Deep breath....

I can't thank everyone enough for your sweet comments and emails. This week has been hard. Many of us have suffered loss. Thank-you for allowing me to share mine with you and thank-you for sharing your hurts with me. 

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Everyones doing it....so I am jumping on the recap blogwagon. Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we...  

In January, I showed you how I turned a dated apartment complex into an updated townhome with the tiniest of budgets and some house staging:

February, I gave you a tour of a clients mountain home that I was lucky enough to be involved with from the ground up : 

And, if you want to see some more, here is the post of the kitchen:

In March, I gave you a sneak peek into my own guest bathroom that I was finally redecorating. I was inspired by {out-of-my-price-range} Schumacher wallpaper:

In April, I brought you along on a day in my life: {well...sort of...}

In May, We took of a tour of a Paint-by-Numbers room I finished. I must say, I sort of love this room!

June brought us the completion of a fresh renovated kitchen in a clients mid-century modern home:

In July, I thought I might need to hospitalized due to this:

But, I got it together in time to take you into the clubhouse I completed at Bear Lake Reserve: 

In August, I shared pictures of the Medwest Gala, "Here's to Hollywood" at Harrah's Casino. Every year our fundraiser has a new theme:

I also invited you in to my completed Sharpie-drawn-wallpaper bathroom that was finally finished!

August was busy...I can't leave out my visit to the Cashiers Showhouse:

I was lucky enough to find myself vacationing in California in September. We hit up a lot of the beautiful coast and stayed in various places. Here you can see our visit to the chic Hotel Monaco.

In October, I got busy decorating for fall with some funkins:

As well as party rocking some Halloween costumes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November brought me to one of my favorite events--The Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn!

And a reveal of a clients newly renovated Guest room:

In December, I shared a way to jazz up your art work with ribbons:

 

Dang, that took a long time to put together--but, you're worth it *silly rainbow smiles*.

Woa!!! What a year! It's kind of fun to look back and remind myself of 2011's accomplishments. I look forward to all that 2012 has in store for all of us and I also look forward to having you here with me. Your encouragement means the world to me. You're the best.

  

When I first walked in to Artefact, an architectural salvage store in Cornerstone on the edge

 of Sonoma wine country, I wasn’t prepared. You know when you enter a store, or a house or

maybe just a fabulous space and you are instantly consumed with endorphins?? You want to

immediately come face-to-face with the owner because you know that you have a common bond

 and you are destined to become friends...

Well, that’s how smitten this blogger was when she regained her composure upon walking in. 

  

 This gigantic hand greets you upon entering. And see the peek of chalky blue off to the right?

 It's a 20' wall of stacked vintage chairs *awesome*

This art installation is backdropped with loads of ropes. Look closely and you can make out

 the wooden legs of the gal carrying 75 tons of wooden…{?} stuff all while still checking

 herself in  her hand mirror. 

 

 

 

These silver skulls almost changed my mind about Halloween decor! 

If you are really lucky, you'll get to meet the shop dog, Axel. 

 

Artefacts is right outside the fantastic store, Zipper, that I wrote about here and next to Keating Winery. 

 

 

This little gem is located at the southern gateway to Napa & Sonoma wine country. CornerStone

 Sonoma is an eclectic collection of shops, wineries and a gourmet cafe set amidst nine acres

 of garden installations created by the world's leading landscape architects. If you are lucky

enough to be in the area, I strongly recommend visiting.  

I have been receiving and enjoying the NapaStyle catalog for many years. After incredible

success with his many California restaurants, Chef Michael Chiarello opened his first

NapaStyle retail store in 2000. Michael describes the store as ‘a multi-channel lifestyle

 retailer inspired by my Southern Italian heritage, the Napa Valley style of life, and a

passion for seasonal and sustainable living.'     

I was excited to see how the catalog would translate into a store. I was expecting {or

maybe hoping} to see more furniture, but for the most part it was showcasing his spices

 and food items, much like a Williams Sonoma store. My foodie husband wasn’t at all

disappointed.

This was a table made out of salt squares--very cool. That back wall is full of a kazillion different salts-who knew there were more than 2 or 3?!

He had a small café set up in the rear of the store. The chandeliers {on the left} were

created with wine glasses, serving spoons and other cooking utensils.

 

Loved these copper tables. I used a hand hammered copper dining table in a clients

 home here in the mountains and it is a showstopper.

 

Of course, there were oodles of wines to choose from.

Right outside of the entrance to the store is one of Michaels restaurants, Bottega.

There is a huge outside Terrazzo filled with lounge areas and dining seats.

 

 

Inside, there are 2 dining rooms with a private dining/wine room and bar and 5

communal tables. It was dimly lit and beautifully decorated with old timbers,

salvaged bricks, leather, Calcutta d’Oro marble and recycled concrete.

 

 

 

It just so happens that Napastyle has just announced that Napa Interior Designer,

Lisa Holt Has joined their team and she will be writing a blog for the company. You

can check out NapaStyle Flavor here.  

 

   

Michael is also the author of many cookbooks, the proprietor of a family winery,

and has his own shows on Food Network, Fine Living, and PBS.

{Bottega was so incredibly packed at 6pm on this Friday night—go figure, that I felt Incredibly rude snapping

 pics of people enjoying their dinner, so I borrowed the photos of Bottega from their website}  

 

Our Monterey hotel room couldn't have been closer to the blue California waters.  

 

Monterey is a long way from my home in the NC mountains. But, just a hop,

skip and a jump outside of our hotel, I was excited to find my people. How I

lurve to find local artists.

 

Loved this mural on the waters edge.

We spent a good part of the afternoon enjoying the beauty that the Monterey Aquarium provided. 

And I'll be darned if my people weren't at the aquarium, too!

How beautiful is this plastic bottle art display?

Outside offered us just as much beauty as we strolled by the storeowners stunning flowers.

After our shopping, we took in the scenic '17 Mile Drive'. This is the stretch between Pacific

Grove and Caramel that is full of golf courses and enormous homes.

I had to stop and grab this photo for my {golfer} dad. Notice that the picture above of the Lone Cypress is the logo {in the circle below} for the prestigious Pebble Beach.  

I'm not sure I can explain how many deer were on this course and the surrounding golf courses. It was unreal.

We finished our day off at a fabulous dinner at the Chart House. If you are in the area, I highly recommend.