The colorful life of Eddie Ross, Here comes the sunshine take 2

Eddie Ross… where to start?!  The talented East Coast editor of Home and Gardens Magazine brightens any space he enters with his sweet personality, down to earth demeanor, boyish smile and tremendous talent.  He can bring light and color in a masterful way to any room using things we own in combination with family treasures and some very affordable Salvation Army or Goodwill pieces.  His spaces are definitely unique, bright and so darned positive that they can chase the blues away out of any heart in the world.

And now, with his new book, written in collaboration with his handsome partner Jaithan Kochar, he is on a mission to help us do just that on our own.

I find myself looking at old images of his work and realizing it has a certain timeless quality to it!

There was no chance in hell I wasn’t going to include next picture, a tablescape he did in collaboration with Bunny Williams for Christmas!  People at this point might be sick of Christmas Decor, but this is so fresh and creative that nobody could tired of it, even after the holidays.  What an honor to work with Ms. Williams, she is one of the best and most respected decorators in the world and a wonderful and down to earth person as well. I can only imagine how Eddie must have felt working with her, I would have cried. Yes, right there and then, burst into tears!  Not just because of how talented she is but because she is a very real and classy lady who is unaffected and unimpressed with all the fluffies (is that even a word, or I just invented one?!) and pretentious stuff that comes often with the lifestyle of famous and top interior designers.   I could spend hours and hours listening and talking to her, it must have been a rare and delicious treat!  Nothing more on Bunny because of course, I’m going to have a post on her, and even if I try very hard,  I won’t be able to begin to scratch the surface of her contribution to the world of design and her fabulous work. These posts are such a treat to me, to revisit the work of all those incredible people… Priceless.

What a joyful table…. I can’t stop staring.  Tabletop fabric by Bunny Williams for Lee Jofa, the inspiration for the whole tablescape.

Eddie used his own antique English salad plates with  Bunny’s Gold Star collection  and his French Opaline Goblets. I love those who are not afraid of change and experimentation, opening new ways in any field and widening our horizons!

Notice how nicely combined the flatware is with Eddie’s own vintage silver and Bunny’s Paris Flea Market collection

How gorgeous those salt cellars and shakers are as well as that pepper mill?!  It is in the little details, I’m telling you… I always say the same thing! Well, not just me, everybody. 

I believe this is from the book and makes me just so happy to look at it, you must order the book!  After so many years of whites, browns and grays -which I ADORE-  we really need help to bring color back into our lives and this book will do it. Imagine this: Bunny Williams did the foreword. It means the book is smashing beautiful and perfectly illustrated! Every review I read is calling it: The BEST.   You can order it here:   eddieross.com/modern-mix

This is my first time including links!!! hooray !  Go me!  I hope they work because they make me feel so professional and stuff….  I apologize for any infringements with the authors of anything. If I need to remove something I sadly…not gladly… would do so!  I know, but I’m not going to lie, I love everything here and don’t want to take anything away…

 

What a marvelous and happy combination! I hear Pharrel singing!

The colors and textures, the patterns and all the eclectic goodness going on here is such a treat, it has that collected through time look, that natural and effortless feel, so hard to obtain and it’s so unassuming that will make anybody want to stay forever…

I believe this is their guest room. I’m surprised of how restrained this room is in regards to color… that means they either compromised or Eddie can do neutrals with an accent color beautifully as well.  Of course he can!  I wouldn’t be surprised though if we find this room changed very soon, I can see orange curtains or at least the natural grasses roman shade painted orange or something like that!

I am not a fan of the tablecloth colors and pattern but I can still enjoy the whole thing, I think the brass candleholders are lovely, and I am in love with that mirror!

That shows everybody that even things we think we don’t like can look beautiful with the right combination of elements. Very english garden and Art Deco vibes at the same time! Eddie Ross can make anything work but it takes an immense amount of skills and talent to do it so perfectly, and of course great taste and instincts.  I’m a big fan!

I love the cutlery, those beautiful white, crisp, embroidered linen napkins and fabulous plates!

I believe this an old photo but still, it’s so “Eddie talented”

I absolutely adore this palette and the setting! Are those olive trees?! 

Handsome treasure Hunter!

Eddie’s vintage brass cart turned into a bar “fabuloso”!!!

and a reminder that next on the list is Spring!  How can one avoid to fall in love with color with such a display of happiness and effervescent spirit?  Thank you Eddie Ross for taking the stiffness out of the Interior Design butt!

Eddie and his partner Jaithan Kochar.  I think Eddie looks so much like Derek Hough, from “Dancing with the Stars”  What do you think?!

Derek Hough…. WOW! right?!

Eddie Ross … they look like twins separated at birth!

And last but not least: Eddie and the fabulous and very smart Susanna Salk from quintessenceblog.com

What do you think?  Are you loving all the color coming back in our lives? How do you feel about brass? Too much too soon or are you young enough that you never got sick of it?

Have a great rest of the week!

 

 

Fall Memories…

When my kids were little I use to drive my bicycle everywhere and sometimes I took them with me sitting behind directly on the grill… Oh, my … only the thought of it sends chills down my spine and through my whole body!… It was a time of no helmets and no bicycle paths… we didn’t overthink things as much back then, but some, we definitely should have!

The one who shared those rides with me the most was my little piggy, the youngest of them all, who at the time was going to a Preschool called  “Louis Pasteur”.

One day I arrived to pick him up and found him standing at the door with his little lunchbox waiting for me, very entertained in conversation with the watchman, the school’s security guard who stood there every day and at all times.

Riding with boys…

As I approached them he started telling me everything about their conversation and introduced me to his friend – Mommy, this is my friend Louis Pasteur! – he said very proudly and excitedly, I smiled and said hi, but tried to correct him about the confusion. He wouldn’t have it. The watchman WAS Louis Pasteur to him. He had seen him every single day, at all hours standing there, guarding the School,  so he “knew” that was “his” school, Louis Pasteur’s School!   I had to live it alone. Not worth destroying such cuteness!

best moments in life

Many years later, he told me that he was actually terrified with traffic and the way I rode, sitting there on my bike, in the middle of that traffic and noise, completely exposed… while I thought he was enjoying it …. suddenly one of my sweetest memories was now a horrible one of child endangerment and child abuse!  … I wish I could go back in time, hold him so tight against my heart and change many, oh, so many things, so he would never have to be scared again… at least not because of me…

…and on top of everything, now she’s coming to pick me up again in that bloody bicycle!

If I could turn back time…

Memories that fall out of nowhere, like leaves in Autumn, surprising and delighting us, just not in this case anymore… and I thought, that maybe if I wrote about it, I could possibly…. I don’t know what I thought…  but we don’t get do-overs in life, do we?…

… but he grew up to be an awesomely brave, smart and strong US Marine, in spite of me… or MAYBE, just maybe, even a little bit, because of me! I wish I could know…

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It should be mandatory to go to school to be a parent, it amazes me there aren’t any laws about that yet…

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Moms and boys…

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It’s been a long, long time coming! ~ From St. Augustine, Florida

The Bridge of Lions, famous landmark in St. Augustin, Florida.

Hello everybody! where did time go?!   I’ve been really busy lately, traveling and working in a design project, among other things, in St. Augustine, and without realizing I almost forgot I have a blog … Not that I had been writing much since I started, I’ve been rather inconsistent about it, in spite of that I enjoy it immensely… What happens is that I have the impression, or at least I kid my self with the idea that nobody is going to read this, that it is just a kind of personal, kind of private sort of thing… and then I get a bit nervous when I see that I’d had visitors from all over the world…. how did that happened?! How is that even possible?!  I know other bloggers are so used to it, not me, I still find comfort in anonymity and the lack of pressure that comes with not having a lot of people following you… in the other hand, deep down, you have the desire of being validated by people finding some value in your words… It’s complicated…

A few pictures of my visit to St. Augustine, Florida. This is one of the two Carrara marble Medici lions, flanking one of the entrances of “The Bridge of Lions” One of the prettiest in the country

The second lion, they were made by the Italian sculptor Romanelli, and are copies of the ones in The Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy.

Bridge of Lions

Peaceful

Open bridge, cars are waiting for the ships to finish crossing, it is a pretty sight! The cars even seem to be enjoying the wait with those views.

The Galleon

Impressive

Where two worlds mix together

What an experience!

I took the time and looked, day by day, where all those visitors came from, WordPress shows all sorts of data like that, (I imagine also every other host in the planet) how many visits you had per day and where in the world your visitors came from… This is so COOL and I can’t believe it!  People from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom , Kuwait, Finland, Hungary, Chile, Austria, Kenya, Egypt, Korea,(I assume South Korea, right?!  I don’t think Kim Jong-Un was reading my blog, since he is pretty much the only one with internet access in North Korea …  I don’t take that matter lightly, just not the place or time to discuss it……. – And I went back and looked again, it clearly says: South Korea!)  Perú, Slovenia, Argentina, India, Bosnia & Herzegovina,  Australia, Poland, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Honduras, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong SAR China, Serbia, Jersey, Andorra, Iceland, Algeria, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bermuda, Colombia, European Union, Brazil, Italy, New Zealand, Slovakia, Bangladesh, Romania, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa, Latvia, Czech Republic, Japan, Montenegro, Vietnam, Croatia and Reunion!   Really? Jersey?! Is that even a country?… Never mind! I just Googled it and of course it is … I feel ashamed… (not really, not that much, how can I keep up with the new configurations of old nations and all the changes the world’s had and continue having?! … I should, but I don’t..)

– AND THERE THEY ARE!  THE HAPPY CITIZENS OF JERSEY! SORRY GUYS…

I still can’t believe that somebody found me and took the time to read what I wrote… shocking…outstanding…mind blowing…scary… humbling…

Impatience has to be one of my biggest flaws. I can’t just write  this and let it sit and then come back later or the next day and finish it.  The way I see it, or I should say, the way I feel it, is that I’m just sharing this with a group of my friends, in a very informal and relaxed way….that’s why I talk about impatience, if somebody else apart from them is going to read any of these posts, I would/should take the time to correct them and try to make them better… But then again it wouldn’t feel right, it is not who I am, I’m not here pretending to be a writer, I’m just trying to share a little bit of my journey “Here on Earth” and the things I love….  My love of photography shows in my life in so many ways… pictures inundate every corner of it, my head and my phone, and I inundate the people in my life with them!   My poor kids complain often, from wherever in the world they are at the time, about me sending too many photos, but I really believe that in time, they will be happy I did, and very glad to have them. There is a reason why when there is a fire, one of the first things people grab is just that, their pictures.  Family is the great motivator in  life, either the family you were  born in, or the family you created yourself with friends and your own family.

I find photography fascinating, I see it as life itself frozen forever in time in a frame …. Isn’t that something?! perhaps that is why it is so popular to share your life in pictures in so many ways through the internet. People have a need to be seen or to be heard and they measure success with the number of “friends” or followers they have…. when success is found in the ability of living your life doing something you have a passion for, surrounded by the people you love, in peace with yourself and really liking the man or woman staring you back in the mirror!

Not to break a good habit, I’m sharing some pictures of the beautiful city of St. Augustine, where I spent my last month and a half, I hope you enjoy it and perhaps get motivated to visit this wonderful place. xx

My first night,  dinner at O.C. White’s, a really nice place with live music and a dog friendly policy.

Dog friendly restaurants

The best part of the night was spending time with my daughter who had just moved to St Augustine a few months ago

French bakery and pâtisserie, Les Petits Pleasures were we had a really nice “dejeuner”, I didn’t get the name though, half french and half english…

I totally loved the european vibe and the relaxed “laissez faire” atmosphere they have

A nice walk after dinner to experience the city and the beautiful sites of the oldest european settlement in the United States

a walk to remember…

It really was like going back in time, to a place I had never been before, to a time I had never known,  and yet, it still  felt so familiar…

The next pictures are obviously from another day…

Many pretty houses along the street facing the Matanzas river

Enchanted

I was delighted!

There were so many …

Many pretty houses along the street facing the Matanzas river

Lovely!

Up to here, all photos are mine.

At this point, after a long day of flying and emotional reunions, my phone had died, so it left me with no choice but getting some pictures from the internet to show you how pretty the city looked illuminated with thousands of lights for the Christmas season. I was told it had been very hard to walk, let alone drive, in the city up to a week before. I arrived on January 20th, so things had calmed down already and I was able to enjoy the sites without the commotion!

The Lightener Museum

There is something really special about this city that appears to be frozen in time

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The Bridge of Lions all decked out for the holidays, casting it’s spell on the Matanzas river

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Festival of lights around the holidays

The city has a violent history …

What a beautiful view!

Bay front

Flagler College

Castillo de San Marcos at night

San Marcos

Bridge of Lions

at night..

Mysterious..

Tree covered street in St Augustine

The Lions

Presbyterian church

The Carrara marble lions , west end of the Bridge

I’ll be coming back really soon!

– SO…WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOU ALREADY VISITED ST AUGUSTINE? IF NOT, HOPEFULLY THIS HELPED YOU GET MOTIVATED TO DO SO AND ENJOY ALL THE BEAUTY AND HISTORY THE CITY HAS TO OFFER. I’M GOING BACK AT THE END OF APRIL, SO I WOULD LOVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ABOUT WHAT NOT TO MISS!    MORE PHOTOS TO COME IN THE NEXT POST 😉

Crazy about Nancy Meyers’ Films!

Crazy about Nancy Meyers’ Films!.

Decorating For Fall ~ Entrance Urn and backyard half Whiskey Barrels

It is hard to let go of Summer’s long, sunny days, specially when here, in Wisconsin,  Winters are so long and cold.  Spring and Autumn are my absolute favorite seasons, sadly they never last long enough!

The flowers in my living room’s coffee table are still summer blooms and look as lovely as ever, but even though we are getting a few more beautiful sunny days here in this corner of the world, it is soon and almost suddenly going to change..

– These came from my backyard

For a peruvian girl like me, who gets the Winter Blues bad, it doesn’t help if those darker, colder, shorter days… would find me still with a few tired summer planters looking sad and old… this week I decided to take action and start my Autumn decorations even little by little so I won’t feel sad when the cold gloomier days arrive…

This year I will keep it very simple, there are no kids at home any more and I still get emotional thinking about it.  It is a mixture of feelings, the sadness of letting go of spring’s fresh air, green grasses, soft rains and happy blooms … Summer’s long, bright, lazy days, full of bike rides, picnics, lake swims, bonfires, roasting marshmallows, making s’mores  … my kids’ childhoods and teenage years! … and the wonder and excitement of this new season to come with all the beauty and discovery it brings!  Gorgeous crisp, intensely colorful days full of magic, where you can walk endlessly admiring nature exploding on fire!  So much passion… so powerful … Just like summer’s colossal  thunderstorms!   New lives starting for my boys and myself… I have to work on Not letting the tears obstruct the view of all the blessings around me and all the fantastic things to come….

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring breaks and every special occasion just aquired a new brighter feeling about them and became more exciting and joyful than ever! The promise of the boys coming home makes everything wonderful and special!  Now I can just enjoy them and NOT clean after them! at least I don’t mind it anymore!   When they were still living at home, it was an absolute joy when my daughter and my two older boys, who live in Pennsylvania and Florida respectively at the time (everybody is moving now a days!) came home for the holidays, birthdays and graduations !!!  We were crazy excited and overjoyed for days before it happened!  but, being so far away made it difficult to make it home more often, therefore there were many sad moments and endless hours spent on the phone trying to fill in the blanks that their presence would have filled otherwise….

CHANGE … life sometimes doesn’t prepare us for THAT kind of change…. it’s wonderful, it’s good, it’s right… and like the seasons of the year and the seasons of our lives, IT’S ALWAYS GOING TO HAPPEN!  All seasons have their own beauty and purpose and definitely they bring their own JOY… It’s just taking me a little bit longer to adjust….

Oh, yes! I was writing this to share my attempts to start my Fall decorations with my entrance urn and the two half whiskey barrels I have in the backyard, even though they are not finish yet!  I still need to go find some branches to add!

I decided to spray paint the urn black, it was a greyish cement color before and was looking rather bla, specially against all the white outside my house. There is no need to buy a new planter each time, sometimes a little bit of elbow grease is all you need and some paint  goes a long way! Ahhhhh! the joys of spray paint!

I bought a few plants, it was hard to decide among all the pretty Kales available but it had to be done.   Doesn’t that grass look a lot like Cousin Itt in the Addam’s Family?!  Just buy something that makes you happy or all cozy and fluffy inside! Trust your instincts, doesn’t have to be perfect.

