fess up friday - a home full of color

My favorite day of the week has arrived. And not a moment too soon. Why does the week after a holiday always seem to drag on and on? I'm also excited for today because I'm thrilled to have Shavonda from A Home Full of Color over. Shavonda and I come from the same world when it comes to design and I always look forward to seeing what she does because so often I think, "that's exactly what I would do." And I've loved following her progress as she and her family took the plunge into a smaller (three cheers for small living) home and have been working their tails off to make it their own. I just love her. And to top it all off, I so agree with her Fess Up. See for yourself!

Hi Everyone! For those of you who don't "know" me, I'm Shavonda and I blog over at A Home Full Of Color. I'm BEYOND excited to be here today. I absolutely love Elizabeth and her Fess Up Friday series is one of my favorite things ever. I've been low key hoping and wishing I could take part in it so when I got the invite I immediately responded with a "Hell Yeah, I'm in!".

Ok so lets get to the nitty gritty shall we. Gosh I feel like I'm watching a torrid episode of Maury and we are just waiting to hear if the boyfriend's uncle's cousin's brother's next door neighbor is or isn't the father!
Ok so here goes.....I'm fessin up to being a total and complete HYPOCRITE. I blog about creating spaces on a budget and I'll give a major side eye and an "#aintnobodygottimeforthat" to a full priced side chair from Restoration Hardware, but put me face to face with a pair of these:

Or one of these:

and I'm done for. Designer shoes and handbags are my weakness and I'll gladly spend big bucks on em. I don't dive into fashion very much on my blog, but I love it almost as much as I love interiors...almost. Its kind of ridiculous...I mean there I am rummaging through the clearance aisle at target while carrying a $350 handbag. #dontjudge

Now don't get me wrong, my design approach is completely based on a splurge and save foundation so I will incorporate expensive pieces into my interiors as well, I just always feel I need to rationalize those purchases. When it comes to shoes and handbags I don't. I just do it quite simply because they are gorgeous and I like em.

So who's with me? Any other closet couture hoarders out there? Come out come out wherever you are!

Thanks so much for having me Elizabeth. Now if you'll excuse me I gotta go check on my ebay bids.
Xo-Shavonda

fess up friday - driven by decor

Raise your hand if you are shocked that Thanksgiving is in less than a week! Only me? Luckily I have a great Fess Up Friday to distract me from the fact that I'm not near holiday ready. Today my dear Kris from Driven by Decor is here for a bit of a confession. I love reading Kris's blog because I always get to the end of the post and say to myself "Now why didn't I think of that?!" Kris has no shortage of genius ideas and she's got the style and skills to back it up. She's all around aces in my book and I have a feeling she'll have something good to share. So Kris, Fess Up!

Hi everyone - I'm Kris from Driven by Decor, here to bring in the weekend by spilling my guts on Little Black Door. I've got to work my way into the mother of all embarrassing fess-ups so let's go with a little house confession first, ok? If you're a Driven by Decor reader, you may have noticed that there's an always-closed door at the far end of our living room. Ever wonder what's behind it?




Well, grab your sunglasses and prepare for the blinding red glare because we're going in...





I hope you brought your shopping basket because you've just entered my personal home accessory shop (aka our ugly, undecorated family room):





Here's the backstory - we were lucky enough to have one day of unpacking services included in the relocation package for our recent move and I asked the ladies who were helping us unpack to put any accessories on the shelves in the "red room". I guess there was a type-A personality in the group because at the end of the day I had shelves filled with accessories that were grouped together by type - a shelf full of books, a shelf full of glassware, etc. Of course I had plans to paint this room ASAP and style up those shelves all pretty but then I realized how awesome it was to shop this room's categorized shelves while I redecorated the rest of our house.

So when I'm looking for a bottle or other piece of glassware to decorate the kitchen? Bookcase 1, left side, shelf 3:





How about a selection of candlesticks for the fireplace mantel? Bookcase 2, left side, shelf 1:





Needing a pretty base for the bedroom? There's six on Bookcase 2, middle, shelf 1:





Yep, the convenience of being able to easily find and grab accessories as I've decorated the rest of our house has resulted in this ugliness sticking around way longer than the "I just moved in" excuse covers. Look for an overhaul in 2015...


So now that the whole "ugly personal accessory shop behind the closed door" thing has been revealed, I'm ready to wrap up with one final fess-up. I have a talent for speaking an extremely
strangeexotic language that's pretty rare to come by. Yes my friends, I'm fluent in Ewok.





