Okay, are we all settled in now? Good. : ) For whatever reason, this past month or two I have felt my vision for the life I want coming more clearly into focus. Instead of vague wants and wishes, I can feel much more deeply what I want and need in my life. In a way, I feel like the hard work I’ve been putting in – to my self, my home, my work – is finally beginning to come together. I’ve found myself easily losing weight and adopting healthy habits like drinking green juice and practicing yoga daily, and then an opportunity that I have dreamed of landed in my lap. For now, I will be taking on just a little more work, but there is the potential to add much more as I have the time, and it has me dreaming of so much more. I can share all of the details with you later, but for now let’s just say that my dream of making a living from my writing is this much closer to coming true. Wow.

Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, I am not naturally a winter person. But the value of a real winter is finally beginning to sink in – it is a perfect time to dream and make plans. And it helps to have a little boy who loves snow – pure joy is infectious! I have been taking this quiet of winter as an opportunity to do a lot of journaling and reading, planning for the year ahead. A few things bubbling in my mind: backyard chickens, redoing our front porch, white floors, a vegetable garden, events with the Alliance Française, weekend trips.

Another thing I have found myself rethinking is my e-decorating biz, which (I thought) I was all ready to launch soon. But now I feel I have a much clearer view of my own personal strengths and passions, and I realize I will need to take a different approach to really make use of that. So, it’s back to the drawing boards. But I’m really, really insanely happy about it because I know what comes to fruition in the end will be in line with my intentions, and it will be sure to be even more successful and rewarding because of it. I am so grateful to my “tester”, for putting up with many months of practice, all of the time spent and lessons learned were invaluable.

Whew, well I have rambled on for far long enough. What about you? It’s been feeling a little quiet around here lately (were all of you at Alt??) and I would love, love, L O V E to have you chime in. What is happening in your life? What are your intentions for this year? Thoughts?

Oh, and if you are seeking more visual inspiration, look no further than the gorgeous and creative Norwegian blog Loppelilla. All of the images in this post come from her inspiring blog, are you familiar? If not, go have a look – you won’t be disappointed! (Thanks to Holly for finding her!)

(all images: Loppelilla)

To begin, this was the longest I had been away from my baby yet – I was gone from 8:30 a.m. until around 6:00 p.m., and while I realize that many other Mamas have to deal with work and other obligations that take them away from home, this was new for me and I was nervous! I traveled to the event with Diana of D. S. Brennan Photography, and we had a great time chatting on the way there about decor8, blogging, and generally how excited we were. :) I had major butterflies in my tummy going to meet Holly even though I have interviewed her before – that was not in person, so this was a completely different experience. Part of my butterflies also came from knowing I would be meeting and talking with many other creative women, including fellow bloggers, artists, crafters, and designers, some whose work I have followed for a long time. I can be pretty shy in person, especially around lots of new people, so I was quite nervous about putting myself out there.

When we arrived at Anthropologie and made our way upstairs to the area set aside for the event I was so impressed with the way the space was decorated – big paper poms hung from rafters high overhead, a lovely wooden cabinet was packed full of inspiring objects to use in the mood board presentation, a long table was set with adorable dishes, delicious baked goods, pretty little glasses, pitchers of orange juice and mimosas, yum! Even the water bottles had handmade embellishments; see one on Cindy’s lovely blog right here. Note to self: If I ever have a book tour, make sure it is hosted by Anthro. Seriously, this was so much nicer than any other author event I have seen.

As soon as Holly arrived, I felt put at ease. She was so genuine, warm, and friendly; exactly how she comes across on decor8; you can’t help but adore Holly in person! :) Her mood board presentation was fun and inspiring – after walking us through the steps to create a mood board, she demonstrated one up in front of the “class”. I found myself digging through my bag for a pen and scribbling notes on the outside of a file folder I brought with me because I didn’t want to forget a thing she said! After attending this workshop I really want to take my notes and my inspiration files and work on my own mood board, as well as share more of Holly’s specific tips, so keep an eye out for that post within the next week!