– Dog not included!

It’s not even necessary to use flowers, sometimes a combination of plants with pretty leaves, grasses in different heights, colors and textures,( vegetables are a beautiful thing to use too!) and some gourds and pumpkins make a gorgeous combination for your planters.

I love the hint of purple in the grass playing with the deep purple of the Kale

It was kind of hard to move it to the front of the house but I managed!   I really need to clean a lot around the house after spending three months in Perú this summer! Haven’t been able to catch up yet… In this case I did use mums in my arrangement.

One of my backyard’s half whiskey barrels. This time no flowers! It doesn’t mean it’s not going to change… I am always adding and switching things around and it is OK.

I have yet to bring back, throws and pillows and all the stuff we decorate with around these days, so I decided to grab anything to take this picture… Actually most of the books I read now are e-books and I haven’t read Killing Lincoln yet. I’ve read Killing Kennedy and Killing Jesus in my e-reader, this is a  book my husband read recently. Bill O’Reilly did an AMAZING JOB with this series!  So easy to read, so many things to learn… I think it’s gorgeous the way it is! those leaves are as pretty as it gets, all the colors of the fall in one convenient plant!

I added another pumpkin to the container for more color and layers, this is the other side planter… see what I meant about the leaves?  I can’t remember the name of the plant but I know I saved the plastic tag with it somewhere.

– Added another pumpkin to the right side planter too and it’s looking a little better each time.

– Look at the subtle changes in colors and textures! Perfection! That Kale is beyond pretty, can’t get over the hues!

I just love how much those little pumpkins look like swans ! (Are those called pumpkins too? Are they gourds?) I’ll google it sometime…

Now I just need to add some birch branches or anything I can find … that “Cousin Itt” grass is looking a bit out of place in this vignette I think. but I don’t want to let go! It’s so awesome looking in person and makes me smile everytime I see it

Is it just me or those flowers are  really ridiculously pretty?!    – I guess it’s not going to be as hard to let go of my flowers… or my children’s childhoods and teenage years if I decide to start focusing on this new season of our lives and concentrate in all the beauty it is going to bring…. Just like Autumn!

Legends of the Fall

AUTUMN …. What a magical season!  Everything feels calmer, kinder and softer.  There is a quiet feeling of reflexion and introspection in the air and in our souls. Despite the crispiness in the air, there is a warmth inside of us that grows every day with anticipation…  The leaves are falling, sign that all is going to be made anew again… what a promise!

PUMPKINS AND MUMS…

WARM CLOTHES AND WALKS IN THE PARK WITH YOUR FAVORITE PERSON

Home becomes once more the center of our lives, we grow closer to our families, we  reconnect with our friends …. We feel more than ever the need of meaning and purpose in our lives … a nesting feeling comes back stronger than ever…. Books and blankets, boots, sweaters and scarves, go together perfectly with apple cider, hot cocoa, hearty soups and warm apple pies ….

There is a stillness in the air that reminds us of a time, when priorities were quite different and life made more sense!

SEEING THE WORLD IN AMAZEMENT THROUGH A CHILD’S EYES…

We borrow nature’s colors to cover ourselves, inspired by the ever changing leaves of the Fall … we fill our homes with the intensity of Autumn and it’s jeweled and earthy palette and with the quietness and muted tones of golden fields of wheat or greyish heavy skies that often look like they are about to cry… we just don’t know why… Is it from sadness or joy?… or just to wash away our worries and doubts … I wonder… 

Hoping to inspire you to fill your homes with the glow that these Legends of the Fall will cast into our homes and into our lives!  After all change is always good, right? Change makes us grow because it challenges us.

MAGICAL MOMENTS FOREVER IN YOUR HEART…

THE RED DOOR…

SWEATERS AND MITTENS, CHICKENS AND KITTENS…

SOFT LEATHER BOOTS!

HOW SOMETHING SO SMALL CAN BE THIS BEAUTIFUL?!

HUNTER BOOTS!

LONG WALKS WITH YOUR BEST FOUR LEGGED FRIEND, PRICELESS!

PENDLETON BLANKETS!

A VIEW FROM THE TOP

 

COMFORT FOODS…

Pumpkin Soup with Sage and Bacon
serves 4

2 T butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 lb. floury white potatoes
2  1/4c of pumpkin flesh, diced
2  3/4c vegetable soup
1c cream, not low fat
2 t freshly grated ginger
1/2 t lemon juice
1 pinch grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 sliced bacon, diced
5 fresh sage leaves
1 T extra virgin olive oil
-Heat the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion and garlic
-Add the potatoes and pumpkin, cook for a few minutes, stirring
-Stir in the vegetable stock and cook for 25 minutes until the vegetables are soft
-Puree all in a blender, return to pan and add the cream
-Add a bit more stock if desired
-Add the ginger, season with lemon juice, salt, pepper and nutmeg
-Fry the bacon in  small pan in the butter until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel
-Add the sage to the pan and fry for 30 seconds
-Add the bacon and sage to the soup, drizzle with the olive oil and season with fresh pepper
FOUNDED THIS IN 5TH AND STATE BY DEBRA PHILLIPS, I still can’t figure it out how to link to other people’s websites or blogs. Sorry!

http://5thandstate.blogspot.com  I hope this works!

VELLUTATA DI ZUCCA E SPECK  La ricetta saporita

Deliziosa, dolce, gustosa, la vellutata di zucca è un ottimo primo piatto, ricco di vitamine e sapore. Questa portata si può facilmente personalizzare, a seconda dei gusti di ognuno, impreziosendola con dei Porcini, o ancora con formaggi come il Taleggio o il Pecorino, oppure optando per preparazioni più leggere e delicate con i porri, le patate, o lo zenzero. Oggi scopriamo una versione saporita: la vellutata di zucca e speck.

Gli ingredienti

200 g di polpa di zucca

un porro

150 g di speck a dadini

uno scalogno

500 ml do brodo vegetale naturale

sale marino integrale, pepe bianco

olio extravergine di oliva

20 ml di panna fresca

rosmarino & timo, q.b.

A piacere formaggio a scaglie

FOUNDED AT:   http://blog24x7.altervista.org   -postato in cucina

HOMEMADE COOKIES AND MILK

I actually found the recipe a year later here:

Pumpkin Cookies- Hey, it’s fall!    

GLAZED PUMPKIN COOKIES

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar (make sure this is all white sugar)
• 1 small can pumpkin (15 oz)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups oat flour (blend oatmeal in a blender)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups crushed pecans (the original recipe called for 3c chocolate chips, but I thought it was too sweet with the glaze and I love pecans, so there you go.)

Mix wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients; mix well.

Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes.  While baking, make glaze:

 Glaze

• 2 c powdered sugar
• 4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 Tbsp. milk

Mix well and immediately frost warm cookies.  (If this seems thicker than a glaze, just add a little more milk- I can’t attest to the consistency if you’re somewhere drier than Dominica)

– SHAKESPEARE COULD HAVE WRITTEN A NOBEL ABOUT HER BEAUTY! THOSE LOVELY COLORS! SKY AND FIRE…

FAMILY PICNICS! LOTS OF BLANKETS, HOT CHOCOLATE, CRUSTY LOAVES OF  BREAD!

CARAMEL APPLES!

LAVENDER, WHEAT AND PUMPKINS

FIRST FROST OF THE FALL….BREATHTAKING

ROADS ON FIRE !

PUMPKIN CINNAMON ANYTHING!

HOT FREAKING CHOCOLATE!!!

APPLE TARTS…

Gatherings around the table, outside, enjoying this magic season

GOLDEN BUNDLES OF WHEAT AND FIELD FLOWERS

THERE IS A SEASON FOR EVERYTHING… TIME FOR CONTEMPLATION, TIME FOR INTROSPECTION..

A PERFECT MOMENT FROZEN IN TIME..

PRINCETON’S IVY

GORGEOUS URNS WITH MUMS ON FIRE

SIMPLICITY, BACK TO BASICS

WORN OUT MEMORIES

ENCHANTED PARADISE..

A NEW SEASON, A BRIDGE TO A NEW LIFE.

CHILDHOOD REVISITED..

BLESSINGS AND BOUNTY

– THE NOTEBOOK

 

 

 

A DEAR JOHN LETTER … THIS TIME WITH A TWIST…  I DO LOVE YOU!

 

– THERE IS SOMETHING SO ENCHANTING ABOUT PENCILS AND PAPER…

 

 

 

Beautiful Inspiration

SOMETIMES A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, SOMETIMES A FEW WORDS ARE WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES…

HAVE AN INSPIRED AND GREAT WEEKEND!

Gratitud changes EVERYTHING

You are a LIVING magnet…

Be happy for THIS moment..

The creative adult is the child who SURVIVED!

I AM more than what you SEE..

Tough times don’t last; Tough people DO

Imagination encircles the world….

You have more to do than be weighed down by pretty or beautiful….

You 

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The earth has music..

Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Just three things…

There is only one happiness in life…

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.

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Crazy about Nancy Meyers’ Films!

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE

My dream office, my dream bedroom….that view!

One of the strongest influences I had in my “DreamingDesign” life was the Amazing director Nancy Meyer and her films.  I know I’m not alone in this one, I read many years ago that the house in “Something’s gotta Give” was the most requested house in the history of Interior Design! No wonder!  It left me dreaming about it for years to come…It was like somebody entered my mind and soul and created the vision I had inside of all the things I love!

Something’s Gotta Give

The incredible living room with that view… the rain, the soft and calming color palette… can you see how the outside colors are repeated seamlessly in the inside?! Talking about perfection! One the extension of the other…

I fell in love with the beautiful slipcovered sofas and armchairs, all in a subtle variation of blues with grey undertones…

The kitchen that started it all! Decades later we are still trying to achieve it’s beautiful down to earth, homey appeal.

The wonderfully oversized area rug, very unpretentious, fresh and perfect. The contrast between the dark and shiny sofa and side tables and the light slipcovered sofas, armchairs and accent pillows, all covered in such exquisite fabrics, we can almost feel their softness, just looking at them!

The amazing Erika…

The dining room, that fabric everybody tried so hard to find!

EVEN THE PASTA SERVED BECAME A SUBJECT OF CONVERSATION! SISAL RUGS BECAME A MUST IN DECORATION EVERYWHERE LIKE NEVER BEFORE…. WHAT A POWERFUL WOMAN, SO TALENTED, SO INFLUENTIAL, THANK GOD FOR HER IMPECCABLE TASTE AND ABSOLUTE COMMITMENT TO DETAIL, HONESTY AND LOVE OF ART AND EVERYTHING HARMONIOUS AND NATURAL!…. OH, HOW I WISH I COULD WORK WITH HER IN ANYTHING, EVEN HOLDING HER COFFEE AND ENJOYING THE RIDE!

Preparing to film one of the scenes with the adorable Keanu Reeves. Look at the moving platform where the dining room table and chairs are placed! I think the “sisters” are asking him: “Can we REALLY kiss you a lot?!”

The one and only NANCY MEYERS with the great DIANE KEATON. What a pair of strong, crazy talented women.

