Something Blue - A Few Favorite Finds

With all of the Valentine's Day prep over the past few weeks, it occurred to me that both pink and red have been in abundance on the blog lately.  While it has been fun to showcase various ways to incorporate the festive color pairing into food, decor and entertaining, I have to admit that I am actually more of a blue and grey girl at heart (coincidentally my alma mater's colors as well!).  Of course, that's not to say that I don't enjoy a variety colors, I have just noticed over the years that my color preference has always leaned towards a cooler color palette.   So for today's post, I wanted to reintroduce those cooler tones back into the blog and highlight a few pretty blue finds that I am currently loving.

Sugarfina

About a month ago, Sugarfina opened a store in Bethesda, Maryland.  For those of you who may not be familiar with Sugarfina, they are a Beverly Hills based gourmet candy company focused on catering to the sophisticated adult sweet tooth.  Yes, a candy store for adults!  

Visiting one of their store locations is reminiscent of walking into Tiffany & Co.  Beautiful displays featuring a wide array of the most delicious jewel-like candies, packaged in the prettiest blue gift bags.  These candy treat boxes make for fabulous party favors, birthday gifts, hostess gifts and will satisfy almost any sweet tooth craving.  If you don't live near one of their brick and mortar locations, not to worry!  They also have an online storefront.  Bottom line- this candy store is a definite must try!

Crate and Barrel Union Square Bedding

Ever since my acquisition of this fur throw blanket (featured in this post), I have become totally obsessed with faux fur blankets.  Over the holidays I learned of the bed-sized version of my faux fur throw blanket and have been dreaming of owning one since!  

Over this past Valentine's weekend my husband surprised me with a new addition for our bed (the faux fur bed blanket), which had me jumping for joy.  Naturally, the new blanket addition inspired a mini bed linen updating.  Swapping out my Dwell Studio Citrine Peacock Linens for this Crate and Barrel Union Square pattern, has given my bed a refreshed look that is very seasonally appropriate and soooo comfortable!  

Hyacinths

Every year around this time, I look forward to Hyacinths coming into season.  They are gorgeous in color (the blue/lavender is my absolute favorite!) and super fragrant, making them an ideal flower for a large open space and/or a powder room.  Trader Joe's currently has them in stock for less than $6/bunch.  Such a beautiful flower from top to stem and one that I recommend incorporating into your home decor during this time of year.  

Cobalt-Colored Drinkware

Adding a splash of color to my table decor is essential.  In addition to flowers and table linens, I occasionally enjoy adding colored drinkware to my tablescapes.  These cobalt glasses from Pier 1 Imports are a personal favorite.  They are inexpensive, gorgeous in color, dishwasher safe and the small stem gives them a very elegant feel.  Regardless of whether you choose to dress these glasses up or down, they are a fabulous addition to almost any table. 

Giving My Living Room a Mini Make-Over

For today's post I wanted to share a glimpse of my latest home decor updates.  We have been in our home for about a  year and a half now and it was really at the one year mark that I finally started to feel reinvigorated to begin the fine tuning process with our living room home decor.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, when we initially purchased our condo there were the immediate needs that had to be addressed like the bathroom renovation, painting, replacing appliances and window treatments.   

Around the start of early spring, it was actually our dog Dolly who decided to kick off the second round of decorating by destroying our living room rug with a series of accidents that weren't really her fault (I'm going to stop there with describing, but hopefully you get the gist…).  The biggest lesson learned thanks to Dolly: Even though they are significantly less expensive than wool rugs, avoid purchasing jute or sisal rugs if you own pets or have children.  One false move (aka stain) and the rug is done.   

Replacing the living room rug was all the inspiration I needed to feel reinvigorated to kick off this mini project.The second round of home decorating was focused on fine-tuning the living room, primarily adjusting the furnishings to better fit the space.  After an almost 7-month long revamp, my living room is finally coming together and looking like everything was meant for the space. 

Scale

My living room decor has been evolving ever since my husband and I first moved in together.  Our first place together was small and had low ceilings.  Even though we were beginning to purchase furniture together, we made an effort to avoid purchasing furniture to fit our first place.  Reason being, it was temporary and our nice new furniture pieces were permanent, so our new furniture would need to work in our next house.  At the time of our move, we had simply transferred the furniture from our old living room to our new living room.  While certain pieces like our couch, bookshelf and media center fit in the living room perfectly, our pair of blue professor's chairs were too small for a room with such tall ceilings.  