When the Return of the Jedi came out, my dorky 10-year-old self thought it would be fun to learn the words to the Ewok Celebration song (aka "Yub Nub"). And to this day, I remember all of the words (including the full Ewok rap at the end) and have maybe even been talked into rapping it out Ewok-style once I've gotten a margarita (or three) under my belt. Yep, I'm just that cool.

Thanks (I think...) Elizabeth for having me and hope you all have a great weekend!

fess up friday - simple details

Today's Fess Up Friday gave me the biggest belly laugh of the week. And it's no surprise that it came from my friend Pam of Simple Details since she makes me laugh pretty much all the time. On her blog, on the phone, in texts, she's just damn funny. And as you know, humor is high on my list so of course I think the world of Pam. Couple that humor with honesty, and you've got one great Fess Up combo. So my Pam, fess up!

Hey Little Black Door fans, I'm Pam from Simple Details, I'm so happy my sweet pal

 Elizabeth invited me over today! I've always thought it was a great idea to post embarrassing

 photos of yourself on the internet, and never got around to it, so thank you E.

 I owe it all to you! 

(I'm guessing if you're a LBD reader you're big on sarcasm :) ) 

So, I'm fessing up about my eating habits, I'm a healthy eater, but always in a hurry, and 

never sit down (not so bad, I'm betting 90% of you busy moms do the same, right?).

BUT, the ugly part is I literally gulp down a few bites and don't take time to get any serving pieces.   

About thirty seconds before I have to head out the door my breakfast looks like this...

And, I quickly stop in for lunch and pop the top on a can of salmon...

If it's an oatmeal morning, I do use a bowl, albeit a huge one because otherwise

the oatmeal boils over. No time for any toppings. 

And, one of my most delectable lunches, a can of Kroger dark red kidney beans,

yum, tell me your mouth isn't watering? Green beans and beets are faves, too!

 My sweet clients know me well, they all seem to be ok with no lunch stop,

 and come prepared when we're out shopping!

And, just so you know...

1. Mr. Simple has told me for years how important it is to eat a good

 breakfast, and sit down and enjoy my food, and relax and yada yada yada.

2. I have a teenage son who has no body image issues and eats like a horse.

3. I sit down with my family for dinner every night, and I've never handed them a can

 of anything and a utensil!



I've never liked to go out to lunch, it seems like a waste of time in my day, if you

do invite me I'll figure out a way to make it a drive through Starbucks on the way to

do something else with you! :)



Happy Friday, friends!

Thanks so much for having me, Elizabeth!

fess up friday - krystine from living pretty styled

I'm here..barely.  I've been sick. Sick as a dog. But luckily I've got my dear friend Krystine from Living Pretty Styled with a Fess Up Friday that will have me feeling better in no time.  Thanks Krystine for coming over, you know how to make a sick girl feel better.  Now, Fess Up!

So I have to confess, I'm a big confessor!  It's my Catholic upbringing and doing weekly confessionals.  The anxiety those would cause me!  But, now I confess things out loud and some times in public way too often.

Like one night recently my girlfriends came over to keep me company & drink wine while my husband traveled.  Well, they came over and left fairly early.  And for whatever reason I had this crazy boost of energy so I downloaded some new tunes, turned on the surround sound and had my own dance party in the den in front of the mirror for close to 45 minutes.  Everyone does that right?

Ok the big confession, I give myself total anxiety and stress myself out over projects & design challenges.  I procrastinate and then a week out before the project is due I whip it together like mashed potatoes or something like that.  I work better under time crunch and last minute because if I have too much time to think about things I over analyze, second guess and question my decisions obsessively.

Another big confession, I actually was born and raised in NJ until I was 15, but I try not to share that a lot with people down south b/c they get funny about northerners ;-) The one's that find out let me slide because I've been in South Carolina 20 years. 

This one I haven't confessed out loud. I'm a smother mother.  I love my kiddos more than I can explain.  I mean I'm stern and try my best to raise them right.  But, I'm also fun and chill and we jump on the beds and I totally over kiss their faces.  (oh the shame)

I speak Polish fluently and I like to aggravate my husband by making him think I'm talking about him to my family because he can't understand!

