TOP TWELVE SHOTS of 2017

Omni Chandelier, Z'Gallerie, home decor, glam decor, Luxor Living and Style , Houston blogger, blog, Top Houston style, home decor

1.   CHANDELIER LOVER

Like most ladies, I absolutely love chandeliers!  When we decided to move into a new house in January, I struck a deal with my husband.  We could buy the house, which was about 10 years old, if he let me remodel the entire thing before we moved in. I didn’t want to drag it out over time while we were living there!

My vision included cramming as many chandeliers as possible into the house!  Since we had visited Paris earlier in the year, I decided to use the inspiration from the Palace of Versailles for our little Texas home! The remodel went very smooth and we were able to move in on time!  You can see some of the blog posts here!  

home decor, revamp, home style ,Houston style, Paris glam home, home revamp, remodel, Luxor Living and Style, Paris inspiration home decor, black and white flooring,

2. HOME REMODELER

This is probably the fourth home I have gotten to revamp, and it gets easier each time!  This time, I really got to have fun and not worry about boring things such as resale potential!  My dad stated, “Well, that’s great as long as you don’t need to resell it,”  after seeing the beginnings of the work! LOL!  The saying goes, everything needs to be dull, safe, simple to help with selling potential….which I refer to as vomit. It was nice not having to worry about anything except what we want.

The other great thing was that my husband had literally no input! 🙂  It was heaven to not have to debate each little thing! There’s another link here. I had to have dog friendly flooring and furniture so those were really the only requirements.

As I sit here, almost a full year later, the entire decor part is complete and now I can focus on gardens and real life.

birds nest, day old birds, bird lover, Luxor Living and Style, bird lover, baby birds

 

3. BIRD WATCHER

It’s always been a desire of mine, to be able to get up close and personal on a fresh bird’s nest.  I’d always wanted to be able to watch the babies grow!  I finally got my chance when a few months after we moved into the new house, a bird made it’s nest in a pot on my front porch!

I checked it several times a day and got to photograph the babies as they grew for a few weeks! If birds are your thing, you can see the shots here!

hummingbird

4.  HUMMINGBIRD STALKER

I find it annoying when people always talk about how blessed they are. But OMG, I feel so blessed because I’ve always thought of hummingbirds as my favorite bird…and I have tons of them that I feed now!  I spend hours trying to photograph them, and finally got a few fun shots.  Not perfect or detailed, but they speak to my heart.

Biya coat, Eshakti dress, Luxor Living and Style, style blogger in Houston, Top blogs, Johnny Was,

 

5.  FASHION BLOGGER

I work for Johnny Was Clothing, a California brand that I love…so I blog about their clothes a lot. The shot above was actually showing off a custom dress that Eshakti  sent to me, along with a Johnny Was Biya coat that I love!  Although I have made some money from my blog this year, I am not one of those people that only shows you things that I want to earn a commission on by linking to an online shop.  If it’s something I think is cool, but won’t make a dime for me…so be it.  My blog is an ongoing commercial about clothing.  What is terrible is that I could provide a lot more content due to my ongoing new supply of clothing but time is an issue. For us, if I happen to be dressed and in the mood…we snap pictures. I want to do so much more writing and hopefully this year I can get better at a lot of things…blogging being one of them!

Bosscat Beauty, Glam Edition Lash Box, Stephanie Sjoberg, silk lashes, Houston lashes, retail lashes, Houston mua,

6.  LASH BOSS

I finally got to do something I’ve always wanted to do!  I’ve started a new business in the cosmetics industry!  After researching strip lashes for years, I took the plunge and developed my own brand, Bosscat BeautyI designed two types of silk strip lashes and decided to start the business with one product, the Glam Edition Lash BoxThe fun part was getting set up and building the first product from start to finish. Social media advertising is also fun.  This next year will be about setting up retail accounts while also growing individual online sales to help promote brand awareness. I’m proud of my work so far and can’t wait to see how it goes in 2018!

Glam Edition LAsh Box, top lashes, silk lashes, Huda, luxury lashes, animal free, vegan

7.  CREATIVE DIRECTOR

One of the greatest jobs that I have with Bosscat is being able to create and design products that I  hope people love!  The above is just a first shot that I took for initial marketing once my boxes first came in! I will take a little time and get better at it, but it’s a start!

dogmom

 

8.  DOGMOM

Somehow I turned into a pink loving, flamingo floating, bleach blonde, dog mom. I think it’s funny as hell.  I wanted to include this cell phone picture because it is so real.  This past summer, each afternoon for an hour, I would try to relax outside with the girls.  They love getting on floats and we just hang out and watch the birds and squirrels. It’s a little bit lonely at times to have such a simple life, but at the same time, I love peace and quiet so it’s really a cool life.

