Coming up for air!

OH my goodness people! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks! I'm finally coming up for air. :) I don't think I've had a busier two weeks in my life, and it's all been amazing stuff, so I'm not complaining.  I am thrilled to be home though!

I'm a homebody who loves to travel -- it's an odd combination. I love visiting new places and those we already love, but man, I ache to get back home at the same time. I mentioned that we took our annual trip to Disney World a couple weeks ago:

We like to go around Thanksgiving but this time we stayed a day later than usual -- and it kind of threw me off! I'm joining in on a blog Christmas tour later this week so I was trying to get the whole house decorated in just a few days but got sick while at it. 

So I didn't get much done last week because of sickness and then I was off for another amazing (but quick!) trip to Georgia. Last month Delta Faucets asked if I'd like to join in on their trip to tour the 2017 HGTV Dream Home, and of course I said yes! Even though it just happened to be the day before another trip I've had planned. 

I went down to St. Simons Island for less than 24 hours and had an amazing time. I cannot wait to show you more of this beautiful home!:

I'll share a ton of pics soon and I have a fun giveaway for you too. It was such an honor to get to be one of the first to walk through this gorgeous house (that will be on TV in January!). 

The backyard has a small dock on an inlet -- it was so incredibly peaceful back there: 

I didn't get to stay long but I loved that little island and the homes there were stunning. 

I flew home that night, got home at 11:30, got three hours of sleep and then woke up early to take a weekend trip to my favorite city that we've had planned for awhile:

Christmastime is my favorite time to visit NYC! 

Three friends and I took one kid each and I dragged them all around the city for a whirlwind tour: 

We checked out Rockefeller Center, saw a Rockettes show (always amazing!), did some shopping for both the kids and the moms, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Little Italy, Grand Central, saw Aladdin (it has turned into one of our favorite Broadway shows) and walked around Central Park. 

The kids (and moms) were total troupers and we made some wonderful memories.

We've talked about this trip for at least a year now and a few months ago finally made it happen. I'm so glad we did. I LOVE to share this city with friends and love watching them fall in love with it even more. 

We had seven ladies and one man -- my little guy. He loved being the tour guide too. :) 

The store windows in NYC this time of year are reason enough to visit. :) 

I thank God for these women every day -- they make life so fun. It's funny how people come into your life just when you need them. 😊

If you're a Friends fan you may recognize this one! It's the Cherry Hill fountain in Central Park -- but little known fact (that's kind of sad for Friends fans), this isn't the fountain they actually dance around. They built a replica for the opening credits of the show. ;) It's still cool a cool spot to visit though!

I totally wore everyone out -- we are all struggling a little bit today. I'm resting up (trying not to get sick again so I'm taking a ton of Vitamin C!) and then finishing up our Christmas decor -- I'm so inspired now! I'm also finishing up some small details on the basement fireplace -- we LOVE it! I'll share both that and our Christmas tour this week!

Hope your start to your holiday season has been wonderful. I always say I'm not going to make many commitments this time of year and that NEVER happens. ;) I'm so happy to be home now nesting for the holidays and have so many things I can't wait to show you this month!

Have you been busy already? Any fun trips scheduled during the holidays? Or do you love to stay home the whole season?

P.S.  If you are considering a trip to New York City, you can see all of my posts about the city here, and my tips on how to do NYC in two days here.

When you do what I do, part two!

So I've been at this blogging thing for nine and a half years now and it makes me SO happy when my readers take the time to email me a nice note or thank you. It really means the world to me. I especially love when some of you send me photos of projects in your home that I've inspired. It is a thrill to see so many of you making your home yours and I get giddy seeing your results.

I like to share some of these occasionally and today is one of those days. I'm blown away by your talent! Mary sent me photos of her kitchen -- she was inspired by ours and shared this before photo (I think our kitchen had that some wallpaper when I was a kid!):

The after is so dramatic -- just gorgeous!: 

Can you believe that floor is tile? I've seen this stuff before but never seen it look quite so real. That's amazing. Of course I love her light gray planked backsplash, pretty cabinets, beautiful vent hood and those lights...she knocked this room out of the park! 