Jack without pants in the kitchen…. Priceless! Those soapstone countertops….

Attention to detail at it’s best!

Erika’s marvelous bedroom/office

ERIKA’S WRITING NOOK…

Found in HookedonHouses.net   -I LOVE THE BOOKS SO HANDY AND THE WALL OF FRENCH DOORS

I always find my self recognizing her influence in my home decor

FROM THE PIPING ON THE SLIPCOVERS TO THE HYDRANGEAS, EVERY DETAIL BECAME A TREND THAT LASTED FOR DECADES AND IT’S STILL STRONG NOW. WHAT COULD WE ARGUE AGAINST A CLASSIC? NEVER OUT OF STYLE, FAMILIAR, UNDERSTATED AND VERY CHIC.. DID YOU NOTICE THAT THROW ON THE LEFT ARMCHAIR?  CAN YOU FEEL THE CASHMERE? I SURE CAN !

FARM SINKS AND INDUSTRIAL LIGHTS BECAME ALL THE RAGE AND ARE STILL ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR KITCHEN FEATURES.   I STARTED PREPARING PANCAKES WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE RECIPE SINCE I SAW ERIKA DO IT SO EFFORTLESSLY IN THIS FILM!   I LOVE THAT MOMENT, IT FEELS SO NATURAL AND REAL, EVEN THOUGH I ALWAYS MADE PANCAKES FOR MY CHILDREN, AFTER THE MOVIE I REALLY STOPPED LOOKING AT THE RECIPE AND PRETENDED TO BE AS COMFORTABLE AND EXTRAORDINARY AS ERIKA WAS. IT WORKED. I ENJOY MAKING PANCAKES NOW MORE THAN EVER AND IT TAKES ME JUST A MOMENT LIKE IT TOOK HER TO PREPARE THEM ! DO I SOUND A LITTLE CRAZY HERE OR ARE WE ALMOST ALL LIKE THAT?…

Borrowed from Cote de Texas cotedetexas.blogspot.com/  I don’t know how to put the links yet….

Frances McDormand…Genius. I love her!

THE EXTERIOR OF A REAL HAMPTONS’ HOUSE, THE ONLY REAL PART OF THE HOUSE ACTUALLY USED IN THE FILM.

The delicious Keanu Reeves and the fabulous Diane Keaton in PARIS!  – What a dream…

Le Grand Colbert… A bucket list kind of place!

Le Grand Colbert Brasserie, serving dreams every day!

Le Grand Colbert, where the last scenes were filmed… I felt in love with the place!

THE HOLIDAY

JUDE LAW… DON’T YOU JUST ADORE HIM IN THIS ROLE?!  I DO, I DO, I DO.

Later on, I fell in love with “The Holiday” another incredible film directed by Nancy Meyers, who has impeccable taste, exquisite sensibility and a vision so clear of what she wants that she always achieves her goals, each one of her movies are a tour for the senses,  she makes the houses in her movies look so darn real!!!  They are always perfect for the characters, you REALLY believe those are their real houses, you feel they have lived there for a while, the houses have their personalities and their seal infused on them!

  I couldn’t imagine Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law or even Jack Nicholson,( whose apartment in the city was a work of art! and almost never gets mentioned..)  living somewhere else in those movies!  (or I should say their characters)  It was what I call design PERFECTION! Those houses were not just another character in the movies, they played a main role, they were the stars of the films, if you know what I mean, they were more than supporting actors for the characters, they were protagonists themselves and I can never get enough of them!

– THE GORGEOUS FRESH AND SOPHISTICATED CAMERON DIAZ HOLLYWOOD HOUSE

  It would be too hard in one post to try to describe the beauty of those houses and so many magical moments during those films… like the moment Jude Law and Cameron Diaz shared with his adorable daughters under that magical tent in the girls’ bedroom! …. What can I say? I am a grown woman and it still makes my heart skip a bit! (It doesn’t help that I fell in love with Jude’s character in this movie either!)

– SOPHIE AND OLIVIA’S DREAM BEDROOM AND THE ADORABLE TENT EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT!

Director Nancy Meyers works closely with Beth Rubino and with her interior designer James Radin. It is a match made in design heaven!   Now I’ll leave you with  some images to enjoy and get inspired, like I did many years ago, perhaps the new generation isn’t aware of the films, they were just kids when they came out, nevertheless, everybody should watch these movies, it would be a shame to miss them. I know I’ll watch them again and again! 

– IRIS’S ENGLISH COTTAGE! THE FABRICS ARE PRECIOUS, LOVE THE RUNNER GOING UPSTAIRS, AND THE TUFTED OTTOMAN REMINDS ME OF THE ONE IN “SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE”

– I DON’T WANT TO BE REPETITIVE BUT I HAVE TO MENTION THE OUTSTANDING ATTENTION TO DETAIL PUT IN THESE HOUSES!

– JUDE’S HOME IN THE HOLIDAY!

– THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION!

THEY MADE ALL THE MAGIC HAPPEN! BUT IT WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN THE SAME WITHOUT THE HOUSES CREATED FOR THE MOVIES BY THESE GENIUSES

Can you tell the influence in these next two old photos of my home at that time?!  Sorry for the mess and everything,  they were not intended to be shared,  I took them some time ago for no reason and wanted to show you!

