Mural Love -- Saying Goodbye

When I moved in my house, my kids were 5 and 7 and shared a room. Since they were different sexes we picked the wall mural below for the room.   Now that they're teenagers and no longer in the same room, we're finally getting rid of the mural.  Removing it from the wall is bitter sweet, but kids grow up and design changes all the time.. So bye, bye mural it was great.

This is the actual wall mural on the wall.

How many times have you changed the decor in your children's room and was it hard to face the fact that they were growing up? 

Design Inspiration - Marble Love

I love the classic look of a marble bathroom.  Here are a couple of my favorites from The Tile Shop.

Which one is your favorite?

The Perils of Mowing

I really dislike yard work not so much for the work but for the freaking bugs, ants, worms and mosquitoes, etc.... Eck...
However even the insects won't stop me from mowing the lawn, because I refuse to pay someone to mow the lawn when I can easily do it.  (yup I'm cheap)

Two days ago I was mowing the lawn and I saw a visitor slithering in my lawn.

Image Credit - http://www.ucop.edu/ucopa-golf/snake.jpg

Yup, a SNAKE... WTH????

After doing my fair share of screaming and running away from the scene of horror, I came back to finish mowing the grass with a bat in my hand.... trust me I know I looked like a fool and my neighbor probably thought I was CRAZY, but heck, I needed a weapon just in case my visitor came back.

Now, I'm not really feeling my backyard, which sucks.

Have you ever came face to face with a snake in your yard?
Is there something I can spray to keep them out of my yard? :(

Living Room - Mood Board II

I'm working with my sister on her living room remodel, here's the second mood board I whipped up for her.

1. This West Elm upholstered slipper chair is a beautiful accent chair and will tie the room together.
2. This mirror is a classic and will make the room seem more bigger.
3. Isn't this sofa amazing?  I love a high back sofa with low arms, it means your neck with never suffer and you can plop a pillow on the arms and take a nap.
4. You always need a little bling in any room and this mirror is perfect with it's mid-century modern feel it will be fabulous over the the sofa as art.
5. Awww paint, the cheapest way to make a drastic change, I love this color paint from the Martha Stewart line called Bedford Gray.  Gray used to be viewed as a depressing color but used right it's modern and sophisticated.
6. Ikea always delivers and this piece of art is serene and interesting at the same time and will be a great conversational piece.
7. The fabric from Robert Allen will give the room the punch of yellow without overwhelming the room.
8.  This black chandelier has high impact and will be a show stopper in the room.
9.  This graphic pillow will go really well with pillows made from the Robert Allen fabric.
10. This ottoman could double as seating and a coffee table but will not take away attention from the stunning sofa because of it's clean lines.
11.You would think a transparent table lamp would be boring, but with the modern shape and barrel shade this lamp can work for many years to come.

I'm feeling the yellow and gray right now... what do you think?

Agua Azul

Back from the Coast for awhile now.....just sometimes need that inspiration to write. The pics I have to share about Port Aransas aren't the best quality because they're taken with my phone.
I shared photos of the house we were renting, in my last post. I couldn't wait to check in down there, take more photos of the house and share more coastal home design ideas with you. Once I checked into the house though, I realized there wasn't much more to photograph, other than what you've seen on my previous post! Although the beachhouse was VERY nice, it was very basic in decor/design. The kitchen however was well equipped. Although we never did get around to our "low country boil" that I talked about!
The table above would've been great for the spread though......Kelley, if you're still interested in that "low country boil" recipe, then let me know .....will be glad to share!

Our days were spent loading up the golf cart, heading to the beach with the dogs, Dylan and Cooper. Actually this particular house didn't allow pets, so we kept them in town, at a doggie day care place. The dog spa owners were great about letting us come/go during the day , so that the dogs could go to the beach.
Evenings by the marina for dinner....


