While visiting my bestie in England in September, we booked a day trip to Paris. Knowing that Paris is a train ride away, is unreal. Paris was everything I every dreamed it and much more. Our day began in the English countryside arriving in London then taking the Eurostar train into Paris arriving in Gare De Nord. Once we stepped out of the train station, I was immediately in ahh. Just looking around at the buildings across the street screamed Paris, from the architecture and the pale painted roof lines it all felt so Parisian. The day before our trip we mapped out the top 5 destinations we wanted visit: Norte Dame, The Louvre, Tuileries Garden, Pont des Arts (refereed to as the lock bridge) and The Eiffel Tower. Bonus for me walking across The Siene and along both sides of the river and Saint Germain area to visit City Pharma and see all the amazing sites and stores, oh la la.  

While walking the streets of Pairs, we stopped into a Patisserie and picked up a croissants to enjoy for breakfast. Then stopped into a boulangerie for baguettes for our lunch and also a Monoprix for meats and cheeses. While my girlfriend was in the boulangerie, I came across a French bookstore where I bought Avery a kids french book. 

We stopped at Costa for Cappuccinos, let me tell you they where the best Cappuccinos I think we ever had! Simply amazing! I loved all the people watching, it was so nice to drink Cappuccinos and visit with my bestie! My day in spent in Paris via pictures. I didn't take insane amount of pictures while in Paris, I honestly wanted to savior each and every moment and be in the moment, hopefully that makes sense. 

I love walked along the Seine, its so beautiful and amazing. the weather was perfect and not a cloud in the sky. While walking along the Seine, we stopped at one of the street vendors selling art, I picked three large prints for my kids rooms. We also happened upon a crepe maker, and shared a lemon and sugar crepe, made right in front of us. It felt magical, walking in Paris and eating crepe, things I've dreamed of for years.

For lunch we sat outside on the steps of the Louvre and had baguette sandwiches, so Parisian. The Lourve was amazing and although we didn't have time to step inside, we visited the gift shop which so pretty!! 

We sat in Tuileries Garden, and enjoyed the best macaron I've ever had in my entire life! My sweet friend sweet talked a Parisian into gifting one, macarons in Paris are crazy expensive! We laughed and practiced our French, with phony French accents and annoying American ones, together her and Lucy & Ethel. 

We ended our day with the Eiffel Tower. I can barely put into words how amazing it felt. We walked the entire day while in Paris over 12 miles, but it took us 14 years of friendship to make this trek together. Seeing the Eiffel Tower together was so substantial in so many ways, for years we'd talk about going to Paris and but the idea always felt abstract and out of reach. There were many years when I was younger and raising my oldest son that even buying myself a latte in the morning felt like an luxuries expense.

When I rounded the corner from the Metro Station and say the Eiffel Tower, it hit me in that moment and while it may sound silly to some I got tears in my eyes, I was struck by the beauty of the Eiffel Tower and that my dream of visiting Paris had come true, and that dreams do come true. We visited just before the sun was setting and the sky was changing into the most brilliant colors I have ever witnessed in my life and the tower its self looked like gold, a jewel among the pretty skyline. I felt a deep need inside to travel and see the world with friends, my husband and children. I absolutely love Paris, its a jewel of a city and I cannot wait to go back. 

Speaking of going back my husband and I are planning our first big trip together! As soon as I returned home in Mid September, we decided to our next anniversary would finally be the honeymoon we've longed to have. We were on a tight budget for our wedding and only had a mini-moon. For our 7 year anniversary next year we're taking a trip to Ireland, London and Paris! To say I can't wait to experience those amazing countries and cities together is an understatement!! As we get closer to our trip, I share more details!

Cottage Studio Rug Ideas

I've been on the hunt for a comfy rug to layer more color into my backyard cottage studio. I really want a that is comfortable underfoot, has a pretty pattern and flows with the color story of my cottage. As a quick reminder, I recently teamed up with The Home Depot to transform a TUFF Shed into a She Shed, which I've affectionately refer to as my studio aka the official headquarters of Chic Little House. Since I completing the project for The Home Depot, I've made a few changes bringing in more personal touches, artwork etc. Up next on my list of additions, is finding the perfect rug. I've rounded up a few rug styles I've been considering for my cottage. First is Option One up this shag Moroccan Diamond rug. I love that option one will add a fun comfy factor to the cottage and love the cute tassels. 

