio where she creates original works of art from paintings to textile designs to custom commissioned home goods (her new designer-inspired pillow collections are gorgeous!)

Join us and YOU can brighten someone’s day ...

Last October, Annie donated her styled bar cart (in photo above) to the annual dining by design Heading Home to Dinner fundraiser held at the Boston Design Center.

This year, she has come up with a creative way to give back to this community that is experiencing a greater need than ever.

A note from Annie ... 

“I am creating a special painting – inspired by the gorgeous colors in the floral arrangement – which will be raffled off after the event. All attendees will be entered into the raffle, PLUS have an opportunity to purchase additional entries into the raffle during the event.

All raffle proceeds and a portion of each ticket price will be donated to Heading Home – a Boston based charity that provides housing and support services to families and individuals in need.”

Grab your tickets by Friday, August 28th to reserve your spot and to receive your fresh flower delivery (from 1-800-flowers) in time for our virtual workshop on Thursday, September 10th! 

Get your Blooms Make the Room event ticket HERE. 

One Room Challenge: Hanging in my Closet

With Iris Apfel, Rare Bird of Fashion event, December 2009

“Dress gives you the opportunity to express yourself – who you are, who you think you are or who you want to be.” 

– Iris Apfel

Over the years I have had the pleasure to attend some really fun events and meet some pretty cool fashion and design icons as a result of this little blog. When I posed with legendary interior designer and fashion maven Iris Apfel in 2009 at her “Rare Bird of Fashion” exhibit that I was covering as a blogger, I had no idea just how iconic she truly was – Iris is a master at remaining relevant even when what is fashionable comes and goes (have you seen her latest jewelry collection for HSN, put forth in her 90s no less?) Her words of wisdom spoken that evening seem fitting to me today, as I look at the clothes hanging in my closet, wondering which pieces will make the cut to hang out in my new master closet when my One Room Challenge project is complete (halfway mark already!) And yes, I still have clothes in my closet dating back to the year 2009! How does this happen???

Getting dressed for memory making.

I think the reason I have a difficult time letting go of outfits from my past is because many of them have special memories attached to them. Do I still wear these clothes? Some of them, yes. I’m just now realizing that only yesterday I wore the black jacket in the photo above to work and then out to dinner with friends! Other pieces have not been worn as frequently over the years, and to be completely honest some may not even still fit me, but they do still have a special place in my heart. When I look at them patiently waiting on their hangers, I’m reminded of times that were definitely outside of my normal routine. Times that were “pinch me” moments. Below are my top 10 outfits that I just can’t seem to part with ...

1. Black and gold zig zag dress with black ribbon bow.

Jason Wu NY Fashion Week

Design Blogger After Party with Brizo

2. Jewel toned wrap dress with braided leather belt.

Jonathan Adler NY Studio Party, Blogfest

3.  Classic gray pencil skirt with royal blue ruched top.

Twinning with Thom Felicia at Blogfest

4. Ikat patterned fitted shift dress (with pockets!) 

York Show House Ocean Inspired Teen Bath

5. Chevron patterned macrame-overlay dress.

Meeting design celeb Kelly Wearstler via BlogTourLA

See the full dress here

6. Silk ombre-colored dress with animal print vintage scarf.

My ode to motherhood ... wearing vintage scarf from my grandmother.

The Summer Nursery at Tapley Hall // photo credit: Eric Roth

7. Bright green banded cocktail dress with hot pink wrap.

My first design show ...

A Fairy Tale Event, May 2009

8. Black lace and sequined cocktail dress with cowl neck.

My last design show ...

Glen Magna Holiday Show House

Gala Preview Party photos

9. Classic grey sheath dress from Calvin Klein

(lampshade optional : )

BlogTourLA instagram photo with designers

Christian May and Ashlina Kaposta

10. Two-toned dress: black asymmetrical top over white skirt.  

More recently ... my consultant trip to Vegas with Rodan + Fields.

Hanging with some favorite characters snap via Instagram.

What “super outfits” are hanging in your closet?

Have you had a chance to see the latest Lego movie? Even Batman has a closet full of costumes that chronicle his personal career journey over the years (and he was quite attached to his wardrobe favorites, too, I must add).  Fashion has the power to transform. To create confidence. To provide super hero like protection as we face the world outside. It’s accessible armour, and on our best days it can be really FUN! So for now, I will be holding onto some of these rare occasion costumes and will be finding a special spot in my new closet for them, although I will be more than happy to add something new to my fashion mix when the next opportunity presents itself. I recently decided to give Stitch Fix a try, so I am hoping that helps me to break out of my fashion comfort zone a bit.

