nest egg

Laundry, Laundry

I have to do laundry.

And I'm dreading it this week. 

If only it didn't take so long... or require my attention. 
OR if I could do laundry in a well-designed, fully functional room designated for cleaning clothes only. Ahhh, one day.

 

If you don't have a designated room for laundry you have to be creative about how to disguise those 2 big loud machines. 

Fabric is an easy choice- (probably the least expensive too)-

Or you could have doors built to hide them:

Or if you're going to show them off, make them a design feature:

Or make them go away...

Nice details/ideas I've seen...

Love the idea of somewhere to put baskets!! 90% of the time they are just left on countertops or sitting on floor. This way they are out of sight!

And a few other laundry rooms I just like:

(via martha stewart)

(via Urban Grace) 

This one is the size of my kitchen. 

(via southern living)

In this laundry room I like how they are using concrete planters and basins to hold detergents, etc.

(via two ellie)

(via southern living)

This laundry room was treated like an actual room- with a unique light fixture, wallpaper, chicken wire mesh cabinetry, etc. Love it.

Life is good.

But a nice laundry room would make it just a little bit better.

I'm just sayin'... 

(all images via pinterest)

 

Starting to feel like home...

Progress has been  s l o w  at my house.

We feel like we are running in a hampster wheel- sometimes even running backwards in a hampster wheel. Maybe it's because we had to rip out our entire ceiling for insulation- meaning all the boxes and clutter we put upstairs are now back in our living room. I'm going to be honest, it's been a hard few months. (minus France, ofcourse) (Hmm…that didn't make it convincing). I'll rephrase that- it's been a challenging project.  Hoyt and I are learning alot by mistakes and as much as I want to pull my hair out after 120+ days of living in construction we are very grateful for our little cottage in progress.  

But there's one thing that has just recently changed… and has made me remember why I talked Hoyt into this house. 

Here's a sneak peak:

Before...

After…

It makes me smile when I drive in the driveway…

Because although there are many other things on our punch list, it's finally beginning to feel like home.

YAY for paint!

(Paint details saga to come)

oh and HELP! I can't do window boxes. Those are just plopped in there- not even planted. I got overheated and gave up. Suggestions, recommendations, criticism, comments, gardening chatter, are welcome.

France Answers (Franswers)

The title of this post explains a lot about me.

a) I think it's funny.

b) I talk really fast- so in real life it probably does sound like Franswers.

c) The thoughts in my head run together, often merging and creating NEW thoughts.

d) I entertain myself with these things and quickly deRAIL. 

Where was I?

France Answers:
Thank you so much for your kind comments! Keeping honest- When I share a lot on the blog I sometimes wake up feeling.. sheepish. Like- oh no, maybe I shouldn't have included my dad doing a JIG. But your comments remind me that y'all actually like reading my weird commentary… and that makes it all worth while. So thank you for your feedback- it means a lot. 

I thought I'd answer a few frequently asked questions. 

 I love your boots! Where did you get them?

Thanks. I love them too. And I'm about to give you an answer that is just as annoying as "I got them abroad."… They're vintage. 

But the good news is: they are from Imogene and Willie in Nashville.

If you've never been to their store, you need to go. They are friends of mine- (actually I've had a crush on them since the moment I walked in and then I just forced them into being our friends. It worked.) But seriously, it's one of the coolest stores in Nashville… and home of hundreds of vintage boots and jeans. A few months back I did a last minute photo shoot with them, sporting their Chambray dress. They put me in some of their vintage boots they had lying around and I would not. could not. take them off. 

So they went home with me. 

They have plenty of vintage ones- all shapes and sizes. Give them a ring and they'll hook you up. 

Where did you get your green shirt?

Get ready…..

Target. 

Mossimo Military Tunic in "seaweed". Nothing special.. but it's super comfortable and I liked the color. (and yes I like that y'all notice my Target shirt while I'm on the coast of the Mediterranean) 

 

Is your brother single?

Yes, he is.

Will he kill you for sharing that?

Yes, he will.

Can you share more of your mom's sketches?

This one she did of Shakespeare and Co.- 

She's good.  I'm going to convince her to open at etsy shop.  If it follows through y'all will be the first to know!

In other news...

When we got back from France we had a lot going on with our own house, I was playing catch up from all the work I missed, and Hoyt had one week of freedom before starting his job. One morning he asks "How can I help?" To which I spout out a million things that are running through my head, things that I expect to be written down but not necessarily executed in the way I delivered them (girls at the office call it my "word vomit"--- it's a daily thing.) 

I actually didn't think he was listening… but I found his little working "to do" list later that day: 

  

Hmmm.. Not sure what to think about the fact that the two NOT crossed off are still pending completion. But really- it's the list listening that counts.

We didn't have plans for the 4th but ended up sitting in a field with some friends watching the U2 concert in the Vanderbilt stadium. We could hear it perfectly and practically see everything. It was great...

