Mid week musings and a giveaway!!

Hi looks like this mid week musings thing is now a regular gig, so why not...a great way for me to talk about a whole bunch of randomness. Hope you are having a great week...mine is good, busy and productive. I cannot say summer has been super relaxing so far but I have managed to squeeze in some down time and the little I have had has been wonderful! I am also offering a wonderful giveaway....all details on bottom of this post.

I am actually headed to New Orleans on Friday morning and cannot wait. Its been a few years since I have been there  and I cannot wait to hit the antique shops on Royal st., indulge in french pressed coffee and a piping hot sugar laced Beignet and go to some of the wonderful restaurants we had the pleasure of visiting last time. This is absolutely NO time for a diet.....the food in New Orleans is off the hook amazing! Any suggestions are more than welcome!

For anyone else who has "a thing" for New Orleans....this book is one of my favorites. Got it about a year ago and it just captures that New Orleans essence to a tee, a really wonderful book!

Many of you are so kind to ask about sweet Teddy, he is doing well.....hair 90% grown back so its good to see him whole again. Heres a few pics of him doing what he does best......yep, relaxing!

Does he think he is CZ Guest here or what? 

I like to share the results of my weekly Which would you choose and thought it would be fun to see which girls bedrooms took the top prize from last week, so here they are in order of their votes!

1st place (and my personal favorite)!

A close 2nd place 

Tied for 3rd place

Several of the others vied for 4th place...what can I say, my readers, you have excellent taste!

Finally ordered the wallpaper for the back powder room (this is off the kitchen and the bathroom we use on a daily basis). I decided it was one of the first I loved and often times we go back to the original choices.....this was the perfect blend of something elegant but not too formal, fresh and crisp. I really like it and it gives off the exact vibe I am looking for......will finalize the check I will do the window treatments in and likely have some cute little fabric shades made for the sconces too.......

I also like covering shades with fabric for a custom touch...experimented here, me likey!

I really like Anthropologie and think they are one of the stores that are getting better and better. I recently ordered a bunch of these exquisite glasses...love love them! I am a sucker for anything etched and these look really old and are just beautiful! I cannot wait to use them....what do you think? I have found so many unique and beautiful things there.......

Can you believe I am STILL waiting (only six months and counting) on the Thomas O Brien rock crystal sconces? Crazy! But I have looked and looked for a suitable replacement to no avail....so wait I will. Every time I look at them, I realize they are perfect and I can envision them in my room so hopefully the newest delivery date of August is finally the date that I can see these babies and get them up and get this bathroom done!!!! Once they are up above the tub and at my vanity...I just need my chandelier, a chair and I am set...woo hoo!!!!

Here they are.....by Thomas O Brien

They will go above the tub and on either side of the mirror (single ones) on the vanity....

And on either side of the mirror

And very excited finally got these gorgeous Ralph Lauren sconces ordered for the living room....cannot wait to get them! They are really beautiful, leave it up to Ralph!

They will go on this wall (one either side of botanicals) as well as between all the French doors in the living room.

Moving on.....I love costume jewelry, well I love all kinds of jewelry but being paranoid about losing (lets just say I have done my share) I don't  wear "the good stuff' unless I am going to a wedding or special event and it is all locked up in a safe spot. But I love fun costume and have quite a bit, just ordered some jewelry drawer boxers/liners and cannot wait to start organizing, but in the meantime how cute is this? Its a dress form with hooks for jewelry its finished in a muslin fabric and has French writing. Believe it or not found it at Michaels for $14.99!! I love it and think it adds such a sweet whimsical touch to my closet.

Store biz......I am not going to be adding anything over the summer. While business is going wonderfully I am hoping to take a little time to enjoy summer as it goes by so fast. I have a few brackets left and this is it as well as a few other items I am just about sold out of. I am planning to revamp things come fall, phasing a few things out and adding some exciting new things, so stay tuned and thanks for your continued support and enthusiasm!

I have one of the black and gold brackets on the right and one pair of the antique white painted brackets. I am selling the one black and gold for $45.00 and the pair of large ant.white for $100. This is the very last of my brackets and these prices are far far below retail. Email me if you wan them.

Also......

Last antler pillow.......

Last gray chinoiserie pillow..........

Last small dough bowl, since I have one left I am selling this for $100 even. A great deal if you know the price of dough bowls...contact me if interested!

Last small olive tray (they will be in again sometime later August).....

Last black chinoiserie tray......$90.00

And last have two of these beautiful blue and white scalloped dishes left and that is it! These are soo pretty, I kept one for myself! If you are intersted in this item, you can purchase online (have only two left)!

If there is something in the marketplace you feel there is a lack of, or you would like to see me carry, shoot me an email. I love hearing your feedback!!

Now onto my giveaway, giving a stunning silver cake spade and a darling set of crown bookends to two lucky winners!

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog after visiting my online store and tell me an item or two that you would love to receive. That's it! I will announce a winner on Tuesday morning. Click here to visit my store.

 First the beautiful crown bookends...........

And the beautiful silver highly decorative cake spade.....

Thank you Kristy and Beth from one of my favorite blogs Design Chic for featuring my butlers pantry in your gorgeous post today about pantries!! Great post, click here to visit!

So that's my randomness for a few days. I am leaving early Friday for New Orleans and will return early next week. I will miss visiting all of my favorite blogs but it will give me something to look forward to when I get back. I do have access to my emails while gone so feel free to contact me if you need to. And if you have any must see or do suggestions for the Big Easy, please by all means pass them along! Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week and a fabulous weekend ahead! Until next week........