 

9. JAZZY LOVER

Being a dogmom, really started with adopting my Jazzy about 16 years ago.  She was skinny, small, not too outgoing of a personality.  She looked me straight in the eyes though, so I adopted her for the connection and her desire to understand.  We knew she didn’t have much longer, so we took all three girls on a #dogcation  a few months before she died.  She had an accidental death three days after we moved into the new house. It has not been a year yet.  I loved her and gave her a safe home for 16 years and try not to think about her accident.  She was a great little dog and this year I had to say goodbye.

pet cemetary, home pet memorial,

10. PET CEMETARY GROUNDSKEEPER

If you read #9….then you get why I created a Pet Cemetary in my yard!  It’s my little special place to honor Jazzy’s life and respect her with a memorial garden while having a great prayer spot at the same time!  I’ve never shared a peak before.  This next spring my biggest project will be my back yard.  It’s freezing right this minute and probably killing my palms and fruit trees so a big clean up will be in order.

Bosscat Beauty, Luxor Living and Style, Glam Edition Lash Box, silk lashes, American lashes

 

11.  WANNABE YOUTUBER

I started making a few videos again, due in part to the new Bosscat venture!  It is so hard to try to come off as your true self, and look ok, and have fun!  The thing is, that it really is fun to make videos if you have the time to put in!  This year is going to take some serious time management in order to meet my personal goals! It would be so neat to be interesting enough to do well at videos but not sure if that’s in the cards!

 

12. MAKEUP ARTIST

I made time to do makeup on a new friend this past year! I met her through work and really like her so we took a day to play! Nothing feels better than doing what you love and spending time with nice people so it was a high point for me! Leilani is a total ray of sunshine!

 

In closing…these are just a few simple pictures that help show my year, and what is important to me.  Well, some of the things anyway!  I also love President Trump, Jesus and my husband. We’re not supposed to talk about politics or serious things because we want to appear neutral.  It’s very hard to pretend to be neutral when there’s so many serious issues in the world and my conservative belief system is not in line with the previous status quo.

It irritates me when a woman mentions Trumps “ridiculous tax reform bill” which was only “for the rich” and he’s only President “to make more money for himself.” Most people who bitch about the tax reform agenda have not processed their own tax return or run a business so how would they know about tax code ?  So yes…it’s very hard to stay neutral a lot of the time.  I hope to branch out a bit and share more in the future.  Blogging is very therapeutic!

Let’s have a great 2018, everyone!

Share this post!

WELCOME TO MY HOME REVAMP: VOLUME 4

blanca
Welcome to the 4th installment of this monster revamp!  The “before” photos of the living room are at the very bottom of the post.  While the home was fine in it’s before state…it wasn’t me.  Additionally, we are dog people.   I really considered stress free living with our dog family members when choosing flooring and furniture colors.

With pets in mind, I am fortunate in that my chihuahua is no longer interested in jumping up on furniture, but Blanca would be a circus dog in anther life so it’s hard keeping her off of things.  The dining room chair she is sitting in above…was chosen in part, because of the arms.  When the chairs are pushed into the dining table, she can not get into them!  This means no dog hair.  That means less work. She never gets to sit in those chairs which is why she has a concerned look on her face.

There is a chaise in the living room, equipped with a white blanket.  That is her spot.  I throw the blanket in the washer once a week, and all her cooties and hairs come off.  It really helps her from spending time on the other sofas when we are not home.

There are some random shots of the living area, some taken at different times of day…so the colors may look different from shot to shot. It’s super glammy at night, with candles lit. The crystal from the chandeliers gives off some shine. During the day however, all the windows give plenty of light yet it’s the perfect level of indirect lighting…in that you can look pretty good naked no matter if it’s day or night! 🙂

Graphic Charcoal in Behr paint is the wall color.  Gray has never been a favorite of mine but I tried hard to force myself into something new. I think I have decided to redo my office into a charcoal, fuchsia combination in the future. As a side note…if you ever see anyone mention hot pink it’s because they can not spell fuschia. Just sayin.

Fuchsia (/ˈfjuːʃə/, FEW-shə) is a vivid purplish red color, named after the color of the flower of the fuchsia plant, which took its name from the 16th century German botanist Leonhart Fuchs.