One Room Challenge media partner:

Back to my scheduled design makeover ...

So just how is my ORC makeover going? I don’t have much progress to show this week unfortunately, which is why I resorted to taking a good look at what I plan to move into the new space and ended up going down this memory lane rabbit hole of blogger fashion. I have, however, found a great way to get rid of unwanted items (I promise to try hard to find some!) My town has set up a few collection bin sites for clothing, shoes, purses, linens, fabrics, even stuffed animals. The money from donated textiles will benefit our school system (they will all be properly recycled). Now I can get rid of even my oldest fashions and worn to death shoes and not worry that they will end up unused or unwanted in some donation bin or landfill. If I was really motivated, I would try to sell the better items online, but I just don’t have it in me. I’d much rather bag them, drop them off, and move on (unless you see something you like here : ) Only my true favorites will be allowed to move up to the new closet. Once it is done. Please let it get done. 

Check out the latest Calling It Home One Room Challenge design updates for week 3 (invited designers) here and (guest participants) here. 

One Room Challenge: We may live in a fixer-upper, but we are NOT Chip and Joanna

Bubbles, celebratory sips, and spa-like surroundings are far from my reality at the Week 4 mark of the Calling it Home “One Room Challenge.” True, my 3rd floor master bath design plan does not even include a soaking tub this glorious (that will be in the renovation of our current 2nd floor bath someday) and even if it did, my enjoyment of the space would not resemble the type of pampering that is pictured above, although one can dream, right?

The illustration featured in the photo is the front of a small metal container that I used to store bath items, like loofahs and such, back when my husband and I built a new bath in our last home (we moved to our current fixer-upper in 2003). Back then it was SO much easier to accomplish our projects!

Remembering our master bath project from around 1996

We built a brand new full size bath (with a large soaking tub) after completely raising the roof of our New England Cape-style home, along with building two brand new bedrooms on either side. We did all of this while I was pregnant with our first (who is graduating high school this year). And there was no Pinterest or Houzz to help out either. HGTV was barely a network and there were not a lot of programs to follow (plus no DVR!) All we had were shelter magazines to go by or design/build books for research (remember those?) If we were looking for a new trend or idea, we had to wait a month for a new magazine to come out. Can you imagine?

Granted my husband is a contractor, and his friends are contractors. They all worked together to get our remodel done, and they had the real experience and knowledge to do so. And truth be told we had a lot more energy back then. And perhaps a bit more motivation? But even so ... how does so much time go by for us today, with all that we know between the two of us, yet with so little at-home progress to show?

A local Habitat for Humanity build that my husband
John and I participated in together back in 2012 –

he helped out with power tools, my job was marketing.

Well for starters, I do not like to do the physical work. I have met lots of women who enjoy tiling or building walls or getting drills or wet-saws as gifts. I totally admire and respect them, but unfortunately I am not one of them. I barely enjoy painting anymore (hence my unfinished home office). I am more of an idea person. But since my husband is a builder, we cannot hire another builder, just like I would never hire someone to do what I can do. Currently he is too busy to finish my project. So our master bath sits unfinished.

Sink, faucet and glass counter top installed by my husband – on time –
for the Old York Annual Decorator Show House, summer 2013

My husband has helped me out with many of my time sensitive design projects over the years. And when it comes down to it, he always delivers. But what started out as a time-to-get-this-done-for-us type of project – that seemed quite possible four weeks ago – is now looking to be not very probable with current obligations. Of course I am super disappointed, but really, it is just a bathroom. Finishing renovations is not an emergency situation. I have lived this long without it, what is another month or so? I will have to just shift design gears.

My still challenging One Room Challenge, fall 2015

Fortunately, I did have a back up plan from the beginning. My home office that I did not complete for the fall “One Room Challenge” will just have to move up on my priority list. My only concern is that last weekend while clearing branches and brush in our rustic backyard to make room for a new garden, I got a touch of poison something, so I am not feeling 100%. I suppose I can still do some shopping and styling, but there is still some heavy lifting and clearing of clutter – and painting – to accomplish, which really does not appeal to me feeling the way I do. But I will move forward, gingerly, but towards my goal of sharing some type of “after” photos for all of you ORC visitors! Please come back next week to see how it goes.

Now if only I could enlist some help ...

A photo op with Kevin O’Connor from This Old House

North Shore Design Show Preview Party, May 2012

Or perhaps ...

Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV Fixer Upper
photo credit: Larsen + Talbert via HGTV

Check out the progress shared by the ORC sponsored bloggers here and the many guest participants here. More ORC design trends reported by House Beautiful here. 

