Visiting The Cotswolds...

A few weeks ago, our little family of five traveled to Sweden (see that post here), and then from Stockholm, on to London, England. We loved exploring the city for a few days, and then journeyed out into the English countryside. We visited stunning Oxford with all its amazing history and architecture, the home of one of our family's favorite authors - C.S. Lewis, and then made our way to the village of Bibury in the Cotswolds...

Our Home Away From Home In Sweden...

Hi Friends ~ I've missed you! It's been quiet here on the blog because our family had a last-minute opportunity to go to Europe for a couple of weeks, and just returned yesterday. Our three sons and I accompanied my husband on a business trip to beautiful Stockholm, Sweden for a week, and then spent the following week on vacation in England. It was a really special time exploring more of the world together and making lots of memories.

I wanted to share "our" apartment in Stockholm with you. We found it through Airbnb and couldn't have been more happy with it! The apartment building was built in the 1800's and has loads of historic charm... tall ceilings, windows and doors, beautiful hardwood floors and lots of wide molding...

Rome, Italy (in Pictures)...

Don't be jealous of me.

Be jealous with me.

It was my husband (not me) who recently spent some time on business in Rome. The pictures he took sent me dreaming of Italy, so I thought I'd share them with you...

Do You Have Ghost Town Style?

Have you ever taken one of those magazine or online design quizzes to see what your decorating style is? 

Do you like a specific style, or do you like to blend different looks to come up with your own unique style?

My favorite style of decorating might be called:

Farmhouse, Prairie, Romantic Country, Modern Farmhouse, or Shabby Chic. 

Image via Rachel Ashwell

Rachel Ashwell (Couture Prairie & Shabby Chic styles) and Serena Thompson (Farm Chicks Founder) are two of the most inspiring decorators to me. 

And recently, I can't get enough of Fixer Upper (Have you seen it on HGTV? If not, you're welcome.). Joanna Gaines' has a unique modern country style. She mixes lots of rustic pieces with clean whites.

This past week, while we were in Montana, we visited this Ghost Town of Garnett. 

I was surprised by the decor I saw in the general store and the hotel. 

Could it be that my design style is actually… 

"Ghost Town?!" 

Check it out:

Cute chippy cupboard and weathered white door...

I'm loving this laundry basket.

Rustic elegance meets old mining town.

I think even Ms. Ashwell would give her blessing to this wallpaper. ;-)

Sweet iron bed and rustic trunk.

If this isn't Prairie Style, I don't know what is. I just don't.

And who doesn't love an old distressed white door?

If you've read even one of my posts, you know how I feel about white furniture…

This washing machine may not have an energyStar rating, but it sure is the perfect bluish-green color.

Okay boys, pick out one piece of furniture or yard accessory as a souvenir. (I wish! Instead they came home with a pocket full of rocks and arrowheads : ) And Joanna, I could be wrong, but is that not shiplap on the walls? How amazing would that look painted white?!

So maybe Ghost Town Style (Ghost Town Chic?) will never catch on. 

But you never know. 

Remember, you saw it here FIRST!

Thanks for indulging me.

You rock.

xo

A Change In Scenery...

We just got back from a 4-day getaway that took us (and our faithful Chevy) through our home state of Washington, Idaho and Montana. 

There is something about a change in scenery that both makes me nostalgic and awakens new dreams…

(One of those dreams, after traveling with 3 energetic, confined boys is to fly next time! Kidding. Sort of. ; )

Happy Trails!

The golden wheat fields of eastern Washington

Lake Coeur d'Alene

At 90+ degrees, it was the perfect day for a swim in the lake!

A vintage motel sign in the old mining town of Wallace, where we stopped for dinner.

When we reached Montana, it was hard to resist the urge to always say, "A River Runs Through It" when passing a river (Our boys don't even know who Brad Pitt is! : )

Aaron also enjoyed commenting, "Boys, that is some BIG SKY!" (They didn't get it or appreciate it - "Dad, it's the SAME sky we have at home!)

Big Sky Country is breathtaking!

This rustic sign pointing towards Interstate 90 made us smile… 

We were literally out in the forest, on a dirt road on top of a mountain! 

(The hair pin turns with no guard rails tested our marriage - why did my nervousness bring joy to my spouse? : )

One of the boys' favorite views - Splash Montana!

We hiked the "M" in Missoula…

Natural triathletes!

And their out-of-breath parents. 

(We liked to use the excuse that we were used to living at sea-level, while Missoula has a much higher elevation. I'm sure that was it…)

The BEST lemon sorbet. Ever. 

The bluffs surrounding the Columbia River as we headed home…

Home sweet home.

Another joy of a road trip - - coming home! 

There's no place like it.

xo

Kayak Point & A Little Dream Come True...

I'm thinking (hoping) that with all the fresh air we had today, everyone will sleep well tonight!

I hope you had a great Memorial Day. I thought I'd share a few pics of our day…

After getting a few things done around the house, we headed to Kayak Point. It's about an hour's drive from our house and SO beautiful. I don't know what it is about that place, but it just feels sort of magical. 

I imagine that some day we are going to look back on this day and smile. It was just that kind of day...

The boys climbed and played (how could any young boy not play Indians here?!)...

And Charlie took his first swim! We cheered him back like crazy : )

When we got home, we decided to have a bonfire. This was one of those things. Whenever we dreamed of living in a country setting, Aaron would talk about bonfires. He thought it would be a great place to relax and catch up with the boys as they grew. This is a little dream come true!

Okay, okay...so they don't always sit like this. Yes, they were hamming it up a little bit for their Mama - but I'll take it! What you don't see is the tackling session that occurred about 60 seconds later… You'll forgive me for wanting to freeze-frame the above image.

I snapped this picture as we were leaving Kayak Point… Happy Memorial Day!

xo

Ever Thought (Dreamt) of Moving to the French Countryside?

 Good morning! I hope your day is off to a good start. If you were here, I would offer you a piece of rhubarb pie that I made with the rhubarb from our backyard (does this classify as "living off the land?").  I would, except you know it's all gone. We are a family of pie-eaters. The swimsuit season, here in Seattle, is much shorter than other places in the country… and we're just not feeling the pressure yet (wink).

 Something I will share, however, is a dreamy (yet real!) story of an adorable American family of eight (yes, 6 kids!) who moved to the Normandy region of France. The Blair family lived in France for 2 1/2 years and had quite the adventures (beginning with an episode on House Hunters International)!

Image by Gabrielle, DesignMom

I had the privilege of corresponding with Gabrielle Blair when I took part in her "Living with Kids" home tour series (Living with Kids - Julie Thomas). Gabrielle has an amazing eye for design and all things creative. Though Gabrielle and her blog, Design Mom, is hugely successful, I appreciate Gabrielle's graciousness and down-to-earth style. 

I loved her answer to her reader's question, "How do you do it all? How do you achieve work/life balance?" Gabrielle writes, "This is my most frequently asked question. And the answer is: I don’t. Not even close. In fact, on some level, I believe the whole idea is a myth. If my blog is really good on a given week, then you can bet my house is a wreck. If my blog seems a little bleh, then it’s guaranteed we’ve got a lot going on at home. If you know me in real life, then you know I work in my pjs as often as possible and that I’m a very typical mom. As each new child joined our family, I had to learn to be a more flexible and lower my expectations another notch."

I know you will love reading about the Blairs' experiences in France. Happy reading!
 The Blairs in France - First 6 Months.