Business first 🙂 Just in case you missed Tuesday’s post, my wait list will be temporarily reopening on this Friday, June 24th at 9:30 AM EST. At that time, I will be accepting an additional limited number of clients to my list.

You can purchase Design Services this Friday, after 9:30 AM EST, by 

okay, on to fun, not-so-business-y stuff:

I am so excited to tell you about my day with Amy last week. She is the biggest darling. I just love her. And SUCH a smart cookie. I am hoping she will do a guest post for me {are you reading this, Amy??}, to tell all of you her tips for beautifully photographing interiors.
She made my house look so wonderful! {next four pics by Allenaim Photography}:

{oh dear. now you can see how slowly I am moving with my boys’ room re-decorating. If only those dern bunkie boards would come….}

And such useful, practical tips!

*Did you know that after you take a picture, you should look at the white items in the picture in order to see if it is over-exposed or if the color is off?? I know someone out there is saying “DUH!”, but that is why I love Amy. She didn’t say “duh.” 🙂

*Did you know that the lower your F number-thingy is, the more light you will get in your picture? {that is layman’s terms, okay?}
Clearly we need Amy to explain this better.

But the bottom line is, I had so much fun and learned SO much. I highly recommend finding a talented professional, and then hire/beg them to help you to understand your own fancy-dancy camera. It was such an invaluable help.
Here I am again, Lookin’ all pro:

Now for a little snippet from my lesson {and my camera lens}:

Exhibit A:

I took this pic on the Aperture setting, and we were mostly playing around with the exposure.

hold on a tick:
If that aperture mumbo-jumbo means nothing to you, never fear: My advice? I say again!!: hire someone who knows what they are talking about, have them spend a couple hours with you. Problem solved.
I have read a ZILLION blog posts on all that stuff, and it has never helped my picture taking because I could not make the connections. I needed to DO it, with guidance.

so back to my picture. Isn’t it pretty with all the light pouring in? But it was too much light to allow for any definition in the chandelier, which was my goal.

So, to get definition in the chandelier, I had to lower my exposure a notch. And voila. Crystal clear.

Amy shared with me that she likes to keep her camera on Aperture setting. So. Now, I do to!! Look at this pretty lil’ picture I took!

won’t you stop by Amy’s photography blog and check out this sweet post she did. Love ya, miss Amy!

live with beauty!
– {darlene}

Today is the last day to enter my June giveaway… and your chances of winning are good {that is why I love blog giveaways!!}. Just a comment on my giveaway post will enter you in, so click here to see the details and leave a comment.

After having celebrated a special Father’s Day here at our home, I thought it would be fun to do a ditto for all the special Fathers in your life.

This beautiful room is from Nate Berkus {Elle Decor}, and is everything gentlemanly.

ditto :: {what I would steal from this space}:

1. Textured walls, in camel and cognac. Is that velvet? or suede? leather? or thick grass cloth? In any case, it is stunning, and adds nothing but richness to this room. I love the ochre-inspired colors. Perfectly refined.
2. A focal-point piece of boy-inspired framed art. This piece makes me smile. It is as if it says: “don’t forget. you used to play with airplanes, and you used to dream of flying them. don’t stop dreaming.”
3. A duet of black, leather, tufted chairs. If you once heard a rule not to mix black and brown, you need to take a look at the beauty in this photo. Time for rule-breaking! I love black and brown combo mixed together for the gentleman. And these gorgeous tufted chairs invite a long cigar break, no?
4. chrome and wood = strength and texture, boldness and character, clean cut and enduring, modern yet timeless. Sounds like good qualities in a man…
5. Long, brown velvet drapes, hung from the ceiling. Men like drama too.
6. Accessories that add strength and endurance: Malachite. Rocks. Urns. Books. A thick wool blanket.
7. A small touch of God’s beauty: the bright pink flowers remind us that all men have a soft side. And nothing is stronger than a man who can acknowledge that God is the Creator of all good and beautiful things… even pink flowers.
8. A bold patterned rug that fits like a great pair of wool pants; The perfect grounding-touch for a fine Gentleman’s Quarters such as this one.

I am continuing the process of collecting my files digitally, and it has been so much fun to sort through all of my magazine clippings.

Some background info before I share the pic from my File. We hope to build a screened porch above the concrete porch that you see right off of the side door. And you won’t see any more concrete, or the unsightly tar line where a collapsing roof was removed! Someday. Here is Fieldstone Hill, waiting for her screened porch:

So while I wait, I dream. That is what I do best!
Here is a beautiful space that I dug up from my Paper Files. It is a photo from a covered porch, but for Fieldstone Hill, it will serve as a source of inspiration for decorating our future screened porch:

{source unknown}

What I love!:

1. the concrete structures. That dog is so stately, and I never would have thought of a simple concrete ball, but somehow, it looks so classic.
2. the blue painted wooden planks as flooring.
3. the whites and the blues
4. ivy in pots. one is even a galvanized bucket, I believe. beautiful!
5. a simple reading and chatting and laughing area. with a place to put your iced tea.
6. a blue ceiling.
7. the galvanized wall lamp, up and off to the right.
8. taking the time to add fresh flowers on your porch.
9. white painted railings, thick with real wood.