Wednesday 29 February 2012

A few updates, some questions answered and a little bit of this and that.....




Good morning! Hope everyone is having a great week. I have been so busy over here, truly non stop.I  try to answer all the emails I get, and lately I have gotten many....so I apologize if haven't gotten back to you but I decided to try and answer many of the questions in this post as well as address certain inquires many of you have had. In addition, I have not been able to make my usual blog rounds as regularly as I normally do but hope to get back on track soon. Know I am thinking of you and cannot wait to catch up!  Thanks as always for your continued support. First a few updates, then your questions answered and finally a little bit of randomness and some fun.

Before we begin.........a favor to ask of you IF you think I deserve your vote!

Yesterday I was made me aware of my name being in the hat for "best home design blog nominations".....I am soo excited and honored! If you care to vote, it would be amazing to get your vote!! Click here. Thanks everyone......you can sign in with Facebook if you have it or if you don't have an account its really easy to vote,  just answer 3 short questions to register and be eligible to vote. Thanks in advance and to all of you who have voted! SO appreciate it!


And now your questions........

Many wanted to know about the fabrics for my bedroom and small office. So here they are:

The wallpaper name for the small office walls (btw I pulled the trigger and just ordered it) It makes me so happy and I love how fresh all the colors are! Sometimes you have to just go for it when you see something you love....





For my small office nook-Zoffany- Design Nostell Priory
Pattern NTP060002


And for my bedroom-
The wallpaper is from Stark, Tracy Andrew collection, Design- Grand Siecle
Color Buff
The carpet is from Patternson Flynn and Martin

This striped velvet is from Stark, Old World Weavers, Pattern- Cimmeria Sky, WC 0002 U32A

This is so sumptuous and is from Stroheim- Pattern- 2317C Jardein de Lien
Color- S0516 Ice Blue
The palette
This is another beauty from Sanderson- Pattern-Coralie 
Eau de Ivory
Pattern number- DCOROC301




I had several inquiries about the two wallpapers that are contenders for my family powder room, they are:



Zoffany- Pattern- Cordoba Pattern number- TORO7002




Sanderson (Zoffany) -Design Palampore
Pattern DCAVPA105 (leaning towards this one, it makes me happy)

What color is my kitchen cabinetry? This was a custom mixed color, so I am sorry but there is not a "name" I can give you, and then we glazed it subtly with a light taupe glaze.

When will my online store be opening? I am working on things as we speak and spending a lot of time trying to get it off the ground, am hoping to launch it within the next few weeks, fingers crossed. Orders have been placed and due in but there are many logistics to be worked out. i promise to keep you posted as things roll along!

Will I ship internationally and to Canada? Definitely will be able to ship to Canada, not sure about international, looking into it. Will keep you updated.

What is the fabric name that I want to use in the back window seat and in the kitchen? OK for the window seat here's the info....

This is the one I will likely be using for windows
Brunschwig and Fils- Pattern number0 BR79743-222

The second one for the window seat and possibly the stools is....
Also Brunschwig and Fils- Pattern BR-71557-222, blue (sorry its not right side up)!




Where did I get my lanterns in the kitchen? This is a line that I will be carrying of beautiful bell jar lanterns. There are a wide range of patterns that are so beautiful and they come in various sizes. I promise you..... its a line worth getting excited about.

Where did I get my kitchen floors? They are french reclaimed limestone and are from Paris Ceramics.

Who makes the kitchen stool that I am considering? VanGuard makes this beauty....here's the link to their site. Click here.







Is my kitchen hood limestone or cast stone and where did I get it? It is limestone from Francois and Company

Am I happy with my Ilve stove? I have gotten a lot of emails...and the answer is yes!! I love it, actually, but in fairness its only been a month and I have yet to explore what this big mama can do, but will keep you posted. Its very user friendly...and a thing of beauty to wake up to!




Here's a few odds and ends on the home front....

