Welcome to a new week and the last entry in the series ‘intro monday’. This week I would like to share with you a blog I have been reading since it first began in August of 2008. I enjoy the mix of design, travel, art, events and photography that are collected in this space.

Vicente Wolf  is an iconic designer for me and has been a strong influence in my design journey. The interiors he creates are calming, light filled, balanced and absolutely impeccable from a design stand point in my opinion. I have had the fortunate experience to meet him twice when he was a speaker at our local design center International Market Square. He speaks from the heart, is aboveboard and when asked a question, answers with openness and directness.

This same quality is evident in his blog. I particularly enjoy the posts that relate to the interior design community from a business point of view. He struggles with many of the same  issues that other designers do and expresses his thoughts as though he is sitting face to face with us. This opens the conversation by honestly addressing the complexity of this profession. He also shares the joy he finds in his work and it’s ever evolving process. I invite you to take a moment and have a look.

I would also like to take a moment and thank-you for letting me share these special blogs with you over the last few weeks. I am sure you can see how they relate in some way to my own, as influence and inspiration come from many places.

Hello everyone and happy ‘intro monday’. This week I want to share with you another blog from Scandinavia, so let’s take a quick trip to Stockholm and visit …

Hanna began blogging in September 2007 and I happened upon her lovely site sometime in 2008. I am captivated every time I visit. Hanna is a very gifted stylist and photographer and it is so evident in everything she curates for her blog. Her subject matter is lovely, the styling is carefree yet has beautiful composition; the layout of the photos within her blog create a visually stunning feast for the eyes. The colors are always a bit grayed down and have a strong yet dreamy quality to them.

HANNAS  – FORM

With posts on fashion, jewelry, crafts, food, flowers and nature, something will certainly catch your eye and draw you to return. Please take a moment and have a look…until next week

Hello everyone and welcome to week seven of ‘intro monday’. Today I am highlighting two lovely ladies that I had the privilege of meeting (virtually) during our participation in Holly Becker’s Blogging Your Way  e-course.

Both of these ladies have a great eye for design and detail. I love the clarity of their blogs and the light, refreshing quality that emanates from their posts. First I would like to introduce Jennie Prince and her blog…

Jennie lives in New York and enjoys sharing all the inspiration she finds; whether it is a lovely piece of art, favorite treasures or delicate photos she takes herself. She carefully edits and refines her selections and presents them in an artistic and pretty format with detailed descriptions. Always lovely to look at and they give such a lift.

Odessa May Society

Next I would like to share the blog Iris pens from the Netherlands…

Iris is a mother to two little ones and shares snapshots of her sweet home along with ideas and visuals of what she is drawn to. She has a talent for styling her belongings and taking dreamy photos of what she puts together. These glimpses into her world are the posts I enjoy the most.

Irideeen

Please take a moment and have a little look at what these two artistic ladies create each week for visitors to partake of…until next time dawnxo

Hello and happy Monday. Hoping everyone had a lovely Mother’s Day. Today I am sharing two more blogs that are penned from Scandinavia.

I so enjoy a real look inside Swedish houses, especially ones that are as real and beautiful as these are. I love the light colors, reflective surfaces and clutterfree living that they capture. Both ladies have been blogging since 2007 and share a look at their homes and lifestyle.

First I would like to introduce Anette and her blog…

Anette’s style is a bit more traditional with a French twist and has the beautiful lightness of the Gustavian Style. I often just look at the lovely photos and do not bother translating anything, although the integral translation button makes that easy to do. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Sunday breakfast…

Now is the crown on the spot!

Next we have Jessica’s blog

Jessica is a part-time photographer and particularly enjoys capturing on film children in their own environments.  With a young son and a baby on the way, her home is whimsical and cheerful. Here are a couple entries I recently enjoyed reading.

Spring at the Playground!

My deer

Take a moment, if you will,  out of your busy week, sit back and have a peek at these lovely homes… take care, dawn

Happy Monday and happy May to you all, so how was your weekend? This is week five in my series introducing you to blogs I enjoy visiting. With my love of Scandinavian interiors and architecture I am drawn to stories that capture the essence of real life in that part of the world. Today we are visiting one little corner of Norway and taking time to have a peek at a lovely blog that invites us to take part in the day to day happenings of Mia’s Country Living.

Mia started her blog in October of 2006, documenting with words and photos her life on the smallholding she shares with her husband. I remember when I found this lovely site; I spent quite alot of time looking through many of the older posts and enjoying the honest and humble nature of the entries. Mia had already begun translating each post eloquently into English, for which I am grateful; as it makes it such a pleasure to be part of her journey. Please have a look at some of my recent favorites. I chose posts that let you get a glimpse of her gardens, decorating and handicrafts.

Turning green…

Sunday favourites

In good company

If you are looking for a bit of armchair travel, please take a moment and visit with Mia.

Happy Monday and welcome to the start of a new week. I thought today I would share two special blogs that mix imagery and poetry. What a gift both of these ladies have. With my own love of words and the impact just a few well chosen ones can make, I love wondering off into a dreamy world these blogs create.

First I would like to introduce you to Anita and her lovely blog…

Anita started Castles, Crowns and  Cottages a year and a half ago and it has grown considerably over that time. Not surprising, as I must not be the only one that loves how she mixes found imagery with inspiring words that prompts her readers to take a thoughtful pause. I often feel transported to another country, place in time or a quiet place inside my mind. Please have a look at a couple of my more recent favorites.

