Before you hyperventilate at the thought of winning a shopping trip to France, calm down. This is a giveaway for a TON of goodies bought in Paris and Provence while these two lovely ladies of French Chic Antiques & Travel (www.redshedonline.com)…      …took other lovely ladies… …on a shopping trip to France.  And they do this regularly.  As a part of their business. I know.  Deep breath.  The thought of going on a shopping trip to Paris and/or Provence makes my skin tingle and I start to have totally irrational thoughts about hopping on a plane tomorrow.  It was on my list of dreams for the future that I shared a few months ago.   The timing isn’t right this year, but I really hope to be able to go on  a shopping trip with these ladies at some point. So, until you can go to France, they’re bringing a little France to you

I’ve been sort of all over the place the last few days. I’ve been working on milk paint stuff and book stuff and branding stuff and cleaning and youth group and sleeping in this morning…  Just a lot, so I’m feeling a little scattered as I write this post tonight. In addition to the hardware store counter and oak cabinet I bought on Thursday, I also bought this very cool easel.  I thought it would be a great place to display things about my paint line in my space at Lucketts.  I’m so excited to get my space all set up for the launch. I received some awesome mail over the past few weeks including several rolls of this gorgeous paper from French Charmed…   …a huge roll of upholstery webbing and burlap ribbon from burlapfabric.com…     …and a beautiful pillow from Oliviera Textiles.     I’m excited about

 Remember Wuslu? Well, they are now Decor Steals! They sell one daily steal a day just like they did with WUSLU, but they have also added a new feature where they give second chances on deals that are in high demand. In addition, they added a “pick deals” section where fans can vote for future deals. Awesome, right? If you want to learn more about Decor Steals, visit their FAQ page to see a video on how it all works. Just as I did with Wuslu, once a month I get to pick out a favorite item and it’s offered as the deal of the day!  Here’s my pick for this month…     …and industrial style technician’s stool.     It has a nice, heavy base and a wood top that looks like it’s made from old wood.  It’s a great stool for a desk or vanity, even a

One of the things that makes a house special is the little personal touches or small moments you create.  It’s simple things that invite a person to lean in closer, to explore the space.  The furniture arrangement and wall color and all of that are very important, but it’s the small moments that make the house scream (or whisper) “you.”  It’s where your personality shows through.  It’s what makes a home fun to look at and photograph… …it’s some bundled books with frayed pages… ….a stack of wrinkled linen napkins… …a skeleton key hanging from a ribbon… …textures and contrasts that make you stop and appreciate the simplicity and beauty of a starfish perched on some moss… …a well worn broom hung on a hall closet door knob… …some gum balls peaking out from a smooth shell… …and a spotted feather in a tarnished sugar bowl. These are the things

Thanks so much for all of the sweet comments yesterday!  I received some amazing e-mails as well that had me all teary-eyed again!  Some of you thought I sounded a bit down yesterday, which I wasn’t at all.  I was (and am) overwhelmed in a good way.  When I didn’t know how to write about Lucketts, I just wrote what was on my heart and that’s what came out.  I had a great night sleep last night, so I’m feeling much more energetic today.  I worked on some more photography for my book and the labels for my milk paint products.  Ugh…labels are so tedious!  I’ll be glad when those are all finished!  All of the tutorial writing I’ve done is really coming in handy for it, though!  My high school English teacher would laugh if she knew the amount of writing I do now.  I never gave a rip