***Happy Halloween***

Happy Halloween & Happy Friday everyone! In honor of this festive day, I found some fantastic appetizer and cocktail recipes to try out, whether you happen to be hosting a little Halloween soiree, are going to a costume party or are simply in need of a good buzz to get the night started off right! Cheers!

"Spooky Chic Dinner Party" table decor via Hostess With the Mostess

Monster Fingers & Toes Cookies and Bloody Eyeball Chicken via CanaryGirl.com

Witch's Brew Punch

• 2 Bottles of Champagne
• 1 Gallon Orange Juice 1/2 Gallon Orange Sherbet
• 1 Bunch peeled Black Grapes Sugar to taste
• 1 Bottle (2l) Lemon-Lime Soda
• 1/2 Bottle Vodka
• Small pieces of Dry Ice
• Bunches of Grapes for Garnish

Combine Champagne and orange juice in large punch bowl. Scoop sherbet into bowl until it has produced a nice scum over the top. Add sugar to taste if desired. Float peeled grapes in mixture, and garnish bowl with the rest of the grapes. Drop in pieces of dry ice for steaming effect, but note that no one should put dry ice in his/her mouth. If you want to raise or lower the alcohol content in the punch, add vodka or clear soda respectively. Recipe from Drink of the Week and Photo from Hostess With the Mostess.

Swamp Sangria

• 5 lady apples
• 1 bunch (about 8 ounces) green seedless grapes
• 1 bunch (about 8 ounces) red seedless grapes
• 2 bottles dry white wine, chilled
• 2 cups sparkling apple cider, chilled
• 6 tablespoons poire William (pear-flavored eau-de-vie)
  

Put apples and grapes into an ice-filled punch bowl. Pour in wine, cider, and poire William. Gently stir. Serves 12. Recipe & photo via Martha Stewart.

I wish you all a safe, fun Halloween and a great weekend!

Get Inspired!

~Decor Inspiration Vignette~

Vintage Glam

The inspiration behind this space was the Amy Butler fabric (top left). I loved the pattern and color combination so I drew my design concept from it. Color scheme: muted golds, fuchsias, dark mocha brown and crisp white. Furniture finishes & accents: white lacquer, dark walnut and accents of gilt gold.

Resources: 1) Fabric Amy Butler Nigella Twill Water Lotus Forest - $14.98/yd; 2) Devon Mirror - $149; 3) Santee Sioux Pillow - $54; 4) Gold Festival Pillow - $128; 5) Jasper Table Lamp - $535; 6) Cinchwaist Iron/Glass Table (Arteriors Home); 7)Savoir Chair in Sangria Fabric - $899; 8) Jacqui White Chest - $1,525

***I plan on creating many more of these inspiration vignettes in the future. What color schemes and or design styles would you like to see?***

Relish Design

I discovered this wonderful website, Relish Design, via Atticmag and fell in love with the unique items they offer! I especially love the acrylic "diamond" ring (only $12), the stilla yellow plywood tray by Marimekko, and the coral branch jewelry stand. Click here to view more of their fantastic collections.

Quote of the Week

"I wonder if any element of interior design is more personal than color? Nothing can more quickly reveal aspect of personality and character than the choice - or absence - of color."

Van Day Truex, Interiors, Character, and Color

P.S. I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Please check out my post over at Ofifteen today on my "lovely" home decor top picks...

PHOTOS FROM HERE / QUOTE FROM HERE

Child of the 80's

Today is my birthday! I'm 28 years old...a hop skip and a jump away from 30 - yikes! I was born in 1980 and I couldn't resist taking a step back in time to reminisce about the trends of the eighties. My husband and I laughed for hours last night as we flash backed to memories of giant hair, fluorescent colors, acid washed jeans, slap bracelets, LA Gear, stirrup pants, Flashdance, shoulder pads, parachute pants, velcro sneakers, Swatch watches, hair scrunchies, leg warmers, banana clips, Jordache Jeans, hypercolor shirts, Gotcha shirts, lycra bike shorts, slouch socks, Lee Press on Nails...I could go on and on! I put together some fun collages to jog your memory of the eighties era (that is if you were around then). I hope they make you laugh like I did :)

Click here to view a list of Products and Fads from the 80's and click here to view a list of 1980's Fashions You Secretly Miss.

