Cozy Crafting with Country Living

I am so, so excited to share my sweet little "Yarn Flowers" craft that is in the February issue of Country Living out now (go get a copy!!) Editor Jourdan Crouch and photographer Kate Mathis did a phenomenal job with the photograph!

Making pom-poms is such a fun winter weekend project and in when glued to branches, they become such a pretty addition to your home's decor.

Photo via Country Living

When I originally came up with this craft concept, I had made the pom poms the old fashioned way...(cut a donut shape out of cardboard and wrap, wrap, wrap,). A fine way to do it, but tedious. So, when CL asked me to test out these fun little tools from Clover, I was more than excited. They helped speed along the process for sure!

For the how-to, head on over to the CL website. (It is #2 in the slideshow)

And thanks again to Country Living for including me :)

Fashion Friday Babble: Hello, Ruffles!

If you're ready for spring dress-up, then ruffles are IT! They seem to be everywhere. I love how feminine and frilly they are...a breath of fresh air from the cold winter.

Lovely, must-have open toes from Badgley Mischka via Piperlime...

Gorgeous party frocks from Arden B....







A more casual, pretty pastel top from Banana Republic...



And yes, your home deserves a touch of feminine ruffles too...check out this spread of pillows from the March issue of Country Living...




Happy weekend!

Farmhouse Dreams

If I were to ever own a country house (and my plan is to do so one day), I would want it to look like this quaint little cottage I spotted online at nytimes.com today...completely charming on the outside...

...and bursting with amazing collections on the inside!

The first photo shows off the homeowner's collection of vintage postcards of Pompeian ruins and the second photo (my favorite shot) captures his amazing mercury glass collection. Swoon!

This amazing cottage belongs to former NYC residents Sean Scherer and Mark Meyer. Their ENTIRE home is featured in a new slideshow in the Home & Garden section at nytimes.com this week. Go check it out.You'll be glad you did.

Country Living at Kmart & Sears

A nice little surprise popped up in my inbox this morning. Country Living magazine has created a home collection (soft goods, furniture, etc.) to be sold at Kmart and Sears in stores and online, starting in August. The collection looks great and I am so excited to blog about it today!

I have a personal connection to the magazine. My first job out of college was assisting the former Editor-in-Chief, Nancy Soriano. Nancy was one of the classiest, kindest, smartest women I had ever met. Her passion for the magazine was truly evident. If I remember correctly, “Come Home to Comfort,” their tagline, was created by Nancy and I can just about remember her excitement when she came up with it while we were on a shoot location (or maybe it was a staff trip, my memory is fuzzy!) But I digress.

This new collection is beautiful and moderately priced. There is a bath collection, several bedding styles, dinnerware, furniture and so much more. Here is a sneak peek at some of my favorites:

Modern Countryside – I love the purple and green embroidery against the linen-colored bedding. Plus with 600-count Egyptian cotton sheets, how can you go wrong? The price will approximately be $14.99 - $137.99 for the collection. Very reasonable!

Accent Furniture – True Country Living…these embody the types of furniture pieces we’d always include in the product pages. Classic and comfy. Prices are from $79.99 - $199.99. So affordable!

Porcelain Blossom – Another bedding set that is a little bit country, a little bit chic in my opinion. Blue, especially a true denim shade can be a bit masculine and I think they balanced it nicely with a hint of romance from the white accents such as crochet, ruffles and embroidery. Prices are also $14.99 - $137.99

I hope you’ve enjoyed my mini sneak-peak at the new collection, look for it in August. I wish them lots of luck…I have my eye on that cozy sitting chair with the nailhead trim and the linen-like upholstery. I think it would make a perfect home office chair!