have a happy new year's eve!

are you stepping out tonight? party~hopping or laying low? i'm heading to one of my favorite inns in the area to sip wine by the fire in comfy chairs and look out onto a roaring ocean. it suits my mood this new year's eve. i'm searching for quiet, reflection and spaces to breathe...

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but i have to tell you, one day, i'd love to slip on a dress like this, run down the stairs and have somewhere simply amazing to go on new year's eve. maybe next year! wherever you go, whatever you do, stay safe and enjoy yourself beyond words ;)

a big winter sky.

i took a walk yesterday. there is a golf course nearby that runs along the ocean. it's one of my favorite places to walk. and this time a year, you find yourself all alone, the entire landscape to yourself. it was cold, clear and gorgeous weather. the time of day was approaching sunset, which happens so quickly i swear i had to start running towards it to even capture it. this is how the sky changed...

how are you enjoying the winter outdoors? i'd love to hear...enjoy!

robert stilin interiors.

i'm flipping through the amazing work of hampton's based designer robert stilin (which i first spotted on desire to inspire) and his knack for providing textural, wonderfully layered interiors without pretension, providing crisp clean interiors paired with an easy and casual comfort.

the other element i love about robert stilin's work? how he incorporates large photographs which invade spaces in a complimentary way. the way in which robert places photographs, as art, stimulates and energizes interiors. beautifully. check out more of robert's work, here. enjoy!

rich daubs of color.

this new line of fabric offered up by kriska, chock full of kaleidoscope swirls and richer than rich color is kind of magical.

the color and patterns are repeating, they're consecutive and evolve then repeat again. this is some interesting fabric. just saying...enjoy!

reading.

hi friends...i hope that your christmas time was exactly how you imagined it to be. i'm enjoying moving a little slower (happily on my break from graduate courses), driving a little slower (i'm grabbing to~go cups of coffee early, every morning, and driving toward beautiful areas near to me, and actually looking, noticing nature!), and reading...

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i rifled through my books yesterday, finding one or two that i had ordered among required course books, having saved them for times like this, when i can pleasure read, with no pressure what~so~ever. it's the little things, isn't it? i'm off to find a sunny spot, open my book and read today. i hope you are finding time to do a few things for yourself that you truly enjoy too!

peace & love this christmas.

wishing you much peace and love this christmas. and a happy new year! from my family to yours, from my part of the world to yours...

(me & my son ethan)

i feel as if this year has been both amazing, challenging, trying, fulfilling and at times more sad than i thought i'd ever know....all in one year. but after stopping and reflecting & considering all that has happened to me this year, i'm all the more grateful of particular times and lucky by having been a part of all of it.

i'm ending this year in a very different place than i started. that is a good thing. i'm looking forward to next year, to what the world throws at me and i'm ready for it...more than you know.

i hope you are finding that, as this year winds down, as christmas is here, that you too find, out of all of it, the things you are lucky for. merry christmas friends! enjoy...

izola ideas.

ok, so who doesn't need maritime soaps and a hair of the dog stainless steel flask? who i ask ya? aren't these great last minute gift ideas?

well if you do know someone these would suit, you can find them on the fab site, izola. plus they have other cool things too. so...enjoy!

feeling goofy.

so 2 weeks ago i drove up to my son's college to try to get a few minutes with him to shoot one decent photo for our christmas cards. he's dramatic and fun and every time i wanted to get serious...he kept goofing off and making funny faces at me, with me. it was perfect. since we ended up cracking up in the end. we were pressed for time, without a professional to guide us and without anyone for that matter to even snap a photo. so we propped the camera on a ledge behind his dorm and just had fun. we finally managed to grab one that we liked for our cards, these are not one of those. but these are some of the fun. ;)

i'll post the christmas card photo on christmas day. nothing extravagant, but at least he's not making funny faces. i hope your weekend incorporates a little bit of goofy. we all need that once in a while. enjoy!
p.s. this little diddy is how our crazy attempts at the camera began...

getting graphic.

obviously inspired by art deco but more experimental, more conceptual, ruth vissing creates graphic alphabets. spell what you want. your initials? a word you just like the sound of? something seasonal? or maybe the letters don't have to mean anything at all. you just like them.

so even if the letter you like isn't for a reason, let's say that it doesn't necessarily say anything, still...the dynamic of the line, the color impact, the sort of 3d textural quality that the graphic offers to any space is plain ol' fun. at least that's what i think ;) enjoy!

christmas~y mood.

friends...how is your christmas spirit level? are you there yet? are you on your way? i'm somewhere in between and trying hard. i've started making handmade christmas tags for my presents and just mailed out my christmas cards. today...i'm heading down the highway to pick up my son from college for his (and mine, thanks be to christmas) long break from courses.

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so this is how my day is going to go down. skinny mocha for the ride. i've had coffee, don't need more. just want more. ;) then...after the small car i have is (i'm sure) packed to the gills with dirty laundry, we will head back down the highway but not before stopping here, what i call mecca because you just don't get this kind of food in my part of the world. so to go and eat biscuits?...yeah, that my friends is indeed a pilgrimage of sorts.

then my son will most likely play me music that's he's been storing on his ipod that he saves to introduce me to (he finds really great stuff) all while enjoying conversation and his super dry sense of humor. can't wait. i hope you are doing similar things today to get into the spirit. enjoy!

softly stark.

these gopl tables crafted by designer jesper urup ruban are softly stark & simply stunning.

the turned and tapered legs protrude through the top surface, held by 3 rubber rings. they interrupt the space of the table top but compliment it at the same time. i love new takes on simple concepts such as a side table, such as these gopl tables.

i don't see an actual dedicated website for jesper urup ruban but if you follow this link, he does show on other sites and has a facebook site too. enjoy!

our cozy casa.

i have such fun viewing before and after photos, or images of home projects that people are working on, especially when they aren't professionals, just super talented individuals. our cozy casa is a neat site/photo blog that has me drooling uncontrollably at how sarah and rocky garza are transforming a 1926 tutor. have a look...

lots of before and after photos and diy projects and just utter interior eye candy deliciousness. is that a word? well, today it is ;) see more of what they are doing here. enjoy!

bluebird birds.

i first discovered bluebird's sweet shop via wit & delight's tumblr. she was featuring jewelry in her post. and while bluebird's jewelry is to die for, i was drawn to these pretty birds a bit more. the pillow is my favorite!

if you like the look of these graphic pillows, bluebird offers one that's a rabbit and one that's a really cool fox too! check them out here. enjoy!

a wow headboard.

i love this idea, this large painted floating wall as a headboard. i love this space in general. how the addition of this painted scene softens this industrial space.

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i haven't had a headboard for a long time now. every now and then i see one that i really like. but what i'm really, really enjoying lately is the look of something unexpected, like this painted wall, something not store bought or meant to be. aren't those sometimes the best? enjoy...

great legs.

there are some great things going on over at bonaldo. and with great legs to boot!

just like how a piece of furniture, or lighting, or a change in a color palette can affect or add interest to a space (sometimes literally transforming it), so too can just the parts of pieces. the legs on these bonaldo tables and chairs are the best parts. the flow of the lines, the color palettes that they introduce to the piece, to your space, for these guys...it's all in the legs. enjoy!