Let's Go Friday

Although I don't really talk about it too much on the blog, I love to travel.  It's something that I didn't get to do much of growing up, so I've made a priority of it in my adult life.  We have our first trip of 2012 coming up in a few weeks, and I am very excited!

Like most of you, my travel go-to sites include VRBO, HomeAway, etc.  There are also tons of sites that feature exotic villas around the world.  True, there are a ton of super cheesy condos and villas, but there are also so many absolutely gorgeous vacation spaces.

Today's villas is on the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos~

This is Bajacu, which means "Rising Sun."  It is a featured villa on villasofdistinction.com.  It features 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and sleeps up to 10 in its 9500 square feet under roof and 3500 square feet of patio.  It can be rented as a whole or just the use of 2 or more specified bedrooms.  While this one isn't in my budget, it's certainly a stunner.  I love how private it is!



Pink!

As my husband and I walked through the mall last weekend, he quickly asked, "When did day-glow come back?"  While I love a neutral house, I love a little color in my wardrobe, and I'm really loving all of the kelly green, navy and pink I'm seeing this spring.  I started wondering...what happens when those colors transfer to a home.  Here a few hot pink rooms that are truly divine~

{all images via pinterest}

Tunnel Vision

I try to check decorpad.com once a week to go through all of the new images.  One particular room caught my eye this week~

I love how clean the room is.  I also love how as you look back through the room, the design tunnels as the two sets of lamps point the eye to the center of the kitchen.  The room is very traditional, yet the design gives it a very modern, clean feel.  And, you now I love an open floor plan!

New Year's Resolution - Get Organized

True Confession #358: I am horrible about filing away mail, bills and important stuff in any kind of timely manner.  And, I am also horrible about letting the hoards of magazines that fill my mail box everyday stack up around the house.  If you can't find a stack of them pushed into the corner of the pictures of my house I post, then it's only because I cropped them out of the picture. 

So, my main New Year's Resolution is to stay organized. 

I have a filing system and file boxes for all of our bills (which I keep copies of for 1-year), bank statements and medical and insurance papers.  It's just a matter of using it on a more regular basis. 

I sat down Sunday, and I am embarrassed to admit that I realized nothing had been filed since September.  Yikes!  I'm all caught up now, though.  In the past, I kept all of my files upstairs.  I've now moved everything downstairs, where I am 98% of the time, in hopes that easy access will keep me on my toes.  I also moved all of the excess magazines and catalogues out to the recycle bin.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?  How do you stay organized?  Please share your tips and tricks in the comments section!

A Fresh New Year!

This time of year, as I put away all of the Christmas decorations, I long for a clean space, fresh and calming space.  I think we tend to automatically turn to white when we think of fresh and calming.  White can be a bit harsh and stark at times, though.  All of the "whites" in our kitchen and living room are actually a bit warm and favor an ivory more than white.  Here are some spaces that make great use of ivory.  Aren't they all beautiful?

{all images via decorpad.com}