Posted in Decor on September 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I purchased two Dolce chairs from Target a couple of months ago off of the internet. We just got our furniture moved into our house last night, so we put together the chairs today and I just love them! I read through all of the reviews on Target, so I knew they would be easy to assemble. They are a little darker than the picture and have rough twill weave. At $129 a piece, they leave money left over for other fun furniture.
Posted in Art on September 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I thought it was just me and my boyfriend that became obsessed with Greek and Roman culture this past year (mainly because of the HBO show “Rome” and a trip there over Christmas), but lately, I’ve noticed busts used in interiors and gardens. Busts and statues have been popular for centuries, but I think the opening of the Greek and Roman galleries at the Met in NYC has created even more interest. I love the timeless look of busts and the history behind them. When I was in London, I found a charming store called It’s All Greek across the street from the British Museum. From their website, www.itsallgreek.co.uk, you can purchase busts made from bronze, marble, or keramin. Also, a simple search on the internet can give you tons of options of reproductions that you can buy. A single bust looks great on a pedestal, but I love this display of several that I found in a fireplace at Liberty.
Posted in Places on September 25, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Since we are still waiting to move into our house, my boyfriend decided that we would at least enjoy ourselves and make a mini-vacation out of the situation. So, all weekend, we have been staying at Lake Las Vegas Resort, which is just down the road from our new neighborhood. The Mediterranean style resort is located about 17 miles from the strip and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and has been an oasis from stress. There is a casino named MonteLago, a village with art galleries, clothing shops, and restaurants, Loews and Ritz-Carlton hotels, boat rentals, three golf courses (two were designed by Jack Nicklaus), and nineteen residential communities with different kinds of housing. With all of these amenities, it is no wonder that Lake Las Vegas Resort was recognized as “one of the ten most important projects in the world that will define contemporary life in the 21st century” during Glasgow, Scotland’s Architecture and Design Exhibition in 1999.
Posted in Entertainment, Fashion on September 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Style Wars is a live competition created by the designers of House of Diehl. During the tour to 5 cities (San Francisco, Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago) in October, eight designers who are prechosen will create original designs similar to House of Diehl’s own “Instant Couture”, all in a nightclub with a DJ in front of a live audience. The winners from each city will then compete later in the fall in NYC. If interested in being one of the competitors, you can get more information here. If you aren’t interested in competing, Style Wars sounds like an unusual and fun night out, like a live version of “Project Runway”.
Posted in Decor on September 24, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Zara clothing store has been one of my favorite stores for a couple of years now because of the great prices and styles. I was so surprised when I was in London and I saw these store windows across the street from Harrods. I must have been living under a rock because I didn’t know about Zara Home! You can view the catalog online at www.zarahome.com, but I don’t think any of the products are available in the US. This store only had a small selection, but it was full of Moroccan style decor, such as picture frames, ottomans, and bedding. You can shop at www.justmorocco.com for even more products that have a similar style. So pretty!
Posted in Entertainment on September 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself this morning (we have been living out of suitcases for three weeks) when the best story came on NBC’s TODAY Show. It was about how random acts of kindness can really impact and change a person’s life. On the internet, viewers have written in with their own stories and you can watch the segment that I saw. I love the TODAY Show because they always have a range of stories, from fashion to news to stuff I didn’t even know I would be interested in!
Posted in Decor on September 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
We are still waiting on our house to be completed (any day now!), so we are staying in a not-so-famous hotel-casino. It is nice, but nothing compared to The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. I use to spend my summers traveling past that part of the country, but never had the chance to visit The Greenbrier and its lovely decor and exciting history. Now, the auction house The Potomack Company in Alexandria, VA, is offering “The Dorothy Draper Collection and Catalogue Sale”, which features items from the hotel. The resort was one of the decorator’s most famous projects in the post World War II period and is a perfect example of Draper’s bold style, called Modern Baroque. Carleton Varney, the current owner of Dorthy Draper and Company, Inc. has renovated the resort ever since Dorothy retired in the 1960s. In the past couple of years, there has been a resurgence of interest in Draper’s style (she had no formal training) with museum exhibits and books, including the reissuing of Draper’s book “Decorating is Fun!” and the new beautiful book “In the Pink: Dorothy Draper-America’s Most Fabulous Decorator”, which are both available from Amazon. All of the lots for sale are pictured online and some pieces are shown in the original rooms, like pictured above. You don’t have to be present at the auction on September 29th to place a bid, so I just might do some bidding so that my home can be “Draperized”!
Posted in Fashion on September 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Leaving London yesterday was so hard, but I return home to find that Alice Temperley, a British designer who grew up on a farm in the English countryside, has designed a line for Target. As a designer, Alice is known for her prints, details, and charming, yet sophisticated pieces. Alice launched her Temperley line at London Fashion Week in September 2007 and has said that the romance of the English countryside has provided inspiration for her collection. Alice combined details, moods, and prints to create the collection full of classic pieces that is inspired by British heritage. Stand out pieces from her Target collection are a long flower-print V-neck dress, a long coat with voluminous sleeves, blue polka-dotted bow blouse, and a navy military jacket with gold buttons. Also, the line for Target includes accessories, like a beret that comes in three colors, and even though the line launched on September 16th, I have not seen the beret or some of the other must have pieces on the internet, so I will check back often. The website is so fun to look at-Alice gives a great interview and the clothing is displayed in English-like settings. All of the names of the looks are charmingly named (like the first picture Victorian Vogue which is Alice’s favorite and Pasture Posh). My favorite that I am going to shop for is the next picture, which cost $49 and has been reviewed as being the most like Temperley’s more expensive designer line.
Posted in Places on September 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
We are flying home today and I was thinking about my favorite day here and decided that it was Saturday morning, when we woke up early and went to Portebello Road for the famous flea market. Held every Saturday in beautiful Notting Hill, the market is an antiques lover’s dream. It was neat to see the difference between the English’s antiques and ours in the US. We bought a few things including pages from old books that I will frame and hang and some block letters in the shape of our initials from old letterpress machines.
Posted in Fashion on September 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Last week, on the Daily Candy London edition, I read about a picnic in Holland Park to celebrate the start of London Fashion Week. We decided last night to go to see artist Usman Haque’s “Burble London”, a structure of over 100 balloons that have special lights and are able to look like golden champagne bubbles. The event was sponsored by Moet & Chandon and was titled “Evening of the Moet Mirage”. Special picnic baskets were available from Harvey Nichols, but we just decided to stop by.Once we arrived at the park, we found out that there was also a party with models and celebrities. So, we stood and watched the red carpet as the guests arrived, which included Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, and Trinny Woodall from the television show “What Not to Wear”. There were other celebrities that I didn’t recognize and you can see all of the arrivals from Wire Image. One girl had on such an adorable dress, I had to snap her picture. I found out today that she is an actress named Tamsin Egerton. It was such an unexpected treat to see all these fashionable people kicking off London Fashion Week!
