Bookcase Style . . .

{image: Habitually Chic}

I love the color coordination in this bookcase!

And love the little mirror hanging from the shelf.

HandyHusband and I have a little obsession with mirrors.

I've got a few little ones...

I think I should take them off the wall

and put them on a bookcase.

{via DesignDarling:Westbook Interiors Portfolio}

Right after I saw this picture today on Design Darling,

I got the itch for some new books with great spines.

Then, I went rummaging through my Crush Cul de Sac Archives...

{via HeadOverHeels}

...I found stacks 'n stacks of Interiors with stacks 'n stacks of books...

{via Lilipage}

{via intothewordless}

...Great Bookcases with GREAT ideas for Accessories...

{via ColorOutsideTheLines}

So, whether you're using books for elevation in a tablescape...

{via CasaTresChic}

or propping them up on your desk with memories,

I can't think of any interior accessory that

expresses your personality more.

{via FromGreenwich}

{via CrushCuldeSac: EclecticRevisited - where's she go?}

{via HabituallyChic}

{via BHG}

{via VerandaMagazine}

{via ThatLibrary via HomeDesignDecorator}

{via InspiredDesign}

{via EnthusiamDocumented}

{via AntiqueShops&Designers}

{via TheDecorista}

{via AbigailAhern}

{via RUE Mag Issue 5}

{via CharlotteMoss}

{DesignSponge via SacramentoStreet}

{via Velvet&Linen}

{via NaDaFarmLife}

I am thoroughly depressed now. 

I need a b'zillion books to stuff, turn backwards, stack, and cover...

I think I need some fun new bookcase clutter & shine too!

While I was pouting over the beautiful stacked books,

I found these sparkly things in Design Darling's online Boutique.

Love the lacquer tray, quartz bookends, votive,

and the amethyst rock is calling my name!

I think I've created a weekend of moving stuff around.

How about you? Gonna shuffle your stuff?

I can't leave a bookcase post without this image.

If you don't have one, paint one.

{Alasdair Gray by Wil Freeborn}

And The Winner Is . . .

No.89 was generated and on my list that means 

YOU, ALLISON SADRI!

Message me on FACEBOOK your mailing address

and Leslie will send you your BEAUTIFUL BOOK!

Color My World !

I think Leslie Sinclair has certainly figured out the 

KEY to BEAUTIFUL design and because I have

an insanely busy week ahead and behind me,

I've decided to extend HER BOOK GIVEAWAY.

If you've not visited Segreto's website, please take a moment 

to click in and get inspired. Personally, I need to redecorate

my entire home after my visit! This is my inspiration for

my very needy guestroom!

This coffee table...no words!

Maybe I should just move to Houston so I can have Leslie color my world.

For now, I'll have to settle for THE BOOK.

The Resource Directory in the back is worth a million bucks!

The pages, all 300 of them, are priceless!

From the embossed linen cover to the satin page marker,

this book is by far my favorite and most useful

interior design book that I've ever owned,

but my to-do list is now staggeringly long...thanks Leslie!

Follow Leslie and CrushParty on Facebook or her blog

for chances to win your own copy! It's surely worth a click or two!

Don't Forget About the GiveAway !

"Segreto, Secrets to Finishing Beautiful Interiors" is more than

a portfolio of a painting firm's work. It's one of the most

beautiful collections of interior photographs I've ever seen.

I want to show you the entire book. 

I could sit with you and turn page after page and you'd hear me say, 

"Oh, this one's my favorite." as I pass every page, so you're just going to 

have to be "in it, to win it!"

...Make sure you check out her painted furniture...

...and the children's rooms are irresistible...

...These floors and risers...oh my...

...and this kitchen...

I HAVE NO WORDS!

truly my dream kitchen!

This is just a tiny peek inside what awaits you @ their Website.

I'd show you more, but the little noise the pages make

as you turn them in her Book Preview are delightful!

I know, silly, but while you're there, please look around!

To be entered in the giveaway to win the book you must

"like" Secrets of Segreto on Facebook or follow her Blog!

Want more chances to win? 

Like Crush Party or click follow in the sidebar 

and I'll throw your name in the hat twice!

I'll pick from EVERYBODY here next Monday, October 3rd!

Good Luck!

