Colah me happy, dahling

Happy Hump Day everyone!  To spice up your Wednesday, I thought I'd inject a little color into it. And since pink is now my color du jour, I'm going to start with some of my favorite beauties.  

I stopped and stared when I first found this photo.  Wasn't sure if I liked it or not.  And then I thought, "Wait!  It's pink!  Of course I love it!"  

Especially the white frame, feminine curves, the colorful rug, chandelier, the large mirror, okay, I love everything about this room.

 And I about fell out of my chair this morning when I stumbled upon a PINK CLAW-FOOT BATHTUB!  I die!

I've always loved a rainbow library.  You know, because they're everywhere.  Sarcastic.

I could stare at the room below for hours studying all of the ways they mixed different shades of turquoise together.  And it makes me even more excited knowing we're getting in bookshelves in this same color next week on our next container!!

This is one of my favorite prints we currently have in the store right now-

 (images via pininterest, Jonathan Adler, House of Turquoise, The Estate of Things)

Have a colorful Wednesday!
Betsy

Luxe City Guides

We've been eyeing these guides since our early days over to Shanghai where the always-swanky Shanghai Tang stores have been stocking them for years.  Being bright, colorful, and ingeniously graphic on the outer cover, they're hard to miss and are just begging to be picked up and flipped through.  So when this past Christmas came around and The Fiance had already bought himself an iPad, and the shirt I bought him for his birthday months before was still sitting in it's box in his utility room, I was stuck thinking of the perfect Christmas present for The Man Who Already Has It All.  Alas, I remember these fancy little travel guides that he hunts down every time we're within 100ft of a Shanghai Tang store.  I bought him one of their gift sets with our favorite cities in them like Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.  We hadn't even been to Paris yet but I already knew it was going to be a favorite.  And it is!  I could go on for days about why these guides are the PERFECT and ONLY city guide I would rely on.  For starters, they're written in the wittiest manner and cause me to chortle in my chair as they sass me through city after glorious city.  Here's an excerpt from the New York guide just to give you a little taste:

May I help you?

TRANSLATION: You look too poor to shop here.

Think New York, think Manhattan. For a city bought for just 60 guilders in 1626, she ain’t doing too badly. Nary brutal winters, nor stifling summers can dampen the indefatigable gumption of this most iconic of all iconic cities. From cupcakes to knishes, and Mesopotamian art to molecular gastronomy, this unendingly fascinating hub of metropolitan life self-invents on an hourly basis. Majestic, grand, kitsch, the tops, the bottoms, the kit and the kaboodle, NY is one huge and mercurial melting pot. Fashion forward, status conscious, food and culture epicentric, exasperating, exhilarating and never out of the spotlight; welcome to the extraordinary Gotham City.

LUXE New York. Triple threat, darling.

And the Hong Kong version:

Looking for Suzy Wong?  Well, she's dead. Get over it.

Welcome to LUXE City Guide’s home town! Despite naughty sisters Beijing and Shanghai constantly trying to steal her glittering crown, Hong Kong still reigns supreme as Asia’s predominant shopping, dining and style destination. Excess, success and 24 hr party times are always on the menu in this mile-a-minute metropolis famed for its high-rise living and high-end labels. From the ultra-efficient airport to the cacophony of sights, sounds, smells and activity of the island you’re in for a rollercoaster good time. Whether you want star names like Robuchon, Ducasse, Nobu or Gagnaire, or prefer to dine in an alley next to a sizzling wok, Hong Kong packs it all in. So, when you’re looking for the savvy choices in the city that makes New York look like a spinster aunt, it’s worth remembering that what we don’t know about this city ain’t worth jack. Walk this way…

LUXE Hong Kong. You won't go far Wong. 

See?  They're quirky and well, slightly offensive if you don't fit their ideal demographic, but they're tons of fun and spot on in their recommendations.  We wouldn't have found our favorite Paris bistro had it not been for these guides.  They'll give you turn-by-turn directions and the chicest advise on where to stay, what to eat, and what to avoid.  