For now, I am just wondering when I will have the time or desire to line the kitchen cabinets with contact paper.

The next decor post will be the master bedroom revamp!

-SDS

untitled-4610 untitled-4275 untitled-1 untitled-4620 untitled-4279 untitled-4272 untitled-4613 untitled-4593 untitled-4612 untitled-4304 before living
beforematrix

Share this post!

WELCOME TO MY HOME REVAMP: VOL 3

home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor,

beforekitchen, home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor,

BEFORE

hr3952922-26

BEFORE

Luxor Living and Style, blog in Texas, home style, glam style, home decor blog,home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor, bird cage glam chandelier Luxor Living and Style, blog in Texas, home style, glam style, home decor blog,home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor, bird cage glam chandelier, Behr paint, Graphic Charcoal, revamp (1 of 1)-8 Luxor Living and Style, blog in Texas, home style, glam style, home decor blog,home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor, bird cage glam chandelier, Behr paint, Graphic Charcoal, top of friedge, kitchen decor, bird cages,Luxor Living and Style, blog in Texas, home style, glam style, home decor blog,home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor, bird cage glam chandelier, Behr paint, Graphic Charcoal, bronze rooster, kitchen decor, Luxor Living and Style, blog in Texas, home style, glam style, home decor blog,home remodel, home style, decor, interior design, kitchen remodel, The Woodlands, Texas , home glam, glam decor, breakfast area, bird cage chandelier, black ceiling, Luxor Living and Style, glam kitchen, chandelier, black and white porcelain flooring, hollywood floor, bird cage glam chandelier, Behr paint, Graphic Charcoal,

 

 

As you can tell…this home was a very clean, safe shade of beige.  Nothing wrong with it.  I prefer depth and warmth though.  Oh, and I am a rebel.  I’d wanted a more industrial look to the kitchen, so I decided by adding a black ceiling, it would help the common cabinets to pop a bit.  I may choose to mirror the back splash n the future with an antiqued look to the glass.  I was near the edge of my remodel budget so the idea was to get the major things done before move in, then the rest of the details can be worked on over time.

I used 90% of the accessories and furnishings we already owned for the kitchen and breakfast areas. Curtains, and of course lighting were the majority of budget used.  The birdcage chandelier is a great focal point, and was purchased online from Wayfair.  The issue with it, was that it came in many, many pieces. The end result was worth it, however, I wouldn’t want to do it again.  I read reviews on this particular bird cage chandelier…and assumed the people bitching about assemble time were lazy.  Turns out, I learned to heed review advice.

Charcoal paint s carried throughout, because I’d wanted continuity, but since there are tons of windows and natural light,  I wasn’t intimidated by a strong color choice.

As you can tell in the after picture…there is a dirty Blanca dollie on the floor.  I kept it there to keep it real.  We love finding her dolls laying around!

As far as fridge top decor,  this s a debate among friends, but I happen to already own the bird cages, and wanted to use them in relation to the chandelier.

The plain white curtains contrast brightly against the walls, and they are used throughout.

Next up will be sharing the living room remodel, and after that we will step into the master bedroom.

I feel like the media room needs some love, and the plans to revamp my current beauty room are being worked on.  My mother in law thought of a great way for me to utilize a custom brass headboard yet still keep it as my office/beauty room/world headquarters !

Share your thoughts below!

-SDS

Share this post!

HOME DECOR REVAMP: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston

Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston

small kitchen ideas, black kitchen, Martha Stewart paint, Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston

small dining room ideas, glam decor, animal print decor, Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston

2016-03-21 09.53.37 (1)

Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston, beauty room, beauty blogger room, Luxor Living and Style

wood laminate flooring, black bedroom, sleigh bed,Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston

wood laminate flooring, Houston flooring, Black granite, kitchen counter top, in black granite, home decor, chandeliers, Houston real estate, flip, wood flooring, commercial grade flooring, crystal chandeliers, custom paint, Luxor Living and Style, decor, blog, blogger, home decor in Houston

I have a few home remodels and revamps under my belt.  This latest one is finished.  It was just a small nest, but my husband let me do whatever I wanted so I ended up changing it from an all white bachelor pad that didn’t look lived in and transformed it into a fun, cozy nest for two.

Pretty much the only thing that is left over from his single days, is the dining table with nude angels on the base.  I mean, who doesn’t need naked angels around the house? Oh, and the single guy, creme leather sofa set in the front office.  It kills my soul, but he won’t part with it.

