The Writer

A beautiful Saturday to you...

Sunshine and a warm breeze here in SoCal.

Sometimes I try to imagine some of our grandest writers, 

what kind of desk or table would they be paired with?

Adding your own style with vintage accessories that inspire. Quietly gives it your personality.

Thoughts become profound.

clearly expressing them from such a personal space is alot more interesting & fun.

Here's some I've curated for fun to inspire the writer in you!

 This last one is in Charles Dickens' London Study.  

It has been told this desk is where he did most of his writing. 

 It can be seen in the writers home/museum tour.

 Photos Pinterst

Did you see one that fits you? 

I'd love to know what your style is?

I would adore #1 or #3!!!

My Design tip: A writing desk is for creating.  Setting the mood for expressing our thoughts into something special.  A home office desk has a different purpose, paying bills, keeping files etc. 

Hop over to Second Shout Out BLOG for my Saturday's "Designing with Vintage"

Shop vintage. 

A beautiful last weekend & farewell to March.

xo,

me

Favorite quote from Maya

Morning Darlins,

In my email from Linkedin this morning, were 38 quotes from powerful leaders.

I read them one by one and found them relevant and brilliant.

This one spoke to me this morning.

 "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

I have always lived by this.

There is no gray area for me...

Ever so truthful for animals...

Enjoy this beautiful day, stay far away from those not kind.

xo,

me

The coveted collection

Welcoming Spring!

A fresh new season.

It's time to...

 Open the windows, 

pare down the winter interiors. 

*Organize*

Today we have so many things that can clutter our spaces...

Where do the things we collect end up?

It's pretty rare we find a heart shaped rock on a hike, 

or a perfect sand dollar wahsed in from the sea.

Those are the moments we covet....

Do you set them on the mantle until it's cleaning day, then lay them in a drawer never to be seen again until you move?

Here's some cool display ideas I curated that might inspire you to keep collecting and cherish those precioius finds.

Photos Pinterest

My Design tip: Collections can be effective and artful mixing vintage with them. Example the vintage wood shelves with the sea collection in the bathroom.

As your organizing group those collections and display them in a cool way. 

Enjoy all that each new season has to offer.

Happy Spring!

xo,

me

Hop over to SECOND SHOUT OUT blog for my series Saturday's "Designing with vintage"

& 

do some spring shopping.

Do you want to drive up a little road to your country house?

A house in the country....

Have you had it with endless traffic & noise? 
Cars parked in front of your house that aren't yours?

Street lights keeping you awake?

Longing to live where you can't wait to go through the gates to your own coutry estate?

If so, I'm with you! I think I have something you want to see!

I've just listed a parcel of vacant land for sale. 

I'll share the Link to the listing below. 

I thought it would be fun to curate some visual inspiration that might be gorgeous on this parcel!

Let's dream a bit, the property's is a blank slate with lots of potential, that's what makes it so exciting!
It the perfect location to create all of this...

Your driving on a little country country road that curves around. 
Your about 15 minutes tops to the beach....

Ahh... were there.

Imagine... you can build something that says, this is home! 
A stone entry like this could be built with stone found on the property.

The land is 5.09 acres with a generous area you could place your dream house.

What kind of house are you thinking of?

A french farm house?

White painted brick with a country style courtyard?

All brick?

A Stone house... utilizing some of the natural stone already on the property would be gorgeous.

Or a post and beam barn style with stone around the base?

Lots of sunshine there, I think planting a family vineyard would be so beautiful and romantic!

I'm in love with farm houses, this would be amazing there.

 Fresh sweet tea on the porch,

 the dog hanging out on the steps, 

horses out in the riding ring and in the barn.

 Of course...fresh vegetable growing in the garden.

Imagine...in the morning walking out and carring a cute little wire basket to collect the eggs from your very own

 matching little chicken coup!

All photos Pinterest

....any day or night of the week, no reservations needed! 

Nothing fancy...

Pull the wagon over from the house, with your favorite wine to pair with the delicious dinner you prepared in your outdoor kitchen. 

Spend time relaxing outdoors with our great weather all year.

 Create the most unforgettable moments with family and friends right here at your country estate.

