FLOATING BEOPLAY TV

Hey everyone, I hope your 4th of July weekend was better than mine. My husband and I got into a car accident on Friday in the North Carolina mountains. We're pretty sure my car is totaled because the axel is bent and the air bags went off. No major injures, just brused ribs and some badly sprained muscles in my back.  Oh, and I managed to bite my knee. We stayed in the mountains until Tuesday and I've been on bed rest all week. Sorry for the lack of posts, I've been pretty drugged up! Since I've been laid up in bed all week with trashy TV and design magazines, I have a lot of cool products to share with you. The first being this Bang & Olufsen TV called Beoplay V1. TV's can be such an eye sore in residential and commercial design. The worst is when I design a beautiful bar and three weeks after the restaurant opens I find a row of TVs mounted on top! This TV is thin, lightweight and customizable. The front grill has an interchangeable fabric sleeve that comes in black, white, red, yellow, green, dark grey or silver and the frame comes in white or black. What I love the most are the mounting options. The Beoplay can be mounted on the wall, it has a floor stand, an upright table stand and the coolest option are the ceiling brackets.

TOAST TO LOVE

My husband is in the restaurant industry, which means we don't do a lot of Halmark Holidays together. If it's a day that involves food and beverage, industry people usually miss out. That doesn't mean there wont be any celebrating though, this weekend were having a nice low-key "staycation" and enjoying some peace and quiet. if you're single or in a relationship, I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day this year. Spend some time indulging and pampering yourself or the person you love!

(from top left to bottom right) 1. Waterfall Ruffle Duvet from Urban Outfitters 2. Ecru and Pink Sparrow Cami and Shorts by Juicy Couture 3. Carousel Chandelier from Currey and Company 4. Laduree Macarons 5. Barr-Co. Bath Products from Anthropologie 6. Schramsberg Brut Rose

PINING VALENTINE'S DAY

This month has been so beautiful; the weather is unbelievable, the sky is blue and it's hard to believe that it's February. Lucky for me, I've been out of the office a lot with shopping trips and installs and I've had the chance to soak it in. I haven't had much time in front of my computer these last couple weeks, so I apologize for the light posts. With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought I would share some beautiful photos I found on Pinterest. Enjoy!

1. heart ballon photography from +nd 2.  red velvet crinkle cookies from Heather Davis
3. red flowers from cmvandelac 4.  apple, ginger and cranberry vodka cocktail from colleen musika
5. cinema in the backyard from Lindsay Fournier

PRETTY LITTLE PAPER THINGS

I found this really cool card / stationary company, Quill & Fox, on Young Blood Gallery's site. They are based out of Portland, Oregon and they design the sweetest little cards. I love this Valentine's Day Collection they just released. 

Below are some samples of their everyday stationary and postcards, you can also see some of their custom print work in their lookbook.

If you're in the market for some fantastic handmade print-work like this, Young Blood Gallery is currently hosting a show called Go South: Southern Printmaking.

TO THE NEW YEAR!

Wishing everyone a happy weekend! I hope you all have fabulous plans for New Year's Eve, just remember to be safe. Below is a festive party outfit I came up with.

1. Resin and Wood Broach- 12.50
2. Dalmatian Faux Fur Cape- 60.00
3. Structured Sleeveless Skater Dress- 46.00
4. Premeum Color Spot Earings- 18.50
5. Sparkler Missy Handbag- on sale for $93.00
6. Lancome Le Vernis Devine- $15.00
7. Curling Ribbon Ring- $78.00
8. Coach Poppy Eau de Parfum- $65.00
9. Rouge Dior Lipcolor- $32.00
10. Sultry High Platform Courts- 65.00

BACK TO THE GRINDSTONE

I just got home from a busy trip to Connecticut and I have an endless stack of "to-dos" along with a house full of suitcases and boxes. My house is a disaster zone, including my home office and it reminded me of when I first moved in. We looked at around 30 rental properties before we found the house we are in now and the biggest thing on my list was office/studio space. Before we found our house in Underwood Hills, we were close to signing a lease on a small house with a big yard in Cabbagetown. No office space inside meant I needed to get creative outside. Should I rent a studio space down the road or build one on site? Turns out, after a bit of research if found all kinds of amazing options for backyard shed/studios. Today is the kind of day I wish I could hid out in a backyard office and cram out some work without life distracting me! Check out some of the cool studio spaces I discovered a couple years back and some new upgraded offices I just found (while searching for the motivation to get back to reality).

