1.31.2011

Red, White & Black

Favorites from the SAG awards on Sunday night...

 Mila Kunis (in Alexander McQueen) has been my personal fashion front-runner this awards season. Julianna Margulies (in Yves Saint Laurent) was just stunning, top to bottom.
 Natalie Portman (in Azzaro) was perfectly styled and the white really brings out her pregnancy glow - so cute! I rarely like white dresses, but Amy Adams (in Herve L. Leroux) pulled off three things that usually don't go together - white, halter and no tan.
January Jones (in Carolina Herrera) was a toss up - but I think her hair sealed the deal. She just LOOKS like a movie star. Julie Bowen (in Malandrino) really made this pantsuit work - LOVE the plunging neckline.

1.30.2011

Signs of Spring

New arrivals from Madewell...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Don't all these pieces just scream 'effortless chic'? I'll take one of everything, please!

1.27.2011

Southern Comfort

I got a new slow cooker this past weekend and have been experimenting ever since. G requested pulled pork, so I gave it a shot today. I LOVE that you do so little to make fabulous meals like this one - even though it took 10 hours to cook it's way to deliciousness. I've been using recipes from this book (you can find most of them online at Williams-Sonoma) and so far our tummies have been very happy with the results.

 

1.26.2011

Something New to Love

Check out this new magazine that just launched, called Matchbook. It's ahhhhhhhhhh-mazing.

I love how they describe the typical Matchbook girl:

1.24.2011

No More Snow!!!

Enough already! What are your snow fashion staples? I have LITERALLY been living in a Patagonia zip sweater and my trusty Sorels. Don't you love Lululemon quotes? I need to remember this one...stop, breathe and enjoy (even if a sticky toddler has her finger in your ear and you've watched Baby Signing Time ten times).

Digging Out

1.23.2011

Scrub-A-Dub

I've spent the past few weeks working on several 'special projects' (top-secret stuff!) so a lot has fallen by the wayside, including this poor blog (this week I'm cracking the whip and will start redesigning the layout and logo - yippee!). I'm also going to tackle painting P's room and our guest bathroom (not so yippee)...does anyone have any tricks for painting edges neatly and quickly? Is that a totally ridiculous question?

At some point, I became obsessed with painting the bathroom a lighter shade of Tiffany blue...

Image c/o Cottage Living.

More inspiring bathrooms (somehow that seems like an oxymoron)...

 I love the idea of using a floor-length mirror against one wall. Image c/o Better Homes & Gardens.

 Maybe I could paint just the ceiling blue? Image c/o Junk Style (book).

 The small chandelier and distressed mirror over the tub are TOO perfect. Image c/o DecorPad.

 Great idea to put the claw-foot tub in front of the unused mantel, eh? Image c/o Luella Says.

 The turquoise light fixture and dark wood floors could really work in our space. Image c/o unknown.

The tiny dresser...mmm, sweet! Image c/o Vintage Simple.

1.20.2011

A Little Bit of Everything

Without a set work schedule, I can't seem to fully complete anything. I start little bits of projects all day long but only end up with half-done laundry, a semi-finished bracelet and sloppy blog posts. Sigh.

Instead of writing about the pork tenderloin recipe I tried tonight (mostly because I forgot to take pictures of the results), I thought I'd share pictures of a lovely, meaningful and HANDMADE present P received from her Gigi and Grandpa. It's really too special for words (well, I'll tell you this much...it's a beautiful book of the alphabet made AND bound by hand out of tissue paper).

 
 
 
 

P seems to 'get' that it's special - she gently turns each page and carefully touches all the pictures to feel the texture of the paper. This will be one of those things she will have with her forever (along with Grandma's doll and Aunt J's rattle). Now I'm envisioning packing her up for college and putting these keepsakes in a box...then moving the box into her first apartment...her first home...giving them to her first child...YIKES! I'll never fall asleep if I start going down this road...goodnight!

1.18.2011

Vacuum Wars (Plus Golden Globes Faves)

I'm not shy when it comes to complaining about my struggles with dog hair. I love our dog, but I hate his hair. It's everywhere. No matter how much I clean, vacuum or keep him in one spot, it still shows up on every surface. I guess it never really bothered me until I had a baby who crawled - it's a total gross-out to lean in for a toddler kiss and see black hair poking out of her innocent rose-bud mouth.

