Jamcat Candles. Natural soy candles for the home, made in Detroit.

Yellow Door Brand. Posters, pictures, slides, and custom Italian designed shoes.

Room and Board. Selecting the right size area rug.

Bernadette Jiwa. Empowering others to tell their story.

Happy Go Lucky Girl. Guidance to a healthier, happier, and more joyful life.

I. Inc. Career planning and personal entrepreneurship.

MIX. Marketing ideas that work for small business owners.

Thrive. Nutritional supplements and skin care.

Before our beach vacation in St. Martin, I purchased some candles from Pier 1 and then hid them away in a closet.

​Yesterday, I found them.

I visited my niece's house that she shares with her girlfriends. It's a small bungalow in a trendy neighborhood. 

They have slowly transformed their temporary home into an oasis of comfort, connection, and simplistic beauty.

I reflect on this question often. The answers are endless.

If beauty is something we are longing for, we must know what it means to us personally.

If we don’t know our idea of beautiful, how will we know which manner to decorate our spaces?

What is your kind of beautiful? Surround yourself with it.

​

The other night, I met my friend for dinner at a restaurant we have never been to. Later that evening, I noticed a man walking through the tables with his arms outstretched. He reminded me of a little boy who was pretending to fly. He came to our table as we were getting ready to leave, took out a marker and drew a flower and a smiley face on our carry out containers.

My passion is guiding others through the process of transforming their space into one that is their unique expression of beautiful, one that feels nurturing and inspiring to them. As I was spending my days working in an office cubicle, I couldn’t ignore my desires and longings for something more. ​ I didn’t know when I would be ready to let go of my day job so I used my time there to change my environment and fuel my dreams.

The course I attended today was provided by California Closets. I expected to see slide after slide of glamorous closets designed for magazines but it was so much more than that! The presenter delved into the psychology of clutter which I find fascinating. I have always believed clutter can negatively impact our lives but I'm quick to brush off the power it has when I hear others say something like "I'll never be organized" or "With an office that organized, they must not have important things to do" or some variation of that line of thinking.

Maria felt a lot of negative emotions when she entered her bedroom. There was no need or desire to change the furniture, bed linens, or wall color. The room required an emotional release of the past and a vision for the future. 

Two different clients are having their kitchen cabinets painted. One was certain she wanted to paint them black and the other one was considering gray. The solution in both circumstances is navy blue.