Friday, March 12, 2010

Jewlery Designers I adore! It's a close tie between Kenneth Jay Lane and Erickson Beamon

Erickson Beamon:



Kenneth Jay Lane:






Those are not the most economical pieces, so sometimes we must turn to the trusty Urban Outfitters!


Check out this great piece for summer: Metal Sunburst Statement Bracelet




Throw it on with an outfit like this and you're out the door!
These are definately on the wish list for spring!
Camilla Skovgaard Sandals


































Thursday, March 11, 2010

I LOVE BIRTHDAY'S

So Saturday was the BIG DAY...my 22 year old brother called around 12:40 a.m. (Friday night/Saturday Morning)to remind me just how old 27 sounds...apparently he was already celebrating for me; (deep sigh) ahhh, to be young again!

I LOVE BIRTHDAY'S! My family has always made a really big deal out of birthdays. We have always had "birthday weeks" ...I mean come on, there is no way to celebrate how great you are in just one day! I feel like we have been celebrating closer to 2 weeks this year (this will take quite a few post). But for now, I'll start with Saturday.

Saturday Brian and I woke up and went out for some exercise, it was a beautiful morning, we were actually able to wear shorts all day! We got back to the house and made our morning ritual delicious pot of ,our favorite, We did not get to drink it here...

...But we did get to sit on our patio and enjoy it freshly ground and brewed via our Cousinart Grind and Brew (thank you Amanda and David)
http://http//www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisinart-brewcentral-coffee-maker-with-thermal-carafe/?pkey=celtcofaut
and Illy Whole bean, Medium Roast coffee
http://http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/illy-espresso-whole-bean/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C4%7CIlly%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH
Now we can officially start our day!

Elizabeth and Carlos arrive in town around 4 or so. Brian I decided to have everyone over to our house since my parents were throwing my family party Sunday night at their house.
The menu:
Fresh gulf grouper grilled and seasoned to perfection, placed on to a tasted hoagie bun with provolone cheese and topped with homemade tarter and cocktail sauce!

Oven baked red potato wedges sprinkled with Parmesan cheese (and covered in KETCHUP, oh my, how gourmet!)

Homemade coleslaw topped with baked crushed ramen noodles

...and to top it all of Margarita's made with the best William Sonoma Margarita Mix (I usually make them homemade, but it's hard to beat the WS mixes!

A Perfect Dinner!
The house was covered with flowers (thanks mom and dad)

and then there was a very creatively wrapped gift from my husband (we have been moving and cannot find anything, aka wrapping paper, so he used some roofing felt and painters tape...I LOVE IT, so cute)!

WHAT IS IN THE BOX ALREADY??!!

AHHHHHHH, scream,


Ok, well, the actual lamps weren't in the box and won't be here until the end of the month, but there was a picture with the sweetest note telling me that a pair of Authentic Kartell Bourgie Lamps are coming to live with us very soon! I couldn't be more excited. What a wonderful birthday!
















It's Coming Along...

This past week has been a blast. It was my 27th birthday week and my fabulous sister-n-law and boyfriend came down (from Michigan), for their spring break, to celebrate with us. But before the festivities could begin, we had to finish up the last major renovations to our house. We had a roofing crew on top of our house for three day putting on a new roof and taking off 2 previous layers of roofing ( i guess i had no idea that legally you could put a new roof over an old one?), anyway, off with the old and on with the new!


And while the roof was getting a makeover...there may have been a few projects going on inside!

This is one of our guest rooms. It's one of my favorite rooms because of the huge windows and how much natural light it gets...but I just couldn't stand the built in bookshelves. Brian and I agreed that they just had to come down. I love that Brian is just as impulsive as I am, and as soon as that decision was made those cabinets were out of there. The walls, were sanded, puttied, sanded, puttied, sanded, primed, painted, baseboards replaced, carpet finished...and then we got our beautiful room (finished pic's to come)!!!



But we couldn't stop there, oh no, we had to fit in a few more projects. One of the most important was the Fan Project. Remember this Deco gem? We decided not to spend the $ to get the one we really want so...with a little TLC and some serious skills by my husband, we've got ourselves a new fan!

BEFORE:



AFTER:

Jag är överväldigad av glädje!

That is "I am overwhelmed with joy" in Swedish...at least that is what Google translator says it means. But why in Swedish, might you ask? Well, apparently my husband has a pen pal there and I have got to learn the language in hopes that we will visit them one day (although I'm sure they are fluent in English!)

I did not learn of this "pen pal" until last night.

Elizabeth and Carlos were spending their last night of vacation with us and wanted to prepare a traditional Colombian dinner (Carlos is from Columbia). It was an amazing feast! While we were dining we began talking about taking a trip to meet Carlos's family and the traditions/customs, government, exchange rates, etc in his country... he was telling us how unreliable the mail system is in Columbia and somehow we got sidetracked onto talking about pen pals when we were kids (doubt many kids do that anymore). Anyway, Brian brings out a present for me telling me that his pen pal in Sweden sent it for me. I am so confused, excited, thinking it may be a practical joke... I have already had the best birthday imaginable, what in the world is he doing? Well, I rip through the paper and open the box to find this:


MY HEART ALMOST JUMPS OUT OF MY CHEST and I literally cannot believe what my eyes are reading. I am still pinching myself to see if this is real! Yes it says, "Happy Birthday dear Natalie from Adam & Viktoria"!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH I don't know what i am more excited about the actual gift inside or the note itself???

Hello, have none of you been reading my blog? This is the only reason I started a blog! Adam and Viktoria Pillows! Last summer Brian and I went to Tacoma, WA and stayed at the Hotel Murano http://http//www.hotelmuranotacoma.com/ where I was first introduced to most beautiful pillows on earth. I dream about them, I mean I am so totally obsessed. But there is this one, just this one pillow that i can't get over and to my luck you cannot buy them anywhere. I'm not kidding. We have contacted every place that we know of to try to get one and there was never even the slightest glimpse of hope. I would try to find something different to replace it in my mind but i just couldn't picture our living room with out one.

Well, my husband takes it upon himself to go straight to the source. He emails my IDOLS...
Adam and Viktoria (the two names i must google search a hundred times a week) and they respond, they talk back and fourth with Brian; I cannot believe it!

They send me their very last Turkish Delight pillow in Grey and Istanbul. THERE ARE NO MORE TO BE FOUND. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
Adam, Viktoria...and of course, Brian, I cannot thank you enough. This pillow will be a family heirloom; I will have it forever! I can only dream that we will be able to meet you one day! I can't wait to see all of the amazing things you continue to create.

With love,
Natalie