Design….it should ALWAYS be fun…..

Looking back on 2014 I have to say that I am most proud of how

my design business has evolved and grown, and by that, I really

mean how I have evolved and grown in my design business.

When I began this adventure in 2012, I really just dove in….

if you were one of those first clients, God bless you.

While I am proud of ALL my work, what I know for sure,

is that my work has only gotten better, along with the confidence

and perspective I bring to each design job.

While I am far from perfect and still have miles and miles to

go……I am having a BLAST on this journey.

I love working with people on creating their homes…

It is both an honor and a blessing.

For 2015 I plan on doing much the same, only MORE and bigger!

I have found a niche, working with families who may or may not

have considered hiring an interior designer, who want candid advice 

and counsel but perhaps want to do some of the 'leg-work' themselves

so they can spend more of their budget on furnishings versus a 

designer.  I will provide guidance, choices, alternatives, the best 

neutral paint color, workroom services, bookshelf styling, 

gallery wall creating, affirmation and hopefully loads of creativity.

I created the design board above after being inspired to do so after

seeing Ikea's newest sofa/chair offerings - an English roll arm, one 

of my favorites!  I designed this room to show a traditional sofa

doesn't always have to be styled traditionally!  I love the mix

of traditional and more trendy items - all at very affordable prices -

proving good design is accessible for everyone!

If you are a local Portland client, THANK YOU for your 

confidence, friendship and trust…..you are helping me live

my dream doing something I love.  

If you are local and thinking about 'zhushing' a room in your home

and would like to schedule a 2015 consult, please send me an

email jill.hinsondesigns@gmail.com.

And those of you who live here there and everywhere -

eDesign can work really well for you!  I think I have

worked with over 40 e-clients this year - and though we 

never meet in person, I always feel like when we reach our goal, I have

gained a new friend.  And I love when you follow up and send

me photos of the space we created together!

HOUSEKEEPING……..

First things first……I have been having email troubles - ugh!

If you been sending any email communication to my 

jillhinsoninteriors.com email address, I have not been getting

them for the last week!  I apologize as I have been trying to

figure it all out and make some decisions to as to what email 

service to use going forward.  In the meantime, if you could,

please reach out to me at jill.hinsondesigns@gmail.com.

I know some of you had been asking about e-design in 2015 and 

I want to get that all sorted out so we are ready to go in January!

I love the quote above….it really speaks to me these days.  And

don't we all begin really thinking about the future and how we

want to be and how we want it to look at this time of year?

With a week to go till Christmas I am feeling ready for it to be over -

from a blogging perspective I am ready to sign off for the year.

I am not a Christmastime blogger - the tours, the over-the-top decor,

gift lists with referral links etc….It all feels disengenious and really 

not for me….and if it's for you, that's fine, it's just not for me.

Sorry for being a downer, I felt like I needed to get that 

off my chest….I have been at this a longtime, don't have a huge 

number of followers, blog irregularly {at best}, write run-on sentences 

and mis-use punctuation but hopefully, am authentic and real.

My reason for blogging is the same as it was in 2008 when I 

started this blog - to connect with those who love interior design,

home-keeping and life.  I hope you leave here inspired to make

your own home beautiful in a way that satisfies YOU.

I may or may not be back before the new year…we'll see if I have

anything to say.  My big girl and husband head to Florida the

day after Christmas for a soccer tournament so it will be 

quieter around here the week after Christmas….something

I am looking forward to….I need the time and space to think about

my design business and where that is going, spending some quality time

with my 12 year old, taking down the Christmas and making some 

plans for a new office for Jill Hinson Interiors - 2015 will be 

the year that I move from the kitchen table to a real home office

space - which means designing a fun, inspiring space to share 

with all of you!

Christmas in the Kitchen….and a favorite recipe!

Welcome to my Christmas kitchen!

Thank you to Kelly from Talk of the House for inviting me to 

participate in her Christmas in the Kitchen blog hop!