We ended up going bay fishing with our fave guide Butch Findley again. Butch just has that knack for finding the fish and we scored again. Caught a bunch of drum fish and they're so delicious. I use a wonderful recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, and it's one of my favorite ways to cook them. I'll be happy to share if you want the recipe, just email me. Here's Butch with Luke:Billy, my son and his friend Jack actually flew Jack's plane down to the coast. Jack also plays bass guitar in Billy's band, Crowded Hill. Here they are leaving the Port Aransas airport, getting the plane ready. Jack is an awesome Pilot and Flight Instructor, so I trusted him to get them home safely! (and "Tiger" was a great "Co-Pilot"!)
Thinking about my Dad on Father's Day weekend, I realized that some of my best times with him, used to be deep sea fishing trips or being out on the lake. I love being by the boats at the coast or at the lake, because it brings me back to those moments........A dear friend of Daddy's is one of the developers of a beautiful new lake subdivision on Lake Travis, in Austin. How appropo , on Father's Day weekend, that we visited this place he'd love and one that his dear friend is a part of.... and we're actually considering it for a residence one day...........we've watched it grow from the dirt roads to the beautiful hardscapes. : The Reserve at Lake Travis.
The entire subdivision is beautiful, and feels like a luxurious camp. Plus it has so many amenities, such as tennis, first class marina, equestrian center, etc....
There's a beautiful club called the Cypress Club with an outdoor pavilion that is so casually elegant, along with wonderful dining. Cute playground below also:

Great social area with a pizza oven,bar, fire pit, etc:Along with the pavilion and dining, there's a beautiful lazy river with fun slide, but I didn't capture that photo...next time!
A couple of custom homes have been built in The Reserve, along with The Cottages (see below). Again, not a great photo but it's a sneak peak. I'll shoot better ones soon. We spent Father's Day out there and it was very relaxing . The friendly staff at the Cypress Club (lazy river) love to spoil you with the best drinks and food, along with excellent service, swim up bar, etc. You can buy different levels of membership to the Cypress Club if you don't purchase a homesite or cottage in The Reserve.
Check out more info here.
Also, The Reserve is the next location for the annual Aquapalooza event on July 10!
Brad Paisley will be playing and this is going to be an amazing event. Check out the details here.
I'm hoping I'll remember to take some photos that day to capture for you.....
until then, hope you're having a great summer.


All the best,

Design Inspiration - Househunters

If you watch House Hunter's remember this apartment?

Isn't the color combo fab?  

Talk about taking risks.

You can check out more pictures at this website or even rent the apartment if you're lucky to be heading to Paris.

How Time Flies ---- Congratulations T

My nephew graduated from high school a week ago.  

I remember when he loved his bottle more than anything.

I remember the countless Halloween costumes, he used to scale walls when he had this costume on. Spiderman had nothing on him. :)

I remember him going off to middle school on his first day, needless to say this was last time we ever took a first day picture.  After that he was too cool to take that picture.

I also remember when he shorter than his mom.

But time flies and he's now ready for the next phase in his life.

Congratulations Todd on your high school achievements, we're so very proud of you.

Walkway over the Hudson

On my recent trip l visited Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie.  It's a pedestrian bridge spanning the Hudson river.  The view is spectacular, if you're ever in the area it's a must see. 

The bridge is actually a State Historic Park.

If you walk the entire bridge it's around two and half miles.

Facing North, can you see all the way up the valley.

Facing South, you get a great view of the Mid-Hudson Bridge

It was a really great experience, I would love it see in the fall, can you imagine the colors?

Old Houses

Hi, it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks and I've been very busy.  To top it off I had to ship my laptop to be fixed so no blogging for me.  I've attended my nephew's high school graduation (it's amazing how time flies, it felt like I was just watching him take his first steps yesterday).  I've driven 2500 miles through 9 states in the past two weeks. I now need a vacation from my vacation.

One of my stops was Poughkeepsie, NY located in the lower Hudson Valley.  They have amazing homes and a lot of them are over 100 years old.  Are you drawn to a older home or new construction?
Here are some of the homes I liked, do you like any of the ones below?

