Organized Shoes

Over the last year or so, I've been slowly editing the contents of my closet and rearranging things.  I've gotten rid of clothes I never wear and items that no longer fit.  It always helps me to let go of things when I know I'm giving them to someone who will get more use out of them.  And now that our weather has changed to cooler temps, it was the perfect time to take a good Fall inventory.  My goal is to be able to walk into my closet and have only options in there that I know I will wear and feel good in. No scratchy sweaters or too-tight jeans.  No closet-full of "nothing to wear"! And now I can find out what I'm "missing", like a good well-fitting 3/4 length coat and a faux leopard fur vest! I'm also working on organizing everything in a way that makes sense and is easy to upkeep.  

To freshen things up in my closet, I painted the island a very light high gloss pink (a color so pale it was barely discernible in photos) almost exactly a year ago.  After living with it for some time, it really grew on me and I had left over paint, so I painted the inside shoe shelves in the same color, mainly to cover all the scuff marks inside.  I'm hoping the glossy paint will prevent against scuffs in the future and be easier to wipe clean.

The pink paint is Sherwin Williams Venus Pink, acrylic, high gloss.  See how light it is? 

Having lived with teeny-tiny closets the majority of my life, I really appreciate having more space to store my shoes.  When I designed my closet, I counted how many pairs of shoes I had and it was about 40, so I made sure this shoe shelf could hold about 50 pairs, thinking I don't need to own more than 50 pairs of shoes.    Have you ever counted yours?  Care to share your "number"?  



When we were living in our townhouse I used something like this expandable shoe rack on the bottom of my closet and it worked pretty well.  I put two side by side and they were sturdy enough that my shoes weren't falling down.  A girlfriend of mine has one of these over-the-door shoe racks and she loves it.



Many houses are really lacking closet space, so how do you organize your shoes?  

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Tomorrow, I'll be back with a GIVEAWAY for 100 Minted Holiday cards!  So excited for this one! 

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On Honey We're Healthy, you can read about Finishing the Year Healthy and Strong. Tomorrow, I will be reporting my progress and sharing a healthy Tex-Mex Casserole with Egg Noodles.  I'm addicted to this meal lately.

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Have a great Monday!

A stunning Dutch home blending old and new. And give-away winner....

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful weekend? I ended last week with a Dutch home tour and this week I'll start with one too (talk about going Dutch!). This one hundred year old farmhouse owned by Rosemarijn van Zandvoort of Skattejakt (check out her beautiful shop and blog) has been carefully restored using a blend of old and new. I think the old world rustic charm of the beams and wooden floor against the Scandinavian blonde wood and white walls (and a touch of poured concrete) looks truly fantastic, how about you?

Photography: Margriet Hoekstra with kind permission. Styling: Rosemarijn van Zandvoort Barbara Natzijl, VT Wonen Via The Style Files with thanks

l often look around my open plan sitting room and dining room area and think I have thrown together to many different types of wood. But when I see Rosemarijn's home it gives me confidence that everything doesn't need to match. How about you?

Try here for stunning aged / reclaimed wood floors.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful entries into last week's give-away to win a Ferm Living Candleholder String from Nest. I wish you all could have won, it was so much fun reading your lovely comments. I am excited to announce the winner: Bene Artuphel please send me a mail with your address so we can organise the shipment.

Have a lovely Monday!

Quiet Time

Suelos pintados / Painted Floors

Una idea práctica y  económica  para renovar los suelos de madera estropeados o rayados  es pintarlos, ya sea a rombos, rayas o únicamente pintados con un solo color se puede obtener un ambiente personalizado con mucho estilo.

 Os dejo algunas imágenes con unos suelos preciosos.

¿Cual te gusta más?

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Gracias por tu visita ¡  Vicky  

Last Night

Just talking to my little Monkey Man….

2014 Calendars

Hi all!  Did you have a great Halloween night?!  We did! Our neighborhood doesn't get many trick-or-treaters and we considered taking our son to another, more lively area, but ended up staying close to home.  It was a mellower Halloween, but I think just fine for a 3 year-old.  I need to start writing down the things that come out of my son's mouth, he's super funny and so outgoing.  He was talking the ear off of everyone who opened the door- poor neighbors! :)

And now it's officially November 1.  Wow, hard for me to grasp that we are closing in on the end of the year.  But you know one of the things I look forward to most about the beginning of a new year? . . . A new calendar!  You too?  Being a genuine adorer of paper and anything paper-related that is beautiful and well-made makes me giddy to purchase a new calendar each year.  And I'm very particular about the calendar I decide on because I don't want to switch mid-year.  But, that's not to say I won't buy multiple calendars for the same year: a "family calendar" for the kitchen; an office wall calendar that is like art; a small desk calendar for my desk; and always a large, functional calendar that lays flat on my desk that I keep my blog schedules on.  I have also been known to frame the gorgeous calendar images, so they are good for that purpose too.  

Here are some of the calendars I'm eyeing for 2014.

From left to right:

Paper Source Best of Art Easel Calendar



Print Smitten Calendar

Rifle Paper Secret Garden Calendar



Rifle Paper Herbs and Spices Calendar (I already snagged this one!)

Snow & Graham Grid Calendar

Pixie Paper Goods Tiny Doodles Calendar



Paper Source Foil Desk Calendar



Paper Source Art Grid Calendar

Sugar Paper Kate Desk Calendar, Raspberry

Snow & Graham Wall Calendar

While looking online at calendars for this post, I found even more so I may have to do a Part 2 in the future.  

On Honey We're Healthy: Finishing 2013 Healthy & Strong!

Hope you have a great weekend!

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A touch of Autumn in a stunning Dutch home

Hello November! Are you off to enjoy the Autumn colours this weekend (those of you in the Northern hemisphere at least!)? If so pick a branch or two for me. After all, who needs flower shops when the most beautiful plants and flowers are right outside our door*. Here's some inspiration from VT Wonen, and the beautiful home of Nevin Polat, Bart Luth and daughter Neval Nisa in Groningen, Netherlands.

Styling: Cleo Scheulderman, Photography Jitske Hagens /wij zijn kees with kind permission. VT Wonen. Via 79 ideas with thanks. 

Pretty beautiful don't you think? Clean, white, simple and nicely styled.

If like me you're thinking of adding a touch of Dutch style to your home you might also want to check out this, this and this inspiration. Fab!

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to enter the give-away (last day Sunday!).

Oh and apart from announcing the Ferm Living candleholder winner on Monday, I have another surprise for you next week too....I hope you'll like it! Exciting!

*Note : always check first before bringing a plant into your home, especially if you have young children. Some species can be poisonous. If in doubt consult an expert. Thank you to Melinda Ruge for highlighting this too.