Saving for a rainy day.

There are only so many three day weekends in a year and even fewer are blessed with good weather. We got very lucky in that 2 of the 3 days were gorgeous. I had plans to get a lot accomplished but I was swayed by slacking off. I'll save my chores for a rainy day.

proof that I started on a to-do project but couldn't quite finish it up before it was time to play.

Heres to hoping you were able to celebrate your freedom in whatever ways make you happy. Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Friday!

Ah, Friday at last. Hope everyone is about to have a fabulous weekend no matter what the plan is. Lets keep our fingers crossed for good weather for the unoffcial start of the summer season.

A surprise gift to me was being featured Hooked on Houses today. Julia's blog needs no introduction and has so many great features but my favorite is the celebrity home tours. Thanks so much for the mention Julia!


As if that weren't enough to make me smile, today I'm over at Pepper Design Blog (a fab blog dedicated to two of my favorite topics - decor and entertaining!) answering a few questions as part of her Friday guest series.



Thanks so much to Morgan for asking me to participate.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Ni hao Xian

Continued from my Beijing recap...

Off we flew to Xian, another huge bustling city. This one felt a bit more industrial than Beijing and Shanghai but not sure if that was just because it rained the entire time we were there.

We came to see the Terracotta Warriors of course. Pretty impressive that this was just discovered 30 some years ago by a farmer digging a well.

They are still uncovering more even now.


Thats right, my middle name is Danger.



After we had seen the warriors and the musuems and the artifacts, I really wanted to see a bit more of the city but it wasn't easy. Unlike my experiences with private guides on other trips, the guides here are really quite confused about the desire to see anything but the remnents of ancient history. Its hard to say why but I think it has something to do with all of the tour guides being employed by the Chinese gov't. They have a plan of what they want you to see and its hard to get them to go off that track.

We did spend a little time in the downtown area sampling the food and the tourist spots but the rain put a damper on things. On the bright side, it was one of the only times we were weren't fighting with a mob of other tourists to see the same things.

We tried to buy cherries from this guy and he just laughed at us. Not sure what was so funny.




And then before the clouds could lift, it was time to pack it up again and head out.

I can only imagine this guy is thinking 'Yea, Im riding on the back of a cart on the highway. So what?'

Off we went to our last and favorite stop, Shanghai. More on that in another post.

Currently obsessed with: Australia

I'm often asked how I plan my trips and my answers are always a little bit vague. I feel like we are rather spontaneous in our travels and just fly off when a deal strikes and the timing works out. But on further reflection, that isn't entirely true. There is generally a list of about 5 places we have in mind at one given time. After much fantasizing, the list gets narrowed based on cirumstances. So I'm going to let you in on my current top spot: Australia.


photo by Heaven's Gate

At this point I have done no research. I know nothing about Australia. Don't believe me? I'm under the impression kangaroos and koala bears roam around freely like pigeons do in NYC, everyone looks like Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman (pre plastic surgery of course) and its always sunny there. Am I spot on?

Ok so here is where you come in. Have you been to Australia? Where would you suggest we go in this huge country? What is a must do/ must see/ must experience?

So beautiful, so not gonna happen.

Ever fawn over something lovely and then be shocked at the price tag? Im a big believer in getting what you pay for so I'm not suggesting they lower their prices for the likes of lowly people like me. It just shakes me out of my cheapified stupor sometimes.

So what am I talking about? Plates! Specifically the beautiful specimens by Fornasetti and John Derian. I drool.

How amazing would a set of these look on a table or wall?

At $183 a pop, this will have to remain something that lives on in my mind alone.

photos found on lauratj, elements of style and la dolce vita

Fornasetti images seem to be on all kinds of other things too - wallapaper, pillows, umbrella stands, etsy jewelry, etc. So his work must be licensed, right? Anyone know if and where I can download his images for personal use?

Slightly different but no less dreamy is John Derians work. (I loved his Target line but its lone gone now.) He makes a line of mesmorizingly beautiful decoupaged glass trays and plates. While his prices are a tiny bit closer to the ground, they are still quite expensive at $90 each from the picket fence.

I heart so many of his designs. And they look amazing on a table or a wall.



images from apartment therapy, designers library and elaine perlov

So come on, spill the beans. What do you covet?

Ni hao Beijing

You probably hadn't notice my absence thanks to the impressive room redo guest posts (Thanks so much to Jennifer Rebecca, Rebekah, Jessica for generously sharing their talents with me.) but we were out of town. This time we traveled back to the far east for our first visit to mainland China.



Our trip had us stopping for a few days in three big Chinese cities - Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. I definitely had certain expectations of China - most of which were completely disproved during our trip. In case you are wondering, the internet censorship issue is very much real. No blog access, no facebook, no twitter. So I suppose I can safely assume no one in China is reading this.

But forget that, its on to the photos! Let's start with the first leg.


Outside the Forbidden City

We only had a few days in the city so had to hit the major sights. I was fascinated by the young guards stationed everywhere.

Inside Forbidden City

The crowds were kind of insane everywhere we went. We were often the only Western tourists even at these huge iconic spots. There was a lot of pushing and crowding which was not a highlight for me. But there were so many things to see it was worth braving the masses.


Temple of Heaven and Forbidden City Garden

As you can tell, we got really lucky with the weather in Beijing. It was beautiful blue skies everyday. It made for a much better stay since most of the sights are outdoors.