Swapping out the chairs for a larger/taller pair was necessary to fit the scale of the room.  When shopping for the chairs, I knew that I wanted the chairs to be a little less predictable, so I opted for a winged-back chair in the corner for a little height and then a larger club chair on one end of the coffee table.  To tie the chairs together, I had them upholstered in the same mocha vintage velvet fabric.  The new chairs fit the space beautifully and luckily we have been able to re-home the little blue chairs in our bedroom and loft.  

Function & Comfort

In addition to designing a room that's proportional to the space, it's important to make sure that the furnishings are both comfortable and functional.  The first issue I needed to tackle was the rug.  Our living room is a high traffic area and we have a dog.  When we first moved in we opted for a chunky jute rug because it fit the space, was neutral in color and cost $199 for an 8x10.  While at the time it did the trick, it was a temporary solution.  

When the time came to replace it (exactly 1 year after we bought it…thanks Dolls!), I knew I needed to find a rug that was comfortable, durable, neutral in color and easy to clean.  I ended up finding our rug on final sale at Restoration Hardware, which was a little scary since I only had pictures to go off of and wouldn't be able to return it.  Luckily it turned out great and it is the perfect foundation for this space.  

The second function/comfort component of this living room re-do that needed to be addressed was the coffee table.  Our original coffee table was a piece that I had inherited from my parents and painted gold to match the decor in our first house.  When we moved, the length of our new living room was slightly smaller and so it immediately became apparent that the coffee table was too large for the space.   

We entertain frequently in our living room, so it was important to find a table that would still have a substantial surface area, but would afford additional leg room for those guests seated on either end of the coffee table.  After a long search we ended up purchasing the Clairemont Oval Coffee Table from Crate & Barrel.  I love the unique oval shape, sophisticated mirrored shelf that provides additional storage and the fact that it is 6 inches shorter than our old table, giving guests plenty of leg room.  

Finishing Touches

My sister has always had an eye for home decor aesthetics.  When she was first decorating her NYC loft with her husband, I remember talking to her throughout her decorating process trying to gain any insights on decorating and how to put a room together.  The one phone call I specifically remember was when she told me that she was on a hunt for tchotchkes, "because finishing off a room's decor aesthetic is all about the knick knacks."  It was a slightly funny way of saying it, but boy was she right!  Sure, there's a lot of thought that goes into picking out fabrics and furniture pieces for a space, but I have spent significantly more time arranging and rearranging my throw pillows, living room bookshelf and coffee table decor.   All of these little items are essential pieces for bringing any space together and it takes time to get everything situated in a way that finally works. 

I am not sure if I am happier about the way the room turned out or the fact that I am finally done with this project.  It was certainly a great experience with plenty of lessons learned, but the best part is definitely the fact that I get to come home every day to this cozy and completed space.  Now it's time to get going on to the next project!  

If you have any questions regarding today's post, I would love to hear from you!  

Coffee Table Updating

This past weekend was highly productive.  Between cleaning out/organizing this one closet I had been eying for some time now, buying a new car and finally "scaping" my new coffee table, I am feeling very accomplished on this Monday morning.  For today's post, I wanted to share some of the latest updates to our new coffee table.  As you may recall from this post, we purchased a new coffee table to better fit the scale of our living space and provide guests with a little more leg room when gathered around our coffee table.  Opting to go with a glass/metal coffee table was a must for lightening up the space, especially since the perimeter of our room is a sea of dark wood.  When I came across the Claremont Coffee Table, I was absolutely over the moon!  In addition to being the ideal color, shape and size, this coffee table also came with an antique mirrored lower shelf.  New look and additional storage had me totally smitten.  

While everything about this coffee table is exactly what I was looking for, it did present one challenge - my traditional coffee table tray of decor didn't translate to this new table. In addition, I was now tasked with designing 2 levels. 

