I am so happy to share a design e-book that Lauren and Courtney over at Kelly + Olive included me in today!

The e-book, Ideas You Should Steal, features “17 fun projects submitted by top home, craft, and lifestyle bloggers from all over the web.”  {Those are their words, not mine.}  Not only does it benefit anyone looking for a quick and easy design project, but it also benefits the non-profit organization Dwell with Dignity.  Dwell with Dignity is a group of interior designers and volunteers who work to create soothing, inspiring homes for those struggling with homelessness and poverty. Their goal is to expose less fortunate families to nurturing home environments with the hope of helping them maintain a standard of living they can be proud of and thrive in.  So when K+O contacted me a while back about participating in this project, I didn’t have to think twice about contributing.  Who doesn’t want to see everyone live in a home that is inspirational and conducive family life?

Without giving too much away, the e-book features several well-known design bloggers along with step-by-step guidelines for the project they contributed.  I was completely shocked to see my headshot included alongside such savvy bloggers and designers!  It’s an honor to be included in the mix.  If you wanna see it all for yourself, then follow this link on over to K+O and make a small donation {$1 is the suggested amount} to receive your own download of the e-book. It just might make a difference in two lives – yours and a Dwell with Dignity beneficiary!

Oh, and if you’ve never heard of K+O, now’s your chance.  Kelly + Olive is the name of the design biz/blog that two Chicago gals run.  Ironically enough, their names aren’t Kelly and Olive at all but Lauren and Courtney.  And they’re pretty rad.  They offer professional advice on choosing a color scheme, furniture, accessories and styling techniques for interiors…online or in real life if you’re lucky enough to live near the windy city.

With all the chaos going on internationally over the past several weeks, I’ve been reminded of my gratefulness for our safe and healthy home.  Many people, including children, aren’t so lucky.  I’ll admit to getting caught up in decorating, painting, DIYing and just plain homemaking…but there are moments in time like this that make me appreciate all that I have and have done…it’s very humbling. Maybe design won’t save the world, but caring people like Lauren and Courtney can make it a better place to live.  100% of the proceeds of this e-book go directly to Dwell with Dignity. Thank you Lauren and Courtney for such a great opportunity!

Here’s to an inspiring, humbling, healthy and safe weekend.  Give your significant other, kid, baby, pet, parent or friend an extra hug.

images:  all linked within

Do any of you remember the Sesame Street skits with Grover painstakingly demonstrating the difference between ‘near’ and ‘far’?  I kind of feel like that’s what I might be doing here today.  So, if you wanna laugh, feel free.

If you haven’t heard by now {How couldn’t you?  I mention it daily.  Are you tired of it yet?}, we’re downsizing and trying our hand at selling our current home by owner.  As in, we’re not listing it with a realtor at this time, although we’re open to paying a buyer’s realtor commission.  A few things we’ve done to market our home is to pay for an MLS#, list on fsbo.com, and DIY a listing brochure. Each of these marketing strategies pack more punch when pictures are included.  So, I devoted an entire day a few weeks ago to taking pictures of our home to be included with all the listing info.

Some of you have asked for advice and info on selling your home…whether by owner or with a realtor.  And while I feel that offering up go-to advice would be premature at this point {our home hasn’t sold yet but we did sell our very first home by owner}, I would like to mention that taking pictures of interiors for selling purposes isn’t exactly the same as taking pictures for designing purposes.  Let me give you an example.

Here are a few vignette images of our bedroom that would be suitable for H*T.

And here are the ‘home for sale’ bedroom images.

In the listing images, I was more concerned with showing the size and layout of the room as opposed to the things in the room.  You can see that the room offers two large windows that let in lots of natural light, plenty of space for a sleeping area along with a sitting area, a vaulted ceiling and an on suite bathroom.  Those are the things I’m trying to sell, so that’s what I capitalized on in the images.

Now do you get the title of this post?

Is it overly apparent that I took that ‘Grover’ picture of myself after being outside *makeup-less* on a verrrry windy day and used a stack of cookbooks as my makeshift tripod?  {Notice how I’m explaining with my hands.}  Ok, good.  Because that’s soooo what I wasn’t going for.

Somebody buy my house before I make a fool out of myself.

Oh, wait.

images:  1) slightly altered image from MGTOW {which I do not read…just used their image}  2-6) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking