Cait Pappas

First, I’d like to preface it with this: If you know me, you know I’m typically smiling 90% of the time, and that I’m a bubbly, happy, positive person. Last night, for example, as I was trying to fall asleep, I got so worked up about some of these things that my face and hands started buzzing, I got the spins, and I felt like my bed was tilting so much that I was going to fall out of it, and then I got a migraine and couldn’t fall asleep until 3 am. the fact that I don’t feel sexy in my own skin anymore because I have a herniated belly and my abs are separated down the middle (I’m 5’2”, 115, and Joe was a big baby!), when I used to work so hard on being in shape and having a solid core. I now feel like an asshole for complaining about all of this, but at the same time, I’m not convinced that it’s mentally healthy to say one person’s problems are meaningless because another person’s problems are bigger.

Mix up your look by weaving a bold color (I’m partial to green!) into an assortment of white frames, or you can go with a more classic modern look by choosing a thin frame with a walnut stain. If you favor a more rustic or warm modern farmhouse vibe: There’s a big difference between rustic style and modern farmhouse style, and I feel many people confuse the two. For a more modern farmhouse look, I’m digging the industrial iron with compo frame (I have three of these in my home!) or a wrapped canvas (you can upload your own photos or downloaded art files from Etsy) in a black or white floating frame. One I recently used on a client’s interior decorating project was this black stain on maple picture frame with a 1.25″ rabbit (which means it’s a deeper frame that stands out from the wall more than other, thinner frames).

We have been slowly decorating and renovating this builder-grade, new-construction home since the day we moved in because we were not okay with simply throwing our furniture in and calling it “home. This is where the idea for a business came into the picture: Colorado is seeing a boom in new-construction homes, with neighborhoods popping up all over the place, it seems. Since we’ve begun this process, friends, family, and community members who have seen our home have asked us to help them turn their blank white boxes of homes into family dwellings that are not only functional, but also stylish, warm, and full of character. Nest Out West specializes in decor trends ranging from Modern Farmhouse, to Mid Century, Bohemian, Rustic, and even Scandinavian design.

I recently learned about a brand called Etched Atlas, which makes beautiful and intricate wood-carved maps and puzzles starting at only $49. What I love about the custom option is you can send a specific point on a map to the Etched Atlas team, one that’s packed full of meaning for some reason or another, and they can engrave it on wood For my husband Jason, I decided to order a map of Boulder, Colorado, as that’s where he earned his engineering degree (and also where some of his favorite memories were made). It also doesn’t hurt to know that your support of Etched Atlas is helping grow a small business, owned and operated by husband and wife team Matthew and Julie Pacheco, with their dog Arthur serving as the Chief Morale Officer.