things that make my heart go aflutter

Ok, this is one of my all time faves for design...the perfect mixing of natural, worn elements, beautiful items, and green....mmmmm

Old doors...sooooo much you can do with them! They are an indispensable to me. Just look at these...just makes you want to peek around to see whats on the other side!

 Ooh, yes! Whites! Worn whites, even better! Can't beat it mixed with greens!

 Yes, you can....just curl up with a good book!

the tomorrows where I will find them again...

There are pictures that just speak volumes to me....the ones I stare at and just "absorb". The ones that make every part of my being just say "yes". These are the pictures that I save to my files...files for good design, files for ideas, most of all files to be implemented when I finally get my farmhouse...my dream house. These pictures evoke within me a deep sense of serenity as they remind me of simpler times, of places removed from the hustle and bustle of life today. They remind me of visit to grandmas house, of the scent of cookies in the oven, of the sound of laughter and of crickets chirping. They make me long to sit on the dock and kick my feet in the water, to make jam with my grandkids, to tend a garden....to go back to rotary dial telephones. in these pictures, I remember yesterdays gone by....and I dream of

 the tomorrows where I will find the again.

Over the nest several posts I will be sharing many of these wonderful pictures with you.....maybe you, too, will remember.

Bell jar "sippy cups"

These awesome bell jar lids

are on their way in!

What fun we will have with them,

 don't you think?

So, yesterday, I hit the big 5-0. Wow. What a great day though. Speant the morning entering inventory at the new shop (yes, Ill tell you....just a minute) and came home to find my mom had driven all the way from central Cal to surprise me! What an awesome thing. So happy. We all went to dinner (where I tried to be good since Im "dieting") and hubs gave me a gift certificate for a new car! Woohoo! After morning balloons and flowers, all the kids gave me beautiful written words of love, and my wonderful eighteen year old bought me a beautiful picture which he carried for twenty miles on his motorcycle between his leg and the tank. oh, how i love my family. I am so richly blessed.

Now! Yes, I am opening a second business; threads trading co, a gals resale clothing shop, which will be located right next door to NEST! Ive had the most fun creating structures of salvaged parts! Burlap walls, pallet walled dressing rooms and a pallet front checkout counter, racks created from louvered bifold doors and conduit, two huge vintage ladders as shoe racks.....its what I love the most, the creation of it all. Anyway, Im so happy with how it's turned out and will open on the 15th! So, go through your closets and check us out at threadstradingco.com!

As for NEST....although we have been experiencing our January lull, as does all retail, we are still doing great and seeing lots of turnover in the shop! We've been enjoying some nice sunny days through our fabulous view as well. Ive got lots of ideas up in my noggin that I want to incorporate; as quickly as time allows.....so be sure to pop in often as lots of great things are coming!

In the meantime, I've got a couple of home makeover's Im involved in, so never a dull moment!

Suprprise! It's Meeeeee!

I tiptoe back here to my blog, as Ive ignored it for so long, Im embarrased.
Needless to say, the new space has kept me busy every minute, between hunting the finds, painting, building reclaimed furniture, working, creating displays, fulfilling custom orders.....I realize just how important social media is today and yet I struggle to find time for it all. Email updates, facebook, blogging, listing specials.....Im trying to do three full time jobs at the moment! i am down to two days in the shop, as my beautiful daughter hs taken on the weekends and my sweet husband has been so loving to help out the other two. Even with that I struggle to get it all done. many days I feel like Im drowning...but its a good way to die : ). I guess this is what a thriving business looks like and I am so thankful for the blessing of it.
We seem to fly through the furniture and therefore, i am constantly replacing and the space is ever changing. We had a wonderful Christmas season and are now enjoying the slightly slower pace of the new year.
During the holidays we had a free room makeover sweepstakes and our winder was drawn and New Years Eve! i will be meeting with her this weekend to get started on a plan for her new bedroom! All furnishings and design services will be provided by NEST I am thrilled to make someones dreams come true.
So, I keep pluggin along...i have a storage full of items that need just a little tweaking before joining their friends at the shop, a garage that is ever so slowly allowing my car back in, and I never seem to stop buying and creating. So fun to do what you love with your life!
Two weeks ago we were blessed with a newborn foster daughter, so that has been a rael big challenge as I try to balance it all and get everything done. We tag team alot, but its working and we have been so blessed to have her.
I have soooo many ideas  for items I want to build for the reclaimed wood line, things I want to sew, etc. Theres much more shortage of time than ideas!
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and start to the New Year...and I promise...ill get back to a weekly post ummmm....like within two weeks!

I. am. so. glad. its. done. Whew! We did it....we moved the shop and were completely ready to open in one night and one morning. And then I proceeded to spend the next five (yes, five...not one, like i thought)princing and setting up Christmas! And finially, when I left tonight, it was done. Do I hear applause? Actually I was rewarded with many oohs and awes from all of our wonderful customers.
(Thanks guys! love you!)
And now, I sit here in my fuzzy sippers with the holes in them ( yes, I am one sexy girl), and my readers (because, yes, it has finially become just too hard without them) looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I get to grocery shop and catch up on laundry; which, while normally a drudgery, is a nice change from being buried in price tags, sparkle, and boxes galore. I so look forward to our downtown open house and tree lighting this Friday night....what fun we will have! Please stop by and say hello and check out the new space! Merry, Merry, Merry

Since Im headed "home" for a few days, I wanted to wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. This is a time for me that is so rich in blessing....things change over the years...people marry and grow up, grands are born and add to the joy, parents go home to the Lord, people move.....but one thing remains true and consistant....when you travel that road back home, you can't escape the deep seated feelings of gratitude for all you've been given, for the life you have known, and the lessons it has taught you. There is no greater blessing than to sit in the company of those who have walked that path with you.... a place where you are known, and loved. Always.

May each of you be tremendously blessed this week as you reflect upon your life, and its gifts. And if you happen to be without anyone to share it with, enjoy the solitude of being with the One who gave it all.  Happy Thanksgiving

Its underway! It's exciting!

WooHoo! We are just a few days away from getting the keys to our new, much larger space in the wonderful Tannery Building where we now reside!

The new space will offer us over TWICE our current floorspace and the added benefit of a gorgeous view of the Benicia Bay and the Carquinez Bridge !I couldn't have dreamed up a better location and am so excited to get in and work my magic on the walls! True to my routine M.O., I am putting up faux brick on the first wall you see when you enter and other walls will be a dark pewter grey (very restoration hardwarish) and I will leave some highlights of butter yellow around the room as well.

Then, off we go....moving in all the treasures ive been hording just for this for the past few weeks, followed by whatever is in the current shop at the time!On top of it all, it will be time to decorate for Christmas! Could I have picked a more difficult time? But what fun!!!! A decorators dream.

The new shop will allow me space to create more of a home feel...bedroom, living room, dining room...oh, I can't wait!

So, if you are in Benicia or heading there soon, be sure to stop in to see the new space! We are committed to be fully finished and operating there for the November 30th town tree lighting and open house, which is always the best night! however, you may find us there up to a week before.

So, if you wander in to our current space at 131-C First St and don't find us there, just keep walking to the back of the hall and zig sag on back to the wonderous water view, and there you will find my NEST. : )

NEST
129 B & C First St
in the Tannery
Benicia, CA 94510
707-750-3349
nesthomefurnishings.com