Candice Olson!

My heart is still racing from my fabulous time with Candice Olson yesterday! She was so very personable and TALL! (She wears a size 11 shoe, by the way and played volleyball for the Canadian Women's Team!) I had the chance to ask her a few questions about her philosophy on designing for children as well as about show biz for designers. She had some great insights and was full of wonderful advice! I received an autograph as well, written on a sample of one of her newest wall paper designs, of course! I will be blogging in more detail about this wonderful designer and my experience with her, on Home Workshop blog. Stay tuned there for the post. It will likely go up in the next week. I have much to share!

Meeting My Favorite Designer!

Just a quick note this time...the wedding reception went off without a hitch on Saturday and was so beautiful with all of our family and friends present! I'm awaiting some photos to share with you, so in the meanwhile, you'll just get a peek at this shot Ethan (my youngest and our best man) snapped before the wedding.

I also wanted to share some exciting news- I will have the opportunity to meet my favorite interior designer, Candice Olson on Thursday! I'm going to try to get some images and will post all about it on Friday. Candice is an inspiring woman, designer and mother...I'm honored to have been invited to this little meeting!

Anyone know a "sun dance"???

Well our wedding reception is finally upon us. You may recall we were officially married by a JP in our home on October 1, but we couldn't have our families and friends there easily on short notice and on a weekday morning. So we promised our brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, along with our very closest friends- that we would have an outdoor reception for them in the spring, at Eric's family lodge in the mountains.
When I was dating Eric, he talked often about the "cabin" in Breezewood, PA that his father and he had built themselves on a 300 acre parcel tucked away in the mountains. He spoke of it as if it were a magical place and his eyes twinkled when he told me how excited he would be to take me there soon. Now, I've seen plenty of cabins and "get away" spots before, so I smiled nicely and told him how excited I was to see it. Well I have to say, that when he finally drove me up the picturesque mile-long driveway, this "cabin" took my breath away! It is so beautiful and really is a magical place. Every detail was attended to when this family built their vacation spot. Much love went into creating a special place for special family gatherings. Once there, I could see why this place meant so much to my new fiance. So I looked at him and said, "this is where we should be married!" You should have seen the smile on his face and later, the same smile on his father's face when we told him of our decision! This "cabin" as they call it (it's truly more of a 6 bedroom lodge!) was built with the sole purpose to bring family together. What better place could there be, to celebrate our love and family than this! So, while we were officially married in our home last October, we will renew our vows this time in front of all of our loved ones. This will be a perfect opportunity for us to thank those closest to us, for their support and love over the years. The people in attendance are those who have seen us through the rough times and have helped us get to this new, happy and loving place we are today. We have much to be grateful for and have the perfect location in which to celebrate.
So, final preparations are being made. The only concern we have now is the weather. We have a tent for the tables and caterer, but really want the ceremony to be outside on the lawn. We would also love for our 21 children in attendance to be able to play outside at this wonderful mountain retreat. So, if you happen to know a "sun dance", now would be a great time to do it! The Breezewood weather report is calling for rain!

Regardless, rain or shine, our day will be magical. With such a unique and true love, wonderful people and a magical location, we can't help but have a memorable day.

Royal Chic Crown Collection is finally here!

Our Royal Chic Crown wall hanging is back by popular demand! As seen previously on Access Hollywood and in People Magazine, Sherri Blum's popular black and white nursery wall hanging is now available once again for purchasing. Take notice of the adorable new version of our Chic Royal Oval Crown, too! Contact the studio for purchasing information and be on the lookout for more new releases coming soon!

This Tomboy Loves Pink!

While I might look like a girly girl on the surface, I'm a total Tomboy to the core! I grew up with a family owned horseback riding stable business that was a concession to the world famous Bedford Springs Resort. We had about 20-30 horses who needed to be groomed, fed, wormed, saddled, brought in and left out to pasture- each and every day. The barn needed cleaned, saddles repaired and oiled and fences mended. My two brothers and I had morning and evening responsibilities to the family business. We were hard-working and dirty by the time our day was done. I often joked that the horses ate before we could. Now, while I might have complained as a teen, you won't find me complaining today. I learned great work ethic during those formative years and learned how to wield and hammer and drill like no other girl I knew! And I absolutely LOVED my time with my Daddy! I enjoyed following him into the woods on a hunting adventure or by horseback to clear out a new riding trail, much more than I enjoyed learning how to cook in the kitchen with Mom. No offense to Mom, but I just always loved the guy toys and adventures more. (My poor hubby suffers to this day since I never did find my way around a kitchen!) And with two brothers always at my side, I had little choice in activities, anyway! Afterall, they hated when I broke out the barbie dolls and would put a bow and arrow in my hands instead!

Despite the tomboy childhood, pink was always my favorite color. I know this is a huge contradiction, but I do look good in pink and do enjoy feminine clothing and decor. I enjoy all that glitters and all the little things that make me feel pretty. Today, my husband owns every tool under the sun. Afterall, he did build our home himself! But given that I still enjoy having my very own tool box in my car, I find myself looking for quality tools with some girly bling to boot!
Allow me to introduce you to some of the wonderful new friends I currently call my own, or hope to shortly!

Charm and Hammer Eva Safety Glasses have a pink ribbon on the side in support of breast cancer awareness.

And any true tomboy knows how important a good drill is, and how much wear and tear it saves on the wrist!

Pink Tools for Tomboys has the perfect drill for you!

Find this screwdriver set at Amazon

Hammer away with this 13 oz hammer from Tomboy Tools.

Ladies Tools Online has this cute suede tool belt to keep all the necessities within reach. Now, I've searched for quality pink tool belts for a couple of years (while I'd love a Gucci tool belt like Nicole Sassaman, they're just not readily available to the public!) and in reading reviews about this one in particular, some have complained about the pink dye rubbing off onto the jeans, so I've held off on purchasing this and will just wear the plain tan belt in the interim. My dad does saddle repair work and works with leather like a true artisan. I've hinted as subtly as I can, but he still hasn't gotten around to making me a pink tool belt yet! I might need to be less subtle!

This one made my tomboy heart race! I am soooo getting myself one of these pink rolling tool carts when my new studio/design center is built! Every true tomboy will need one of these, for sure!

 Amazon

What are your favorite tools? They don't need to be pink, but I'd love to hear what you find you just can't live without.