Tomorrow evening I’m hopping on a plane to one of my favorite big cities: New York City! Truth be told, this is only my second visit to the Big Apple so naturally I’m giddy with all the very New York things I’ll be doing….like riding in taxis and subways and walking through Central Park and Times Square. :)

The main goal of my visit though is to see first-hand the latest designs and trends in stationery at the National Stationery Show!

I have lots of lovely industry friends who are debuting new lines at NSS and I’m going to be cheering them on and lending them my support. It really just feels like one big reunion weekend with many Stationery Academy alums (from both class of ’11 and ’12) and designer friends!

If there is anything I need to add to my must-visit or must-eat at list in NYC, be sure to leave a comment below. I always love visiting unique little shops and eateries in big cities.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram @AmberHousley to see my big city adventures and some of my favorite peeks at the latest and greatest paper goods during my trip!

I’m excited to reveal that we are published in the latest issue of Kentucky Bride Magazine! Brittany and Justin were married last summer at one of my favorite Bowling Green, Kentucky venues, The Club at Olde Stone. We had the honor of designing all of the paper goods and making some recommendations on other fun & fabulous details for the outdoor soiree. A full gallery of images to come but here are the published pages featuring gorgeous photography by my friend Kristyn Hogan.

You can order your own copy of this issue of Kentucky Bride Magazine by clicking here.

Last summer I shared how we built our raised garden beds and I’m happy to back this year with twice the boxes! My little piece of heaven in the backyard was doubled in early April thanks to my Dad. He built me two more raised beds during their Spring visit. I was so grateful and excited! I think he is happy to have someone to chat about veggies and gardens with since he grew up on a farm in North Dakota and love having his own little backyard garden now in Las Vegas.

Last year was all about starting small and seeing what grew well, how much work I could handle on a weekly basis of watering and maintanance. This year is all about experimentation. I’ve planted a lot more variety and feeling very playful of what we’ve planted. A little bit of the “let’s throw this on the wall and see what sticks” kind of experimentation.

A rundown of what we’ve planted:

Romaine lettuce
Strawberries
Sugar Snap Peas
Green Beans
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Bell Peppers
Tomatoes
Various Herbs

The strawberries are already producing fruit and ready to harvest! I can’t wait to make some jams later this summer.

I also have one box dedicated to my dozens of dahlia tubers. Previously, I grew these by the house. However, since I plant mostly dinner plate dahlias (which have blooms as a big as a small dinner plate) they grew sort of wild and were unattractive near our neater looking landscaping. I dug all of the tubers up and moved them all out to one raised box in the garden.

Of course, I added a few new ones to my collection as well…(says the dahlia hoarder)

I’m happy with this decision because I’ll now have a trellis support system for them. This is pretty necessary because the stalks can grow almost 5′ tall and summer storms can knock them out. They are just starting to pop up now and I know this box is going to be GORGEOUS come July/August. Stay tuned for lots of gorgeous cut flower bouquets made of my favorite bloom.

Naturally, my four year-old *loves* helping out in the garden. He enjoys helping dig the holes for each of the starter plants (yes, I buy plants already started – I will attempt starting from seeds next year) and just generally checking in on the plants every day after school.

Now that the basics of two extra boxes and new plants are in place, the growing season is just starting to heat up and get exciting. I was delighted for the opportunity to work with Duluth Trading Company and try out some of their products to help make my time spent in the garden more enjoyable.

I have to admit that most of my garden and outdoor work was previously done in old workout clothes like yoga pants and t-shirts. Which is not very comfortable come in July and August in the morning heat…enter the Duluth Trading Company with a line of clothing that is durable and beats some of the summer heat. You can also look pretty cute while happily getting dirty:

In my new gardening-wear collection:

Women’s No Sweat Tank

Women’s Quick Dry Skort

Women’s UPF 50 Crusher Sun Hat

I love that the Duluth clothing also has neat little zippers that are perfect for my iphone. I don’t necessarily use it for listening to music (though it’s a great idea) but I generally have my phone on me so I can take pictures. Most of my garden pictures are taken from my iphone so I can share them quickly on Instagram.

Gift Card Giveaway

I know that you are going to love the Duluth Trading Company products too and I’m happy to announce a $50 gift card giveaway! Just comment below to this blog post one of the things you are planning on planting or growing this summer…it can be a vegetable or flower or whatever. You can also earn bonus points for social media shares or following. I’m using Rafflecopter to help facilitate the giveaway, so be sure to leave a blog comment AND confirm that you have left one with the Rafflecopter app below.

Duluth Trading Company is also offering free shipping now through June 30, 2013, for my readers. Just enter code “T13PRCG” (Note: $50 minimum order. Minimum order applies to total before tax, shipping or gift card purchases. Valid for US shipping only, on standard delivery.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s no surprise that the kitchen is the heart of our home. I love dreaming up new recipes, preparing dishes and drinks for our next get together. We are fortunate in that we built our home a few years ago and had the opportunity to pick out many of the details of our kitchen but I still love always dreaming up new ideas and possibilities of a stylish and functional “dream kitchen.”

My must haves: lots of sunlight, great tools and gadgets, and stylish decorative details.

When dreaming up this gorgeous kitchen, the first step is choosing beautiful appliances that complement one another. I love Electrolux’s mantra of embracing the art of “suite design,” which basically means selecting stylish and sleek appliances that all complement each other aesthetically while looking and performing in a professional way. I mean, who doesn’t want their kitchen to prepare food that rivals the kitchens on tv or your favorite cookbook.

Of course, besides performing well, my dream kitchen needs to look good, too…

I really love white kitchens.

I should clarify, not a bright, modern white, but a creamy, warm white. A cozy, breezy central hub to our home. My kitchen cabinets today are a cream color with some toffee colored accents in the edging, so it’s no surprise that when I pulled these images together on my dream kitchen Pinterest board they still had that common theme.

Other favorite accents in my dream kitchen? Coffered ceilings, brick flooring, and lots of glass cupboards to display my ever growing collection of dishware. It is true, I have a weakness for entertaining plates, platters and glasses, too. Oh, you too? 

One of the biggest trends in kitchen remodeling is the “built-in” look and Electrolux offers not only a collection of counter-depth refrigerators designed to achieve that look, but this Under Counter Beverage Center is something I seriously need for my next party. It can hold both party trays and wine bottles. Yes, please!

So tell me, what is in your dream kitchen? Maybe this gorgeous counter-depth French Door Refrigerator? Or maybe this amazing natural light from wall to ceiling windows:

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

As usual, there were SO many wonderful entries to this year’s AMBER HOUSLEY: Inspired 2013 scholarship contest announcement. It’s inspiring to hear from so many women that want the tools and knowledge to take their business further and to the next level. I’m so happy and honored to get to play a role in that journey for many…

Without further ado, we are delighted to announce that Erika Dillon of Foxtrot Press is the very lucky and deserving gal of our scholarship!

We are excited to meet Erika and all of the awesome women who have registered so far for our summit in August. If you haven’t reserved your seat, now is the time! Register today by visiting the AH Inspired site here.

It’s going to be an amazing two days of solid education + inspiration!

If you haven’t had a chance to read speaker Whitney English’s recent post on why attending an event like AH Inspired is paramount in your success as a business, I highly recommend you jump over to Whitney’s little internet home and find the wonderful blog post here.

And…if you’re not a current subscriber to the AH Inspired newsletter, be sure and opt-in here. In the coming weeks we have lots of great content and will be featuring amazing stories by past AH Inspired attendees and also our 2013 speakers. There is nothing that gets me more pumped than hearing success stories of our alums and all the big things they are doing!!

Wishing you an inspiring week!