{Mint & Peachy Pink} My Bedroom Tour Reveal


As you all know, I was in the process of redesigning my bedroom all last summer. This would be the combined result of going through a break up and needing to stay busy {totally worked, by the way!}, being at your parent's house for the summer, and realizing your bedroom needed a little TLC :)

 I'm head-over-heels for Caitlin Wilson Textile's pretty fabric, so those were the hues that determined the direction of my color story, as you might remember.  All you readers helped me pick my paint color over in this post, so thank you! Fresh minty walls and rejuvenating peachy pink accents -- that was enough to make me swoon!

 I refinished the white dresser {a Goodwill find for only $70}, gave the nightstand a fresh coat of dove gray paint, sewed the curtains with my sweet grandma's help, and put together a collection of architectural paintings and prints by talented artists for the gallery wall above my desk {all artists are credited below in the source list}.  Now when I'm blogging and working on client projects, I have something extra pretty and inspiring to glance up at every once and a while.   As a lover of all things handmade, I made sure to hunt down my favorite etsy shops and add some specialty pieces to my room.  You helped me choose which pillows to have made for my bed in this post

I'm a firm believer in absolutely adoring the place you call home by filling it with treasures you love {more on this subject in my post from yesterday}.  I'm also pretty sure a certain english cream golden retriever will make you smile almost every time you see her.  Miss Hope is my personal assistant and sometimes we take breaks to read the latest House Beautiful together :)

In case you missed my feature on Made By Girl last week, you can enjoy my full room tour and source list below!
 

Beautiful photographs {both film and digital} taken and edited by the talented Emily Scott of Gem Photo.

Source List
Paint color: Sea Cap by BEHR

Gallery Wall:

Paintings- Custom artwork by Jill Atogwe (jkatogwe@gmail.com)
Photographs- Sarah Tucker Photography
Letter "M"- Anthropologie

Desk:

Desk & chair: consignment
Desk lamp: West Elm
Shell frame: Anthropologie
Chair pillow: West Elm
Side storage bookcase & turquoise box: thrifted
Baskets: Michael's
Birdcage: San Francisco Flower Mart
"By Wisdom A House is Built" painting: Michaela Noelle Designs

Bed:

Bedding: Anthropologie (similar)
Pink greek key pillows: Skoope Home
Gray Euro Sham: West Elm
Accent Pillow: DIY using Caitlin Wilson Textile Fabric
Artwork above bed: custom by Michaela Noelle Designs

Bookshelves:

I Love You Blogs & Coffee print: Made By Girl
Mercury owl: West Elm
Abstract painting: Paint the Runway etsy
Succulent & mint pot: Trader Joes & San Francisco Flower Mart

Dresser:
Dresser: Thrifted and refinished with Anthropologie knobs
Lamp: Home Goods
Cake stand: Meadow Boutique

 Other:
Curtains: Sewed using Caitlin Wilson Textile Fabric // DIY here
Nightstand: Refinished from Home Goods
Large white owl: Home Goods
Rain boot painting: Custom by Jill Atogwe (jkatogwe@gmail.com)
Turquoise rain boot frame: Z Gallerie 
"Happy Girls are the Prettiest" print: SS Print Shop



Have a beautiful weekend!  See you back here next week for some serious Christmas business.  Don't forget to check out our up-coming link parties, get your DIY on, and link up your projects next week for our Christmas Cheer parties! Go here for more info

Happy weekend :)
Love,
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PS. Today's the last day of November. I can't handle this!!
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Staying Content With Your Home


A life of interior design means a world of gorgeous homes, beautiful features on multiple online and print publications, friends constantly talking about their next project, helping clients redo their homes, and guess what else?? Sometimes that world can come with a bit of jealousy, an I-need-everything-attitude, and the struggle with how to balance creating a lovely home for yourself  and your family while feeling content with the things you have.  That's what we're talking about today. And it's true, I totally go through stages of struggling with this feeling. I'm surrounded by so much wonderful inspiration, awesome DIY projects and home tours, that often I'm left feeling like "wow, I need to update my house" or "my home will never be as beautiful as ________". 

