The Love Affair That Almost Happened {milk paint}

The Love Affair That Almost Happened {milk paint}

I do not like to paint furniture. Let me say this again. I do not like to paint furniture. Now repeat another 100 times and you may be a bit closer to understanding the depths that I will go to NOT paint furniture. I am guessing that many of you are very similar to me...
How To Pick Paint Colors {where to begin?}

How To Pick Paint Colors {where to begin?}

{original image found HERE} When people come into our home for the first time one of the most common questions is how did we pick all the paint colors. I have always found picking paint colors fun and had never really thought about it. {original image from the living...
All About The House {adding character to your home}

All About The House {adding character to your home}

One of the best things we did for our house in 2012 was to give it a face lift with new paint throughout. I have a bit of wanderlust/ants in my pants:-)…whatever you want to call it and sometimes I need change in a big bad way! We have been in this house for...
Creativity Takes Courage {interview with Stephanie Lee}

Creativity Takes Courage {interview with Stephanie Lee}

Our new video series, Creativity Takes Courage, begins right now! I have been wanting to do this for so long! I am beyond excited that it is starting and honored with the long list of creative men and women that have agreed to participate! Last month we expanded our...
Living Beyond Happiness {Reaching For The Joy}

Living Beyond Happiness {Reaching For The Joy}

  {image found HERE} I hear it all of the time… You deserve to be happy I deserve to be happy If I only had xyz… I would be happy It is not that happy is a bad word. I just know that there is more! {image found HERE} You are surrounded by it every day....
Blah, Blah, Blah and Other Ramblings

Blah, Blah, Blah and Other Ramblings

I feel like I am still getting into the groove of the new year. The past two years I have gone HERE to connect and focus my creativity and business. It starts today and I am kicking myself for not going. I had forgotten that January and February can be hard to put it...
There May Have Been Withdrawals {harder than I thought}

There May Have Been Withdrawals {harder than I thought}

My home life and work life overlap, collide and sometimes don’t have boundaries with one another. It is the blessing and curse of running your own business from home. To throw one more thing into the mix…we homeschool our children. In short, our children are usually...
I Had To Step Away {A Quick Roundup}

I Had To Step Away {A Quick Roundup}

{All of the photos in this post are from my recent trip back to Montgomery, Alabama.  We walked through my old college and walked around my grandma’s neighborhood. Always beautiful} Early Friday morning I boarded a plane to Montgomery, Alabama for a memorial...
My Favorite Things 2012 {Homeschool Favs}

My Favorite Things 2012 {Homeschool Favs}

Today I will share my Homeschool Favorites of 2012 You can also see my Business Favorites, Creative Favorites, Home Favorite and Beauty Favorites. If there was ever something in our lives that I never went looking for, didn’t plan to do and could have never...
My Favorite Things of 2012 {Beauty Favs}

My Favorite Things of 2012 {Beauty Favs}

Today I am sharing my Beauty Favorites of 2012. You can also see my Business Favorites, Creative Favorites and Home Favorites. When I was growing up I loved nothing more then my Kit n Kaboodle. Seriously…that thing rocked! I would buy the 2,054 eyeshadow...
My Favorite Things of 2012 {Home Favs}

My Favorite Things of 2012 {Home Favs}

Today I want to share my Home Favorites of 2012. You can see my Business Favorites of 2012 HERE and my Creative Favorites of 2012 HERE. I think home favorites are so different then some of the others I will be sharing this week. Our home is about connecting, relaxing...
My Favorite Things of 2012 {Creative Favs}

My Favorite Things of 2012 {Creative Favs}

Today I want to share my Creative Favorites of 2012. To see my Business Favorites of 2012 click HERE. I  love to create and there is always something new or new to me that catches my eye. I love seeing what other artists use too and how they like to use them. Many  of...
My Favorite Things of 2012 {Business Favs}

My Favorite Things of 2012 {Business Favs}

I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that we are in 2013:-) I loved 2012. It was truly a year of growth and seeing a clearer path. It was a year of appreciation and connection. It was a year of figuring out what we really wanted and working hard in many...
The Hair Vote of 2012 {Dun Dun Dun}

The Hair Vote of 2012 {Dun Dun Dun}

I get more comments about my hair than almost anything else. It is actually quite amusing. I was starting to get worried that when I cut it I was going to get a comment like Amy in Little Women, “Jo, how could you, your one beauty!” Thank goodness I...
Hold Tight {it is worth the work}

Hold Tight {it is worth the work}

{I surprised my family with a weekend in Denver…I didn’t even tell Kelly} Sometimes I wish I could slip back into time and be a small child that can’t sleep on Christmas Eve with an excited heart. As a child you are oblivious of other things going on...
The Winner of the $850.00 Prize Package Is…..

The Winner of the $850.00 Prize Package Is…..

Thank you for your wonderful response to our Thoreau Collection! I love that you also love all the French treasures and special fabrics. Many bags have sold out but we are working on getting more made for the new year. If you didn’t get a bag yet don’t...
Good Things Happen on 12/12/12 {Huge Giveaway}

Good Things Happen on 12/12/12 {Huge Giveaway}

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. -Henry David Thoreau Thank you for your beautiful response to our Thoreau Collection! We sold out of a few of our bags in one day! We thought we had produced plenty and...
The New Collection Is Here!

The New Collection Is Here!

