A personal announcement, and beautiful pictures from Barcelona

Hi all - so for those following my Europe trip, this will be the last post for Spain. I have many more countries to share with you, and next up will be Italy! But first, lets say goodbye to Spain with a hodgepodge of images from beautiful Barcelona.

And my personal announcement? On Feb. 14th I am leaving for Spain to live with my boyfriend until the end of June! Don't worry though, I will still be blogging with the same consistency, just 6 hours ahead of you guys on the east coast. After June, depending on where/if boyfriend goes to grad school, I will announce my new home, which will probably be somewhere on the east coast.

Okay, here's a little review of the 9 weeks I spent backpacking through Europe. I've now covered Spain in previous posts.

(click for a larger version of the map)
The countries we visited include Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

Here is a round up of posts from my travels throughout Spain

•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona


Now for saying goodbye to Spain with the last of my Barcelona images -


The colorful, delicious markets...

The work of Gaudi everywhere, such as the Casa Amatiller


Stunning ceiling


Reminds me of Morocco!



In Park Guell, you can tour the house where Gaudi lived. Gaudi did not design this house, it was originally owned by his father.



What a humble bedroom!


Most of the house is used to showcase his hardware and furniture design, which you'll see below

LOVE this door know.



Do you have a favorite place in Spain - or a place you've always wanted to see?

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels in Spain -

•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona


So stay tuned for more Europe pics - next post will be featuring the breathtaking Cinque Terre on the Mediteranean coast of Italy.

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A stylish - and eco-friendly substitue for the typical eye-sore dog bed

Props to Molly for coming up with this wonderful solution for all of us dog lovers who are also earth-friendly. Dog bed duvets! You can either cover your existing dog bed with a chic and stylish Molly Mutt duvet, or get the whole kit and get the stuff sack too, which is a mesh bag in which you stuff unwanted textile goods - old blankets, stuffed animals, towels, etc. It keeps textiles out of the landfills and gets you a stylish place for your beloved pup to lay his/her head.

Here's a description from the Molly Mutt site - where you can see and learn more about the product.

"molly mutt diy dog bed kits are an exciting new approach to keeping textiles out of our landfills. Cover your existing dog bed with the molly mutt dog duvet, or - here's the cool part - fill it with the old clothes and bedding you've got laying around your house. ready to toss those jams & one-eyed care bears from the mid-nineties? throw those in your new cover! Your dog gets a new bed, and you get a fun, easy way to recycle your old things - not to mention some extra space in your closet."

Here's the duvet I picked out for our 1 year old female Australian shepherd, Storm. I love the fabric design.

the mesh stuff sack

Empty stuff sack and duvet

I filled out stuff sack with some mismatched linens, and old throw rug, and an unraveling blanket. One thing to keep in mind is that if you plan on moving the bed around a lot, depending on what you fill it with it can be heavy. This can be a good thing though on hardwood floors because it keeps the bed from sliding around too easily.

The sack is easy to put in the duvet and it really shapes up nicely.


The bed stuffed and ready to sleep on. If it starts to look flat I just lift it up and give it a good shake to "fluff" up the contents.

Storm, positioning herself where she can guard her stuffed weasel and the table pedestal she chewed the life out of as a puppy

Here's my Remi - 70lbs but he sees Storm sleep on it (she's only 35lbs) so he does too; even though one end of him is always hanging off. Isn't he ccuuuutteee?

Another great thing about stuffing the duvet? When it gets stinky you can just toss the stuff sack and the fillers in the wash!

Now, your dogs may be well mannered and only sleep on their beds, but ours sleep on the beds, the chairs, and the couches. And that means that things that I can't fit into the wash end up a little...funky. Luckily Molly makes a great line of sprays and washes to keep your stuff smelling fresh. I really like the dog bed deodorizer because you can literally spray it on anything and it's perfectly safe and natural.

Check out all the awesome fabric choices -






They are all so cute! The pups too!

All of the sprays and washes, and the great duvets and DIY dog bed kits can be found on the Molly Mutt site.

What do you think?

disclosure: I received the Molly Mutt duvet, stuff sack, and bed deodorizer as a sample

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A truly unusual loft space - what do you think

I'm a big fan of mirrors and framed art propped on the floor





great coffee table

love this home office


So what do you think? There are elements I really like but could I live there? I don't know...

via Lantliv

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A month by month plan to get your home storage organized

Better Homes and Gardens released this storage organization guide recently and I thought it'd be a good thing to share. I should have posted it early, and from now on I'll post each month's schedule withing the first week of the month. To read the whole storage plan on BHG, click here.

Click on the image for a larger view

January is all about the home office. Here is what they suggest doing:

•Create a Mail Station. Set up mailboxes on a desk, wall, or bulletin board. Or give each member of your family his or her own labeled box, bin, or slot.

•Stay on Schedule. Hang a large monthly calendar in a spot everyone can see and use it. Choose a paper calendar or dry-erase version, and encourage everyone to write important events, deadlines, and reminders.

•Organize Office Supplies. Outfit a desk drawer near your main working area with a divided tray or multiple small bins. Limit the number of office supplies in each compartment. Label each compartment with an adhesive label.

•Get Rid of Junk. Test all writing utensils. Toss everything that doesn't work perfectly. Group similar items (pens, pencils, markers, etc) in canisters for easy access.

Of course, you can always go way more in detail, but I think their suggestions are a nice starting point.


I adore this choclate office, and I'm a huge fan of baskets.
via Southern Living


The modular desk systems and home office styling ideas from Pottery Barn are an organization junkies dream. ...one day...
via Pottery Barn

love me an inspiration board
via Traditional Home

A super glam office

A Herman-Miller studio.

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sweet, sweet sleep - in a beautiful bedroom

Here in Maryland we had a blizzard that left over a foot of snow in a matter of hours. Yuck. The gloom outside makes it so hard to get up in the morning. I just want to sleep and not wake until i can look out the window and the weather be sunny and in the 70s all week. Agree?

so simple and pretty


I'm loving the deep hues being used only in the bedding - it makes the room super versatile.


Great home office - and great bedroom - but I'd be too tempted to take naps with my bed so close to my desk.



via Casa Diez

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