As with the rest of our home, I keep the Christmas decor pretty

simple in my kitchen.  I tend to prefer natural elements.  

When my girls were smaller I started a Christmas snow globe

collection for each of them - this year I used them to 

decorate the open shelves on either side of my 

kitchen sink.  They are really the only non-natural element decor.

Our home is in Portland, Oregon.  When we purchased 

this home about four years ago, the cabinets were maple

stained.  We had them sprayed BM White Dove.  I also 

had my contractor remove two doors and convert

two cabinets to the open-storage/plate rack cabinet

you see below.

We also added the subway tile and the BIG Ballard Designs

lantern pictured below.  These pretty simple cosmetic 

changes made the kitchen more 'me'.

I love cooking and baking.

At Christmastime, I love to make homemade

treats and goodies with my two teenage daughters.

Since they were little, we have always made homemade

gifts for their teachers and our neighbors. I want

to instill in them a heart for giving and in my opinion,

homemade gifts are the best gifts!

This weekend we will make a triple batch

of our favorite granola recipe and package it

in jars I purchased at Ikea tied with a ribbon 

and personalized gift tag.  These make great gifts

for the special teachers and office workers 

at each of their schools.

I hope you will take some time to visit my fellow kitchen tour participants:

Jenny Steffens

Nine and Sixteen

Talk of the House

You won't be disappointed!!!

******

Below is our granola recipe.  We add dried cranberries to make it 

more festive but you could add nuts or any dried fruit! Also know, you

don't have to add the flax seed or chia seeds - I sneak them  in because 

they are good for you!  My girls add this granola to yogurt 

for a meal or snack.

** UPDATE - the first recipe I included was WRONG - coconut was omitted

which is very important!!!  This is why I probably never include

recipes on my blog!!!  Ugh!!!  Will Pin this correct version!

A little Christmas in our Ho*Me*…...

I'm not going to chat your ear off about our holiday decor….

Here it is….I actually enjoyed doing less this year…..seems there is a

trend towards 'more life, less hassle' and I am a big fan of that mantra.

I couldn't resist these whimsical bottle brush trees from Anthropologie this year -

especially their fabulous colors….love.

I made the pom-pom wreath……I did.  I will attempt my version

of a 'tutorial' next week.  I'm not saying I would do it again.  I have

a wrist injury from the repetitive pom-pom making…..the jury is still

out whether it is worth it to just 'pop' for the cost of the Anthro version…..

I think I would if I had to do it all over, but that's me, the non-crafty,

impatient gal that I am.

Our tree was fresh cut by the hubs in the National Forest - it's irregular

and natural and I love it a lot.  My girls really like the process

of hiking in the forest to find the tree but would prefer a perfectly

coiffed and sheared Christmas tree farm tree….this year, momma won out.

We'll see what next year brings.

We have collected Christopher Radko ornaments since my parents lived

in Warsaw, Poland while my dad worked there in the early 90's.  The

Radko ornaments were manufactured in Poland and we were able to purchase

many for little money when we visited

 - my sweet husband carried many fragile ornaments

back to the U.S. in his carry-on backpack.  Thus, a collection was started and

over the years we have added others, including the tree topper.

I have also collected vintage glass ornament forever - always break a few each

year but love displaying them in my Polish dough bowl.

There you go!  I am not linking up with any Holiday house tours, I am not 

featured anywhere, I didn't have Balsam Hill send me a beautifully flocked tree….

but our home is decorated!  I have also enjoyed socializing with friends, making dinner

for my family, working with clients……nothing was harmed or neglected

in the process of decorating this house….

Merry Christmas!