OK last one.  I'm a huge tom boy.  I grew up playing sports, beating all the boys in everything and being overly competitive.  I still have that competitive drive but it's more competition with myself to prove to myself that I can do something that I didn't think I could. Oh and even though I am tom boy, I LOVE dressing up.

If you need to hear anymore confessions you will have to fly down to Charleston, have a glass of wine with me or a grayhound.  

Thanks for having me Elizabeth!!!

fess up friday - my notting hill

#TG&TF y'all!

Thanks to each and every one of you for your sweet comments and emails about our feature in Refresh Magazine. And what better way to celebrate than to bring back a little Fess Up Friday action! Wahoo!
Today we've got Michele from My Notting Hill. I've been a long time fan of Michele's and I learn something wonderful and design related each and every time I visit.  So Michele, fess up!

Elizabeth - thanks for the invite to Fess Up Friday!  They say a little confession every now and then is good for the psyche.  You know, releasing the pent up anxieties that come with trying to keep hidden one's foibles, and all that.

Well first I was going to fess up about my addiction to design but then realized in the world of bloggers and people who read blogs it's not all that unique. Besides, that pretty much gets chronicled on a weekly basis on my blog anyway.

So here goes my confession- I still use my Motorola Tracfone from 2008!  It's an old school flip phone and I kinda love it.   Yes, it is pretty much good for only two things:  calling and sending simple text messages, which by the way can take me forever to do on this key pad.  At one point my kids (now almost 21 and 16) said, "Mom, why do you keep spelling out numbers when you text us?" Sad truth - I didn't know that if I pushed one extra time I'd get to the number part…  That tidbit of info sure did save me some time.  I love that it's narrow and long and feels more like a real phone that stretches from your ear to your mouth.

I love the little mirror feature and use it to help me put on my lipstick.  I also love the fact that I only spend about $100 bucks a year total on minutes and that I'm never tempted to look at it when I'm walking somewhere because, let's face it, there's not much to look at. I haven't even changed the screensaver pic in over 6 years.

Just recently I went on a long weekend with college friends.  They couldn't believe I still had "that friggin flip phone."  I always tell people the same thing, "Oh, when my minutes expire, I'll finally get an iPhone" but I know that's a lie.  I plan on keeping this thing until it dies.    xo Michele

fess up friday - short and sweet

Today is a good day for three reasons. One, it is Friday. (duh) Two, Alexa is here. And three, Kirby is here too. Kirby and Alexa, better known as Short and Sweet are a daily must read. One of the things I love best about their blog is that they are aces at mixing it up. Beauty posts, lifestyle, design and shopping - they cover it all but it is always original and relatable. And their fess up today is no different. I'm so glad they are here to wrap up Fess Up Friday for the summer. So ladies, fess up!

We are not fashion bloggers.

So much of the blogging world is aspirational. It's fun to see the way some of our favorite bloggers style the items sitting in our online shopping carts, but it's hard to take fashion photos in our real lives. We both have jobs. We each have a dog, and Alexa has a toddler and a baby. To be honest, outfit posts take a lot of time! First there's hair (are we the only ones who wear top knots 90% of the time?) and makeup (more makeup for photos is better), then there's the clothes, shoes (in case you didn't guess from the title of our blog we're both short), and lighting. The best photos are typically taken in the daylight, but we usually blog in the early morning or late night hours. Here are a few outfit post outtakes that didn't make the blog.

The lighting here is all wrong. All we had to do was cross the street to take better photos for the final post, but it took some trial and error.

This is Tank. He gets worried whenever the camera comes out and runs into the shot for a quick cuddle. Who can resist that face?

This is what happens when you wear something to brunch and try to take photos later. Even Photoshop can't fix those wrinkles.

There is so much going on here I'm not sure where to begin. Notice the random string of yard draped across the lawn. That was there for probably two weeks. As were the egg and doll house furniture. The baby was at a height of consternation at this point (as you can tell by his clenched fists).

"Mommy's taking a photo right now. Yes if you're good you can have a chocolate chip afterwards. Ok two chocolate chips. Ok three. Ok, why don't I just bake you two dozen chocolate chip cookies?" Also, notice the bandaid on my forefinger. No idea what that was from.



But, it's all in a day's work, right? At least for a blogger. ;)

Thanks for having us Elizabeth!

fess up friday - the zhush

Fess up Friday is here again already? Man did this week go by fast! But luckily it did because I've been looking forward to today's guest for quite some time. The ever so lovely Sue from The Zhush is here today. I know, exciting right?! Sue has the classic and bang on style that every girl aspires to, and her store is chalk full of goodies that I'd love to have in my own home. (hint hint hubs!)