Holly said she had planned to show us four mood boards, but the time positively flew by and she was only able to get through one. After the mood board workshop Holly hung around and chatted with people, took photographs, and then headed downstairs to begin signing copies of her book. I have to be honest – I was a little star-struck at this point, so I didn’t go up and introduce myself until I was in line at her book signing table! Of course when I did get to meet her she was super nice, and I was able to hand her a little thank you note because…guess what? I had mentioned online that I was reading a library copy of Decorate because I could not afford to purchase my own copy yet, and Holly read this and immediately had her publicist send me my own copy of the book! That is how nice Holly is.

After mingling at the store, it was time to head to lunch. It felt absolutely surreal to be seated at the same table with Holly and so many other creative ladies. Business cards were flying and the table was buzzing with energy. So many different types of creatives were present, from other bloggers to artists, illustrators, editors, jewelry makers, crafters, interior designers, shop owners…so many wonderful people, in fact, that I have decided to devote an entire post later this week to sharing some of their work and a bit more about each one rather than just a list of names & links.

I will say though, as encouragement for others who may feel a bit shy like me, it is SO worth it to make that effort to get out there and push yourself out of your comfort level! I came away from the day’s events feeling exhausted, to be sure, but also brimming with inspiration, a pocketful of business cards, and my mind whirring with ideas for possible future collaborations, events and meetups.

Another take away for me from this experience was seeing the amazing diversity in creative businesses – each of us has our own style, we put our own stamp on whatever it is that we do and make it our own. I think sometimes it is easy to become discouraged by the sheer volume of creative talent out there in the world. There are hundreds (thousands??) of Etsy shops, blogs, etc., popping up each day all over the world, it’s true…but none of them are YOU. There is room for everyone at the table.

xoxo Laura

Oh and p.s., if you live in one of the other cities Holly is visiting (see flyer above), get your butt to the store and meet the dear lady!

Over the next few weeks I will be updating my blogroll – I realized that there are some sites listed there I either no longer read, have moved, or are simply so big that I figure all of you know them! And then there are many more blogs I have become completely addicted to in the past months yet have neglected to add to my blogroll, and I would really like to spread the love and share all of the sites I visit daily. I don’t know about you, but when I find a blog that clicks with me, I always search for their blogroll and check out a few links – and I love it when I stumble upon an inspiring new site (or three or four) this way.

I want to put a question to you: What would you like to see in a blogroll? Are you a visual person, i.e., are you drawn to blogrolls made up of badges rather than just links? Would it be useful to you to have the blogs grouped into categories – design blogs, foodie blogs, etc.? I would love to hear your input on this before I dive in and make any changes, because this is really for you! Of course I would be extremely flattered if you decide to show your love of Lolalina on your own blog with a badge or by including a link in your blogroll, and if you have already added Lolalina to your blogroll, please let me know! Sometimes if I am not already a reader of your blog I may not be aware that you linked here, and I would love to come visit and see what your blog is all about :) Just keep in mind that I link to sites I have been reading and enjoying on a daily or weekly basis for at least a few months before they make their way onto my blogroll.

Anyway, thank you so much for bearing with me through the recent design changes, and for all of your kind words on the new look. I am so new at this, I am still learning and figuring things out as I go, and I actually feel really nervous putting anything I have created out there for all to see. There are still about a million little things I want to change/add to the site, but I have had to take a deep breath and accept that I need to go at my own pace. Over the next two months I hope to finish up the design – and make a few surprise treats for you, too!

Have a great day, dearies! xoxo Laura

First of all, let me say that while I have taken a few basic web & graphic design courses now, I am still very much a beginner, so when I decided to redesign my blog I needed to find free or cheap tools I could use that would make the best use of my (limited) skill set. The first resource I would like to share is Pugly Pixel. Run by Katrina, Pugly Pixel is both a blog with loads of web design freebies (like the felt textures above) and tutorials, as well as a shop with blog bling for sale.

