NEW!!!!!

Big changes are upon us...

After months of careful consideration and advice seeking from many many trusted sources, I made the decision to close Modus Operandi Designs.  This comes with a great deal of deliberation since I started this in 2001 and had tremendous success with it while we were in California but upon moving to Texas, it just didn't seem to work.

Essentially I've had little success in branding myself here and have decided that in order to start new and fresh somewhere, sometimes one must reinvent oneself all together.

The moment I came to this conclusion my phone started ringing and business has begun to show up on the horizon and there are so many exciting projects in the works...FINALLY.  Its as if God has said, "yes, that's the right direction...keep going". 

Therefore, I have repackaged my business plan which includes a new name and a new blog/website filled with not just design inspiration but food goodies and gardening dreams that will hopefully be fulfilled.

  I sincerely hope you will follow me there and that you will enjoy the new adventure with me.

You can now find me over at Casa Stephens Interiors!  

xoxo,

Renee

Project Update...

Well, like every one of my projects, the floors have taken longer than expected.  Mainly because my installer (a.k.a., my husband) has been working on the floors after work, days off, etc. rather than in one fail swoop.  

This is the price you pay for DIY and while it seems like it's taking forever, it's still FREE (which makes me happy).

So rather than bore you with ugly "during" photos, I'd like to shift to some organizational inspiration.

The next project I'm taking on is our laundry/pantry/mud room.  You would think with all of those functions it performs that it would be huge.  

It. is. NOT, 

which forces me to get creative with the space...a little something like this:

Love the stenciled wall in the back.  I actually have something like this that is about to be applied to a wall in my living room and dining room.  Too much to add it to the pantry too?  Something to think about.

Glass jar goodness.  Makes me want to shop the bulk section at Whole Foods!

 

What strikes me about this is the amount of organizational planning that is required to do this.  I'm going to need to sit down and PLAN not only the lay out but exactly WHAT I'm stocking in my pantry.

I'm not sure I have room for even a small version of this (possibly the garage, though?), but I LOVE it.

Same with this.  Love the backpack drop off station.  So practical.

Well, at any rate, the first step is recognizing that it needs to be done.  Now I just need to formulate a plan and I'm on my way.  But first, I'm off to grout the dinging room.

Wish me luck!

P.S.

On a personal note, the 49ers broke my heart last night...so close!  8 months until next season...Could be worse, I suppose.  

I could be a Chiefs fan =P

Bedroom porn...get your mind out of the gutter.

I keep coming back to this photo...

That wall color, those mirrors over the dressers/nightstands,

they speak to me in a super sexy voice.

I currently have a bed like this (minus the super cool Asian painting over it)

so this spoke to me too.  I love that leather chair...delicious as a blueberry.

But I'm really really wanting THIS headboard and I'm certain I can make this.

That picture molding is stunning and I LOVE the height.

My Pinterest addiction continues to grow...like I need one more thing to keep me from doing what I need to be doing.  Sick.

Hands On!

Well, like the rest of the post holiday's masses, I am on a mission to lose a few pounds.
I've been obsessing over Pinterest for inspiration photos and quotes like this one:

Sometimes I wonder, "am I the only person out there who doesn't get 'portion control" when it comes to what I eat?  Don't get me wrong, I know that to lose weight, or even in some cases, to maintain one's weight you need to reduce calories.  

There just seems to be SO much confusing information out there that, while I feel extremely educated on WHAT I should be eating, I've found myself sabotaging my diet by how much I'm eating.

The today, I stumbled upon some really useful information.  

"The Hands On Approach", which was talked about on the Today Show this morning and I felt the heavens part and angels sing as it all made sense to me!

If you don't already know this 

(I'm often the last to know these things), 

the rule is as follows:

Use your hand as a measuring devise:

For cheese: 1 oz is approximately the size of your thumb

Grains should be approximately the amount of one handful

Meat should be the size of the palm of your hand

Vegetables the size of two hands full

Obviously, men consume more calories that women because they are on average, larger...go figure.

It's so simple!

So, here's what I made for lunch today and I followed this rule in preparation:

I roasted 5 Brussel sprouts along with 2 carrots and 1 clove of garlic, a splash of olive oil and a dash of red pepper flakes in at 400 degree oven until they were lightly caramelized.  

I put it over an handful of brown rice and it was SO GOOD.  

Tons of flavor and the portion was PERFECT. 

One step closer to this:

Or at the  very least, what I looked like 3 years ago before moving to Texas, 

where fried food is it's own food group.

