Birthday SWAG (stuff we all get)

SWAG

STUFF WE ALL GET

What do you want? Think of one thing.  Got it in your mind?  Abracadabra. It's done.  Whoomp, there it is! Somewhere in the universe, it already exists.  See how clear it is?  You don't have to descend any crystal elevators to get closer to it.  You don't need to burn any karma to have it appear in front of you.  You don't even need to feel worthy, necessarily- none of that wading and waiting. Just exercise this belief (and yes, it's magical thinking): Somewhere in the cosmos, in the grand bazaar of life, in your very own postal code, what you want is already in existence, waiting for you to pick it up or, better yet, to call and have it delivered.

 The Fire Starter Sessions Danielle LaPorte pg117

When I told my husband that I blogged about birthday swag, he concurred with the idea and proclaimed "now that's useful!"  Of course it was from a purely selfish perspective on both parts, mainly because he never knows what to get me, and selfish on my part hoping he will choose something from my list. 

I really think the reason he never knows what to get me is because secretly I'm this wild woman on the inside who is always trying to show the strictest propriety (that's relative to myself) and so I think I have him fooled into thinking that what I'd really love is a pair of dog slippers, a can openers, tickets to Earth Wind and Fire (which we have done a couple times) dinner and a movie.

But what I really long for is a good old fashioned pair of tie dye jeans. And by the way I'm past doing it myself...True Religion has a stunning pair in size 29 that are perfect.  I know... I wish it were more like size 26, oh well I'm pushing 50.

True Religion

Stella Tie dye jeans in blue

I have found that Anthropologie jeans fit THE BEST! Kind of like Victoria Secret Bras fit THE BEST. So... either splurge or get a pair on sale.  These above are Level 99 Lilly Straight Leg $98.00. Which for anthro is a great price especially since they are not on sale. Ahhhh... beautiful. Size 29 please....

I can tell this top from Anthropologie is going to be great on...accentuating the positive while hiding the bumpy negative...you know what I'm talking about girls.

I came across this motto from Anthropologie apparel designer Byron Lars...

 “I know what makes a woman
feel good in clothes. And when
you feel good in your clothes, you
project your best self.”

 

Here is another super fun top...Carolina Poncho $98 at Anthropologie size M.

This beautiful Mimeo Magnolia Blouse, also at Anthropologie, is on sale for $59.95! And they have it in my size...medium!!!

 

These look so fun! I think I'd wear them with the tie dye jeans!

Patola Slingbacks on sale 79.95...8.5 should do it!

                                                       

 

 

I got this amazing sofa at Design Legacy and now I need some really great pillows.  I've been in Love with Mongolian Lamb since I was in my early twenties and bought my first pillow eight years ago in Jackson Hole as a souvenir for my family.  Talk about snuggle over kill...they all love it!

Anyway, the orange and yellow mongolian lamb pillows along with the sparkler pillows are from Anthropologie...the black and white mongolian lamb pillows are from West Elm they are over sized 26x26. WOW!

And here is my amazing couch from Design Legacy.

Design Legacy hand screens all of their fabrics in India.  It's a very expensive and extensive process that takes time.  So when ordering this sofa Kelly O'Neal encourages his buyers to "Have Patience, it will be worth it". This pattern has a 90" repeat and uses over thirty screens. It can be purchased through Homevestures. It sells for $3295 plus shipping.

Any of these pillows from Urban Outfitters.

Turmeric tripod table from West Elm would be the perfect table with my Design Legacy couch... the scale, color and finish are perfect.  On sale for $149 plus shipping.

Here are two chairs that I've been housing in my garage now for almost a year and I'm DYING to take them to the prison industries in Smyrna Delaware to get reupholstered. I'm thinking the deconstructed look that Restoration Hardware is showing but in indigo blue, with tuffting. about $375 each with fabric.

Restoration Hardware Deconstructed 19th C.

on sale for $1495

Probably would go with the 2nd one from the right or even the darkest indigo for the chairs...

Manzanita Bench Anthropology
Need we say more...Here is my wild card wish.

Lastly a darling mini cooper.

Well according to Danielle Laporte these things aready exist...now let me have that delivered!

