A Little of This & That (pt 2)…

Occasionally I’ll write a little post that includes a variety of things that are going on around here… These topics are usually too small to devote an entire blog post on but work perfectly in a little round-up like the one I have scheduled for today.

Last time I wrote one of these was in November when we had just taken off for a vacation to China & Hawaii. I included a discussion about the sectional I finally ordered, and we talked about prepping for Christmas. (November mind you… typical blogger life!) Click here to read the post.

This time around, I have a few home & blogging related topics that I would like to fill you in on… :)

 

Family Room Changes

My family room is always a constant work in progress… If you follow me on any of my social platforms you are probably more than a little aware of this. ;)

I recently ordered a large gold mirror from Anthropologie that I have been eyeing for quite some time. Click here to learn more about the piece. I fell in love with this mirror the first time I saw it. You may be familiar with this mirror already because several other bloggers have featured it in their homes – Jillian Harris has the largest size leaning against the wall! Love that… I decided to try to hang a slightly smaller version on the wall behind my sofa. I have been waiting for Jeff to get back from a trip this week so you can look forward to seeing a few stories about hanging it this weekend. Fingers crossed I love it… it weighs a ton! ;)

As for Christie Adelle’s beautiful artwork hanging behind my sofa currently… I think that will look beautiful hanging to the right of the fireplace. I’ll keep you updated on the exact placement of it once I’m 100% sure of where I like it best. Click here to shop the same piece that I have.

Did you happen to notice my new black & white floral coffee table? Can I just say… I’m DYING at how gorgeous it is? I just received the piece from MacKenzie-Childs’ new spring line and I’m a little more than obsessed. I have always been a fan of black and white but when you introduce a floral to it as well? I’m obsessed! I love the way it grounds my family room. It’s an indoor/outdoor piece that I had planned to use outdoors once the garden is complete but decided to place it in my family room until my new ottoman arrives and the garden is ready. I posted a little about it today on Instagram. Click here to see that. The majority of you are in favor of it staying inside forever! What do you think? I personally think it adds a beautiful fun pattern to the space. :)

In regards to MacKenzie-Childs… I’m excited to partner with them soon on a special blog post that will help teach Emma (and any others that are interested) how to host a formal brunch/lunch at the home! Love this.. My mom shared her secrets with me and I’m looking forward to passing those along to Emma as well. Everything I know about setting a table and hosting has come from my Mother. Yay for Moms!

 

Mentoring at the Design Bloggers Conference

I’m thrilled to announce that I am speaking at the Design Bloggers Conference in Beverly Hills with Lamps Plus and Erica Reitman this March. I have loved partnering with Lamps Plus for the last two years and look forward to sharing my experiences about working with them as well as other brands as an influencer. I have also been asked to step in as one of 5 mentors for the DBC. So exciting! Emma will be there helping me and attending the conference as well, so please make sure to come up to us and say Hi if you see us. :)

There is still time to register… March 1st is the deadline – click here to do so.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then let me explain a little more about it…

The Design Bloggers Conference is the only conference specifically focused on the interests of interior design bloggers, interior designers like www.neumannsmith.com whom are using content to build their businesses and personal brands, brands leveraging the web and blogger networks, and any design professional seeking to learn more about using social and other digital content for branding, connecting, and e-commerce.

The conference takes place at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel from March 4-6th and I’m really looking forward to it. The mentor program is so helpful. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, I’m here. Make sure to email me prior so that we can set up some time to chat. (My email is kristywicks@gmail.com)

Some of the other mentors are:

I have yet to meet any of these fabulous ladies in person, but I cannot wait!

Organizing my Kitchen

In case you missed it, I recently transformed my refrigerator from a messy space with no rhyme or reason to an organized dreamboat. ;) Click here to see the before + after photos – It’s truly amazing and it’s been one of my most popular posts to date! I have to say.. I’ve kept it organized for a full week now and I always knew I could do it with the right containers and vision. Thanks so much to Pinterest, Home Edit and The Container Store for the inspiration and direction!

Now I’m moving on to the pantry and the rest of the spaces in my kitchen. It never ends but I’m already feeling so much happier as a result. The Container Store reached out to me a month ago and asked if I would like to work on tackling this project together.. I jumped at the chance of working with them and one of their professional organizers. Margit has been incredible and has helped us so much throughout the entire process. I’ll be writing a detailed blog post about this in the next couple of weeks with photos and added links to everything we used.

I can’t believe the mess we caused to make everything clean and organized. What’s wrong with these pictures? ;)

 

Skincare Update

Exciting news, International Orange Spa said they would love to host Emma and I again – this time at their Marin location! It’s their new spa and they’ve lined up a massage and a facial for the both of us.. Truly amazing! Going from never having a facial to two facials within a month is overwhelming and we cannot wait to post our results of our second facial appointment.

My skin is looking and feeling great after the 1st week of having my first microdermabrasion. They say that results can take up to a few months of having these done. (it’s recommended you have a treatment once every 4-6 weeks) so we will keep you informed on how everything is going.

 

Touching Story

image via @DaniAustin

 

Wednesday night while on Instagram watching stories, I saw that @AlysonHaley (who I love.. if you don’t follow her you must!) was talking about an instagrammer who was currently trying save a dog that had been hit by a car. Her name is Dani Austin from the blog, The Dani Austin and I’m amazed by her grace and kindness. I hadn’t followed her before but with all this going on I noticed that she was following me… small world and I’m so glad that I have discovered her now.

She has been explaining everything about this sad ordeal in her stories but I thought I would give you a quick synopsis:

Dani was driving down a road when saw what she thought was a little white trash bag in the middle of the street. As she drove closer to it she realized it was actually a small white dog who was injured so she swerved out of the way. Dani stopped and ran out to grab it… then realized how hurt the little pup is. She took it to several vets and emergency vets trying to help ‘Lola’ (the new name she gave the stray) to seek help. She has stayed with Lola for the past 48 hours doing everything she can to help make sure she gets the help needed. The vets told Dani that Lola would need surgery that could cost anywhere from $6,000-8000. Not letting this ruin Lola’s chances, Dani took it to her stories and set up a Go Fund Me account, where she has raised over $13,000 already. (The vet has said that Lola will need multiple surgeries). Click here if you’d like to donate to the Go Fund Me.

So touching. I’m blown away by Dani.. she was so quick to drop everything that she was doing in her life in order to help this little dog. Not everyone would do this.. so many different clinics turned Dani away and many told her she that they would have to euthanize Lola. I really feel that Dani is Lola’s angel.

Just wanted to share this sweet story with you today. Make sure to follow Dani Austin’s stories on Instagram for updates on Lola.

 

Any plans this weekend? It’s been so cold in the San Francisco Bay Area that I’m thinking we may simply hang out by the fire and do a whole lot of nothing. ;) Happy Weekend!

xo,
Kristy