Coastal Living

Even though we live in the desert, I love to decorate with a coastal/cottage feel. I guess I'm trying to trick myself into believing that I'm not in the desert. I also like the casual and comfortable atmosphere that it creates. Much better than something too stuffy when it's hot outside, I think.

Because of that, I LOVE Coastal Living magazine! I'm not subscribed right now because I was getting WAY too many mags and not finding time to read them, so I'm simplifying. The cool thing is that even without the magazine, I get their awesome newsletter which still links to some amazing decorating ideas. If you click on the CL link above, it will take you to the latest one.

And can you believe it? This is the first pic I saw. I love the 4 photos on the wall. They are so simple, yet so eye catching in the white room. What a great idea! The hardest part of that would be getting the pics onto a canvas.

If you like coastal or cottage decorating, be sure to visit their site often and click thru their great room ideas, recipes and more.

Here are a few treasures that I picked up when I was in Ohio to add to my coastal themed home in the desert.

Click on the pic of the towels to see the close-up. They had a different hand towel for each day of the week...all with a beach theme. They were awesome! I wish I could have bought them all.

I found the towels and the "Sailing" sign at the same store, where I also ran into a woman that I went through school with. Her name was Sandy Lane and she remembered me after more than 30 years! How crazy is that! Talk about a small town! It was so strange.

I found the divided wooden box at the candle store where I also found these candles and votive holders. It's hard to tell from the picture how nice the blues are, but I love the colors.

We also found these vintage Ohio notecards at an antique shop and some old Vermilion postcards as well. I love the notecards with the sailboats on it and the one with the barn too. I may have to frame those and hang them up.

I'm looking forward to finding more "beachy" treasures when we go down the Oregon coast on vacation in July. Can't wait!!!