Onto other business...... remember when I told you about the fixtures I ordered for my kitchen? They were back ordered for Feb. and now its April. I really liked them so kept the order going then lo and behold I found my beautiful bell jars which I figured I would use temporarily and much to my surprise they looked amazing. But I still have these looming thoughts of the original fixtures and finally I got around to playing a bit on Olioboard and superimposed the fixtures into my kitchen. Now its a pretty lame picture but you get the idea. When you take a look to give me your honest opinion, do what I do...a little squint to get the effect and this way you don't see all the shoddy details. I really want to know which fixture you prefer. You know I love to hear from you!

So first how it looks now.....


Close up of lantern....


Wow that's even worse than I realized...squint real hard:)
Heres a close up of the lantern









Amazing what a few little lampshades can do to a chandy, don't you think? Added them to the chandelier in my bedroom and it took on a whole new persona...I loved it before but I really really love it now!






Did you know Ivanka Trump as in "The Donalds daughter' designs clothes and just launched a line? Who knew! Is she trying to become the next Tory Burch! She is doing it all...clothing, shoes, handbags (didnt' care for those) and jewlery. What's next? Some of the pieces are actually quite pretty, classics with a twist.....fun and affordable pieces. Click here to visit her site.







For anyone who watched the Academy Awards, there was no misssing Angelinas mission to make sure she showed "the leg" (yes it has its own identity now) as often as possible....I got this in an email yesterdday and had to share it. Too funny. Who would have thought a single pose could cause so much poking fun!

OK so this is the pose she struck every time she stood still....


And this is the newly "embellished evolved pose"
Come on...you know its funny!


I know this post was all over the place but as I like to say, life is not a script...just gotta go with what and how you are feeling! Love to hear from you and welcome your thoughts, opinions and comments!! Hope I covered most of what you have asked, if I haven't already gotten back to you. Have a beautiful day!


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Tuesday 28 February 2012

One word with Luciane of Home Bunch!


Good morning and welcome to my "One word" series, today I have the good fortune of having one of the sweetest, kindest persons in all of blogland with me.  For those of you that know Luciane, you know just what I am talking about. A real gem. Luciane is the maestro behind the wonderful blog, Homebunch. Suffice to say if you are not already a regular, you are missing out big time! She posts the most spectacular homes, from all over the globe, things you have never seen that are to be believed. She also has a really fun series "cool or fool" which asks the readers to tell how they feel about something that is unusual or out of the ordinary. Once you visit, I promise you too will become a regular reader, its kind of addicting!
Lucianne is a busy mother who lives in Canada and just had a baby a few short months ago. Quite the accomplished multi tasker she is! She keeps readers engaged, always has a great message and always and I do mean always provides lots of eye candy. I know Homebunch for me is a regular stop every morning as I make my rounds in blogland. I was so happy that she came on board for this post...love her even more after reading all of her wonderful endearing answers! So without further adieu..here's Lucianne. Click here to visit her fabulous blog, Home Bunch!

Lucianne of Home Bunch


One quality I love in people is: Kindness. Can you picture how pleasant life would be if people chose to be a little more kind to one another?

If my house could only be furnished in one color it would definitely have to be: White. You can't go wrong with that one.
One luxury I cannot live without: Interesting question... I'm stuck with this one. I can't imagine having anything so necessary that I can't live without. I'm trying to analyze this because "luxury" is so relative. It's inappropriate for me to say "I can't live without my Chanel bag" when many people in other countries consider luxury having electricity and water.

If I had to have one designer decorate my entire house with 0 input from me it would have to be... You!  I would love to have you to do what you're doing in your home. Your taste is a gift!

If I had to choose coffee or tea it would be... Coffee! Strong, please.

One place I have been that I would love to go back to... Florianopolis, Brazil.

One place I am longing to visit is....Italy.


One talent I wish I had was.. play piano.

I think most people would agree I am very.. social. 
If I could change one quality about myself it would be... I'd like to be more patient. I wasn't patient at all before, but then you start to mature and notice that the world doesn't work at the same paste all the time and there's things you can't control. So you do you part and wait for the rest.
One career I could see myself having would be... an entertainer. I love people. 

