We've Moved!

The day has come, and you'll no longer find me here at Blonde+Tall. I've got a new site, a new name, and a new look. Please head over to Meg Milam Home to check out all of the happenings!

www.megmilamhome.com

See you there!

Annual Family Vacation 2014

Me and the family were lakeside last week on the shores of Tahoe for my families annual summer vacation. I think this was the seventh consecutive year we made the trip (eighth, maybe?). This year, the trip fit perfectly between the end of my hospitality career and the start of a new one. There was beach time, pool time, tie-dying, bike riding, some mini-golf and Jon and I even fit in a paddle boarding date.

My family is a big one, including 9 adults, 2 teens, 6 kids under the age of six, and 1 yellow lab. This year was a tad bit easier than years past, as all kiddos can now sleep through the night and nap schedules are getting to be a bit more flexible. We're lasting longer at the beach, longer in the pool, and sleeping in a tad bit later. Apparently though, we're entering a new phase with all of these kids under one roof: injuries. There were a few throughout the week that caused some tears and blood, but the biggest was when our poor nephew cut his nose open. It ended up with at trip to the ER, 5 stitches, and the incident may have included his dad passing out due to the blood. Yep, our vacay's are far from dull.

In no particular order, here's a glimpse (including some iPhone pics) into what last week looked like for us.

This was one of the injuries of the week:

Q's forehead vs. the front patio.

We tried out a tie-dying activity. 

It was kind of awesome, and very summer camp-esque.

Nolan showed that he isn't quite ready for golf. 

His mini-golf etiquette was lacking just a tad.

On one of the last afternoons, a thunder storm rolled in. 

I love Tahoe thunder storms and I remember them from the summers that

 I spent at the lake as a kid.

These four were perfectly happy to sit on the front steps and watch the rainy show too

(they were also waiting for cousin, who was in the ER getting his stitches).

I'm hopeful that within the next two weeks my new blog site will be ready to launch.  I'm so excited to share the new look with you. There are still some kinks that I need to work through but I'm pushing to have it all wrapped up asap. I may be bit quiet over here until it's launched, as I'm finding that free time is hard to come by these days!

Happy summer to you!

Oar Decor

I've heard it said, that when you think about design for your home, you should think about how you want your place to feel. Not so much look, but feel. While I've often thought that my taste bordered somewhere along the lines of country farmhouse to lake house getaway, with modern clean lines, and traditional nods, that doesn't describe how I want it to feel.

I want it to feel relaxed, casual, comfortable, and I want it to engage the outdoors. These are all things that I'm taking into account when shopping and designing for our home.

Now that many of our large furniture pieces have been bought (for the living room anyways), I get to start thinking about how I thoughtfully want to fill our walls. Space is at a premium, and I want choices to reflect us and the feeling of our home.

That leads me to this wall at the bottom of our stairway. I haven't shown you our stairs much, as they are very much in the before stages. 

The blue carpet is going, and will be replaced by wood treads and white risers, as well as a runner. At the bottom of that landing, I would love to plank the wall that is directly ahead. Not to mention a coat of fresh white paint, new barnlight fixture (we already have it, but we need to have the electrical placement adjusted before we can install), new switch plates, and something to fill the bare wall.

You know what I'm thinking of? Some oars.

Picket Fence Projects 

Oars can come across as very coastal,

which is a no no in our Sierra home.

But I think they can also come across as very lake house.

I'm all about a good lake house.

Houzz

They add age, character, texture, and shape.

Houzz

Doesn't this just make you want to hop in a canoe

and spend the day on the shady banks of a lake?

Original Source Unkown

Chatham-Ivy

Hickman Design Associates

If a dreamy blue lake house is up your alley, 

you might want to check the rest of this home out!

Home Bunch

Completely-Coastal

Original Source Unkown

I found these months ago, which are by an artist outside of the US.

I thought that if I wanted to add some color to that stairway, 

this would be the way to go.

And then, this spring, 

I couldn't believe it when the big retailer CB2 started selling a similar option.

Many other big retailers sell their own version of the oar as well.

Ballard Designs

Wisteria

Pottery Barn

I think I'll be looking to collect some authentic antique oars, 

like this pair that I found on Etsy, to create a mix of aged woods.

Ebay is a great source for antique paddles, so I'll probably be shopping there too.

I cannot wait to start collecting some oars that I love, but I think that might be putting the cart before the horse (isn't that how the saying goes?). Before you get to decorate, you have the joy of tackling all of the larger (and more expensive) renovations first, like planking, electrical, and installing the new stairs. 

Speaking of lake houses, me and my fan-bam are enjoying the shores of Lake Tahoe this week for our annual family trip, followed up by a visit from Jon's mom in just a few days. Next week I should have plenty of pictures from our fun to share.