Tickled Pink

I know, I know, I know…I’ve been gone for a while and promise I’m coming back.  Honestly, I’m out blog ideas and my head is cloudy.  Not too cloudy to post this.  Last night, we had the most spectacular sunset EVER!  Let me tell you, I’ve seen some amazing sunsets in my time living in LA, most of them happen in the winter.  Generally, the summer sunsets don’t bring the big bold colors we normally see in the cooler months.  Apparently, some storm in Mexico, which, I was oblivious too, had something to do with it.  Needless to say, in my always long winded way, check out the sunsets below.  It started with me reading magazines on my front porch and all of a sudden I looked up and ta da………I saw bright pink.  It kept getting pinker and pinker, so I ran down the the beach.  I took these on my blackberry because my iPhone was dead.  Can you imagine these aren’t even good in comparison to some of my friends!  It was crazy beautiful.  I put them in order of how it changed – there were so many and they all look the same but I couldn’t resist posting them all.  Also, check out  Beach City Life Style’s blog for additional pictures.  Teri is local in our community and has a fabulous blog about living in the South Bay.  She got some fabulous images from people in the South Bay and LA.

This is what I looked up too.  Taken from my front porch.

It started getting brighter (see below).

The pier is blocked by the house above so I ran down to the beach and this is what I saw – left me speechless, which is hard to do.

Hope you’re having a fabulous day!

Gardening Weekend

Had a great weekend getting the yard organized.  I needed to replace the flowers in my window boxes from the holidays.  I spent Saturday and Sunday in and out of Home Depot  picking up pink petunias and wooden boxes for the sides of our door.  I was tired of the clay pots with mandelvia, which we have had for six years.  I needed something fresh and new.   I fstopped straight in my tracks when I walked into our local nursery last weekend and found these vines.  I had never seen before, they are called sweet pea vines.  Photo below.

Once I found the vines, I had to look for planter boxes.  I really wanted ceramic pots but frankly, we rent our home and I didn’t want to spend $150.00 or $200.00 on pots that might not work in our forever home.  I did want the square look so I purchased two of these redwood boxes from Home Depot and painted them white.  I planted the sweet pea vines in them in the hopes they will grow up and around our doorway.

Here’s a look at the boxes after I painted them.  I will be replacing the terracotta pots with something else that matches the white better.  We are also looking at replacing our screen door with something a little more vintage.  I want something with a longer screen and a little pattern to make the house feel more cottage like.  I found one at Osh that I like. Project for the BF!

These vines are so beautiful, the photos don’t do them justice.  Next to the sweet pea vines are boxwood and asters.  I will shape the boxwoods once they get a little larger for a cleaner look.

The blooms up close.This isn’t the best picture of our upstairs porch but the sun was shining right in the camera.  Gotta love our roof.  Every time we have a windy night half of our shingles end up in our neighbors yard.  I just planted the petunias in the window boxes and added the hanging baskets.  I always forget the name of the plant in the basket…but, I call it the lipstick plant.  The petunias look beautiful when they have grown in.  It will take a little time for them to fill in.

The hanging baskets up close.

I have wanted an asparagus fern forever for our front porch.  I am looking for the perfect urn to put this in.  I love how they look when they get big and bushy.  I’m on the hunt for a white rustic urn.  Do you like my new crab?  I bought it on EBay.  LOL!  I love it.  I am obsessed right now with brass beach items like shells, lobsters, etc.  I saw this crab and had to have it. The top flips open and fits a tea light.  I think it originally was for matches.

My other project for the porch is to break up all this wicker.  I want to find a rustic round table for in between these two chairs.  I can see it in my head but have yet to find one.

We’re off to Paso Robles on Thursday to do a little wine tasting for the weekend.  All the wineries are doing their spring releases.  Last year a number of the wineries were closed in August due to selling out of wine and limited productions.  All the ones we missed last year, we have appointments with, cannot wait.  Unfortunately, Orchard Hill Farm where we stayed last year is unavailable   We found a little B & B via Trip Advisor called Inn Paradiso, which has just come under new ownership and they have fixed up the property.  All I know, is they have John Robshaw bedding, can you say sold.  I will take lots of pictures and give you a recap of our favorite wineries.  Have a great week everyone.

Have a GROOVY Weekend

Hey everyone hope your having a great week and getting ready for Easter weekend or Passover.  I am finally back in the swing of things and will be hosting a few people for dinner Sunday.  Can’t wait to show you the table setting once I get it done.  Using some beautiful dishes I found at the thrift store and whatever else I can find.  My energy levels are getting back to normal and I’ve been feeling great.  I’m down 6.8 lbs. and slowly increasing my exercise.  Last week our Weight Watchers meeting was all about being positive.  It was so much fun all week practicing my “Miss Positive” by taking negative situations and spinning them around.  It’s really infectious and so much more fun than being negative.  My friend was going through some stuff and I was giving her a little pep talk which, in the end, I sounded like a 70’s love child.  I ended my email to her by joking and said, “No I’m not smoking crack!”  She replied in her email, “you are smoking crack, in a little floral dress with a flower in your hair!  lol!”  We were chuckling the other day about my “positive email” and it got me thinking about how giddy I have been and I kind of /sort of  felt like one of those free spirit chicks from the 70’s this week.  I couldn’t help but giggle when I saw these images.  This would have been me driving my flowered VW bus.  LOL!                         No mom, I did not get a tattoo! 

It’s great to be feeling happy, hippy, peaceful, joyful, and positive and no, I’m not smoking crack!  Hope you all find the positive in something this week. Peace Out!

 

IMGAGES:  All images are from Pinterest.

Spring Has Sprung

This time of year reminds me of New England when the leaves start to bud and the daffodils begin to push their way to through the ground.  Living in Southern California we don’t notice the changes as much since things are green here all year round.  Spring has always meant new beginnings for me or a chance to start fresh.   I am kicking myself into high gear.   I just got a new sofa from Pottery Barn.  My sofa was over 14 years old and I loved it.  I would have kept it except the rolled arms felt dated from my Shabby Chic days. The problem with a new sofa is it comes with wanting new chairs, new art, new colors, new accessories, etc.  Then, I start to look at everything in our little beach house and  want to redo everything.  Now, I’m driving people crazy with pictures of chairs, paint swatches, and inspiration ideas.  I will keep you posted on what I decide.  I have some ideas and sources of inspiration on my "My Living Room Redo" boards on pinterest. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I’ve also joined Weight Watchers to rid myself of my post surgery weight gain.  My roomie from college and another friend of mine are doing  it as well so it’s been great motivation and actually a lot of fun.  I can’t wait to fit in my skinny jeans – goal is by the end of May.   I’m also attending the weekly meetings which, has been a great source of inspiration for me.  Lot’s of “Things to Do” this spring but loving every minute of it.  How about you?   Enjoy the images below.  Some yellow to help put some spring in your step!

Yellow = Friendship

Yellow = Happy

This is my wish for you today!

Photo Credits:  Via Pinterest (Sources Unknown).  If you know the actual source please email me and I will add it.

A Box of Crayons

Hope you’re all having a great week.  I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks.  I’ve got stacks of mags piling up.  I have had the April issue of AD sitting by my bed and I kept flipping through it and one designers home kept jumping out at me.  It was like, really? So different from my own personal taste and style but  Sid Beragmin’s home kept capturing my eye.  His name did not ring a bell to me, so of course, I started doing some research and realized many of the images I love out there are his.  I know I’m all over the place – back to the photos in AD.

OMG!  I felt like someone opened the large pack of Crayola crayons and threw them up in the air and drew all over his house.   Talked about color – texture – eclectic.  You name it, it’s in there.  I love how he describes it as something you put in the blender and mix it all up.  WOWZA.  Like my made up word.  Really.  I will tell you this is soooooooooooooooooo contrary and polar opposite of my own taste but, I LOVE IT!  I want to have cocktails at this house.  I want to go to a party at this house.  I want to be a guest at this house.  Wait until you see my guest room.  What I love so much about his designs after obsessing over his website www.sigberamin.com is how undeniably talented he is with his ability to do contemporary, classic, eclectic, and traditional.  I think I pinned his whole website. He said his house is so different than what he typically designs.  UGH, YEAH! Take a look at the outside of his house.  It looks like something you would see down South.

Then look at that blast of color on the inside.  Come on, you have to agree it looks like a box of crayons.  Pick your color.  Murano glass covering the shelves, pops of color everywhere.  How could you walk through here in a bad mood?

For a girl with an all white house, I have to tell you I would be so happy in this room.  While I personally could never decorate like this  – I am love with his use of color.  I love all his art work on the next two photos below.