I hope this visual dream journey I curated for you will inspire what you can build and create with this gorgeous property! 
The possibilites are endless!

P.S. There isn't alot of opportunities to purchase land here in SoCal. That's what makes this one so special, it's a gem. 

 I'm excited to have the opprtunity to let you know about it!

Click the links below to view the property. 

PROPERTY TOUR

FLYER

My contact info is there too.

A beautiful day to you Darlins,

xo,

Gail

Green living spaces

Happy Saturday Darlins,

Yikes, it's a hot day here in SoCal... Windy & 93....

Just came inside to make a ice cold protein smoothy...

Iv'e been out helping the workers spray the dirt down with water because it's a dust tornado with the BOB cat ripping the old stone walls apart..

 Dirty, muddy just like i like it!

It's good because it's one step closer than yesterday!

 Saint Patrick's Day on Tuesday so I've got green on my mind too!

Living with greenery indoors beautifies a space and is super beneficial to our health.

Foilage purify's the air by giving off oxygen.

 Just a touch of green makes the space seem alive. 

I fell in love with these spaces filled with oxygen.... I'm inspired to share with you.

All Pinterest

Oh yeah...

a little green vintage glamour to wear for Saint Patrick's Day.

Pinterest

My Design Tip: Rotate your plants by changing the container, using them in different room depending on the light required keeps them fresh.

Hop over to Second Shout Out BLOG for my Saturday's "Designing with Vintge" and shop to freshen your space with some vintge containers for your foilage.

A beautiful Saturday to you!

xo,

me

What does your name mean?

Happy Thursday Darlins,

Do you wonder what the hidden meaning of your is????

My Mom named me after her favorite movie star. Gail Storm. That's all I know!!!

My friend Anita shared this on her FB page this morning. 

Her's was right on...

I never wondered... but now I was curious, so I did it too!

Here's what came up...

Name search

Really, ok I agree except about being aggressive. 
I think they must mean passionate!!!

Fun! I'm sure they are all good!

Have a beautiful day..

P.S Update on the stone walls soon, they are handsome!

xo,

me

How to take simple collections - curate them artfully

Happy Saturday Darlins,

If your a vintage collector or even have some heirloom items I bet you have some things that are gorgeous and boxed up because you don't know what to do with them. 

The loveliest part of collecting is having those treasures out where we can enjoy and share them.

It's easy to do!

First cultivate your collections together.

Then...

Stack them, hang them on walls or display them on shelves 

table tops

 or 

in a cool open cabinet

 or

 one with glass.

See what fits your space best and what shows your creative style. 

Get inspired to see your treasures as art and you will fall in love with them all over again.

All pinterest

My Design tip: Spread your collections through your spaces. Curate same kind or type. Using a theme is lovely too. See them as your artistic collections of art.

Enjoy a beautiful weekend and tomorrow we will have one more hour of sunshine!

Hop over to SECOND SHOUT OUT BLOG post will be up later...

& SHOP vintage for you collections or start a new one!

xo,

me

Our stone garden walls

Happy Thursday Darlins,

Yesterday we kicked of our garden walls project.

We have so many huge projects here at the French farm house.

The landscape projects at the moment are the retaining walls for the upper garden.

We have completed the left side and now it's time for the upper and to the right of the pond.

When we get it all done I will take your through them from the start.

Yesterday we took all the exisitng rock down that had been dry stacked, trenched by hand the length of the wall. 

Sand and cement was delivered and this morning the hunt for the perfect rock to start building the wall begins. All the stones are natural to our area and found on site here. 

I wish the sand & cement were too!!

This is the left side we finished a while ago. 
I love it!

This is yesterday, before we took the wall down, 
it was dry stacked and the rocks are begging to fall down.

This picture is from this morning, with the rock taken off and the trench dug.
The wall will be about 3 feet above the ground when it's finished and follow the curve of the planter.

All together this will take several weeks, 
this weekend we are going to shop for a large slab of stone for my bottom surprise wall!
The stone guys are artists, they look at each rock for the perfect face & fit! 
They walk the property & it's fun to see they care about the project being beautiful.

I'll keep up dates coming!
Enjoy a beautiful afternoon
xo,
me