We spent last weekend in San Diego, stopping by several of our favorite places while in town.  We visit the area at least once a year since we have family and friends that live there and it’s one of our most favorite places to relax and soak up some So Cal sunshine.

One of the most charming places to stop is just outside downtown San Diego, the small city of Coronado with its famous Hotel del Coronado.

To get to Coronado Island, you take the bridge and along the way you get a great view of the downtown San Diego skyline.

The Hotel Del is a beautiful Victorian structure that draws visitors from around the world.

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Lately, I’ve become obsessed with the patterns in marbled paper.  I recall making it as a kid in art class years ago and now it has reentered my life as I’m currently fixated on its random medley of swirls, stripes, and colors.

I made these marbled paper boxes for office supply storage in my oldest daughter’s room last week, but now I’m so crazy about them, I want to make more just for me!   Good news though, they’re incredibly easy to make.

This is an simple DIY project that adds a lot of panache to a plain box or magazine file.  You’ll need a few boxes and some sheets of marbled paper (sources below) plus cutting tools and glue.  I worked mostly with spray adhesive and a little craft glue too (not shown).

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Greetings all, welcome back from the long holiday!  We had a blast down in So Cal soaking up the sunshine and I spent an afternoon helping my oldest move into a new room in a house she is renting with roommates.  The bedroom is small measuring 10 x 12 feet, but we were able to fill it with a few essentials, mainly a cozy bed, a combination desk plus vanity, and an accent chair for a place to sit. 

My stepdaughter is twenty and just moved into her first off campus house so I offered to help her decorate her room when we came down for a family visit to San Diego.  She wanted a youthful sophisticated space filled with navy and coral accents with a Moroccan vibe.  Thankfully the walls were already a nice pale shade of gray so that worked with her color palette.  Here’s a peek at the space we pulled together on Saturday. 

The bed is IKEA and the linens are from several sources (see below).  I kept the sheets and duvet white but added those coral and navy accents she loves with a combination of large and small scale pattern.

The side table I found online and we primed and then painted it a gloss navy blue.  We had a lot of fun out in her backyard painting together, she now knows the power of a can of spray paint, ha! 

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Happy Labor Day everyone!  We’re taking one more day of leisure here in San Diego before heading home, but it’s a new month which means it’s time to share the best of the last!  Here are the top ten not-to-miss posts from August.

1.  The family computer armoire got a makeover; 2.  There’s a new painted étagère in the master bathroom; 3.  the junk drawer is organized again, and 4.  the lawn got a lot greener in two short weeks! 

5.  We changed the wall map in the study; 6.  our trip to Montréal was fantastique!  7.  a tour of the rugs in our casa; 8.  Québec City has some beautiful doors; 9.  we’re on the hunt for a trestle table; and 10.  the kids got to be boss for a day. 

Enjoy the rest of your holiday, be back tomorrow !

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