Next up is a site my web design instructor tipped us off to called Font Squirrel, which if you haven’t visited yet you must! It’s a font resource where all of the fonts are FREE and licensed for commercial use. A few of my favorites, pictured above, are Ostrich Sans, Blackout, Learning Curve, and Quicksand. P.S., even if you are not designing a blog or website, it can be fun to download some fresh fonts for using in DIY print projects like invitations, birthday banners, and the like.

Okay, so now we get more serious…If you really want to start changing some things like, in the code, you will want to download a tool called Firebug. It is pretty amazing, in that it lets you peek at the code on any website – HTML, CSS, and even the layout. This is not meant to be used to literally copy someone else’s work, but it can be a lifesaver if you know what you want to do but are unsure how to go about it. I admit it can be annoying to use at times, but if you actually kind of enjoy geeking out on code like I do, it is worth it! Oh, and it’s free :) Above, you can see what it looks like opened on my site.

And finally, one tool that was essential for me in designing many of the elements for Lolalina, including the banner and background pattern, was a subscription to Adobe Illustrator. Adobe is now offering the whole Creative Suite in a month-to-month subscription format – which was great news for me, because the Adobe programs cost major bucks to buy outright – definitely NOT in the budget right now! So if you have at least a tiny foundation in using Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, etc., you can now feel free to dabble and practice a bit without shelling out a month’s worth of rent money :)

Well, I hope you found something helpful/interesting here to bookmark for the future! I’ll see you back here tomorrow :) xo Laura

Something else I spent time considering throughout this whole design process was why I got into blogging in the first place. I decided it was (and continues to be) because I wanted to feel like I was playing an active part in this amazing creative community of bloggers. I had been devouring blogs for years, at first quietly reading and bookmarking, and later commenting regularly on the blogs I love, before pulling up my own blank WordPress page and hitting publish for the first time more than two years ago. I love visiting my favorite blogs because it always feels like a little treat, like curling up in the living room with a good friend for a chat. My hope is that Lolalina can provide that kind of comfort and warmth and community to all of you as well.

I love the fact that I have “met” creative people from all around the world through their lovely blogs, and that I can always find someone, somewhere, willing to discuss the merits of pink paint or the best way to paint a floor white, no matter the time of day or night! One person who encompasses creative living is Yvonne Eijkenduijn of Yvestown, whose lovely home is pictured in this post. Her recent post on creating a room of her own is inspiring, you should go read it!

I just wanted to also take this chance to thank you for coming here to visit and read, whether you only have time to “eat and run” or if you stay longer and leave a comment or send me an email, I appreciate every one of you! xo Laura

(all images: Yvestown)

Like I said, I am still working out many details and there will be some small changes in the next few weeks. If you are reading this in your RSS feed or via email, I hope you will take a moment to hop on over to the site and check out the new look!

In researching and writing this book, Holly traveled with coauthor Joanna Copestick and photographer Debi Treloar around the world, shooting and reporting on inspiring homes. She also spoke with some of the most creative and talented designers and design bloggers currently working to come up with the decorating tips she shares in the pages of Decorate. And you know what? It’s funny, but out of all of the well-known designer homes featured in the book, my very favorite space is Leslie Shewring’s home and studio in southern California.

I first “met” Leslie during the first session of Blogging Your Way, the creative e-course that Leslie now teaches alongside Holly, and I have been inspired by her ever since! She has the most amazing eye for color, she is such a talented photographer and stylist and a sweet person to boot. I loved getting to see inside her home (her daughter’s room is pictured above and below), it felt like a real treat!

Of course there are many other things to love about the book, from a how-to on making furniture plans and the best tip for painting white floors (buy hard-wearing deck paint from a nautical supply shop!), to tips on creating mood boards and uncovering your personal style, along with ideas for every room in the house. Published by Chronicle Books here in the US and available on Amazon, Decorate was also published in the UK and translated into German, so if you live abroad you are not out of luck!

