This summer flew by. July was over before I knew it, and now August has come and gone in less than a blink of an eye. Progress was made on settling in. My wardrobe expanded. And, we continued ordering in.     In preparation for a mobile toddler, wherever I could hang shelving or hooks I did. Changing table supplies moved from under the table to the back of her door. Lotions and potions that were tucked haphazardly under the sink moved to shelves hanging from the shower wall. Diaper bag supplies that once littered the floor of Gates' closet moved to the back of the entry hall closet door. (I like the entry hall closet organizer so much that I might order another to replace the over the door hooks we currently have on our bedroom door.)   The Finds (top clockwise) : Crochet Cuff Henley, Henna and Silver, $68 ; Empire Waist Dress, Navy, $68 ; Empire Waist Top, Navy, $53 .   Now that I'm back at work, my wardrobe needed a refresh. I got clothes for casual Friday, frequ...

When you commute daily on a train, you're constantly searching for cute comfortable shoes. Today's pick from Michael Kors work for me with both business and casual attire.   The Finds (top clockwise) : Crop Vest, Antique White, $26.60 ; City Top, Peach, $39.99 ; Curve Leather Obi Belt ; Elliot Bootie, Michael Kors, $175 ; Hemp/Organic Cotton Skirt, Eileen Fisher, $148 ; Garance Dore Massie, $348 .   A few years ago my favorite booties were a pair of Michael Kors: stylish and super comfortable. Unfortunately I'm hard on shoes and broke the sole. This season's booties scream romance and would look perfect with my ankle-length black silk skirt.   Weigh In: Ankle boots go with: Skirts, Pants, or Anything.   Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: ASOS , Kate Spade NY , ModCloth , Saks Fifth Avenue , Tulle , Zappos . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how people buy. Does social media play a part? Is direct mail dead? Do people make sizable purchases without kicking the tires?     The product I market has a long sales cycle, anywhere from three months to over 18 months. During that time our customer will have numerous opportunities to interact with our brand: tradeshows, our website, our blog, email, Facebook, Twitter, SlideShare, online advertising, direct mail, and more. To increase total sales and to reduce our sales cycle for purchases by others we analyze every interaction for clues.   We sell to other businesses, but this desire to know why customers are buying and to do more of what worked to sell more applies to all businesses. So I wondered what my buying behavior must look like to the shops I buy from. As these reflections became a very long post, I split them into a series of three posts. Today I'll talk about three magazines I fell in love with and how these love affai...

In a sea of corporate greys and blacks, I love to mix it up with touches of winter white and blush.   The Finds (top clockwise) : Embellished Collar Shirt, Blush, Bellatrix, $78 ; Pumps, Label, $39.99 ; Ruched Pencil Skirt, James Perse, $165 ; French Grain Handbag, Ivory, DKNY, $295 .   Weigh in: Ruched skirt - inappropriate for a corporate work setting or just right?   Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Macys , ModCloth , Nordstrom , and Saks Fifth Avenue . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Simple pleasures often yield the best memories. If you're headed out of town for Labor Day on a camping trip, you may want to gather round the campfire for some of these smores.     Ten years ago, the building in which the company I work for was located burned to the ground. To celebrate the anniversary, we played with fire. After seeing everyone enjoying indoor smores, I thought about hosting a party with a smores dessert buffet . Like a grilled cheese buffet , it would need to add sophistication to a childhood favorite. Of course, I'll need to sample the recipes before the party.     Some of the treats on my to do list ( top left clockwise ): Homemade Marshmellows and Seasonal Smores from Design Sponge ; Smores with a French Twist from stephmodo {where practical meets pretty} ; Smores in a Jar from How Sweet It Is ; Chai Tea Smores from Alexis Siemons and Courtney Apple; Chef George Duran's Inside Out Smores ; and Pumpkin Hazelnut Smores from Oh Joy! .   Wan...

Fall is my favorite time of year. Not for the weather, but for the clothes and the autumnal colors. Today's outfit combines favorite colors and ankle boots.   The Finds (top clockwise) : Shawl Collar Sleeveless Top, $78 ; Merino Wool-Blend Long Skirt, Black, $698 ; Ferrara Boot, Deep Red, $299.95 ; Thin Bow Belt, Black, $78 ; Maddox Satchel, Fossil, Brick Red, $218 .   On Friday, Ann Taylor's new Fall Catalog Magazine, Ann., arrived. I loved the magazine feel and how they showcased Kate Hudson in the clothes. Unfortunately, the two outfits she was wearing that I wanted were completely sold out online: a top with back bow detail with a flounced black skirt outfit and a teal long sleeved knit dress. The catalog did get me daydreaming of fall color combinations, especially my favorite: brick red with torquoise.   How do you style brick red and torquoise?   Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Ann Taylor , Kate Spade NY , N...

Growing up my sister and I got a new jacket each year. At the time, I didn't realize what a luxury this was nor did I realize it would be the start of a love affair.     I remember my first below the knee coat. It would be the first coat that I didn't grow out of or wear out. Of course it was a vintage-inspired style. It was the 80s so the line of the coat was Hollywood glamour, late 1940s/1950s. It was a fitted, single-breast, gathered in the back silhouette in a light camel brown. It even had a faux fur collar. I had it in my closet through my teens. My next coat would last as long but not hold the same affection. It would be a black wool herringbone with a boxy silhouette. It would be one of my first purchases outside the children's department. I made a better choice the next year, choosing a winter white wool evening coat that I'd wear to the Winterball.   I simplified my jacket wardrobe when I moved to Texas. Going with a simple black trench coat and a black with ...

