Diary Entry - Nursery Storage

Check out this blog post over at Stylefeeder's Tastemakers Diaries. It's a great creative storage solution!

(images ViaToyBox)

A Perfect Monday Morning Happy!

Yes, I am a weee bit late with my Monday Morning Happy but I have a good excuse!! On a very rainy Sunday morning one of my greatest friends gave birth to the sweetest baby girl! Little Miss. Sidney was welcomed into the world. I imagine her growing up to be as fashionable as her mom and someday clunking around in pink wellies while walking her dog! I look forward to the day I cheer her on as she shows off her riding skills on her gorgeous pony! Isn't it wonderful to look at a sweet little thing and dream of all the possibilities?!
This week I will be posting on all things baby, because as you know me, I will be searching for the perfect ways to spoil my new little greatest friend.
Enjoy the new week!
jul

(image from fiery eyed on Etsy)

Quick Share - Relaxation

Just came across these photos over at All the Best and wanted to share. This could be a tease. since like me, you might want to hop a plane right now to Greece! It looks so fresh and clean. I love the color of the stark white, fuschia and pale blue. Hmmm we might just have a new room inspiration here!

Sis Boom Happy!

Over the weekend I was scouting Sew Mama Sew, and stumbled upon the lovely fabrics of Jennifer Paganelli. This lady is uber creative! Her fabrics ooze what I would describe as sunshine happy! Most have unique color combinations which she credits as an outcome of living in places like New England, the Caribbean and NYC. "Modgirls, Pretty Please and Dance with Me" are just a few of her fabric collections over at her company Sis Boom. Of course I now have to investigate this creative force further and I find she has a blog and a flickr account! Sweet, now I feel like I know here even better!

Jennifer's fabrics have been described as "More of a mash up that makes you think, dream and take risks! She’s looking for color warping, shape shifting experiences for her customers that have been described as offbeat and eclectic combinations that are like an over-caffeinated and charged up version of real life."

These just shout summer happy! I see pillows and napkins/tablecloths in these bright fun colors!

Along with her fantastic fabrics she also sells adorable tunics like the one displayed in the "Cute Picture of the Week". Above are a few of her fabric boxes and she also creates fantastic aprons, perfect for any gift! Now that I have fallen in love, I just need to decide what fabric to purchase for fun summer pillows. My sofa is a neutral tan so I can go in any direction, do you have a favorite?

Go get yourself a little sunshine over at the Sis Boom website! I promise it will brighten your day!


(images from Sis Boom)

Working with the Eaves

Sometimes I come across a picture which stops me in my tracks with a "Holy Crow", that is so cool! This is one of those pictures from Coastal Living. In the northeast we have many "Cape" houses and at times it can be a challenge to work with the eaves. This is the perfect solution. By sectioning off the wall they have created bunk areas for the kids beds. A smart addition of wave molding gives the illusion of a separate space! A great idea and looks fabulous!





(image from Coastal Living)

Monday Morning Happy

Happy New Week! It's the first full week of spring and I plan to embrace it, even if it is still a weee bit chilly!

The end of last week I was in a bit of a creative slump, I am happy to say it has passed! Phew! Holly over at Decor8 sent me an encouraging email which was just so sweet! I also decided to "clean the slate" in a way and I started with my inspiration board which sits over my desk. At times the best thing to do is "empty the room" and start over, it's a great way to take stock of where your creativity is. So this is what I came up with some pieces are constants like the quotes and photos on the left but to the right I exchanged almost all the room photos.

before the cleansing!

after:

I cropped the room inspirations here:

A window seat always signifies relaxation and serenity for me so when I saw this picture I knew it was a keeper! The brown cushion accented with turquoise and yellow pillows are a fabulous color combo and one which I see myself drawn to lately (more to come on that)! The black and white tile in the kitchen is fantastic, I dream of this for myself someday. With spring here I love the idea of a crisp white vase with a simple single flower. Just lovely! These are just a few images which caught my attention this weekend. This is an exercise I should do more often. It's nice to have the option to "clean the slate" and start from scratch! Afterall isn't that what spring is all about?
Enjoy the week
jul

taking a breather

Have you ever felt like this......I know...I don't know.....I know.....I don't know? This week I have had terrible bloggers block. The ideas are there, the images are just not coming together so I apologize for the delay. I think I will give myself a bit of a break...sometimes you just can't force this. I hope you don't mind but I am going to take a tad time out and start back here on Monday.

During my self imposed breather, please find inspiration over at my favorite blogs! You will find them there....just to the right >

thanks!
jul

(image from creature comforts)

Just a little something...

....for the special Irish Gal in your life!!





The designer of the Laughing Dog Studio takes inspiration from nature and the sea to create her gorgeous jewelry pieces. As a former visual merchandiser, I absolutely love how she stages her goods out in nature. The photos displaying her pieces give a sense of serenity and highlights the natural color of each gem! Affordable and a great gift, just perfect!!

Lucky Green Accents!

A sampling of my favorite green accents!

Persian Greensea - Sea Scape Lamps



Nautical Stripe Rug in Foliage - WS Home




Papyrus Eco Art Pillow Lime/Slate from - nest



Factory Planters - Generate



Trellis Wallpaper - Ballard Designs

Just a touch of Green

The perfect soothing bedroom with a sweet punch of green! Just perfect for our St.Patrick's Day post!

(image from HGTV.com)

Monday Morning Happy!