Striking Family Balance During a Busy Time of Year - $100 Visa Card Giveaway

If you have visited here more than a couple times, you probably know that I have two teenage daughters (well, technically just one, but my 12 year old will be 13 very soon).  I truly LOVE having teenagers.  I didn't think I would - when my girls were toddlers I seriously feared them becoming teens.  But I am here to tell you, you grow into it, you know your children and find that they turn into really amazing people who you really like to hang out with - that is, when they want to hang out with you!  And I know that not everyone has this experience; the teen years can go sideways quick and provide all sorts of challenges and heartbreak... I pray that my girls avoid all the bad stuff, but am aware that they may not… but so far, so good. What no one warned me about when I was balancing playdates, sippy cups and Elmo during those toddler years was just how much BUSIER the teen years are!  I spend an exorbitant amount of time in my car taking my active girls to school, soccer, volleyball and theatre classes.  Add in their social engagements and it could make for one hectic family schedule.   Hectic is not a space I enjoy occupying and I loathe feeling like the schedule is controlling our family… so I really believe that my role as a momma at this stage of the game is to provide balance in my girls lives...

The American Beverage Association has a new joint effort called Mixify.  Mixify is all about balance. Its mission is to inspire teens to find a balanced mix of food, drinks and physical activities every day in ways that are totally unique to them because everyone, every family, and every day is different. 

The ABA asked me to share what balance means to our family: 

1. Balancing time means that my girls enjoy some 'downtime' - time to be with themselves, our family or friends.  I like this time to be as unstructured as possible and involve as little technology as possible. I have always felt that too many structured activities could contribute my girls becoming people who just can't think creatively or enjoy stillness and quiet.

2.  Balancing our nutrition.  I plan our family meals every Sunday so we know that we will be eating healthy, balanced meals in the midst of whatever activities we have going on in our week.  I plan THREE meals and cook extra so we always have leftovers.  My plan assumes that we will likely go out to dinner at our favorite neighborhood brewpub or Mexican place so eating healthy meals at home most of the week provides the necessary balance to a fun night out. 

3.  Balancing my girls' activities.  There are a lot of debates about over-scheduling our children.  I fall on the more conservative side of this debate.  My oldest daughter has always been really active and up for signing up for any and all activities or trying any sport.  My younger daughter is quite the opposite.  She is more introverted and enjoys more creative pursuits. Besides playing volleyball, she really is not crazy about playing sports.  At 16 years old now, my active girl plays competitive soccer on a National Champion team and travels all over the U.S. to soccer tournaments.  She practices four nights per week and, in addition, does fitness conditioning at a gym.  She is also an 'A' student.  Last year, when she was a freshman in high school she really wanted to play high school lacrosse in the spring, in addition to keeping up with her soccer schedule.  We allowed her play.  Unfortunately, we all learned a lot about balance last spring, and it wasn't all good. This time of year leads to particularly busy schedules with lots of fun holiday activities added to the calendar.  Having some strategies on how we manage our time and nutrition during a season where the scales can be tipped {no pun intended!} toward over-indulgence is how our family strikes a healthy balance!

As part of this sponsored post, you have the opportunity to enter a BlogHer giveaway for a $100 Visa gift card!  To enter for a chance to win, please leave me a comment that answers ONE of the following questions:

• What do you do to keep YOUR family balanced?
• When it comes to achieving a balanced lifestyle, what do you struggle with?
• What's your ideal balance for your family?

"Coke, Dr Pepper and Pepsi understand that getting a balanced mix of foods, drinks and physical activities for your family isn’t always easy. That’s why they’re coming together for the first time ever to talk to teens about balancing what they eat and drink with what they do. With tools to help teens get active and information to help them think about when they’ve had too much, or maybe when it’s time for a treat—America’s beverage companies are supporting our efforts to find a balanced mix that works for our families.”

Visit www.DeliveringChoices.org to learn more about Mixify, or visit the www.MyMixify.com website for teens. You can also follow ABA Delivers on Twitter and Facebook to learn about Mixify and all the other efforts America’s Beverage Companies are undertaking to help families achieve balance.

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 12/9/14 – 12/24/14.
Be sure to visit the American Beverage Association brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Reflecting on designing for all of you…..

Just over two years ago I began offering e-design services via this blog.

About the same time, I also began working with local homeowners to make their 

homes beautiful and functional.  It has been quite the journey - the time has

fulfilled and challenged me in so many ways.  I feel amazingly blessed

to be able to do something I love so much on my own terms in a way

that still allows me to be available for my family too.  