Smile, Gorgeous! Event 2.28.16

Photographer David West

Update your profile picture with a gorgeous new look with the help of Rodan + Fields skincare and Stella + Dot style! Register today to schedule a mini portrait session with photographer David West on location at TaggArt Studio in Wakefield on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Time slots will be provided.

Receive a complimentary Rodan + Fields Mini Facial sample pack prior to the event with ticket purchase. All registrants will have the opportunity to borrow from the on-trend collections of Stella + Dot jewelry and scarves assisted by Stylist Cindy Hanshaw. Receive a digital copy of your favorite photo after the event. All registered attendees will receive a door prize raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase on the day of the event. Sweet and savory treats will be provided by Sharon Bourassa of Pampered Chef.

Don’t miss out on this specially priced photo opportunity! Networking during the event is encouraged. Tickets available now via EventBrite. 

To protect and to serve ...

It has been almost three weeks since the finish line at the Boston Marathon was bombed. Since that time, I feel as if I have been on an emotional roller coaster, which has finally slowed down enough for me to step out and regain my balance on solid ground.

In my head, I have composed a dozen different posts about how I felt that Monday and the days, and weeks, afterwards. I have tossed and turned in my sleep, I have had nightmares, I am pretty sure I have been grinding my teeth. I wasn’t even in Boston when it happened. I was at work. All of my kids were home, less than a half hour away from the city. It was the start of school vacation week, which I typically dread since it means I am working and they are home with unplanned schedules.

Fortunately, my husband was at home with them all day. When I heard from someone in my office that some kind of explosion happened at the Marathon, my first reaction was that it was probably something minor. I had two more hours till my day was over. I knew this was not a place of worry that I wanted to go to in my mind when I was far from home. But part of my job is to monitor social media, like Twitter, so as more information came in, I became painfully aware that something was very wrong. I checked in with everyone at home. I texted my oldest son who was skateboarding at a town park. The same park I was in when I first heard that we were attacked on 9/11.

I remember that day so clearly. My oldest son had just started pre-school that week. On the first day, I dropped him off with a very long note to his nursery school teachers warning them that he liked to climb things. And that he liked to be outside. And that he may try to go outside without asking. I had special Safety First plastic door knob protectors on every door in our home for that very reason.

When I first saw the Little Tikes log cabin in the nursery school playground I was more than nervous. My daring first-born would no doubt try to climb to the roof, and maybe even try to jump off, and would these teachers be watching his every move like I did at home? I prepared instructions for them to keep an eye on him during recess, especially if he approached the log cabin. And please watch the doors while inside. He might slip out without anyone noticing.

I was a wreck. I had a 1 1/2 year old toddler at home and a baby on the way. I needed my 3 year old to have some time away from home, I could barely keep up with him, but I honestly couldn’t imagine someone else watching him with the same kind of attention that I did. At home I had safety gates everywhere, which served to protect my son from perceived harm and to minimize the square footage of areas that I had to keep under surveillance.

After dropping my son off at school, I took my second born to the park. By the time I got there it was shortly after 9am. It was like a ghost town. I saw someone walking his dog. He said something about a plane crash in New York. At the time I don’t think I even carried a cell phone. I wasn’t really sure what this stranger was talking about. My son played in the sandbox for awhile. I was kind of relieved that the park wasn’t crowded. I didn’t have to worry about other toddlers grabbing a toy that he was playing with or throwing sand in his eyes. After our time was up, we headed back to pick up his brother.

As the news spread of what actually happened, the world became a very scary place. Even opening the mail became an act not to be done without extreme caution. My third son was born three weeks early. I am not surprised that he wanted out, what with the amount of stress I had internalized. At the time, no one really had any idea of what could happen next. Who could have predicted what happened in New York and in the sky in September of 2001? 

On Marathon Monday, these are some of memories that resurfaced. Memories of feeling helpless. Uncertain. Feelings of disbelief. Why? How? Who? What turns a person into an uncaring soul, capable of mass destruction, who no longer sees or values the spirit in another? 

My brothers are both police officers. Every day they have to deal with the consequences of people who have stepped outside the bounds of acceptable behavior. Minor incidents and major ones. Accidents and acts of intention. Every day they risk their lives to keep others safe. One brother used to be on the SWAT team. He has four kids like I do.

We all know how the week of the marathon ended. My brother and I spent some time that following Sunday at the elementary school park with our kids.

