[guest blogger: calico]

Some have dreams of lavish master suites & glamorous gathering rooms; but I’ve got my dreams of luxury and pure satisfaction folded up in the laundry.

Glorious laundry.

1. the luna chandelier by Not Too Shabby
2. French Victorian sofa
3. 3 washing machines
4. The Forgotten Bride, print by six hours
5. Railroad Tie Dining Table by Viva Terra – for folding.

[perfect pairing]

love these vintage finds at art and light.

[pretty gift wrap]

by riffe raff.

[guest blogger: calico]

May we all be free from singing, banging, dinging, and ringing toys without any moving pieces or parts smaller than your gift receipt.
Peace on earth, and good gifts towards men.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

[create your own...]

I love that you can make these party-perfect, elegant creations yourself.
Find tutorials here: 1., 2., 3.

[introducing guest blogger...]

I'm so excited to introduce you all to my very first guest blogger, Cally Cruze of calico. She's a dear friend, a mother of five, crafter extraordinaire, has a great, quirky sense of humor and an adorable vintage-country style that I love. This week she will be sharing with all of us some of her favorite finds such as gifts both kids and moms will love, beautiful finds for the laundry room and more - so stayed tuned!
Cally creates the most darling quiet books such as the one above. So cute! Check out more of Cally's crafty goodness here.

[good enough to eat]

I saw these over on decor8 and couldn't help but mention them here as well. I LOVE the design of these custom invites. How perfect is that darling little envelope?

[loving this Thanksgiving inspired...]

via this is glamorous on d* sponge.

[the perfect]

found at mina perhonen.

[more Thanksgiving]

for more about how to make them, visit here.

[I'm thinking Christmas gift]

How lovely are these necklaces from Blue Moss? Would make the perfect extra special gift this year, don't you think?

[chair perfection]

at rapture and wright.

[oooh, ahhh]

find more of her pretties here.

[all I have to say is...]

OK, but these painting solutions by Aoneko are fab. I would use that dresser as a changing table. How great would that be?

[I want to be a French gypsy]

and wear the darling clothing by manoush.

[try this at home]

find instructions for it here.

[likey, likey]

I need an invite to a Cali holiday bash so I can have an excuse to purchase and sport these babies.

[these make me happy]

images found here and here.

[a Christmas...]

Rats. This year I was actually going to try and use traditional Christmas colors; red, green, white, you know, the tried and true. No pinks and golds, no blues and silvers, no sugar plum fairy land...this was going to be my design challenge and my gift to Jon who has put up with my pink trees for all these years. And then I come across Amy Butler's house, in Home Companion, all decked out in blues and greens for the season. What's a girl to do? I mean these are the exact colors of my current living room (and I'm a sucker for matching holiday decor with preexisting room design).
And check out her wrapping paper. So great. Dilemma here people...

[for your Christmas table]

I'm OH so very fond of the dishes over at Rosanna. The 12 days of Christmas plates are especially darling and would look great up on the wall.

[perhaps when there are...]

and my husband has a masculine office of his own, I can have a bedroom like this.

[martha's]

loving Martha's holiday photo card projects.

[blues and greens]

It is somewhat of a happy accident that my living room colors ended up in the blue and green family (with added touches of neutrals). We had only so much room on the moving truck when moving out here to California and even though I tried to plan things out in my head before hand, we ended up with a modge podge of home items (I have lamp bases that don't have tops...it's craziness). I've managed to put things together in a way that I'm starting to be pleased with and this recent post from cafe mom (found via sfgirlbybay) about her home has really excited me. I really love the modern white Eams chair with weathered turquoise table. I also really like how she has achieved a well designed, livable space for children (something I struggle with daily, albeit happily). I was also perusing Design Dust today and saw this post on Joel Dewberry's fabric. Love them. I recently purchased a swing for baby O. (a must for a colicky baby) and am not thrilled with the design (I've looked up and down for well designed swings and haven't found anything I'm head over heels with) so I was toying with the idea of sewing a new cover for it. Now, looking at Joel's fabric, I think I'll have to give it a go.

[Thanksgiving]

I love these simple basket weave place cards from Martha Stewart. Perfect for your Thanksgiving table.
And speaking of tables...aren't these settings jut lovely? I love the blossom branches as the center pieces.

[I'll take one...]

Shannon of Auntie Cookie made this fabulous quilt for her cousin who just had a baby girl. Swoon. Lucky cuz.

[art fix]

love this.

[tribeca loft by...]

Oh how I would love to move into this Tribeca loft designed by Steven Gambrel. He's managed to design a home that is both elegant and modern, feminine and masculine. This is a look that I think even my husband would go for.