What a weekend! The weather in the Northeast was truly spring like and finally we have the feeling old man winter might be behind us! I even had the opportunity to enjoy brunch on the back deck with the paper. What a great way to start a new week!
I hope you all had a really nice weekend and it was sunny where you are!
Enjoy the week!
jul

(image from House to Home)

It's the Weekend!

Hooray, it's the weekend! I hope you all get "carried" away doing something very fun, something just for YOU!
see you back here next week!
jul

(image from a picture is worth a thousand words)

Shopping and Grooving at Delight

Have you been to Delight.com yet? If not, please let me share, it is one of my favorite go to websites. They have an amazing range of products from wedding gifts, useful kitchen items to quirky gifts! Every day for 24hrs they highlight one product which is on sale. Most of these are in limited quantity so you should act fast if you fall in love. The Delight ladies scout out really unique items, things you are not finding in every other store. To make it even better all products are "tested" by one of their savvy reviewers so we know exactly what we are ordering! Sign up for the newsletter and you will get the inside scoop on new products and specials. As if they know how Fridays can drag, they created "Mix Tape Fridays". It's FANTASTIC!! By 3:00 I need a little pick me up so I pop on over to the blog and sing along to their mix. I am usually introduced to a favorite new song, which stays with me for the weekend! Today's new song is "Be OK" by Ingrid Michaelson and a old favorite is "59th Street Bridge Song". Shopping and Grooving, what could be better?!

Amber Earrings from recycled beer bottles

I Spy Fisheye Camera!

Recycled Glass Hurricane

The Penelope Phone and Base - plug in your cell and use like an "old fashioned phone"!

Visit Delight, they are doing much more than selling great products!

(images from Delight.com)

budanART

It's amazing how one thing leads to another! At the start of this week I came across this gorgeous stained glass window on the local blog I'm From Worcester. The intertwined sharp colors immediately caught my attention and in a way it was mesmerizing. I have always admired stained glass but honestly could not see it in my home. So off I went in search of stained glass like wall decor without the price of a real stained glass window! Look who I found! Let me introduce you to the incredibly talented Canadian artist Mandy Budan. She describes her art as:

"abstracts of the landscape, emphasizing and rearranging the elements to show the beauty of the landscape in unexpected ways. Inspired by nature, I use strong colour, discrete shapes and rhythmic patterns to create paintings which can be enjoyed for both their abstract and realistic qualities"

budanART's original paintings are available on her website and also offers affordable reproductions over at her Etsy store. For $18 - $38ea you could purchase a few of these amazing prints to group together. I love the fact she has scenes from all seasons! They are incredible and have such depth you could get lost in the image. The prints have a stained glass feeling with her varying use of the same color. I just love them, it's the pop of vibrant color any room could use. She also gives us a sneak peak into her design process over on her blog. Check out the poppy transformation, it is beautiful!

Abstract Poppy

Spring Shadows

Rocky Shore

(images from BudanArt and I'm from Worcester)

Cozy Love

Yesterday I was scouting downtown and to take the chill off I ducked into a Starbucks. I really wish I had this fantastically cute Cable Knit Coffee Cozy for my Chai Tea! Isn't it just adorable? Much fancier than the paper holder they gave me. Even better this cozy is easy to just throw in my bag for use over and over again.....yes there are many tea runs!
If you want one of your very own pop over to Wayside Violet at Etsy.
Thanks to Design for Mankind for highlighting another great product!

(image from Wayside Violet)

Chroma Creative

Today I opened my Daily Candy and was jumping for joy to see Chroma Lab featured! Their website was saved in my "to post about" folder after I found them over at Etsy. Alicia and Tony are a fabulously creative duo. They take old furniture and transform it with "pick me up colors" and unexpected patterns. See the "Deep Sea Dresser" above. Even more exciting, they are Boston peeps! What first drew me to their store were their interesting hand painted clocks. If you don't see the colors you are looking for they will customize for you, talk about making it easy to shop! You can browse more happy designed pieces here.





(images from Chroma Lab)

Quick Share - Laser Cut Rug

Here is a morning quick share. This the wool felt rug from Brocade Home. In the last few months I have gone back and forth if I like these or not. I like the idea of a laser cut and the charcoal is appealing especially on a white floor. The "wool felt" is what throws me off, I wonder how it feels and wears. What is your opinion? Do you have one in your home?

(image from Brocade Home)

It's a Trina Turk Tuesday!

the wonderfully creative Trina Turk

Displayed in the lobby of the Boston Design Center are these gorgeous fabrics from Schumacher. With a tad bit of research I find they are the much anticipated (at least by me...) indoor/outdoor fabric collection by the fantastic Trina Turk! I fell in love with Trina Turk when I purchased my first Bonita Dress from one of her summer collections. It was an intricate mix of a sea blue and gorgeous grass green with flecks of silver, it was perfect for a wedding soiree! When I heard she was creating a residential fabric line I was overjoyed to say the least! Imagine different size pillows in these fabrics, it would feel so summery. I can just see my outdoor table decked out in the Peacock Fabric below! Very Fun! Her fabrics are always full of interesting patterns and fantastic color combinations! Check out a few of her patterns below!

Super Paradise Print * Sonriza Print * Santorini Print

Peacock Print * Trellis Print * Zebra Print



A few favorite looks for Summer 2009!

a possible new Bonita Dress for 09?!

(images from Jace Interiors, Trina Turk, Schumacher)