So, desperate times call for desperate measures. I bit the bullet and ordered an iRobot Roomba Pet Series vacuum despite the hefty price tag.

Now. Close your eyes and picture the most beautiful thing you have ever seen...imagine a chorus of angels singing in the background...that is how I feel about my Roomba (we're currently tossing around names for our little saint). She is efficient. She is complaint-free. She cleans until she is completely spent. She recharges herself. Doesn't that sound wonderful!?!??! The only downside (and I hesitate to criticize such perfection) is that she is not self-cleaning. I find that this is a small price to pay for the ten hours a week I save from vacuuming.

I thought to fully illustrate my point, I should show some results. I will warn you that some of the images may be slightly nauseating.

 
 
 

Did you tune in to the Golden Globes? Overall, I have to say the fashion turn-out was kind of boring. I think everyone (aside from poor Helena Bonham-Carter) played it safe. I still managed to have my favorites...it was great to see so much color and clean, beautiful hair.

 Emma Stone in a peach Calvin Klein sheath. 

 Mila Kunis (did you hear Natalie Portman call her 'sweet-lips'???!!!) in Vera Wang.

 Anne Hathaway in a beaded (and back-baring) Armani Privé.

Kyra Sedgewick  in a frilly Emilio Pucci.

1.13.2011

Life in Slow Motion

Do you ever feel like you're moving through caramel, like life is moving in slow motion? I'm pretty sure I owe this feeling to A) a diet consisting of Mexican food, ice cream and coffee, B) less than ten minutes of sunshine every day, and C) less than six hours of sleep every night.

SO...it's time for some things to change! I've reluctantly decided to eliminate the Mexican food (I'm not CRAZY, everyone NEEDS ice cream and coffee), take a walk once a day (regardless of the weather) and go to bed earlier. Wow, writing that out makes it all look sooooo boring.

It's certainly not a revelation that during the doldrums of winter, we ALL can get a bit lazy. When there's almost two feet of snow on the ground and the temperature dips into the single digits, it's very easy to cuddle on the couch with something warm and cheesy (NOT a husband reference) and expend as little energy as possible. I am committed, however, to dig myself out this winter and make the most of hibernation. Tomorrow. I'll start changing tomorrow. Or, maybe Monday. After the weekend is best. Yeah, I'll start Monday. :)

In the meantime, I spent a few hours minutes trolling Etsy and found these yummies:

 Rough diamond on gold chain. EEK!

 Who doesn't need a little Pride & Prejudice?
 

1.06.2011

Currently Crushing

It seems that the Blogger gods have been purposely discouraging me from posting lately. Every time I log in to write a post, Blogger crashes! I suppose it's for the best - the last few days have been pretty dull. All pretty standard stuff after the holidays...putting away decorations, cleaning out the fridge, getting back into a workout schedule, etc. BORING.

Speaking of  NOT boring, have you seen the trailer and hype about Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams? Doesn't it look SO good? I know it's a slightly depressing subject (the end of a marriage) but both stars are just dreamy (Ryan's eyes!) and it's supposed to be heart-wrenching (major deceit), passionate (super sexy love scenes) and intoxicating (incredible monologues).



One of my resolutions in 2011 is to try making more adventurous meals. I'm starting out slow with a sweet and spicy chicken stir-fry with sticky rice. I'll let you know how it goes!

1.03.2011

A New Favorite for a New Year

One of my favorite birthday presents is the Domino Book of Decorating. I put it on my gift guide and I think I've mentioned it over one million times since starting this blog. The bad news...there are a lot of recycled images from when the magazine was still in publication. The good news....it's still absolutely inspiring and the editor notes are fabulous. I see a lot of florals, unexpected details and wallpaper in our decorating future. If you loved Domino magazine and still mourn it's death, this is a must-have.

Those are antler wall hooks with grosgrain...and it works!
The book breaks down every room by inspiration. Which, is inspiring :)
A fun way to organize a bookcase.
I'm always looking for new ways to organize art and this book is full of them.
The editors profile various styles for each room - you're bound to find a fave.
    
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...