Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Lucia's home




I've been behind on my blog reading lately, and coming back I found a very sweet post-Thanksgiving treat waiting for me: Lucia's beautiful home showcased on Simple Lovely. Lucia is one of the most creative people I met in college. Her younger sister, Ruth, is one of my dearest college friends and former roommates, and their whole family has a beautiful sense of style...which you glimpsed a little of through Ruth's wedding. Seeing her home makes me a little nostalgic for Dallas and a lot nostalgic for the beautiful friends who live there. Lucia and Ruth's family's home was one of my favorite places to visit in college...an uplifting getaway. I remember the first time I walked in there was a feast in the kitchen, a sibling playing the piano, another one singing, and the most delicious wine and equally wonderful conversation.

Looking at the pictures of Lucia's lovely home makes me want to rearrange all my furniture, paint my living room(which I've been contemplating for a few months...) and quit being a slacker and make my own dining room pendant--oh Lucia, you talented lady! She's just so cool.

Images: Simple Lovely

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Allison's House Tour!

Last week I got to pop into Allison's (of the famed and fabulous Matters of Style ) home for a photoshoot.

 The moment I stepped in, I was hooked! As I said in the tour for Apartment Therapy, it is fabulously put together -- I was so impressed! But not really surprised knowing her blog. I'm always awed by the things that she and co-author, Sarah, find at vintage shops and make to look stylish and sophisticated.

 They have wonderful and often unexpected taste-- a far cry from your usual pottery barn fare :) Allison's home is an awesome example of how to incorporate second hand finds into a cohesive home. It's gown up and youthful both at once. I'm so grateful for the chance to visit her beautiful home in person. I love seeing how people live and getting to see their creative home solutions and ideas first hand. And Allison's was a gold mine! There was no wasted space even though the apartment has a few nooks that seem hard to use. And Allison is uber talented when it comes to creating things herself. She made her own headboard, and if I hadn't read it on her blog, I'd never believe it--it's that perfect!

She has a million other creative projects and beautiful fun uses for found objects, so check out the full tour over at Apartment Therapy.


And a very VERY happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Curiouser and Curiouser

That's a bit how this year is turning out to be! There have been so many big changes, GOOD big changes, and many times I just marvel at how it's all played out.

The latest is this little person...
who happens to be a B.O.Y!

We just found out officially yesterday, although we've had our suspicions for a few weeks after the technician at the 14 week sonogram said she spotted a curious little something...a something that Rich and I had never seen on a sonogram before. So, Rich will no longer be the lone male of the Moss house, and to be honest that scares me a little bit. I'm from a family of girls, and for the past 5 years, girls have been my life--they sit still and let me read to them, they help me bake, they like to decorate and talk about decorating, and even though they are not angels by any stretch, they think a time out is a really terrible thing. Who knows what this boy's personality will be like, but for next four months until this little guy is born, I will be praying hard for energy and patience and a really good sense of humor. 

Knowing that our family life is going to go through another big change has made me especially grateful for the decisions we've made in the last 6 months. Rich's job change prompted a few other big changes including me keeping the girls home this year. For the past two years they were at a great little Montessori school, but for various reasons we are homeschooling this year. I suppose that's not really a huge deal, my girls are still pretty young, but for me it seems big! I'm grateful for the time we have together this year, just us girls.

If someone were to tell me a year and half ago that in a year Rich would be leaving his law firm, I would be designing and homeschooling full time, and we would be having another baby I think I would have laughed! and then maybe cried :) But it's funny how your heart changes when the time is right. For the first time ever I think, I feel like we're doing exactly what we're supposed to be doing, and even with a lot of big changes, it is the most peaceful and happiest time.


(These pics are form our lovely Sunday. We had the best weather in DC this weekend! Thankfully we were able to sneak out and spend some time on the mall)

More curious updates coming soon...








Monday, November 8, 2010

The World's Best Chocolates (and hostess gifts)

A few weeks ago I fell in love with a box of chocolates....beautiful chocolates....

