Royal Wedding

just had to do it. i know everyone else in the world is posting pics of the big day and i am no different! i woke up at 5am and watched the whole thing start to finish. kate is classically beautiful and did not disappoint. i even heard she did her own makeup. stunning.

via cnn

btw, i think pippa looked gorgeous. loved her dress.

via http://www.thefashionspot.com/



Eataly

in nyc i made a point to go to eataly. it's a giant italian market that's about the size of a block. it's a bit overwhelming at first and you kind of have to walk through the whole thing to get your bearings. but you can find everything there from fresh produce to boxes upon boxes of pasta!

there are also several restaurants scattered throughout. we ate at la pizza and la pasta which is actually two restaurants in one. it was AMAZING! we had the freshest, most delicious pastas.

pizza side

pasta side

they also have a mozzarella bar. yum. so if you're in manhattan, i definitely recommend stopping by here for lunch. or maybe a gelato! one tip, get there early! we went on a saturday and got there at 11:30 for lunch and it was almost filled up already (at least at la pizza/la pasta).

Turquoise On Wood

i love the look of wood painted turquoise. it's snappy. and i think i underestimate how well turquoise looks with so many different colors. yellow, orange, black, chartreuse, gray, coral, chocolate...well you get the point!

turquoise kitchen cabinets:

sherrill canetvia via cococozy

via house beautiful

via cococozy

via house of turquoise

via pepper design blog

turquoise chairs:

???

waterleaf interiors

turquoise furniture:

tobi fairley

tobi fairley

 turquoise doors:

meyer davis studio

somehow, some way this needs to happen in my house. are you with me?

Upper East Side

sorry for the no-post yesterday, we were on vaca the last few days and i didn't line up a post for monday. however, we were visiting manhattan and i have some goodies to show! we stayed on the upper east side, a block off the park, which turned out to be a great choice. much quieter and residential with a vibe all its own.

we stayed at the surrey which i'd highly recommend - very nice rooms, friendly staff, and great design. they even thought of the vent cover (top left-ish) which had a geometric pattern.

the lobby:

via the surrey website

we took a little time to explore our neighborhood - there are some unbelievable (such an understatement) townhomes on the cross streets between 5th and park. even the safety bars on the windows were amazing. these looked like tree branches:

lattice pattern:

and here i couldn't resist the greek key railing (and i think it also frames the window bars)!

not too far away was the j crew men's store. i had this on my list to visit, not for the clothing, but for the interior. i can't remember if i've posted pics of this store before but now i have some of my own! they are actually illicit photos (i'm so bad ass) but the guys working there were nice enough to "turn their heads" while i snapped a couple!

the walls are paneled in pine, the ceilings are a manly charcoal gray, and there were more hicks pendants than i knew what to do with.

downstairs is their suit shop which was really gorgeous.

and somehow mr. r managed to find a couple of things he liked so i'd say it was a fair trade ;)

a couple of food recommendations - if you're looking for a quick bite and/or a great burger in this part of town, we loved j g melon. for dinner one night we stayed uptown and we to bar italia on 2nd ave & 77th - it was chic and absolutely delicious.

Friday Finds: Bite The Bullet

via flourish design + style

my mother's favorite way to describe her shoes is "they're comfortable." so i set out to prove to her that you can do both comfortable and stylish. my friday find this week is in no way new or ground breaking but i'll say it anyway...

you just have to suck it up and buy a pair of tory burch flats! it's a necessary evil (well actually i don't think it's evil at all).

via neiman marcus

my mom took the plunge a few weekends ago and bought her first pair. and while i had to twist her arm to do it, she declared that she loves them! i bought my first pair (the ones above) 4 years ago for a trip we took to london and 4 years later i am still wearing the same pair. they bring instant polish to an outfit. so in the spirit of making suggestions, just go buy yourself a pair and close your eyes at the cash register if you have to.

and guess what?? they're - gasp - comfortable!

Putting Yourself Out There

writing this blog can be really scary. i'm putting my ideas, thoughts, opinions, and work all out there. it's a vulnerable feeling sometimes. anyone can comment, or not comment, judge it or love it. i found it much scarier at first but my theory now is you either like it or you don't. and if you don't then come back the next day and hope for something you like better. i can absolutely guarantee that no one will like everything 100% of the time. but that's what makes the world go round, right?

so i want to say thanks to everyone who reads this silly little hobby of mine.

via here

p.s. i wish i could make my hair do this. random, i know.

Designer: Eileen Kathryn Boyd

eileen kathryn boyd was featured in the december mini issue of lonny and i was instantly enamored (although just getting around to posting about her work now!). perhaps you'll agree...

she also has a page of design tips on her website which i thought were all really great and especially for anyone who may be a little timid!

Best Day Ever

for a few reasons! i saw in my blog traffic that i had been visited by at home arkansas (which i'm having lots of fun browsing) and was mentioned in this post!! thanks so much!

and secondly, friday i went to a well known (in Boston) discount fabric store called zimmans. if you live in the boston area and haven't been, go. i've been a few times but never have had the wild success that i had friday. my loot:

even better, i went armed with a $50 groupon. first find was schumacher's deco flower in berry which normally retails for $116 a yard. inside fabric has it for $81.20/yard and zimman's bargain price? $29.95 a yard. BOO YA.

next find was another schumacher - bleecker designed by celerie kemble. let's play again. regular retail price is $110/yard, inside fabric has it for $77/yard and i paid, yup, $29.95/yard. i also saw it in 2 other colorways, absinthe and peacock.

together, these will become new pillows for our family room.

also picked up a tiny bit of this fabric. retails for (i'm not sure how much but it's 100% linen like the schumacher ones above) a lot, zimmans price: $24.95.

lynn morgan via house beautiful

a few other fabrics that i had to snap some pics of, sorry about the crappy cell phone quality. hard to tell but this first one was a beauuutiful purple cut velvet. i loved the haphazard pattern:

gorgeous scalamandre fabric on the cheap:

schumacher trellis designed by trina turk:

victoria hagan diamond lights:

and finally a paule marrot design produced by brunschwig & fils (dots) AND clarence house's "fauve" fabric in red below it:

is this what heaven looks like?  :)

$90 To Spend

first, welcome new followers!! so happy to have you :)

so right now i've got $90 in gift certificates to spend at ballard designs. this was ballard's way of saying sorry for the ridiculously long time that it took to upholster our living room ottoman. and you know what? i guess i'm a sucker but it worked. i forgive.

what would you buy? i really like this bench which would fit well in our living room. would need to do the COM option (send my own fabric) but i just might be ready to take on the challenge of recovering it on my own!

to go along with the painterly art theme of late, love this print:

not sure i have a spot for this but i love the texture of this lamp:

what would be on your list? i'd love more ideas!

Friday Finds: Aedriel Originals

today on friday finds...haha, that sounds like a bad talk show intro or something.

i typed the words "yellow chevron" into etsy for a completely different purpose (which i'll get to at a later date!) and stumbled upon the aedriel originals shop. this store has some super cute hand-painted ceramics, including lots of plates where you can customize colors and patterns.

dots!

love these funky little vases!

have a fantastic weekend!