This is Thursday Blog Love~ Cote de Texas

If you are new to the interior design blog world, then there is a teeny tiny slim chance that you've never heard of Cote de Texas.  Houston designer Joni Webb, the blogger behind this megafeast for the eyes, is like the Mother of blogland.  She is a true internet celebrity and Cote de Texas really sets the bar for all other design blogs.  French design is Joni's passion, but her talent is bringing it to all of us in an informative, always funny, discerning way.  I absolutely LOVE reading her opinions even if we don't always have the same taste.  You just know that she knows what she is talking about and she definitely knows what she likes.

I will never be able to thank Joni enough for introducing me to this whole other blog world.  Those of you that know me know that I've long been obsessed with  a faithful reader of sports blogs (I know!)....but interior design?  I had no idea they existed.  I did a search for 'sconces' one fateful afternoon and Google sent me to Joni!  Some notable moments in Cote de Texas' history...

The Cote de Texas post that made gray (and Sally Wheat!) famous.

Joni has taught me so much about different design styles from French Country...

to Belgian...

to Swedish (on a budget!)

Joni used many Wisteria pieces for this post...if you don't get the Wisteria catalog yet you need to stop reading now and click here.

But my all-time favorite Cote de Texas post (the whole series inspired so much in my house) is the one on window treatments.  I have read this post from top to bottom (a feat in itself!) so many times I feel I can recite many parts of it.  I go back to it each time I start on a new room since I use curtains as my jumping off point.  It's where I put my money so it is my top decision, and Joni is my guru.

Cote de Texas is an amazing blog, and Joni Webb is a generous writer, but the best thing I can say about Joni is that she is a nice and caring person.  When I was having drapes made for my living room (which was my first huge adult decorating expense, so a really big deal to me!) I made a terrible mistake in the company I hired. In the middle of a long battle with the man in charge, I reached out to Joni and she helped me so much!  She has literally thousands of readers every day, yet she took the time to affirm that I was doing the right thing and eased my fears when the curtain man kept telling me how wrong I was.  And she was right of course, I think they turned out beautifully!

 My girlfriend Julie, also a Houstonian, helped me design my fabulous living room curtains. Sorry for the old pictures, but Merry Christmas!

Basically, if you're not reading Cote de Texas you are missing out on the essence of design blogging.  Please, go and enjoy what has inspired me so so much.

Thanks Joni!!!

*****  Hi Cote De Texas readers, thanks for making this my MOST POPULAR POST by far.  Please enter my very first giveaway HERE!! $50 gift card to Ballard Designs!

Baylor Says...

Remember when you were little and someone would tickle you until you couldn't breathe?  Did you have to say 'Uncle' to make them stop?  Well in my family we said 'calf rope'.  I don't know why, it was just the way it was...and now I am teaching that to Baylor.  We've said it a handful of times in the last couple weeks.  Yesterday we were at the pool and another child had torn apart one of those styrofoam noodle thingies.  Baylor picked up a little fist-sized piece of blue foam and matter-of-factly said "Oh a calf rope!  I found a calf rope."  I just can't stand it, he is so funny.  Where do they come up with this stuff?