Shameless Plug: My "Handmade Modern" Article in Sunset Magazine

Super-excited to see my piece on San Francisco indie boutiques specializing in handmade modern wares (as well as some great product picks from local design maven Meg Mateo Ilasco) in the May issue of Sunset magazine, which just hit newsstands.

Grab your copy today, or click on the images above to read it here.

Shameless Request: Want to Show Off Your Home?

Photo by Johnny Blood

Calling all creative homeowners and renters: Show off your deft decorating, renovation, and garden design skills here!

Your house or apartment doesn't have to have grand architecture or be done to the nines to be considered. Small and modest is great. Budget decorating is great. The key components are creativity and freshness.

Hell, you don't even have to show off your whole place -- I'd love to see a single room, a completed renovation project, or even a small area that you've decorated and are particularly proud of.

If you're interested in offering up your abode for one of my "House Voyeur" tours, please let me know!

Shameless Plugs: My House on design*sponge

Hi everyone, just quickly popping in from my poolside perch in Palm Springs to link over to a "Sneak Peek" of our home that's up on the fabulous design*sponge. A huge thanks to Grace and Anne for deeming our place *sponge-worthy!

(If you want to see more, there's a complete flickr set with lots more pix and info about paint colors and what came from where, as well as my series of "House in Progress" posts on this blog.)

Hope you're having a fantastic holiday week! Now, back to sunning ...

Shameless Plug: Portland's West End in Via Magazine

I just realized -- doh! -- that my write-up on Portland's burgeoning "West End" area is in the current issue of Via magazine.

Check it out on the Via website. Or click the image above to read it here.

Shameless Plug: Join My Blog Network on Facebook

I haven't quite figured out yet why you should -- but I'm working on it, I promise.

Anyway, click here if you're so inclined.

(P.S. Thanks to everyone who's joined so far. I love "seeing" you guys!)

Shameless Plug: Guest Post on decor8

Oh, and a big, big thank you to blogger extraordinaire Holly Becker of decor8, who asked me to join the small army of guest bloggers who are pitching in while she and her husband, Thorsten, get settled in their new apartment in Germany.

My post on some of my favorite artists and artisans, shops, places to go, and things to eat in my adopted hometown of Oakland, California, just went up. Check it out right here.

Thanks again to Holly and a warm welcome to any decor8 readers visiting here for the first time!

OK, now we really are leaving for the beach ... ;-)

Shameless Plugs: Our Attic Makeover on Cookie

The lovely Joanna Goddard of Cookie Magazine's Nesting blog (and of course, her own uber-stylish blog, A Cup of Jo) rang me up the other day for a chat about the attic space that we converted into a bedroom, play space, art studio and all-around wonderland for our daughter, Laurel.

You can check out the interview right here. And if you've just arrived from Cookie, welcome! I hope you'll stay for a bit and visit with me.

(Thanks so much, Joanna!)

Shameless Plug: My eBay Article for HGTV

If you visit this blog with any regularly, you'll undoubtedly notice that I'm a bit of an eBay addict.

A few of you newbie eBayers have asked for tips on shopping the auction giant, and I have just the thing: Click on over to the Home and Garden Television website to read my feature on surfing eBay like a pro. If I do say so myself, it's packed with great advice on hunting down the coolest stuff on the site as well as fresh ideas for decorating with your eBay booty.

You can find the article here.

Shameless Plugs: Look, Ma -- I'm e-Famous!

Thanks so much to Lucky magazine and to The Washington Post for their shout-outs to this little blog during the last few days. (And thanks also to the sharp-eyed readers who let me know about them!)

Lucky deputy editor Jennifer Romolini posted on my recent writeup of Jacaranda Home in her eBay Obsessed column, while Terri Sapienza at the Post included my post on Cameroonian Juju Hats in her weekly Blog Watch roundup for the newspaper's Home and Garden section.

It feels a bit silly to get so excited about a couple of in-passing mentions. But blogging -- and any kind of writing, really -- can sometimes be a lonely business, so it's truly wonderful to know that someone out there is actually reading. These mentions, as well as your comments and emails, mean so very much to me.

