Missoni Color Palettes

I'm loving these succulent inspired color palettes from the Missoni Home Line. They're so colorful and happy but still sophisticated and rich in texture:

Spring Dinner

Abby and I were supposed to go check out some cool new restaurant downtown lastnight but halfway through the day I realized I really wanted to make more chili and have her come and hang out chez nous. Luckily she was down for it and it gave me an excuse to use my Orla tablecloth for the first time.

It was also an opportunity to practice inviting people over even though the house isn't really anywhere near what I would want to to be. You can see bits of the clutter here and there. Basically I put the trash outside and focused on making a pretty table and let everything else be what it was (i.e. place isn't vacuumed, there are cat food kibbles spread out on the kitchen floor, there are piles of art supplies and magic rocks' on the counters, etc.).


It turns out that chartreuse and turquoise abound in my cupboards and then with some tangerines, my grandmother's orchids and plain white dishes, the table felt full of springtime and cheer. I added an heirloom tomato salad with a simple vinaigrette to balance the heaviness of the chili at the last minute.

It felt great to follow through on my resolution to entertain more and there's something about setting a pretty table that just lifts my spirits. It's the small thing, right?

More fabric fun

I can't help myself from loving all these fabrics. Add this one to the list:


or a great linen, maybe...

Here are some pictures that are inspiring me:





And this, my friends, is the culprit. Amanda Peet's Modern Bohemian feature in the new issue of domino brought me to a whole new level of appreciation for linen and stripes and things that are comfy. It blew my mind.


And her feature was followed by this charming farm house. sigh.

My chair and the woes of picking a fabric

I was this close to nailing down a fabric choice for my matching danish modern sofa and chair set. So close. And then I started thinking that maybe I should go for more of a pattern. That a solid would be too boring and heavy. Especially a dark color like i was thinking. So even though I had been thinking a solid blue or green, when I went to buy the fabric, I randomly thought about stripes and now I'm considering all manner of prints.



I like these, maybe not for a whole sofa and chair but...
From Sew Mama Sew:

this one:


this one:


and this one:


and from purl:
this one:


and this one:


I also know better than to go for a pink couch, but it's really calling to me. Another option is to stick with one of the solids and just make a bunch of throw pillows out of these different fabrics. Any thoughts?

Oh and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about this fabric as a point of reference. I'd want more color, but I like the pattern...

Choosing Fabric: Thanks F&S Fabric

So I'm getting cushions made for a modern danish sofa and chair. Now all that's left is picking the fabric. Here's what I'm choosing between. I haven't started editing, this is my brainstorm...I had originally thought blue.

I'm gonna do a quick rundown in a bit of all the fabric stores I went to, but for the moment it's worth mentioning that F&S is the shit. I found more fabric there than in the other 4 sotres I went to combined and they're affordable! Make sure you hit up all 3 stores they have on the same side of Pico right by the Westside Pavillion

* F & S Fabrics For The Home
* (310) 441-2477
* 10654 W Pico Bl Los Angeles, CA 90064

At Home with Lotta

Was perusing the Lotta Jansdotter site and came across a few things that charmed me.

This struck me as the perfect Fall farmers market bag (maybe even in orange):


A simple apron for the coming months of baking in the kitchen:


Makeup bag to replace the ziplock I've been using for the airport:


This scarf thing because they remind me of being in San Francisco and Em has been wearing one and it looks good on her. Maybe I should get her this for her birthday and maybe she has enough of them already:

Potato Stamp Blinds

Love this technique and that being imperfect is all part of the aesthetic. Great work poopscape!

I heart I heart linen

Some great fabric swatches and to die for fabric on this little girl's dress (yes, I am all about girl stuff at the moment) from my latest favorite blog I heart linen.

Vintage Weave interiors

Kath from VWI gave me a head's up about her shop in hollywood carrying french and british imported furniture and accessories. How have I not been here yet. Farmhouse tables, glassware, wrought iron fleur-de-lis! You can do a little bit of window shopping on the website or you can just wander in and check it out. If you've been there, leave your review in the comments!

Vintageweave Interiors
169 S. Fairfax Ave.,
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-932-0451

Classic Re-Usable bag

Remember back when a bag was a bag and you didn't have to qualify it's reusablility for fear of being shunned? Me too!

What I remember most are all the summers I spent in France before they even knew what a plastic bag was and it was normal to carry around a canvas tote or some of these mesh bags for all your shopping.

I'm still a sucker for a classic and it doesn't hurt that these come in great colors and can wad up into nothing. Plus if they get dirty or ripped it's no big deal because they're meant to have some wear and tear!

Set of 5, $29.95. Choice of long or short handles. Buy them here.

My Favorite Blue and West Elm

There are a couple of shades of blue that absolutely make me melt. This is the bathmat I had to go and buy at West Elm last week because it is one of those blues and it was only $20. It was a little smaller than I thought it would be, but it works. It inspired me to subtley shift the overall tone in the bathroom. I'll take pics this weekend and post em.

Le Petit Atelier de Paris

A design collective in Paris (right near the pompidou center and Georges!) that apparently specializes in making things that I feel I cannot live without. The Atelier was started by 2 designers with the purpose of handmaking things for everyday life. Everything is made in the store.

Home Away From Home: Marais House

I think I know where I would stay in Paris if I had the bucks for a hotel. Additionally Marais House is located...wait for it...in the Marais! For me, nothing beats this quartier for the boutiques, the rue des francs bourjeois (which houses comptoir des cotonniers, muji, and autour du monde).

Paris Apartment

French Month continues with my drooling over The Paris Apartment website and blog and book. This woman Claudia started a showroom in New York out of her love for Paris. She takes trips twice a year to replenish her inventory of furniture and also works as a designer creating boudoir spaces (which is what the book appears to be about).

Now I'm not normally the romantic/boudoir girl by nature (more crisp/fresh) but I can't resist these interiors. Perhaps I'm letting some of my inner french girl out?

I'm even charmed by this simple before and after from the blog. It's about the curtains but someone please tell me what that piece of furniture is under the pile of fabric! There is, for me, something irresistable about simple blue and white, high ceilings and hardwood floors:




UPDATE: Claudia was nice enough to send me a picture of what is under that pile of fabric. Behold the beauty!: