Days 5,6,7,8 Here We Go!

Apologies for not being able to keep up the last few days!  We took these days off and did some family things that superseded any interior design projects. 

First, my daughter Hannah, a bridesmaid for an upcoming November wedding, had to attend a shower the bridesmaids were throwing for the bride.  Hannah, having a 5 month old baby really needed me to travel with her and help take care of our little Jack.  He is such a sweetie and I really relish every moment of time I get to spend with him.  It was a real pleasure.  Also time with my Hannah is always cherished.  We made some fun memories.

Secondly, I was so happy to have some time with my 87 year old mother.  She is still a super active person and full of life.  We enjoyed a great roast, mashed potatoes and broccoli and a home made peach cobbler when we arrived and home made biscuits before we left this morning!

My sister, Judy also had a milestone birthday, turning 70!  Wow, and she looks absolutely amazing.

Before leaving, we attended their home church that is an amazing church with Pastor Anthony Mangun, and renowned singer wife, Micky Mangun.  This church, being a part of my roots, always gives me a chance to see old friends and I get to come home to where so many of my spiritual roots are bound.

Then, home to my sweet hubby, that missed me (smiles) and my really sweet Abigail that is spending this weekend in our home with my awesome son, Aaron who lives with us.  Needless to say, I am a very blessed person.

The Pentecostals of Alexandria:

Copelands with the birthday girl, Judy Walston, artist and interior designer at Veterans Hospital.

The future bride and groom:  Andrea Floyd and Kevin Manzanares

Some of my family member present at the shower: 
Hannah with Jack, Kim Rodriguez, Andrea Floyd, Billie Walston, Missy Walston
Second row: Me, Gracie Rodriquez, Judy Walston, Michelle Fisk, mother of bride

My Mother with Jack:

Here is an inspiration I found while at POA today.  This fabulous flooring was epic!

See here on my IG page.

Good Night!

Day Four: AHHH Busy Day!

We had a lot to do today to clear our schedule for the rest of the week.  We are going to a wedding shower out of town and best of all, time to spend with our new little Jack Louis and my daughter.

Thinking I had every minute scheduled to fit all in then a call came that my car that had been in the shop was ready.  Yeah!  But, that meant one more thing to fit in.  A couple of text and rescheduling got me to two clients, one in Kingwood at 7:00, then another in the Heights at 9:00,  So, that got me home about 11:00.  So needless to say, it's been a long day.

I am super excited to be helping my second Harvey storm victim to turn beauty into ashes.  The couple tonight was super sweet and in our interview we had some heartfelt moments.  We will be sharing some photos much later.

My office at the moment is literally bursting with gorgeous finds for an upcoming styling....my most favorite part!

Here's a tiny sneak peek of a few of my finds:

Here's a little "share" of one of my secret weapons to make a day a little brighter.  My kids will tell you I am always singing the praises of my Aldi grocery store.  Here is one of my favorite things I love to get from there.  These are so delicious and they come in several flavors.  Best of all, their prices are great.

Good Night.

Day Three: Doing What I Love

I am never more in my element than when I am designing for a client.  When I see a space, I see it totally, completely done.  I generally know exactly what I am looking for once I have the space plan done and then the rooms starts to call for certain items and colors to make a complete cohesive look.

Last night, after completing my floor plans for 2 spaces, I was on a quest today to implement my plan with great found objects.  It's like items actually do call your name and want to jump off the shelves into your cart.  Now, I have enough to fine tune my paint color choices.  This really seals the deal for the perfect designed space.

Here is a before shot of one of my first projects when designing for Decorating for the Senses:

This is a condo in the Venue in Houston's museum district.  These New York transplants contacted me before they moved from NYC for my assistance.  At the first look at this, the plans started clicking.  We re-purposed a couple of pre-owned pieces of furniture and added a few needed items to complete the look.  I must say, stunning!!  And, best of all, we fell in love with this couple.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great tomorrow!  Smiles.

Day Two: Houston Traffic to Autocad

We just want to say up front our concerns and prayers for those who have lost loved ones today in the horrible event in Las Vegas.  We are blessed to live in a country full of caring people in times like these.

Today was filled with a trip across Houston for photos, measurements and a little vision casting for a client.  We have a lot to do in the next 2 days to free up the rest of our week for a trip to New Orleans for a family gathering.

I have not been brave enough to paint a red room or accent wall, but an art piece we are working with just seems to demand it.  This "parlor like" first room, creating an inviting sitting area will be dramatic, classy and intimate.  We are having to do some editing on the furniture to make it work, but I have high hopes that it will turn out as well as I envision!

Back across Houston, we made it to pick up a large art piece before picking up Gary at his office.

Since my VW Bug is in the shop and having to share my hubby's van, it has been a little cramp in our lifestyle.  So tonight, to simplify dinner, we had eggs, bacon, home made grits and cheesey biscuits.  

We got our space plans done on AutoCad and made our shopping list for the "finds" we need to shop for tomorrow.

Good Night.

Day One: Re-branding

This year began with a special vision casting service at my home church lead by Pastor Jason Sciscoe.  We were blessed to be a part of a focus group of leaders in attendance.  Pastor prayed for each of us and with his gift of prophesy he began to speak prophetic words of encouragement to each of us.  It was a very intimate service and God's presence was very real.

When pastor prayed for me, he began to speak of what God was going to do this year in my interior design business. Wow.  I left full of faith and excitement!

I will just tell you that soon following that meeting, God also lead me to a mentor that also believed in me and with several meetings and a lot of hard work, we began to strip away what I thought was a good business strategy and model to a higher path of endless potential!

Tonight I will share my new business card.  We have a lot to share.  We'll try not to give you too much at one time.

After designing this, shortly after, we did some studies on the Golden Means, a concept we studied in college but never completely wrapped my head around.  Though still a bit of a blur, I went back and compared my business card layout.  Once designed and the layout kept evolving until I felt it was right, it appears to be indeed a good example of the Golden Means.

I had no idea when discovering the notes feature on my new IPhone that one of my drawings would some day become my logo.  This was done with finger drawing on my phone's screen while I had a lot of time in the hospital with my husband for several days.

31 Days of Writing in October 2017

Thank you for following our journey this year!

You have landed on the page that will take you to each day of writing in the month of October.

Follow the links we will update daily to follow what we are up to!

Please leave your comments.  We'd love to hear from you!

FYI:  This photo was taken just one month ago as we were asked to come up with a way to display Kids Art.  This art was displayed for The Church Triumphant's first annual Missions Conference.  Pictured is myself with my great and fabulous carpenters used for this project.  Art will be auctioned at an upcoming Fall Family Fest the last week of this month of October.

Day 1:   Re-branding

Day 2:   Houston Traffic and AutoCad

Day 3:   Doing What I Love

Day 4:   AHHH Busy Day

Days 5 - 8:  Here We Go!

Day 9:   Time With Abigail Summer Madden

Day 10:  A Shopping Day & Designing

Day 11:  Happily Styled

Day 12:  Shopping Wrap Up & Just An Average Day

Day 13:  Not So Normal Day

Day 14:  Zapped

Day 15:  Hope You're Enjoying a Fresh Brew

Day 16;  India Kick Off and a Bunch of Other Stuff

Day 17:  Home Styling Day

Day 18:  Flooring, Shopping and Cupcakes

Day 19:  Launching My Days

Day 20:  My Little Bundle of the Day

Day 21:  A Working Saturday
Day 22:  An Actual Fall Sunday
Day 23:  Gearing Up
Day 24:  A Change Is Going to Come
Day 25:  Want Some Inspirations?
Day 26:  Sad News and Some Good News
Day 27:  Oh Happy Day!
Day 28:  India! and the world!
Day 29:  Cypress, Texas
Day 30:  Gotta Love Black and White
Day 31:  Let's Stay Connected!

Day 31: We Made It!

I love Octobers now because for the third year I have written every night in October participating in the 31 Days of Writing in October with a group of other bloggers.

I am happy to report that my blog got 2,311 page views this month.  Here is how it went down:

The top post were these.  In case you missed one, you can click on the link to go there:

Top Post:  Day Twenty-One:  Favorite Quick Big Inexpensive Recipe

Second Top Post:  Day Ten:  Family Photo

Third Top Post:  Day Four:  Learning to Relax

Forth Top Post:  Day Fifteen:  Bigger Than Yourself

To see all:  Click Here

Now for a give away!  I want to promote my business page on Facebook.  Please go to my page here and "like" it if you have not already done so.  Then, go to the post that offers the give away and leave your post reply.  I am giving away a book I mentioned in one of my post this month.

Thank you so much for following this blog and being a part of my journey.  You are also invited to join my business blog for photos of all projects I complete.  It also has lots of info of everything we offer.

October, you truly were AWESOME!!