Well, my dears, today was the last day of a much-needed vacation at the beach with my family and family friends. We were on the Gulf coast, where the weather was perfection the entire time (the beaches on the Atlantic didn’t fare as well). I tried not to work (too much), but it’s not in my nature to not accomplish a few things even on vacay.

Here are a few things I loved this week.

1. This pink house in Seaside, Florida:

I love the confident use of color on a beachside cottage that I spotted on our vacation. Pink, white, and gray perfection! I could live in a beach house like this, couldn’t you?

2. Seeing my house on the cover of This Old House in the grocery store while in Florida:

What’s more fun than seeing your work on the cover of a magazine in your own town? Running into it while shopping for chips and salsa while you are vacation! Even though it’s October, there were still a couple of September issues on the stands. I bought them all, of course.

3. This article about Expert Psychological Stager™, Amy Wagner:

Reflections of You, by Amy

Amy Wagner of Reflections of You, by Amy, was in the very first Expert Psychological Stager course I taught. This article by Style Blueprint came out this week and highlights her booming staging and design business in Louisville, KY, along with some tricks of the trade and design inspiration. Here’s a tip that Amy shared:

“When purchasing a chandelier for a kitchen or dining room table, an easy measuring tool to use is to measure the width of your table and divide by two. For example, if the width of your table is 48 inches, then the diameter of your chandelier should be 24 inches.” – Amy Wagner

When asked to name industry mentors, role models, and personal interior designer crushes, Amy named her interior designer grandmother and myself. That TOTALLY made my day! Amy Wagner’s company is modeled after the EPS training, and she sends several of her stagers for training every time I offer a course. The company is able to boast a 98% success rate for their stagings, which is amazing. This lady is doing BIG things, and I love to watch as her business grows and expands!

4. This quote about the Real World:

I saw this quote on Facebook and it is TRUTH. I don’t know the source, but I just had to share:

“Living your passion will include doing things you detest doing. Things you are not good at. Things that scare you. Things that bore you. Things that are extremely challenging. Those that look for easy will never find extraordinary. Those above doing grunt work to pay their dues will never deserve a promotion. That is because you live in the real world, not on a unicorn farm.”

5. This odd but awesome beach video my friend took:

[jwplatform RubDtya5]

Hanging out at the beach all week, we did a lot of people-watching. We weren’t exactly sure what this fella was doing (maybe exercising?) but this went on for a long while and my pal, Melanie, caught a portion of it with her cell phone. I’ve watched it over and over, partly because it’s funny and partly because I’m a bit amazed at this guy’s lack of self-consciousness out there in front of lots of people.

Just doing his thing, dancing with the ocean.  Maybe we should go forth in this new week with the same mindset! All the while, remembering that this isn’t a unicorn farm . . .

I’ll be touring the Southern Living Showcase Home outside of Nashville tomorrow, so stay tuned for a fun trendspotting report!