Clearly these feelings of jealousy and my-house-isn't-good-enough aren't good feelings, and they're certainly not aiding your design process.  I just had a great conversation with one of my good friends and e-design clients, Nicole, about this very feeling.  She asked me how I deal with design, style and creating new spaces while staying content with my own spaces.  I just love friends who challenge me unexpectedly like this.  It made me think of how I truly do deal with this, and address the fact that yes, sometimes I do get in the comparison game and jealousy trap.  When I struggle with something {or anticipate a near struggle} I like to make a list of things I know to be true to combat the lies I will be fed while going through the said trial. So, in an effort to do something like that, I made a little list for myself and for others.

-Dig deep and ask yourself why you're comparing your home or feeling less-than-great about your space.
- Your home should be a collection of things you genuinely love. This is HUGE and I know I say it a lot, but it's just because it's true!  Don't latch onto trends because they're "hot". Chances are they will be out next month, season or year, and you'll be left feeling empty, because now you want to incorporate the next trend into your house {but this time you're out of money}.
- Invest your money in the big, statement, foundation pieces of a room. The couch, a chair, a nice table,  rug,  and media center are all good places to put your money.  Make sure these key pieces are neutral enough to stay classic as time goes on. Infuse personality into your space through the wall color, more inexpensive accessories, curtains, pillows, and more.  As trends are changing, the accessories can change with them, but the classic pieces will remain the same and save you heartbreak and bank-break in the end ;)
- Your home should reflect YOU, so when you are designing and styling it, don't compare your room to someone else's, simply because they are not you.  It's not about what everyone else thinks and sees and feels is "in", it's about what you love. What you're comfortable with. And what you genuinely enjoy looking at and living in.  
- Define your style on paper and write out the things you adore about design, your home, your room, and your collection of "stuff".
- Don't feel like you have to get the decorating done quickly. I struggle with this, as I'm definitely a go-getter and want to get everything done like a speed demon. I don't like to live in a mess or an undecorated space...anyone with me??  However, don't be afraid to take your time to decorate your home.  If you do this, you will end up with a well thought-out house that better reflects you, and after all, that's the ultimate goal!  You want your house to feel collected and like its belongings have come from all over, not just from one big shopping spree at a single super store.
- For me personally, I need to be constantly reminded of my goals in creating my home:
1. To serve others and to serve God in my house.
2. Feel comfortable and happy in my living space.

I dream about my future home a lot. In fact, more than I care to admit :) I can't wait to decorate it, but I want to try to avoid these feelings of constant comparing. I hope to be happy with what I create and remember that it's not my house in the first place, its the Lord's, and I ultimately want to serve Him and love His people in my house.  I also want to stay creative and inspired by looking at house tours, projects and tutorials but putting my own spin on each project I do.  

What about you? How do you stay content with your house or space amongst all the design inspiration at our fingertips?? How do you plan on creating a home you love and avoid the feelings of jealousy and comparison?

Some food for thought on this Thursday..have a wonderful day!
Love,

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She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Pasadya

Happy Wednesday, friends! As usual, I have a talented blog friend here sharing her loves and love-me-nots of the week for my weekly series.  Today I'm excited to have Danie here from Pasadya
You'll come to love her in all of about 5 minutes {the time it will take you to read through her post!} She's a kind, talented, artist, designer and sweet friend with a big 'ole heart.  Her artwork takes my breath away. Let's here what she's loving and not loving so much this week!
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Hi, everyone! I'm Danie, and I'm an artist who recently started her art business called Pasadya (pronounced pah-sah-jah). I love Michaela's genuine voice and heartfelt ideas in her writing, and her everyday happiness never fails to put a smile on my face, so I was honored when she asked if I would like to share a few of my ideas of what's to be loved and not. 
Hope you all enjoy! 

Ohh, where to start? It would be dishonest of me to say that I don't love about 1.5 millions things, but let's keep this short and sweet, shall we? Should we begin with the obvious? Okay, then!
1. EXPERIMENTATION
Truth be told, I am an honest-to-goodness art fart. Have been since I was fresh out of my diapers for the most part. Like Michaela, I went to school for interior design, which is still dear to my heart. After I graduated and got married to my childhood sweetheart, I just couldn't get that little nagging voice out of my head to go for my dreams and become an artist. One voice said, "You'll be wildly successful...you just wait and see!" while the other one said, "Are you going to starve? Maybe now is not the time...or ever." Thankfully, the second voice has so far been proven incorrect, especially with the undying support of my loving husband, who was the one that pushed me to begin all this. 