Sue, fess up!

These "Fess Up Friday" posts are a lot of fun...probably because they are all so relatable.  I'm hoping some of you can relate to my little confession here today...I'm obsessed with flowers! I blame Instagram, Pinterest and blogging for this pricey little habit.  Before I started my blog, I loved flowers just as much as anyone, but I certainly didn't know a Parrot Tulip from a French Tulip, and as for Ranunculus, I couldn't spell or pronounce these beauties, mostly because I didn't even know they existed!  But now, over fours years into blogging, and thanks to the visual feast that is social media, it seems I can't go a week without finding an excuse to visit a florist or two.  With Peony season in full swing, it's only getting worst...I need to start growing my own!

Every room I pin, every Instagram I snap, nothing looks right or stylish to me anymore unless there are some beautiful blooms involved.  Perhaps it's just spring fever after a long miserable winter...tell me I'm not the only one!

fess up friday - recently

Happy Friday one and all! I am off to do some swimming and then watch my little in her first swim meet but first I have a great treat for you. Emily from Recently is here and I couldn't be more thrilled. I've always loved Emily's blog and even though she hasn't posted in a while, I had to ask her. I'm so glad she said yes! So Emily, fess up!

Hi everyone, I'm Emily, from Recently, here to fess up on this lovely Friday!  I have mixed emotions about this post, mainly because- to get straight to the point- I haven't blogged in eight months.  Yep, I'm fessing up about being an absentee blogger, or, as I like to call it, an on-the-fence blogger.  I haven't posted in forever, but I still maintain my site and keep telling myself I'll get back to blogging someday.  Here's a little of what I used to be up to...

Those were the days.  Now, here's what I've been up to lately:

No, that's not me, but I did take the photos. :)  I started a photography business called Nina & B Photography (named after my grandparents) and I've been loving every moment of it.  I'm way too busy right now to keep up with my blog, but I'm hoping to incorporate it into my business very soon.  I haven't decided if I'll retire the name "recently," but I hope that I can keep part of the blog that means so much to me around for a while longer.

It's definitely been hard to be away, so thank you Elizabeth for having me today!

PS: That adorable gal in the photos above is Laura from Love and Sapphires.  You should check out her style- it's incredible!

fess up friday - design indulgence

Today is a real treat as we have one of my all time favorite designers and funny ladies, Sherry from Design Indulgence. Sherry is my neutrals idol. No one can do white and black better than this lady and she also just happens to be one of the nicest and funniest ladies I've met in this little corner of the world (wide web). So Sherry, fess up!

Elizabeth.....you funny girl...thanks for asking me to join in on "fess up friday"....I think:)

I thought about all kinds of things I could confess to..... like I have a couple of hairs on my chin that seem to grow 4 inches in one night.  Seriously one day nothing and the next day Rapunzel.

Or that I HATE my curly hair....it has always been a pain in my ass.  

That is me [25 years ago] with Gene Simmons hair.  Ridiculous.

Or....I am totally petrified beyond anything of spiders...large or small.

But I guess the real thing I am confessing to is this....how scared I get when I post about a design project I have completed or share pictures of my own home.  

Seriously people I feel so vulnerable...."is it OK....are people thinking WTH is THAT?"  She needs to keep that mess to herself.   It's like I have that syndrome where someone can't recognize faces....only I can't recognize if it looks good or not.  Epic fail?

On the one hand people tell me they like it..... but what if they really don't know?  We have all seen when someone leaves the house thinking "BAM....I look good!"  And....you wonder 

what. 

were. 

they.

thinking.

Whoever said "I like it and I don't care about anyone else's opinion" is a liar right?  Of course we care or we wouldn't keep changing it.  

So there....it's out.  I have stood on the mountain [like Moses] with a bullhorn and hollered "it's a crap shoot over here:)".

Keeping it real.....Sherika

fess up friday - comfy cozy couture

Thank god for Fess Up Friday, or I would have not even known what day it is! I'm still in a bit of a post-vacation haze. I'll update you on all the vacation fun next week, but for today I'm happy to focus on the oh so lovely Dominique from Comfy Cozy Couture. I've long loved Dominique and long envied her style - girlfriend knows how to work it. When that winning lottery ticket lands in my lap, I'm calling Dominique for some hard core styling advice. Let's hear what my dear has to share today - Dominique, fess up!