Thank you, Jennifer and Terri. And thanks to all of you for visiting me here in my little outpost in cyberspace! If you've just arrived thanks to links on the Lucky or Post websites, please take a minute or two to look around, and come back anytime -- there's lots to see.

Shameless Plugs: Part 2 of My Holiday Wish List on Shelterrific

See everything that my covetous little heart desires -- and get some splurge-worthy gift ideas of your own -- right here.

(Oh, and if you missed Part 1 of my ginormous "Gimme List," it's here.)

That's Random: My 500th Post!

Iced, by flickr member Elan Photography

OK, so this is actually my 502nd post (the big 5-0-0 came and went yesterday without me even realizing it). So I just wanted to pause for a minute and say, "Woo hoo!" And, of course, to thank you.

I started this blog on a whim one day a little over seven months ago -- really just to have an outlet for my design fixations and random musings, a chance to showcase some local stores, designers, and artists that I thought were cool, and a place to catalog my object infatuations so that I could stop driving my friends (that means you, Kitty) crazy by constantly pinging them with stuff that caught my attention.

And now this blog has kind of turned into a whole new obsession for me. Luckily, it's not just for me: More than a thousand of you visit every day -- from Alaska to Australia and lots of points in between. Who would've thunk it?

Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, emailing me, linking to this blog from your own, and sharing your homes and projects these past few months. I absolutely adore being a part of this wonderful online community of fellow design junkies. I love having made lots of new email buddies and even a few flesh-and-blood friends in the offline world via this blog. Most of all, I cherish discovering beautiful new things to share with you every day and being constantly inspired by all the creativity out there -- including your own.

Thanks for sticking with me, and here's to another 500 posts!

All the best,

Leah

Shameless Plug: My "Faucet Trends" Article on HGTV

When it comes to faucets, shoppers suddenly seem to have a choice of everything, well, for the kitchen sink.

The hottest trends include the rise of modern, minimalist designs and utilitarian-chic faucets worthy of professional kitchens. What's more, the newest faucets feature better functionality, more novel shapes, and a broader assortment of finishes than ever before.

See the latest designs -- and get tips for zeroing in on the styles, finishes, and features that will work best for you -- right here.

Shamless Plug: My Holiday Wish List on Shelterrific

Angela over at the great shelterrific blog was nice enough to ask for my holiday gift wish list, which she posted today.

Now I feel a little guilty for including so many things that make my heart skip a beat. But hey, it's a vocational hazard.

Nick, Mom -- are you reading? ;-)

Shameless Plug: Figueroa Hotel Writeup in Via Magazine

I've been doing a little freelance work lately for the regional travel magazine Via. The short piece above is from the November/December issue.

Magazines are in my blood, but one thing I love about the web is that there are no bothersome space limits. So, in the spirit of excess, here are a few more shots of the Figueroa's lushly exotic interior (which I first discovered thanks to the lovely blog Hidden in France -- merci, Corine!):

One day I'll get to the real Morocco -- but until then, the Figueroa fits the bill for a taste of Marrakech a bit closer to home.

Click here for more info on the hotel.

Who Knew? Tap Water Tips

We’ve all heard it a million times: To flush the lead that’s built up overnight in household pipes, run the faucet for a minute or more each morning before brewing coffee or filling your water bottle.

But did you know that one flush won’t do you for the rest of the day? So say researchers at the University of North Carolina’s Environmental Quality Institute, who found that lead is back at 25 percent of overnight levels within ten minutes of flushing the tap, and at 50 percent within 30 minutes.

Don’t throw up your hands and buy stock in Evian just yet, though -- the UNC water-quality experts have a simple solution: Flush the tap, then fill up a pitcher and drink from that for the rest of the day.

Bonus: If you let the uncovered pitcher sit in the fridge for a few hours, virtually all the disinfecting chemicals that your water supplier adds to battle germs (but that can be harmful in their own right) will evaporate. So rather than doing it first thing in the morning, “flush and fill” before you hit the sack at night.

