Nothing nicer than nautical-Day 5

My final day of nautical favorites is a shout out to new Editor in Chief, Sara Anderson, at Coastal Living Magazine, whose making one terrific magazine. Pick it up, you'll be surprised. It's all about inspirational interiors and great travel.  You won't want to put it down. Their "Best Seafood Dives" is worth printing out.

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Nothing nicer than nautical-Day 4

It just doesn't happen so much anymore. Walking the gift show use to hold lots of surprises but now, due ot lots of reasons, there's just not as much new stuff and surprises.  This past show, I was happy to discover Caskata artisanal tableware which is simple put, stunning!  These pictures just don't do them justice. I love how they use the sealife with such beauty and interest.  Each piece is made by hand, the fine bone pieces are accented in 23 karat gold and platinum. These are "forever" kind of pieces but you can still toss in the dishwasher.

My fav design

An elegant way to "do" nautical. 

This oval is gorgeous....

LOVE!

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Nothing nicer than nautical-Day 3

So maybe your stuck in the office instead of beachside like some other lucky ladies & gents.  Put on the beach boys, grab a frappe and send off a few notes on this adorable nautical inspired cards.

Simple yet striking. Worth .44 stamp.  From one of fav stationery companies, Gold Teeth Brooklyn. 

Another simple card that's fun..These would even be cool framed as wall art. You get 4 designs and 8 letterpress cards for $18... From Set Editions

Or feeling crafty? Break out this anchor rubber stamp and make your own card or post card. Heck, don't stop there... add to cups or napkins... to paper places... on paper bags.. .. sail away with the idea (ha! couldn't resist).   Paper-source.com

Or have fun with Yellow Owl Workshop seascape stamp set.  You can create your own sunny day at the beach.

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Nothing nicer than nautical-Day 2

One classic color combo that always gets an A+ is navy and white. Especially in the summer, it's clean and fresh and a much needed departure from a winter of black.  Here are a few Navy and White things that make my heart sing. 

Thomas Paul

Don't these melamine dinner  plates just scream "CLAM BAKE"?

I LOVE this platter. It'd be fun to hang on the wall or put on a book case. The shape is elegant and at $30, it's a perfect hostess gift. Also, from the very talented Mr. Paul.  

This dress deserves to be sipping a chilled glass of rose at sunset.  Great news too. It's on sale for $90 at Rebecca Taylor. 

Enjoy!

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Nothing nicer than nautical

I am a beach girl.  Some people love the mountains and swear by how fun skiing is.  I just don't see the point.  So anything nautical gets my attention. This is my own personal "fleet week" with five days devoted to seashells and all things nautical.   Enjoy!

Seashells are one of life's perfect things.  They look great on a bookcase as a decorative object.  They can be used to hold things. (My conch holds cotton swabs.)  I picked these up on the North Fork, visiting a friend. They made perfect salt cellars.  

I also had a dinner party and used them to serve crab casserole. So easy and fun!  (Going in oven to cook)

Jack and Lulu, a fantastic stationery company, knows nautical. They live in one of the cutest towns, Rowayton, Ct. and always have something stylist up their sleeve.  Check out their new Whistle Bag that comes with .. yes... .a whistle.  At $75, you can get this and not have to sell the boat.  

ADORABLE!  Watch the ships ahead...

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Shelf love

I'm heading out on a trip (woohoo) and I have a terrible habit of wanting to put full order to my life before I fly. It's compulsive and happens every trip.  It's at moments like these that I want to sit down and organize a lifetime supply of pictures in a journal and alphabetize my books and buy a financial program like Quickbooks to start, with five hours left before I take off.  My big pull today is how I've overstocked my bookshelves.  They are pulling double duty as "keeper of decorative bits" like my beloved sterling silver collection, books (too many books) and vanity things (perfumes, mini frames, jewelry).  While the last two shelves keep my work life in some sense of order.  It's like "party" up top and "all business" down below.
It's just too much.

So I got business roaming around on the web looking for cool shelving and found this at the lovely Jayson Home & Garden. (Chicago people, ya'll sure are lucky to have this shop!)

This intrigues me. I like that I can change up the shape and that it adds textures. It doesn't really go with my decor but it's something to remember.


Have a happy weekend!

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Housekeepin'

Last week, a few friends pop over last minute.  It was my favorite kind of night.  Planned hours before it happend with things served out of the pantry and refrigerator.  The friends didn't know each other well so I know conversation would be interesting.  Some delightfully chilled prosecco was served and I whipped up some proscuitto wrapped in melon (though mine is never as pretty as in the cookbooks).  Lite FM's Michael Buble was on in the background.  It was a swell night.


Candles blown out and bottle recycled, it was time to do the dishes.   Dish washing detergient has to work extra hard these days with the on slaught of 12 hour lipstick that won't come off despite nuclear war.  It's always a battle to clean those flutes, with their elongated shape.  Voile! My new favorite housekeeping tool  saves the day!

Check out these cool Wine Glass Sponges, $9.95 for set

Action Shot... 

Bring on more bubbly!

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Bonjour!

Sunday I sat on the train heading back to Grand Central beside a work friend who looked unbelievably beautiful.   She had just returned from three weeks in the south of Frances and literally glowed from it.  (It was her honeymoon so that might have been something about the glow too.)  When sharing about her trip, she said her main take away was to really make an effort to live a more beautiful life.  To make picnics and go on them. To buy flowers for her home more.  To cook seasonally based foods and really take the time to enjoy them (no more eating in front of the TV).   That's the joy of it.  It's all fairly inexpensive things but when done, really make you feel incredible.  Wasn't it Coco herself who said there were people who were rich and there were people who were wealthy?

So in honor of that thought and celebrating how folks in south of France just know how to live well (OK, and it's Bastille Day too), here's my favorite recent pictures from the uber cool street photographer, The Sartorialist.  Isn't this great?  Catches the spirit of celebrating simple pleasures.

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Tag it!

Still suffering from "ohh I wanna go travel-a-virus", I'm on the prowl for things inspired by wanderlust.  These hang tags are my pick of the day.  These 4 x 9 cards come with a 100% recycled envelope and 9 design options.  They are $4 per card. 

Aren't they great??  Here are my five favorite ways to use these:

1.  As note cards (duh, I know) but they are charming and would fun on your recipient's refrigerator.

2.  As a gift tag... got a friend moving to Paris? How cute would this be on a bottle of champagne

3.  As an invitation... OK, so they are a bit pricey to do for a crowd but for a small dinner party, they immediately set the tone. 

4.  As a luggage tag on the ubiquitous black roller suitcase.  An improvement over the homemade pompoms made by grandmothers all over.  

5.  As wall art... collect a bunch and hang them strategically on a wall. 

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On the road again...

One trend that I saw at the stationery show was all the travel related product.  It seems everyone is inspired by the open road and skies these days.   Heck, with  all this great product, all of us can be an armchair traveler and still look the part.

Take this adorable travel notebook from Kate's Paperie. It hints of college days spent backpacking through Europe.

Another fun find from Kate's are these travel file folders.  Perfect for storing notes on places you want to travel.  

Whether wrapping a gift for some lucky soul heading out on an adventure or framed as art work, this wrapping paper from Paper-source will get some mileage.

Send a note to another traveler with these adorable cards at Paper-source.  Take it to the next level with personalized stamps or vintage stamps.  

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Mad Men Fever

Maybe it's too many tube tops and skinny jeans on the hot (and hostile) streets these days, but I am anxiously waiting for Mad Men's return, July 25.  Maybe it's the time, maybe it's the attractive cast, whatever it is, it's addictive.  One side effect of watching the show is I tend to dress in my dresses and heels the next day.  It inspires me to look like a lady, whether I actually feel like it or not.  I grew up in a household with a mother whose believe in wearing a slip is second only to her belief in the Republican Party.  In fact, my mother is a member of a group called "Real Pearls and Silver" based on the mantra that "your hair color can be fake and your bosom can be fake but your pearls and silver must always be real."  No joke.  Seems very Mad Men, doesn't it?

I do think, like Joan, she was on to something. There does seem to be some feminine power when I doll up.  My doormen grabs the door and the cab might actually come to a complete stop.

Anyway, catch this fashion teaser from the costume designer showing us where she's taking the characters through clothes.  It's very very interesting.

Spoiler: Dan's clothes are getting darker, like his character. hum........


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 Summer Magic

The other night my sister left me a voicemail saying, "It's been a very good night at the Parker house; catching fireflies, jumping on the trampolene and a few shots of tequilla."   It got me thinking about the real joys of summer and how fleeting they are. Bundled up in my air conditioned apartment in the city, this self described "beach nut" needs to get with the summer program and shut of the computer.  Now the temperatures finally dipping under 90 (or 100 for that matter),  it's time to embrace those seasonal pleasures. 


Here's my list of things to do before Fall:

watch a rooftop or backyard film

buy ice cream from the ice cream truck

jump into a cold lake

sit outside watching the sun set

buy lemonade from kids

drink Arnold Palmers

camp on a sleeping porch

enjoy gardens in any form

serve farm to table suppers

make simple arrangements in mason jars

create mint simple syrup 

go on a roadtrip

So much of living well isn't about having a huge house, private plan and full passport.  Coco Channel said it best, "There are people who have money and people who are rich."  

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Creative types

At Christmas, I received a lovely book by a dear friend's wife, Stephanie Congdon Barnes, who photographed one image every day for a year.  They live in famously creative Portland, raising a family and making their way in the world.  The book is called 3191: Evenings and is a celebration of their life.  Evenings is actually a follow up book to her first book: Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart.  She made this book with Marie Alexandra Vettese after they"met" online through blogs in 2005 then eventually started posting one image a day taken between 5-10 pm to a shared blog.  Stephanie in Portland and Marie in Maine and without conversation between them, shared one picture a day of their life.  Stephanie describes her photographs in the introduction as "unforced".   It's a book that slows you down.    Both are keepers.

Check out Stephanie's sites to see what this interesting gal is up to:

http://stephaniecongdonbarnes.blogspot.com/

http://shelter.typepad.com/shelterblog/

http://3191.visualblogging.com/

and her partner in creative crime, Marie Alexandra Vettese:

http://www.port2portpress.com/mav/

http://iammav.com/

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ps.  Nancy Soriano and Jo Packam have put together a cool craft event, thecreativeconnectionevent.com, coming up in September.  Check it out !  

Favorite Home Resources

A friend over the course of the weekend, wanted to know my favorite resources for home decor shopping.  She's just gotten an apartment and now needs to fill it with cool yet affordable finds.   Scouring the market is fun for me but time and time again, I end up at these resources for my own home.

Insert drum roll now...Here are my current favs:

#5:  Serena and Lily-
This company started out as a children's room decor site. Perfect for new moms picking out crib sheets. No longer!  They have terrific furniture and accessories (I especially love their headboards) with interesting fabrics not seen everywhere.

#4:  Urban Outfitters-
No longer just a retail store for middle class kids who want to look like they hunted for vintage but didn't, they actually have great price points for some interesting things like their industrial metal bookcase at $128 (with free shipping) that would run $300 and up anywhere else.

#3:  Anthropologie-
Not a surprise, it's got cool finds but at higher prices than sister site urbanoutfitters.com.  I especially love their bedding, lamps and chairs.

#2:  West Elm.  They offer such great design at affordable prices and have killer sales.  I know ... I know.. it's a no-brainer really but honestly, they usually have the solution.

#1  My local flea
I just don't like a home without something vintage or antique in it.  I find it adds personality and prevents the "I just bought the whole room off the shelf" feeling.    It's those curiosities and objects that fill a bookcase, add interest to a coffee table and lend a room some soul.  (Yard sales also fill the niche. Try yardsalemapper app to find the ones near you.)


Hope this helps!

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ps.  A shout out to House Beautiful whose July/August issue is "Is small the NEW BIG?" I vote yes.

For you dwellers who live in or appreciate small spaces done well, it's a terrific issue to pick up.  

I mentioned it before but Apartment Therapy's book on great small spaces is also terrific and full of ideas.  

Happy July 4th

(Great photo by Paul Castello) 

Sigh.

Doesn't the Declaration of Indepedence get you every time... here's my favorite line:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  (Thanks, smarty pants Thomas Jefferson)

Hope you can find some water and jump in.

Happy July 4th Everyone!

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More thoughts on Americana

Some think it's outdated and grandma. Others find it classic and comforting.  I'd fall into the later camp. There's something about Old Glory and her hues that make for a happy room. Here are three different takes on ways to play out that color combo.

Take #1:  From Architecture Digest magazine, it's the classic lake house decor featuring Adirondack camp style.  The most country of the three photographs, its casualness is its appeal.

Look #2:  This is the most traditional take on the classic color combo and comes from (no surprise) House Beautiful Magazine.  Its button up style plays up the punchy red and partners it with a paler take on blue and white. This is a clean take on the American color story. 

Look #3:  This modern version of red, white and blue ran in also in House Beautiful. It turns the color story on its ear and adds a twist.  I especially love the pattern kilm mixed with the stripes.  This fresh decor shows the color combo more rust than red and a greener blue than navy. 

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