Restoration Hardware chandeliers at a fraction of the price!

Without fail, I walk into any store and gravitate toward the most expensive thing in there.  The old adage couldn’t be more true… I’ve got champagne taste on a beer budget. I spent last weekend shopping for the finishing touches for our upstairs renovation.  The nursery and bathroom are complete, but we need new light … Continue reading →

Kingsway House: Contemporary Design With Rich History

A while back my neighbor told me he found his dream home.  Since his house is MY dream house, I figured this place must be amazing.  He was working on a movie that was being filmed at the Kingsway House, on New Orleans’ historic Esplanade Avenue.  It’s a 12,000 sq ft private residence that’s rented … Continue reading →

Shabby Chic Kitchen Renovation, BEFORE and AFTER

  It’s amazing to think that our kitchen renovation is finally done!  We’ve been enjoying the finished product for about 6 months now, but with baby Beau hogging my free time, I just now got around to taking some AFTER pictures.  The kitchen renovation was a much longer process than I ever anticipated.  I started … Continue reading →

A Place for Beau

    Baby Beauregard finally has a place to call home.  This December, when I went into labor 7 weeks early, we were knee deep in nursery renovations.  The floors were unfinished.  The wainscoting was incomplete.  The furniture was in boxes. Between trips to the NICU, late night feedings and diapers changes, we’ve managed to … Continue reading →

Infant Photography: DIY Tips for Snapping the Perfect Pic

I can’t believe how much baby Beau has grown since charging into this world 7 weeks early!  Long gone are the feeding tube, IV and countless days in the NICU.  We’re ushering in a new era of chubby cheeks, a blooming personality and big blue eyes. A couple of weeks ago, I took Beau to … Continue reading →

It’s a Jungle Out There: Safari-Inspired Nursery

Lil’ Teapot is on his way!  And you know what that means…. the home renovations are in overdrive. The first thing I did after learning I’m expecting is find a doctor… and THEN… start designing the nursery.  Of course, it wasn’t until I discovered we’re having a boy that I could really go to town!  … Continue reading →

Preservation Resource Center Holiday Home Tour

The Preservation Resource Center is holding its annual Holiday Home Tour this weekend, December 14th and 15th!  It’s a fabulous way to get a glimpse at how “the other half” lives and tour some stunning mansions in New Orleans’ historic Garden District.  Last year, the PRC featured a newly renovated neighbor of mine.  I couldn’t … Continue reading →

Trend Watch: Wine Bottle Chandeliers

Our friends Holly and Tim are incredible.  They just finished renovating a more than century old home in New Orleans’ historic Lower Garden District.  This place was down to the studs, covered in vines and utterly uninhabitable when they bought it.  Since then, they’ve turned the two-story Victorian into a showpiece with soaring ceilings, bold … Continue reading →

Kitchen Renovation Update

If there is anything I’ve learned as a home renovator, it’s that projects always take 10 times longer than expected.  That’s certainly the case with our never-ending kitchen renovation.  What began as a project to keep me busy while Joey deployed to Afghanistan, has turned into a never-ending hell hole.  Okay, so maybe it’s not … Continue reading →

One Million Chandeliers!

I had a realization the other day.  Since I finally own a home, I can have as many damn chandeliers as I want.  I can have one million chandeliers if I want!  Let me tell you, it’s a wonderful feeling. With that said, Joey and I had our freshly polished antique chandeliers installed in the kitchen … Continue reading →