Friday Eye Candy: A Dallas Beauty

One of the best parts of finding delicious Eye Candy for the blog is that it also means it’s Friday! Yahoo. Hope you all had a really good week. Today’s feature is a Spanish Colonial beauty in Dallas which some of you may have spied in Traditional Home Magazine. This home is bathed in sunlight and hosts a very soft palette. The owners came from California and wanted to bring some of that influence to the home while designing it. The designer responsible for this breathtaking home is Julio Quinones.

Here is what the homeowner, Ann Stordahl had to say "I wanted to keep the original, unpretentious character of the house and just crank up its sophistication a little with a better selection of furnishings to accompany the great art,"

VIA

I just love how approachable the home seems. I happen to love both bedrooms. While beautiful, the house beckons you to come sit down and hang out. That, to me, is perfect design.

Hopefully, you have all worked hard and are ready to play hard for the weekend. Enjoy!

Client Dining Room

I knew I liked Trisha the second she contacted me to help design her dining room.  She is easy to work with and loves color. Not only that, but she has great taste and was willing to jump in with do-it-yourself projects. The family is hoping to make a move towards the cooler colors, while still incorporating some of the red tones already present in the house.  Here is a look at what the room looks like right now {they are in the middle of painting and adding crown}.

We began the process with choosing fabrics. My favorite part. After presenting her with a few choices, they decided to go with the Wilmington Covington fabric as well as the Waverly Lovely Lattice.   The other two fabrics shown will be used as accents in the room.  Here is the design for their new room.

The painting is already in progress and the homeowners are planning on painting their dining set as well. I will keep you posted as more work is completed!

o n l i n e   s e r v i c e s

athoughtfulplaceblog@gmail.com

if you have a room that could use a little bit of love feel free to contact me via email or fill out this form.

I especially love coming up with creative and unique ways to stretch a budget.

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Waking up this morning, I was made aware of the unbelievable devastation from the many tornadoes that have hit throughout our country. My heart and prayers go out to all who are suffering. It’s difficult to even imagine what the families must be going through.

From Carpet to Cupcakes: Quick Tips

So today is a bit random. I have stumbled upon two different tips that I completely love so I thought I should pass them along. They just don’t exactly go together!

Inexpensive Rugs From Ikea

If you have taken a trip to Ikea recently, then you have probably seen these $4 rugs that they carry. They come in different color combinations and I discovered that they are great for the car. My car isn’t too terribly old, so I am happy to keep it clean as long as possible. I bought two of these. After folding them under just a bit, they work great on the floor of the backseat in front of the kiddos.

The crazy thing is that by the end of the week they are filthy. I didn’t realize how much dirt they were  bringing in all of the time. Although we have car mats, these sure do make a lot of sense for us right now. I pull them out of the car once a week, shake in the lawn, and the toss in the washer. Now here is where you need to listen up! I consider myself a relatively intelligent individual, but went it comes to doing the laundry . . . something doesn’t quite connect. Let’s just say that if you ever come for a visit, you don’t want me doing your laundry. So in keeping with my tradition, I accidently washed these with other items the first time they went in the wash. DON’T DO THAT! I was picking lint from my children’s clothes for hours. Definitely wash separately the first time {although you all probably already knew that!}

Easy Way To Carry Cupcakes

I am one happy mama! I have put off buying a cupcake carrier {you know the ones that are about 12 inches high and you see them everywhere}. They are fantastic, but I don’t have the room to store one. I am so glad I held out as my sister is a genius. She recently purchased store bought cupcakes in these plastic containers. She washed them out and now we have these great carriers to use that take up far less room. So if you need to take them to a party or to school, it is so much easier.

They hold 12 cupcakes. Two of them came in handy for my daughter’s preschool party. I like that they have very high lids so you can decorate them as much as you want or even put cupcake toppers in them and they would still fit.

 

 

If you have been around for a while, then you know I love a great cupcake! Now I have a way to take them here and there and I didn’t have to buy one of those giant carriers. I love the little things that make life easier! Have you stumbled upon any little trick lately??

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On another note, my dear friend Michelle from Ten June let me dream big with her Genie Series. What a fun post. Head on over to Ten June to see what I would wish for if the sky were the limit!

A Photo Opportunity and Blogger Meet Up!

I am envious if you are in the  NY or Central NJ area because the talented Megan from Megan Winchell Peter is offering a special Mother’s Day sitting.

Celebrate Mom

with the Mother of all gifts

Surprise Mom with a Graphite Portrait of her children

or a Gift Certificate

for a Professional Photo Session and Portrait

this Mother's Day, May 8, 2011

Megan does amazing work. If you haven’t already seen some of what she does you can check it out here! And if you are not in her area, she can create one of a kind portraits from any photo she is sent.

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In other news, I was so fortunate to meet up with Emily from Name 5 Things this weekend in Laguna Beach. She is a doll and couldn’t be any sweeter. Such a treat to meet up in person!