Vicki

High Bohemian

A revelation took place while exploring the whole bohemian movement.  There is still so much more to understand! What came to me is that everyone is a little bohemian! You know there is the French, the German, the Hawaiian, the English...I mean really everywhere you look all cultures are mixing fabrics, furniture, metals, textures in their own way (which is a sure give away for the bohemian style). Here we are going to look at what I'm calling 'High Bohemian'.
          

elle decor

It's a clean pallet with well defined bohemian elements.

             

thedecorista.tumblr.com

myhomeideas

Cush and Nooks 

justbesplendid

thedecorista

 thedecorista

thedecorista

Remember Bohemian...

synonyms-Bohemian , avant-garde, boss*, contemporary,cool, cool*, deep, deep*, excellent, fabulous,fantastic, groovy, groovy*, hip*, hippie, mod,modern, modernistic, neat, nifty, offbeat, out inleft field, out of this world, rad, rad, radical,sensational, strange, super, swell, trendy,ultamodern, unconventional, unorthodox, veryunconventional, way-out, weird, wild, wonderful

Can you not think of anyone in your circle that is any or all of this...? Practically everyone I know has some sort of bohemian quality. It's this fabulous, sensational, out of this world quality that we all possess!

Interior by Tricia Guild

Bohemian aka 'Boho' has a nomadic gypsy quality, but here with 'High Bohemian' she is setting down roots so to speak and not the ones that she lives on or off of, but the roots she is grounding herself on with a foundation where she can bring all her fantastic agglomeration under one roof. All the while making her space a delightful fusion of travel, texture, daring, the exotic and comfort. More than not it is probable those who cross her threshold are likely to have an indelible impression that could linger for a lifetime.

From my studies Tricia Guild and Muriel Brandolini both embody and are masters of the 'High Bohemian'. They have managed to punctuate the 'boho' style while deconstructing it at the same time. A new style has truly emerged...and it's exciting, beautiful, intentional, and extremely individual.

"I do not have a set of rules for how to decorate. My designs are unconventional: they have been called eclectic, flamboyant, bohemian, and hippie chic. Freedom of mind is what activates my creativity, and thrive on being able to dream without boundaries. When I imagine a room, I do not limit myself to what some might call practical or even possible. My only thought is to make it beautiful".
~~ Muriel Brandolini

I realized of all women right now in the design world these two amazing ladies trump all.  Somehow there is an element about them both that inspire me to be fearless, creative, hopeful, daring, passionate... simultaneously loving, dreaming, and embracing beauty.

Vicki

homevestures deconstructed

homevestures 

home

   /hoʊm/ Show Spelled [hohm]  noun, adjective, adverb, verb, homed, hom·ing.

1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.

2. the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.

3.an institution for the homeless, sick, etc.: a nursing home.

4.the dwelling place or retreat of an animal.

5.the place or region where something is native or most common.

ves·ture

   /ˈvɛstʃər/ Show Spelled [ves-cher] noun, verb, ves·tured, ves·tur·ing.

1.Law .

a.everything growing on and covering the land, with the exception of trees.

b.any such covering, as grass or wheat.

2.Archaic .

a.clothing; garments.

b.something that covers like a garment; covering.

 

Om

mystical word in Hinduism, Buddhism; an utterance of assent, 1788.

   /ɔm/ Show Spelled

 

Eve

   /iv/ Show Spelled[eev]  noun

1.name of the first woman: wife of Adam and progenitor of the human race. Gen. 3:20.

2.a female given name: from a hebrew word meaning “life.”

Homevestures is my Dream Big place. It houses all my dream big ideas. It's also the place that defines for me home, design, family, fun, food, travel, colaboration, inspiration, intelligence, peace, faith, endurance, virtue, integrity.

Vestures is defined as clothing...it is here to always remind me of someone who gave everything for me and my family.

Home is where I always choose first.  Its the place I love... the place I feel safe, and the place thats allowed me to study, and create.

 

Dream Big Too

Time to take action! No more thinking about all those dreams I have...I wanted to get a journal that I could dedicate specifically to my life dreams and my blueprints of how I saw myself accomplishing those dreams...So here is what I found at Barnes and Noble in the way of journals.

I wanted new, functional, and reasonable...

Honestly this beautiful marblized one just scared me. There was something that felt like concrete about this journal, and I need something that was going to be more forgiving.

