In the fall of 2022 I embarked on a self-love experiment. I didn’t really realize it at the time, but when I rented my own townhouse on the lake and started living by my own rules, everything changed. But also, nothing changed… at first. But eventually, over time, little by little, I let go of parts of me that weren’t serving me or that weren’t honoring my best self, so to speak, and started creating little habits and rituals every day that helped me feel like I was choosing ME. Sometimes in relationships, we don’t really realize how much of ourselves we give to others. And then we give and g ..read more

Light as a Feather… …stiff as a board. Last week during the snow storm when I was wild with stress and anxiety, I busied myself by making these pretty pressed pastel feather bookmarks and I honestly can’t get enough of them! THEY’RE SO PRETTY! Really, truly prettier in real life, as the camera can’t really catch the texture and shine and sparkle… but I tried. I’ve made similar bookmarks in the past from my paintings on paper, and I’m not sure what inspired the feather this time, but I can assure you that the entire idea came from a simple desire and need for a bookmark while reading yet anoth ..read more

I snapped this photo from a video/thus the poor quality HOWEVER, for a little added visual, check out my reel on Instagram, which may be helpful in conjunction with this step by step tutorial. Am I the only one who can’t say or write STEP BY STEP without then SINGING… ooh baby, gonna get to you… GUUUURL. Just me? Okay, let’s get serious! If you saw my nostalgic 2023 Christmas tree, you’ll know I hopped onto the tinsel trend hard and I actually loved it. It shimmered and sparkled in a way my tree has never shimmered and sparkled and disco dazzled all over the house for a month. I loved it! It ..read more

Last month while I was packing amidst my move, I found my very old Tiffany & Co. sterling silver key ring which I stopped using years ago because the silver ball, which fell of repeatedly, was finally lost for good. Typically, when it fell off, I’d find it at the bottom of my handbag or purse and twist it back on, but apparently, at some point, it had disappeared and so I stopped using the key ring and tucked it away in a box with other items I’d never use again – like my old cell phones, which for some reason, I still cannot part with. ANYWAY, yesterday the key ring popped up again and b ..read more

Happy Friday Lovecats! I have been MIA for a while, busy with Dogwood business as of late, and just kind of trying to get back to some sort of baseline normal emotionally and physically since the insane storm last month and it seems like things are starting to come together… FINALLY! All that said, Dogwood’s 5 year anniversary was on April 7th and I am still reeling from that because it just doesn’t feel like 5 years! I think the pandemic sort of blurred out at least a year and a half and things haven’t been quite back to normal since, but it feels like that’s all changing right now and this ..read more

I come from a long line of savers, which mostly has equated to frantic, jump-inducing yelps on holidays like DON’T RIP THE WRAPPING PAPER, WE CAN SAVE IT and DON’T THROW THAT AWAY, WE CAN USE IT AGAIN and SQUEEZE OUT THE SPONGE!… okay, the last one happened to be a running joke in my family, but you get the point. And maybe it’s not technically a “long line of…” but my mom definitely put the fear of life into my brother and I while unwrapping gifts on Christmas and birthdays. To this day we pause and ask her if we can rip it or if we should save it, and I wouldn’t be lying if I said she proba ..read more

I realized the other day when I opened my bag and hadn’t zipped up my little side pocket after using my lip gloss, that at first glance, all you could see was my ORANGE PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE OF PILLS, which is technically only filled with Tylenol (and maybe a few Xanax just in case) in an old container… BUT STILL, it just made me feel like some kind of addict and I immediately wanted to remedy that situation. Not only is it far too big to keep in my bag, (how many Tylenols do I really need anyway?) and takes up too much space, but it’s also ugly. Now, sure I could’ve just purchased a cute littl ..read more

I doubt this post is going to be that exciting BUT I feel like it’s pretty informative IF you’re interested in shortening a rug so it fits your space better… so if you’re into that kinda thing, then keep reading Rather than two small rugs, I wanted a long runner for my little bathroom that was approximately 2 x 5… but the closest I could find was a 2 x 6 runner with tassels, which made it even longer. Since the price was so good ($32) and I liked the shaggy texture and the color (white), I ordered it anyway just hoping it would look okay at the 6ft length. When it arrived and I rolled it out ..read more

The day I got the keys to my new place, I was chatting with the manager on the phone and she encouraged me to bring over a few little items ASAP to make it feel like my own. As I was running out the door to meet her, I grabbed three things; an antique copper French Bulldog figurine, a little wooden “be brave“ sign my stepdad gave me a while ago, and a black vase filled with DIY dried flowers I’ve had for awhile now. There’s something about dried roses that feel so romantic to me… so hearty when they’re alive yet so fragile once dried. I used to save and dry all my bouquets way back in the ’90 ..read more

A few months ago… way back in summer, I had the urge to paint my drippy watercolor flowers that I had previously only done on paper, on a much larger scale and on a canvas. My first thought was to buy a pre-stretched canvas, but they are always so expensive and never in the larger sizes I want and honestly always feel very amateur to me. However, I don’t know how to stretch my own canvas nor do I have access to anyone who does, which also makes me feel very amateur. My next thought was to buy a vintage painting at a thrift store and just paint over it… genius! So I went on the hunt and found ..read more