Rug Option Two, I love this pattern and the rich color navy, and think the dark navy will look so good paired with all the white in the cottage. 

Option Three is another fluffy rug, this time with a subtle grey pattern. 

Option Four is so pretty, I just love the pattern! 

I'm a huge fan of geometric prints and love the look of option five. 

Option Six, is another geometric navy print rug, but also so pretty. 

Friends, which rug option from the above do you like best? I'd love your input or a link to a rug you think would work even better in the cottage studio. 

Chic Little House in This Old House Magazine

Friends, I have some excited news! My family and I are in the Special Reader Created Issue of This Old House Magazine October 2015, I recently shared a picture on Instagram of me at Barnes & Noble picking up a copy! However, things never feel official until, I've shared them on the blog. Recently of of the Editors from This Old House Magazine reached out to me about my DIY BBQ Grill Cart project we recently finished saying they'd love to feature the cart and share with their readers. The bar cart we made was also recently featured on roundup of bar carts on Apartment Therapy. I've been a fan of TOH since I was a kid watching their shows on Saturday mornings, I've always been the kid who couldn't wait to go to the hardware store with their Dad. To this day its still my kind of fun on a Saturday mornings. I'm so excited about this issue friends, its filled with so many amazing DIY Projects and Ideas. I'm swooning over the front porch in the cover, and getting so much Halloween & Fall front porch decor inspiration.

Can you spot my smiling face in the contents page. The BBQ Cart feature is under The Home Solutions section of the blog. 

Below is the article from This Old House, so excited to be in a Reader Created Issues along side of some many amazing DIYers. I was asked to submit several pictures for the feature, its always excited to see what pictures where chosen. Our DIY Bart cart is all styled and ready for fall, filled with fall goodies, apple cider, apple cake and lovely flowers. Along with sharing the article, I thought it would be fun to share a few outtakes! 

 

Friends, if you have a chance to read the article, please let me know what you think! A Huge thank you to the team at This Old House Magazine, for loving the Bar Cart project and featuring it along with my cute family! 

6 Ideas to Create a Pretty Front Door

I have a serious crush on pretty front doors, they typically stop me dead in my tracks and I must take a pictures. Your front door is the first welcome to your guests and it should be inviting showcase your family's personalty. I've gathered 6 Ideas to help you transform your front door into a pretty hello. For more front door inspiration, visit my recent post about the several inspirational front doors from I fell in love with while on Holiday in England here. 

No. 1 Have Fun with Color. One of the easiest updates to you can do to your front door is paint! One quart of paint can totally change the look of your front door and can make a simple paneled front standout in the best possible way. Be unafraid of color, when deciding on the paint color for my front door I was most drawn to chartreuse. But, at the same time I was so afraid of the color in a good way, turns out going with my gut and painting our front door a shade of chartreuse even when family didn't get my vision was THE perfect decision for my home. Read more about our front door color journey color inspiration here. 

Remember to think beyond painting your front door black, red or white. While there's nothing wrong with those colors, having fun with color is the perfect way to greet your guests. Fun colors don't always have to be bold and graphic, they can be the a pale color or mint, light blue or even a soft grey. 

image via Yahoo Homes

No. 2. Upgrade Your Door Hardware. Swamping out or even Spraying paint your front door hardware is an affordable update that can be accomplished in an afternoon. In addition consider installing a door knocker and mail box slot to up the charm factor. 

No. 3 Install House Numbers on Door. Adding numbers to your door, is the perfect way to add visual impact and can be done very affordable. These large modern house numbers from The Home Depot, are fantastic and would look great on a door.  

via TerraCotta Design Build

4. Add Trellis for Vines. This white door below comes alive with the vine roses flanking each side of the foot door. This would be a super simple update, the plants van reside in large containers and the trellis can be attached directly to the exterior of the house. 

image via 101Gardens

No. 5 Install Statement Lighting. Extra large lighting looks so good and is a quick and easier update for your front entrance and can really help give your front door that 'wow factor.' 

image via Tidbits & Twine

6. DIY Dutch a Door. I love Dutch Doors, they are fantastic and so pretty! I wanted to add one to my laundry room, but I let myself get talked out our having one. However, I have big plans to find a vintage door and transform it into a Dutch Door DIY style! Any guesses on the door, I plan on replacing in the future with a Dutch version? 

image via Ciao! Newport Beach

I've been sharing several fantastic doors on Instagram follow me @mrsclh to see more and get a peak into my day to day along with what I'm working on for the blog. 

