A Dream Getaway

Came across this photo and **sighed** - This is where I want to be right now!...Writing my bestseller, kissing in the grass and picking daisy petals, experiencing a random downpour with lightning and static in the air, throwing open the top terrace shutters to greet the morning with an espresso....

Wine Tasting Set

Look at this fantastic Christmas present! No idea who I would purchase for at this time, but reasonably priced and potentially a great hostess gift. You can even add on caviar and potato chips (true combo of decadence and random comfort), or bonbons....From Swanson Vineyards website.

Veggie Centies

From Bleu Style (.com)

What do I care how much it may storm...

from Moikka paper company.

Reminds me of Lake Tahoe!

Gorgeous turqoise one-of-a-kind ring by Bario Neal, a company that handcrafts its jewelry in Philadelphia with ethically-sourced stones and low-impact, environmentally conscious practices. (www.Bario-Neal.com)

Thank God for perspective

Brief is life
but love is long.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson

My puppy forever, Holly

Granny's quote

And "love each other first with sweet, unifying passion".

From www.greenweddinghoes.com

'Big-girl' ballerina shoes

Oh I LOVE! By my favorite, Zara

Shooting stars

Across the Universe

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Sounds of laughter shades of life
are ringing through my open ears
exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which
shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Beatles.

Sunshower

Lemon Lust

Joyful! Lemon. Bohemian. Pearl. Tulip-y. Oh how I love....

Inspires me like the yellow dress from "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" - Remember that one?

Getting lost with confidence

"Traveling naked into the land of uncertainty helps us forget what we know and discover what we need. And then, terror turns to faith. And you know how to get lost with confidence."

Robert Quinn

What are the 10 most significant personal changes you have ever made?

Lake Tahoe

An abstract oil fingerpainting of one of my favorite places on earth: Lake Tahoe

Newfound Swarovski Love

Gigantic book artichokes

http://www.ritzybee.typepad.com/ says these are pinecones, but they look like fantastically wordy, literary artichokes to me! I always knew artichokes were a smart choice ;)

Sunshine

I have decided to post my paintings periodically.

For those who may not know, I enjoy painting expressively with a variety of different mediums: watercolor, oil, acrylic, gouache. This is one of the first paintings I did (circa 2004) with an out-of-the-box focus on texture. This oil painting is covered entirely in sand, which blurs the detail and creates a velvety-rough texture. This suited the mood of the painting, which was a tribute to the bright, fiery, passionate side of me. I called it Sunshine.

Cultivating a marriage?

"And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard." Genesis 9:20

Interesting thought. As a man becomes a husband, a primary task is to plant a vineyard. Whether this is for livelihood, family bonding, or the sanity of either husband or wife, I think this is a beautiful old tradition that should be revisited! (Yes!)

Photo of Austrian vineyard

"I love everything that's old - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine." Oliver Goldsmith

Island paradise

From www.swsmag.com:

Sandals La Toc at Jade Mountain at Soufriere, St. Lucia, West Indies.

This is literally the view from the bloggers' stay.

It looks like a montage of beautiful things....so dreamy....

Thinking about another day

Lilac and lavender

I do love the smell and look of lavender. This room is so peaceful. The clean white is refreshing, the lilac walls are serene, and the deep masculine wood of the dresser offsets the femininity of the lavender. Blissful.

"There's a few things I've learned in life: always throw salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can." - Lavender & Shakespeare, Winter's Tale iv.4

Mosaic Magic

I love this gorgeous compilation of colorful tiles from decor8blog.com. Tiled backsplashes in bathrooms or kitchens are just my ideal. I can't wait to nest!

Next stop: An Abacoa Saturday with my lovely Diana to create mosaics.

Kite Surfing

Chad has taken up a new hobby....and soon, this could be ME!

Everyone should know how to....

Make their own cake pops....!

Tutorial found here: http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/10/how-to-make-your-own-cake-pops-tutorial-by-rhubarb-rose/#more-55807

Cool, Quiet, Serene

The stone, the turqoise accents, the dark wood, the mirrors....I love this bathroom!!

In the Clouds

Wandered ZGallerie on Friday on my way to Zed451 in Mizner Park and came across this sofa. It's called the Cloud Modular Sectional and is supremely comfortable. The middle cube can be removed and voila! From bed to couch. Oh I am in a nestingmode.

darling?

I haven't seen something this cute in...well, since I saw my honey this weekend. lol!

Want to bend like that. Need to get back to yoga.

Seriously, www.snippetandink.com never fail to deliver gorgeous images. Love their blog.