Hey lovelies, Dominique here from Comfy Cozy Couture! Thanks to Elizabeth for having me over today for "Fess Up Friday!" I've always loved Elizabeth's crazy good style and ability to complete a fabulous DIY right before our eyes! Oh and the fact that she's hilarious is the cherry on top!

Okay, so I can't drag it out any longer...it's Fess Up time. Now I will admit I was so excited when Elizabeth emailed me about participating but that was immediately followed by nerves. Like omg, what am I going to fess up about but if you follow along with CCC you know that I recently announced the Mr. and I are expecting a baby in December.



And since "fessing up" is all about being honest well I'm terrified about this baby...not about the labor or how this said baby will come into the world (I'm pretending like the stork is going to drop it off for now) but more about what's going to happen to my body and that I will be responsible for another human being. Don't get me wrong I am so thankful that God blessed us with this baby as we tried for many many months and I think pregnancy is a beautiful thing! But as I try to prepare for the crazy changes that are about to happen to my body or the fact that my hormones are on a constant roller coaster ride...and the numbers on the scale are going to start creeping up I can't help but feel anxious and vulnerable.

But I'm vowing to put my negative thoughts aside and try to embrace this pregnancy thing along with all of the changes because I know in the end it will all be worth it or so I hear! Alright my confession is over...Whew, I feel better. Thanks for having me, I hope some of you readers can relate...tell me you can? I'm not alone here right?!

fess up friday - crazy wonderful

Raise your hand if you are thrilled it is finally Friday! Now get ready to raise the other hand up and do a little dance because today Shelley, from Crazy Wonderful is over for Fess Up Friday. Double Wahoo! Shelley is one of the sweetest women I've (virtually) met and I have loved following her build and move into their new house. So Shelley, Fess up!

Hey guys!  My name is Shelley, and I blog over at Crazy Wonderful.  I luuuurve a good DIY and am currently in the process of making our new house a home.  Once you're done reading this you'll get a better sense of the "crazy" part of wonderful.

It is sooo easy to get caught up in appearances.  Especially in Blog World.  You may read a blog and think, "Wow.  She really has it together.  Her house is perfect, children are perfect, blah, blah, blah...  And, I now feel like crap about myself."  Yuck.  Ok yes, I'm sure there are weird people out there that have it all together.  But those people are few and far between.  I certainly don't have it together.  And the last thing I want is for someone to feel that way when they read my blog.

For instance... my living room.

Really looks like this.  Toys and pillows tossed around.  A collection of remotes hanging out.  A still uncompleted gallery wall with random frames leaning against the top of the TV (can't believe it hasn't fallen yet) and paper taped to the front of another frame.  Leftover sippy cup from last night.  And more likely than not, a few Cheerios smooshed into the rug.

I do have some pretty striped candles hanging out on my fireplace.

But if you were to see the backs you'd notice the stripes are actually pieces of washi tape.  I was trying it out to see if I liked the look before buying real striped candles, which I do, but honestly I'll probably just leave them as is.  Nobody needs to know but us girls ;)

Let's see what else...  Oh!  So do you want to know why I haven't posted pictures of my kitchen that I love so dearly yet?  It's because there is a constant crap pile that hangs out on the counter.  I can feel my blood pressure rising as I look at this picture.  Drives me INSANE.  Insane, people!!!  I've tried cleaning it up, but this thing breeds when I turn my back.  One of these days I will tame it.  One of these days.

I made this really cute art out of plastic animals for Sam's nursery.

Fast forward 18 months to a little boy who likes to stand while he gets his diaper changed, and you get this.  Not so cute.

There is just something about me and incomplete gallery walls.  A few weeks ago I started one at the top of the stairs.  Not only is in not done.  It's literally falling apart.  And it will look like this for a good long while before I get time to deal with it.

And this nightmare is currently happening in my bedroom.  Awesome.

 I assure you this is just a taste of the norm around here.

Despite what you see here, I love making things pretty.  When I post a project on my blog I assure you that it really does look like that.  It just only looks like that until Sam's nap is over, Izzy comes home from school, I start in on another project, or life kicks back into high gear.  But hey, that's life and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Ok, I could do without this:

Did you see that?!  That thing is eyeing me ;)

Thank you so much for having me over to fess up today, Elizabeth!  It feels so good!!!