Empowerment is not overrated.

What an amazing time to return to the blogging world!

After I published my first post in nearly 6 months yesterday I began catching up on all of the inspiring words of all of the other amazing writers I've been missing.

I began with Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors and was just completely moved by her

She's got such an amazing story and is such an inspiration.  Her experiences have given her such a great perspective on finding your passion and moving forward with it.

"if you had asked me what my passion was at the start of this story, I would have said "Motherhood." Because that's where I was and wasn't prepared for more. But as time went on, I met change face to face and we had a chat. And I knew as long as I somehow moved forward, I would eventually get 'somewhere else as well'."

From Funky Junk's blog I bounced on over to Miss Mustard Seed to read about

Such great insight and she has some crazy exciting things in the works!

From there of course, I HAD to click on over to Nesting Place, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tatertots & Jello and Centsational Girl.  Such an incredible wealth of advice and encouragement.  I mean, these women didn't start out blogging to make a living out of it.  They all began with an interest that turned into a passion that has turned into a business.  

I mentioned yesterday that I recently decided to leave my steady well paying interior design job to go back into business for myself.  14 hour days working for a company that didn't treat it's employees as assets, unable to say good night to my six year old most nights and the micro management that comes with working for someone else became too much for me (add to that the fact that my biggest client turned out to be a serial bank robber who was captured in Mississippi...true story for another day).  That's a really scary thing to do in 2012 and a move that didn't come without a great deal of weighing pros and cons.  In the end though, the money isn't worth it if you aren't fulfilled and for me, I'd rather work for free and enjoy it than work for pay and hate every minute of it.  Right or wrong, that's just how I'm wired.

I truly needed to hear these stories of success and fulfillment and I'm feeling not only empowered and encouraged but blessed to have stumbled upon this little community of talented people.

Kudos to you all and thank you to those of you who stop by to read my blog.
I'm formulating some ideas for the future and look forward to sharing them with you as they happen.

Here's to optimism!

Ok, I know I'm a little late to the party but I seriously have a great excuse.  

Happy New Year!

2011 was a complete whirl wind for us here at Casa Stephens.  I left my old job for, what I thought was my dream job which turned out to be great in some respects but taxing on my family time in others.  In the end, the hours proved to be too much for me and after a great deal of vacillating back and forth, I made the decision to go back into full time interior design on my own and have never been more at peace with a decision since saying "I do" to my husband nearly 9 years ago.

This decision has also allowed me time to focus again on my own home, which as been sadly neglected for most of 2011 (much like this blog).  Now that we're starting the ball rolling again, we have been hard at work with an entirely new look which will be revealed in the next couple of weeks as soon as the finishing touches are in place.

In the mean time, here are some inspiration photos via the almighty Pinterest to give you an idea of where we're heading:

I'm currently obsessing over creamy whites, 

eclectically displayed art work,

 Chocolate browns and...

charcoal grays 

(don't even get me started on my new found adoration of interior barn doors)

 

Cow hid rugs and vintage rustic tables 

and a splash of zebra just to funk things up a bit.

Here's a little peak at the "during" stage of the wall unit.

New floors are going in at this very moment.

Paint should be completed next week and I'll have photos of the finished product for you after that!  Can't stand it!!  

On a personal note, 

Happy 22nd birthday to my spectacularly talented favorite daughter, Sam!

I could not be more grateful to be your mama!  

xoxo

Well hello!  It's been a while, where have you been?

Oh wait, it's me that has been missing for a while, isn't it?  In case you were wondering, I'm still here.  I've been buried under projects and work and insane schedules that would make grown men cry (ask my husband).

I AM still here, this blog IS still active and I just wanted to let you know that I miss blogging so much and am making a concentrated effort to make time for more.

That said, Christmas is almost here and I can hardly wait.  I LOVE this time of year, my daughter is coming home in a few weeks and with the exception of one of my children (boo!), it will be a family love fest.

Here are some inspiration pictures I've been using to set the tone for this much anticipated Christmas!

Love the simplicity and character of this wreath alternative

Super cute and easy to create

 Who needs live plants in winter when you have sparkles! 

Love these dining chair wings

 Simple hand crafted centerpiece

That urn is fantastic-o

Craft store letters that make a festive statement

And my favorite, a white Christmas.

Hope you are enjoying the season.  

Remember that creativity is one of our greatest gifts and we all have it.  

We just need to tap into it.

Peace and Love!

(all photos came from here)