My Mom is in Country Living!!

         Please go and purchase the September issue of Country Living!!! My mom and step-dad's cottage is featured. It is beyond exciting to actually know and frequent a home in a decor mag. My mom designed the entire place, start to finish, with an "empty-nest" in mind. The main house is only 1 bedroom/1.5 bathroom and then there is an apartment above the garage which my college-aged sister takes over during the summers. I'm so impressed by my mom, she has no formal design background at all, but can turn any room into something extraordinary. My mom is so funny and shy about it, she is like "It's not like I'm in Arch Digest or something." But seriously, how many people can say their home has been published? And I'm a big Cottage Living fan, same family of mags, right? Here it is!!!!!

The Kitchen....home to many wine-fueled cooking escapades

The Dining room...funny to think how many casual dinners I've spent there and it looks so "untouched." Got to love stylists!

The "empty nester" suite

The laundry room is one of my favorite rooms, the toile wallpaper is nautical theme and makes the room so pretty....you also see the master bath as well. 

Sorry about the lousy image, but I had to cut and paste it together. We LOVE our backyard. We hang out there at sunset and play cards as a family, our favorite game is bullsh*t, we are very sophisticated......

As you can tell, my mom is a bit obsessed with blue and white, so you know what my next gift for her will be!!  I already pre-ordered it for her!

Photography by Karyn Millet for Country Living, September 2008

I knew it, I knew it!!!!

I love that headboard.......if you like it too, the fabric is by Silk Trading Company (Lirian in Petite Blue)

I knew the outside of Tori and Dean's new house was bogus. It reminded me of a house you would find in OC or the Valley, not LA proper. Read all about it here.......At least the inside was for reals. I didn't love everything they did with the house but I did fall in love with a few rooms. Especially little Liams!!! I also loved their photo wall they had going up the staircase, wish I could find a pic of that. 

Liam McDermott aka Monkey's room

Love what they did with the chairs...that looks like a fabric by Quadrille  but not 100% about that....

Thanks once again real estalker, you are the best!!!!! All images can be found on oxygen.com

Back to School

My messy desk will be getting some extra use soon.....

Time to sharpen my pencils and load up my Starbucks card because I'm heading back to school!! Ok it is just part time but it is still a great excuse to back-to-school shop, right? I am doing the Certification Program at the Interior Design Institute in Newport Beach. Can't wait!!!

New Decorator Crush

I just moved into a new place and have been feverishly trying to put it together. Of course when you move into a new place it is a great excuse to go buck wild and re-decorate. While scouring the Internet and local shops, I have been carrying a tear sheet from the April 2008 issue of Domino because it totally inspires me....... 

It is from the Domino "10 designers to watch"....her name is Katie Stassi. All the Best interviewed her a couple of months ago (great blog fyi!). Anyway, I love her decorating style and fell in love with the images on her Web site. She is all about combining modern pieces with vintage which is my favorite. I thought I'd share a few shots that I'm currently drooling over. I Can't wait to see more of her work in my favorite decor mags!!!

All images belong to Katie Stassi Design