If you have a minute, check out the full article on this Busy Box Studio on Design Sponge. This shed turned studio gave me my first burst of inspiration! I was on eBay and Craigslist daily, trying to find a used shipping container or trailer that I could transform into a workspace. 

via design sponge

bolb vb3

Here are a few pre-fab structures by a company called kitHAUS. They come in a variety of sizes and they can be used for an office, art studio, sitting room, cabana, ect. Below the pictures of kitHAUS is an English company that builds eco-friendly garden rooms; they would make a beautiful and professional office but sadly I don't think they can transport the factory build structures from Sussex to Atlanta.

apartment therapy

kitHAUS

eden garden rooms

airstream via mocoloco.com

I just found this funky pod on If It's Hip, It's Here. Tetra Shed is from the UK and will be available to us in America January 2012.

via if it's hip, it's here

Here are a few more creative spaces from Pintrest. 

pintrest

pintrest

pintrest

I hope you all are adjusting well to work after this Christmas, here's to New Years!

MONDAY PRESENT...FOR THE PREPPY GIRL

1. Holiday Sock Three Pack- J. Crew for $25.00
Who says socks are a bad Christmas gift!? I love giving and getting socks for Christmas and this three pack is a perfect little packaged gift.


2. Sudsy Glass Strand- Anthropologie for $78.00
This glass strand necklace is like an abstract version of a pearl necklace. Every preppy girls owns pearls and this necklace would be a nice alternative. Also, the fact that it's glass means it would match any outfit!


3. Birchbox for $10.00 a month
Birchbox is a great gift for any woman! It's a monthly box of four to five beauty product samples by well loved companies like; Stella, Nars, Benefit and Philosophy. You can gift 3, 6 or 12 months.


4. Monogram Note Cards- Kate Spade for $26.00
Every preppy girl loves monograms and every preppy girl needs stationary (for sending thank you cards and love notes). These note cards have a simple foil stamp on the front and bold black and white stripes on the back.


5. Hunter Regent Boots- Zappos.com for $195.00
Hunter is a very classic boot company that's been around since before WW1. Over the last few years they've become a popular fashion trend because they've added more styles and funky colors. I love the Regent Carlyle because it's a dressy version of the original and they kind of look like riding boots.


6. Forget Me Not Earrings- UncommonGoods from $100.-$300.00
I love these simple little earrings designed, by Kiel Mead, to resemble a knot around your finger as reminder. They would make a charming reminder of how much you love someone this Holiday Season!


7. On The Spot Gloves- Anthropologie for $28.00
Just a sweet pair of gloves, prefect for the stocking.

TACKY, TACKY, TACKY

Hello! Sorry I disappeared last week, lots of work trying to get ready for the Holidays, finishing up some exciting work projects and preparing for a party. Over the weekend I hosted a Tacky Christmas Party, with a grand prize for the most ridiculous outfit and a White Elephant Gift Swap. It was a great time with friends and family with plenty of delicious food and wine, as well as  a few batches of Grasshopper Mint Shooters being passed around. The Sweater Contest got rather competitive and the White Elephant Exchange had fun gifts ranging from home goods, gag gifts, wine and liquor, gourmet snacks and the most popular, an "adult goody bag". We were lucky to have freakishly warm weather and could continue the party outside by the fire pit!

 I know most of my guest had some luck putting together their outfits at thrift stores and Walmart  but I thought I would share some "fancy" tacky sweaters I've seen this season. 

kate spade

urban outfitters

topshop

abercrombie & fitch

abercrombie & fitch men's

urban outfitters

urban outfitters

Hope you had a great weekend too! 