These leather bound ones were going for $40 I just couldn't bring myself to spending that kind of money on a journal that could potentially end up like so many of my other journals which had become a conglomeration of study, inspiration, chronology of my life, lists of things 'to do', phone numbers addresses... so I went with this green one.

Besides, if I bought this one the publisher would give one to a child or someone who needs a journal.

I have to confess it took me a couple days to start writing something.  And when I did... I found that I was evaluating my life and if I had actually accomplished any dreams at all. I warn you this can be a very emotional exercise. It has some highs and lows. Highs because I realized I had accomplished many dreams that I wasn't really paying attention to.  And lows because there are still some dreams that I have been working on ALL MY LIFE that I still have not accomplished. Sometime we have dreams about our lives that we almost take for granted.  Like getting married.  Staying married.  Having children. Loving your children. Teaching your children. Welcoming grandchildren.  That all by itself can be THE DREAM. But somehow we can look at it as a course of nature. Like learning to ride a bike or learning to swim, it's just something we expect to happen and do.  But that is really not the case.  We have to want and dream every part and particular of our lives everyday. So Hoooray for dreaming today, and all that we are making happen imperceptibly.

So, yeah, here is my 'Green Rethink Book of Dreams'... and I'm pretty dang excited about it!  I'm really breaking this dream/blueprint/accomplishment/declaration down. I want to think of all the details...make sure that it is what I want it to be. And right now I have become aware at how varied my life dreams are. I like this adventure. I feel hopeful, and a little nervous, but also excited because the process of writing my dreams down with a detailed blueprint of accomplishment is helping me to see if it is a real dream or not and also helping me to recognize what really is my most important dreams for myself.

Dream Big

For those of you who read my blog yesterday I was going to talk about Homevestures and an inside look at it but I have to put that aside for a minute and talk about Dreams because it feels so relevant. It might be at the root of everything I write and do. So lets talk about it now for a minute.

I want to share with you a fantastic quote by Sterling W. Sill on dreams. He says..."Just suppose that you had a special book where you kept a written list of those dreams and ambitions for which you had an unquenchable thirst.  A good book of dreams and some well thought-out blueprints for accomplishment will turn ambitions into realities.  Among the amazing inventions of man and the miraculous creations of God, nothing can match the human mind,which is the instrument given us by God with which to think, plan, imagine, love, and dream.  The Bible tells us of many inspired dreams that have been put into people's minds by Deity himself.  The fact that we have been divinely equipped for dreaming indicates that the function is important and that God certainly did not intend to do all of our dreaming for us."

Ok, the first assignment is to get a SPECIAL BOOK (I think I want to follow this to a T) and think...think...think... about my dreams.  What the heck are they? My sister helped me realize yesterday that I love the furniture part of owning the business...but not the dealing with people everyday who have a hard time making up their minds or deciding whether they are going to spend the money, or the paper work. My real estate instructor said "price overcomes ALL objectives". So I know that sometimes in retail you don't get your price and you often lose your shirt on pieces.

I want to get past the think part and really write what my dreams are. What do I and you have an unquenchable thirst for?  Is there a burning that is always there that never goes away, like a leaky faucet? I'm reading this book called 'The Fire Starter Sessions' (a gift from my big sister, sharing her crayons again...). Danielle Laporte asks a VERY relevant question..."How do you want to feel"? For me I know I want to be creative...but last night after leaving a missionary setting apart I realized that I want to feel 'important'. Really my creativity is the way that I do that.  I love being creative...but I want something more from creativity and that is feeling important. And when I say important I mean valued. Like people value my work and what I do and feel that it is important.  Who the heck knows why I want to feel that way but I do.  For me I knew that feeling important was at the core of 'what I want to feel' because it brought me to tears.  And as I've thought about how I want to feel the feelings that bring an emotional charge seem to be at the essence and root of everything for me.  And some psyco analysis might look at my desire and come up with all these things and reasons.  It doesn't matter. It is what it is, and we have all been endowed with a great capacity to dream and feel.  Which capacity will allow us to design and craft our lives. Bruce R McConkie once said... that if we put our foot on the path to the celestial kingdom we will get there. Really?! Think about that...? That has got to be one of the hardest dreams out there! So, all I'm saying is we can actually take baby steps at practicing dreaming with other stuff and eventually grow to realize that 'HEY' dreams are possible and if yours is the celestial kingdom 'Go for it!'