I loved this area with the long breakfast bar as well, what a great idea: 

I can't get over those floors! Thank you for sharing these Mary!

Holly in Washington shared this wall of built ins that ours inspired: 

Her's was a family affair too -- her father and brother-in-law helped out. I LOVE that she incorporated a desk into this wall!

Kate was inspired by our built ins as well and look what they created!:

Look at all that custom storage! Love! This one has two desks -- the combination of function and form always makes me happy. 

Michael in Arizona sent me photos of his awesome built in project too. They had this niche that so many newer homes have: 

Those are difficult to fill up sometimes, right? Well just look what he created in that area!: 

Doesn't it look like it was always supposed to be there? He did an amazing job on this, I'm so impressed. 

Stephen and Samantha had a long wall in their dining area that was a perfect spot for a wall of bookcases: 

See how well these work with a table? I always say we could easily add a dining table back into our library and it would look lovely. 

And last but not least, Stacey sent me the before of her living room:

And the gorgeous after!:

She hadn't had time to decorate them just yet when she sent the photo but goodness it is so warm and cozy even without accessories and books -- I love this room! 

Aren't these awesome? You all blow me away with what you create! I am so honored that I've inspired so many of you. It's a pretty amazing thing. If you've tackled a project that was inspired in part by something I've shared, I would LOVE to see it. Send me pics and I'll share them here sometime in the future. 

You can see my DIY kitchen renovation and all of the projects here: 

And the DIY bookcases in our library (formerly the dining room) with links here: 

 

Have a great weekend my friends! 

Fifteen

Every year on September 11th I pay tribute in my own small way by sharing some photos I've taken at the museums and memorials over the years. I have added to them with time as we travel to the city and see more.

As many of you know, New York City is one of my favorite places on Earth. I knew the second we arrived there for my first trip 15 years ago that I would love it. That trip was less than two weeks before September 11, 2001:


Look hard behind me -- this is the only picture I have of the towers and they look like ghosts in that photo. It still gets to me when I see this.

When we visit the city we make time to visit Ground Zero nearly every time. The first time we went back was four months after the devastation -- everything was still so raw at that point. It has made my heart swell to see the beautiful monuments that have been raised in that spot. In my opinion, they are so well done and pay beautiful tribute to those we lost throughout the country that day.

These first photos are from the Ground Zero Museum and tell the story of that day. This location is separate from the new museum – it used to be closer to Ground Zero but it looks like it’s moved to 14th street. If you visit the city I highly recommend visiting both.

I let the photos do the talking (forgive the quality, all were taken with a phone over the years):

 

 

The new 9/11 Museum is one they've been working on for years. It looks so small from the outside, and you think it will only take an hour or so get through. Plan accordingly because this museum literally goes deep into the Earth and you can spend hours in there. 

It is truly one of the most well done museums I've ever seen, especially considering the content. The beginning is a tour of the footings and walls of the towers (this wall below was one of the towers). Don't miss the room in the middle in this part of the museum -- it holds photos of each of the victims as well as video about each one. There are no cameras allowed in this space -- it is most definitely a memorial. There is a separate room at the end of the main part of the museum and it can be easy to miss -- but it holds most of the photos, artifacts and videos. It may not be suitable for younger kids but our nine-year-old did fine. (There are parts of this room we steered him away from.) There are no cameras allowed in that room as well. 

If you go give yourself plenty of time and be prepared for the heaviness in your heart that you will feel as you walk through and when you leave. It is overwhelming and unavoidable. I think every person that visits New York City should visit at least once. 

This artwork signifies the color of the beautiful blue sky on that morning. There are 2,983 squares -- one for each person lost on September 11th and at the 1993 bombing. 

God bless all those we lost on that day and their families. God Bless America. 

(Freedom Tower)

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