I remember my first encounter with Lifestyle Expert Moll Anderson very clearly.  I was at Book Expo America last year and as I walked down an aisle, I noticed the most beautiful booth.  There were many impressive booths by major publishing houses, but this one was completely different. The background was matte black accented by the energizing punch of fuschia, orange and yellow.  The ladies were friendly, sleek and attractively dressed in coordinated colors.  Gorgeous, approachable, colorful?  Hello, whatever you are selling, I’m buying.(see the proof)  Moll was gracious and told me about her upcoming release for 2017.  I shoved my card into her assistant’s hand and begged her to keep me in mind during the launch.  That one encounter solidifies that Moll knows the power of color to attract and build personal, powerful connections. Her new book, Change Your Home, Change Your Life with Color is a beautiful study of how color unlocks the senses and makes lasting impact emotionally.  If you are ready to ignite your creativity and release your fear of color, this is your new design book.  We all have color fears, biases and color loves which make up our individual color stories.  It is a fun and introspective journey of how color really does have the power to change your life.  Below, I’m sharing some of my favorite photos from this visually intoxicating books. Moll playing the role of your color superhero!   I know the book is about color, but I love, love, love Black and White.  I’m glad Moll didn’t neglect the power of this color combination in design.  I’m finding this home and moving in. One of Moll’s Fearless Five tips is how a pop of color goes a long way.  Light kitchens are always in vogue,...

Michelle Obama is leaving the White House with the highest favorability rating of any previous first lady.  It’s not surprising as she is the perfect combination of aspiration and relatability.  In many ways she seems just like us: managing children, teasing her husband as she works as his loudest cheerleader and closest advisor. She shops where we shop (WHBM, J. Crew) and manages the family calendar,  but also has access to designers we dream of owning with a staff to help make it look as effortless as possible.  I know there will be many books within the next year dedicated to this history-making family, but below are the well-worn titles that I love the most. The Meaning of Michelle This compilation of essays is a moving tribute to the way Michelle made us feel, sometimes about ourselves and often about our country and our place in it.  A varied company of contributors look into every aspect of Michelle and what she represents-from her fashion to her dignity under pressure and even a look at how she represents an American perspective from across the Pacific.  I really enjoyed this book as many of the introspection mirrored my own. Other essays brought new insight into the paradigm shift of this firmly down-to-earth woman living in the highest house of the land.   Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy  This is the book that started it all.  Blogger Mary Tomer was the first to begin compiling Michelle’s fashion moments on the campaign trail, giving us a glimpse of how a real woman gets dressed for the most public stage. Her website Mrs-O. org was a constant feed of the woman that would become our truly modern First Lady. This is a beautiful coffee table book of beautiful photos and commentary of how Michelle skillfully...

Perhaps it is a book publishing conspiracy to release so many great Design and Décor books the same month of High Point Market, the premier Home Furnishing industry trade show, but I’m not complaining.  I’m happy to rearrange the coffee table and bookshelf for these beautifully photographed books full of tips and inspiration to update and beautify my home.   The Art of Celebrating Known as the Architect of Style, David Monn transforms events, home design and theatre into transformative and beautiful ‘environments’ for celebration.  From styling State Dinners (yes, The White House) to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala (yes, the Met Gala), he lends his well-trained eye and expertise to your home celebrations and grand events like birthday parties and weddings.     Better Than New  If you’re an HGTV addict, then you are familiar with Nicole Curtis, the Rehab Addict.  This tiny spitfire tackles some of the biggest renovation projects with aplomb.  From my home state of Michigan (#spartan4life) to Minnesota, she shares how she rebuilt her life as a single mother, changing careers and building a personal brand, astutely aligning it with the power of reusing and recycling homes and interiors.  An apt study in similiarities, the effort she has to put into seeing the potential of long neglected homes become  8 lessons for making a life of value. Not a typical design book, it explores the interior of homes as well as the interior of the heart.   Cecil Beaton at Home:  An Interior Life The definition of a Renaissance man, Cecil Beaton blazed a trail of beauty, creativity and style through tony London and New York.  Concentrating on the favorite of his country homes as well as his hotel residences, this visual biography shows how his interior life informed his talents as a designer, writer, photographer and...

The fresh autumn breeze is blowing leaves and stacks of great books my way. This October every #newreleaseTuesday is calling my credit card. Grab a pumpkin spice latte and let us begin an epic Autumn #TBR. October 4 In the Company of Women I saw the pre-release copy of this book at Book Expo America and have been impatiently (publication date patience is not my virtue) waiting for it since. Beautifully conceived by the visually talented Grace Bonney of Design Sponge, I have been fondling my 12-page galley since May. This celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit should be on every business reading list with interviews with #girlbosses from every imaginable walk of life and business acumen. Exploring the minds of girl crushes Tavi Gevinson, Linda Rodin, Issa Rae and company is an amazing opportunity and giving such great thinkers and doers a place on my bookshelf is too delicious to resist. Make note: I’m declaring this book THE gift for every sister, niece and granddaughter graduation season 2017. Nasty Galaxy Sophia Amoruso grafted a new branch to the ‘chick lit’ genre and solidified a viral hashtag with her debut rock n’ roll business memoir #Girl Boss. She’s back, but this time she’s giving us a visual tour into the Nasty Gal world. If you love Sophia’s no-holds bar straightforward advice and kick-butt visual style, expect nothing short of another revolution. Jackie and Cassini: A Fashion Love Affair The allure of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis seems to endure forever, and rightfully so. Her style and aristocratic bearing gave us an American Royal Family within a democracy and she will forever be the halcyon queen. This book explores the relationship with Oleg Cassini, the man that helped her design the look of Camelot and configured a...

I recently purchased the new release by one of my favorite designers Rachel Roy. Her clothes are modern, yet classic, youthful while not immature, and celebratory to any woman’s figure. The Design Your Life book jacket describes Rachel as “a working mother who believes that through style, we can design the lives we want to live”.  I couldn’t agree with that statement more and it’s a common blueprint for most designing women that have built legacies and lifestyle brands by addressing the needs and wants of women like themselves. I was inspired to compile a list of memoirs by favorite female designers, recounting the lives and lessons that were the seeds for their Designer Dynasties. There are many great designers missing, as I limited the list to books written by the designer herself. Just as any artist has to trust her own perspective, I only wanted stories told by the individual woman, absent of the filter of another person’s opinion or agenda.   Diane von Furstenberg By now, you know my love of the DVF brand and that infamous wrap dress. Her jetset life served as the blueprint for the liberating, yet sexy clothes she creates for women. Her fairytale life (which includes a Prince Charming) has produced a great library of books.   My favorite book is still her original autobiography Diane: A Signature Life, as she tells the story of the impetus of that simple wrap dress, just as she was embarking on her even larger second act.       Elsa Schiaparelli Born into gentile society, Elsa thumbed her nose at the aristocratic system whenever possible. Considering society confining, she married and moved to New York, finding a more liberating life as a working woman. Her rebellion continued with the invention of the “divided skirt”  (you may know them as shorts), giving women freedom while playing tennis. An art lover, Schiaparelli created fun, avant garde fashion that made society women walking...