“Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.  Besides, in this random miscellaneous company we may rub against some complete stranger who will, with luck, turn into the best friend we have in the world.” ― Virginia Woolf Just as I love antiques and vintage things, I love used books, too.  I love new books and will buy those when they are new releases, but if the book has been around for a while, I always look into purchasing it used first.  Not only does it save a lot of money, but I’m getting a book that has a little story to it.  Sometimes, that story remains a secret, but other times, I can see who the book belonged to, what library it came from, who checked it out, or

For Feels Like Home Friday, I am teaming up with the queen of cozy and my fellow lover of antiques, Liz Marie Galvan!  We’re going to be on Instagram Live Friday, September 17, at 12:30 pm EST/11:30 am CST to chat about decorating with antiques!  I am really looking forward to it and I hope you will join us for that.  (You can watch it HERE if you were not able to make it live.) Of course, we’ll also be talking about books, which are both coming out this fall and feature decorating with antiques… | In addition, we’ll be having a joint giveaway on Instagram!  I know not everyone is on Instagram (sorry), but this was the easiest way for us to team up together for the giveaway.  So, if you’d like to enter the giveaway, you’ll have to do it over on Instagram (details are at the bottom

As you may have guessed, I am always trolling for new books to add to my home library!  Just when I think I’ve bought all of the books I “need”, I’ll find another one to add to my collection.  Thankfully for me, new books are being published all the time and I am eagerly awaiting a few that are coming out later this year and early next year.  Since there are some great ones on the list, I thought I would share them here.  Some of them I’ve already preordered and some I will be preordering the month they come out (so I don’t have to spend this month’s book budget on a book I won’t get this month!) But, I want to preorder books I’m excited about.  As an author, I know that preorders are huge for the early success of a book.  I want to support authors who

Just a note before we get to the giveaway details…  The Feels Like Home Launch Team is still open if you’re interested in joining!  This is the last day to enter (Friday, Sept.3) and then we’ll start having some fun conversations, live events, and awesome giveaways in our private Facebook forum.  Click HERE to join or HERE for more information and answers to FAQs about the launch team. So, I have another fun giveaway to celebrate my upcoming book, .  When I started writing this book, I felt it was important that it wasn’t just a pretty decorating book.  Those are so inspirational to look at, but they can also feel unattainable.  You can see the what, but you’re left wondering about the how.  In the book, I wanted to share as many of the how-tos as I could through tutorials, exercises, and sections filled with tips on everything from

If you’ve ever drawn house plans on graph paper, you might be a design nerd.  And, if that’s the case, you’re in good company!  There are a lot of us out there….we geek out on fabric swatches, furniture templates, wallpaper samples, paint decks, mood boards, symmetry, focal points, accents that pop, and statement pieces.  If that’s you, this first giveaway to celebrate the launch of my new book, , is for you!  If you’re not a self-proclaimed design nerd, well, this book just might turn you into one. I think there is this idea when it comes to design that you’re either good at it or you’re not.  Those who would describe themselves as “not creative” wave the white flag and leave the design work to someone else.  But, I believe down to my very bones that design and creativity are learned skills that are practiced and developed.  Yes, there

I don’t know about you, but this summer is flying by for me!  I always think it will go slowly as I’m trying to balance working while having the boys home, but it seems to speed things up and we’re going back-to-school shopping before you know it.  Before we get into that, though, let me share some of my favorites from July… Esmé Well, my favorite thing is something I’m thankful for.  One of our cats, Esmé was having neurological issues a couple of weeks ago that had us very concerned.  It started when we noticed the left side of her face was paralyzed.  She wasn’t moving her left ear, closing her left eye fully, or opening the left side of her mouth when she meowed or yawned.  We took her to the vet and they started her on some antibiotics to treat any possible underlying infections that might be