For a long time now, I’ve been seeing stars…everywhere! I’m drawn to star decor. My personal favorite was a gift from one of my oldest friends, Sarah. It has the added charm of being in my favorite color – red! It looks like this and hangs on my front porch.
Did I mention that it holds a candle too?
I’ve been entertaining the idea of a star hanging above our entry door – how inviting! But I’m not sure I have the guts…how about you?
How about indoors?
I’ve been reading the book House Thinking lately (it’s terrific so it will definitely be showing up on my Bedside Reading page soon). In it, Winifred Gallagher distills down the architect Grant Hildebrand’s theory of “prospect and refuge” as it applies to architecture like this:
“The most important evolutionary elements of an appealing home are the paired features of prospect, or a big, bright space that has a broad, interesting view, and refuge, or a snug protected haven.
The idea (very simplified) is that we all need a place to expand, socialize, and be active, in addition to a cozy, introspective space to retreat. Could there be a better example of this than a beautiful bedroom with a great view? I thought I would share a few gorgeous examples with you this morning.
I wanted to share some of the inspirational photos I’m using for a wonderful project I’ve been working on recently. The design brief called for paint colors that would be the perfect backdrop to my client’s extraordinary collection of middle eastern art and décor, collected over years of travel as an historian (hint: she’s a professor here in the Triangle!) To help get the juices flowing, I found the following photos which helped to inspire ideas for a palette.
Enjoy!
Today I’m putting my professional organizer hat on. How long do you keep documents pertaining to taxes? The IRS website says: Generally, you must keep records that support an item of income or deductions on a tax return until the period of limitations for that return runs out
But what about all of the other stuff? Bills? Receipts? I was looking through my file drawers only to realize I needed to rethink my attachments. So today I start the process: Duke Energy bills from three years ago? GONE. Visa bills from 2007? GONE. Now, I don’t have a shredder, but I do have a pretty little chiminea in my back yard. It’s better than shredding – and certainly provides a lovely ambiance (ahh the glowing embers of bills paid and past). Now it’s your turn. Pick something in your home that has been mentally weighing you down and make the decision to go through it, file it, recycle it, donate it, or take it to the dump!
Here’s the page from the IRS web site telling you how long to keep documents that pertain to taxes: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98513,00.html