I'm gonna head down to the Coast...

"I'm gonna head down to the Coast"......lyrics to my fave new song The Coast, by The Courtyard Hounds. I wish it was on the Playlist already, so that I could share that song....it's so appropo for how I feel today! Emily Robison is from Texas and she wrote this song about heading down to the coast. Well, we just finished the 5th Grade Graduation Project I told you about & manana we're headed down to Port Aransas, Texas for a little R & R & celebrations! Luke graduated from 5th Grade, and Jackie , my daughter, graduated from Avenue Five Institute. Plus our wedding anniversary is on the 7th!
We've owned 2 different beach houses down in Port A, and hope to get another one soon one day. We just love it there and it's always been our 2nd home. Some of yall know that I used to write a beach blog called "jvw beach" . "jvw beach" started because of my love for the beach, but at the time I was also selling coastal type decor in a little beach town called Rockport, Texas. Rockport is about 30 minutes away from Port Aransas.
"Port A" is a fave destination for most people that live in the San Antonio/Austin corridor, but lately investors are coming from other states because it's some of the last affordable coastal properties. I grew up going down there every year because I was born and raised in San Antonio. My Dad was a huge deep sea fishing fanatic so we grew up sharing his hobby. As I've gotten older, I prefer the bay fishing route. I love to be in the shallow , more clear waters with land around! We'll do a little bay fishing down there this weekend and I'll hopefully share some "bounty" photos with you!

We're staying at a nice beach house, I've admired for awhile and looking forward to it. Complete with 3 stories, loads of 360 degree views of the coast and the harbor from the balcony rooftop, AND an elevator (SO nice for groceries!).
I LOVE a large table filled with family! Can't wait to have some "shrimp boils" and fresh seafood catch of the day......my favorite meal down there is to lay out newspaper on the long tables & make a "low country boil":When all is steamed, you lay out the food directly onto the newspaper as your colorful centerpiece! A roll of paper towels at each end is very appropo as well. Throw in a colorful green salad and it's an EZ, laid back southern style feast.
And bring out the cervezas y mojitos!


I'll share more of the beach house interiors with you after the trip as well.

The house is located in the neighborhood we'd love to buy in next, Village Walk.
If you're familiar with Seaside, Florida, then you'd love Village Walk. The houses are all pastel colored with quaint brick sidewalks and streets. Picket fences border the properties and lush tropical gardens embellish the pathways. Our favorite builder, Nick Lorrette has designed and built most of the homes in the Village Walk area.

We always take our cruiser bikes
and we love to just bicycle all around the island. You can also rent bikes, if you don't want to take your own. (that's Luke and I in front of our most recent rental we owned down there....just across the street from Village Walk, but also built by Nick Lorrette). Another fun mode of transportation is the golf cart, and rentals come in all sizes and shapes, complete with great wheels for riding on the beach. Port A is fun because you can ride your car, golf cart or bicycle right down to the beach.
We also love to walk out on the Jetty to watch the fisherman and also boats coming into the harbor, as well as the birds!

Port Aransas is known as Mustang Island and our favorite way to get there is on the ferry.
Once we get onto the Ferry, we either get out of the car or just roll the windows down to get that wonderful salty air smell. Usually at this point, I've gone into relaxation mode, cuz we've " arrived" !
You can also get to Port A from driving over from Corpus Christi. However, the Ferry route is much more nostalgic.
Last year , Port A was proud to host the Southern Living Texas Idea House 2009.

We loved this house so much and had to visit a few times. Here's the cute golf cart/kayak/ fishing storage garage with the guest house above:
And I loved the upstairs children's bunk room:
Check out Southern Living for more photos of this GREAT house. The house sold to some lucky family!
Ok, gotta pack up the gear and head to the coast manana! Have a great weekend & we'll chat next week!
All the best,
xoxo,



p.s. "home is where you hang your hat!":