You can still see the influence in a later work

I usually write in an impulse and come back later if possible, to try to correct my writing and make it better, the problem is that I do it after I publish it, don’t have the patience to wait…

UNBELIEVABLE!  ELI WALLACH IS GONE! … LOVED HIS CHARACTER IN THE HOLIDAY… HE STOLE MY HEART…  HE WAS BRILLIANT IN THE GODFATHER TOO, MEAN BUT BRILLIANT….  MR. WALLACH, YOU WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED…

IT’S COMPLICATED

With the incredibly talented Meryl Streep, another lesson in design genius and trendsetting power.  After this film we saw that the use of four or five armchairs instead or in addition to a sofa became very popular and in every magazine, window treatments made of natural grasses and black iron for window frames and doors became the craze! they are still going strong, just beautiful.

MORE DREAM KITCHENS FROM NANCY’S MOVIES AND THE EXTREMELY TALENTED AND ADORABLE MERYL STREEP 

I LOVE HOW ECLECTIC THEY ARE, TIMELESS… THE VIEW, SO CALIFORNIA STYLE, WHAT A CONTRAST WITH “SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE”‘S CLASSIC EAST COAST, HAMPTONS’ STYLE, HERE WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE BEAUTIFUL PACIFIC COAST WITH ALL THE SPANISH ELEMENTS AND CHARM… OPEN SHELVING, BLACK IRON WINDOW AND DOOR FRAMES… TRENDSETTERS DEFINITELY!

IT WOULD BE HARD OR IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO PRETEND TO COVER EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE FILMS AND THE INTERIOR DESIGN OF THESE HOUSES, BUT AT LEAST THIS IS MY ATTEMPT TO HONOR A REMARKABLE WOMAN, DIRECTOR, DESIGNER AND ARTIST. WHAT A VISION, WHAT A WOMAN!

Entertaining and Tablescapes

We all know how important and fun it is to get together with our family and friends as often as we can.  Sharing a meal, cocktails or just a glass of wine is always a great time!  Gatherings around the table, either indoors or outdoors are where most of our best memories are created!   Now that the cozy season is coming, I just wanted to share some ideas for entertaining with you, hoping to inspire someone to give it a try and transform, perhaps a rather boring space, with only a few favorite things, repurposing them to create new memories in a beautiful setting of their own.

This is the perfect time of the year to celebrate being alive! Days are still warm, sunny and last longer than the ones soon to come … some people are squeezing everything they can from the last days of summer, throwing pool parties, barbecues and having fun with any excuse…Others are already preparing for the crisp days of Autumn and all the beauty and cuddling  they will bring, when the warmth of summer goes away only to be replaced, with the warmth inside of us and that of our homes… Which one would be you?

A crisp white, freshly ironed, linen or cotton tablecloth always looks perfect against the colors of nature, just add some fruits, flowers, a bottle of wine or iced tea, and your favorite dishes, prepared using fresh, local, seasonal produce and you’ll be on your way of having a great time, relaxing and enjoying life!

Mismatched chairs, old, old, tables, lots of candles … a big part of the charm!

Taking inspiration from Mindy Weiss

Magic, all we need is a little bit of magic in our lives…

Sometimes, no tablecloth is even required! Add a few cozy pillows for  color and comfort and … Voilà! A party is on it’s way

Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Tea Time, cocktails or dinner, either simple or sophisticated, there is no reason under the sun to deprive yourself of those moments that make life worth living!  All it takes is a little imagination and to run with it!

Can you feel the love? If you don’t have flowers in your garden or time to go buy them…what about some lemons?! Limes? Oranges?! Fruits? Vegetables? Fruits and Vegetables? Bunches of Lavender? Rosemary and chamomile? Bowls full of sea shells? Sea shells right on the table, forming an ondulating runner? Pretty river stones? Some grass in a container?  Bulbs? Flowering Bulbs? …. A bunch of candles? A bunch of candles in mason jars? A bunch of candles under bottomless bottles of wine?!    Ok… I started to sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump! Sorry.

Girasoles à la table! Goooorgeous combination of Girasoles and Succulents resembling in shape the Girasoles!

I rest my case! No excuses. A little corner of paradise, the simpler the prettier! If you don’t have a deck or patio, or the grass is not growing as nicely in some place of your backyard…. put some gravel on it!- It is one of my favorite things- and some pretty potted plants! …  If you think you don’t have a big enough tablecloth…even better! Grab that mismatched, almost unused, flat sheet from a long, long, time ago, the one you fell in love with during your honeymoon! You know what I’m talking about! We all have them, those high thread-count, lonely, flat sheets…We used the heck out of their partners, the fitted ones, but for some reason, flat ones always remain intact. (?)   But of course! if you are one of the lucky ones who had collected vintage, french linens, while traveling in Provence…. Well, you are all set! Now is the time to use them, take them out of the linen closet where they lay forgotten, so much beauty deserves to shine. You don’t want to die without using them, right? The time is here and now. It is all we have.

Simplicity! what a beautiful thing… I love how organic and back to basics this feels

Never underestimate the power of a few humble candles… nothing like it!

If you could, depending on the occasion, hire some waiters, that would allow you to have a more relaxing and joyful time. If it’s not in your possibilities, swap services with your friends’ or neighbors’ teenagers!

Exquisite! – But never allow your centerpieces to interfere with conversation, that is a huge mistake, even some event and flower designers still make, I think perhaps most of them do it only for photoshoot purposes. There is no reason for it, just pay attention to details and you will find a way to avoid being limited to only talk to the people sitting besides you, without sacrificing beauty and design.

If you think about it, you can replicate the same feeling of a tablescape you love without spending a fortune, it doesn’t matter if your special occasion doesn’t require an elegant setting, just a pretty one, you only have to follow the concept and simplify!