Images for my column headings have always challenged me. In many cases, I resorted to text on background colors to avoid matching heights and widths. For this blog, I wanted column headings on Washi tape which meant I had to overcome a few challenges in Blogger.     Blogger's Picture widget adds borders to all images. If there's a way to remove the border, I've failed to find it. By referencing images using the HTML/JavaScript widget I was able to eliminate the borders. This meant that all images had to be available online before they could be used in the blog's layout.   Once I knew how to add the images to the blog I started playing with positioning. I liked the action buttons on the same line as the labels.     Unfortunately, the initial column widths were to narrow to support this design. Once I had the layout close to working, it was time to add the headshot so you would know who I am.   Lately I'm wearing a hat in almost every photo (Krissia and...

My relaunch of this blog, which began slowly in November, may be finally past a design roadblock I've struggled with for months: what to do with my social media icons. I initially looked at icons provided by the various social media platforms. The problem with the "stock" icons? Their colors didn't coordinate with my blog's palette. I decided to go with white logos or icons on top concrete-colored Washi tape (link to zip file with the icons). First issue solved.     Next, for usability, I wanted to make it easy for people to see my handles. There's nothing I hate more than wanting to follow someone and having to guess at the handle. (My handles are inconsistent and have changed over the years; this makes guessing a frustrating endeavor.) I couldn't figure out an easy way to specify an Alt tag for an image that was added via Blogger's Picture widget. To get around this constraint, I paired the handle with the appropriate icon in the image. Now, instea...

From my perch on the top step, they swirl around me, starting slowly, creeping in like the fog over Skyline Ridge, one tendril at a time, circling close to the ground and rising, enveloping me. I am not afraid. Even though I sit completely visible to all, atop the church hall steps, I am lost to the world.     They take me gradually from this world to another. They surround me. They protect me. They wash over me in waves until I am immersed. I embrace them and surrender to them.   I breathe in, inhaling them until I too am more, no longer alone looking for a topic, but part of a sentence, part of a paragraph, part of a story. I hold my breath, keeping the story contained, until I am ready to burst. Then, and only then, do I take another breath; now at rest, both surrounded and filled with words, my twelve year old body tethered tenuously to the earth.   This is why I blog; I blog to release the thoughts, the theories, the conspiracies, the dreams the words have morp...

After what seemed like an eternity, Gates' nursery is almost done (check back next Monday for the big reveal). So, for August we move onto the bathroom!     A few things are missing from this room: a bathtub (my compromise); a mirror; a medicine cabinet; and under sink storage. On the plus side, the lack of under sink storage means less childproofing we need to do. On the flip side, our bathroom supplies have migrated to other rooms in the flat -- not particularly convenient.   For the missing storage, my mom and I have been looking into a few different options, and I think we may have a solution that will work. Stay tuned.   Were you faced with no cabinets in a bathroom? How did you organize your lotions and potions?   Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

With July came the end of my maternity leave. It also ushered in commute gymnastics and new work hours.     Many mornings I enjoy an entire BART car to myself. The stillness, broken only by the buzz of the train as it screams through tunnels, can be disorienting. Landmarks hide under a cloak of darkness, with street lights appearing here and there like fireflies. For some stops, one must rely entirely on the train conductor's announcements.     Like many families in San Francisco we failed to make it off of a waiting list and into an infant care program (maybe next year). But, right now that waiting list means I get an entire day of the week to spend with Gates. The other four days she's at her grandparents. Besides laundry and sorting through clothes Gates has outgrown and washing bottles, we read together and hang out on the play mats. This month Gates' began rolling onto her belly.     On occasion, we did manage to eat in, sharing my childhood favorite C...

There's lots of talk about what women should or should not do when it comes to maternity leave and their careers. The more important question is why family discussions are always single-gendered. Babies and children impact men and women alike.     Bel Rowley: "A new program. A new era, and they want me as producer." Freddy Lyon: "They're humoring you. They don't want a woman. A woman is difficult, hysterical and you can never really ever find one who'll stay. A couple more years you'll probably want a baby." Bel Rowley: "Oh don't speak." Freddy Lyon: "Even if they don't say that to your face that's what they're thinking. Anything else is just your vanity making you believe." Bel Rowley: "In what? That I can do it? That I can actually do this? Watch me."   I waited to start having a family until after I was well established in my career, over 15 years in the high tech industry, 8 years in...

Everyone needs a space that is uniquely theirs, even in a shared household. I'm pouring over my latest bedside reading ( Where Women Create and Where Women Create: Book of Inspiration: In the Studio and Behind the Scenes with Extraordinary Women ) for ideas on shaping my workspace.     My office at our old apartment, a 3' x 6' space carved out of my closet, was all but forgotten with Gates' arrival.     A couple of weeks ago, while at my parents' house, I noticed a couple of interior design books: Where Women Create and Where Women Create: Book of Inspiration: In the Studio and Behind the Scenes with Extraordinary Women .   Some ideas for organization gleaned from these books include: "Have what you use most within reach." - Danita Store supplies and materials according to color so that you can find what you need for a project right away. - Bonzie "Keep everything related to [a] particular piece together [to make] it easy to come back to at a late...