Sob story and hurdles aside, this is what makes me heart flutter and what pushes me to create new things constantly. I work in different mediums and styles, but I especially love acrylic abstract painting and line art fashion illustrations. I'm beginning to dabble in watercolor more and more, and I'm also beginning to fall back in love with color. Almost one year ago, you would have seen only black and white line art, but now I'm beginning to experiment with digital color. Finally, you say! Yes, yesss, I do love it. A few years ago, you wouldn't even catch me using anything close to Photoshop, but now I'm all over it. How long did it take me to learn? Absolutely forever, but now that I look back, it was all worth it. 

Here's to future experimentation! Let's not be afraid to work outside of our comfort zones. 


2. WINTER


Photos taken by me in Denver, Colorado | 1, 2, 3, 4 

I used to whine when I was little about how I hated the cold, didn't like how the night pushed itself into the daytime before 8:00 PM, blah, blah, blah. You grow up, though, and you learn to love the change of the gorgeous seasons. I'm from Texas, so we're actually still in fall mode, but I have to tell you that I'm looking forward to winter! Who can resist the snow, hot cocoa, and warm cuddly things? Not this lady.

3. TRAVELING WITH MY HUSBAND


I absolutely love traveling with my family, but when it's a trip with only my husband and me, it's total hilarity plus adoration. A no-brainer favorite trip of ours was our honeymoon to Hawaii in May 2011. He drove the windy and narrow road to Hana while I gritted my teeth, squeaked every once and a while out of fear when cars squeezed by, and covered my eyes constantly. But don't worry...at least over half the time I had my eyes open to take in the breathtaking view, of course. 


I hung my head out of that rental car SO MUCH during that trip. How could I not? Places like this make me realize how small we are and how great God is. I need to remember that every day. 

Dun dun, duuuuun. What's not to love, you ask? Lots of things, unfortunately. Well, come to think of it, they're mostly love-hate relationships. Point in case:

1. PROCRASTINATION


I get so giddy with excitement when I try a new style and love it, but I have this gigantic small problem of actually finishing a piece when I'm...say...80% through. Currently, I told myself that I would complete 3 particular pieces of art once for all weeks several days ago. It's a small bump in the road, but working more efficiently, perhaps on one painting at a time, would benefit me greatly. I think the biggest thing holding me back from truly finishing bigger pieces is the fear of messing them up at the finish line. Know what I mean?

2. UNGRACEFUL SLEEPING


Our daughter dog is a beloved child of the home, and she sure is quite the sidekick during the day to bounce ideas off (ha!) of and keep me entertained while I work, but MAN, is she infamously talented in the snoring department. Anybody else have a dog (or any animal / human, for that matter) with a short snout that makes it impossible for them not to snore?? When I say it's loud, I mean it's L-O-U-D. As in, I-need-to-shut-the-door-to-the-next-room-in-order-to-drown-the-horrendous-sounds loud. Oh well. At least when I look at her in her sprawled out snoring slumber, she manages to melt my heart because she has to find the softest area to nest in, and she never fails to bring her choice of toy along for the ride.  Who would have thought she would decide on a hard, green rubber ball, of all choices? Uncomfortable, but beloved, I guess.

3. GETTING SICK


Before this past summer, I hadn't gotten sick for over an entire year! Over 365 days, people! That was pretty much amazing after I realized it, but almost immediately after jumping for joy at the realization of staying well for almost a year, I fell ill...for a week. As of right now, I'm recovering from being stuffy, hoarse, bedridden, and wrapped in giant sweaters and ugly sweatpants over Thanksgiving, and my fingers are crossed that just maybe I'll be back to normal tomorrow. 

Even though getting sick isn't the greatest, it makes me realize how much I take health for granted. This needs to happen every once in a while to put me in check! I was brought to thankful tears two nights ago while my husband rubbed my back until I fell asleep and I thought about how blessed I am to have a caring husband who is always there for me, a mother-in-law that makes me breakfast in bed and puts the humidifier next to the bedside, and a mother that drives across town just to make sure I have Airborne and Advil, along with the rest of my sweet family and friends. It breaks my heart to see the homeless on the cold streets in the busy cities, and I couldn't imagine being physically ill on top of the omission of family, friends, and shelter. It's times like these that I realize once again that I'm not the person in need of help, and I have to reach out and give just as others have given to me. 