While our little ones played, I asked my brother how he deals with everything he sees. How he can flip the switch from being a crime-fighting cop on the streets to a dad who will sit patiently as his girls perform hour long “shows” with their dozens of dolls. He shared that he has developed strategies to deal with his job verses his family life. He tries not to take work home with him. He tries to be present for his kids. He worries about the same things that other parents and spouses worry about. He knows that not everyone acts on their best behavior and that there also are some people who can be turned around, with the right guidance, before something really bad happens. 

I am very proud of both of my brothers for all that they do day after day to ensure that the rest of us don’t have to worry full-time about “bad guys.” Over the past 14 plus years that I have been a mom, I have acquired a long enough list of worries on my watch-out-for list ...

• choking hazards like marbles, ice cubes, hard candy
• coconut, peanuts, walnuts + other anaphalactic health hazards 
• ticks, mosquitos, kids who bite, unfamiliar dogs, animal fur
• strangers, grouchy people, bullies
• anything on wheels, drivers on cell phones
• swimming pools, undertows at the beach, slippery rocks
• tornadoes, falling trees, climate changes
• access to inappropriate content 
• drugs, peer pressure, impending driver’s licences

To be completely honest, I am tired of all this endless worrying. I think I really lost it the most emotionally when I read that two brothers, standing side by side laughing on a sunny day waiting to watch a friend cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, both lost a leg in the bombing. How many times have I said to my boys, “Stay with your brother! Keep an eye on each other!” I woke up to this news and I sobbed. One of my boys heard me and came running. I couldn’t really explain to a 9 year old how I was feeling. How years of worry sometimes pours out at moments of emotional vulnerability. 

I had to cover my eyes. I had to stop watching the news. I had to stop reading the eye-witness accounts. I had to spend some time outdoors away from screen media. I attacked the weeds in my garden. I pruned the wild rose bushes. I felt the sun on my face. I listened to the birds sing. I started to feel better.

I am thankful that people came together to help one another get through this tragic series of events. I am grateful that as a community we have not let what happened defeat us. We look for the good. We help where we can. We raise funds for the victims and their families. We are Boston Strong. And when we are still not feeling that way, we fake it until we do. 

Tweet up at 12 Chairs

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Boston design industry tweet-up hosted at 12 Chairs on A Street in Boston. This Fort Point based interior design studio and home furnishings shop, run by Roisin Giese and Miggy Mason, offers a well-edited selection of sustainable design goodies, gift items and furniture. They also display local artists ... I loved this painting of a city alley (above photo, right-hand corner) which reminded me of a recent New England Finery photo shoot in the North End (see page 40 of the April/May issue).

From left: Roisin, Miggy, Jennifer and Julieann

The event was put together by social media wonder Julieann Covino of Jace Interiors along with Jennifer Driscoll, editor of Perspective Magazine, another digital design publication which features architectural design in New England. The event took place just a day after the launch of New England Finery issue 2, so Jen and I had a lot to talk about! Perspectives Magazine already has 7 issues published, and Jen was more than generous in sharing her tips in running a successful design magazine online.



Sharing ideas and resources along with celebrating Boston-based design was the objective of this get together. As Julieann mentioned, Boston has a strong design community, and while it is great to connect on twitter and facebook (which is how many of us communicate), seeing each other “in real life” at these types of gatherings is a great way to really get to know the many talented people in our business.




I went to the event with my friend Rosanne, and we enjoyed some delicious munchies, wine and Prosecco (my favorite ; ) while chatting with new and old friends. While I didn’t take a lot of people pictures (we were too busy talking) here are some quick mentions of who was in attendance ...


Linda Merrill of Surroundings (another designer with a great digital design magazine) who I have mentioned numerous times on this blog!

Photographer Michael J. Lee, who actually shoots all the covers for Surroundings Magazine and whose work has been seen in a wealth of other shelter publications (he even made it in New England Finery, see page 32-33 of issue 2).

Designer Leslie Fine, who wrote an article for New England Finery issue 2 (see pages 28 – 31). While we were talking that night, she mentioned an upcoming project to design a 20 x 30 foot display area for the Residential Design and Construction Show for New England Home Magazine (who we have both guest blogged for recently). Take a look at how it came out by visiting her design blog. Fabulous!

I also got to meet Katie Rosenfeld a designer from Weston who I had only “spoken with” on twitter previously. We had discovered online that we both attended Boston College around the same time. We have probably crossed paths many times without realizing it!





I met others including lifestyle blogger Erika Johnson of Radiant Republic, designer Rachel Reider who just won this award, artist Marilyn MacLeod, photographer Sarah Winchester, remodeling expert David West, and Christina Tassie Miller of the PR firm J.D. Communications.

