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TOP TWELVE SHOTS of 2017
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 Beauty. I designed two types of silk strip lashes and decided to start the business with one product, the Glam Edition Lash Box! The 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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
SIX SHOTS in LAGUNA
I had the opportunity in late September to go back to Los Angeles for work. I decided to stay an extra day, rent a car and have an adventure.
One of the neatest places I’ve ever been that touches my heart is Laguna Beach. My husband and I go to California once a year, and we’ve made it there a few times. I’d always wanted to stay at a certain hotel that we would eat dinner at, La Casa Del Camino.
They have a roof top restaurant with an amazing view, The Roof Top Lounge.
Just outside, there are great areas for beach front views to welcome in the morning sunrise. I’d decide to get up super early, sit on a bench and breathe in the beauty. I’d remembered that they had many hummingbirds flying around the plant life on the coast. Since hummingbirds are one of my favorite things on earth…I spent an hour trying to photograph them. (Note to self…you need to go buy new camera lenses.)
I photograph for myself. To have something to feel the beauty after I’m gone.
There was a man sitting on my bench before I got there. I was probably bothering him with all my photos of the birds. He was bothering me by being on my bench, but I ignored the loud silence as we shared our sunrise separately together. He obviously had depth to have gotten out of bed so early in the cold, to enjoy the early morning. Was he depressed, divorced, broke, unemployed, unhappy….what was his story, I’d wondered as I clicked away at the tiny birds. Most people at least say hello or smile so his silence was bothering me.
Later, imagine my horror when he sits alone in the breakfast area near me at the hotel. He must surely think I’m a kooky, lone traveler. Ten minutes into my breakfast, a scruffy woman comes in from the hotel above us. As she makes her way to his table, I got it. They were on a romantic jaunt. Looked to be married for about 10 years, and they’d probably had sex for the first time in 6 months the night before. She appeared to be totally thrilled with life, he looked to be mildly content. I absolutely love people watching. I assume she was getting freshened up and putting on her favorite mom jeans, while he was pondering the meaning of life on the sunrise Laguna bench.
The terrible part of my beautiful morning in Laguna…is that I was alone. I missed my husband so much that it was depressing. I’d wanted to share this beautiful day with him. So while I enjoyed my $800 day of independence in Laguna, it really made me appreciate that I have a loved one to share my life with.
I love being alone to think, or read or work on my varied projects… but it was a weird day of escape because I saw couples everywhere and I realized that it would have been super depressing if I didn’t have someone.
I was awake most of the night reading and waiting for the early morning. I was only going to have one shot at sunrise and didn’t want to miss it.
I ate breakfast alone with couples all around me. Although Laguna is amazing, I was so excited to get home and see my husband who drives me insane and talks to much, constantly invading my space and always turning on every tv in the house , unaware he disturbs the beautiful silence that previously exists before he barrels through the door.
While I got to be an adult, and drive down the California freeway in totally insane traffic I might ad) I missed my freeways and my terrible Houston drivers. I figured out that Houston traffic is not so bad after all. All in all, it was a good day to reflect and be thankful.
Laguna is amazing and were I to ever buy a lottery ticket and win, one of my homes would be there. In the meantime, I will settle for a quick California jaunt here and there through life to breathe in the beauty. I just need to take my best friend with me next time!
-SDS
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BEAUTY ROOM / OFFICE / WORLD HEADQUARTERS
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
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Garden Top
REAL