Thanks so much for having me, Michaela! And to all of you sweet readers, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. :) Happy holidays! 
***

Thank you, Danie! Doesn't her trip to Hawaii look divine?! And I think we can all agree that being sick is always on our loves-me-not list! Go say hello to Danie today.

What are YOU loving this Wednesday? Have a great day!
Love,
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{Fashion} Cozy Go-To Outfit

Polka dot jeans: B.P. Nordstrom- Vigoss brand // Sweater: Anthropologie // Leopard Flats: Target // Bracelets: Gift

Is it just me, or do polka dots make everything better? If it weren't for the polka dots on these jeans, they'd just be any 'ole pair of pants, but as soon as I throw these on with the cute faded white dots, it adds instant style {with little effort!} This past weekend I went home and was able to enjoy the colors of Fall in Northern California.  You know, that's something Northern California definitely has on Southern California.  It's gorgeous hues of Autumn.  The leaves were changing and falling off the trees already!  Today I arrived back in Los Angeles and guess what?! Not a colored leaf in sight.  My oh my!  

This outfit is my go-to cozy day look.  It's comfy, warm, but still cute. I think. Yes?! :)
What's your go-to cozy look?

Did any of you score anything fun over black friday or cyber monday? Please share!
Happy Tuesday!
Love,
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On My Desk & Cyber Monday


Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend with family and friends. I was so excited to come home and find my very first Olive Box package on my desk. If you aren't familiar with Olive Box, it's a company, much like Birch Box, that sends an assortment of stationary and paper goods each month.  I got a subscription for my birthday! It was so fun to open and find a bunch of goodies.  Inside were cute postcards, tree bark pencils and a pretty print that I framed in a simple white frame.  I can't wait for December's box to arrive!! 

In other news, it's Cyber Monday! This past weekend, I did a bit of online Black Friday shopping. Did you?! If you're looking to add some cute accessories, furniture, rugs, or other home decor to your house, shop Lulu & Georgia's Cyber Monday sale.  26% off your purchase, in honor of November 26th! 

SHOP here :)

And tell me what you get if you make any purchases! 
I have a busy next few weeks ahead... lots of school projects, extra curricular activities, and more.  Here's to hoping I can survive.

Love,
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December

December is fast approaching!  We all love the holidays, so I just can't wait for it to be here! As I begin to plan my posts and projects for the month, I wanted to pop into today quickly to ask what sort of posts you'd like to see here on the blog in December. Anything specific? Please leave me a comment letting me know!

We picked out our tree on Friday and got it all decorated! Can't wait to show it off soon. It drizzled the night before so I pulled out my rain boots and wore them tree hunting :)
 


Also, I'm now accepting December sponsors and advertisers! I'd love to showcase great etsy shops, small businesses and fun blogs. If you think your blog or shop is a good fit and are interested in advertising, please email me at michaelawarner90@gmail.com

Enjoy your Sunday!
Love,
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The Start of Christmas Decor

Ah, the morning after Thanksgiving.  Always a tough one to mustard up the strength and roll out of bed, isn't it?!  Our Thanksgiving was lovely and oh-so-delicious.  I was in charge of whipping up the mashed potatoes and I have to say, they turned out quite well. Yum! 

I have a big day ahead, as my mom and I are decorating the Christmas tree and mantel to get ready for our Christmas Cheer Link Parties

Last year we got our tree flocked and loved it, but this year we decided to change it up and forgo the flocking. All the elements we're using to decorate the tree are natural, glittery, and neutral colored.  Think lots of creams, whites, beiges and possibly a touch of cranberry red.

Below are some Christmas decor inspiration images I'm loving:
 
 
Images: one, two, three, four via Country Living; five, six via Traditional Home; seven, eight, nine via Traditional Home Virginia house tour


What's not to love about this season? I just want to cozy up by the fireplace, stare at our pretty tree {once it's all decorated}, drink copious amounts of hot chocolate and some enjoy family time. When are you decorating your tree and do you have a theme?

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. Would love to hear what you did in the comments! To see sneak peeks of our Christmas decor, follow me on instagram: michaelanoelle.

Have a great weekend!
Love,
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PS. Welcome my sponsor Brianna of Breezy Days blog. 
Over at her cute blog, she shares about her life, love story, and lots of fun outfits she puts together. Stop by and say hello!
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