{all new bags} {The Julia French Messenger Bag} I am so excited to tell you that the new collection is here! Welcome to The Thoreau Collection… {Vintage Clothes} {Grainsack Market Bags} {The wool Aubrey Ruffle Tote} {The Emerson Handbag} {French Linen Market...
Holiday House Walk 2012 {Welcome To Our Home}

Holiday House Walk 2012 {Welcome To Our Home}

Welcome to our home! I am so excited that you are here. First of all I wanted to thank my sweet friend, Jennifer Rizzo, for asking me back this year to show you our home all dressed up for Christmas. I love that Jen puts this house walk together and it is such a fun...
Launch Delayed {and other matters of National Security}

Launch Delayed {and other matters of National Security}

Good evening everyone! Well, there is a first time for everything. Tomorrow we are not able to launch our new collection because my whole family has been fighting the flu since last Thursday. Every. Single. One. With Christmas boxes exploding all over our home we have...
Preparing Our Hearts {It ain’t always so simple}

Preparing Our Hearts {It ain’t always so simple}

I can’t believe that tomorrow is December 1! How can it be so close to Christmas and a brand new year? I have thought a lot about our month of December and what I really desire for our family. Part of the plan has been built upon two of my three that fight and...
When Your Gifts Lead To Dreams Coming True {Lara Blair}

When Your Gifts Lead To Dreams Coming True {Lara Blair}

Sometimes your path seems so clear and other times your gifts take you on a journey you never could have imagined. There are times in your life when you know without a shadow of a doubt that you are doing EXACTLY what you were made for…and then you wake up one...
Random Thoughts and Ramblings

Random Thoughts and Ramblings

Our Thanksgiving was just as I imagined with just a bit more time in the kitchen than I imagined. I guess food doesn’t cook itself…weird. We hiked, went to see THIS movie, made THIS recipe and stuffed our face with THIS. We ended our night with...
Happy Thanksgiving {A reminder and a coupon}

Happy Thanksgiving {A reminder and a coupon}

{the image is mine} When we were pregnant with Jack we were living in Adam’s Morgan in DC. I was about three months pregnant with Jack on Thanksgiving that year. Without family  to spend the holiday with we decided to just keep it low key and have a simple meal...
A Little Boy’s Room {No longer a baby}

A Little Boy’s Room {No longer a baby}

We recently took Benjamin’s room from his nursery paint colors to a room that will grow with him for awhile. When Jack was born we decorated his nursery in pale blues and it was beautiful for our first baby. When Benjamin was born he was our third baby and...
Tiggy & Grace {Let me introduce you}

Tiggy & Grace {Let me introduce you}

{Photo source Lissa Whitlock} Tiggy & Grace. The name alone makes me smile. Not too different than the friend behind this new business and adventure. {Photo source Lissa Whitlock} Kimberly Taylor has such a beautiful style whether she is practicing her...
Living Room Redo {Shop My Own House}

Living Room Redo {Shop My Own House}

I can’t tell you how much I have loved doing the Creatively Made Home e-course. It has been so fun to play with my home and to share my love of family and home with others. I thought you all would like to see some of the photos I took this week for one of my...

The 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas {No. 2}

I am so excited to tell you that I am a teacher again in Christy Tomlinson’s “The 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas No. 2”. Last year I had so much fun teaching in the course and seeing all the gorgeous ornaments, decor and gifts that all the teachers...
Creating a Cozy Home {Part II}

Creating a Cozy Home {Part II}

Obviously I like writing about this because I am back for more:-) My last post was supposed to be longer but I needed to make dinner for my family. I thought it would be weird to tell them to go make themselves a sandwich while I write about creating a cozy home....
Making a Cozy Home {time to cuddle up}

Making a Cozy Home {time to cuddle up}

I know I am not alone when I say that the cooler weather inspires and encourages me to love on my home more. The leaves falling and the cooler days and nights just make everything just a bit more cozy. I love having a cozy home and making my family feel warm and...
Falling Leaves {and all the goodness of fall}

Falling Leaves {and all the goodness of fall}

I adore fall. It is my favorite season with spring a close second. The crisp air, the leaves crunching under your feet, big pots of something good on the stove, apple picking, apple cider, loving on my home more…it is all so good. It is too short though. Maybe...
The Last Sneak Peek {Tomorrow it begins}

The Last Sneak Peek {Tomorrow it begins}

It has been so easy to jump up and down and tell you all about the four other hosts of Creatively Made Home. In fact, I smiled the whole time I wrote about them. Kimberly Taylor Sara Duckett Jennifer Rizzo Tracey Leber It is a little harder when it comes to yourself...
How Do You See Your Home? {early morning perspective}

How Do You See Your Home? {early morning perspective}

{All photos were taken early in the morning before anyone else was awake} ** How do you see your home? Many times we see our home for what it isn’t and not all that it is. That is one of the main reasons I wanted to create the course Creatively Made Home. It...
The Beauty of France {Sneak Peek}

The Beauty of France {Sneak Peek}

  I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. We took the children to the Littleton Historical Museum and they made apple cider, saw the animals, ate pumpkin pie, took a wagon ride and picked out their pumpkins to carve. I can’t wait to show you the...
Training {in all kinds of areas}

Training {in all kinds of areas}

I woke up last week seeing an image of a hamster running on a wheel. I knew that was me. I knew that the Lord was trying to tell me something…some obvious and a few other things took me an extra week to hear. I am a doer. Good and bad. I don’t ask for help...
Modern Antiquity {sneak peek}

Modern Antiquity {sneak peek}

Are you getting more excited with each sneak peek I post? I know I am! I love all the emails I am getting from all of you that are so eager for Creatively Made Home (CMH) to begin! I have shared a peek into the “farm to table” style of Kimberly Taylor...
HGTV {sneak peek}

HGTV {sneak peek}

HGTV. THAT is Jennifer Rizzo! I am not even joking. She brings crafty goodness to Creatively Made Home. She is the girl that walks through Jo Ann Fabrics, sees jute ribbon, imagines a jute basket….and then makes it! I have told you before how creative Jen is....