How awesome is this home library.  Imagine writing your blog in there.  I also LOVE how he has the books arranged.  Contrary to other designers, I am not fond of one color books – it’s too matchy matchy for me. I love seeing all sizes and shapes with various colors on the shelves.  He has a sense of order with his books which appeals to me. 

Wouldn’t you love to have coffee out here?

Ok, look at this orderly closet.  Mine doesn’t come close to this and I love all the color.  Even the shoes.  It feels like Palm Beach.

The perfect men’s bathroom – I would even like this for myself.  Love the dark wall paper and eclectic art work.

Never in a million years could I decorate a room like this unless I worked under him to understand how his mind works but OMG, I want this to be my guest room.  It’s obscene in a good way.  This would be too chaotic for my day to day life but OMG, I want to be his guest.  How cozy is this room.

I’m beyond obsessed with his work.  Check out his website www.sigbergamin.com and look under beach and residential.  All his beach designs feel like “me” and there are more photos of his residence under residential as well as other homes he has designed.  You’ll really be able to see what an amazing talent he is! He just makes me HAPPY!  I wish Sid were my neighbor so I could go over and have cocktails or if I was in a bad mood walk  through his house just to put a smile on my face and then come home to my all white home, LOL!  Hope Sid puts a smile on your face today!

 

PHOTO CREDITS:  All photos are from Architectural Digest.  Photography by:  Roger Davies

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Wishing you all a little sugar, a little bubbly and lots of love this Valentines Day no matter what your relationship status!

Happy Valentines Day!

Photo Credits:  Photo 1:  www.polyvore.com via www.photo-forum.net Images by Rali7u, Photo 2: Via www.google.com source unknown if you know please let me know for proper crediting, and Photo 3:  toocutethings.blogspot.com

Yes, I’m Back “ON A ROLL”

Well I’m back…took a little hiatus.  After emailing back and forth with a fellow blogger and sharing our stories of what’s appropriate and what’s not in the blogging world and how sometimes we just want to put it out there but due to crazy people, nosy people, or people who should simply mind their own bee’z wax…you can’t.   Ah! The dilemma with blogging.  Out of respect for her privacy, she knows who she is…I just want to say thanks for lighting a fire under my arse :)  Also, I work off a MAC but use the Windows side (I have a dual computer) for blogging because I can use live writer and I was running out of disk space.  I need to find a program like Live Writer for the MAC.  Does anyone have any solutions?

Back to blogging…I was reading my April issue of C Magazine.  For those of you who have not read it, it’s a new magazine covering all of California.  I love the magazine.  I first learned about the magazine from Brooke at Velvet and Linen.  Of course, I’m magazine obsessed and couldn’t believe I had not heard of this publication.  Of course, I had to check it out.  One peep and I was hooked, subscription and all. 

There was a fabulous article (I feel like Kimora Lee Simons from Baby Phat because I always say fabulous LOL) on Alix Soubiran.  She is the amazing and talented artist behind the wallpaper designs (see below) for Princesandcrows.com.  She was trained as a muralist in Paris and began her career in Interior Design for various celebrities and high profile clients in Palm Beach, Europe, and the West Indies.  She went into wallpaper design because she said she had something to say that could not be said through murals. I found the creative process very interesting.  She would paint a prototype and her husband would apply her art work and colors via the computer to Pantone (the king of colors) and then the designs would be printed on various sources of material such as paper, metallic, and vinyl.

When I first saw some of her designs, they reminded me of something you would see in Morocco.  I thought how amazing these designs would also look on tile.  HMMM!  Maybe Ms. Alix needs to think of creating a line of tile.  Check out her designs on line and see why I was so inspired when I saw them in a room. 

 

 

 

All Photo Credits:   Princess and Crows

Look for lots of new posts.  I was in New York two weeks ago for business and took a detour to Connecticut for the weekend to see my parents.  It was the first time I had seen spring in 15 years in Connecticut.  My how things have changed.  I am going to do a whole week of blogging about the tri-town area.  Stay tuned.

Wonderful Sentiments

“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."   - Author Unknown-

Photo Credits:  We Heart It

   Have a beautiful day!

Lovely Pink Interiors

I’m a little under the weather and my blogging brain is clogged. Today, I don’t have much to say, imagine that?  So, I will leave you with some some beautiful pink images that just make me feel happy.

Photo Credit:   Stephen Clement

Photo Credit:   Ann French Co.

Photo Credit:  The Eclectic Life

Photo Credit:  New Homes Developers

Photo Credit:  Vogue Living Australia 

Have a beautiful and blissful day!