Decorating Details

Bar Cart // Gallery Wall

Layered Linens // Colour on White

Decorative Light Fittings // Wallpaper

Hanging Flowers // Books Arranged by Colour

I am feeling so inspired by all of these decorating details. The use of colour, flowers, decorative light fittings and artwork all work to create a room that is interesting as well as stylish. I hope they inspire you too!

Things I Love About Spring

1. Light layers consisting of a bright coat, floral pants and stripes.

2. Bright summery sandals paired with freshly painted toenails.

3. Fresh meals made with seasonal produce like avocado and heirloom tomatoes.

4. Colourful blooms sprouting everywhere you look.

5. A light and refreshing cocktail made with elderflower and champagne - yum!

Perfectly Curated

Pretty / Elegant / Modern / Classic

I love a beautifully curated vignette in the home. I have several of them in our home, each suited to the room they have been created in. They can have such an impact, even with only a few carefully arranged items. I am personally fond of vases filled with flowers, candles, photo frames and maybe a book or two. Depending on the colours you use, and the feel of your personal objects, such different looks can be created, as illustrated above. And because you don't have to spend a lot to create a beautiful vignette, you can always mix it up whenever your mood changes.

Her Look // Your Way

Image / Sunglasses / Lipstick / Shirt / Watch / Trench / Jeans / Wedges

I am loving this classic look I found on Pinterest. Such an easy look to pull together but oh so chic. For one of those days when you just can't decide what else to wear, throw on a pair of jeans and a button-down, add a swipe of red lipstick and finish with your largest pair of sunglasses. Voila, très chic. 

Pillow Arranging

I came accross this article on House Beautiful about how you arrange the pillows on your bed and what it says about you. I found it very interesting, and for me pretty accurate. Here are the arrangement styles and what they mean:

ASYMMETRICAL: 

Your unfussy style says that you are a relaxed, bohemian type who's easygoing and 

open to new experiences.

BALANCED WITH AN ACCENT:

Your style is traditional with a twist. You're never too prim and proper, but you aren't given to the latest trends either.

DELICATE AND DECORATIVE:

If you're drawn to a dreamy, whimsical look, then you're a romantic. You prefer frilly and feminine to streamlined and rigid and are a firm believer that more is more.

PRECISELY STACKED:

This systematic, monastic tower of pillows indicates you have a modernist style. If someone saw your bed, they would probably guess that you're artistic, creative, and intellectual.

SYMMETRICAL:

You have a tailored, classic style. This look is best for someone who is detail-orientated, organized, and orderly.

I float between Asymmetrical and Symmetrical which, I have to say, suits my personality to a tee. What do your pillows say about you - and do you think it is accurate?

Springtime at The Cloisters

On Saturday we spent our afternoon at The Cloisters Museum in northern Manhattan. Set in Fort Tryon Park the museum is dedicated to the art and architechture of medieval Europe. The Cloisters was assembled from architectural elements that date from the twelfth through the fifteenth century. The building incorporates elements from five medieval cloisters and from other monastic sites located in southern France. Exhibited in the museum is approximately three thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from the ninth to the sixteenth century and includes illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, and tapestries. It was really quite a beautiful collection and I highly recommend a visit.

After we finished at the museum we walked in and around Fort Tryon Park, stopping to smell the roses (and the tulips, pansies, blossoms etc.) as we went. Spring really is the most special time to be in New York. The colour and beauty of all the gardens are such a beautiful contrast against the concrete filled blocks. Weekends like this remind us just how lucky we are to be living in such an amazing and diverse city. I heart New York!

Colour Crush

Bench / Lamp / Dress / Bracelet / Bag / Skirt

The colour yellow, so sunny and optimistic. I love all shades from canary to lemon to neon and back again. There are so many variations of this colour that I would love to add to both my wardrobe and my home at the moment. I would particularly love the yellow dress in the top right image, if only I knew where I could get one. Is yellow a colour that you want to add to your wardrobe/home this summer?

The Golden Ticket

Image

Last night we had the golden ticket, a reservation to Momofuku Ko. We had been given a very generous gift for our wedding of a voucher to the Momokuku group of restaurants and we set our sights on Ko from the get go. So hard to get in, I was online at 10am everyday for two weeks trying to get a coveted spot. I gave up after a while and it was only when we decided to book a spot at the Momofuku Noodle Bar instead that I was online and tried my luck and got us in!

So at 9pm we made the cross town trek to the East Village (very late for us on a school night, especially a Monday) and were the first to arrive at the 12 seat restaurant. We ate a total of 11 small courses, each one better than the next. It was such an amazing experience. Due to the nature of the venue, you could watch the food as it was being prepared and could also interact with the chefs while they were doing it. No photography was allowed but I did manage to find the above photo on good old Google. If you ever get the chance to go to Ko, you really must, it was definitely a food highlight of our time in New York so far.

Now, maybe time for a detox!

The Top Ten

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

The top ten accessories I am wanting this spring. Both fashionable and practical each one of these would have a special place in my accessories rotation as the weather heats up. As someone that always carries a pen and paper, I am especially loving the metallic pens (even though they are not technically an accessory)!

Distressed

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I have been really loving the relaxed, cropped and distressed jeans I have been seeing since fashion week in New York. So inspired I have been, that I decided to turn my old boyfriend jeans (that I rarely wear out of the house) into a pair. I am really pleased with the results and feel like I have given an old pair of jeans a new life and maybe another season in my wardrobe.

I made my version in four easy steps:

1. Measure how long you want your jeans to be. I determined this based on where I thought the length was the most flattering on my ankle (as I don't have a very defined ankle to begin with). Then mark the length with a ruler to ensure you have a straight line.

2. Using fabric scissors, cut at the line you have just marked. 

3. Using a wire brush (I used a suede brush), brush the edge of the cut hem to loosen some of the threads and create a distressed look. There are so many other ways to do this that you can find on Google, but I like the frayed edge to be not too extreme so this gave me the perfect amount of distressing.

4. Trim the frayed edges to your desired length. Again, I don't like the frayed edge to be to too extreme, so I left about 1cm of frayed edge at the end.

You're now ready to wear!

LBD

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 

I am on the lookout for a little black dress. I have never owned one, which is a cardinal sin in the wardrobe rule book. I don't want one that is too dressy, but I need one that can be dressed up if necessary. I want my LBD to be a staple in my wardrobe that can be pulled out whenever I am stuck for something to wear, and make me feel like a million dollars. I found these dresses on Pinterest and they are close to what I am looking for, but I must admit the search continues for the perfect one. Any suggestions of where to shop are appreciated, and in the meantime I will keep looking!

Dying to Dip

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

I am loving all of the DIY dip-dyed wooden spoons that I have been seeing all over the blogosphere at the moment. I am so inspired in fact, that I have gone a little crazy looking for all kinds of kitchen things that have been dip-dyed or colour-blocked to perfection. Now I am planning some DIY's of my own to turn boring kitchen utensils and the like into little works of useful art.

The Getty Museum

While in Los Angeles this past week I spent an afternoon at the Getty Museum perched up in the hills above LA. It wasn't the clearest of days so the view was a little hazy but I could still appreciate the beautifully designed architecture, the landscape and the vast breathtaking views. These were more of a highlight to me than the art itself, which is saying a lot as I love a good art museum. I would love to go back one day on a perfectly clear day. The lady taxi driver that dropped us off to the airport yesterday said that on a clear day you can see all the way to the mountains and out to Catalina Island. Just another reason to get back to LA again soon.