This past year, I worked with almost 40 e-design clients from 

all over the United States!  I still can't believe that number!

I love the interactions, the plethora of emails, the frantic pace and 

the sharing of ideas…..the one fact that most of you have in common is

that you LOVE you a neutral space!  Seriously…..it's a trend that isn't 

going away anytime soon.  

As I wrap up 2014, I thought I would share the design I just completed for

a sweet blog reader who lives in a unique home that has GREAT bones!

It was fun to work on this space knowing that the pieces chosen 

were going to shine in the unique architectural backdrop.

I hope she shares photos when the room is put together!

If you would like to work on a space in your home in 2015, please contact

me soon.  I am taking just THREE e-design clients per month in order

to accommodate the growing number of local clients I am working with.

I charge $350 for a room design and require just a 50% deposit 

to reserve your space in my design queue.

Happy to Friday to YOU!

We made it - it's Friday! The first Friday in December in fact!

I don't know about you, but the first week of December always

seems frantic and leaves me feeling panicked….this year was 

no different…..but I decided to embrace it.  I worked hard this week

in order to {hopefully} be able to enjoy the rest of the month….

I ordered gifts online, made dinner reservations for Christmas Eve

{a new plan but one I hope will allow me less stress}, decorated our home

and handled some preparations for a cookie exchange I am hosting

later this month…..It feels good!  

Next Friday,  I am joining three very talented ladies to show

you how we each bring Christmas to our kitchens.  Besides festive

decor, we will be sharing a favorite holiday recipe.  My 7th

grader loves joining me in the kitchen so this weekend we are

making and packaging our favorite granola receipe for

teacher gifts.  I will be sharing our recipe!

And maybe, just maybe, I will post some photos of
our home decorated for Christmas next week too.  I know
there are SO many house tours out there, which is a lot
to compete with……But lower your expectations, then
come back to the Forever*Cottage and see how I brought
Christmas into our home all while keeping my sanity, working with my
design clients, making my family dinner and getting the laundry done.
{cause this girl refuses to allow Christmas to be the boss of me}

  By the way, read THIS post from
The Nester, she articulates my feelings to a 'T'.

Wishing you a weekend of peace and love….

Blogger sALes….and one of my own {ironstone and clocks, oh my!}…..

See the new addition to my living room above?  I lucked out and scored the vintage

Persian rug from Fran at Green Street blog when she was having a little sale of 

home 'extras'.  Her My rug is happily layered over the PB Heathered Jute Chenille rug 

and warming up our family's great room.  I love it!

I question my timing - but before I 'deck the halls', I am feeling the need

to purge and edit.  I have been clearing out some of my collections and am

ready to pass these treasures along so they can live in YOUR house.

I am selling each of the items below.  The price includes shipping.

If you are interested in purchasing the item, please leave a comment

with the item number you wish to purchase along with 

your Paypal address.  I will send you a Paypal invoice.  Please pay

promptly, just because I don't want to have to send you 100 emails 

asking if you REALLY want the item and have to threaten to relist it

if you choose not to pay…..

I will mark the items as SOLD after I receive payment, so 

if something is not marked SOLD it is available.

#1 Ironstone Pitcher $40

#2 Transferware sugar bowl $45

#3 Medium Ironstone Pitcher $40 Sold!

#4 Small Ironstone Pitcher $30 Sold!

#5 Grey Transferware Casserole $45

#6 Large Ironstone Pitcher $50 Sold!

#7 Ironstone Sugar Bowl $35 Sold!

#8 Small Ironstone Creamer $25

#9 Small Big Ben clock $25

#10 Small Big Ben Clock $25 Sold!

#11 Large Big Ben Clock $35

#12 Set of THREE vintage bottles topped with shells

$55 Sold!

I would like to ship everything next week!  It is a busy shipping time of year so 

please take that into consideration!  Happy Shopping!!!!