Well hello August!

I am still trying to find my blogging mojo - I really am, but I appreciate any of you who visit and keep in touch.  I really do love writing and sharing but if I were to be honest, the blogging world has changed quite a bit and I don't know if I necessarily want to go where it has gone.  I refuse to make this just a place where I share only design-related posts.  And I just don't have time to take Pinterest worthy photos all the time with graphics that link to my post or do tutorials, or pretend I am Martha Stewart or Bunny Williams and give you cooking or decorating advice as if I am a nationally known figure.  As with my Instagram account, I will always include personal information and other things I might find interesting.  With that being said, perhaps my blogging style can be considered 'vintage'…..no sponsored posts, links, sponsored content, links to 'internet friends', etc….What I will continue to do is organic, entirely ME and often completely random……which brings us to today's post.

August is here and I have to say I was happy to flip that calendar page!  I think our family packed a full summer of activities into the month of July.  In addition, I am working more than I ever have during the summer.  One of the blessings of having a teenage driver is that I have help and one less child that needs me so much but don't let anyone fool you, it comes with an enormous amount of stress too!  We are ALL getting used to our new 'freedom' and just what that means.  And if I were being honest, I miss the car time and the conversations, catching the last few minutes of practice while waiting for her to get off the field…..I know, sappy for sure!

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Working with so many different clients with different styles has me using Pinterest more than ever these days.  Pinterest continues to be a great resource for me in order to communicate design styles, trends, finishes, room layout and paint colors with clients.  I recently stumbled on this image and just loved it!

To me the minimal use of color, art, ottoman and light fixture are the show-stoppers 

of this space - also love the bits of black that really punctuate the space!

 What do you think?

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The big news in our house is that my soccer girl verbally committed to play soccer for Saint Louis University!  Emma has worked really hard, dreamed big from a very young age and was persistent in reaching her goal……..She will begin her junior year in high school with this decision behind her!  As a parent, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing your children reach their dreams and learn that hard work, sacrifice and determination DO payoff!  I know there are LOTS of thoughts on children 'specializing' in sports at an early age and early college commitments.  I will say this about it - my girl fell in love with the beautiful game of soccer from the first day she played - when she was four years old.  She played on recreational soccer teams {including boy/girl teams} until she was 9 years old when she began playing on a club team.  Over the years, she also swam on a swim team, played lacrosse, basketball and even golf.  It wasn't until just last year that she ONLY played soccer (she played lacrosse for her high school team as a freshman), although it was always her favorite and the sport she excelled in the most.  SHE always made the decision on how much soccer she played, SHE set a goal to play college Division I soccer, SHE never complains about going to practice and all the social occasions she has to miss as a high school student.  We never pushed her more than she pushed herself.  So my advice to all parents of young kids playing sports is this…..allow your child to lead and you support.  Not everyone is cut out to play at a high level.  Some kids like to stay at a recreational level and that is OK.  Good Lord, I was a cheerleader in the 80's so hardly 'athletic' {as opposed to cheerleading now which is TOTALLY athletic}….all her athletic genes came from my husband! *You can read another post I did about her soccer 4 years ago when she was just 13 HERE!

Our family all went to San Diego in July to watch Emma play soccer.  Her sister's reward was a day at Disneyland.  {*We did something similar in 2011 and I blogged about it HERE.} Abby is a Disney-obsessed girl and I had taken her to Disney for her 13th birthday in April, but we did just one day in July and truthfully, I don't know if I can do it again…..at least for awhile.  But this girl below, I don't doubt that one day she will be working in some capacity at Disney. She loves it all……she became completely emotional during the fireworks show, just from the shear magic of it all!!!  This girl is my 'mini-me'{with the exception of the undying love of all things Disney} - creative, introverted, loves all things fashion-related, art, theatre, music ……Obviously, my girls are complete opposite and each have their passions and unique dreams!

We still have about a month until school starts - I will have a junior in high school and an 8th grader!!!  Unbelievable!  I think when I started writing this blog they were in 5th and 2nd…..see why I will never stop sharing the personal stuff????  This blog is really the scrapbook of their lives…..all those Creative Memories books that sit in the cabinet document the first five or so years of each of their lives but this blog will cover the rest …..  oh, and Chatbooks, they will have the Chatbooks too!

So August….here we are….hoping to see my friends, drink some  cocktails on my patio, hike, garden…..oh, and I signed up for a 14 day sugar detox that starts Monday….not a highlight for sure, but necessary…..so no cocktails till after I detox!  What was I thinking????? I apologize in advance to all those that might come in personal contact with me in the next week.