Do you do Dahlias?

When my husband and I moved into our house almost thirteen years ago we planted Dahlia bulbs a few times and loved them. For some reason I forgot about them until I was at my neighbors for a visit yesterday. She told me she had something to show me and I nearly fell over when I saw how beautiful her Dahlia bloom was. This is truly a dinner plate Dahlia! She measured it at just under a foot across! I wanted to show you how beautiful it is too...and it's my favorite color!

Isn't it beautiful? I think DeeAnn inspired me to plant a few Dahlia bulbs next Spring. I'm so jealous that she gets to look at this everyday! Soon I will do a tour of her yard. She has the most beautiful and lush urban yard I have ever seen. 

-Stacy

A song for the weekend.

If this song doesn't make you tap your foot, I don't know what will. I've liked it for a while and thought I'd share it just in case you haven't heard it. For my friends who are not hip to the young people lingo, "kicks" are shoes. Please don't ask me how I know this.

Enjoy! Oh, and get dance a little too!

-Stacy

A Laundry Room to Love.

Yesterday a friend was asking me for advice about what color to paint her laundry room. I must admit, I am jealous of anyone who has an actual laundry room that can be painted and done up! My "laundry room" is in the basement of my 1941 1.5 story home. The walls are made of block and I have to plug a light in at the ceiling. I have (countless times) unplugged that light and taken off running up the dark stairs to safety late in the night. Yes, I am scared of the dark. I'm pretty sure someone has been lurking in our basement for 13 years waiting to kill me. Can you picture this laundry room I speak of?

I found a few laundry rooms on Pinterest that I have fallen in love with. Honestly, these look like rooms from a Martha Stewart set. Real people do not live like this do they? Well, I guess they do!

Look at this one by Hampton Design...I'm pretty sure half of my upper floor would fit in here. Not to mention that there is more storage in this room than in my WHOLE house!

This next one by Holly Mathis Interiors is probably my favorite. I love the pop of color (from fabric!) and it would fit in very well with my style of home. It feels very cozy and urban to me!

This one from The Painted Home (another great blog you should be following!) is so inviting I would gladly entertain in it! You know, invite the girls over for wine and laundry! Why not?!

The last one I found doesn't have a source. Sorry for that. However, the picture itself will give you great ideas. This laundry room feels like a trip to the beach. It's clean and fresh. Doesn't that seem like the perfect place to do laundry?

If you are lucky enough to have a laundry room, but it's a room that collects junk and has become a place you dread going, why don't you consider making a few small changes? Paint the room, add some functional laundry baskets, a couple of lined baskets for supplies, a fresh rug and some great art! I bet for under $100 you could make it into a room that you don't mind being in! 

If you make some good changes, send us some before and after pics and we will gladly feature them on the blog! What can you do to refresh your space?

-Stacy

Cozy Urban Make-up favorites...

I've found some great new products this summer that will probably be my new favorites for a while. These are not new products, just new to me. I think they probably work well for most skin too! I'm always looking for good make-up so if you have something you use that you love, please share!

My first is by Origins. I found it at Macy's. I have never used foundation in my life! I just turned forty and am searching for something lighter that will even out my skin tone. I didn't want a heavy foundation, but the tinted moisturizer wasn't doing it for me anymore. At $21, this is a super bargain! I got mine in Bisque and it covers fabulously. It's oil free but in no way drying.

Next is my blush. I have always heard about how great NARS blush is in Orgasm. Frankly, the name of the color was always a bit of a turn off to me. I decided to give it a try and am in love with it! It is the perfect peachy-pink color with a very small amount of shimmer in it. I think this would probably be great on everyone. It barely looks like you're wearing blush...very natural!

My third find is something I've actually used for years. I ran out about 6 months ago and bought a cheap version at Target and was hugely regretful. I went back to my old Bobbi Brown standby. If you have brows like mine, you probably need a brow shaper too. I use mine religiously! 

Since we're onto eyes, I will now bring to you my absolute favorite color of eyeliner! It is called Crash by Urban Decay. I'm in love with the color. My eyes are pretty much green these days and it really is a great accent to the neutral shadow I wear. It is pricey at $18, but well worth it!

I've saved the best for last! I have found my new favorite summer perfume! It is a wonderful mix of green and floral without being too heavy or sweet. It is called Hampton Sun Privet Bloom and it is to die for. A light floral that I always get compliments on.

I really believe that when we find things we love, we have to pass them along. It would cost us a fortune to buy all of the things that people claim work! I love every single one of these products and will continue to use them. Really...if you have some favorites, please share!

-Stacy

Charming homes of South Carolina

We recently took a trip to South Carolina and while driving around I decided I had to take some pictures of some of the wonderful homes there. Some big, some not-so-big. All of them charming in their own way!

I noticed this one because of the color they painted the ceiling in their porch.  I love the style of this house, but the yard could have been cleaned up and it would have been ten times more charming! 

Here is a closer view of the ceiling. Their door was also painted a coral color. It was such a pretty combination! There was a car further up in the driveway and I didn't want to look like a stalker so I apologize for the photo quality.

This house was really cute. I love the combination of brick with black shutters and a black front door. It's a small house, but it was so well maintained. I would love to see some bright flowers in huge pots on the front steps.

This seems to be the popular style in South Carolina. Many, many houses resembled this. The two story colonial. You really can't go wrong with a house like this. Again, bright flowers would be very charming here!

And another two story colonial. This house was really beautiful. They had a wonderful vine growing around the front door that I loved.

I loved this house! It is like a doll house. The dormer is so cute and I'd be sitting out in the porch all of the time. I really wonder if people just don't plant flowers in South Carolina like we do though. I would love to see some red, yellow and white blooms planted in big terra cotta pots in front of this house. Wouldn't this house look cute with a yellow front door?!

 This house was absolutely darling! I am in NO WAY a fan of light blue, but this house was a pale blue and for some reason it worked. The setting was beautiful and I wished I could've gone up and asked to take more pictures. I am not that brave. Being there was a car in the driveway, I snapped a quick picture and we went on our way!

I could move right into this next house. The yellow is so welcoming and the style of the home is exactly my taste.  I can only imagine the charm on the inside!

For some reason, I really like this house too. I would love to brighten up the front door with a fabulous red. They didn't have many red doors in this neighborhood so it wouldn't be overkill at all. They did a nice job with they window boxes too. However, see those pots out in front? How great would a topiary look in each one?

I wonder how people would feel about my critiquing everything about their homes? I think a pop of color would do us all a little good!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

-Stacy