Three things...

1. Last week my parents and I took a fast and furious vacation with my three boys. 

(If you already saw all this on Instagram, I apologize! #brokenrecord)

We left Great Falls at 6 am on Thursday and met my brother and his wife at Silverwood Amusement Park just outside of Coeur d' Alene, ID that afternoon.

So much fun!

Friday we drove to Snoqualmie, WA to see Thomas the Tank Engine.

Snoqualmie was beautiful, quaint and so charming....I'd live there in a heartbeat!

The Snoqualmie Falls were made famous in the Twin Peaks tv series.

images

On Saturday before we headed home we stopped at Spokane's Riverside Park.

We had so much fun and it was great to see my brother and sister-in-law but after driving almost 1500 miles in three days (and having the worst hotel experience ever) we were very glad to be home!

2. When I was a teenager I refused to wear gold jewelry, I hated it. 

Mixing silver and gold jewelry was an unpardonable sin in my book.

As was mixing black/navy blue clothing/accessories (just ask my Dad).

Style always evolves though......

Love every single one of those!

Design wise I've changed too, I'm liking more neutral, muted spaces but ones that look lived in and collected. 

Lately, I've really been drawn to traditional/rustic/california casual kitchens and I thought I'd share some favorites. 

Aged wood, open shelving, worn textiles, lots of pottery, bowls and art and a little bit of granny chic thrown in for good measure.

3. I'm loving these wood trim pieces used as a back splash! 

A friend gave me a piece similar to the first photo below and I hadn't thought of using it like this.

Thursday randomness

Well, it's kind of discouraging not hearing back about our bathroom so far. 
Trying not to get too down about it. 

I'm giving it a few more days and then I'm calling it and I'll post the after pics here for all my loverly readers.

In other random news, 

Craigslist:
(if you're local)

Brass Swan side tables

Brass twin size headboard

Theater chairs-use them like this:

Oh and this made me LOL....haunted sofa in Missoula. Missoula Craig has the BEST stuff by the way.


Travel:
Have you heard of Kid and Coe?
"We provide a carefully selected list of kid-friendly residences combined with curated insider guides. From child care essentials to coveted neighborhood locations, we offer everything you need to make a home away from home for the whole family."

Pretty cool if you travel a lot with kiddos!

Destinations include, London, San Fran, Amsterdam, Boston, The South of France, New York, Paris, Barcelona etc. 

Art:

Lynn Pollard

Susan K Boyle

Malia Pettit

Gregor Hochmuth

Casey Rodgers (Leg Series)

Pretty baubles

Great resource for Hmong fabric-make your own pillows people!

The best bamboo roman shades (put one in the new bathroom-gorgeous with white/cream walls!)

That's all I got today....date night tomorrow night with my main only squeeze and getting my hair did by my fab sister in law on Saturday. New color ya'll, pretty excited!

If you follow me on Pinterest that explains the hair cut/color pinning mayhem that ensued earlier this week....my apologies.

Whatcha up to this weekend???

Labor Day road trip

On Monday both Stanley and my parents were off so we took a little road trip to Montana's capitol city, Helena for the day. 

We went on the Last Chance Train Tour-SO much fun! If you are in Helena and have an hour to spare I really recommend it!

we walked around the Capitol building and grounds

I of course had to take pictures of the bathroom, so pretty!

And the elevator...this paneling was gorgeous!

Looking up at the rotunda....

 

  

Here is how I got these shots

Then we had lunch and went to the Great Northern Carousel, Isaac's first time.

We had plans to go to the Cathedral of St. Helena, they have the most amazing stained glass windows, but they were closed for Labor Day.

We all had a blast and the boys were SO good! They really are great little travelers.

What did you do this weekend??