My Halloween Decorations : Inspired by the Haunted Mansion @ Disneyland...

This year I have added a little Christmas into my Halloween decor. I just got back from Disneyland and was inspired by the Haunted Mansion's "The Nightmare before Christmas".  I put up a black Christmas tree and decorated it with chain,eyeballs and spooky spiders.

*I bought the black Christmas tree from Wal-mart.

DIY... Paris Bar Stool

I love this before and after from Gina @ The Shabby Creek Cottage.  She transformed the bar stool she found at a thrift store into an amazing French Postmark Bar Stool. 

BEFORE

AFTER

Click here to learn how she did it.

Display your Travel Photo's on Picture Shelves...

I was at our crew hotel in LAX and fell in love with these super long picture shelves.  

It gave me an idea for a gift for my husband for Christmas and I figured it was time to finally put some pictures from our travels in our home.  

 

I don't think it would be hard to build shelves similar to the ones from my crew hotel but I wasn't in the mood for another project so I went to Ikea and found these cool 6 foot shelves.  

Most of these pictures are from an amazing trip to Italy.  Some are gallery wrapped photos on canvas.  I'm loving my new picture shelves!

Retro Luggage End Tables...

I'm loving these Retro End Tables seen on DIY Maven. They double as an end table and storage for remote controls, magazines and books. This is a really easy project: Just add 4 legs to your vintage suitcase.

Laguna Lodge, Costa Rica

While visiting Costa Rica we stayed in a Lodge influened by Antoni Gaudi, a Swiss Chalet and a typical Latin American Hotel. It was fun to stay in hotels that were so different in design. In Tortuguero we stayed at the Laguna Lodge. The owner is a poet and I'm guessing a fan of Antoni Gaudi.

If your not familiar with Gaudi, below are a few pictures of buildings he designed in Barcelona.

by Antonio Guadi

Laguna Lodge

Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Shell Lobby

Bench in Lobby

Reminds me of Gaudi's Ceramic Bench in Guell Park, Barcelona

Love the Door's!

Drift Wood Pendant Light

Reception Area

Souvenir Shop

Outside Shower

Charlotte's Chateau- French Inspired Nursery...

How can you visit France and not be inspired?  One of my favorite places is the Loire Valley, home to more than 300 Chateaux.  When it came time to design Charlotte's nursery I studied pictures I had taken in France and then found a fabric that inspired the color scheme.  

My husband and I did all the painting and sewing ourselves.  It was a work of love... Full of anticipation while waiting to adopt little Miss Charlotte.  I remember painting the walls and the ceiling wondering how Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel?  Did his neck hurt as much as mine? :) And hoping all along that Charlotte's birth mother wouldn't change her mind and decide to keep her.  It can be a joyful and stressful time for parents waiting to adopt.  We got lucky... we got our princess and she got us (and a beautiful French Inspired Nursery)!

Charlotte Claire's Nursery