If food is therapy, when stressed I indulge in... Oh, God! Dark chocolate and fresh bread. I'm crazy about both!

One of my favorite brands for clothing is... Ralph Lauren.

If my life were a book, the title would be: "You envision, you have." For me, everything starts to happen when you start believing. 

My favorite flower is: tulips.

I would love to have coffee and a chat session with this famous person: Meryl Streep. She's sweet, smart and funny.

A favorite TV show I can't miss: "Revenge" and "Dexter".

Hollywood is: unreal.

Tuscany or Provence? Tuscany.

The next presidential election will be: interesting but tiring, like they usually are.

The one best thing about blogging is: the genuine love and support you receive.

A guilty pleasure for me is: it goes back to dark chocolate and bread!

A clothing designer I think that has great style: the timeless, Valentino.

My strongest quality would have to be: a good listener.

The best restaurant I have ever been to was: Five Sails, Vancouver.

Most overrated actor/actress is: Alive: Kim Kardashian. Not a "real" actress, but I'm sure she's acting more than living, so... Not alive: Marilyn Monroe. Gorgeous woman, had a very interesting life, but I'm sure people wouldn't be as fascinated as they are if she was still alive.

If my life were a documentary, I could see this actress playing me: Wow! Interesting question! Natalie Portman. She's much prettier, don't even waste your time comparing us! :-) But I'd choose her because she's super talented, smart, funny and deep.

One thing I like about my appearance is: my hair.

One thing I can honestly say I love about myself is: how much I enjoy being a mother.

Town or country: country.

One person I admire... It's easy to admire people you don't know profoundly. Hard to admire people you truly know, because the more you get to know someone, the more you'll notice that no one is perfectly admirable. The great thing is when you actually truly know a person and still admire him or her. This person for me would be my husband, because even though he's not perfect, he has some impressive qualities and I keep learning to be a better person with him. He is even better than he knows and I admire him even more for that.

Pick a decade to live in, any decade..

My favorite room of my house is: my bedroom.

If I were an animal I would be a: Have anyone chosen "snail" or "hippo"? Guess not, right? I could say I'd like to be a lion but I actually I would like to be "Teddy" (your dog), so I could live in your house. :-)
                                                 A book I would recommend to everyone would be: "By the River Piedra I sat Down and Wept", by Paulo Coelho.


If I were planning a huge family reunion, this is where I would want to have it: in a spacious villa in Italy with vineyard views.

One thing I wish everyone could be more of: relaxed. People are rushing all the time, including myself (oh, well... I have three kids!), but I think we all should stop for at least few minutes every day and take a look at where we are if that makes us happy. If not, close your eyes and picture a better place. You can achieve more than you can comprehend.


                                                           In one word life is: the warmth I feel when I'm hugging my kids. Simple and irreplaceable.


So wonderful Luciane! May I please crash your family reunion at the villa in Italy overlooking the vineyards? And you so had me with the fresh bread and chocolate indulgences, its mine too! I can feel your love of being a mother through this post and every time you write about your kids and family...that's a beautiful thing! I would love to join you and "Meryl' for that sit down....I feel like she is someone we would all love and warm up to instantly, like an old friend.  And I am soooo with you on Kim....remind me what she does again?


Such fun getting a peek into how you think and you better believe I would be honored to decorate your house...thanks for the vote of confidence!! Do be sure to stop over at Homebunch and tell Lucianne yourself how much you enjoyed this....click here to visit. Wishing everyone a fabulous day!

One last request to my readers......

Yesterday I was made me aware of my name being in the hat for "best home design blog nominations".....I am soo excited and honored! If you care to vote, it would be amazing to get your vote!! Click here. Thanks everyone......you can sign in with Facebook if you have it or just answer 3 short questions to register and eligible to vote. Thanks in advance and to all of you who have voted!
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