Top Five: Design Books

Brother and sister-in-law in Ireland

Before I get to it, I want to wish my sweet brother a Happy Birthday!

If you are a design enthusiast then here are some books to add to your Christmas list. Now I own thousands (ok, might be a slight exaggeration) but these are my Top Five books that I refer to often when I need inspiration.

Suzanne Kasler's Inspired Interiors

Celerie Kemble's To Your Taste

Kelly Wearstler's Hue

Darryl Carter's The New Traditional

Victoria Hagan's Interior Portraits

With an honorable mention to...

Domino Magazine's The Book of Decorating

And these are on my Christmas List this year!

Mary McDonald Interiors

Bobby McAlpine's Home Within Us

Allegra Hicks: An Eye For Design

Do you have any "go to" books that you love? Leave a comment!

Savannah, Georgia

My dad and I went to Savannah last week to do a little shopping. It has become a bit of a tradition for us at Thanksgiving...a lil' father/daughter bonding. We hit up antique malls and some of the home decor shops. It's great, my dad follows me around and asks "What is that? Where would you use that? What are you buying that for?" It cracks me up but if I didn't love him so much it might put me over the edge. We laugh at all the "tourists" in line to eat at Paula Deen's restaurant then we stop for some lunch at Soho, a restaurant/art gallery that has the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had (and I am quite the grilled cheese connoisseur!).

The Paris Flea Market

A great shop that has country French inspired items and one-of-a-kind flea market finds. Also a great place to pick up design books. And this time of year it is fun to see how they take their style and decorate for Christmas!

I love the deer antler wreath!

SCAD Shop

A shop filled with student's art and creations from Savannah College of Art and Design. They have everything from oil paintings to dog clothes to organic soaps. I love seeing what creative minds come up with!

In typical Sidney fashion, I got a migraine so we had to cut the trip short however we did get to hit up a few of the main stops like Jere's Antiques a HUGE warehouse, I am talking 33,000 square feet HUGE, filled with antiques as well as a few other antique places along the river. All in all, it was fun and I bought some stuff that will be for sale on my new online shop, Eclectic Finds, debuting in January!

Mi Casa

We stayed at La Casa Que ve al Mar (we were in the top left corner) which literally means "house with a view of the ocean". Or if you don't speak Spanish well and you have been drinking all day you can say it like this to the taxi driver "Blah, blah, blah Casa al Mar." Surprisingly it worked enough to get me home.

This is the view from our Penthouse...

Yeah, you heard me, the Penthouse. That's how I roll people.

And yes, we had our very own infinity pool.

These Alabaster sconces were amazing! Alabaster is so prevalent there and cheap! Too bad I only had one carry on.

So were these Moravian Stars...

And these killer basket pendants...

This is what you put above your bed if you don't want any action...

This was our outdoor shower which also had the same view of the bay.

It would have been amazing except for the whole "don't drink the water" issue. I was too busy closing my mouth and/or spitting to enjoy the view. By the by, seven people on our trip got the Montezuma's Revenge...including the poor bride.

What Makes You Happy?

I love this! I do think that each day you can make the choice to be happy or not. It ain't always easy but you CAN make the choice. And on those especially hard days, try to think of some things that make you happy. Today I will be thinking of.....

I cannot resist a Golden. I want one!

Interior Design

People that pay me to do interior design!

My favorite men.

The color blue.

The beach.

Listening to good music.

Being creatively stimulated.

Laughing out loud.

Retail Therapy.

An organized closet.

And here are a couple of things that have made me happy lately...

When my nephew Finn told me I should buy the house next door to my brother as we saw the current tenants moving out so that he could see me whenever he wanted. (Sweetheart) He also told me he thought it was "weird" that I wasn't married but I choose to ignore that comment.

When my nephews told me that I was their favorite aunt! (Nevermind the fact that I am their only aunt.)

When I found the perfect pair of knee-high grey suede boots, in my size AND on sale. (Score!)

Getting Mexican and margaritas with one of my best buds and seeing her face light up as she talked about her new man! (Yeah!!!)

Seeing my friends with their new babies....I had six friends have babies within about six weeks of each other. (Joy!)

What makes you happy???

Happy Friday Everyone...Choose Happiness today!

Big Wagner Weekend

I can't believe that this cutie pie will be 8 this weekend! Where does the time go???

Happy Birthday Finn!!!

He was distraught when he found out that our cousin, JD, was getting married on his birthday (how dare him!) and said (rather forcefully) that he wasn't going. I wouldn't be surprised if he took it upon himself to plan his own party, excluding any family member that dare to choose the wedding over his celebration. The nerve. Of course knowing my sweet cousin, he will find a way to include Finn in his special day. [Pause while my heart melts.] Alright we are headed to bare witness to their blissful union....look out Statesboro, Georgia...here come the Wagners!

The happy couple

The Little Shop Around The Corner...

After 3 1/2 years of being in her adorable shop on Coleman Boulevard, my friend Dee Ruel needed some ideas to freshen up her space. I was happy to help and today she sent me the beginning of her progress....

Before

After

She is so talented! Stop by and see for yourself.

P.S. This is what I did over the weekend...front row at Zac Brown right after I met him for some pre-concert beers. Holla. Thanks again Lorrie of Eskimo Advertising for the hook up!

That is Zac there above my head.

His rendition of Devil Went Down to Georgia kicks some serious ass.

P.P.S. Did anyone watch the MTV Movie Awards last night? If so, here are my comments. If not, it will be on one billion more times so don't fret.

Sandy Bullock, you are one classy lady! But you should have stopped right before kissing Scarlet Jo. WTF?

Tom Cruise kinda made up for the crazy Oprah sofa dance with his JLo dance routine.

This guy is damn funny. And his character of Zach Galifianakis' stylist made me laugh out loud. P.S. I am old school and refuse to say "lol."

I Like Your Style

Designer Molly Luetkemeyer

Domino

Country Home

Designer Ashley McAleer

(Is that right?)

Designer Ann Nicholson

Designer Steven Gambrel

Designed by Margaret Ann McEver

These bookcases have a lot going on. But the designers deserve mad props for styling them in a way that looks lived-in yet pulled together and un-staged (not easy to do). Speaking of having a lot going on (like that segue?), my week is nutzo. I am living on a lot of these two things...

I know what you are thinking...I am the epitome of healthy living.

Why can't I get a week off for spring break?