Personally, I have always had, no less, than a drawer full of house clothes — not pajamas, not work out clothes, but actual pieces of clothing solely for wearing around the house. It was usually old t-shirts, sweatpants, and shorts collected from school p.e. or family trips. I remember when I found out that not everyone wore “house clothes” and I was very confused… "So like y’all are either in pajamas or just what y’all wear outside?! What kinda 90s sitcom life is this?!"
Read MoreIn the past 4 years I dabbled with quite a few bra brands, however, none quite fit the bill for me across the board and I'd soon find myself right back to just not wanting to wear a bra at home at all. They'd be great for outside and/or for working out, just never found anything quite right for my lifestyle as someone who spends 94% of their time at home.
With a new year always comes new year's resolutions -- all those personal things we want to accomplish over the next 365 days. But did you know that your home affects how you show up in the world? Think about it -- this is the place you eat, sleep, live...naturally how it looks & feels will carry over into how you look & feel.
This is why I've decided to come up with 7 easy resolutions (translation: resolutions that you can actually keep) for your home, to not only help you love your space but also design your life for 2018.
Read MoreAttributed to the Danish, Hygge is finding happiness in the little things and finding moments throughout our day to embrace & create bliss. I grew increasingly fascinated with the concept & principles of Hygge, and the deeper I dove, the more I wanted to learn.
After a year of mostly wearing "house bras" -- yes, I wear bras at home -- I figured it was time for me to switch my shopping strategy and test out the bras & brands I'd been window shopping. With so many offerings in sizes and shades, I knew I could finds more than a few options for my girls at home and whenever I go out.
Read MoreGiving myself standing appointments, in the same way that I would with my talk therapist, makes it just as much of a priority — tending to my physical self with the same urgency that I would to my mental self.
Having "survived" January, all things considered, I decided to make an Audible wishlist — literally & figuratively, and I'm kicking off my book tour with a nod to Black History Month.
I basically live my life online — working, shopping, and even school — and one day it hit me that I was getting completely disconnected from the “real world”. As an introvert I will never complain about not having enough people interaction — I prefer it that way actually — but what I found was happening was that I was losing touch with myself and I was also losing my ability to connect with people — to communicate. It was almost as though I was losing a sense of reality that, if unchecked, would only get worse. So how do you unplug, take a real break, and slow down for more intentional & present living? Here are some tips that have been helping me unplug for more slow living.
Read MoreInstead of burdening yourself by worrying about what you could be missing by not being at all the places, with all the people, doing all the things, you take pleasure in having personal time. You can experience JOMO but not attending social events (aka not people'ing) or by simply unplugging, which these days, is a vacation all in itself.
I thought this iteration of entrepreneurship — with interior design — would be different. I figured I was older, wiser, I’d learned all the hard lessons, and so I was ready to do bigger and better than last time. I had a lifetime of experience behind me so what could possibly go wrong, right?
If you’re new to my blog and somehow stumbled upon this blog post first, welcome, but you should probably read a few posts back where I share my wicked journey of creating a life I hated and needed to recover from.
The summer months was basically a season of reflection and self-discovery and hard truths for my family and I, but especially for me. One of those hard truths —
I’d always known that should I ever need to go get a job outside of the home, it would likely be in visual merchandising, not interior design. I can’t quite explain it, but I knew that as a designer, I wouldn’t want to do that in the traditional sense of working at a firm, even though I am perfectly fine working within the confines of an organization as a merchandiser — weird, I know, don’t judge me.
Read MoreFor the past three years, I thought I was designing a life I loved… through my home, my business, my family, and just everything. I had moved across the country with my family, my husband had a great job, I was able to launch a subscription box, I was pursuing my masters, I had shed my “baby weight” by the power of nursing…I mean, life was great…right? The hard truth that I only recently had to come face-to-face with was that I had designed a life I HATED, not loved. I was only “pretending” to be this strong and happy and put-together person. This post is an introduction to, not just new content, but a new me…a real me, not by design, but by transformation. By the grace of God, I have survived a serious case of “growing pains” and while I do not know what lies ahead or what comes next — like at all — I do know that I want to share the entire wild ride with you, unapologetically, and truly loving the space I’m in.
Read MoreMany lessons, applications, and failures later, I think I've got this! Balancing the different areas of my life has been a juggling act of pragmatic choices & creative solutions, at the heart of which is LOTS of online & offline tools.
So, if you're any kind of entrepreneur, and you struggle with figuring out what you need...or if you've just wondered, "How the heck does she do it?!" here's a peek behind the scenes that is my life as an entrepreneur, student, wife, and mom...
Tis' the season for cozy nights & warm beverages -- tis' the Hygge way! And nothing is more Hygge for the holiday season than a warm beverage -- whether you're a hot cocoa drinker, coffee lover, or tea enthusiast.
As I finally pulled together my very first holiday-inspired "coffee corner" I decided to share with you some of my tried & true tips for creating your very own at home cafe.
Read MoreEven before we officially decided to move, I would fantasize about designing wherever we would end up -- floor planning, coordinating color schemes, wish listing -- doing all the things I would do for a client.
Fast forward, to when we started doing apartment tours and then to when ultimately chose a place, I was super excited about having a space to really flex my design muscle (not for lack of trying in our NYC studio).
Read MoreMaybe you're completely brand new to who I am so you have no idea what this is all about.
On April 1st of this year, I decided to start a one year challenge & go social media free. I got tired of mindlessly scrolling through feeds, judging, comparing, and just wasting time, and craved a way to feel more present in my biz, family, and overall life.
