D's New Place

We spent Easter weekend with Danielle at her new place. I took several pics with my Smart-phone that I'm sharing here. I'm starting to think it may be time to upgrade to my camera phone.

So, to set the scene...a two-hour drive to her place was an all-day affair for us. I took the day off work, so it was a vacay day for me, which meant I wanted to sleep in, which I did. I woke up and realized we were getting a later start than I planned. 

HGTV Inspiration Plus: I've Designed Two Rooms

Last night I sort of binged watched "Love It or List It" on HGTV. I just love a good reveal. I'm especially focused on the show because this season is filmed in the Triangle, NC. One of my friends saw them filming a home in her neighborhood. 

Do you ever do that? I like when the show is in Seattle too. I'm always trying to see if I can recognize the neighborhood. Seattle neighborhoods are unique and easily recognizable. 

I've seen several of the local NC shows. I haven't been able to recognize the neighborhoods, which I think is by design. But I have recognized the skylines and the restaurants and bars where the homeowners meet with Hilary and David. That's fun.

HGTV is very inspiring. I'm sure I'm late to this, but this weekend I discovered a new obsession:  Olioboard. It's fun. I "designed" two rooms. I'm pretty proud of my work. One thing I loved is that I can design and "see" a room without having to do any of the real work.   

Playing with Olioboard is sort of like looking through decorating magazines or retail catalogs and cutting out photos for inspiration. When I was young I used to spend lots of time with the Sears Wish Book, cutting out things that I wanted. Olioboard is like a grown-up, electronic version of cutting out pictures from the Sears catalog.

It might be a little addicting. 

Until next time!

~Kimberly

Window Shopping

I love window shopping via Zillow. It's a new past time that I keep finding new ways to enjoy. At first, I checked on the pricing of houses near me to see if I was tempted to sell my sweet house. So far I've not really been tempted. But I had a weird moment at one point where I allowed the "search" to include homes out of my price range. Some were way out of my range, as in "never gonna happen". But with online marketing, I can tour any home (virtually) without being interrogated to see if I can afford to even look at the house, much less step in the front door.

About a year ago my husband and I went to a neighborhood that has wonderfully eclectic homes and we took pics. I can't share them today because I can't find them. I've yet to master the art of organizing digital information. 

But, I can show you one of the houses that I love to look at and have always wanted to see inside. Here it is:

Design Tips {#2 in the Series}

This is the second in a Series of "Design Tips from Kenneth Brown". {The first in the Series is here.}
So, as I was saying,  that time I met Kenneth...I discovered he is not only a good designer but a very entertaining speaker. When I was in college presentations were marked down if there was a lack of visual aids. Kenneth would have gotten an A from my college instructors. One thing I enjoyed seeing was the diversity of his designs.

You'll remember that when Kenneth gave his keynote, he explained that his HGTV show "Redesign" was no more. It had a good run. He explained that the show's budget was the issue. Candice Olson's show "Divine Design" was the biggest budget show for the network and they could not (would not) afford two high budget shows. The network was making a change to lower budget shows with quicker design completion and making the show quicker to get "into the can". {That's TV talk for film ready to air.}

I suppose it makes sense that the network would make this change. I mean, it doesn't matter how much it cost to create the design and the show...it's still a 30-minute show and I don't think there's a big enough audience in general to impact this decision.  {Kimberly's opinion only}

SOME OF THE TIPS I REMEMBER:

Choosing a Designer

Of course, this means we've already accepted the advice to use a designer.  Kenneth encouraged interviewing several designers before deciding who is right for you. Style, communication, and personality fit are all key to making a relationship with a designer work.

"You have to find the right person to fit your personality. Take a look at the homes they've done to make sure their style matches your own. Also, if the designer is talking more than you are, that's a bad sign."

Design Tips

One of my favorite things is Design.  I am not a designer but have really enjoyed updating the house that we live in. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you about that time I met Kenneth Brown.

Yes, I actually met Kenneth Brown.  He may not remember me, so if you meet him, please don't embarrass him by asking.

Now, if you are not an HGTV fan, you may not know who Kenneth is {or why it's so cool that I met him}.  I know his show hasn't been on HGTV in quite a while.  ~~Kenneth included a discussion about this fact in his talk.  {He was may have been a little bitter.}

The meat of Kenneth's talk began with a slide show that talked about his history and what led him to design.  I didn't realize, until his talk, that he was from Louisiana.  He has southern roots!  {I knew I liked him.}  One of the pics in his slide show was him as a young boy raking leaves in his backyard.  He shared that even then he had an eye for design. He remembered the colors of the leaves making an impact on his experience.

Kenneth also discussed the new {ish} trend in design to create hotel luxury in residential projects. He showed pictures of hotel rooms, circa the 1970s.  These rooms were not "spa" inspired but simply places to put your suitcases and lay your head at night. He even chuckled as he showed these pictures.  He said he thinks it's funny that hotels have come up in the world of design and are now considered something to emulate.

Mail Call & Modern Design

I've been thinking a lot about writing lately. By "this" I mean writing with a pen and paper, versus using the laptop. I had coffee with a new friend today and our discussion was about our relationship with writing.  Specifically, we were talking about writing for yourself and not writing related to a profession. We talked about how the simple act of writing can bring about a Zen-like moment that involves being fully in the moment. 