Magical Realism

I love magical realism. Specifically, I love works of children's fiction in the form of magical realism that have morals or spiritual elements to them (The Alchemist, The Chronicles of Narnia, even Twilight).... I just finished a new series by Brandon Mull called Fablehaven (available on http://www.amazon.com/) - So entirely blissful to find a new series! A fantastic story of siblings, magic, adventure, good and evil, friendship, and of course, the power of love and purpose.

Wine and Cheese Tray

When I saw this Cheese Palette by Ritzy Bee Events, I thought it was incredibly creative and looked divinely delicious. Perfect with a nice glass of Chardonnay at cocktail hour. Then I found out - it's DIY. I am in love!

Instructions to create here: www.ritzybee.typepad.com or www.MarthaStewart.com

...and schnitzel with [grun apfel] streudel!

Love these necklaces by http://www.jesslc.com/ And proceeds go to great causes....!

Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine

My brother, sister, and I must have gone through at least three of these growing up. To our dismay, they kept breaking, but I still have such a soft spot in my heart for this sno-cone machine....!

Dreaming of Italy on a Sunday afternoon...

The Adventures of Bubble Toes, Flower, & Sunshine

Once upon a time, there were best friends. Only…best friends didn’t seem like the right words to describe them. They were each other's fiercely loyal playmates and dancing partners, listeners and confidantes, rocks and safe havens. They were coming-of-age sisters. And they were all very, very different.

Bubble Toes was a small girl with long curly brown hair that spilled down her back. She was loud, vivacious, mothering, full of life, steadfast, the social butterfly, and somehow, under it all, maybe a little sad.

Flower was slender with passionate curly red hair. She was loquacious (and liked to use big words), protective, empathetic, assertive, and made it a point to dislike anyone or anything that did not show the appropriate admiration for her Bubble Toes or Sunshine.

Sunshine had blonde hair and blue eyes, and was a creative, introverted listener, who had a propensity for melodrama and loved the beach. At her heart she was a bookworm and artist who secretly admired the brazenness and passion her two best friends so easily exuded.

It was Monday night again. Monday night was Theme Night. Sunshine was frowning into the sunset o the porch, with a furrowed brow, trying to puzzle up a new theme. Bubble Toes walked out and sat down on the chair next to her. She knew exactly what Sunshine was thinking about, of course. The best and most kindred of friends always seem to. Sunshine turned to look at Bubble Toes. Bubble Toes was wearing a black sequined matching sweat suit, and it was just the inspiration she needed to come up with a perfectly perfect theme. “Charlie’s Angels”, she said. Bubble Toes laughed delightedly (she always liked to laugh) and bounced up. “Yes! Where will we go?” “Oh, everywhere”, Sunshine said. “We need somewhere we can slunk.” Bubble Toes leaned over and opened up the screen door. “Flower! We are Charlie’s Angels tonight!” Flower was in the shower (as was typical) and yanked the curtain open to shout, “What?” Bubble Toes bellowed back: “Charlie’s Angels – Theme night!” Flower exclaimed “Yes!” Sunshine smiled. “Genius. Let the games begin”.

Still pondering after Eat Pray Love...

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do I Splurge?

J'adore these Curtains...

http://www.anthropologie.com/

Lobster & Artichokes

...does life get better than this?

only half-kidding - could eat arti's daily...

This is one of my most favorite buffet ideas ever.

I Love You C

From 100 Layer Cake (http://100layercake.com/blog)

I found an old poem...

And thought it was appropriate for the here and now.

Friendship.

A pursuit, generally, in lack of peace.

We, goodheartedly and with a subtle hint of control,

attempt to challenge each other to be what we expect

And then fall back in frustration and anger and disappointment.

Our lives change and friendship changes

And we don't support each other enough.

Friendship,

the best form of it,

knows how to protect

and also when to let fly.

It teaches all who experience it

what self-sacrifice is

And what all the silly empty words really mean.

It trusts,

and inspires through authenticity,

and gets better with age.

Maturity happens as a result of it,

and material possessions never come into question.

It philosophizes over everything and nothing

and nurtures the soul.

It makes you feel blessed, finally,

and only serves to strengthen the individual.

through the group experience.

It heals, and smiles, and serves.

It holds drama at bay and

peruses how terrible life must be for those

who are not so rich.

But instead,

we cling to the past,

and regret not being more accepting of the present,

and pretend the future will be better, like a dream.

We should love, not pretend to protect.

We should challenge

by being true to ourselves,

and not by expecting others to be true to what we think they are.

