This Week’s Quote

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with laughter, family fun, and good food. How about a little positive thinking as we wrap up 2009 this week?

Merry Christmas!

{My Little Christmas Cockapoo, Tate, 9 months}

I am officially signing off for the next couple of days in order to get everything ready for tomorrow’s Christmas dinner. 2009 has been a very good year for La Dolce Vita. Thank you for your continued support!

May the Christmas Season fill your home with joy, your heart with love, and your life with laughter. Merry Christmas, everyone!

{Our 2009 Christmas Card}

I’ll see you Monday!

Get Carried Away Again

Entertainment Tonight premiered the official trailer for the Sex and the City sequel last night and had me squealing with delight! Here it is in case you missed it:

Thanks to everyone who has voted for La Dolce Vita for Apartment Therapy’s 2009 Homies Awards. The competition is fierce, so your votes are much appreciated!

To vote for La Dolce Vita, click here.

Hey, Homies!

It’s time for Apartment Therapy’s Homies 2009! A ton of amazing blogs are nominated, but if you are so inclined, I would love for you to nominate La Dolce Vita.

Merci Beaucoup!

10 Things I Can’t Live Without: Pure Style Home

Today, the wonderful and super-talented, Lauren of Pure Style Home shares her “10 Things” list with us. I am so happy that she was able to find the time to put this list together for us. Not only is she a busy interior designer, she is also a wife and mom to a toddler and a baby who will be here any minute! Lauren’s list is sweet and warm, just like she is.

1. My business: I just love having the creative outlet of my own interior design business. It's so satisfying to help people become happy with & take pride in their homes.

2. My Friends--> There's not much better to me than a night with friends that ends in a dance party. (and they usually do) Singing into pretend microphones & using the sofa for a stage are a must! (2 of my best friends with me on right, below)

3. A yard: I love being outside and I love having a big private back yard. We just recently moved and I think playing in the backyard with my family is the best thing about our new house.

4. The Seasons: I get excited about each & every season change. I love all of the news smells in the air and I'm crazy about re-accessorizing my home seasonally. (Below, we painted our front door orange this past Halloween.)

5. Good food: I love eating &/or making a great meal. I just get so excited when a good one's coming!!

 

6. Magazines & Blogs: I just can't get enough of photos & articles & musings on pretty spaces!!! Every day there's something new to look at & being relatively new to blog world, I'm just so amazed at how many talented, kind & generous people there are out there!! I've met a slew of great friends & it's a place I really feel comfortable being a "design junky"- I hate the thought of boring my friends & family with design mumbo jumbo- and it's been so awesome to connect with people like me!

7. My house: I love coming home. It's our haven & I thank God for it every day. It was a tough run for us to get here & we treasure it. Sometimes my husband & I still just stop what we're doing & look at each other & say "I can't believe it's ours." We work on our house all the time & love making it special.

8. Greenery: I love to have something alive in almost every room of the house if possible and nothing's prettier to me than a simple arrangement: Ferns, topiaries or even weeds from my yard will do. ( I HAD to use this picture of them in my set of lab beakers because I overuse them in photos to the point of ridiculousness!! :)

9. Feelings of" Excitement/ Adventure/ Hope- I love feeling like there are good things to come. At home, my family & I try really hard to enjoy every day & take pleasure in the small things, but I also love feeling the anticipation of something new & exciting coming our way... that we have our whole lives ahead of us & we're going to get to do so much. Experiencing everything again- from holidays to the beach to the snow to pony rides- with our son is just so much fun! I love getting excited (and often am, hence the use of way too many exclamation posts in my writing ;) and it can be about something big or small... but it always makes me happy.

10. My family: They're my life. I couldn't do any of it without them. (with one more on the way any day now...)

Thanks so much to Paloma for inviting me to be a part of this!!! It was so much fun & really eye-opening my priorities & passions. Happy holidays!!