Super Sad Day

I'm apologizing in advance for my super emotional weepy state. It just sucks when friends move away!

One of my best friends, Nancy Stanley, is moving away to Florida tomorrow.  I've mentioned her before on the blog on several occasions, mostly because she is an amazing photographer, but today I want to thank her for being such an amazing person and one of my biggest cheerleaders. I can't even put into words how much I am going to miss her.

You never realize how much you take for granted until its gone. She is the matriarch, the grandmother, the glue that keeps everyone together. She constantly goes out of her way to organize get togethers, ladies nights, etc. I wouldn't know half the ladies I do if it wasn't for her. 

 

What makes this ten times more sucky is that our sons are best friends.  I spent last night rubbing Thomas' back as he cried about Luke leaving.  And I cried with him.  Then he asked if Luke was really moving or just going on vacation for a couple years.  I said "He is moving, but it will kind of be like a vacation except he has to go to school."  He lit up and said "Does he still get to go to school with me?" And then I cried some more. 

He now wants to go to Florida for Halloween because they had planned their costumes together, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.

Having kids also makes it so much harder. Its not just a friend, but a family that is leaving.  They are so used to seeing each other everyday. 

I have watched them grow, her kids are like my own.  We let them have sleep overs at 5 years old.

From the first to the last there are so many great memories...

Our younger kids wanted in so it just became a crazy free for all.

Luckily it also wore them out quick...

I'm so going to miss this bunch.

  Its rare to find a good friend that accepts and loves all your craziness, and is just as crazy too. 

That makes you laugh and cry simultaneously and look into airfare for trick-or-treating.

I'm going to miss the crap out of you! 

I hope the palm trees suck and you get your ass back up here soon.

Love you Nanc! 

xo

P.S.  If you have an awesome friend, don't forget to tell them that. And if you are lucky enough to have them right there with you, give them a hug.

Wish List

My ADD is in high gear and I feel like such a sucky blogger these days! 

I keep coming to the table with a post idea and it gets side swiped by things like emails and Google. 

In today's case an email from Lumens highlighting

these fantabulous Tom Dixon Beat Lights now in white. 

I'm  re-obsessed all over again. I want  them ALL, hanging happily over my dining table.

Damn it, my wallet says no.

If you are feeling flush, shop them here.

**And a little note to the universe, my birthday is less than a month away.**

Guest Post and Stuff

Today I am over at Dina's fabulous blog Honey & Fitz with a guest post.  I will be sharing a little DIY I did to help contain my vintage jewels AND I will be doing an O'verlays giveaway, so stop over and say hello.

I was really hoping to be posting an after of my hot mess of a bathroom that you see in the post, but life has been busy with sick kids and stuff so that will be coming soon.

In the mean time I leave you with a little montage of what has been spinning through my brain lately while I try to figure out my stupid bedroom and family room.

  I love/ hate design for all its confusing eye candy goodness.

I have no idea what this all means by the way...

Ohmigosh!

(I want to dip these in chocolate and eat them.)

Oh, and I need to stop working from the kitchen table and redo my office.

deliciously organized

Got wood and nothing to do for the next week?

I'm about to wax all flannel lumberjack on you. 

 Sorry. Its fall.

I'm usually not that fascinated by firewood, 

but I have to say this is very cool stacking...

Winner

Sorry for the delay in posting this! I have been up all night with a really sick boy:(

So with out  dragging this out any longer the winner of the amazing Rugs USA giveaway is....

Congrats Lizzie! You won yourself this beautiful rug!

 Please contact me with your address.

Thank you all for entering and playing!

 And super special thanks to Rugs USA for their generous giveaway. 

 Please be sure to check them out if you are in the market for a great rug.  They always have great specials for their FB followers, so be sure to give them a "like"!

(Bonus, you automatically become entered in their $2000 shopping spree contest.)

Seven Years Ago...

I woke up before sunrise, went down to the beach and married my love right as the sun popped up.

We eloped, nothing fancy, neither one of us is big on planned formalities, or really anyting planned.

Our favorite thing to do is hop in the car and take a drive, not knowing where we are going.

We might find a cool old junk shop, or hit an outlet mall. Who knows? But we like it that way.

And seven years ago I wouldn't have guessed we would have these little love bugs to share the adventures with too!   ( I think the little guy has the same expression as my husband above.)

