Spend an Afternoon Visioning What's Next for YOU!

A vignette from the vision board I created last year...

It is really hard to get somewhere if you don't know where you are going. But, I bet you feel there is somewhere you want to go, and all kinds of things you want to create in the months and years ahead.

Maybe you want to embark on a new kind of adventure, but you aren't sure what that is, yet. 

Maybe there is a nagging in your gut or a longing in your heart — but deciphering what that sensation is trying to tell you is hard amid all of the noise and commotion of everyday life.

Maybe this is the year you want to begin a renovation —either of your house or of yourself!

The thing is, if we could only just picture it (whatever "it" is) then maybe we could find our way there.

That's why creating a vision board can be so powerful.

I have found that one of the best ways to figure something out — to create a way to move forward — is to stop using words, at least for a little while. 

A vision board is the ticket in; it’s a way to translate the language of our hearts. 

What’s a Vision Board, you ask? A vision board is a collection of pictures — a collage of sorts — that helps to "get on paper" what is in your heart. Because images can speak to our souls in a way that words cannot, gathering pictures that pull at your heartstrings and then displaying that board where you can see it every day, focuses your attention and helps you to create more of what you truly want in your life. 

This is why I will be teaching a day-long workshop this summer on creating your vision for yourself: Follow Your Heart Home — Creating A Vision Board For 2015 & Beyond

Join me for an amazing Saturday of visioning with some scissors, glue, and a few other ladies to quietly encourage one another as we map out our amazing adventures ahead. 

A delicious catered lunch is included, and will be provided by Dine-o-matic Cooking Company of Chadds Ford, as well!

Four of the ten spots available in this workshop are already taken! If you are interested, please don't delay 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER 

Here are the details:

When: Saturday July 18 from 10am-2pm

Where: Locust Hill Farm, 327 W Baltimore Pike Media, PA 19063 (across from Wawa Corporate Center).

Materials: Poster board, glue, and magazines will be provided! We ask that each participant bring 2-3 additional magazines to share as well for a great variety of images. :)

Admission: $55 per person or $100/two people

(This workshop and lunch is a great mom’s day out activity, or an event that a group of friends can do together!)

Taking time out for yourself to become clear on exactly what you want to create in your life is a powerful thing! Hope to see you there! Click here to register now. 

It Can Be SO Hard To See

When I first learned how to drive at age 16, highway driving seemed awfully daunting.

"Remember, to check your blind spot before you change lanes!" I remember my parents urgently telling me.

As if there wasn't enough to remember already, with the turn signal, the high speeds, where the break pedal was, and all the other drivers hurling their cars around at 80mph...

At least when we learn how to drive, the whole blind spot thing is a known, and people warn you about it. However, with other things in life, we are left guessing--unsure of when we aren't seeing all that is there to be seen. 

I find this to be especially true of our houses. 

There are things we live with day-in and day-out that "have always been that way." They may not be particularly lovely, well-designed, or easy to use, but we don't even question the way it is. Whatever length of time we may have lived in our current house, it is easy to become blind to the possibilities that are right there in front of us.

For example, a pantry that functioned "okay" at the far end of the kitchen caught my eye as I met with my clients last year. 

They had talked about renovating their kitchen for many months, but ideas they had considered about simply getting new cabinets and appliances had fallen flat, and they didn't know why. 

I helped them to see that the problem wasn't only that the room needed updating, but that the way the room related to the other rooms around it was keeping the space from having any sense of flow and connection to the rest of the house.  I can't tell you how important that is!

As the space was opened up during the renovation phase, you could feel the difference the new opening had made in how the rooms functioned, how light was shared from one room to the next, and the changes allowed room for the installation of a new bar area linking the den and the kitchen. 

It is a big part of my job as the House Whisperer to help you see around corners, recognize your blind spots, and make you consider questions you didn't even think to ask.

If you are interested in seeing all the possibilities your home holds, a House Call (an hour-long initial appointment) with me is the first step. Click here to schedule yours!

My Month In Pictures

It has been a busy month, filled with lots of pretty flowers, delicious food, and adorable houses. SO, I have some fun pictures to share... :)

Outside my house things have been happily blooming:

And the view from inside is made all the better for it!

With everything so leafy and green, just taking walks around my neighborhood can be breathtaking. 