MONDAY PRESENT...FOR THE CONNOISSEUR

1. Horn Handle Corkscrew- Laguiole for $189.00
I know there are lots of fancy, high-tech ways to open wine these days, but any true connoisseur (including any restaurant sommelier) prefers a traditional corkscrew. Laguiole is an iconic knife and corkscrew company from France that's been around since 1829. Their products are well designed and made in lots of exotic materials, like this one with a horn handle.


2. Colonel Monocle in Whiskey Tortoise- Warby Parker for $50.00
Warby Parker is a really cool and affordable eye-ware company. You can check out their inventory online and sign up to get a box of your favorite 5 pairs sent to your home to try on for free. For the more adventurous and sophisticated person on your list, why not go Monocle?


3. Bacon Moon Pie- Uncrate $33.00 for 4
"Bacon Moon Pies are expertly produced savory treats made using high-quality bacon sourced from CA to create a traditional Scottish shortbread with rice flour, bacon fat and bacon cracklin. In between is a marshmallow made from Vermont maple syrup and high-quality bourbon, along with a bacon fat and cracklin caramel, all of which gets encased in 72% dark chocolate." Umm yummy.


4. NUB Cigars- Uncrate for $5.00-$8.00
Don't know much about cigars but I thought these were note-worthy because they're short so you don't have to commit to a big expensive cigar in one sitting.


5. Whiskey Stones and Gift Set- Uncommongoods from $19.50-$58.00
I personally enjoy a couple ice cubes in my whiskey or tequilla because I like a little water melted in the drink. If you like a pure chilled drink, put Whiskey Stones in your freezer and add a few into your glass to keep things cold without the pesky melting factor. They are made out of soapstone so they wont scratch your glassware.


6. 'Talk Jerky to Me' Tasting Box- Foodzie for $29.95
Foodzie is a really great site for unique food related gifts. I think this Jerky Tasting is a fun and manly gift, it would pair well with a bottle of red wine or glass of whiskey. 


7. 2009 Velvet Glove Shiraz- Mollydooker for $185.00
"...intense warm blackberry, choco-mint, smoked bacon and marmite-toast aromas with nuaces of coffee, roasted nuts and vanilla." -Lisa Perrotti Brown
Obviously a pricey wine, but if there is a person on your list that you need to impress, this is the wine for them. The beautiful bottle comes in a black velvet bag and is uniquely shaped. It's an award winning design and an award winning wine. This is the kind of wine you will never forget drinking.

WINDOW SHOPPING

Earliery this week I went to Lenox Mall to do a little Christmas shopping. Because I am offering holiday decorating services this year, I was very inthralled by some of the festive retail displays. It was interesting to see which stores were able to express "holiday" while staying true to a retail brand and this seasons trends.  Some of the biggest trends represented in the windows were color pallets (warm metallics and bold/neon colors), and geometry in materials and patterns. GAP and JCrew also used a trendy material, MT washi tape. Have a look at some displays that caught my eye.

Anthropologie was probably my favorite because they used the most original materials and colors. The second image below is of "snowballs" made out of plastic spoons, silver tape and a foam spear. Definitely a "why didn't I think of that" moment!

Diesel had a very shinny window display full of disco balls and diamond shaped ornaments. They were one of many retailers using warm metallic shades like copper, gold, champagne and gunmetal as a color pallet. Below Diesel are two more example of this color trend from Burberry and Express.

Lately I've been very impressed with GAP, I feel like their current textiles and patterns have hugely improved from what they've been selling over the last 10 years. The window display they have this season is a clear representation of how on trend they are this year. JOY written in neon yarn creates a geometric pattern, they used MT washi tape across on the walls, and I love the lit up bike and Polaroid-ish trees. All together it says super hipster to me.

The new Free People Store did a great job of staying within their brand identity: soft, vintage and feminine.

The 'Live Colorfully' concept at Kate Spade was clearly expressed in their holiday decor. Streamers, confetti and super-saturated wrapped boxes make for a very festive party season!

Happy window shopping!