lake norman blog

brown sugar scrub

May 10, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

with summer just around the corner, we all will be showing a little more skin. so, when we spotted the recipe for a diy brown sugar scrub on the idea room, we knew we had to make some ~

with just 2 ingredients that were already in the pantry, making this is not only easy peasy, but extremely kind to the budget:

Brown Sugar Scrub:

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Coconut Oil (melted)

Directions:

1. Mix together until thoroughly incorporated.

2. Store in an air tight container.

3. Good for up to 3 months.

this scrub would make a wonderful mother’s day gift. or, a special treat for girlfriends, special neighbors or teachers.

smooth skin for all!

do what you love & delegate the rest!

this is the blog of running in stilettos, a lifestyle management & personal concierge firm located in cornelius, nc & serving lake norman & the greater charlotte area
lifestyle management ~ personal concierge ~ property management
home & office organization ~ interior design, redesign & staging
party & event planning & serving ~ personal shopping

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creating a bar height work space

May 5, 2013 by admin

we started a whole home organization project recently for a lovely family living on beautiful lake norman. one of the spouses is an entrepreneur with a retail presence (fashion jewelry & personal & home accessories) in several area brick-&-mortar establishments as well as selling jewelry on-line. we will be turning an unused formal dining room ~ their spacious open concept living, eating & kitchen space more than suits their lifestyle ~ into a workspace. our criteria: the inventory must be visible & accessible to re-stock locations & that there is a place to work, photograph & ship. our plan is build-out a bar-height work station in the middle of the room & our inspiration is an image that has been our one of our laptops for quite a while ~

we love the idea of storage on both the inside & the outside of what are essentially bookcases supporting the work surface top. so, we went scouting on both pinterest & houzz to find more examples of this concept to help fine-tune our design. here a some of the best of what we have found ~

Traditional Home Office by Philadelphia Closets And Organization Closet & Storage Concepts

Modern Kids by Dallas Home Builders Ellen Grasso & Sons, LLC

with a bigger top to accommodate tucking stools under it, the amount of storage under this table is appealing ~

Traditional Home Office by Mckinney Interior Designer JDS DESIGNS

Traditional Home Office by Detroit Kitchen And Bath Millennium Cabinetry

this work table is not inspiring for our needs in this project, but we are jazzing with take-away ideas from what is the the walls!

Traditional Home Office by Phoenix General Contractor Meritage Homes

we cannot wait to to embark on this part of of the project! we’ll keep you updated. need some help with your space? what we know for sure is that if chaos is contagious, then so is order. cleaning & clearing up a closet, a room or a home might feel like a small act, but it’s the first step to opening doors to the new. and, once this happens, just see what else falls into place.

call kara at 704.589.1389 or send us you info via our contact form if you would like a complimentary consultation on any of our services!

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: interior design, organization Tagged With: interior design cornelius, interior design davidson, interior design lake norman, lake norman blog, organizers cornelius, organizers davidson, organizers huntersville, organizers lake norman, personal assistant lake norman, personal concierge lake norman

lindsay letters ~ part of our little black book

April 30, 2013 by admin

lindsay sherbondy, of lindsay letters, made her first stationery line when she was five, took a calligraphy class when she was 10, feel madly in love with lettering & went to school to become a graphic designer. she is living her dream; creating & offering only the highest quality canvas pieces, art prints, social stationery & other goodies.

we are about to work with a new client on a gallery wall that she wants to be very unexpected & not clique d ~ we love that! all art should connect with your soul & a gallery wall should reflect your & your family’s spirit ~

since discovering her, lindsay letters has become on of resources for projects like this. especially since she will customize colors so that we can get the perfect blend or pop of color.

any projects around your home that you need assistance with? we organize. we style interiors. we plan parties. we run errands. we even paint. our contact form is a click away!

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: interior design Tagged With: interior design cornelius, interior design davidson, interior design lake norman, interior styling cornelius, interior styling davidson, interior styling lake norman, lake norman blog, lifestyle management lake norman, personal concierge cornelius, personal concierge lake norman, personal shopper lake norman

let them eat cake

April 28, 2013 by admin

we’ve shared a how-much-food-&-drink-to-serve-at-a-party guide. but what about the cake?

party planning is our thing. contact us for a complimentary consultation. and, we can help you serve or bar tend as well. we have several lomg-term clients that we assist at every one of their parties!

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: event planning Tagged With: event planners cornelius, event planners davidson, event planners lake norman, lake norman blog, lifestyle management lake norman, party planners lake norman, party planning cornelius, party planning davidson, personal assistant lake norman, personal concierge lake norman

how much food & drink to serve at a party

April 27, 2013 by admin

we spotted this how-much-food-&-drink-to-serve-at-a-party guide on pinterest & tracked down the original creator ~ very spot-on!

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: event planning Tagged With: event planners cornelius, event planners davidson, event planners huntersville, event planners lake norman, lake norman blog, lifestyle management lake norman, personal assistant lake norman, personal concierge cornelius, personal concierge davidson, personal concierge lake norman

washi tape

April 14, 2013 by admin

people obsessed with tape? really? well, if pinterest & the abundance of blog posts & tutorials on the web are any indication, then there are multitudes of them. the tape causing this obsession is washi tape. washi tape is a high quality masking tape made of rice paper & is widely available in every color or pattern imaginable.

objects to transform with washi tape are limited only by your imagination.

like a car???

whimsey aside, below find just a few washi tape projects that we love. make your own twist ties ~

take plain cork board tiles & turn them into something special ~

make cake flags for your parties ~

or, make your own unique gift wrap & tags ~

amassing a collection of washi tapes? here is one diyer’s solution ~

speaking of organization, this week we begin a whole house organization project for a lake norman client. let us help you, too!

