Today's post is sure to be the last designer spotlight of 2015 (hey, you never know!); luckily we have Caitlin McCarthy Design to take us out on a high note. Anyone who's been paying very close attention and/or trolling the LS blog archives might recognize one of the spaces featured--that's because Caitlin already has been. Back then, however, she was part of a design-duo. Now, she's captain of her ship, and the winner of HGTV's Fresh Faces ...

Sure, you can bring a lovely "thanks for having me gift," but to secure an invite back, you'll need these five tips.       1. Contribute The surest way to be gracious is to offer something in return. Reciprocate the hospitality your hosts are extending you by contributing to their home meaningfully. Whether you have a special talent for folding towels, you're great with handling and occupying small humans, you're killer at making omelettes, ...

Here at Live Simply, we like to inaugurate (ahem) the Christmas season by talking about packing all the related trimmings away. It isn't that we're x-mas grinches, but die-hard organizers, and thusly want to ensure you have sufficient time to procure the storage items you'll need in the near future. (Shout-out to all my Jews and other festive-season celebrating crews who travel light.) It isn't that most people lack storage for their holiday decorations, it's ...

Carrie Bradshaw once described a popular children's song as "the co-dependent national anthem." At first blush, I would have said as much about John Lennon's line "a dream you dream alone is just a dream, but a dream you dream together is a reality." What a crock, Lennon! I'd have wanted to say. What happens to the validity of my dreams that are just for me in your rulebook, huh?  What about all the dreams ...

There are certain items that I know, beyond a shadow of a donation bin, I'm bound to find in every home I enter. Topping that list are dead or outdated electronics. Uncovering the drawer of dead cell phones, the basket of old and dusty cameras, the mysterious hoard of cords, the dinosaurous computers--this is merely an inevitability. It will happen at some point, sooner or later. Why? Because people don't know what to do with ...