Lots of design-related professionals were there, so if you are in the area and would like to meet a bunch of creatives at the next event, contact Julieann at Jace Interiors and she will make sure you get an invitation.




And did I mention there were prizes? I actually won this gorgeous silk/cotton ikat pillow from Fabricadabra. It is going to a special someone who has just this color on one of the walls in her home. If you are reading this, Mom, pretend that you are surprised when you get it ; )

Thanks to Julieann, Jennifer, Miggy and Roisin for hosting this fun event. I look forward to seeing you and everyone else at the next one!

The mecca to Nate and back

Thanks to the Moggit Girls (lifelong friends Joy and Janet were behind me in line and are seen in picture above) Boston designer Julieann Covino of the blog CreateGirl (not pictured here but I did get a chance to finally talk to her in person but my camera was all the way across the room!) and the power of twitter, I had the opportunity to be an audience member at a taping of The Nate Berkus Show yesterday. And it wasn’t just any old audience that walked in off the streets of New York to be there. Just about everyone there was invited because we share a love for Nate, inspired design, and a hard-to-put-into-words passion for social media. Big time gratitude goes to everyone behind the scenes at the Nate Show for hosting with stylish grace and
lots of humor (that would be Dena), and for
sharing Nate with us for the day!

Bloggers traveled from both near and far, leaving work/school/families/and their computers behind to be a part of this special Nate Day audience. Having the opportunity to meet so many fun, creative (and well-dressed!) personalities from the same industry *in person* was well up there on the list
of highlights from this trip.

I chose my outfit based on a recent post collaboration with Fashion Coach Susan Kanoff that featured the color purple. The silver rose pin from Stella & Dot is my favorite way to dress up a strand of pearls.

New York native and design blog author of Focus on Design, Rosanne Palazola, was the perfect traveling companion. She kept me entertained on the 4 hour journey with stories about her career in design, her close encounter with Nate this summer, and life in general. We also talked about our joint venture at the new lifestyle boutique New England Fine Living which will open in Middleton on October 1st. She also knew exactly how to get where we had to go in the city in the shortest amount of time, which certainly came in handy with all of the traffic in NY this week!

Friends Sara and Harold were behind us in line at CBS studios where the show is taped. Both were quite charming and appear to have bright futures in design.

Met through the blogs: Marcy of Pine Creek Cottage lives in Connecticut now, but loved my posts and pictures from the historical design show in Danvers
(which happens to be her hometown).

The audience was just as captivating as the host.
So many star sightings for us design bloggers! Our collective stories could probably be a design show series in itself (will send memo to HGTV!) which may explain why Nate could not call attention to all of the creative efforts of those gathered in NY to enjoy this amazing opportunity to meet and greet. Did I mention Emily Henderson was there??? Be sure to watch the show to catch her segment on how to showcase the treasures in your home. Oh, and she blogs, too.

Souvenirs from the trip: my VIP ticket, a gift card to Payless (perfect for budget-conscious fashionistas), a stunning necklace provided by Send the Trend and promoted by Project Runway star Christian Siriano who shared a few of his fashion tips with us. My box of new business cards also came home with me as they were not needed thanks to a new blog friend, Chanee, who went out of her way to create an entire Who’s Who of faces and contact information for each of the bloggers invited to the show, which was extremely helpful in putting names with faces and blogs!

As bloggers, we are a diverse community of many voices, but we all share a passion for design. Almost everyone in this shot lives in the Boston area.

Sabbespot, Everything LEB, Perfectly Put Together,
Deliciously Organized, Haven and Home

The weather was perfect. The city was full of life.
I wish we could have stayed longer. Next time!

Even though “our driver” was picking us up at 7pm, we still managed to enjoy some food and beverage at Affina before making the trek back to Boston. And even though we missed a couple of blogger events (please don’t remind me!) that we just could not squeeze into our quick trip to New York, I was happy to spend the day in a different kind of reality!

I will post the air time of this show when I know the details, and will link to more photos that Rosanne took from her point of view. She may have caught me talking with a few women involved in ProjectUDesign like social-media extraordinaire Leslie Carothers, Maybelline Te of Snug Furniture, and Nicole Nachazel from BiOH. I hope she caught me in deep conversation with both CreateGirl and Jonathan Legate (a rising star in Canadian design) as we amazed at the fact that it took about 140 characters to make
this dream our reality.

And thank you, Nate, for bringing us all together. Some people have the ability to draw a crowd and shine a light on others at the same time. You have that gift along with a generous spirit and big heart! Best of luck with your new show (insert virtual hug here!)

xoxo
yvonne