(Shameless plug: Click here to read my Real Simple article on drinking water and your health.)

Cool Tool: Auction Sniper

It’s a common mistake among eBay newbies: You spot something you just have to have, bid on it right away, and keep upping the ante whenever an interloper tries to top you. You may win the auction, but chances are you’ll pay more than you want to -- and you could still get outbid at the last minute.

When it comes to bidding (and winning) on eBay, it turns out that the key word is "wait." Think of this so-called "sniping" as a game of strategy: Keep your poker face on as long as possible, biding your time to make a move, then put in your best bid at the last moment so your competitors don’t have time to knock you out of the winner’s seat.

Of course, if you’d rather not be chained to your computer or set your alarm to catch the end of that 4 a.m. auction, an online service called Auction Sniper can do the dirty work for you.

Here's how it works: Simply type in the auction number for the item you’re eyeing, set your maximum bid, and forget about it (although you can always go back to raise or lower your bid, or cancel the snipe altogether). Auction Sniper will automatically place your bid for you during the auction's last few seconds.

You'll have to fork over a small commission on winning bids -- typically 1 percent of the final cost -- but it's a small price to pay for not letting that great piece get away. Find out more right here.

(And, lest anyone think I'm taking kickbacks from Auction Sniper, here are a few comparable services to check out as well: Bidnapper, BidRobot, eSnipe, I Snipe It, and PowerSnipe. Feel free to add your own favorites in the comments area. I just happen to use, and like, Auction Sniper.)

For more tips on snagging great finds for your home on eBay, see my HGTV article.

Shameless Plug: "Ask Leah"

Confession: I'm the sort of person who color codes my file folders, and who updates my "To Do" list at least twice a day. (OK, fine, I admit it: I'm totally anal.)

Now, as the "Ask Leah" columnist for MSN.com's brand-new Home Sweet Home channel, I get to help other people get organized, too.

To take a look, click here, then click on the "Organization" tab under the Home Sweet Home header. (If you have any organizational challenges of your own, hit the "Submit Your Question" button in the Ask Leah box to send them in, and I'll do my best to offer solutions.)

While you're there, check out the articles, tips, and bulletin boards in the Organization, Home Care, Entertaining, and Family areas, and let the Home Sweet Home editors know what you think.

Shameless Plug: My "Coffee Table Tips" Piece on HGTV

How long has that group of tired tchotchkes been gathering dust on your coffee table, so familiar to you that you barely even notice them anymore? Or maybe your table has the opposite problem: Used as a repository for nothing more than the TV listings, the remote control, and the odd coaster or two, it’s not exactly adding to the aesthetic appeal of the room.

Time to try something new and put your coffee table to work showcasing treasures that will surprise and delight you and your visitors every time you see them.

Not sure where to start? Click here to read my HGTV article and to get expert tips on "tablescaping."

Shameless Plug: My "Shelf Decorating Guide" on HGTV

My latest opus for HGTV.com: "Transform bland bookcases and wall shelves into stunning displays with 13 top-shelf decorating tips from interior designers."

You can read the article right here.

(Hint: Sharp-eyed readers may recognize one of the interior designers I quoted, Megan Samuels, as the blogger behind the always lovely and amusing BeachBungalow8.)

And don't miss all the great shots of viewers' beautifully accessorized shelves pulled from the new HGTV Decorating flickr pool. There's lots of wonderful, real-life inspiration to be found there.

By the way, apologies for all of the "shameless plugs" I've subjected you to of late. I promise that after one more article goes up shortly, it will be very, very quiet on the self-promoting front for awhile ...

(Any editors out there? Call me! ;-)

Shameless Plug: My "Back-Friendly Home" Article in Prevention

Just another shamelessly self-promoting enjoiner to go read my latest article in the September issue of Prevention magazine ...

Is your home hurting your back? Find out about surprising back-pain culprits lurking in your home -- everything from a poorly placed TP holder to the wrong kind of pillow. Plus, simple fixes that will get your back on track.

Read the article here.