Five Year Diary

I've been a journal writer off and on since I was young. Actually, I remember getting my first diary when I was in 1st grade. It was a "5 Year" Diary. Each page was divided into five small sections and the pages were dated January 1 to December 31. The idea was that you would write an entry on the January 1st page each year for five years. The photo to the right is exactly the diary, except that my diary was blue. I was just learning to read and write on my own and I wanted very much to fill the diary with secret stories. I knew right away that this diary was not going to last five years. I tried for the first few entries to keep my musings to the prescribed amount of space on the page. But I found, even then, that once any real writing began I could not predict the amount of space that would be required. 

My friend and I spoke at length of the benefits we get from journal writing. We believe that there are no hard and fast rules. There is no rule that says you must journal every day. There is no rule that says anything. It is a tool to pick up when you want or need.

Tonight, as I was thinking of my own relationship with writing, one of the things that come to mind was when I was an avid letter writer. My first experiences as a "letter writer" began in the 6th grade. (Funny what specifics I remember. Especially when you consider that I truly can't remember where I put my sweater...again.) My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Paris (originally from Boston), had a contest for writing essays and the number of homework assignments actually completed and turned in. (Have I mentioned before that I am competitive?) I won this contest twice! The first time I won a box of stationary. The stationary had daisies on it and there was a big bottle bubble design to encapsulate your writing. The Jim Croce song "Time in a Bottle" was really big that year.

That summer I met a friend during day camp when we took a field trip to the Amusement Park. I still remember her name (Darla...will keep last name private for, well, privacy). Darla did not live near me. She lived in Virginia, which seemed quite far. She was one or two years older than I was and I thought she was quite wise. She brought her Kodak Instamatic (camera) on the trip and took many photos of our fun time on the rides. We decided after that week of camp that we would stay friends by being pen pals. And she promised to send me copies of the pictures when they came back from being developed. (Who knew how long that would be). And, sure enough, Darla and I were pen pals for a year or two. This was a pretty good writing relationship, especially considering that she was already in Junior High and I was going into Junior High the next year. I remember lots of letters. I don't remember what we wrote about, but I remember that I used my stationary. I also remember the joy of getting a letter back from her. There is nothing quite like getting a real letter in the real mailbox.

In 7th grade, my professed best friend decided to live with her father instead of her mother. This meant that she would move to the next town over and would not be near me anymore. No more spend the nights and no more conspiring on the school playground. I already had confidence that friendships don't have to end just because of distance. The solution...letter writing. Julie and I wrote very regularly. (Typically, we wrote each other once a week.) After a while, she decided to move back "home" with her mother and sister. When she came back she had experienced life differently and we had developed different interests. The friendship naturally ran its course.

At the end of 7th grade another friend (also named Julie) moved. Julie and I had grown close after my "first" Julie had moved away. New Julie came to school in the middle of the year. Her Dad had a job in our town. New Julie was from Michigan. She was tall and confident. She dressed differently than those of us that had never moved more than 5 or 10 miles since kindergarten. But she was so confident and likable she did not suffer from being teased. She wore a Vietnam POW bracelet. I remember being intrigued by that. I had been insulated from the status of the war. Of course I knew about the war in Vietnam I just didn't KNOW about it. At the end of the year, her family returned to Michigan. She and I were letter writers for about a year as well.

As an adult, I began to write letters diligently after leaving Virginia Beach. Hubster and I lived there for three years. Our daughter was born there. But we decided to move to NC when our daughter was 18 months old. The first year in the new town in NC was one that I did not know anyone. (This was not my home town). I was lonely for the friendships that I had recently cemented. So, at night I would write letters or postcards. During that experience I found two things to be true: Number one: Letter writing can deepen a friendship more deeply than a phone call. One of my friends continued with our deep friendship writing for many years. The letter writing friendship was also kept fresh and alive by several visits back to see her. This person is still someone that I consider to be a very deep friend. And Number two: I was driven to find fun and exciting things to do during my "regular" non working life so that I could have something fun and interesting to write about. The adventures made me a better writer AND the writing made me a better adventurer.  That was key to getting acclimated and finding my niche in this new town.

It is fitting that I would be thinking about writing and letter writing in particular. I began thinking of "snail mail" today when I saw the fun new stamps issued by the US Post Office last week. The stamps are a series to celebrate American Industrial Designers.

Last month, you'll remember that I was in Atanta. The Hubs and I went to the High Museum of Modern Art. I really enjoyed the Exhibition on Modern Design. Many of the things in the exhibit are pieces of furniture or lamps or other items that filled many homes in the '60s and '70s. Seeing these items made me happy and nostalgic. The new stamps make me happy for the beauty of everyday things.

The Museum Allowed Photos

The same week that the USPS issued the new stamps, mail delivery resumed for our Canadian neighbors.

Interior Painting

Paint Chips to Decide on New Colors

WARNING:  What I'm about to share with you could prove to be a HUGE Time Suck.  But...trust me...you want me to share this with you. I have had too much fun with this.  But I will sleep better knowing that I did warn you. 
Before I share the magic that I discovered today, let me tell you what I've been focused on for this post.  I have been taking photos of some of the rooms of my house to show some of the transformations that I'm most happy with. Color and clutter free are the two words that describe the things I love about this house the most.