Leslie Shewring’s creative studio

I hope you found yourself inspired by this little peek into Holly’s book, and if you are looking for even more check out the blog tour schedule on Chronicle Books – I am not a part of it, just adding my two cents :)

Happy Monday, friends! xo Laura

(all images of Decorate for this post taken by me, Laura Gaskill :) )

photo: Skona Hem

Anna curates a collection of inspiring finds and interiors daily, all with a Scandinavian flavor as that is where her decorating tastes lean. I must say, I stumbled upon Anna’s blog for the first time the other day and was immediately lost in it, each post had something I had not seen before and I was bookmarking like crazy! I think it is wonderful to read blogs from countries other than your own because there is always a new perspective to consider, and they often feature things that are less well covered, at least here in the States.

photos, clockwise from top left: Bolig Magasinet, AnnaO, Ulrika Ekblom, Boligpluss.

For one thing, it is impossible to find many of the original sources that bloggers like Anna, based in Europe, regularly draw from because you cannot just go to the newsstand or bookshop and pick up Swedish, Dutch, and German magazines! And oh how I wish I could! Hm…maybe I should organize an international magazine swap? Anyway, that’s a topic for another day! Back to Anna and her beautiful blog…

photo: Erik Olsson Fastighetsförmedling.

All of the images I pulled from her site for this post I chose because they make me think of easy summer days, relaxing at home :) Go visit La Maison D’Anna G. for much, much more inspiration. I hope your day is sweet, friends! xo Laura

(all images found via La Maison D’Anna G., and linked to individual sources above)

An inviting breakfast spot from Serena & Lily

First off, thank you so much to those of you who completed my first-ever survey! It was great to get some insight into what is working well and what could use a bit of tuning up. It wasn’t surprising to see that nearly all of you love the images and interior inspiration posts, but I was interested (and flattered) to find that most of you (74%) like seeing photos of my own home.

There seems to be some division on the subject of baby stuff – some want more, others want none. Gah! So I will have to take the reins here and say um, I have a baby! So there will necessarily be some baby-business going on around here from time to time. But if that’s not your cuppa tea, you have my full permission to zone out and skip over those posts. Okay, moving on…

Makes me want a globe collection for Bixby’s room :) via Design*Sponge

There are a few neat things I will be sharing soon, including 2 new monthly features: a style/outfit idea post and a “get the look” budget decorating post, so watch out for both of those in March! I have also decided to start a new Friday tradition, begun by Soule Mama, called {this moment} where I will simply share a photograph capturing a moment from my week, no words. You can look for that to begin next Friday :) I have a few more ideas, but I want to save something for later, ha!

I crazy-love this table, via Design*Sponge

And finally, I am planning a blog redesign for later this year and I’m really excited about it! At the moment I am still gathering inspiration + ideas, and I would love to hear your input as I get started on this process. Is there anything you wish for this site, design-wise?

So with all of that out of the way, let me wish you the happiest of weekends! xoxo Laura

(images linked to sources in post)

Oh my, oh my – have you had the pleasure of perusing Yvonne’s tumblr, Today I Love? I’m not sure why I hadn’t seen it, I am such a huge fan of Yvestown, but better late than never! If you are also drawn to Scandinavian style, drop-dead gorgeous white interiors, yummy food, inspiring quotes, and yes, lots of pink, then you have come to the right place my friend! Prepare to drool.

Yvonne’s main blog is focused on her own original photography, home, food, etc., so Today I Love is her place to record all of those little delicious tidbits that she comes across and is so generous to share with us :)

Today I Love is a perfectly curated slice of heaven, Yvestown-style – that is, if Heaven were a fabulous Swedish home done in pink and white, with Jeu de Paume books lining the shelves, and all kinds of deliciousness coming from the kitchen!

All of this makes me think, perhaps I want my very own tumblr? It seems like it could be a fun way to corral all of the random bits of prettiness I come across that do not need a lot of commentary, but I’m not sure… Do any of you have one? If so, I would love to hear how you like it, how easy/difficult it is to design and use, and feel free to link to it in the comments of course so we can all see! Anyway… I just wanted to end this post by thanking Yvonne for being such an inspiration, source of optimism, and all-around wonder woman. Keep on showing us how it’s done!

Yvestown blog :: tumblr :: flickr :: etsy :: Pinterest :: Blurb bookshop

(all images: Today I Love – by Yvestown)