From the category archives:

Blogs

A Fresh New (Blog) Look!

July 25, 2011

Good morning dear ones! I am so excited to say that over the weekend I was able to wrap up the main part of my blog redesign, and Lolalina is looking all shiny and new! There are still a million details I want to work on, both to put the final polish on the design and to make things even more friendly for browsing, but I will be tackling those little things in the upcoming weeks. One change I knew I wanted to make from the beginning was to make room for a bigger content column which means..bigger images! Hooray! I tried to keep the look personal and fun, adding small details that are meaningful to me like the domino book on the little table in my new banner :)

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!

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Decorate by Holly Becker & Joanna Copestick

July 11, 2011

in Blogs,Books & Mags

This morning I would like to share a book that is special to me…Decorate by Holly Becker, founder of decor8, and Joanna Copestick. Decorate is an inspiring decorating book on its own, made even more inspiring to me personally because decor8 was the very first blog I started reading daily, more than six years ago! That is what I find so meaningful about this book – the way in which as decor8 readers we can truly feel that we played a small part in bringing this book to life, if only by following along on Holly’s journey each step of the way. I did a fun little Q&A with Holly when she was preparing for the release of her book in the UK, you can read that interview here. But moving on, let’s take a peek into the book itself, shall we?

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 :) )

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Inspiration From Paris Via Sweden

June 8, 2011

in Blogs

Hello dear ones! I have an absolutely lovely blog to share with you today called La Maison D’Anna G., Anna grew up in Sweden but has since lived in Australia, Switzerland, and now Paris, and her blog reflects her inspiring history – I think you will really enjoy it!

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)

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Survey Says…(& Blog News)

February 25, 2011

in Blogs

Happy weekend sweet ones! And thank you so very much for coming here to see me this week :) Before we all go off to do our thing this weekend, I wanted to share a few behind the scenes goings-on – some bloggy news if you will…

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)

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Today I Love

February 17, 2011

in Blogs,Design & Decor

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)