Coffee 101

Recently I heard on the news that Starbucks' sales were declining and that they closed down their stores last week for 3 hours to teach all the baristas how to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Today while waiting for my Friday latte I learned something myself... Which do you prefer a Cappucccino or a Latte?

Dwell at Target

I'm a little upset at Target right now because they got rid of the Global Bizaar after just 3 weeks of having it out but after seeing the new DwellStudio line I've decided to forgive them. I love these cute napkins.

Our little weekend Project

I just had to post about this little weekend project that Chris and I did on Saturday.... and then turned into Sunday.  We bought these "floating" shelves at Ikea and I love how they look but did not really look into how much weight they could hold.  But to try and out smart the shelf I bought these really heavy duty anchors that took Chris FOREVER to screw into the wall.  Of course as my luck would have it, I measured wrong and the shelf was too far over and wouldn't slide onto the structural bars supporting the shelf.  This meant that Chris had to take ALL 10 anchors out of the wall, putty, sand, prime, and repaint before we could try and hang them again.  In the end I love how they turned out, I'm a little disappointed I can't put more books on them (as I have it now it might fall) Oh, and when Chris is not looking the "Pet of the Year" frame is coming down.  

Dressing for Miami

My friend Aimee and her husband were invited to a very swanki wedding in Miami in March. She showed me the inviation and it was gorgeous; the postage alone for the invite was over $4! So now she is on the hunt for a cute dress to wear but is unsure on the atire, the invite said something like wear your bling but no black tie. What does that mean? Long or short, classic or trendy? Well here is my stab at what I think would look really cute at a wedding in Miami.

1. Nicole Miller Metallic Silk Dress $485

2. Trina Turk 'Bonita' Tunic Dress $338

3. Nicole Miller Strapless Silk Dress $420

4. Nicole Miller Long Printed Silk Gown $495

5. Nicole Miller Printed Shift Dress $365

6. Nicole Miller Strapless Print Silk Sheath $410

Class of '68

This weekend Chris and I worked on my Dad's 40th Year High School Reunion web site.  My Dad is on the planning committee and he volunteered my husband to make the website, which in turn fell in my lap to design.  For inspiration I used my dad's Year Book.  These 2 photos were my favorite!  I can't believe how short those skirts are.  

Fuschia is my favorite color

If you went to my wedding than you know I love the color fuschia. But just like I was hesitant in my wedding not to over use the color I am very hesitant to use it in my home. When I saw this Atlanta home by interior designer John Oetgen I fell in love with the fuschia dinning room chairs. I think this home does a great job of incorporating the bold color without over doing it.

Let is Snow

Ok, so remember 3 days ago when I said spring was on it's way... well I take that back, we are expecting a fairly large snow storm tomorrow so I thought I would post some pretty pics of REAL snow flakes. These snow flakes are the works of Wilson Bently. I first heard of him when his work was displayed on a Saks Fith Avenue bag 2 winters ago. I was so inspired by these snow flakes that I wanted to know who the artist was, so I did a little research and found out that they were actually photographs taken through a microscope in 1925. I've been saving the bag for 2 years now hoping to get around to framing the little jewels. For now I will have to enjoy them here instead of on my wall at home.

Enjoy!

Some pretty white flowers for a snowy day!

I had to run to my clients office today to pick up something and while I was waiting in their waiting area I snapped a quick photo of these beautiful callalilies. I wish I could take more photos of the actual office but when I'm there for a meeting I don't exactly feel comfortable whiping out my camera. Their office was designed by Michael Graves and although I'm not a huge fan of his work, this office has some really nice details.

Barcelona, Spain

A few months ago Stefan mentioned to me that he was going to Barcelona in Feburary and he wanted me to share with him some cool places to see. The last (and only time) I was in Spain I was traveling abroad for school and it has been a good 5 years since so it took me awhile to dig up these photos and remember what I saw. As part of my studies in Architecture school I traveled with my classmates for 3 months around Europe with nothing but a tour bus and a backpack... oh this is bringing back memories... Ok back to Barcelona... . Below are some places I saw and all photos were taken by me, these are NOT digital photos, all photos were taken with good old 35mm film.

This is one of the most famous buildings we studied in Architecture School, the Barcelona Pavilion by Mies Van der Rohe built in 1928. It's very odd becuase you always imagine it to stand alone uninterupted but when you go there it's in the middle of this really urban environment.

Casa Mila by Guadi

This is an apartment building built by Gaudi, there are no corners in the entire place, everything is curved, it's quite impressive.

Park Guell by Gaudi

Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi

I vividly remember climbing these stairs to see the spectacular view of the city.

There are a total of 12 bell towers which represent the apostles. Inside each bell tower are spiral stairs leading to almost the top.

Spring is coming!

This is a photo taken today infront of my old house. I drove in today because there was no HOV and I could park free on the street. It just so happened that I found a spot near my old place (the yellow room) In the Fall of '06 I planted a whole bunch of daffodills in the tree pit infront of the house. Last spring it brought me such joy every morning when I came out and saw them. I was very surprised this morning when I saw most of them were starting to come up. I will have to return in a month or 2 and take a photo when they are all in full bloom.

In the Wild

We just got back from our trip down to Emporia Virginia for Ashley and Ken's cocktail party- shower.  I couldn't wait to share with you all the oh so very creative party decorations, I felt like I had attended a party right out of Hostess with the Mostess, which is one of my favorite party planning blogs I love to read.  The entire theme was animal print just like the invite and all the hostesses wore some type of animal print, it was very creative.  May I also mention that the food was amazing and I loved the pink specialty drink.  

  

Gift Time!

Sorry guys, I had to put this up here, you both look adorable!  For the record, they only got one, Ken was just being goofy and putting it on for fun.  

I thought this was a really cool gift, a monogramed ice bucket.  The closest thing I found online was from Embroider Me Please.  And of course it went with the Zebra theme!

Let the wedding events begin!

We are on our way down south for the first wedding event of the year.  Currently Chris and I have 5 weddings to attend in 2008.  We are going to a couples cocktail shower/party.  We are very excited for our friends Ashley and Ken who will be getting married over Memorial Day weekend.  I loved the funky invite so I thought I would include it.  I also included the gift because I am so proud of the flower I made from my flower kit I got at Paper Source.  The wrapping paper I got at Michaels from their Martha Stewart crafts section.  It was a bit thick and difficult to wrap with.  

Happy Valentine's Day

These hearts are gorgeous in person, I didnt' want to eat one they were so beautiful.

Thank you Chris for some great gifts! I love you very much!

My Big Debut

AeroGarden vs. Herb Savor

I enjoy cooking, I'm not saying I'm good at it but I enjoy the art and the process of it all. So with that said I have been trying to cook a lot more as well as venture outside my comfort zone and try new recipes. The only problem I have is that with all these new recipes come all new spices and herbs. Every weekend when I gather my recipes and go grocery shopping I feel like I am always reaching for fresh herbs of which I only end up using less than half. That is why for Christmas I asked Chris for the AeroGarden. At the time they were all the rage and it seemed like such a good idea. Well... I never got my AeroGarden and it's probably for the best because we really don't have the room for it. So when I saw Prepara's Herb Savor I thought what a great compromise. It doesn't take up as much room but still keeps my herbs fresh and tucked away in the fridge, plus the cost is only $34 vs. $150 for the AeroGarden.

Yoga Tonight!

For the past 2 weeks I have been very bad and I have skipped my yoga class. I am very new to yoga and just started before Christmas, my condo building was offering a class for a resonable price, at a resonable hour (8pm) and it was in my building, so I really had no excusse not to join, plus I thought it would be a great way to meet new people in our building. To get excited for the class I went to lululemon to buy all the stuff you need, like blocks and a belt, but what I really wanted was some new yoga pants. Once I saw the price of the pants I was in shock, $100 for pants!, that was more than what the class was costing me for 8 sessions. That sent me on a quest to find yoga pants for less. I just discovered that Victoria's Secret offers some really cute yoga pants at a very resonable price, only $30, plus you can order them by your inseam, so short people like me won't have to pay extra to hem them. By the way, I really hope that after all these yoga classes I start to look like the girl in the photo, oh and I wish we did it outside near water.

OYA

Chris took me to Oya for my birthday and I have been meaning to blog about it. I heard about this place from a co-worker and once I saw these awesome photos on their website I had to go check it out. The whole place glowed white and the main focal point was a really cool strip fireplace with flames coming out of a pile of glass. I loved how everything was white on white, some of my favorite designs are when a room has the same color throughout.

Field Notes

This is something my husband recieved at a conference and he has been talking about it ever since. When we went to Germany we bought the moleskines notebooks which are very similar but he has now convereted over to these little guys. My husband is the kind of guy who is always coming up with new ideas so these little books are perfect for him to jot down what he is thinking. They contain 48 pages of graph paper and are the perfect size to tuck in your back pocket and carry with you at all times. I think I am going to buy some to keep track of my grocery list.

Happy Birthday Becky

I've decided that for birthdays I am going to post cupcakes that reflect the persons personalty, I started it with Diane's B-day and I think it's a really cute idea. These are for my mother in-law who is an amazing seamstress, so how perfect are these pin cushion cupcakes made by Betz White. She loves to make baby clothes, smocking is her specialty (anyone out there that would like to buy custom baby clothes, contact me, she's trying to start a little business, right now she just does it for fun).

Arm Candy

This Valentine's Day gift suggestion comes from my sister Elise who has been a long time user of L'Occitane products, the Shea Butter Hand cream is her favorite. At $25 a tube I wonder sometimes how she affords this luxury.

I just got my j.crew catalog and my favorite things were these Hand Painted Enamel Bangles. They range from $58-68. That's a little pricey for me to spend on a braclet but they sure are beautiful.