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: event planning, interior design Tagged With: event planners cornelius, event planners davidson, event planners lake norman, interior design lake norman, lake norman blog, lifestyle management lake norman, organizers lake norman, personal concierge lake norman, personal shopping lake norman

another resource revealed by running in stilettos

April 4, 2013 by admin

we love to share ideas & sources ~ like here here, here & here. our newest reveal is shop sweet lulu.

we believe style is in the details. at shop sweet lula, you can find all party essentials to make your party memorable to your guests. we have curated a few of our favorites.

jam and jelly jars have become trendy beverage containers at parties ~ top them with these daisy cut lids. paper straws fit in the center of the daisy to provide both function & style!

ever wonder where to get the really cool straws that you see styled on bars & bar carts?

you will find lots of colorful choices are at shop sweet lulu

these sweet little single-serving glass milk bottles have captured our imagination

send treats home with your guests with these gable boxes

setting up a sweets table or lolly buffet at your event? this cupcake stand makes the perfect centerpiece

this shop has it all ~ from balloons to cupcake supplies to cute little single serving ice cream cups ~ sweet shop lulu is worth checking out when planning your next party or event.

party planning is our thing. contact us for a complimentary consultation. and, we can help you serve or bar tend as well.

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: event planning Tagged With: event planners cornelius, event planners davidson, event planners huntersville, event planners lake norman, event planning in cornelius, event planning in davidson, event planning in huntersville, event planning lake norman, lake norman blog, lifestyle management lake norman, personal concierge lake norman, personal shopping lake norman

10 things

March 30, 2013 by admin

We accomplish a lot in any given week, but here are 10 things that stood out for us that we completed for our clients this week:

~ got a family of 4 ready for their Disney cruise

~ currently house & dog sitting their 2 dogs. walks, meals, down-time in their crates & blocks of play time & fresh air are being done daily

~ we ran errands & did some light housekeeping for our 3 elder clients

~ we have a client in the Peninsula whom we work with in numerous capacities, but top-of-list always remains planning the menus, doing the grocery shopping & making 5-6 family dinners weekly. whether it is served immediately or ready in the fridge to be heated up after volleyball practice & t-ball, there is always fresh, non-processed food available

~ we sorted through all the clothing of a rapidly growing 4 year old boy, laundered & reorganized his newly purchased spring clothes & ran the donated items to the Goodwill drop-off in Cornelius

~ for a client who is transforming her diet, we transferred her ever-growing assortment of gluten-free flours (currently at 12) into the OXO containers we purchased, labeled everything with our label-maker & put them away alphabetically in her pantry for easy access

~ we started planning a kid’s party to be given in the month of May

~ we cleaned out & reorganized a lakefront client’s garage ~ lots of tools, sporting equipment & water toys & boxes that had not been opened from their move over 2 years ago were all organized & properly labeled

~ we organized a teen-age girl’s bathroom & toiletries. wow, did she have a stash of products & make-up! picked up the appropriate drawer organizers & scored the perfect caddy for her shower at Homegoods in Huntersville

~ we did the research on the best product(s) to use to spray-paint some wicker chairs & a table that we are going to transform next week.

Well, that’s just 10 of the things we accomplished for our clients last week. What can we accomplish for you?

For the months of April & May we are offering all new & existing clients a Saturday special for garage clean-out. Hire a 1 person team for 6 hours of organizing & cleaning for $150-. If the job warrants it, we can offer a 2 person team for $290-. This offer is open until existing openings are booked out. We will take all items to be donated to Goodwill when the project is completed for you at no additional charge.

Call Kara at 704.589.1389 or email us at admin@runninginstilettoslkn.com with any questions or to book your Saturday.

We mysteriously lost our site navigation buttons this week & our web assistant, Lyndsay, is currently digging in to figure things out. The major links to our service pages are at the end of this post.

do what you love & delegate the rest!

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Filed Under: Featured, personal concierge, property management Tagged With: event planners cornelius, event planners davidson, event planners lake norman, interior design cornelius, interior design davidson, interior design lake norman, lake norman blog, lifestyle management lake norman, personal assistant lake norman, personal concierge lake norman, personal shopping lake norman

reworking old furniture ~ some before & afters

March 21, 2013 by admin

We are HUGE proponents of reinventing & re-purposing older pieces of furniture. Taking an older piece, especially if it has some family or sentimental value, & breathing new life into it, makes sense on so many levels.

To inspire your own inner DIYer, first up are some desks that got brand new identities ~

Chairs ~ especially one of smaller scale ~ can tuck into a nook in any living or sleeping space ~

Basic, unfinished furniture can get a one-of-a-kind look. And, when you get tired of your creation, a can of paint is all that stands between you and a whole new look ~

Another desk ~ & do not forget the power of new knobs & pulls when planning out your project ~ Anthropologie has some great ones ~

A console table ~

Love what this DIYer did with a basic $69- Ikea desk. Awesome job ~

It spent 12 years serving a family of 5, before being relegated to the garage ~

And, with the addition of some wood scraps & a fresh coat of paint, now looks like this ~

Wow!

The site Ikea Hackers is a virtual cornucopia of ideas to not only upgrade very basic, but very affordable, Ikea pieces, but also will spark ideas for pieces you already own as well as Craigslist, thrift store or yard sale finds.

do what you love & delegate the rest!