We took two bedrooms, and made them into our separate offices because it was a total waste of space to have spare bedrooms when literally no one ever comes to stay over night! We have sold two beds in the past 6 months, and I have one more in the garage to deal with.

This commercial grade flooring was completely scratch resistant and made life so much easier than the previous carpeting that was there before. I am using this same flooring in the bedrooms of the new house we are remodeling because it goes with anything, doesn’t show dust like dark wood flooring does and is so extremely durable and scratch resistant.

The kitchen was probably the best part of the house, with a large center island that makes cooking a lot more enjoyable.  The large crystal chandelier over it was the focal point of the area.  Black granite was used in the kitchen, as well as in the two bathrooms.  We could not bear the thought of having different counter tops throughout such a small home.

When it came time to list this home, it sold within a week. In the mind of a new homeowner, there was literally nothing a person would need a to repair or change, except perhaps the paint.  Paint is the cheapest, easiest fix for a new homeowner. Of course it is the first thing we are changing in the new place we found, along with the flooring throughout and a bathroom revamp.  (I’ll share those pictures once it’s complete!)

I had been wanting to share this little revamp of mine for months, but never had the time!  Now that we made the decision to sell, it seems the perfect time to share! We are super excited about the move and can’t wait to share the progress on that project!

-SDS

MAYBE YOU MISSED…..

Stephanie Sjoberg, Luxor Living and Style, Houston blog LAMBCHOP8 Samantha Thomas, Senior pictures, The Woodlands, Texas

Share this post!

BEAUTY ROOM / OFFICE / WORLD HEADQUARTERS

beauty room, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers beauty room, animal print, chandelier, beauty room chandelier, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers, oil paintings, home decor, PBTeen, furlicious chair, chandelier, beauty room chandelier, 2016-03-22 00.35.45 (1) beauty room, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers beautyrooma beauty room, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers, oil painting collection, Texas art, chandelier, fancy beauty rooms, beautyroomd beautyroomde beauty room, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers beauty room, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers vanity, beauty vanity, chandelier,beauty room, pictures of beauty rooms, Houston MUA, Luxor Living, urban decay, makeup junkie, beauty blogger, beauty table organization, Houston blogger, Top Houston blogs, HTXbloggers beautyroom2 beautyroom3

I am finally finished with my beauty room/office/world headquarters as I jokingly call it.  This room used to be a spare bedroom as shown here….. however, no one ever came to stay.  Like, ever.  Not only that, I desperately needed to move my computer desk to a quieter, less accessible area in my house.  It used to be here…..

My husband talks a lot.  When he isn’t talking, he’s making noise. Or turning on the tv. Or breathing.  It disturbs my inner peace.  Basically we decided that since he had his own home office, I needed one as well.

Unfortunately, everyone loves this cozy room now so I always have company!

The room is my place to do makeup, write, pay bills, organize my life, keep my camera equipment, hoard my makeup collection and it’s  still a work in progress but it’s a really good start. I still do occasional freelance makeup so I felt I needed a place for people to come. This is why there are two iron bar stools on each side of the makeup dresser/counter. Yes, these chairs were also locked away in storage for years. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to finally get that storage emptied out!

I went chandelier crazy this month because it all started with the chandelier in my beauty room.  It was a requirement. Then it seemed crazy to not also install some in the dining area and kitchen. I’ll share those revamps later.  I’ve been super busy because this home revamp thing started in November and as of last night, the last chandelier was installed!  I’m done!

I just wanted to share my own little escape pod with you because it has all of my favorite things in it! The furlicious office chair by PBTeen is something I’d wanted for 6 months before finally allowing myself to have it.  The other furry white pillows and throws came from Z Gallerie.  The dresser is something that’s been in storage for 5 years.  The antique make up vanity I had purchased about 2 years ago.  Everything else I had already owned.  The oil paintings were some that my mom had purchased 40 years ago, telling me that “These are your inheritance.”  Gee thanks, I’d thought at the time.  However now it’s great to have things she picked out surround me in my private space.

Actually, all of the crystal and white vases were also things she had once bought.  It was a struggle before to incorporate these things of hers into my decor, but with this room, I was determined to make it work.

We sold the previous bedroom furniture for $800. Then I gave myself a budget of $1200 for the chandelier and other items such as the rug and chair.  For $1200, this is my beauty room makeover!

-SDS

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED….

Stephanie Sjoberg, Luxor Living and Style, coton de telear, platinum Stephanie Sjoberg, pinkpanther1

 

Share this post!