House Beautiful

Karrie’s Bio

Hello!  Karrie here.  This is me:

Like Stephanie, I was born and raised in the Midwest, with the sounds of John Mellencamp’s Greatest Hits serving as my life’s soundtrack.

Where, if you turn off the engine, you can hear the wind create a gentle rustling of the cornfields.

And days and nights are spent perfecting a hook shot on the rusted out basketball hoop.

Though I loved my upbringing there, I smelled the vibrancy of California a million miles away, and post-college promptly traded the Midwest for the sunny beaches of Los Angeles.

I haven’t looked back since.

Living by the beach, and riding my bike-with-a-basket to work, I’ve become totally hooked on the So Cal lifestyle and am completely inspired by it on a daily basis…

The laidback attitude…

The openness and diversity…

And the never-ending Pacific that seems to swallow all worries when staring out into it.

So who am I?  Well, personality-wise, I would say I’m equal parts old soul and clown. I was blessed with a dry wit and uncanny ability to tell it like it is, for which I have my little Mexican grandmother to thank.

My family – well, they are what keep me grounded in my adult life, and I talk to my mom every single day.

I believe in things like telling it how it is…  spending Saturdays on the beach…  and every once in awhile, watching E! for an entire afternoon in my PJ’s and eating homemade macaroni & cheese.  I’m always searching for a new hobby; in recent years I’ve taken DJ, ballet, Spanish, photography, cooking, and knitting classes, as well as surfing and skateboarding lessons.  Bring it.

In my dream world, I would be living in a California beach bungalow, steps from the beach…:

…With this little guy as my buddy to ride alongside me on the boardwalk…:

My neighbors would have the elegance of Ina Garten…:

The spunk and penchant for recipes with massive amounts of butter and cream, like Paula Deen…:

And the homey recipes of Italy from Giada…

Oh, and I’d own this winter cottage located steps from my parents’ house in sunny Florida:

A few years back I got hit by the decor bug when Steph flew out to help me decorate my new apartment.  We ooh-ed and ahh-ed our way thru every home store from Santa Monica to Venice and have been exuberantly exchanging ideas and inspiration ever since.

(Left: Weego Home, my fave store in Santa Monica.  Right: Neptuna in Venice)

This blog serves as a testament to both our friendship over the years and our love for life and all things design.  Hooray for Covet Living!

18 Responses to “Karrie’s Bio”


  • I am so proud to be the first person to comment on your world famous blog! First of many more!

  • Karrie,

    This is amazing. So glad to be following your thoughts and adventures.

    Huw

  • This is awesome Karrie!

  • You are the pearl, dahlin’. Shine on!

  • Love this! Congrats 🙂 I will be an avid reader.

  • Love this site-your picture is awesome:)

  • Congrats Karrie! This is an incredible idea 🙂

  • Looking forward to much more of this coming from you

  • Hi friend! Cool site. Congrats on the launch!

  • My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!

  • Informative and entertaining,keep it coming!

  • Hello Karrie:

    This is Casey – you may know me as Big Red – Steph’s overly quirky, and inquisitive friend. I thought I’d settle a small difference of opinion regarding grammar and the proper application for items in a list. Ssssooooooooooo… when one is listing three elements in a list, as Bundy did several times on her resume, a comma should be used after each item in the list except for the last. Please see (below) “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. The gold standard for any author/ teacher/ student etc.

    In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

    Thus one should write,

    red, white, and blue

    honest, energetic, but headstrong

    He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.

    Lator Gator

    • Big Red,

      It is a pleasure to finally meet you, albeit via the Comments section on our blog, and even more of a pleasure to learn of your birth name. Casey, huh? That’s sweet.

      Yes, the debate of the usage of the serial comma is an ongoing one, and as you write, The Elements of Style states that a comma must be used in a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction.

      Interestingly, when I was Copy Chief at the Indiana Daily Student (go Hoosiers!), we used the Associated Press Stylebook (considered a newspaper/magazine/broadcasting industry standard) which states:

      Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry.

      But for dear Wabbit’s resume, I would agree that Strunk and White’s guidelines should be used… meaning you get a big star for the day, Big Red!

      Yours truly,

      Sheep

  • Hi,

    Loved your website. The only thing that’s missing is a Feng Shui referral!
    I can relate to the story about your friendship – and how it has survived the years and the miles. Just took a cruise with my grade school BFF for our 50th Birthdays. She lives in Curacao and I live in Minneapolis, MN.

    I have a Delta Airlines Benefit – so free travel!

    Deborah Miller
    Domicile Design, Inc
    Interior Designer and
    Certified Feng Shui Practitioner
    Allied Member ASID
    Professional Member FSIM
    (612)414-7181
    DomicileFengShui@aol.com
    Website: http://www.DomicileFengShui.com
    http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahmillerdomiciledesign

  • Hi Karrie! Love the blog, I didn’t know you had one until I saw the link in Hannah’s blog. Love it! Midwest forever!!!!!!

  • Found your blog, and I love it! My wife is going to be visiting this regularly. I love the decorating tips.

    In reference to the dog, “…With this little guy as my buddy to ride alongside me on the boardwalk…:”

    I agree, he would be awesome!

    -J

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