New Year Inspiration: Pretty Pictures and Wise Words

Today we say farewell to 2011 so I'd like to share a few tid bits of inspiration for the new year from (where else?) Pinterest. 

So, so true!  Can I get an 'Amen' sista'?!

A wise woman once said, if you can accomplish one thing in a day [with a baby/toddler], then you have been successful!  In 2012 I'm going to revise my 'to-do' list routine and opt for one priority item each day.  Then, whatever I can accomplish above and beyond that one item is just icing on the cake.  I think this will make my life much more enjoyable :).

Alright this is just absolutely beautiful!!  Beautiful vibrant colors to inspire all of us to forgo the safe beiges of the world and opt for color, color, color!!

I share this to help us along with our 2012 diet-related resolutions, though I absolutely am not dillusioned enough to think I'll ever come close to being as skinny as Kate Moss :) 

A beatiful vintage shot of Capri.  Inspiration to travel abroad in 2012!

This is such a brilliant quote!!  We should all heed these words every single day.

And finally, a shot of whimsy.  Not sure why this photo appeals to me so much, but it does :).  Perhaps this is inspiration to go for 'it' in 2012, whatever 'it' may be, even if it doesn't seem logical! 

2011, you've been a hectic year, but a good one all the same.  I look forward to seeing what your younger sibling, 2012, will bring!!  Happy New Year, friends!!



House Tour: Aunt Sister's small town TX casa

Hello readers!  I'm finally back from my (fattening) Christmas vacation in Texas and ready to get back to 'normal' life and of course back to blogging!  I have lots of great blog posting ideas that I hope to share in the coming weeks, but today I'm really inspired to share one of my favorite homes in the world with you, my Aunt Sister's little Texas retreat.

First of all I must explain the origin of my Aunt's title as 'Aunt Sister'.  She's my father's sister and growing up my sisters and I, hearing our dad refer to her as 'sister', began calling her Aunt Sister and it just stuck :).  So now that we've got that cleared up, let me tell you a little bit about Aunt Sister (AS).

Growing up, with my dad's meager salary as a pastor, clothes for four daughters wasn't really in the budget.  Enter AS.  She and Uncle Russell (UR) were our saviours from a social perspective, keeping us nicely clothed and groomed, so to them we are eternally grateful!! 

AS's homes have always been immaculate, stylish and completely organized!  I have always been inspired by her homes, previously a gorgeous ranch home in San Antonio and now, her 'retirement' home in a small town in the hillcountry of Texas. 

She and UR bought the home about six years ago when it was in a dilapidated and outdated state complete with kelly green carpets and pink wallpaper!  But of course AS has a great eye for potential so they snapped it up and set forth renovating.

And here's how it looks today - all dressed up for the holidays :).

AS is great at setting up little vignettes like this one (below) with a framed pic of my baby girl, a lamp and a vase of potpouri centered on an antique lace doily. 

Here's AS having a tea party with Lily on our recent visit, when these pictures were taken.

I love the 'cottagy' feel of her home, the soft color pallette, white beadboard, etc.  Here in the guest bath she hung vintage pictures alongside a round mirror framed in cork.

The main room in the home includes a living room with fireplace and a dining area.  Instead of utilizing the fireplace as it was intended, she framed out the inside with plyboard and painted it black.  This makes an excellent backdrop for candles, potted plants, or whatever else she feels like displaying.  The picture hanging above the couch was painted by one of her former students (she was a journalism teacher).  And that man sitting on the couch reading is my dad :).

Here's another picture of the main room, looking the other direction.  Don't you just love the original pine floors?!  She added built-in bookshelves to add interest and great storage space without taking up too much room in the small house. 

Here's the kitchen.  It's clean and functional and perfect for the small cottage.  These pictures, by the way, were taken without any prior notice. So she didn't have time to go around cleaning.  This is what it always looks like - immaculate!!

And here's a small dining space in the kitchen.  My mom painted the watercolor picture hanging on the wall.  The table was a 'found' object that my Aunt painted and put to good use.  She's always been great at repurposing and refinishing furniture!!

And here's a (very dark) picture of the master bedroom.  It's actually not dark at all, as you may be able to tell by the sunlight streaming in from the window.  It's a very tranquil and inviting space. 

And here's a picture of my Uncle's domain.  He has his own special room, a 'man cave' if you will, complete with TV, lazy-boy, and all the other necessities :).  He has always had his own room where he can display his trophies (he was a coach and a sport fisherman) and relax while watching football, etc. 

And here it is looking in the opposite direction.  Again, built-in bookshelves were added to create space-saving storage. 

Well, that concludes our home tour today.  I didn't get any pictures of her adorable guest room because my daughter was napping there during my photo shoot, and there are a few other rooms that didn't get included for one reason or another, but I hope the pictures I have included give you some idea of why I love AS's home so much. 

