House Beautiful

Archive for the 'Bios' Category

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Covet Living Wins Stylish Blogger Award

Well, wouldja look at that?!  Mere minutes after completing our Golden Globes post this weekend, a note popped up in our Comments section to tell us somethin’ pretty cool: Covet Living has been bestowed the honor of the  Stylish Blogger Award!

Gracias y merci beaucoup to the lovely, talented Shannon Berrey, an artist and interior designer in Nawth Carolina, who happens to be 6’1″ in heels:

So the award comes with some rules – here’s how it works:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

Mmkay.  Sounds easy enough.  So herrrrrrrrrrrrre we go!

INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT KARRIE:

1.  I have been in two tornadoes.  Like, right smack dab in them.  The first one was during a softball game in middle school, when our umpire literally got picked up and thrown into the concession stand.  The second one was during my brothers’ baseball game.

2.  I have a major phobia of balloons – mainly the kind that can pop easily.  If I see someone with balloons walking down a sidewalk, I will switch sides.

(Via.  PS: Dear future kids, this will never be you)

3.  My interior designer idol is Kishani Perera.  After I first blogged about her, I got an email thanking me for the sweet post.  I died.

4.  I took DJ lessons for several semesters (they have a school in LA!) and gave myself the moniker DJ Lobo.

(via)

5.  At my first job post-college, I had to call Sharon Stone frequently and connect her with my boss.  Weeks later she started calling me directly on my line.  She would leave voicemails, and I would promptly call my mom and Grandma in Indiana and have them listen to the messages and giggle.

6.  I once almost killed Steph’s and my other best friend on a jetski.  Sorry, Mayleesha.

7.  I am having a barefoot beach wedding later this year.

(via)

8.  I am going curling with co-workers in a small town outside of Munich tonight. WTF.

INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT STEPHANIE:

1.  If I chew gum, I have to chew at least 2 pieces at once, so I can blow bubbles.  People who know me best know to hand me 2 pieces if I ask for a piece of gum.

2.  After college, I nearly moved to the French countryside (Poitiers) to be an Au Pair, but made a last minute decision to stay and play a 5th year of college volleyball.  I figured it was my last chance to do the one thing I’d loved all my life, and that I had the rest of my life to travel.  And wipe sweet little French childrens’ snotty noses.  But I always wonder how my almost-2nd-family is doing, and a huge part of me still aches to live en France someday.

3.  I had a close overtime thriller with death and was nearly decapitated in a tubing accident when I was 20.  No joke.  Luckily, the rope only sliced my neck and beat me upside the head at 30 mph, instead of wrapping around my neck.

4.  My mom told me that when I was little, instead of crying when I woke up in the morning, I would stand up in my crib and sing until someone would come get me.

5.  I drink about a half gallon of milk every day, and like it best if it’s been in the freezer for about 15 minutes so it’s extra cold and frozen around the edges.

I also still sleep with my binkies.

6.  I put buffalo sauce, Tabasco and sriracha on EVERYTHING.  Like, the way that the old guy from My Big Fat Greek Wedding squirts everything with Windex.

7.  The only recurring dream I ever have is that it’s my wedding day, and I’m about to marry the wrong person. I might be more afraid of settling than anything else.

8.  I once won a hot dog eating contest. 12 hot dogs in 20 minutes. BAM.

OUR FAVE NEWLY DISCOVERED BLOGGERS:

It’s Lauren’s Life

Gala Darling

Kelli Murray Art & Design

Nest Egg

Caitlin Wilson Design

FROM THE RIGHT BANK

KELLY MARKET

LeSueur Interiors

Dress Design Decor

Elements of Style

xoxo!

See ya, 2010!

{via flikr

2011?  …Really?  Just saying that number aloud sounds cuckoo for cocoa puffs to me.  It sounds like the year I thought we’d be flying around in Jetsonmobiles.  And wearing metal underwear.  But alas – 2011 is underway, so probably best to jump on board.  But before we do, let’s recap the oldies but goodies of 2010: 

1.  COVET LIVING is born on April 14, 2010.  The spawn of two bi-coastal high school besties, and a platform for sharing our zest for life and all things inspiring, gorgeous, hilarious and delightful. 