I've Got A Story To Tell Ya . . .

image via ~ gettingallmyducksinarow ~

Articles in this month's "Our State" magazine are about Southern Summers and they triggered an often told story in my family.  The articles are about Spanish Moss (which doesn't hang from our trees in Charlotte, NC, but in Charleston, SC you'll see plenty), Tomato Sandwiches, Hammocks, Mason Jars and Lightenin' Bugs. In my family, you can't think of a Mason Jar (or empty mayo jar...don't forget the holes in the lid!) or a Lightenin' Bug and not remember the story of my dad and uncle in their firefly catching days...

image: that's uncle Raymond on the left and daddy on the right

...a dynamic duo in black socks and knobby knees...the youngest of 5 siblings...

bless Nanny Payne's heart!

... ok, stop me if you've heard it...

We all remember chasing lightenin' bugs. I think all little girls were told they were Tinker Bells and all little boys squished their tails and rubbed the light on their faces to scare the girls... My cousin Becky and I were always the fancy ones that squished and rubbed it on our nails! Glowing in the dark was big back then. (Don't ask what Becky and I did to frogs!) However, the best lightenin' bug story I've ever heard was about my dad and his brother, Raymond.  The way I heard it was one summer afternoon before going to the local "cinema," they caught a jar fullllll of lightenin' bugs and off they went. When the lights went down, they slipped into the balcony and opened their jar and left it sitting on the balcony floor while returning downstairs to watch the film. You can imagine what happened about halfway through the movie! Hahahaha! Not sure if any of this is really true to the letter, but it's how it's told and retold and now, it's there for you to accidentally tell your kids about and sneak off to a summer movie with a hidden mason jar. Good Luck! Lemmeno how it goes!

More trouble! My mom (right) and her twin sister, Sandy (left)

Now, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't throw in a little childhood story about my Mom and her twin sister too. Not that these stories are even remotely related, but I have a powder room with the walls covered in pictures like these and when I went to get the picture of Daddy and Raymond, I couldn't resist this one of Mom and Sandy... Let's just say, to keep it short, that this is a rare shot of Sandy with her dress on right side front... Rumor has it that by the time my grandmother got around to taking pictures of these two, Sandy was usually already dirty so they'd just turn her dress around... PRICELESS! I hope ~ PrettyStuff ~ has the twin gene! Hahahaha She does look just like my mom!

Click the cover to visit their website and to subscribe to a great magazine!

My mom gave HandyHusband this magazine last year for his birthday, 

but we've all enjoyed this gift. There are only a few magazines in 

our house that every member reads...this is one of them!

...speaking of fireflies...

I read this book on the beach last year and it was great!

~ FireFly Sweet Tea Vodka ~

Can we sneak this into the theater?

Wondering if it will freeze it in a popcicle?

I can't finish a southern post without my friend ~ Michael Reno Harrell ~

He doesn't mention fireflies, but he mentions all the other 

S'uthern Suggestions!

(This video my not show up in email subscriptions. Visit the blog to hear

Michael Reno Harrell's "Southern Suggestions!")

Sea Glass vs. Shells . . .

image ~ seaglassartbychar ~

We go to the New England coast every year,

and while most southerners are combing for shells, we're hunting sea glass.

Finding the first blue piece of the season is a family goal.

...I've always wanted a piece of seaglass jewelry...

I love these by Maine jewelry artist, ~ Lisa Hall. ~

I also LOVE the smooth worn beach stones.

photograph ~ tyler westcott ~

My son took the shot in my header a year or two ago,

but we take the same picture every year as we're always amazed

that the formation is still there. I keep thinking that a winter storm

is going to take the sand and little rock away somehow...

I don't get it. How does it stay like that year after year?!

image ~ econesting ~

HandyHusband says that a stone with a vein that goes all the

way around will bring you good luck all year.

We have bowls of them!

image ~ huamao ~

image ~ econesting ~

While searching for the ringed stone picture,

I ran across this garden gate on ~ EcoNesting ~

Looks like Westport!

I should order this book ~ amazon ~

image ~ Remodelista ~

...and need to do this in Westport and @ home...

While my heart belongs to sea glass and stone hunting,

I have to admit the thrill is there 

when we're at the beach in the south and

find a beautiful shell, starfish or sand dollar!

image ~ la-belle-vie ~

Now our stash is never this pretty, 

but we have come home with a sand dollar or two!

image ~ layoutsparks ~

image ~ marthastewart ~

I hope you have a simple, fun family tradition.

I'll keep you posted on our hunt this year.

image ~ suzs ~