whether you rent or own, your home should be a refuge from life's stressors, somewhere you can go and simply "be." your home also should reflect your personality. the pictures below capture some of my favorite design elements in our current home. it is almost impossible to take myself or life too seriously when surrounded by same.

the cb2.com planters on our front porch remind me of oscar the grouch’s home on sesame street. i wish he actually lived in one.

after years of unsuccessful attempts at keeping flowers alive in our east-facing planter, my brown thumb and i resorted to flamingos and already dead tall grass, which turned out to be much less maintenance.

here’s a closer look of the flamingos peeking out from the grass. many of our neighborhoods have mentioned that the flamingos make them smile when they walk by. mission accomplished.

these fun and colorful blocks from fred & friends send a not-so-subtle message to our guest bath users.

the “z” in “pleaz” is a shout out to my favorite summer dining spot in minnesota – zorbaz on otter tail lake. yum.

this resin deer head sporting trendy necklaces is on my home office wall. doesn’t everyone have one of these?

thanks to harry allen’s resin hand, our master bath hand towel doesn’t end up on the vanity. two words: marriage saver.

my husband and i are minnesota natives. do we love north dakota? you betcha!

these great ceramic eye balls were a find at talulah jones, a denver treasure at 17^th and park avenue in uptown. they reside in a rustic bread bowl on our family room coffee table and judge me when i watch rhonj, one of my guilty pleasures.

red ants crawling up the wall. it might be time to call orkin.

more harry allen — this time resin piggy banks. they fill the shelves that used to hold books, which seemed to have vanished from our house after we got ipads.

and finally, innermost bigoli pendant light — sort of like a super cool multiple slinky suspended from the ceiling. tough not to think happy thoughts when seeing this daily.