And we were so blessed to have the PERFECT evening for our Simple Summer Pleasures class. Setting everything up before everyone arrived, I was giddy with excitement...

Once we got started, all were riveted learning about the best tips and tricks of summer grilling. 

I got to sit and relax while Matt took care of the cooking (and of course my assistant snuck a picture of me doing so!).

Who knew that grilled Romaine would make for such a nutty and wonderful grilled salad? Matt did! (I can't thank Dine-o-matic Cooking Co enough for helping to create such a delicious evening!)

Everything was amazingly delicious. 

May I have some more, please?

Did I mention just how gorgeous the weather was that evening? So lovely. 

In other news, Revealing Redesign has had the honor of touring some pretty exquisite, vintage, Smithsonian-worthy kitchens and baths lately. :)

I don't think a single thing has been changed in the bathroom above since 1961. These are the rooms that keep me awake at night dreaming of all that they could be. 

What would YOU do with these spaces if given the chance?

I will keep you posted if they become RR projects.  I get all excited just thinking about it. :)

And I always love snapping pictures of little charming houses I come across in my travels. So cute. 

Hope your May has also been filled with beauty, charm, and blessings. 

If you would like to see more of my day-to-day adventures, please follow me on Instagram!

Remember, It's For YOU

A couple of years ago I invited a colleague of mine over, a woman who is a professional gardener, to answer a few questions and give me a fresh perspective on the grounds around our house...

The advice she gave me wasn't what I had expected at all, didn't just pertain to gardening, and has forever changed how I look at my yard and my house. I am hoping it will help you, too. 

In those days, I had a large herb and perennial garden in a far-flung corner of our yard. It was fun to hike out there at times to visit--it did feel like another world--but it often was neglected and was off on its own for many days or weeks at a time. 

"Why do you have this all the way down here?" she asked me. 

I am sure I had a puzzled look on my face, and I probably muttered an answer that made really good sense to me at the time… something like it had sun, & didn't that big flat piece of land need something??, and shouldn't your garden be visible from the street so it makes the house look good??

"But it isn't where you are all the time. You really should have your garden where you will walk past it each day and enjoy it as it grows and changes."

Well, duh, right? HELLO. How did I miss such an important point of having a garden??? I had made it about being big, impressive, complicated…I had made it about everything but my enjoyment. 

SO, THIS IS YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE MONTH!!  (even if you don't have a garden…)

Now that summer is almost here, carve out a little space of your own where you can enjoy an outdoor view, a cool breeze, a potted plant…and put it where it is right there in front of you all the time so you actually USE IT.  A nice place to sit right outside your front door (even if you don't have time to sit there at the moment) can make you smile as you leave your house to go to work in the morning.

And it will be there to welcome you home at the end of the day. :)

I feel very blessed since I now have two places--one right outside my front door, and one outside my kitchen door--that beckon to me to come outside and sit awhile, each with their own little garden that I enjoy whether I am sitting there or simply walking to my car on my way to an appointment.  The small beds are easy to tend to, and I have other things that delight me in the spaces too--like a bird feeder that attracts all kinds of feathered friends, or twinkle lights and candles that I can light in the evening. Heaven. 

Just about very day I enjoy these little spaces. Every day they make me smile--and that is what I want for you, too.

May's Class At The Farmhouse: Simple Summer Pleasures--BBQ's & Staycations

Staycation: A vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer.

I am so excited about our upcoming class at the farmhouse this month!

We will sit outside under the farmhouse's old oak tree (weather permitting) and talk about ways to really savor the wonderful summer ahead of us in and around our homes. And of course, we'll share ideas on the wonderful foods that are popular for the summer season. 

I am thrilled to again team up with Matt Genthert, personal chef and owner of Dine-O-Matic Cooking Company in Chadds Ford, to explore summer delicacies hot off the grill & fresh from the garden. 

Learn how to make simple, delicious, fresh and festive food while you make the most of your time at home. These simple summer recipes will help you unwind and relax in the months ahead!

Skip dinner and come hungry!!! Great food and drink included! 

When: Thursday May 14th, 2015 at 6pm.

Where: Locust Hill Professional Center 327 W Baltimore Pike Media, PA 19063 (across from Wawa Corporate Center)

Cost: one ticket $35, a pair of tickets $60--so BRING A FRIEND!! :)

Click here to register!

Register early--this class is filling quickly!!