Home on the Change

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Remember in the song Landslide when Stevie Nicks sang to her wall art, “I’ve been afraid of changing because I’ve built my room around you”? Sometimes it’s like an artist is singing right to you. Stevie’s words* were on my mind as I struggled with replacing my trusty Brooklyn Bridge print with a new mirror. [...]

Small Change: Frame Makeover for Paintings

A search for decorating makeovers often yields large-scale, wall-gutting, bring-in-the-pros revamps. It’s easy to forget the simple power of a small change. There is a pair of paint by number paintings that I’ve passed in a local antique store a few times over the past year. They caught my eye because of a cherry blossom [...]

A Winner is Me!

Saturday was a good day. It was a very good day. Wait for it… the Ice Cube reference is going to be relevant. Our neighborhood had it’s annual community yard sale, and this was the first year The Husband and I were able to participate. By participate, I mean shop for woefully under-priced treasures offered [...]

Now I’m gonna pass the mic to Yauch…

When everyone was all in a tizzy over Whitney’s death recently, my feeling was, “The woman inspired me to buy a crimping iron in the ’80s… but, you know, crack IS whack.” MCA on the other hand… Damn. This may be the only time I get to say I am joining Biz Markie in anything, [...]

Mexico Elements: Graphic Design

The Puerto Morelos area is full of beauty. I don’t just mean the turquoise waters and palm trees, although those are certainly two of my favorite parts. The lovely coastal architecture–some of it remarkably simple, some of it fantastical–has us dreaming of living in one of the homes there. Even the (very utilitarian) weathered fishing [...]

Ohhhh, Mexico*

Sadly, this photo was taken on the leaving side of the round trip. That’s right, we’re back from vacation today. Boooo! And not even Booo-Urns! The good news is, that’s not the only photo we took. (What kind of sad sacks would we be if that was the only photo?) Next week I’ll share some [...]

As Seen on TV

Did you see the Mad Men Season 5 premier this weekend? The Husband and I were absolutely thrilled by one big reveal in the episode: Pete and Trudy have our oven in their new home! You may recall during the initial home tour that the awesome ’60s double oven with slide-away cook top was one [...]

The Bookshelf: New Cottage Style

I was happy to get a copy of New Cottage Style: A Sunset Design Guide in the mail last week. You may have figured out by now that I’m a sucker for home books. And could I resist a cover with that much gratuitous turquoise in the design? No. So often “cottage” is keyword for [...]

Hall Paint, on Actual Hall

Painting the hall was fun, but tricky. The walls are really sturdy full-board planks, which are great for everything except painting. I used a full gallon of paint just to get a good coat on the tiny hall. In the end, it was all worth it. I love the little pop of jewel-tone color right [...]

“Nice Halls!” -Andrew McCarthy in Mannequin

(it makes sense, look it up!) A mini-makeover can be just the thing to get your mind grapes going again when you have decorator’s block. The hall (which can be seen from the block-inducing living room) was still a sad shade of seafoam green tainting the whole place. This weekend, that hall is going to [...]