I find the internet to be a very inspiring place in all sorts of ways. Whether it be a great image, a great article, story or video, I am always so grateful for the fun web things that find their way to me. So, I wanted to start doing a little round-up of internet items that have inspired me throughout the week and share them here in case you haven't seen them yet!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this blogger, this blogger, this blogger and this blogger are the ones who gave me the idea to do these posts. I love seeing what these ladies think is the best of the internet each week, and I so look forward to their Friday round-ups!

via.

- On Valentine's Day, I got a serious case of the 'awwwws!' when I read this story. Real, tested by time love makes me so happy.

-Still poring over the details of this stylish apartment. Also- I had to look up the usage on 'poring over' - interesting stuff!

- Incredible perspective: "The Problem With Little White Girls" 

- I always want everything on her "Gab Loves" posts. 

- Touching photos get.me.every.time. Grab a tissue (or five) for this one. 

- I've written about this topic before, but I think this blogger hits the nail on the head.

- This cheeky art just cracks me up! I love it so much, it's inspired me to take on something similar for our house.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I'm not...

... but if I were (or had a client that was).... it would definitely look like this....

That's pretty much it for today. Hope you are having a great week!

2014

Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was a blessed and restful one. The hubs, Dais and I returned home yesterday after traveling for about two weeks. We were so lucky to be able to spend Christmas and New Years with friends and family in Dallas, and we also traveled to Guatemala for my sister's wedding. Our holiday were absolutely magical, and I'm definitely sad it is over.

But with the end of the holidays brings a new year. And I am one of those people who thinks it is important to take time at the beginning of the year to visualize what I would like the coming year to look like. And in the spirit of keeping myself accountable, I thought I would share my thoughts here.

via.

Call them resolutions, goals or whatever you would like. Here is what I am striving for in 2014.

Grow my business 
2013 was good, but I'm going to make 2014 great. I am so thankful for the support and clients I have received thus far, but there is always room for growth. To achieve the overarching resolution, I have outlined few individual goals/milestones to hit. Being specific and breaking things down into smaller steps will help me know how I'm progressing toward the overall goal.

Keep my exercise habit going
Maybe the most universal resolution in the history of new years resolutions? Perhaps. But my health is something I don't take lightly. In 2013, I did a pretty good job of exercising and eating right and I'm definitely looking to keep that going this year.

Start a book club
Reading is something that I truly enjoy. Since moving back to Tulsa, I've been wanting to get a group of gals together who feel the same way I do about books, I just haven't done it yet. The book club I was part of in Houston was so fun and I hope I can recreate that here.

Less TV time
I watch too much TV. More notably, I watch too much crappy TV. Cutting down on this bad habit will leave more time for other things - house projects, blogging, reading, etc. I can and will kick my TV habit this year.

Find a church we love
We've been trying out various churches around Tulsa over the past few months. This year, I hope we find our fit and get involved in a meaningful way.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope this year brings you health, happiness and many blessings. Thanks for following along :)

our fiddle leaf fig: the 6 month mark

It's been about 6 months since our pretty fiddle leaf fig came to live with us and I am happy to report it is doing very well! I did ALOT of research on this plant, and others, before purchasing. Since I've never really had a green thumb I didn't want to make the investment in a big houseplant if it was just going to die (because it was definitely not what I would call cheap!). SO- I thought I would share what I've done thus far to keep this pretty alive.

Initially, I used this post and this post as a guide. I also talked pretty extensively with the gardeners at Southwood (where I purchased from) about their care tips. They told me pretty much the same things as the websites I looked at. Something that freaked me out before buying was this plant was listed as 'toxic' to pets. But after talking to the professionals, I felt it would be ok at our house. Daisy doesn't have a chewing problem and doesn't just stand there and lick the thing, so she's never been bothered.

ok- my tips.
1- Don't over water. I think I took this way too literally initially and almost killed the thing because I didn't water it for about a month when I got it. But thankfully, it rebounded well. I now water it every Friday morning, 6 cups of water. I do make sure the soil is pretty dry before I water and have skipped weeks here and there.

2- Get plenty of sunlight. Mine gets a lot of indirect sunlight throughout the day- it lives by a west-facing window.

3- I dust the leaves about once a month. Just like anything else, leaves can collect dust and that will not allow it to soak in the sunlight it needs. So ya, dust the leaves. I just use damp paper towels.

4- I've read differing reviews about rotating the plant so different sides get the most sun. I've rotated it here and there and it seems to do well with it.

5- I've only 'pruned' one branch. After extensive internet searching, I found that 'pruning' basically means 'cutting'. Who knew!? So ya- I did that to one of the limbs when it shot WAY out and started to droop down. It's done great after I pruned it. Stayed the length I wanted and has continued to grow leaves.

That's it! Yay for me not killing it!

in defense of beige

Am I the only one who feels like beige gets an undue bad rap? It seems so many bloggers proclaim their hatred of the color. And for a while, I somewhat agreed. Beige can be boring, too safe and I've seen it in just one too many spec homes.

BUT, recently I have changed my tune. When done well, I really love this sometimes frowned upon color! Beige is pretty much just like every decorating element out there- it can be bad or it can be good. Let me present my case:
 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Sold yet? Here are some beige shades I think are great:

(all are Benjamin Moore)

I'm up for discussion- do you all agree with me or shall we just agree to disagree? In other news- I'm sure happy its Friday. Hope you all have a great weekend!