 

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And perhaps you have already checked out House of Fifty by now. The first issue launched yesterday.  It is a gorgeous ezine created by Janell from Isabella & Max rooms. I was honored to be included as a contributor with an article about meal planning. The entire ezine is full of fantastic articles, inspiration, insight, and eye candy. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Hope you have all recovered from the busy weekend and are enjoying a much quieter week! I will be back tomorrow with a couple of fun and random tips for making life a tad bit easier.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend with your family. We loved every minute of our jammed packed weekend. We kept things simple at home. I made a banner and used some photos from the last five years to string up the staircase {thank you to my friend, Michelle, for that idea!}. We also hung lanterns throughout the downstairs to make things festive.

My amazingly talented sister hosted Easter and made sure that the birthday girl was not overlooked. She even had a special birthday table set up for her and her cousins.

But I have to say that my sister’s table for Easter was one of the most beautiful tablescapes I have ever seen. She chose a beautiful fabric for the runner and then glammed it up with plenty of sparkle. She even hung two chandeliers from branches.

Instead of place cards, she had each guest’s initial on a hand blown egg. The rested on their own nest inside of a wine glass. Clever clever girl.

I call this the, “I’m getting down to business” stance for the Easter egg hunt! The day was fantastic. My baby is now five and mama survived! Thank you to my sister and her family for such a special day.

A Birthday Luncheon

Amidst this crazy week, I am also throwing in a birthday luncheon for a dear friend tomorrow. I promised to keep things simple and that is exactly what I have done. Using the spring runner from World Market, I simply layered in dishes and chargers to keep the colors bright and cheery. I kept the urn with the Easter eggs on the table. I like that they tie together all of the pretty colors in the runner. Having a piece of bright fabric or a vibrant runner is such an easy way to transform the table. It does all of the work for you!

The striped dishes are from Crate and Barrel {as are the napkins}. I had registered for those for our wedding and I must say that they have remained some of my very favorites. I love pulling them out each spring for some color on the table. The little dishes are also from Crate and Barrel and will be used for a fruit salad.

I am a huge believer in mixing and matching! So pull out anything you have that has coordinating colors. I think it makes the table more interesting.

The side table has a pitcher of ice water and chilled wine. I like to have drinks out and ready to pour so that the guests can help themselves or I can do it without getting in the way of the kitchen prep area.

You might spy a new chandelier! I am over the moon about it. I first fell in love with it over at Chassity’s home. It somehow made it’s way to my dining room as well.

Looking forward to a relaxing luncheon with good friends. Happy happy Friday to you all!!!!! Enjoy your weekend. Besides celebrating Riley’s birthday and Easter with the family, I am hoping to meet up with Emily from Name Five Things so I am giddy with excitement. I wonder if she can bring her new bar cart. I saw it had wheels!!!!

sharing with: The Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge

 

Idol Wrap Up

So you will have to bear with me! I am exhausted today. I am so thankful that my kiddos actually slept in until 7:45 as the adventure to American Idol was a whirlwind. To be honest, I was really just looking forward to a great day with good friends doing something out of the ordinary. It ended up being amazing. We got super lucky and ended up with front row seats. What what? Such a thrill to be right at the stage while the contestants were performing and also great fun to be so close to the judges and see what goes on behind the scenes {lots of make up touch ups!!!}. Everyone involved on the show was extremely nice. We were really impressed. No cameras were allowed, but here is a screen shot taken by the one and only Michelle from Ten June!!! I am the one in the striped dress.

Here are are couple more screen shots that people sent me last night!

I plan to get back into the swing of things today. Unfortunately, my to do list did not magically shrink while I was in LA. Darn it! Time to get crackin’ for Easter and my daughter’s fifth birthday {I guess my 15 minutes of fame are over}! Thanks for letting me share.

Cookie-Pops and American Idol

Of course cookie pops are nothing new. . . but I wanted to share a new source with you! Normally, I bake cookies and wrap them in clear treat bags with fun ribbon. Well, when I was picking up my frames at Wal-Mart for my botanical prints, I stumbled upon their Easter baking section. GREAT FIND! These darling polka dot bags come with ribbon and name tags and only cost $1.88. That’s incredible. So I scooped them right up. I wanted to let you know as they are not Easter related at all and would be darling for any party favor or as a quick treat to hand out.

Now if you have been with me long enough, you know that I don’t bake very much. So Snickerdoodles out of a box it is! Remember this is a hectic week and we do what we can! {don’t judge!} All you need are the cookie sticks to place in the dough. Luckily, I already had these on hand.

What worked well with these was to make a ball of dough, roll in cinnamon and sugar and then place the stick inside. Then I placed them on the tray and flattened them out just a bit. They expand and flatten out more as you cook them. {the photo is taken before baking them}

Thanks to Wal-Mart and these cute bags, the treats were done in no time. Once the cookies have cooled, slip them into the bag and tie with the ribbon! I wish I had bought all of them. A dear friend of mine hosts an annual Easter party for our children every spring and I will bring these for the kiddos. It’s a group of 10 children that have grown up together and each year they color eggs and have a giant Easter egg hunt.

And I am signing off until tomorrow as I am headed up to LA to see American Idol! J-Lo invited me to come sit in the audience. Okay. . . maybe it wasn’t J-Lo herself, but I am sure she is excited that I am on my way! Yahooooo!!! My absolute favorites have already been voted off  but I am a sucker for the show!

I promise to get caught up on the blog rounds tomorrow! Have a great day, everyone!