Designer Spotlight: Linda Floyd Interiors

Hi there! I am always very excited to discover a new designer, particularly when its work and a style that resonates with my own. Well I found that and then some in the wonderful work of the very talented Linda Floyd. So,  you can imagine my sheer delight when I realized that she is also incidentally one of my readers and I got an email from her......talk about flattering and a small world!! I told her how I thought very highly of her work and we emailed each other about my possibly featuring her in one of my Designer Spotlight posts...so I am thrilled to present the work of Linda Floyd interiors. Clearly a super talented designer, Linda is based out of  gorgeous Carmel/Pebble Beach and San Francisco Pebble Beach, California (I am jealous already) .

I love her aesthetic which she obviously stays true to  and of course am totally in awe of her penchant for the most gorgeous details! We all know the devils are in the details and always worth the extra labor of love. Linda also shared with me a little on her background, her design philosophy and what she believes in when it comes to creating wonderful interior spaces. I am not surprised that she has had a lot of her work published and her love and inspiration of 18th and 19th century France is evident in all she does. Thank you Linda and to all my readers, you are in for a royall treat today!! Here we go.......feast your eyes on Linda's fabulous body of work!

Ahhh the colors are so rich and inviting, loving that leopard ottoman too!

You know I am in love with this kitchen!!

Her attention to detail is spot on!

This proves my "little touch of black" in every room works every time!

Rich warm colors make this kitchen a winner!

Gorgeous powder room...love the wall application

Love this dining area..how charming!

Elegant bath

Love the rich use of color here......

I am in love with this etched glass!

How beautiful is this skirted vanity.....and these bird handles on the sink? Magnificent!

Details, details, details.........makes all the difference.

I see she likes blue and white too......gorgeous room.

I love the heavy French influlence here

Elegance!

The rich tapestry totally makes this space.

What a stunning foyer!

Perfect bar or what? 

A bit more of this fabulous room.......

Dramtic and specatacular! Love the red and gold for a powder room.

This vanity is swoonworthy and I will take those prints too......GORGEOUS!

Details, details....clearly something Linda is an expert on!

Beautiful colors in what I presume might be a guest room.....

Exquisite, wow!

Love the detailing on this gorgeous dressing area

Do I need to say anything? Perfection and yes she does outdoor spaces too!

What a lovely and inviting elegant room.....

Showstopping in every way....amazing!

Another fabulous kitchen...love that butcher block island with the chunky legs....

Stunning colors

Love love love this space...colors and the touch of blue make this perfect!

Quite spectacular wouldn't you say? These rooms take my breath away! Now heres a bit on what Linda has to say about her design philosophy and what inspires her in the desing proces.....take it away Linda.

A little history…

I was Inspired by art history, and after receiving a degree in Interior Design, I traveled to  Europe several times studying the architecture, the furniture styles, the historical character and ambiance of the different regions (and of course, the food!).   I became a partner in a French Antiques and Interior Design Studio in Los Gatos, California

 (1 hour south of San Francisco) which included many buying trips to France, and the rest is history!  These trips were the foundation of my design career and gave me a classic approach to design and confirmed my use of old world materials and craftsmanship.  I no longer have the store front and having only the interior design firm allows much more time for my clients. 

How I work…

For me, each project is like a book and each room or space, a chapter.  After hearing the client characterize her dreams and design goals, I envision a narrative or script in my mind and the production begins.  While there are always edits and changes, the storyline is usually consistent with the original script.  The finished projects are full of color, antiques, European history and vitality.  The goal is to make projects a timeless mix of panache and quiet sophistication where elegance mingles with ease and creates inviting, inspiring and very, very livable rooms.

And although my firm focuses primarily on classical design with a European influence, we recently completed a contemporary high rise in Las Vegas and a very contemporary recording studio in the home of a key client who loves all things French…her son is a musician and wanted contemporary!!

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is exposing clients to the wonderful things available to them for their projects.  I have taken clients on buying trips to London, Paris, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles, as well as the local showrooms in San Francisco.  It is so exciting to see the sparkle in a client’s eye when we find the “perfect” piece!  Somehow, Tina, I think you know that feeling!

In all the pictures you see, my firm has designed the architectural interiors, the construction detailing and custom woodworking, etc., as well as what I call the “Fluff”, the interior design.  I feel our custom woodworking and interior architectural detailing create “visible excellence” the moment you walk into a room and are the perfect backdrop for the interior design portion of the project.  We assist the client by consulting with the landscape architects and we provide landscape ornamentation...antique garden sculpture is a favorite of mine!

I have had the good fortune to work repeatedly for clients, completing 2, 3, even 4 projects for some of them.  I have the pleasure of working throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, McCall, Idaho, Cherry Creek, Denver, and Hawaii.  

What more can I say… I love my job!!!

Wow...is her work droolworthy or what? I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite room...there are so many beauties. I LOVE and adore her style, her eye for details and her use of rich old world colors mixed with today's practicality. Linda is a master of "fluff" as she puts it! If you would like to see more of her work or contact here, her website is-

 http://www.lindafloyd.com/Home_Page.html.

 Thank you Linda for allowing me to showcase your spectacular work and to all my readers for stopping in. Could you possibly pick a favorite room? Would love to know which if so! Wishing everyone a wonderful Thursday.