 

Columns like “Goodwill Hunting” – Steph’s how-to-repurpose-thrift-store-trash-into-treasures column, and “White Oprah” – featuring Karrie’s pearls of wisdom – would follow. 

 

Homage would oft be paid to our small Midwestern hometown… 

{via BSU

…and posts would be dished out with candor and unabashedly inappropriate verbiage – to the tune of “HO-LY TESTICLE TUESDAY!” Because sometimes, we get really excited, and “oh boy!” doesn’t always hack it. 

{via HBO

2.  We flew to NYC to surprise our other bestie – Melissa – for her 30th Birthday, and whooped it up big time in the Big Apple.  A weekend of insanity ensued, and great times were had.  Click here for a recap and wrap-up of some choice NYC spots. 

{via flikr

3.  Karrie got engaged (!)  To a really sweet guy named Tim.  I wonder if he’s seen her first thing in the morning when she makes the Chewbaca face yet?  Bless his heart. 

 

 

4.  Steph did her first Designer Showhouse room in June.  Right down the street from where Jake Ryan, Samantha Baker and Long Duk Dong once filmed an epic little flick called Sixteen Candles in the picturesque suburbs of Chicago. 

 

5.  We oooh-ed and ahhh-ed over the following interiors, BIG time, because they represent what we love most – design that is chic, unpretentious, and inviting. 

 

{Set of It’s Complicated

{One Day Bedroom Makeover – Amanda Nisbet for House Beautiful} 

{via Green Bicycle}
 

{Designer Kristen Cox’s Charlotte home via Better Homes & Gardens

 

{Rita Konig via Domino} 

{TEOT via Style At Home

{via Domino} 

 

{via Roseland Greene

{via Making It Lovely

{via La Dolce Vita – more of this home to follow in High Gloss‘ 1st Issue} 

{via House Beautiful

{Meg Adams via House of Turquoise – further coverage here & here

6.  We traveled far & wide for work, weddings and such. 

{Charleston, SC – Steph’s Other Home} 

{London, England – which Karrie frequents for her job} 

{Western North Carolina – Steph’s Southern Roots} 

{Rome, Italy – Karrie for work, Steph for play}  


{Maui – Karrie’s engagement venue} 

We also returned to our Midwestern roots this summer… 

 

…to rendezvous for some much needed R&R at the lakes. 

{photo by Erin Murray} 

7.  We received an incredibly gracious and flattering email from Newell Turner – the Editor in Chief of House Beautiful – who called Covet Living, “Fresh, Fun and Original.”  Uhhh, we couldn’t have received a nicer compliment from a more amazing source.  A few short months later, Covet made its first appearance on the glistening pages of said magazine’s November feature “101 Party Do’s & Don’ts”

 

8.  These little nuggets were born into our families, melting our hearts and giving Gerber babies everywhere a run for their money.  Helllllllloooooo, Rainer & Hailie Grace! 

 

9.  HGTV‘s casting scouts came a-knockin, looking for a new TV host.  Stephanie made it all the way through the on-camera interview stage – during which, she drew air hearts and used words like “fire breathing dragon” to describe former nightmare clients, and before which I’m fairly certain she had to throw back a shot of liquid courage called vodka. 

{Sitting Room by Stephanie Ballard} 

10. New Year’s Eve was spent as it should be – at house parties with great friends.  Because after spending years at fancy parties in big cities with fancy cover charges, we’ve discovered that it’s not about what hoity-toity party you post-up at, but who you’re spending it with.  Plus, duh.  New Year’s Day is where all the fun’s at. 

 

Thank you so very much to all of you who have been so incredibly encouraging and supportive of our new endeavor – we love you more than any words in our made-up vocab could possibly convey.  Look for CL to crank it up a notch in 2011 with more Giveaways, more Before & Afters, more Profiles (Summer Thornton, Ondine Karady, Mally Skok, a celeb hunk, and more!)  – and – (drumroll……….) an E-Decorating launch! 

Giddy up,