A day at the Great Wall

Overall, China was not what I expected at all. I assumed being closed off to Western culture for so long would give Beijing a distinctly different air than anyplace I had ever been. Not really. Of course it was different as every location is but not radically so. I expected to be overwelmed by culture shock. Not so. The food was delicious and something we appreciated even with our american palette. The people were warm and friendly. On the negative side, it was a bit too westernized - there are almost as many Starbucks and McDonalds here than at home; there was little trace of the 'old' china in this or any of our stops. There were plenty of ancient relics preserved but I was hoping to see something more of the modern history of China. It was not at all addressed. I suppose that is the price of progress but it's a little bit sad to see the whole world becoming so similar.



We had just three days so we only scratched the surface here. We spent most of our time seeing the biggies - Forbidden City? Check. Great Wall? Check. Temple of Heaven? Check. Panda bears at the Zoo? Check. How can you go to China and not visit these? But in our free moments we tried to soak in as much of the modern city as we could as well. I couldn't get over the people who broke out into spontaneous line dancing in the parks!

All too soon we had to pack it up and jump on a quick flight from Beijing to Xian. More about that in aother post.

{You can see my other trip reports by clicking here or view my portfolio of prints for sale here.}

Style & Skill Crush: Design Snark Two-fer

Today's Style & Skill Crush is a double header!


I have a special place in my heart for sarcasm in general so add that with great design and you have me hooked. When Decorno closed up shop, there was a gaping hole in my daily lineup. Thankfully I found my fix. While I'm sure there are others I don't know about I just had to share my two new favorite design snark sources.



The first is My Favorite and My Best. I know I'm just one of many fans of Jenny's but in case you haven't been reading, you really must. I can't wait for HGTVs Design Star to start just to read her spot on recaps. Oh the hilarity! Lest I sell this blog short, its not all witty observations of the absurd - she also blogs a bit about herself and has great style as well. A great read.



The other is a lot newer on the scene, a blog infant if you will, but clearly a snark prodigy: Design Blahg. Its written by several contributors (at least one of which lives in Brooklyn so extra points for that) and is one to watch. I check in daily to get my daily dose of chuckle.

Anywho, I just wanted to thank both of these blogs for making me laugh and helping to not take it all too seriously. Do you have a favorite snark blog that I don't know about?

No Room at the Inn

As long time readers know, its been more than 3 years since we started on the house. I'm so happy to finally have gotten to a point where I can relax and enjoy it rather than feel the need to constantly be searching for the right piece of furniture. While there are still a few tweaks to make, its mostly where I want it to be. As happy as I am about it, there is a downside. That downside is finding lovely pieces and just not having the room or need or style of décor for them. Since I hate clutter and have no plans of becoming a hoarder, I just have to turn a blind eye to these items. My savings account is breathing a sigh of relief.

But should that stop me from some imaginary shopping?? Let's hit the stores!


This sofa from Z Gallerie makes my heart go pitter patter.


This unbelieveable (with an price tag to match) light fixture from Restoration Hardware is amazing.


This fab shabby grey oak cabinet from Room Service is dreamy.

So what is in your imaginary shopping cart?

The World Is Just Awesome.

When I saw this commercial for the first time a few weeks ago, I just loved it. Yea, its a commercial and no one likes those but this one is an exception. Plus, I can not get this jingle out of my head!


If you can't see the video above, click here.

To be clear you will never find me skydiving or storm chasing or shark diving - but I can't help but feel a little bit of a warm spot in my heart whenever this clip plays. The world is pretty awesome* and holds something for everyone. Hope you feel the same way.

*Sure, you could just as easily make a video titled "The Word is Just so NOT Awesome" with videos of plagues and famines and tragedy but I much prefer this version.

My Blurb book is here!

We returned home to find a little package waiting for us - the photo book I ordered a couple of weeks ago! Since a few of you commented/emailed me for a review of the finished product, I might as well share it with anyone who reads.



So here are the details...
I ordered the 10 inches high by 8 inches wide size. Layout would have been easier if I got the landscape orientation but I really wanted it to fit nicely on any shelf so I went with the portrait layout. I picked that size with the same concept in mind but now that I have it, I think I could have gone bigger without any issue of the book jutting out. For the cover, I went with the "image wrap" hardcover option which lets you put whatever you want on front and back. Kind of like a school textbook. If I could have had anything I wanted, I would have preferred charcoal linen cover with an embossed title on the spine & cover. That wasn't an option and I hate dustcovers so I went with the image wrap. And lastly, I paid extra for the "premium" lustre paper. I did this because most of the reviews I read seem to strongly urge to go that route and Im a paper snob. Can't speak to the difference in quality from the basic paper though.



What I think of the finished product...
I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened the envelope. I was pleasantly surprised. Its a great keepsake and I'm so happy I finally got around to it. Its going to make it a lot easier to look over whenever the mood strikes us now that its sitting on the shelf rather than filed away on the computer. The image wrap cover is actually better than I expected - its been applied well and neatly. (I still wish they offered a more classic linen cover option that included a title - Blurb, are you listening??)


I've angled it under the light so you can see the sheen of the paper - there isn't a glare problem when viewing in person.

The paper quality is very nice - thick enough to make me feel like it will last a long time with a slight sheen (not matte nor glossy) to accentuate the colors. I do think that the service is fairly expensive for what it is but I understand custom printing is expensive so I can forgive that.


Overall, I'm really happy with it. I'm definitely going to do more books for my other photos.

Hope that helps anyone who is on the fence. If you have already done a photo book and want to share - I'd love to see what you've come up with. Maybe you can motivate me to finish another one.