Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and were able to stay cool with the summer heat that’s plaguing the country. It was hot as blazes here in Atlanta and I feel like I drank about 10 gallons of water every day just to stay cool and hydrated.

My life has been a fast-moving train the last few weeks and I feel like a juggler with lots of balls in the air. But it’s all good stuff including a little secret I’ll be sharing on Thursday. For now, let me get you up to speed on some of the things that have been going on in my world and keeping me so busy.

****

Life lately…

No. 1–This is the beginnings of a design plan that I’ve been working on and one that is very personal to me. The main floor of this home is an open concept with hardwood floors, white walls and a soft grey ceilings. The goal is to create a space that is sophisticated with traditional undertones and pops of color. I’m love where the design plan is going with grey and black as the foundation and a little animal print and brass to jazz things up.

No. 2–This fabric is for furniture for client who wants to spruce up her living room. The client found a sofa she loved at Haverty’s so we went shopping there the other night to pull together the fabric plan. The natural fabric will be used on the sofa and the navy will go on two accent chairs. And the abstract fabric is for pillows for the sofa. The iron side table with black granite top below will sit between the chairs.

p.s. Haverty’s has some nice accent furniture pieces at good prices if you’re doing some decorating.

No. 3–In route to an appointment the other day, I popped into one of my favorite consignment stores. It’s been a while since I’ve been thrifting and the thrill of the hunt hit me the minute I walked in the door. Right off the bat I found these two beautiful urns which were only $7.50 each. This was a major score because the urns are about 14″ tall and are in great condition. I also picked up this pretty brass bowl for $5.00.

No. 4–I’m sure you all have been seeing this bamboo purse on every fashion bloggers blog. I’ve wanted one ever since I first saw it but didn’t want to pay the over $100 price that most people were paying. After a little research, I found a great source on Ebay that sells both the small and the large size. And you won’t believe the price…the small is $32.99 and the medium is $34.99.

I have to tell you that I had never ordered from Ebay before so I was a little nervous about ordering this bag. And because the purse was shipping from China, I was nervous about the quality. The shop and the product had good reviews so I went ahead and placed the order and when it arrived, I jumped for joy. The quality is great and the purse is exactly as described. I love it so much that I just ordered the larger size in black.

p.s. I place my order on July 8th and my package arrived on Saturday, 7/21. Pretty fast coming from China and getting through customs.

No. 5–After an exhausting weekend, I took some time last night to flip through the July issue of BH&G. So many inspiring ideas starting with the cover image. I want those chairs, that coffee table and that ottoman. #ilovebamboo