Sunday, March 31, 2013

TRAVEL | Miami Babymoon

Candy-colored lifeguard stands on South Beach via

Tomorrow we are off to Miami-South Beach for our babymoon!  I can't wait to relax in the sun and soak in all the beauty the area has to offer.

We went a few years ago with friends and didn't do much sightseeing.  This time I want make sure I check out Kelly Wearstler-designed Tides Hotel and Viceroy Hotel.




The tortoise shell installation is killer.
 





 
 
I am obsessed with these orange chairs!
 
Citrine and mint!
 

 
 
Definitely need to visit theVizcaya Museum too...
 
 
 
 
Off to pack! 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, March 24, 2013

HOME | Quadrille Overload

Have you seen Designers John Knott and John Fondas' house in the lastest issue of House Beautiful!?  It is an EPIC masterpiece of pattern play, done almost entirely with Quadrille's wallpaper and fabrics. 

Let's take a tour...








Saturday, March 16, 2013

We are moving!


It's official!  Match Day was yesterday and the results are in.  New York City, here we come!  I'm so exciting to be moving to the big city and to raise our little girl in one of the most amazing places on Earth! 

We won't be moving for a few months, but there is a ton of planning to do. We still need to get a place in the City, move our lives from CT, oh and I need to give birth to our baby!

Busy, busy, busy.... 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

FIND | AfterLight

This might be old news to some of you, but I just discovered the AfterLight app and I am a little obsessed.  If you love Instagram and all the filters you are going to love AfterLight.  I generally never pay for apps, but figured for 99 cents I'd give it a try.  AfterLight allows you to take or upload pictures with you phone's camera, play with color, saturation and filters, AND frame them/cut them in interesting shapes.  I was just playing with it at my desk and took a rather uninteresting shot of some seashells I had lying around... 




Toss it into AfterLight and....









And, when you are done playing, you can post the photos to all the various social media sites including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

If you have a particular photo you love, try manipulating it a few different ways like I did above.  Then you can print them out, frame them up and you'll have your own original art series!

Have you found any awesome apps recently?

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

HOME | Quick Kitchen Revamp

I've been thinking a bunch about how to spruce up a rental apartment kitchen without spending a fortune. Some landlords are very accommodating and let you really make some pretty major changes. Jenny from the Little Green Notebook was able to truly transform her rental kitchen into something special. I would love to be able to paint the cabinets in our current kitchen, but since our landlord just redid it before we moved in, I don't think he'd be on board!

Usually, you are stuck with a dated space that can only be superficially improved.  Fear not!  Even if you are restricted there are tons of little things you can do to inject some personality and interest into your kitchen.


1 | Temporary wallpaper.  A great solution for renters.  Use temporary wall paper on an accent wall in your kitchen, or as a backsplash.  They can even be used to cover an unsightly refrigerator.  I love this gold and white peony paper from Tempaper.
2 | New storage canisters.  Display a set of pretty new storage canister like these from Anthropologie. They have a great vintage feel and the chalkboard labels are super handy.
3 | Dress up your hum-drum cabinets with some new pulls like these glass beauties from Anthro.
4 | A retro-inspired dome clock helps you keep track of time in style. From West Elm Market.
5 | Neon-hued salad servers also from Anthro.
6 | Bright dishtowels are an easy and inexpensive upgrade. From Crate & Barrel.
7 | New mixing bowls in ombre shades from Crate and Barrel look great on display!
8 | Indoor/outdoor rugs are perfect for kitchens, easy to clean and great in high traffic areas.  This modern floral rug from overstock.com is a great way to add pattern and color to your kitchen.
9 | I adore these glazed orange plates from Williams-Sonoma.  Beautiful for everyday use and they would equally gorgeous hung up on the wall for some color!
10 | A lovely new hand soap always puts a smile on my face.
11 | Bright handled knifes are useful and pretty like these from Anthro.  Instead of storing them in a drawer, display them handles up in a jar on the counter.

I have a couple more of these up my sleeve, so stay tuned for more ideas!

Friday, March 8, 2013

FINDS | Watercolor Pillows

Joss & Main has a beautiful collection of watercolor and tie dye pillows up for sale right now.  The lively, vibrant colors are great for heading into Spring.  They are making me feel warmer even though it is still actively snowing here in CT!

Here are some of my favorites:




 
Toss one on a couch or chair and instantly brighten the mood in any room!
 

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

HOME | Mint Green

As I mentioned in my previous post on storage beds, I'm thinking of going mint green for the nursery/guest room.  We already know that we are having a little girl, so a neutral nursery isn't a necessity; however since the room will also function as a guest room, I think light mint will be a lovely and sophisticated backdrop.


Pink and Mint!





 
 
 
So here are my ideas for the room....
 
 
I want to keep things light, bright and airy with soft mint walls (perhaps Mantis Green from Benjamin Moore) and lots of crisp white. Bright yellow will add some energy to the space, and of course, I'll have to throw in some pink. I ended up purchasing the DaVinci Jenny Lind style crib in white from Wayfair.com.  I love the vintage look and couldn't beat the price! 

What do you think?  I can't wait to figure out where we are going to be so can begin to really pull this room together.




Friday, March 1, 2013

HOME | Storage Beds and Upholstered Headboards

Lately, I've been thinking about combining our future nursery with a guest room so our parents will have somewhere to stay when they come to visit us (where ever that is!). Since getting a three bedroom place to totally out of the question no matter where we go, combining uses and getting the most out of that room will be very important. Storage will be a huge necessity, so right now I'm focused on finding storage bed options. Of course, budget is a major priority, so I'm also looking for low-priced solutions.

If you are like me, you constantly claim that, given more storage space, you would be SUCH an organized person. It seems like there's never enough closet space for the stuff we have in our lives. We could all use some extra space and often times a bonus rooms, like a guest room, is the perfect place to squeeze in some extra organizing. 

I L-O-V-E Jenny from Little Green Notebook's solution here for fancying up a basic storage bed frame by attaching upholstered head and foot boards directly to the frame. Genius. This idea might come into play in our future space.

Ikea is always a great source for inexpensive bedframes, and they have a few good storage bed options.


I'm going clean, modern and light with the crib and other nursery furniture, so I want the bed/bedding to tie in with the look.  I'll probably go with the Brimnes or the Mandal and paint the rest of the frame white.

Here are a few other good options...


This option is interesting, includes a padded headboard and frame, but might not offer the kind of storage we'll need.

I haven't pulled the room design board together yet, but I'm leaning towards a palette of mint green and crisp white with accents of yellow, pink and black.  I'm toying with the idea of doing a fresh lemon yellow upholstered headboard.  I think it would be gorgeous against a light mint wall.

 
 

This headboard from Skyline is a contender, but might not be quite punchy enough for the look I'm going for...

Much more to come on this room!