I wouldn't want it any other way. Love you P, Happy Anniversary!

Here is to lucky 7's

And I love all you readers too! Don't forget to sign up for the fab RUG USA giveaway ending TOMORROW!  Chevron, Flokati and Damask goodness!

Have Ya Seen?

Have you seen this yet?  I am constantly blown away by the things people do with our O'verlays.  Amanda Eck of Amanda Carol Interiors recently purchased some of our Greek Key panels and glammed up this 6 drawer MALM...

LOVE THIS!!!!

Check out her complete post on her stylish blog Amanda Carol at Home.

She has tons of great tips and ideas! 

 This inspired me to get fancy with our new 1/2 MALM size (or 7"x14").  O'verlays is my job, so I do get jaded time to time trying to figure out how to "make them up".  I have been partially be putting off assembling all the new patterns, but I finally got to IKEA yesterday to pick up a MALM nightstand so I can take pictures for the website.  We realized we picked a bad time of year to launch our new size (back to school) when we went down a few weeks ago to get one and they were sold out. 

Well, I have been working away for the past day  shooting the new pattern and sizes and made the "baby" for Miss Amanda's piece ...

  I was so excited I even went to town on the 1/2 sized Pagoda and Cheryle.

(Please excuse my lazy lack or restyling.)

Please keep showing me what you do with your O'verlays! 

 It is soooo inspiring, and I'd love to share them.  If you have a completed project please send photos to danikacheryle@gmail.com.  Let us know if we can share them on the blog or website.

Thanks!

Artist Alert- Destiny Womack

I am totally loving these paintings and prints by artist Destiny Womack.  My good friend and client Shauna sent me a link to her site asking me if she should get a custom piece made and I was like "YES"!!!

The color combinations in the above and below pieces against the stark white of the canvas are amazing!

Destiny has a huge selection of pieces on her Etsy shop, but she can custom make you any color combination you can imagine.   Her technique is fantastic, and has such a fluid feel the lower piece actually makes you feel like you are submerged in water...

I had to contact her and ask her a few questions, to which she kindly obliged.

What inspires you?

I am truly inspired by music of all kinds and nature, I love color and nature has so many wonderful colors to draw inspiration from. I also have a three year old daughter who has the worlds largest imagination and sometimes during our playtimes and morning dream talks I am inspired by things that she says

Do you have a personal favorite color/color combo?
My favorite colors change all the time - However I do have an all time favorite, color and that is any shade of purple - And I tend to ALWAYS love deep plum purple color with cream and black. Its just always been my favorite.

My favorite thing about Destiny has to be the fact that she makes it very clear that she is an "outside the box" kind of girl.  She constantly pushes through boundaries and limits and does it her way. If she doesn't know how to do something, she figures it out, and might even discover a new way of doing it in the process. I love fearless people like that!

 See more of her work and read more about this inspirational woman here.

One more thing.  I have to share a quote that her mother instilled in her.

 It is so true, and is something that I feel isn't taught enough...

"The only failure in life is failing to try".

Amazing Area Rug Giveaway!!!

Its Monday, so lets start this week off with an amazing giveaway from Rugs USA! 

Known for their enormous assortment of beautiful area rugs at terrific prices, and they will be generously giving away one of the following rugs to one of you lucky readers...

CHEVRON

5'3"x 7'9"

Punch up any room with this bold, yet classic chevron pattern.

ANIMAL SHAPED FLOKATI

5'x8'

Add a soft textural layer to any room. This 100% Wool Flokati works with any style from Boho, Glam to Modern.

MODERN DAMASK

4'x6'

This 100% wool damask adds subtle drama and chicness with its over scaled twist on the traditional pattern.

So which one are you going to pick?

To ENTER leave a comment below with your choice of rug.

You must be a follower of this blog in some shape or form.

For better odds and additional entries:

 -follow RUGS USA on Facebook 

-and/or Twitter

-Tweet, FB or post this about this giveaway

Winner will be announced @ 8am next Monday September 26th! Good luck!

For those of you that need a rug NOW, Rugs USA is running a fall 50% sale on select items.

Click here to check it out! And they just don't sell rugs. Be sure to check out their selection of furniture, lighting and accessories while you are there.