We should love those who love our friends. Period.

Dreams

Dreams are hazy. I catch glimpses of my dreams, but they don't always fit together with my life like a puzzle. Sometimes they don't even translate into reality. Dreams can be inspiration. Dreams can even masquerade as wish fulfillment.

I think life should be full of dreams...but flexible dreams. Being stubborn about what "you thought might be" and not willing to accept what "is" results in unhappiness. In not accepting others for who they are, or who they might become.

My dreams, for the most part, are a mixture of family, friends, romance and love, and creative endeavors. I pray that I get to live my dreams, flexibly, while embracing and wholeheartedly accepting the dreams of those I love.

I was thinking...

I want a Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang experience. Let's rent a crazy old car in Paris with Chad (City of L.O.V.E) and drive to a country of epic romance (via my childhood upbringing - crossbreed of Chitty and the Sound of Music)...castle Neuschwanstein in Garmisch-Partenkirschen, Germany. Chad and I traveled here (see pic below) but unfortunately arrived too late to tour the castle, and had to hang out with a beatnik waiter in a Ski Lodge Restaurant and eat schnitzel. Everything was schnitzel. Every meat can be schnitzel-ized.

My Kind of Cinderella

From http://bippityboppityboo.tumblr.com/

5 Favorite Words Today

Romantic

Authentic

Beautiful

Creative

Spirit-Driven

Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair... ~Susan Polis Shutz

I love chick flicks! Sadly, I don't turn on movies that frequently anymore (too busy watching Millionaire Matchmaker, Glee, and So You Think You Can Dance). But yesterday “You’ve Got Mail” came on! Meg Ryan said, "I love daisies. They're so friendly. Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flowers?" And....yes! I do!

According to Wikipedia, “The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, was a Victorian means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken.” Ahhhh **symbolism**....The Society of American Florists has compiled a list of universal flower meanings. Here are some of my favorites:

Baby’s Breath – Festivity

Daisies – Happiness

Delphinium – Boldness (My birth month flower!)

Gardenia – Joy

Orange Blossom – Fertility (Never knew it was FL’s state flower - Gorgeous!)

Rananculus – Radiant

Star of Bethlehem – Hope

Sunflower – Adoration (I was surprised there…)

Tulip (Pink – Caring, Purple – Royalty, Red – Declaration of Love, White – Forgiveness, Yellow – Hopelessly in Love)

Violet – Faithfulness

Zinnia – Thoughts of Friends

Birds of a Feather

These are Western Grebes, ducks in Oregon that pick up their wings and dance on top of the water to show others that they're in love...(or at least going to mate). Their symmetry is astounding, and I love the symbolism of it.

My favorite bird is, as always, the Bird of Paradise...outrageous males who transform into hopping clicking wondrously deliriously funny birds trying to woo the female.

Dreaming...

A picture that reminds me of good times curled up with a book and sharing a lemonade on the back porch with my sister and mom. This is a truly gorgeous outdoor living space.

Maybe I can adapt it to my back porch, but I think the ocean is the highlight. God is the true artist here....

From http://www.brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com/

Turning lemons into lemonade...and other beautiful traits

I saw these necklaces on http://makeundermylife.com/
and thought they were just wonderful. Reminds me of http://notsoapradio.com/. Even better, proceeds from these necklaces go to non-profit causes the artist believes in...

Thoughts from a Woman

"I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing...kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles."

Audrey Hepburn

For H.B.

What If...??

...I were to put a blue ledge (like the one below) above my bed (which coincidentally looks similar in color and shape to this bed!) and it would contrast nicely with my aquamarine pool blue walls and add a splash of bluey turqoisey goodness and then I could balance pictuere frames on it and be happy forever!?

Je T'aime

From HoneyPieDesign's Shop on Etsy comes gorgeous pillows, that I'm about to attempt in true D.I.Y. fashion...AND! I'm going to be a great sister and do some for my jet-setting sister in Hebrew and Arabic. Yes.

And can I just say...Wow.

Flora "Old Style" European Cut Ring, McTeigue and McClelland.

Rainbow Cake

From one of my favorite blogs comes the most profound, surprising, lethal dessert...Rainbow Cake! P.S. Slightly insecure about the fact that South Beach Diet (SBD) is over and I am still blogging sweets!!

(www.intimateweddings.com/blog)

Mmm...!

Drum Roll...Best Grad Party Deco in the WORLD.

(Strong opinion could also be due a combination of my love for Reese's and the fact that I'm on the South Beach Diet where choco is forbidden)

www.HostessWithTheMostest.com