Here's me in Paris studiously scoping out our guidebook before our next excursion.

You can visit their site here:  Luxe City Guides.  So grab a suitcase, a Luxe City Guide, and GO!

2011 Design Trend: Eclectic

Good morning fellow love-looking-at-beautiful-homes lovers!

I hope everyone had an exceptional weekend and were able to enjoy the unusually warm weather.  I'm on my third cup of coffee this morning and I'm about to take a Sudafed to cope with annoying allergies, which means I'll be bouncing off the walls in approximately 45 minutes.  So I better hurry up and post this before I lose all concentration for the next 4 hours.  

A design trend we've taken note of for 2011 is the eclectic-look which mixes various styles, periods, and cultures into a cohesive look.  It happens to be one of my favorite looks since we love to collect pieces from all over the world (and we have a store full of it), but besides that, when I see these images, it makes me wonder where the occupants have traveled and what were their experiences?  Too often, I come across people that question why we go to the places we visit because they have no desire to leave the U.S.  We are incredibly fortunate to see and do what we have.  Every time we travel, whether it's simply across a few states or across a continent, I go into it with an open mind and an open opinion so that the experience itself will teach me to view the world from another perspective.  Plus, I just love schlepping suitcases and totes full of laptops and iPads through airports!  What's not to love about that, right?!...  It's easy to look like you've been all over the world with this trend (without the schlepping) since the point of it is to mix and match!  It's so much more interesting to shake things up!  Sometimes it's as simple as adding a new accessory to perk up the room.  We'll be getting our next container of worldly goods next week and I can't wait to share them with you :)   

(Image sources: Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Sketch 42, Atlanta Homes Design, Full House, Bill Hudgins)

Happy Monday!

Betsy

Art Imitating Life Imitating Fashion

Good morning!

I'm in an especially good mood today since The Fiance returns home from Hong Kong tomorrow! It's been quite a productive morning and I thought I would share with you a post from one of my favorite bloggers, Sketch 42. She's an artist and free-lance writer in New York City and blogs about interior design, fashion, reality TV and pretty much whatever she feels like. It's all done with amazing style and I admire her creativity. These images are straight from her post a few weeks ago and you can find it here.

I'm on a pink kick here lately and am in love with ALL shades of pink! I have several spring outfits picked out involving pink, I'm considering doing pink in every room of the house, and The Fiance has a secret fear that our wedding is going to be Pepto Bismol pink (which it's not), but I can understand why he feels that way after seeing all of the pink fabrics and accessories that I've been collecting. He also thinks that all of this pink is a subliminal message that I want to have a baby, which I DON'T. Ok on that note, take a look at the pretties below:

Yellows and blues are another of my favorites right now.
We rock this trend in the store too:

And then there are the fun primary colors that look so rich when layered on top of a neutral beige room. How cool are those pendants? And we have a stone warrior that looks very similar to the budda statue in the center. I'm too lazy to create a collage for just my warrior dude.

I don't know where she found these images but they're simply stunning! I'd love to just hunt down pretty photos like these all day long. And eat bon bons. And never go to the gym again. I'm just kidding, but they are lovely images.

Be sure to check out her blog! I'm sure you'll find it just as inspiring as I do.

Have a great week!

Betsy

Happy Valentine's

My oh my, I've lost a bit of my creative juices in the last few weeks since it's been over a month since the last blog post.  We've been traveling quite a bit, which is no excuse since I'm usually inspired wherever I go, but I just hadn't had any new creative thoughts worthy of blogging about.  

Picture below perfectly describes the situation at hand.

                                                  

And I've tried A LOT of this and it hasn't worked so well..

Maybe I just need to visit here:

Happy Valentine's and I promise to get some juices back :)

(Images via This is Glamour, Four Seasons Bora Bora, unknown) 

See you soon,
Betsy

City of Light (and Love)

Here's an excerpt from the travel blog I kept :)

We landed at roughly 10am Paris time after a 7hr flight that made going across the Atlantic look like a walk through Central Park.  Super easy.  We were seats 1E and 1F.  As in, the very front of the plane!  I couldn’t believe it but they were honestly the most roomy seats on the entire aircraft.  Craig told me not to get used to it :)  There’s a time and a place for everything!  We landed and took a cab to the Intercontinental where we checked in to a traditional Parisian room with sweeping drapes covering an iron balcony.  I’m in love.  It’s cozy and French and totally perfect!  After showering, we headed to the concierge and confirmed our tix to the ballet across the street at L’Opera Garnier before venturing down to lunch near the Garden Tulierres.  We were told to go to Angelina’s but walked all the way to the Louvre and then realized the line would take us all day so we just popped in to a neighborhood bistro.  It wasn’t worth writing home about.  After lunch, we stopped in a well-known bookstore that blew both of our minds.  I mean, thank goodness for Amazon or we’d have to be toting some heavy paper home!  The next stop was Jay Ahr, an up-and-coming French designer that creates swoon-worthy cocktail frocks.  When I mean swoon-worthy, I mean all the French starlets head here before their premiers.  We then headed down Rue St. Honore while following the Paris Luxe Guidebook.  Now this is when we finally start cooking with gas.  We window-shopped until we dropped.  With quaint streets and impressive shopping, Rue Honore hit it out of the ballpark.  And our Luxe Guidebook certainly kept us well-informed as to when we needed to pull over to check out a boutique here and there, or just keep on cruising.  By this time, it was getting dark and we decided to grab a bottle of Bordeaux, fromage, and a baguette to bring back to the room.  We have a wonderful balcony and there was absolutely no reason not to celebrate this with wine and cheese.  We passed through Place Vendome just as the Christmas lights were turning on and it was simply beautiful.  There really is no “ugly” part of this city, as far as I’ve seen.  I’ll skip to dinner since my travel partner is getting sleepy-eyed.

Le Relais de L’Entrecote: No menu.  Extensive wine list.  Steak Frittes the way you want them.  It was the stereotypical French brasserie except the food was unbelievable and the place was hip.  No frumpy fanny-packed tourist here.  No, this is where the locals head to when they want a hearty meal.  This was definitely one of the best meals on our entire trip!  We waited in line for roughly 30 minutes after visiting Pershing Hall, an ultra trendy bar serving outrageously priced pre-dinner drinks.  Needless to say, our dinner tab was almost as much as our drink tab, and we only had two martini’s vs the steak dinners, bottle of wine and Evian, as well as dessert at Le Relais de L’Entrecote.  I’m going back.

We then walked up to the Champs Elyse and I instantly became giddy at the sight of the tree-lined street!  I’m with my love in the most romantic city in the world, walking down the Champs Elyse with a view of the Arc de Triomphe.  It was magical!  The way they decorated the pear trees lining the street gave the illusion that the street was lined with shooting stars.   I had a huge grin on my face and hugged onto him even tighter.  Needless to say, it was a truly unforgettable experience!

I took hundreds of pics and am still editing but here are just a few!

Pretty Pictures

Well, we're back from our trip to Paris and are slowly readjusting to the real world.  Whew!  It seems like Christmas and New Year's were an absolute whirlwind of parties, trips to visit family, and to top it off, a trip to Paris!  We had an amazing time and I'm sure I'll blog about a few of our standout experiences later this week.  On a quick personal note, The Boyfriend proposed and we are now engaged!!  Yea!!  It was very romantic and sweet, and needless to say, I'm still struggling to focus this week!  If you want to hear the full story, you can drop by the store :)

The real gist of today's post is artwork!  Pretty paintings of sunsets, abstract prints, and other beauties for your wall.  We've sold so much artwork recently that I'll be putting in another order this week!  Here are a few that I'm considering.  Would love your feedback if you have an opinion!

47x47 $399

47x47 $379

46x55 $539

56x56 $479

47x47 $379

You can tell from the dimensions that they're all large-scale and would definitely make a statement in any room.  These beauties certainly caught my eye for their color palette, size, and ability to use them with any style.  Stay tuned for stories about our trip later this week!

See you soon,

Betsy