For me right now I think I'm at a more telestial groveling level. WHICH...will make it all the more rewarding as I do progress...!

I have ambition...! Do you?  What the heck is it though???? Well I'm not going to lie, right now I would like my creativity to bring financial reward.  I've been selling myself cheap and free and now that I'm pushing 50 I'm ready for the money! But do I have a GOOD BOOK OF DREAMS? No....What about a WELL THOUGHT OUT BLUEPRINTS FOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS? No again... I have some work to do...and I'm okay with that because this sounds and feels like it's going to be exciting! So, would you like to join me in this journey...would you like to put this to the test...are you afraid...? I really believe this is a true principle.  I'm in...first get the book, think of how I want to feel, think of my dreams, draft a well thought-out blueprint (and go to lunch with a bunch of girlfriends at noon).

Let's check back in and see what we've come up with...Remember that 'God did not intend to do all our dreaming for us...

Need to be Creative

If your the creative type or not... you might get what I'm asking...Have you ever felt like a five year old who loves to color without crayolas or paper? This was me this morning...and when I thought about the people around me that could help me out, it didn't seem like there was anyone who'd be willing to share their crayons or paper. I think I would have been satisfied by just looking at and smelling a new box of crayons....thats how desperate I felt. So I decided to text my big (as in she's older than me and yes she is a big deal and extrememly talented) designer sister. In relative terms I told her that I have no crayons and no paper. So, like a champ she whips out her 96 box of crayolas with the built in sharpener...and boy was she willing to share.  I told her my delema, no start up capital, no clientel, and no location. She's like... wow, you do have a problem..., and here's the reality.  Do you want to help people make up their minds everyday about furniture that they love but don't want to spend the money on?  I'm like, No Way! I want to put together this amazing product line and just let everyone come fall in love without me having to work to sell them on it or the price.  I want to create these WOW spaces that enliven and inspire. Then I asked her if I was being realistic? Maybe, and maybe not...

She later texted me and said "I've got it! Write a book. And use your pinterest as inspiration."
I texted her back and told her I'd need a little more convincing...but I was feelin it.

In this virtual world we can dream BIG! But also remember there IS someone out there who is willing to share their crayons and paper and sharpener. God puts them there.

My next post is going to be an inside look at the meaning of 'Homevestures'.

 

Passion Ignites!

How does one know when passion becomes the driving force in our lives and specifically when and what ignites it...?  I was having another throw back while looking at my more than amazing and talented architectural design sister Sherry E's blog post on wall stickers. Go see she will tutor you on all the do's and don't! Here are just a few of the images that she posted!  I KNOW!


http://www.fermlivingshop.us/


red paint spiral wall mural by www.eazywallz.com


http://www.eazywallz.com/products/Dandelion-blowing-seeds-in-the-wind.html

So back to the original question...what ignites passion? For my sister and I and now my daughter Dawnelle and Sherry's daughter Kirstin we all have this passion for DESIGN!!! Gosh I loved seeing Kirstin's face the first time she came to my house...she was just a little girl...you could see her taking it all in through her eyes...what a happy memory for me.  I remember being EXTREMELY conscious of my surroundings because it was very different than what Kirstin grew up with 'clean lines' and on the cutting edge of the design world as she unconsciously became immersed in this fascinating industry at her mothers side. I knew this little one had a keen eye even at a young age.  But she just seemed to enjoy everything around her.

So about these wall stickers...my sister and I came up with our own version of this... ohhh...when we were 7 or 8. I'll never forget it... we got these new bed spreads that had a bright American blue background with various sized hearts patterned all over it.  We decided to replicate the motif in these spreads out of red construction paper and proceeded to tape red hearts all over the walls in our room.  We were so proud of ourselves and it must have been there in that small room with a mother that said 'oh what the heck' that passion had ignited...at least for me!

So today I'm smiling, and thinking as I look at my 7 and 9 year old and even my 15 year old what will ignite their passions and be their driving force all their lives. And hopefully I won't get in the way but say as my mom said 'oh what the heck'!

Sherry was a great inspiration to Dawnelle...it was when we went to Sherry's graduation that Dawnelle decided she was going into design. So this is dedicated to Sherry my beloved sister.

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