What color is your front door? And do you also have a major crush on front doors. 

His & Hers JORD Watches

Now that the weather is finally starting to cool down in Northern California, my husband and I have been enjoying Saturday morning latte dates. My drink of choice is almost always a latte while he loves to mix it up and try out seasonal drinks. I love kicking the weekend off in a slow manner and just enjoying each others company. In addition to us sharing a love for lattes, we also have a thing for match watches, it just makes us happy. 

We've both recently fell in love with the wood watches from JORD. These watches are so pretty, I love the wood grain on each watch which makes each of them unique. When my watch is on my wrist, I can't stop staring at it, it makes the perfect arm candy addition to my wrists. For my wrist, I choose the Ely in Maple, I love the wood grain complements my skin tone. Whenever, I wear my JORD watch, I always get asked questions about, its so cool to have a wood watch. Hasani, choose the Fieldcrest in Maple for his wrist. 

Snapping pictures for Instagram, because seriously when coffee is good its a must share. Hasani had a Mexican Mocha, which was so good. I seriously had order envy! 

I brought my JORD Watch with me while on Holiday, and left the watch on California time, Hasani set his watch to London time. It was a sweet reminder while we where apart what to be able to look at our wrist and know what time in California or London. It really made the eight hour time difference easier for face-time and calling each other. 

Check out the amazing selection of wood watches on the JORD website, they have so many to choose from. Hasani and I are, already eyeing our picks for our next his and hers matching watches. 

Sponsored Post
Thank you JORD for sending my husband and I our new favorite his and her watches! This post is a sponsored post from JORD. While I received two watches from JORD to review, all content and experiences are my own. 

Which JORD watch is your favorite? 

Unique Watches

Cottage Studio Color Story

When I'm designing a room, I love keep the key players in the room more on the neutral side, soft grey walls, dark floors and key pieces of furniture is either black or white or wood. I love bringing in color with accessories: colorful lamps, pillows, artwork, books and throw. 

Every room has a color story that helps tie everything together and makes the room flow. The color story, also tells you if the space is casual, or takes its self serious based on the colors in the room. I knew I wanted the colors in the cottage to feel fresh and fun and comfy, in many ways like an extension of my home. 

When I started planning the design plan for the cottage, I decided the dominant color in the would be navy. To me navy also reads timeless, but also looks fresh. I paired navy with Chartreuse and Shades of green. Chartreuse isn't for everyone, but in my home the colors just work, navy + chartreuse look so good together! In my house, I'm the only girl, so I don't often get the chance to use pink, so I decided to go for it and throw in some pink to the mix with accents, a pretty pink and blue pillow and artwork found on Etsy that is feminine and pink! I'm not a girly girly, so it was fun to add the splash of pink 

As I mentioned, I love layering colors accessories and when the main colors in the room are neutral the accents you add with artwork, objects and pillows make everything pop in your room. Below are the colors, patterns and artwork in the cottage studio. I've had so much fun mixing the fabrics and patterns, the trio of colors makes me so happy! 

Now that I'm back from from my holiday, I cant wait to spend some time in there in the evenings getting myself truly settled in. I have bookcases that need to be both styled and practical, I'm made some changes since sharing my completed studio on The Home Depot Apron Blog. I have so many projects around my house that need my attention and I know once I'm fully settled in the cottage, I'll be more productive and get those projects done. 

I'm in the process of working on a full video tour of the cottage, its one of my favorite places to spend my time, I can't put into words how amazing it feels to have my own studio, this is something I've dreamed about for years. I'm looking forward to showing you all around my studio, it will be the first video I've created for Chic Little House so crossing my fingers it goes well. 

What are the color stories in your house? Are you a black and white and gold kind of girl, love dark moody walls or all white? 

Follow Along My Home Depot Project The Cottage Studio
The Cottage Studio: Behind the Scenes Part I
The Cottage Studio: Behind the Scenes Part II
The Home Depot Apron Blog, She Shed Reveal