It was a pretty laid back weekend which we both enjoyed thoroughly. (And for the record, we did kill the house spiders… and somewhat clean.)

Last week highlights in design world:

Wallpaper was installed in a clients house...

Love. Phillip Jeffries grasscloth is always so handsome.

That little side table to the right I actually spotted in an antique store in Birmingham- for a steal!

I thought the top was interesting but the legs were a little too traditional. So I had my wood guy make a more modern base that fits the style of the room much better.

AND these amazing counter stools I ordered for my client finally came in last week: 

Casamidy's Varenne Counter Stools in Perennials Pygmy Stripe Fabric. 

I'm obsessed.

France, Part II

So….The Intermission lasted a little longer than expected. I had intended to finish up the second half of my France post but the jet lag threw me. It took me a few days to recover. 

Where was I…?

We were sad to leave Gavarnie, but after my brother convinced me that the hotel reminded him of The Shining I felt better about leaving.

Then we took our traveling circus to the Atlantic coast. First stop...

St. Jean de Luz

a charming fishing port on the Basque coast, near Biarritz.

Les. Pois. Sons, Les Poissons!

 

After endless amounts of windy mountain roads it was SO nice to see the horizon... against crystal blue water.

 

Being a fishing village, the markets were full of interesting creatures... 

 

 

The streets were very crowded during the day although this picture proves just the opposite.?

It's weird- I came back from France and ended up with pictures of abandoned streets and shrimp. Oh wait, here's one that proves we were around people:

 

A local festival activity.

Dad even did a little jig in the streets.

We stayed at the the most charming hotel- Hotel Deveniere- it was more like a local bed and breakfast.

 

Our courtyard out back...

That my mom liked to draw while we sat down there and sipped on wine...

And just so you know this is what my mom's sketchbook/journal looks like. Her way of describing what we ate… Martha S. would be proud, right?. 

Le Deveniere is full of antique furniture and authentic English flair. 

I loved their hardware:

This was our room-

 

To the left you will notice a uni-pillow. Hoyt and I like to flip our pillows alot in the middle of the night so this quickly became a problem.  We had to coordinate the pillow turns like they were football drills. If you had a tape recorder you would have heard sporadic yelling throughout the night: "… FLIP!!!!…. FLIP!!!!"

Definitely a first time for everything.

Other than the pillows, we loved our room. 

I didn't take great pictures but the rest of the place has such character. Felt like you were visiting a relative… right at home. 

This was definitely the most relaxing part of the trip, which we needed. After a few nights of pillow flipping and dancing in the streets we packed our bags and left the beach...

We hopped on a train and headed North. 

Next thing I knew we were in Paris.!!!

I have never been to Paris and immediately fell in love with the city. 

And that's not easy for me. It usually takes me a while to love big cities.

But Paris has an energy to it that sucked me in- it's elegant and edgy at the same time. 

We stayed in the heart of St. Germain- (at Hotel Millesime)- and I honestly could live in that area in a heartbeat. Such diversity. So much ART!! 

We didn't have much time there so we tried to visit as much as we could. This is also the reason I (regrettably) don't have as many pictures as I would like. OK- and I admit- I wanted to fit in and it's not very Parisian chic to wear a chunky camera around your neck.

Museum D'Orsay… a must see. Period.

The paintings gave me chill bumps. 

Notre Dame… So cool.

 

 We hit up Shakespeare and Co.- a little bookstore that's definitely worth a visit. During the 20s and 30s this place was a place of refuge for struggling writers like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald, and others; owned by George Whitman. This charming bookstore is definitely worth seeing (across the Seine from the Notre Dame)

Not really sure what's going on with the father/son in the foreground. Hmmm… 

Pretty sure what's going on with father/daughter here.  Father sharing an important history lesson. Daughter nodding along but really paying attention to the wood paneling details behind him. 

St. Chapelle (which many of you recommended!!) was, ofcourse, stunning. 

Why don't we make buildings like this anymore?

Inside the Chapel on the second floor were the most beautiful, intricate windows I've ever seen. 

 
But I kept finding myself staring at the vibrant patterns on the ceilings and floors, envisioning what textiles I could make out of it.  Go figure...


 

Then, ofcourse,  

shopping….

I just had to stop in the fabric showrooms like Nobilis, Pierre Frey, etc. 

I celebrated my 27th birthday here- and toasted with an amazing mojito while overlooking the Louvre. (I think it should be a ritual, don't you?)

I read in SKY magazine (I was desperate) an article about Paris. I thought this quote summed it up beautifully:

In Paris "happiness consists of something intangible and fleeting. That success can't be measured. That your experiences matter above all else…. At the very least, Paris gives charm to life's daily grind. At it's extreme, the city changes you."

(thanks mom and dad)