For the top layer, I decided to keep it simple with a pretty vase that I have currently filled with a mix of fresh white roses and gladiolas.  This minimalistic approach keeps the table functional and doesn't detract from the lower tier display.  Here is a breakdown of what I used to create the lower tier display:

Coffee Table Books

I love to decorate with books, so using coffee table books on this shelf was a no brainer.  I decided to go with a set of completely fresh books on this my coffee table, since they would be displayed prominently for everyone to see (unlike my bookshelf where people only see books from a distance).  Note- When purchasing coffee table books to stack for display purposes, it is important to make sure that the book dimensions are similar in order to create a cohesive look.  Here is a list with links for the coffee table books I selected:

• The Big Book of Chic, by: Miles Redd
• The Houses of VERANDA: The Art of Living Well, by: Lisa Newsom
• Garden Inspirations, by: Charlotte Moss

Succulents

I love the look and texture of a succulent.  The pop of green color, paired with the low profile and rustic box makes this a perfect addition to this display shelf.  The one thing that I would like to note about succulents is that they require full light to thrive (since they are a member of the cacti family), so I would recommend using a faux succulent (like this one or this one) in a space like your living room where full light might not be an option.  

Coasters

I have said this time and again, set your guests up for success by placing coasters throughout your various sitting/gathering areas.  Keeping in mind my mantra and my concept of varying textures, I have opted to stack this set of Bali Coasters.  Not only do they provide protection for my coffee table from drink condensation, but I also love the handwoven look of these round coasters (and at a cost of $5.95, how could I resist?!).

Decorative Bowls

Decorative bowls are a great addition to any display space.  For this coffee table, I opted to include my large CB2 Brass Pinch bowl to balance out the side opposite my coffee table books and give the space a pop of metallic color.  In addition, I included my small Simon Pearce Chaplain bowl in the middle to dress up the space and balance out my more casual accents (succulent and coasters).   

Match Box

A book of matches and/or a lighter is extremely useful to have in every room that contains candles and/or votives.  While commercial matchboxes and lighters are not the most aesthetically pleasing, a decorative matchbox cover like the one pictured above or this one, will provide you with the ability to have a practical item on display without junking up the look of your coffee table.  I am particularly fond of this matchbox not only because it was a gift from my best friend but also because it ties in perfectly to the orange/coral color in my throw pillows.  

Just like designing a bookshelf, creating this display required a great deal of mixing, matching, arranging and re-arranging before I achieved an end result that I was happy with.  I would encourage you to thoughtful with the items you choose to include on your coffee table and remember to stay focused on functionality, design and color scheme.  Keeping these thoughts in mind will ensure coffee tablescaping success!

July Kitchen Tools

This month's selection of kitchen tools are a few of my latest favorite bar tools that have been great for making drinks, serving water and even saving wine!  As you may or may not remember I posted an article featuring my list of must-have bar tools back in May, well these tools should also be included on that list.  This month's tools are highly functional, easy to use, affordable (all cost under $20) and some tools are even multipurpose!

Zoku Ice Ball Mold (set of 2)

I have been seeing the sphere ice molds for some time now.  My hesitation into learning more about the sphere ice molds in the past has always been the price.  The first sphere ice mold I saw on the market cost a whopping $700!  While it was very fun to watch the video of the ice being made…it wasn't something that would ever be in my budget.  So I held off on thinking about sphere ice until recently while watching a Magnus Nilsson episode from the the series Mind of a Chef.  During one of his featured episodes he made a cocktail by placing an ice sphere in a double old fashioned glass, then added a jigger (or two) of a bourbon, topped with a drizzle of locally sourced honey and garnished with fresh dandelion petals! It looked beautiful and the sphere ice cube suddenly peaked my interest again.    

The Zoku Ice Ball Maker is my new go-to for serving both specialty cocktails and water at my various dinner and cocktail parties.  Each box comes with 2 silicone molds that only require adding water and then placing in your freezer.  The spherical ice cubes keep drinks cooler longer and create minimal drink dilution.  In addition, these ice molds are dishwasher safe, BPA free and cost under $20!  Spherical ice cubes have become a new way of life for me when it comes to serving beverages and I highly recommend trying this fabulous product. 