The Retro Kitchen

My best friend Erin and her husband recently purchased their very first home. It's an older house with lots of charm and my friend loves the vintage / retro look. We spotted a fantastic (but very old and rusty) teal stove at an estate sale a few weeks back and about died! I was so happy when I discovered all of these wonderful retro appliances, with modern day technology. The shapes and colors of everything are so cheerful and fun...a nice change from stainless steel and granite!
IMAGE CREDIT FOR THE KITCHEN FEATURED IN THIS POST: PAM KUEBER / RETRO RENOVATION.

Resources: find the fridges here; find the stove here; blenders here & here; toasters here & here; dishwashers here.

"Giving Back" Tuesdays

"UNITY" by MONICA STEWART

I recently received an email from one of my blog readers, Kara Butterfield, and she introduced me to a charity that she and her sister Tahnya are very involved with. It's a non-profit charity called The Progressive Women's Association. This organization works voluntarily to "Stop Violence Against Women in Pakistan." Thousands of women and young girls are beaten, raped, severely disfigured, burned alive...most of the time, by family members or by their husbands. Discriminatory laws combined with harmful customary laws and practices deny women their human rights in Pakistan. Women are considered second class citizens.

The Mission of the Progressive Women's Association:

P.W.A. is a voluntary non-government, apolitical organization formed in 1986.

- To advocate for women's rights violations
- To fight discriminatory laws against women
- To provide and encourage political empowerment for women
- To expose hidden domestic violence against women
- To evolve strategies for the empowerment of women

By organizing wardrobe exchange parties, Kara and Tahnya donate $5 per article of clothing exchanged to the charity. Kara says, "a small token of our big belief in PWA's fund raising efforts to bring a stop to the horrific violence some women are subjected to, often by their immediate family." Click here to find out more on P.W.A. and how you can help with this very important cause.

A big thank you to Kara for contacting me with this fantastic charity to feature on "Giving Back" Tuesdays. If you would like your favorite charity featured on Giving Back Tuesdays, or if you have a topic that you'd like me to explore, please email me - it would greatly appreciated.

Chair Obsession

Happy Monday everyone. Hope you all had a nice weekend! Today's post is a collection of some of my favorite accent chairs. Depending on the style of the space, adding a chair that is funky, eclectic, modern, traditional...can really create interest in a room, especially if the chair style or fabric choice is unexpected and contrasts with the rest of the design.

1) vetina chair; 2) florence chair; 3) azure chair; 4) anson chair; 5 & 6) lyon camelback arm chair (palecek); 7) gigi chair; 8) chippendale side chair; 9) atlanta chair - white (global views); 10) charleston regency chair; 11) imperial chair; 12) historic charleston chair; 13) greek dining chair

P.S. - I mentioned on Friday that I was going to the Domino Bazaar in LA and would report back...unfortunately, there's not much to report back on. I love Domino and everything they feature in their magazine, however the bazaar was much smaller than I anticipated and I was done walking through and viewing the merchandise and displays in about 30 mins. I didn't even buy anything. I don't know exactly what I expected it to be like, but it was pretty uneventful. :(

Quote of the Week

"Let's be honest about it. That big room isn't the living room at all. Unless you have a great many rooms, that is a ghastly waste of space. The living room should be lived in."

- Billy Baldwin

PHOTOS: DOMINO MAGAZINE / QUOTE FROM HERE

Living the Loft Life

Hello everyone! I've been super busy with work this week so I just wanted to do a quick post on this fantastic loft designed by Ghislaine Vinas, via Interior Design Magazine. Client description: "Two adults, four children, and a passion for pink—Ghislaine Viñas packed the works into a fun-friendly New York loft."

PHOTO CREDITS: INTERIOR DESIGN MAGAZINE

Quote of the Week

"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your
closet, you'd best teach it to dance."

- George Bernard Shaw

QUOTE FROM HERE / PHOTOS FROM HERE & HERE

Weekend Escape

I'm off to San Fransisco for a client meeting this morning and then I'm going to meet up with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law for a much needed girls weekend in the city! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get the chance to "escape" - even if it's just for a moment while looking at one of these beautiful photos.

PHOTO CREDITS: ALBERT STEWART & PETER ADAMS VIA ALLPOSTERS.COM

Jewel Tones for Fall

I love all of the jewel tones I'm seeing this season - deep shades of purple and plum, royal blues, intense teal and bold shades of fuchsia; both in fashion and interior design trends. This color palette is rich and sophisticated, and I like the idea of mixing these strong colors with gold and copper accents.

Resources (starting @ top, clockwise): