Shopping for new frames...

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I know it's been quiet around here lately, I've been feeling under the weather and I am trying to focus on getting myself better. 

One thing that I've got my mind on is a new pair of glasses.  My obsession with oversized, nerd-esque glasses goes way back and I've been dying to find the perfect pair but none of my local frame shops have anything I'm looking for.  I've been lurking around Warby Parker trying to decide on a pair and I think I'm going to try their 'home try-on deal'.  You get to try 5 pairs for 5 days, for free!  I think these are the ones I am going to try out.  What do you think?

Travel by Design - Pantone Hotel

I know it's been a while since I've done a travel by design but I spotted this hotel and had to share it with you.  Pantone Hotel is located in Brussels and is literally a showcase of beautiful and vibrant color.  I love the colored glass on the exterior of the hotel - it gives you a little hint of what you know you are going to experience once you get inside!

All photos via Pantone Hotel

Things that make me smile...

Sort of a random assortment of lovely little things that are making me smile on this beautiful Tuesday...what's making you smile today?

Photo via a note on design

Photo via ache

Photo Jorma Marstio via Apartment Therapy

 Photo: followstudio

Life...

I've been trying to snap more photos with my phone when I think about it, of course I usually forget but not always!  Here's what life looks like lately, according to my iPhone...

Interior of the Week

I can remember a lot of the amazing spaces that came from Domino but I don't remember this one, do you?  I love the wall of photos and the low profile shelving.  This is exactly what I want in our living room, it's perfect storage for our books and records.  What do you think?

Photo: Domino Magazine via Girl of 100 Lists

Fresh Flowers...

One of my goals for this year was to start a cutting garden. I love fresh flowers and unfortunately we don't have access to any great floral markets here so I always end up with supermarket bouquets, which is generally fine but there isn't much variety. I would love to have a little garden of flowers just for using to display around the house. I love the simple look of wildflower bouquets and greenery.  Anyone have any good bloom suggestions to get me started?  Preferrably things that are easy to grow and tolerate high Florida heat.

This is one of my favorite flower displays.  I love these brown apothecary bottles and have been collecting them from antique stores for a while now.  They are perfect for single blooms and greenery.  I love the contrast of brown against green - much prettier than a typical clear vase.

Photo: Studio Choo via Apartment Therapy

This display reminds me of the flowers that were in our hotel room in England last summer, a fresh display of wild flowers.  I love groupings like this, always so bright and cheerful!

Photo: Peter Carlsson via Johner

What's not to love about this display?  I love the simple look of white and green flowers together.  I love this idea of using a large glass vase and putting simple flowers inside.  I'm also mildy obsessed with that table in the photo!

Photo: Frederica Furniture

Things that make me smile...

Photo 1: Allenaim Photography / Photo 2: i.Anton / Photo 3: laurasici

Off to enjoy the long weekend...

It's a long weekend here in the states so I will be taking off a little early today to enjoy it. We're headed to the beach for some rest, relaxation, and family time. I will see you back here on Tuesday!

Photo: waner.z via Everly True

Instagram Ideas

I am obsessed with instagram...I love taking photos and playing around with all the great filter options (especially when I'm having a bad hair or makeup day - those filters hide all the flaws!)  Since one of my new years goals is to snap more photos, instagram definitely comes in handy because Mike and I always have our phones with us and I've been finding all kinds of awesome things to do with the pics once they've been taken.


I love how easy it's become to keep and store photos since digital cameras were invented but it's so hard to actually get photos printed out and put into any kind of photo album.  That's why these blurb books are amazing, they have special Instagram photobooks where you can download your entire online album and have a gorgeous photobook made and sent to you.  We have used blurb for several projects in the past and have always been so happy with their products.

Photo: Blurb

I love this idea of creating photo strips from your instagram photos, this tutorial is super easy to follow.

Photo: The College Prepster

Postal Pix is an app you can get for your phone where you can literally order prints from any photo in your camera phone library.  I love this.  You could snap tons of photos while on vacation and then have them ordered and on their way to you before you even get home! 

Photo: Elsie Larsen, A Beautiful Mess

This is another genius idea, instagrams made into magnets.  We keep a bunch of our favorite photos on display on our fridge but over time they get kind of beat up.  I am going to start ordering these to have a rotating display of photos up.

Photo: Stickygram

Creating an outdoor studio space

One of the renovation goals Mike and I have planned for this year, if it's in the budget, is to convert our screen porch into an office space / small guest room.  The space is approximately 80 square feet so there isn't a lot of room to work with and we are relying on a lot of custom built-ins to make it super functional.  Of course, we are also trying to tackle putting in new floors and a new kitchen this year so I'm trying to come up with budget friendly alternatives.  One of my favorite options is to put in a small shed that can serve as a studio space in our backyard.  We definitely have room for it and there are so many cute options out there, here are some of my favorites.  What do you think of this idea? 

 Photo: Rise over Run via Treehugger

 Photo: Keiko Oikawa via Design*Sponge

 Photo: Ira Lippke via Michelle de la Vega

 Photo: Bret Gum via Sunset

Things that make me smile...

I've really been missing the English countryside lately. We are planning a trip to France over the summer and plan on exploring the country much like we did in England last year.  I just hope it can compare to how amazing England was.  Has anyone traveled to both?  Does anyone have any suggestions for must see areas of France?  Right now we are talking about Normandy and Brittany but I'm also really considering Provence which I have heard is beautiful. 

Photos: Sources unknown all via Ignite Light

Food Styling - Lakshmi Wennäkoski-Bielicki

Over the holidays I came across the blog of Lakshmi Wennäkoski-Bielicki, Pure Vegetarian, when I followed a pin from Pinterest to her citrus cake recipe.  I was immediately drawn in to her thoughtful writing style and gorgeous food styling.   Over the weekend I began perusing through her previous blog posts and portfolio of work and just could not get enough of her beautiful photography.  Unfortunately, she is on a bit of a blog hiatus while she waits for the days to get a bit longer so she can  photograph in natural light, but there are tons of stunning posts and photos to keep you entertained for a while. 

Photos: Lakshmi Wennäkoski-Bielicki via Pure Vegetarian

Goals for the New Year

Hi everyone!  Did you have a good Christmas?  Mine was amazing...I'm always sad to see this time of year go but glad to get back to normal routines.  In typical new year fashion, I've been planning out my goals for the new year.  I love the fresh start a new year brings and while I usually keep a running list of goals throughout the year, I always like to initiate a few new ones at the start of the year. Here are a few that are at the top of my list.

1. Take more photographs and document our life through pictures.
I'm sad to say that Mike and I have gotten very lazy when it comes to photographing our life.  It's sad to look back on a year and not have much to show for it in terms of pictures.  We do so many fun and amazing things and I really want to start capturing more of it through photos.

 Photo: The Sweet Light

2. Create a family photo wall in our house.
This has been something on my to do list for quite some time but I'm motivated to complete it this year.  We have the perfect blank wall picked out in our house and now all I need to do is start collecting frames from thrift stores and flea markets.

Photo: Young House Love

3.  Entertain more with our friends.
The reason we don't entertain as much as we would like is because there is always some house project going on or something that needs be done but this year we are hoping to really tackle all of the house issues so I definitely want to enjoy it and throw lots of parties and get togethers. 

Photo: Jamie Grenough

4. Take some interior design classes.
I decided last year that I really want to learn more about this topic that I am so passionate about.  It's one thing to look at pictures and know what I like but I really want to dig deeper into it and see if it's something I might truly be interested in pursuing. 

Well those are my top 4 goals for this year, followed by several smaller ones.  What are your goals for the new year? 

Things that make me smile...

Photo 1: Unknown via Brown Dress with White Dots / Photo 2: Arjan Benning via Iiiinspired / Photo 3: Unknown via Pinterest / Photo 4: Unknown via Plum Pretty Sugar