Category Archives: Uncategorized

Gratitude & Loss

I would like to talk of gratitude for a moment. Gratitude means being thankful for something, or many things. Thankful for having a wonderful family, a successful career, a roof over your head, or being able to walk on your own two feet! Gratitude is one of the most important qualities we can develop within ourselves. It is a quality that will get us through most hard times in life. Look at what you HAVE in your life that is good, be grateful for that! I believe if you are always grateful for your life, you will appreciate it and cherish it even more.

I am extremely close to my family. I am grateful everyday, for every moment I share with them. To me this is what matters most in my life. Last night, I lost my grandfather. I am stricken with sadness. This, though, is where I try to bring in gratitude. I have to be grateful for every moment I shared with him, all the laughs we had together. He had a killer sense of humor. He will be in my heart as long as it beats. I love him so very much.

Please, be grateful for the simple yet most important things in life, the people in it. I will not be doing any of my regular columns for the next week. I may post something, if I feel up to it. I just want to spend time with my family at this point. See you back here soon.

Things Successful People Do

So sorry for being absent all week. It has been one of those weeks, where there doesn’t seem to be enough time for anything! So, I will be spending the weekend writing some fun posts for next week, and trying to inspire myself creatively. It looks like it will be a gorgeous weekend here in southern california. I think siting in the sun doing a little catch up reading is in order. What are your plans for the weekend?

Before I go, I thought you might like some encouraging and inspirational thoughts. I found this success chart over at Val & Words. I printed it and put it up in my office.

I especially like number 12. Maintain balance in life. This is what I needed this week. I could have stayed up until 12 am creating articles. But, I knew, my body needed rest. It would be worse to push it and burn out doing something I absolutely love. Hope you enjoy reading through this. Go on over and check out Val & Words. Lots of good stuff there. See you Monday!

{image from Val & Words}

A Lovely Outdoor Space

{Dining Table from West Elm}
Summer is going to be here before we know it. I know that all I want to do in these warm months is be outdoors. So, in my opinion, it is necessary to have a well designed outdoor space. Remember, it is an extension of our indoor space. Here are some lovely images to inspire you to get your patio summer ready!

{All furniture above from West Elm}

{Top- West Elm , Bottom- Home Decorators}

{left – image unknown, top- West Elm, bottom- Cost Plus}

{ all patio decor- Cost Plus}

So, get patio styling this weekend! Have a gorgeous thursday.

Goals for March

I have a few fun things up my sleeve for the month of March. Today, I start another round of Holly Becker’s e-course, Blog Boss! This will be my third class. I highly recommend taking this blogging course. It runs the entire month of March. So, stay tuned, because there will be some changes made to Girl and the Abode as we go through March. Another fun thing going on here, Erin, my business partner will be starting her series on organizing. She is a genius when it comes to this department. She has a lot of tricks up her sleeve to make a space more organized. Lastly, I will be going to a workshop called “Orientation to the Color Spectrum” the end of the month. I love color theory, so maybe this will spark a new column? I will fill you in on all I learn. Then, just for me, I am planting my garden next weekend! I may be most excited over this!

What are your goals for March? Any lectures? On-line classes? Goals for your business or blog? Always love to hear from you. Have a wonderful day!

The wonderful image above is from Society6.

Dog Houses

I thought it would be fun to end the week with some images of interesting and outrageous dog homes. I personally would not go this far, my little dachshund Lucy prefers a large blanket anyway! But it is always fun to see what is out there for our Lucy’s of the world.

I know this is not a dog house, but, I think this would be really cute in a laundry area or a corner of what ever room your pup eats. I prefer the look of dog pillows in a home over dog houses ( which I believe belong outside). So, I thought these two below where cute options. The last one is Jonathan Adler, I love this one!

Fun and quirky, HUH! Have a wonderful weekend!