During our most recenty slumber party with our nephews, we snuggled up on the couch to finally watch the movie Tangled. (If you haven’t seen it, you should watch it… no matter how old you are.) Every year on the princesses birthday, the entire kingdom lites wish lanterns to set them free into the sky. During the wish lantern ceremony, my oldest nephew Tyler (10), looked over to me and said, “Aunt Lisa, this movie is really emotional.” I love his honesty and that he was feeling the same things I was as an adult. I told him that I would eventually love to be a part of a wish lantern ceremony, thinking that would probably never happen.

But, then I came across some photos on Pinterest and it hit me. Why can’t we create our own “cermony”? I bought these lanterns and was thinking we could start a tradition when we go camping as a family. How beautiful would these look floating over the lake?! I am beyond excited for our next trip!

It’s amazing how pets make such an impact on your life and can teach you lessons of unconditional love. Smoodge, our 17.5 year old cat, had a seizure this past Sunday and since then I’ve been feeling nostalgic about the time I’ve spent with her. She is Ryan’s childhood cat that he found when he was only 10 years old when she was a feisty, fluffy ball of love. I didn’t meet her until she was 5, and since then she’s stolen my heart.

The past few years we’ve had some health scares with her, but the doctors always say that her tests come back perfect. That she has the blood-work of a 3 year old cat… She even looks like a kitten. And I’ve been in denial that someday soon there will be a time where she doesn’t come running to me when I get home from work.

The vet at the emergency care said that she had a seizure for a reason, and the most common cause is a brain tumor. We don’t know how much longer she’ll be with us, so I’m appreciating the little things that someday I’ll miss about her. Like the way she purrs when I hold her like a baby, or the way she sits by my feet when I cook dinner, or the way she grunts when she rolls over so I can pet her fluffy white belly.

This is one of her new favorite spots. Between 10am-12:30pm the sun through our living room window creates a “sun dial” and we can tell what time it is by where she’s sitting on the floor. It’s the little things.

(via Simon Walker)

A few months ago, I met my client in his New York City apartment and immediately knew we’d work together beautifully. Maybe it was his dog snuggled up on my lap or our two hour conversation, but I knew his two bedroom/two bath apartment was going to be a fun space to entertain and work in.

This week I started installing furniture, laying new area rugs, and organizing a lifetime’s worth of stuff. (This is one of my favorite parts of any project!) It’s still a work in progress since we’re waiting for some more furniture, art and window treatments but we are both so happy with the way it is turning out!

Below are some shots from our first phase of the installation:

Below are the original furniture concept boards. Since the building is very modern, we’re keeping the space neutral by layering warm and cool neutrals and will add color with fun accessories!

Living Room:

Entry:

Master Bedroom:

This weekend we had the second snow storm of the season on the east coast. After a trying week, it was nice to be lazy and enjoy a quiet Saturday morning of coffee and catching up on work. I’ve always wanted the kind of house where guests just stop by and feel comfortable to put their feet up on the sofa or help themselves in the fridge. On Saturday our nephew needed help with a school paper, so Ryan’s sister and her family came over for a little comfort food. I love how my dining table went from being my desk, to being filled with family brainstorming ideas, to eating this family style meal together, to a serious Jenga competition. This house is now starting to feel like home.

I’m almost embarassed that I like this skirt. For years, every girl in my high school had their entire wardrobe from Express. Even the guys all had the same sweater the week after Christmas. Refusing to look like a wanna-be Snooki club goer, I haven’t really shopped there in years. But, today I came across this skirt and thought the horizontal stripes and neutral colors were striking. And the fabric seems like it could be forving, especially on a high wasted pencil skirt. What do you think?

When I was little, my father (who is a graphic designer) would always say “Presentation is everything”. Even the way he cut up a cantaloupe was thoughtful and beautiful. Maybe it was his philosophy on design or my innate love for beautiful things, but I’ve always gotten more excited by packaging than the gift inside. As a child, I think there’s a photo of me every year on Christmas laying inside the boxes, rather than playing with the toys.

Some things never change, and last week I came home to this beautiful package after a busy day in the office. My wedding photographer, and now good friend, mailed me an additional copy of our wedding photos on DVD.  I didn’t lay inside the box this time, but was so touched that he went through all this trouble to make my afternoon a little bit more special. A huge thank you to John DeFiora for this thoughtful gift!

p.s. Check out his website for this interesting cinematography that he shot. Can you spot the mermaid from the Geico commercial? :)

I’ve “packed up” all my posts and will be moving my blog to my interior design website www.lisadreissig.com. I’ll be posting more frequently focusing more on projects I’m working on, DIY goodies, and my inspiration in the design world. I appreciate my loyal readers who have been reading my blog for the past 3 years, and hope you’ll continue reading as I take this exciting new step in my career!

(image via 100 layer cake.)

On Saturday Ryan and I celebrated Christmas early with his mom. The holidays are always so crazy with splitting time between families so she’s always preferred to celebrate a week before or after the holiday. I made a glazed ham, roasted veggies, and an apple pie for dessert and even got a “best pie ever” from my food critic/10 year old nephew.

It was my first “holiday” that I was able to host, and my heart swelled with happiness just listening to everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. It finally made our new place feel more like a home. My favorite part of the night was watching the kids rip open their gifts, and then seeing their confused faces when the paper was off. Because I knew they were going to shake the boxes, I concealed their gifts in boxes we had in the basement… just a box for a personal heater, and a sump pump box. I still laugh because they thought we really bought them those gifts.

Below are some decorations from around the house. I love the warmth of the Christmas lights and fireplace, and the coziness of the red throughout. Makes me feel like I need to add more color throughout our neutral space. Hmmm…. another project?

Me in my Mrs. Claus apron. :)

This past Friday was our annual Christmastime sleepover with our nephews! Every year we have them sleep over to make christmas ornaments, cook a delicious dinner, stay up too late and spend some quality time without any parents around. :) Without their parents listening, Alex can be comfortable to tell us that he broke up with his girlfriend because she was mean. (He’s 7) …And Tyler can whisper to me, as I prepare dinner, that he has a crush on a girl in his class. I can teach them how to chop a tomato carefully, I can teach them what a painting palette is, and I can inspire them to love arts and crafts as much as I do. These little things make feel so lucky to have this special role in their lives.

This years ornament was made with painted recycled light bulbs, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. I love that it repurposes household items and has that fragile, traditional ornament quality. By the end of the night, the kids were so sleepy and asking to go to bed. As I tucked them in and kissed them goodnight, they both sighed the deepest sigh and whispered, “I love you so much, Aunt Lisa”. It was dark so they didn’t see the tears in my eyes. I don’t want to blink because their growing up too fast.