This one for instance, you could use tea cups, soup or cereal bowls for your centerpieces and place only a few flowers on them, that would cut your cost and time preparing it greatly and the scale would be more adequate for a simpler, more casual and relaxing event. Don’t forget to introduce more texture and movement to your centerpieces by using different heights, mixing different flowers, foliage, branches, grasses, even vegetables or just using only one type of flower for a very classy, elegant look.

It is OK to mix and match your plates and glasses, it is actually desired to be original and unique…. just be careful to follow a color palette you really like and looks good all together. Finally, always try to use cloth napkins, long, linen or cotton ones. There is nothing like it, no replacements for this one! (What am I saying? I do use paper napkins a lot! – More like paper towels actually… I like to choose my size!- but never when you have guests…. unless you are having pizza, of course… or something messy, or… I better shush it, I know…)

To feel like a princess for a night … priceless!

Oh the possibilities!

Crimson passion and greek key! exquisite.

Nobody like Ralph! He’s got the touch.

Ralph Lauren, enough said!    – I adore Chandeliers…. ADORE them, they are made of Light, Crystal, Magic and Glamour…  You gather all those ingredients and put them in a huge martini shaker.  First the most beautiful light, then the finest of crystals, a little bit of magic and some oh, làlàs for the Glamour…. Shake it vigorously and throw it to the skies! …… Voilà! Can you see them? I sure can.

There is something about hot-pink or fuschia combined with orange that make people really happy, like if they  were in a big colorful and refreshing sorbet dream!

Those X back chairs are quite beautiful, always and forever. xx

It feels like home…doesn’t it?  Not my home, just HOME

Dreaming of Tuscany

Enchanted night,  all your dreams might come true…

Oh là là!  You would only need one guest for this one…. and many, many candles!

NOT FOR NOTHING WAS IT SAID:  “WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS”…

Did you like it? I had a blast! Photography transports me through space and time… What about you? What moves you? Good night 😉

And now what? Just being me…

I don’t know if there’s anybody out there that is ever going to read my words and I’m a bit scared of beginning this journey…. I’ve wanted to do this for a while and just postponed it over and over again …

After my youngest child of five left for college, I understood well the empty nester’s feelings!  Thirty-six years of being a full time mother!  I couldn’t figure out what to do with myself!   All that time I used to dream of having was now leaving me with an empty hole in the stomach and heart!  Oh the mixed feelings!!!… I was so used to being a mom that I wondered…. COULD I JUST BE ME?

What does it even mean being me?!  Who am I?!   What is left of the person I used to be? I hope I am a better version of my younger self, but who knows?!  We usually are, we are supposed to be …. Who doesn’t remember her younger self?  I do!   That girl full of passion who dreamt of being a lawyer, an interior designer, an artist, is still here, somewhere…  Why would I feel her so much otherwise if she wasn’t here, inside of me, kicking and screaming: Let me out of here!    It has become harder and harder to recognize the person in the mirror…

Where did time go?  Am I still on time to live my own life, experience my own dreams?!   –  I have loved being a mom, totally and completely and still do.  My best moments are when I visit my children or they visit me.  Now for example, I have three of them home for a week, two of them on their way back to school and one on her way back home, my daughter, and I have her, literally  on my butt, following me around, asking me to start this!

This is supposed to be a blog about Interior Design, art, travel, photography and all the lovely things that make life worth living…Actually, I don’t really know what is it going to be about, but I should share a little bit of who I am while trying to discover it myself…

One of the reasons I found it so difficult to start writing is that English is not my first language, and obviously I’m not a writer.    Does it matter?  They say not to sweat the small stuff! Isn’t the content more important than the vehicle?  I absolutely think it is.   Never liked perfect things, never will. I think they are boring, uncomfortable and unnatural. I like things that feel real and possible, unique in a way, unaffected and spontaneous !    What this first post is about is … Do I have something interesting enough to say? Don’t we all?   Thanks to the awesome Belgian designer Greet Lefèvre from Belgian Pearls, a wonderful blog about design and lifestyle, I decided to venture into this unknown territory…. (Greet is from Belgium and has never allowed the fact of English not being her first language stop her from writing and sharing all the beauty that surrounds her, inside her home and out!  Go visit her blog, http://www.belgianpearls.blogspot.com  if you haven’t done it yet, you’ll be happy you did!   Thank you Greet for being an inspiration.

While my youngest boys were finishing high school, I went back to school to study Interior Design, I had always loved decorating and everything related to design and art and frequently have helped family and friends with that.   It came so natural to me, but I needed the title to feel I could have my passion become my business.  Now it’s time to start…  How to start? Where to start? – While I was in school,  I received some  generous comments about my work, telling me I was an artist!  I didn’t know what to do with that, it was so good to hear, but so hard to believe…. I always wanted to paint but never did, I kept telling myself, I wasn’t an artist!  It seems like I was expecting to be given permission to dare to try …  What is art if not an honest expression of your soul? A higher and universal language of communication…  Life’s too short to waste just wondering “What if…”.   Thanks to the encouragement of people in my family, I finally started painting this summer while on a three month trip overseas!   …  Being in South America, looking at the Pacific Ocean every day, made me feel inspired, like I could accomplish many things,  I guess I’ll have to press forward and keep trying … So, what is it going to be?  Who am going to become?  Let’s find out, shall we? Well, not you, just me 😉

Hopefully you’ll find me in this magic cyber world and decide to keep me company for a while, perhaps you are in the same situation or going through a big change or discovery of your own? … If you happen to stumble by, please say hi!   Let me see if I can figure it out how to upload some pictures here.   …. AND IT WORKED! (These are some flower arrangement I made)  –  Just learning how to work this WordPress thing!

Next time this will be about something more interesting. Today I just needed to vent…