Funnel

Having a funnel in my arsenal of bar tools is something that I have found to be extremely helpful.  There have been plenty of nights where I have wanted a second glass of wine, my husband pours it for me, I have a sip, we start watching a movie and I fall asleep.  Since wine is particularly inexpensive, it is not something I like to waste (especially if it's a good bottle that only my husband and I plan on sharing).  A funnel affords us the ability to pour leftover wine (i.e. an entire glass) back into the bottle to enjoy another night.  Funnels are also transferring spices from store bought containers to display worthy containers or even just transferring food and beverages.  Inexpensive, practical and potentially cost saving are all great reasons why the funnel is worthy of my bar tools must-have list. 

Ice Pick

Our ice maker has been out of commission and as a result I have had to purchase bags of ice when hosting parties at my house.  I do love the way the clear party ice looks in a cocktail, so it hasn't been too terrible having to take this extra party prep step.  The one issue however that has been slightly frustrating is the melting and clumping of ice while in transit from the grocery store to my freezer.  Ice clumps result from the melting and refreezing process during transit and for a while I found myself having to bang ice chunks on a hard surface (like my countertops) to break up the clumps.  Finally I came to my senses and invested in an ice pick.  Now instead of smashing blocks of ice on my countertops (which creates a lot of noise and mess), I have an ice pick on hand to easily break apart the ice clumps and serve normal sized ice pieces in each beverage.  Ice picks are inexpensive, practical and boy have they saved my countertops! 

Muddler

Summer is all about the fruit infused water and cocktails (i.e. Fresh Lime and Mint Mojitos!).  One of the best ways to infuse fruits and herbs into a beverage is with a muddler.  This tool extracts the oils and essences quickly and easily. Depending on the material of the vessel you are muddling your fruit and/or herbs in you should consider using a nylon covered muddler to protect your fragile drinkware.   Regardless of whether you opt for the steel or nylon muddler, both are dishwasher safe, under $20 and will aid in creating fabulously flavored cocktails!

Host a Healthy Breakfast: Greek Yogurt Parfait Bar

As you all know (see here), my mom came to visit this past weekend for her special Mother's Day gift.  She arrived Thursday night and was welcomed with an intimate dinner party.  Friday morning we got up and went to Marjorie Merriweather Post's Hillwood Estate.  We toured the grounds, had lunch at the cafe, then went to visit Arlington National Cemetery (my great grandparents are buried there) and finally, ended the day with a cocktail party at home.  Saturday morning I signed us up for a Pure Barre class.  It was a fabulous workout, but HOLY MOLY!  I didn't know much about Pure Barre prior to the class and had just assumed that the class would consist of a few aerobic ballet moves and maybe some stretching.  Boy was I wrong!  I kid you not, 5 minutes into the class my mom and I were both "puddles" (of sweat!).  It was an excellent 55 minute workout and I am now totally hooked on Pure Barre.  

After the Pure Barre class, my mom and I went back to my house for breakfast.  On the menu- Almond Milk Lattes using my Nespresso and Aeroccino Milk Frother,  Morning Crunch Muffins and a DIY Greek Yogurt Parfait Bar.  The menu was delicious, healthy and the perfect way to refuel post Pure Barre.  Below is a list of what I used to create this delicious spread:

Ingredients

• Fage Greek Yogurt 0%
• Light Agave Nectar
• Organic Honey
• Roasted Flax Seeds
• Toasted Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
• Fresh Blueberries
• Fresh Raspberries
• Fresh Pomegranate Seeds
• Organic Wheat Germ
• Granola
• Ground Cinnamon

Serving Pieces

• Williams Sonoma Open Kitchen White Snack Bowls
• Crate and Barrel Lulie Stemless Martini Glasses
• Crate and Barrel Shell Sugar Tongs
• World Market Bamboo Cocktail Spoons
• Pillivuyt Basketweave Salad Plates
• Linen Cocktail Napkins

This past Saturday morning was the perfect way to start my day.  I felt healthy and invigorated thanks to the Pure Barre Class and delicious DIY Greek Yogurt Parfait breakfast.  I am currently loving this pairing so much that I have invited different groups of friends over the next couple of Saturday mornings to join me for a Pure Barre Class and then head on over to my house for a healthy post-workout breakfast.  This is a great way to entertain because it not only shakes up the standard entertaining routine of either hosting a cocktail or dinner party, but it also includes a fun (and heart healthy!) activity.  Suffice it to say, my friends and I are certainly looking forward to the next couple of Saturday mornings!