Ding!Ding!Ding! We Have A Winner!!!

Thank you all so much for entering the Bodmer Throw Holiday Give Away! The response was wonderful! I and the Bodmers much appreciate all of the enthusiastic comments. Bodmer products really are soft, luxurious and beautiful !

As a special treat, the Bodmers have very kindly extended a very nice discount for all of you on their website. Just use the code: KATIEDID for an extra 20% off any purchase you make...just in time for Christmas!

Now......drum roll please!

The Winner is....

NANCY!!

Congratulations Nancy. I know you will have many cozy moments with your new throw!

Thank you all again for entering, and

* Happy Holidays! *

Last Chance to Enter Holiday Give Away!

Tonight is the night! I will be picking the winner of the Bodmer Throw Give Away first thing in the morning!

Click HERE for rules on how to enter!

Good Luck!!!

And

 Happy Holidays

What Once Was Old.....

 Our household has been going through some major changes of late. As families grow and change, so do lifestyles and priorities. Recently, it became apparent that my mother needed to make a change in her lifestyle. She was needing a little help managing, and her home was no longer working for her. We decided the best thing was for her to move in with us. When we remodeled our home, we dug out a basement with exterior access, bathroom, laundry room and large open space which became my office. We decided to consolidate my office and split the space in two so Mom could have a little studio and her own bathroom. The Laundry Room will eventually become a kitchenette for her....but one step at a time.

Every day, I thank the powers that be for my husband, Tim. Not every husband would welcome their MIL into their home with open arms. Not only that, he built a wall to separate the space in the basement, complete with French door. He moved box after box of books and household "stuff". He emptied her garage and gave up his parking space in our garage so we could store her things there. He made sure the SureWest guys wired her new room for TV and phone. He was there when the glass shower door was installed in the bathroom. He painted and cleaned. Now that Mom is here, he makes her dinner and lets her do the crossword puzzle....formerly his territory. Sometimes they do it together. All of this he does in addition to all of the other things he does, large and small, for our family. (Last night he brought home poinsettias for the front porch). It is a rare thing to hear any peep of impatience. It is a rare thing to have a husband like this.

So.....this Holiday Season, I feel overwhelmed with appreciation for my husband. He is better than any present I could wish for. He is better than any vacation, car or house. He is better than diamonds. Let me rephrase.....he IS my diamond. There is an abundance in his care for us. 

When Tim and I were moving my mother's things out of her garage, we discovered a little table. It was a bit forlorn, covered in cobwebs and water stained, but it charmed me none the less. The top had come off and had broken in two, but  the rest was in pretty solid shape. Someone had lovingly built this table and I decided it was time to put it back to good use. A few finish nails to put the top back on, and a couple of coats of paint, and it is a wonderful little perch for a drink and a book. It may go through more changes.... A different color, or removal of the paint for a lime wash effect. I haven't decided yet. It will evolve over time....like our family....like us.

I wish you all a

 Very Joyous and Abundant Holiday Season

P.S........Only a couple of days left to enter the Holiday Give Away:

Click on over HERE for the rules and to enter!

Good Luck!!

Elle Decor Showhouse 2010: Master Bedroom by Jay Jeffers

 What can one say about Jay Jeffers?! Great style, always a sense of humor, elegance, and wit.....in his own terms, "sophisticated fun". Jay manages to brighten up a space just like his smile can brighten any mood.

Jay's Master Bedroom at the Elle Decor Showhouse is no exception. Jay used a backdrop of soothing dove grey in this room and added touches of color to add a bit of drama. Notice all of the details: the gilt nightstands with the hanging lamps above....

The dramatic marble fireplace surround softened with luxurious curtains on either side....the fantastic geometric patterned ottoman with the modern ivory covered chairs...

... Jay even mirrors the ottoman fabric pattern with the tile in the Master Bath. Always thinking, always thinking.

Sigh....I am a fan, it's true. So of course I hopped over to the Elle Decor Website to get every bit of information. You can see a virtual tour of each room, the designers' inspiration sketches, and lots of other fun Showhouse "stuff".

For example,here is a virtual tour with Editor-in-Chief, Michael Boodro:



I hope you have a chance to hop over yourselves!

Oh! And do not forget to enter my fantastic

HOLIDAY GIVE AWAY

HERE!


For a Beautiful Bodmer Baby Alpaca Throw.
I will be announcing a winner December 16th!


Good Luck!!

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY! Beautiful Bodmer Throw Blanket

It is the Holiday Season, and what better way to express it than by giving? I have partnered with Bodmer Blankets to give one lucky reader a beautifully crafted, luxuriously cozy throw blanket valued at $650 to be chosen from any of the throws found on the Bodmer website.

Bodmer Blankets were introduced to market a little over a year ago and already they can be found at retail stores from LA to Miami. Thomas O'Brien was Bodmer's very first customer buying the Beige Striped throw for his own home and also throws for his Aero store in SoHo. Their blankets and throws can also be found at fine boutiques and designer showrooms across the country like Sue Fisher King in San Francisco, Mimi London in LA, and Fiori Home Collections in NYC.

Before we get to the GIVEAWAY, I would like to introduce you to Craig and Kari Bodmer, the crafters and entrepreneurs responsible for these fabulous throws. I was able to ask them a few questions about how they got this party started:

I know you live in Carlton. Oregon. How did this area become your home and how did you get your start in the alpaca blanket business?

We have always loved gardening, farming and country life in general. It is just so rewarding and fulfilling for us. The first home we bought are we were married was on a small acreage and we loved it. Our corporate careers began to overwhelm the best of our intentions to farm and we had to move back to the city and give up our place, but we swore we'd be back.

Our careers eventually moved us from Idaho to Portland, Oregon. We could finally afford to look for another acreage for farming. At the same time we began to look for an enterprise that would provide a cash flow that was consistent with our aesthetics and interests. We looked for property about an hour outside of Portland and were immediately drawn to the beauty of the wine country south and west of Portland. We soon found a piece of land that was perfect!

During our first 2 years on the property, we were given a video of a story about another couple who started a weaving business. The aesthetics were just what we were looking for, but we did not know how to weave. Craig took a lesson to see if he liked it, and fell in love with the process. He began a year of intensive study in weaving and design. We began to work out how to build a small business on our property weaving luxury blankets and throws.

We now weave beautiful blankets and throws for high-end design stores and design showrooms across the country ad spend our free time managing our farm and our lives in the country.

What does a typical day look like for the Bodmers?

We get up early and after coffee and a little exercise, Craig heads to the studio to weave and Kari either spends time with customers or on financial or marketing aspects of the business, or she takes bolts of fabric from the looms and works on the finishing process. Each throw  needs to be washed, dries, ironed, and fringed before being packaged and shipped. We stop work by 5:00 if we can so that we can get to any farm chores that need to be done before dinner.

Craig at his Loom

How would you describe your own personal style?
We describe our style as subtle elegance. We use traditional weave structures chosen for their drape, the structural integrity they provide the fabric, and their simple beauty. We see the value of our throws and blankets being an elegant enhancement to a beautiful interior design rather than something that makes its own separate statement. But one of the things we love about our throws is that beyond elegance, they are still incredibly warm, comfortable and cozy. When we are at gallery showings, it's fun to watch people wanting to wrap one around themselves. looking for our smiling permission and them wrapping up and purring.

What is happening next?

We began alpaca for all the reasons above, but there are lots of luxury fibers we are really looking forward to using. Craig is in the process of creating some designs which are a blend of baby alpaca and silk yarns. We hope to explore the possibilities of all the natural luxury fibers across the globe before we are finished.



Craig and Kari Bodmer





Just for fun....
Favorite sinful pleasure...
We love good food. We love to cook and bake and to get better and better at it. The natural food we grow and raise helps us create some incredible meals. We went mushroom hunting a couple of weeks ago for Oregon's famous Chanterelle mushroom. We drove up to the coast range of mountains, and found a couple of baskets full of those beautiful orange mushrooms. We came home and made our special recipe of beef stroganoff with our grass-fed sirloin steaks and fresh wild mushrooms. I am getting hungry just telling you about it!

Favorite place on the planet...

Kari loves lakes. Don't know whether it's because she was raised in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" in Northern Minnesota, or just because it seems like air is just fresher on the shores of a beautiful mountain lake.

Craig could stare out at the ocean from the beach forever. His favorite place on earth is the tip of land at Point Lobos State Park south of Carmel, California. Standing there watching the white waves break over the rocks in that blue, blue water and rush up to his feet is his version of Heaven.

Favorite escape/travel destination...
We love Carmel, California. Love the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Love Sun Valley, Idaho. Love Salashan Resort on the Oregon Coast.

Favorite place at home...
Sitting in our chairs in front of the wood stove in the living room reading.

Somehow I think Kari and Craig may have a throw or two tucked around them in front of that wood stove!

Now that you have met the Bodmers, I bet you are ready for the giveaway!!!

The Bodmers graciously sent me a throw so I could see for myself how impeccably beautiful they really are. (I got the Black Herringbone....and it is all mine!! Although Tim doesn't seem to agree)  I received small samples of all of the colors, and they are all gorgeous, soft and cozy. You will be thrilled. (And I can see why the throws are valued at $650!!) 

Here is all you have to do:

1. Visit the Bodmer Website  HERE and pick your favorite throw.
2. Come on back to Katiedid and become a follower.
3. Leave a comment telling me your favorite pick and contact information so we can get your beautiful baby alpaca throw to you before Christmas!!!

 The Giveaway runs from today through December 15th so we can get the throw to you by Christmas. I will announce the winner on December 16th! Keep a lookout.

GOOD LUCK 

and

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!