I can clutter up a surface in 2 second flat. Yet, somehow, I never tire of greedily perusing images from design magazines. The textures, colors, and organization of the spaces soothe me, so it makes sense that I’m so passionate about creating interior images. My neurosis about clear surfaces, even hidden, private surfaces, explains why these are a couple of my favorite photos {that no one but you are likely ever going to see, because who publishes a pantry?} from a recent kitchen shoot of mine with the lovely and talented Yvonne Ferris of Yvonne Ferris Interiors.
I’d love to show you the rest of this sumptuous kitchen, but you’re going to have to accept these as a sneak peek… They were taken at the end of the day as I was thinking about wrapping things up. With so many moments of inspiration in that room, I just couldn’t put away my equipment.
It’s the styling and organization of that pantry that gets me. It’s so compelling, right down to the color and packaging of the products. The next day I set up my fridge in the same meticulous manner with our new groceries. And that lasted a hot minute before my husband swooped in and wrecked it. *sigh* To his credit, he mostly allows me to retain my OCD kitchen cabinet organization, and without too much grousing, even though I’m sure he thinks I’m certifiable. But we don’t have a pantry.
Which brings me back to my envy of this pantry. There I am, setting up the first shot, fully immersed in my process and enjoying every moment in the well-designed, clean, gorgeous space I’m inhabiting, if only for that day, when a trap door slams open right there in the floor, the stool goes flying, and a workman shouts ‘hello!’ scaring the shit out of me. Go ahead. Look. There’s the trap door. Right there.
Boo! This is not your kitchen, little one! Could you die? Yah. I almost did.

This breathtaking, Beinfield, steel fireplace, which I had the pleasure to photograph, is helping. But not as much as my brand new bottle of Marshmallow Smirnoff.
So we’ve moved! Very exciting. Also more than a little daunting and a lot time and energy consuming. We never could have made the sale happen without our amazing, Super Woman of a realtor, Doris Ghitelman. You need a realtor? Call this woman. She’s no joke.
And we never could have packed those 165 boxes in 2 days without the saintly (and a little bit masochistic) CawfeeGuy and CawfeeMate. Yes. I said it. 165 boxes in 2 days. Of all. My. Shit.
Anywhoo… I thought this would be a perfect time to give you a tour of the old digs. Which is now dismantled and is someone else’s new digs. And a perfect time to remind myself, the self that’s living amongst approximately 147 unpacked boxes in our new home, that it will get better.


See… Once upon a time, I lived like this:

But with a little bit of pixie dust and some of those cookies Alice found in the rabbit hole, it became this:

And all the while in between, which is actually the part I enjoy best, it was like this:

For me, the most stressful part is over… for a while. The selling, the packing, and the moving. I love the newness of unpacking, cleaning, reorganizing and designing a lifestyle. Designing a lifestyle with my new husband. When there are 30 boxes left and no where to put the crap, then I’ll have my next nervous breakdown. But that’s another blog post. This one’s about new beginnings. And fond farewells. And gratitude.
Which one? The not so subtle differences edition…

Thanks, people. I always appreciate the extra eyes and perspectives.
Which one? the staircase edition
On the Nightstand



































