Falling in love with MINTED.

You've seen it everywhere, but what exactly is MINTED?

It's not just a place to buy beautifully designed stationary, it's a tour de force of designers from across the globe producing original art, party decor, birth announcements, business cards, calendars, journals, invitations of all sorts, and yes… lots and lots of gorgeous stationary.

How sweet is this Save the Date postcard?
Makes me want to get married all over again. 

Although I spend a lot of time online, I will ALWAYS love the look and feel of hand written letters, and enjoy both sending and receiving them. On Minted, you can either choose from hundreds of original designs, customize a design by another artist, or design your own products.

I'm quite inspired to design a Sweet Spot Style journal, how cool would that be? I'd love to give them away at my workshops as a surprise gift.

If you'd like to try your hand as a designer, you should check out the Minted Design Challenges, where you can win up to $1000 for your original design. This month the themes are Wedding Parties and the West Elm Art Challenge.

Here are a few of my favorite designs on Minted….

How cool is this photo back drop. See more designs here. 

Want to see more? Check out My Minted Pinterest Board to find all of my favorite designs. Do you have a favorite design? Send me the link in the comments below, I'd love to see!

This is a sponsored post.

Sneak Peak: New Website Plans & Social Suzi Giveaway!

Ooooh, la la!! I'm So excited to share this mood board from my web designer, Social Suzi. I can't wait to launch my new website, inspired by some of my fav online businesses, fashion, food, and COLOR. Here's a sneak peek of what you'll be seeing from my new site in the months to come...

I've really enjoyed working with my "web gal" as I call her. Susie has not only suggested an amazing design for my site, she also helped me think more broadly about my overall brand. She calls these sessions The Brand-Igniting Sessions. She asks the right questions to get you to think about your products, your audience, and overall biz goals so you can get out of brain fog and get to work. And now you can work with her to just that over at Social Suzi.

Sweet Spot Style Mood Board made by Social Suzi

Sweet Spot Article in Amulet Magazine!! Win Your Free Copy!!

Have you read Amulet Magazine? It is rapidly becoming my favorite online mag... the combo of stunning photography, great design and sensual/powerful female energy is too hard to resist. When I read the first issue, I poured over the bios of each contributor. You know you want something when you feel a tinge of jealousy, right?  So, it's extra yummy to see my name and bio listed as a contributor this month. Yes!!

This article is extra special to me b/c it was inspired by a poem read by writing shaman and friend, Suzanne Kingsbury during her Tuesday night Salon at the dollhouse.  And not only that, but the piece is accompanied by photos from gal pal and creative cohort extraordinaire, Elle James.  Doubly sweet!! 

You can read the article in two ways.
1. Enter to win a free online copy of Amulet, see below for details.
2. Or, just buy it right now and get ready to fall in love. 

IT'S SO EASY .... HOW TO WIN YOUR COPY OF AMULET MAGAZINE

1. Like Sweet Spot Style and Amulet Magazine on Facebook.
2. And then, leave a comment below (or on FB) and tell me one way you are embracing fall this year.

I will pick a winner one week from today on Sunday, Sept 29 so make sure and enter for your chance to win your free online copy of Amulet now!

Happy first day of fall... may you find your Sweet Spot within the shadows this season.
xo Desha

Retreat

I'm finishing up my first draft of Sweet Spot Style (the book) and I needed a little quiet space to collect my thoughts, so last weekend I had the pure luxury of staying at The Sanctuary in Westminster West, Vermont. Homeowners Caitlin and Peter where out of town and I was in charge of making sure Sasha and Maya (the kitties) didn't get eaten by wild coyotes after sunset. I am good at that kind of job :)

It's funny, I was dreaming of being all alone, getting uninhibited free time to write and focus, but oddly enough I found myself creating my own distractions. Maybe it is b/c I'm so used to being interrupted, with 50 things to do at all times, the phone ringing, dinner to make, or my child who wants to play Barbies.... and all of these things were gone. Yet, what did I do, but pick up the phone and ask my family if they would like to join me? How crazy is that??? I told hubby, "I think I kinda I miss you..." but actually I think it was that I'm not used to spending much time alone.  Luckily, hubby reminded me of my mission and told me to get back to work :)

And I'm proud to say I did. The writing itself, dare I say, is done with over 43K words and 125 pages, time for editing and picture placement. To celebrate, hubby and daughter joined me for lunch in the garden and a gorgeous hike on Sunday. What I learned this weekend is that I really do need to be careful about not creating distractions that pull me from my mission and that sharing the beauty of a magical place does give me joy, but there is something to be said for keeping a little of that magic all to myself.

I'm Writing A Book!

Dearest Readers,

Before last summer, I couldn't have guessed that I would be signing a book contract with a NY publisher on a subject that I so deeply love.

I had just finished filming The Desha Show in Nantucket and decided to have a front porch meeting with Development Editor/Author Suzanne Kingsbury and Literary Agent Dede Cummings to discuss how to grow the show, when Dede suggested writing a "Style Book." Her words made my heart RACE.  The energy and ideas flew back and worth and at the end I was almost scared of the idea. It sounded so good and so close to my heart that if I let myself get too excited, and then it didn't work,  I would be more than disappointed... I would be devastated.

Isn't this how it works? We can't acknowledge our number one dream b/c it's too scary to admit we want it. If we admit it and fail, it hurts so much worse than if we failed at something we didn't really care about.

I am not an interior designer. I am not a stylist. I am not an author. It seemed like a long shot to try and write a book on home decor/style and meaning. But I thrive in the world of possibilities. If there was even the slightest bit of hope that it could work, I had to try.

I  might not have the right degrees or certificates, blah blah, blah. But I do know what I like when it comes to style and I am willing to work hard.

Since that day on the porch, I put my whole heart and soul into writing the proposal and tried to be patient through the process. Now I know why authors have sentimental dedications in their books... writing a book is sort of like hanging up a piece of art that took you two years to paint. You've thought about it a lot, it's personal and it makes you feel a bit vulnerable to show the world.

There's so much more I want to share, but for now I just want to take a deep breath and acknowledge my feelings of gratitude. I've loved decor, style and inspirational stories 4-ever and now is my chance to write a book about what I love most. Yippee- Hayay!

Do you have a dream you're too scared to even admit to yourself? Did you take a risk and follow a dream even though it seemed impossible? How did it go? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments below.

xo