It started out innocently enough when I went to photograph Ashley and Robert's beautiful home. Robert and Ashley are the creative young couple behind Fleurir hand grown chocolates which you might be familiar with if you live in Northern Virginia and frequent the Old Town farmers market on Saturday mornings. Meeting them was totally inspiring. It's a huge undertaking to be basically just out of school and starting your own company on an uncertain economy, but they are doing it! I love their entrepreneurial spirit and their creative approach to design which is evidenced in their chocolates as well as their home (the tour went live today on Apartment Therapy).
 I love all the homes I visit, and theirs was no exception. Each room had
 When they moved into their rental, their kitchen was a dingy yellow room with a whole host of competing woodtones and beiges. I love how they transformed it just with paint. They painted the dark paneling white and the mustardy yellow walls a fresh blue. The colors lent it such a fresh airy vibe.
 Ashley added these Anthropologie brackets to spruce up their expedit bookshelf.
 A lot of people might have walked right by this loud green velvet beauty, but Ashley and Robert have made it the centerpiece of their living. It sets the vintage vibe, and all the rest of their accessories tie into it.
They have a tiny little porch outdoor room right of the living room, which they've turned into a cozy lounge spot with a beachy vibe.

 And this beautiful box was waiting for me when it was time to tear myself away. As I mentioned in my house tour write up, its contents disappeared at an embarrassing rate. I love chocolate, so maybe that's not totally surprising, but this really wasn't anything like eating other chocolates. Their flavors are so creative and unique, really unique, like lavender shiraz and pink peppercorn! This is chocolate art, and I couldn't really wait to see what the next one tasted like. Plus they didn't leave that usual saccharin taste in your mouth. A great experience!

I met Ashley and Robert just in time too. During this season it seems like we are always invited to special things that I feel deserve something more special than the usual hostess gift, but I'm a last minute kind of person and I never remember anything cool at the last minute. BUT, this year, I'm already planning on relying on these guys for host gifts and Christmas treats, and even if you're not in DC you can do the same. They ship nation wide, and I promise that you won't be disappointed. They have some great plans in the work for their expanding line, so check in frequently. Here's their website.


Image Credit:

1: Christina Bernales (a totally fabulous photographer who has taken all the beautiful photos for Fleurir's website. She's still a student, but you'd never know it. I spent a long time pouring over her website last night and was totally awed. Her wedding photography is amazing!!!)

All the rest of the photos are mine! Check out Ashley and Robert's full house tour on Apartment Therapy, here.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Sweet Caroline's Feminine Whimsy

Writing for another blog (one with deadlines and a boss) often means that mine gets a little neglected. But I wanted to give you a glimpse of Caroline's  house tour I did for Apartment Therapy. My friend Stefan of Architect Design fame put me in touch with her, and I'm so glad he did. Thanks Stefan! If you missed his house tour (another awesome and tiny studio) you can check it out here.

Caroline is one of the most exuberant people I've met, and she was so fun to work with! As soon as I stepped foot in her Columbia Heights studio I knew it was going to be a great afternoon--she and her home just have an upbeat vibe. The weather was perfect, the light was just starting to soften while it was getting ready to set, and Caroline couldn't have been cuter. Her outfit totally matched her decor! Isn't she beautiful? I love taking portraits of people in their homes...

Besides being a great decorator, she's a professional opera singer and musician. We are hoping that she will also make a great piano teacher for Maddy once we buy a piano (tippity top of our dream list). I think Maddy would absolutely love her...I mean she's a girl who loves pink and has a massive rainbow of a shoe collection, both of which I'm pretty sure are on the tippity top Maddy's dream list :)

If you haven't checked out the full tour, here's the link. It's one of my most popular tours to date, and one of my personal favorites. A well done studio apartment is so impressive! Leaving Caroline's home, I wondered if it really was necessary to have so many rooms (and I often think of my home as small!)...so Rich, what do you think of moving the whole family into 475 sq ft? :)
I'm always on the look out for wonderful homes to feature on Apartment Therapy, so please let me know if you're interested! leah@apartmenttherapy.com

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Shake up

Well, given my blog's messy template situation I thought this was as good a time as any for a little blog header shake up. The last time I changed it was 3 autumns ago-- hard to believe! That was before I knew exactly what this blog would be (actually, I'm still working on that one :) and before I had a decent camera and realized how much I love photography. I have so many favorite pictures I have saved up on my poor hard drive that I thought I'd put some of them where I can enjoy them more regularly.

So, goodbye old header, you served me well!


What do you think about the new one? I'm still working on it. I have so many pictures that I want to include...close to 1,000 actually. I love the picture in the top right corner of MollyGrace, but maybe it's a little too pouty? It's very her though....
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