Cork Floors

I have several sleepless nights when I walk around my home and think what I need to redo, undo, change entirely, or just cry over.  One of these nights I was watching Divine Design (you know you love it!) and Candice did the most fabulous, I mean FABULOUS, kitchen makeover.  She had white quartz counter tops and dark stained cork floors.  She's made me a fan of cork floors!  I had no idea that you could use such a dark stain or that there were so many options to their coloring at all!  I believe this was the kitchen:

 I couldn't get this image out of my mind.  On my search for cork floor images, I discovered many of their benefits.  Did you know that cork floors are great insulators, sound absorbent, and easy to install in addition to being eco-friendly? You can also use cork in different designs and layouts.  I love the versatility of it and the benefits from being an eco-friendly product. Here are some more images for your enjoyment:

 

Etsy Find: Criss-Cross Dress

By nmcmyler

Happy weekend to you all!

Ikat Inspiration

I was recently reading my issue of Town and Country Mag for the fall fashion and loved to read that a textile designer believed that Ikat prints will be in style for a while.  So....I had quite a good time checking out different uses with the pattern.  Here are some Ikat inspirations:

Click on image for source

I think I'm partial to dresses and pillows in Ikat.  

How about you?!

Back to School!

I'm actually pretty sad that schools back in our town.  This means no lifeguards for the waterpark I take my kids to. Sigh.....That's all right though.  I have fall shopping to look forward to.  Here are some Gap girl and boy outfits to enjoy.  I can't wait to dress my kids up in some sick duds!  There's nothing worse than going back to school and feeling like a scrub!

Girl Tops

Girl Bottoms

Boy Tops

Boy Bottoms

I hope you find something for your little ones.  If not, Gap has really cute teen and adult styles, as I'm sure you already know!

Southern Style Subway Tiled Kitchen

Oh, how I love you.

Image via The Honey-Do Project
Happy Weekend Everyone!

Ikea and Pottery Barn? Trust me, okay!

So our friend, Maria, over at Colour Me Happy Blog, mentioned in a great post how smart it is to mix and match pieces from other stores.  For example, don't make an entire room out of Ikea furniture, but choose pieces and decorate the other areas from a different supplier.  This totally got my mind thinking, "What about Ikea and Pottery Barn?!"  Well, I was up for the challenge and these were my faves.  The furniture is from Ikea and the accessories are from Pottery Barn!

Jennylund Chair

Soule Pillow

Ektorp Sofa 

Elise Floor Mirror

Bergsbo Bookcase

Nash Candlesticks

Norfolk Bench

Fringed Hand-Loomed Rug

Rustic White Vases

Sculptural High Wheel Bicycle

What's something that you mix and match? 

Clothing, home decor pieces, colors, your spouse....anything!  I want to know!

My Vacation Post

So, I neglected to say where I went on vacation.  For the last ten years or so, my family has gone to a lovely place in Idaho called McCall.  We absolutely love it.

 

It's quaint, rustic, classy, relaxing, adventurous, mountainous, and downright beautiful!  We go hiking, biking, rafting, canoeing, jet skiing, swimming, and just love to hang out with each other.  We always wish we had another week to be together.  Every year we look forward to going to get ice cream down a little alley off of main street, McCall.  It's so good and just a cute little space to get together.  We rented a massive and elegant house for all of us to fit!  It was so perfect! If you're ever looking for a different sort of vacation where you be outdoors near a lake or even stay at a resort, check McCall, ID out!

Weekend Delight....Neiman Marcus Cookies

My mom makes these cookies all of the time.  There are two recipes out there but, my mom uses the one with ground oats.  It's the best in my opinion!

 Image via Une Gamine dans la Cuisine

(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

For the recipe with ground coffee go here.

Floral Flats

The other day my mom was wearing the most fabulous floral sandals.  Now I have somewhat of an obsession for floral flats in general......

Image via Glamour Vanity

Image via Tooty Footy Blog

Image via Wedding Bee

 

Image via Frosty Mint Blog

 

Image via gravitypope.com

 

Image via Like

 

Image via Shoebloggers

 

Image via Fashion Hippo

Image via Style Hive

Is there really a need to say more?