So thank you, AS, for sharing your home and thank you readers for viewing my blog :).  Have a happy day, friends!!

Big Bear Weekend Ski Trip

We were recently invited to spend the weekend with some of our friends at their vacation home on Big Bear Lake.  Obviously, we accepted the invitation without hesitation :).  We are all about free lodging - yay! 

The house (below) is a cozy cabin + garage apartment nestled right on the banks of the lake.  You can't really tell from the picture, but this is an absolutely amazing location!! 

We arrived late at night so when we woke up the next morning we were blown away by the view from the main cabin (below).

It had snowed 16" the night before we arrived, so was covered in pristine whiteness!  Here's Lily having her morning milk while cradling Pippa Kate, her doll from England :).

And here she is with her buddies, Zoe and Roma, both 2 years old.  The girls got along famously!

On Saturday, while the boys skiied, us ladies made a trip to the grocery store to get supplies.  The girls enjoyed riding in their cars and eating their cake pops from Starbucks (Can we say spoiled?!  Yes, I think we can :).

The next day it was all about the snow!  I was determined to get some decent family pictures with the hopes of using one for our Christmas card, as my deadline for that little project was quickly approaching!! 

Here's Daddy with his Lily girl.

Even Sushi got dressed for the ocassion in his festive red sweater :).  He was a bit tentative with the snow at first, but soon enough he was romping around like an old pro!

And here's Lily dressed to the nines.  Recognize the coat and boots from my previous shopping post?! :)

The lake was so beautiful and there were quite a few ducks that we couldn't resist feeding the leftover toast from breakfast! 

Lily finally realized you throw the bread!  The first few pieces got gobbled up :).

Here is my favorite of the family pictures.

And here's a great shot taken by my friend, Shannon.  I love the joy and delight visible in each of their faces!!

Here was one attempt at a Christmas-card-appropriate family photo.  Unfortunately, Chris was not very pleased with his 'silly' hat and Sushi wasn't in the photo so ...

I came up with this alternative.  Yep, that's our Christmas-card-photo this year, folks!  I think it worked out quite well! 

So on that note, and in case I don't get back this way before the New Year (a real possibility with my busy scheduled over the next couple of weeks), Merry Christmas, y'all!! 

The Shopping Plan, a powerful tool for successful spending

My husband would say I'm always shopping.  And that may be true, but that doesn't mean I'm always spending money as it implies!  Admitedly, I oftentimes go shopping either because we need something or to entertain Lily with the sights and sounds of the mall (likely excuse I know :), but I often come away disappointed and empty-handed.

For me, shopping is a love-hate relationship.  I love the idea of shopping and I always enjoy browsing and window shopping, but if I have specific things to purchase then the task is just that, a task.  And with a toddler in tow, it seems altogether impossible.  It's hard enough staying focused and making purchasing decisions when I'm by myself, much less with a 17-month old mini me with a mind of her own :).

So, after once again attempting to get some shopping done with Lily and, once again leaving the store mid-shop, abandoning my half-full shopping cart for the sake of the other annoyed shoppers, I decided to try something new.  After all, as my Aunt Sister always says, "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."  Gotta love Aunt Sister's wisdom :).  

During Lily's nap yesterday I came up with a detailed shopping list of what I needed, e.g. coat and warm hat and boots for our skiing trip this weekend, hostess gifts for upcoming holiday parties, etc.  See my list below. 

After coming up with my list I began my research online.  For each item I considered where I might find it at our local mall and then searched the relevant online site.  Whenever I found something that worked I called the store to ask them to pull the relevant size or item and place it on hold for me.  If they didn't have the item or size I needed, I could make a decision in a calm environment to either look for something else or call around to other stores to try and locate it. 

I found an adorable coat, boot and hat ensemble at Gymboree (below) and managed to save 20% with a coupon from my 'Parents' magazine.  This is another benefit of detailing out your shopping in advance - you can plan for coupons and save some $$$!  Score :).

I found some lovely hostess gift options at Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn and just made a note of what I found so that I could stay focused while at the stores. 

It felt great to have my shopping pretty much done within Lily's naptime and now all I had to do was go to the mall and pick up the items - no shipping charges or waiting days for the merchandise to arrive!! 

My friend, Tiffany, kindly offered to watch Lily for a couple hours so I could hit the mall in the afternoon so after my morning planning session I hit the mall with a vengeance and, within about two hours, managed to purchase all of the planned items and then some!  I was exuberant after such a successful shopping experience so thought I would share the experience with you all :).

For me, at least, I think this is the key to shopping success.  Make a list, research the list and then stick to the plan.  No more being distracted by the over-abundance of options when you're at the mall. 

So on that note, happy holiday shopping and have a fabulous Friday, friends!