See You In The Morning

Sunrise Sunset

Next I would like to share a fairly new blog I have started to visit…

I came across Kelly’s blog through the pages of Artful Blogging. I was captured by the simplicity and utter beauty of her words and her own photography. What a talented lady, as she is also a graphic artist and jewelry designer. I feel I could so easily sit down to a cup of tea with Kelly and we would have many of the same thoughts. Please visit her lovely blog; here are a couple of my favorites. I absolutely love the quote from the second entry!

purple

what i love

Take a moment, sip a cup of tea and enjoy a bit of time visiting these lovely destinations…until next week.

Happy Monday to you all. This is week three of my series introducing you to blogs I enjoy visiting and keeping up with. With my tag line ‘intentional simplicity’ it is perhaps a given that I would be interested in those writing on similar topics to myself. With that, I would like to introduce two heartfelt blogs written with vision and purpose.

I would like to share with you Tammy Strobel’s blog Rowdy Kittens. Tammy is committed to creating ‘social change through simple living’. She has taken her own journey down this path over the past five years and is sharing it with others. She believes that small is better and by taking micro-actions, it is attainable. Her blog is a resourceful compilation of eye-opening realities relating to how much ‘stuff’ moves through our society. Here is one of my favorite more recent entries.

Has simplicity gone mainstream?

Next I would like to introduce Courtney Carver and her blog…

I love this title and the thought behind it. I was drawn to Courtney’s blog from the outset, when she began it about a year ago. She writes about topics from health and money to fashion and connections. She gives tips and insight and encourages us to take part in a variety of mini-missions. She writes with clarity and brevity and from the heart. Please have a peek at one of my more recent favorites.

Redefine Your Lovely Life

Happy Monday. As I mentioned last week, I am starting a series each Monday reviewing blogs I enjoy visiting. With that, I am excited to share two more delightful blogs with you today. I thought both of them were so lovely that I fashioned my own blog similarly to them.

First I would like to introduce Keiko’s blog Nordljus which she began in February 2005. Keiko is a spectacular photographer and food stylist who was born and brought up in Japan, but now lives in Suffolk, England. Her beautifully presented eatable creations draw the reader into each setting so effortlessly. I particularly love the entries where she shares her travels. The photos are always stunning with unexpected views and framing. She does not post overly frequently, which makes each addition such a treat. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Seville and Blood Orange Sorbet with Sichuan Pepper

Rome Snaps

If you are not able to hop on a plane to Rome, these photos will transport you from the comfort of your armchair…

The author of Pure Blog, Jane Cumberbatch,  is also the author of ‘Pure Style’ and ‘Pure Style Living’ (design-lifestyle books), both of which currently grace a bookshelf in my dining room.

Jane resides in London and started Pure Blog in July 2008. I have been drawn to her simple style for well over a decade and enjoy reading her day to day activities that she writes about on her blog. These being in part; the work undertaken on her home in the Algarve, her lovely garden in England, yummy dishes she happens to be preparing or projects she is currently working on. Her latest book has just been released ‘Pure Style: Recipes for Everyday Living’. Please have a peek at a couple of my favorite entries. Take a moment to look at the link to Spitalfields, the home that Jane restored in the mid 80′s and is shown in some of her books.

Natural beauty

Spitalfields, rhubarb and tulips

I hope you take a bit of time to wonder off into these inviting blogs and find something that particularly speaks to you…until next week.

Hello dear readers. Today I am starting a short series that will introduce you to blogs that I am drawn to and enjoy visiting. Some will be blogs about creativity or design; some will be about simplicity or inspiring words. Some will be from here in the mid-west and others will be from around the globe. Please join me every Monday for the next nine weeks…through the days of spring…until summer has arrived.

So, shall we begin? As I have mentioned, I have been taking an online course called ‘Blogging Your Way’, so thought it was only fitting that the first two blogs I share with you are authored by the course instructors Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring.

After spending a decade in the corporate world, Holly began decor8 in January 2006; gathering design inspirations and blogging passionately about them multiple times daily. Over the following five years decor8 would grow to a readership of 35,000 daily, due in part to Holly’s dedication, but more likely I believe to her very open and accessible nature. There is a wealth of knowledge and resources collected on decor8, from interior designers and photographers to stylists and crafters to name a few, all beautifully presented and thoroughly researched. However, it is the interaction with her readers that Holly takes time to foster which is evident when reading her posts. The entries I tend to gravitate toward the most are ones relating to Scandinavian and Swedish design. Here are a couple of my recent favorites…

Ikea’s inspiring blog; Livet Hemma

Color inspiration from Sweden

Please have a look at this lovely blog and find what draws you to return…

Now onto Leslie’s beautiful blog…

Leslie started a creative mint  in April 2009 as a place to share her inspired projects and photographs. The first time I saw Leslie’s blog I thought it was the most beautiful one I had seen; so simple, pure and stunning. Her photography is captivating and transports the viewer to a quiet, peaceful place. Just what is needed in the hectic world we live in. Leslie is genuine and sweet and has an amazing eye for detail. Every time I visit her site I come away inspired and centered. Here are a couple recent favorites…

Color Me Pretty Time

Clear Blue

I invite you to have a peek….

Thanks for letting me share these with you today…more to come next Monday.