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Carrie D Mader | Renovating Houses & Lives

@carriedmader

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Come home to yourself. I use home design as a tool for personal evolution. Let's build a life that feels like home👇SheSwayz: A sacred space to begin.

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Hi,

I’m a longtime Wayfair customer. I saw Wayfair listed as a possible advertiser on The Megyn Kelly Show.

After Kelly mocked the appearance and questioned the sexual motivations of a woman alleging assault, I’m reconsidering where I shop.

Does Wayfair currently advertise on her show? If so, will that continue?

I don’t want my purchases supporting commentary that demeans women.

Thank you,
Carrie D Mader

#VoteWithYourWallet #ConsumerPower #FollowTheMoney #HoldAdvertisersAccountable by @carriedmader

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6 days ago

Things That Give Me Hope 🌱

I think a lot of us have been quietly wondering whether our institutions are still serving the Constitution… or the people in power.

This week I read Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections v. United States (N.D. Ga., July 7, 2026), and it gave me hope.

The case involved the Department of Justice seeking the private contact information of thousands of election workers.

The judge quashed the subpoena and wrote that the DOJ is “now unquestionably under the current President’s control.” He also emphasized that government power cannot be used without a legitimate purpose and that courts have a responsibility to supervise the use of grand jury subpoenas.

Whether you agree with this outcome or not isn’t really why I shared it.

What gave me hope was seeing a court wrestle seriously with the limits of government power.

That’s exactly what I hope our institutions continue to do.

#Constitution #RuleOfLaw #ChecksAndBalances #CivicEducation ThingsThatGiveMeHope by @carriedmader

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3 months ago

Have you ever stopped talking about something because you didn't want to be judged?

I almost stopped talking about vaginal estradiol because I didn't want to be judged.

Not by doctors.

By another woman.

Then I came across a study of nearly 1.9 million women with recurrent UTIs that found women prescribed vaginal estrogen had substantially lower rates of hospitalization, sepsis, and death.

That doesn't mean it's right for every woman.

But I do think every woman deserves to know it exists, understand the evidence, and have an informed conversation with her doctor.

The study I referenced:
LaClair J, Visingardi J, Wells B, et al. Vaginal Estrogen Prescription is Associated with Reduced Risk of Serious Adverse Outcomes in Women of All Age Groups with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection: An EPIC Cosmos Database Analysis. Urology. 2026.

Thank you to @drrachelrubin for helping bring this research to more women.

I'm curious… have you ever silenced yourself for fear of being judged?

#WomensHealth
#Menopause
#VaginalEstrogen
#HealthyAging
#Perimenopause by @carriedmader

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3 months ago

A few minutes before I walked into acting class to perform the first scene of my one-person show…

I was so nervous I thought I might throw up.

So I sat in my car and did this breathing technique.

It didn’t make the nerves disappear.

It just made them quiet enough that I could walk through the door.

Do you have anything you do before a stressful moment?

#PerformanceAnxiety
#BreathingTechnique
#NervousSystem
#ActingLife
#MentalPerformance by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

I almost missed the most interesting part of this story.

I was reading about how the FCC is investigating The View.

ABC’s response surprised me.

Instead of simply defending themselves, they started running ads during the show asking viewers to submit comments directly to the FCC… with a QR code on the screen.

At first I thought,

“That’s clever.”

But then I caught myself wondering…

Why ask The View’s audience? Why this approach now?

And then it hit me.

What if ABC is betting on the collective power of women?

For most of history, women had very little power.

So it made sense to look outside ourselves for protection.

But what happens when the world changes…

…and our conditioning doesn’t?

What if women already have more collective power than we’ve been taught to believe?

Maybe that’s exactly what ABC is betting on.

I’d never thought about it that way before.

That made me insanely hopeful. 🌱

#WomensVoices
#CollectivePower
#MindsetShift
#PersonalGrowth
#hope by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

I saw these bowls the first time I went to IKEA and talked myself out of them.

I already have bowls.

I did not need bowls.

Then I went back and they were on sale for $3.19 each.

At that point I considered resistance to be unreasonable. 😂

Now I own four beautiful pink bowls that look handmade and bring me an unreasonable amount of joy.

#ikeafinds #ikea #couldntresist #retailtherapy #shoppingfinds by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

Would you buy a swivel chair from IKEA? It's only a deal if you use it.

I'm torn. It's right sized for my bedroom and where I want to put it. The back is not conducive to curling up in... but I don't want to spend hours there. This is my morning journal writing spot. I love that it's a deal, but will I end up wanting something with more arms, or will this one not wear well and I will need to replace it later more expensively anyway? It's not a deal if I don't like it and I then get rid of it and then spend even more money.

#ikea #ikeafinds #helpmedecide #wouldyoubuyit #furnitureshopping by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

Would you buy a swivel chair from IKEA? It's only a deal if you use it.

I'm torn. It's right sized for my bedroom and where I want to put it. The back is not conducive to curling up in... but I don't want to spend hours there. This is my morning journal writing spot. I love that it's a deal, but will I end up wanting something with more arms, or will this one not wear well and I will need to replace it later more expensively anyway? It's not a deal if I don't like it and I then get rid of it and then spend even more money.

#ikea #ikeafinds #helpmedecide #wouldyoubuyit #furnitureshopping by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

Would you buy an IKEA coffee table?

I wouldn’t have thought much about this one until I saw how it works.

The top slides so the table can expand or shrink depending on how much surface space you need.

I love furniture that solves a problem and looks good doing it. ✨

#coffeetable #ikea #ikeafinds #interiordesign #smallspaceliving by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

One of the reasons I love staying in interesting hotels is that they remind me that good design isn’t always about spending more money.

It’s about paying attention.

The Heathman Hotel in Portland had several little details that caught my eye... not because they were extravagant, but because they were thoughtful.

That’s where the magic lives.

Not in the big renovation or the giant budget.

In the tiny choices that make a space feel intentional.

Here are a few ideas I spotted that any of us could borrow for our own homes. ✨

#designdetails #boutiquehotel #travelinspo #interiorstyling #hotelinspo by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone... I built my dream kitchen with IKEA cabinets…

And one simple cabinet hack completely changed the look. ✨

I started with a basic IKEA cabinet front with a deep enough inset to mount a mirror and fretwork.

Then I:
👉 painted the door
👉 had a mirror custom cut to fit the center panel
👉 glued the mirror into place
👉 added a decorative fretwork overlay I custom designed and ordered from My O'verlays.

That’s it.

No custom cabinetry.
No luxury cabinet line.
No five-figure upgrade.

Just taking a simple cabinet door and layering details until it looked like the kitchens from my Pinterest boards.

One of the biggest design lessons I’ve learned is that expensive isn’t always what makes a space feel special.

It's always the thoughtful design details.

The things people don’t see at first glance, but that make a room feel unique and personal.

This kitchen started with IKEA.

But it ended up feeling completely mine.

#ikeakitchen #ikeahack #customkitchen #ikea #kitchendesign by @carriedmader

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4 months ago

Will it open tomorrow? The worlds largest In n Out Burger looks like it's doing a soft open today!

#innout #fries #vegasstrip #nowimhungry by @carriedmader

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4 months ago