Exactly one year ago, the husband and I were in Paris. You can read about our trip here and here. 

I remember strolling the streets and eating French macaroons almost everyday, sipping on espresso and pain au chocolate at Eric Kayser bakery planning the day ahead of us, and having three hour lunches at the neighborhood brasserie after shopping at Merci and Colette. It was such an amazing time and a trip that I will never forget. 

These adorable drawings by Caroline Wang, owner of Etsy shop Coco Draws, are the perfect reminder of why I love Paris so much. These would be great on a gallery wall or in a powder room!

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween and am so excited about tonight. I already have dinner ready (I made BBQ last night in the crockpot) and have the biggest bowl of candy you have ever seen ready for all of our trick-or-treaters. It is mass chaos in our neighborhood on Halloween and everyone sits on their porches and gives out candy while the kids zig zag from house to house. A few houses down even has a graveyard set up and a live bagpipe player. Pretty impressive huh?

In other news, I'm totally in love with this art work on Zulily today. They have all of the states and even different countries.  If you aren't a member and want to be, just email me and I'll send you an invitation! 

Hope ya'll have a great Halloween!

Found here

Day 11 of Things I Love: Art

 My art history and design classes really pull at my heart strings when I visit museums or go to gallery openings. I am a little bit of a snob when it comes to art; I would rather have originals or bare walls and nothing in between. I can't see hanging a print of a Monet or the like just to fill space. Art is one of the few things in life that I am patient about; I can browse a gallery for hours and really stand and look at paintings and portraits and photographs for hours on end and it not bother me a bit. There is a huge painting at one of my favorite stores in Wilmington, Paysage, that is gorgeous, but I don't have the funds for it. I stop by every few weeks to check on it, and after almost two years, I still love it.

I think that art is one of the most personal choices you can make in your home, so when you are buying art, really commit to the style. Gray and I have collected pieces on our travels to Costa Rica and Key West and New York and each time I see them, I remember the experience that we had on that particular vacation. I am really looking forward to continuing this tradition so that one day our home is filled with art treasures from around the world.

Ellen Rakieten's home featured in this month's issue of Elle Decor

Designed by Nate Berkus and Anne Coye

Anna Spiro's home in Brisbane, Australia

Angie Hranowsky's Charleston home

Angie Hranowsky's Charleston home



Kate Long Stevenson
This is beautiful artwork that I recently found. I love the colors and the large scale of these.