:: million dollar baby

It's all about the kitchen

a dining room with water views

a huge room for lounging with guests after a day on your yacht

a lovely room for the ladies

and one for the gents

a lovely sauna

grab a vintage from here

or maybe you prefer a more intimate space to unwind 

you can live the dream here

Your cost....a mere $49,500,000

for a lovely little 11 bed / 18 bath / 22,000 sq ft home

and I thought I dreamt big... 

{peace, love & hugs}

Carrie

Home Found Here

:: do you keep it real?

So tell me.....do you keep it real?

Or do you Fake it?

This is the question I'm asking myself this year. We've always had a large real tree, don't you just love the smell of a live tree....I sure do.

What I don't like is having to water it every day, ruined floors from a leaky stand, and crazy little black bugs for the whole month of December.

Yes, all of these things have happened to us over our years of real Christmas tree use.

So, call me crazy but I'm really entertaining the thought of a fake tree this year. I want the most realistic pre-lit tree, and I think it would make me happy to put up my tree Thanksgiving weekend and leave it up until after New Years with no worries of a fire hazard.

The tree above looks pretty amazing to me, can you tell it isn't real?

Yep, I think it's decided....

I'm gonna FAKE IT this year, 

and many more to come.

{peace, love & hugs}

Carrie

TREE VIA: Ballard Designs 10% off & Free Shipping

If you are so inclined to join me in the fakery this year ;)

:: screened porches & fireplaces

So, Thanksgiving is a week away, and all I can think about are screened porches & fireplaces.

Our new house has a lovely little screened porch which is one of the things that attracted me to my home in the first place. However, after spending some time on it this summer we realized we would like it to be a bit larger to accommodate more friends & family at one time. Currently it's about 11' x 12', and our plan is to rebuild it to 18' x 20' and some odd inches. Needless to say, I've been doing lots of research trying to figure out how I want it to look ultimately. One thing is for certain though & that is a fireplace. I love the look & I'm looking forward to being able to use the porch well beyond summer.

The photo above is pretty much what I'm going for, isn't it gorgeous. It's really amazing how expensive all the little details are. Right now I'm trying to decide just how worth it the details are to me. Currently I'm trying to pick out the stone or brick for the fireplace and some sort of flooring either cypress like the image above or a herringbone brick.

So, what are your thoughts? Pull out all the detail stops, or keep it simple & cost effective?

This is my first time with any kind of construction or home additions so any advice on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Below are a few more of my inspiration images, they can all be found on my pinterest board here

loving the look of this painted brick fireplace.

The stone and the arched opening are quite nice though I do want a mantle.

Which look do you prefer.... Stone or Brick?

Decisions....Decisions.....Decisions....

Goodness, it may be next year before we get this done if I have to decide.

{peace, love & hugs}

Carrie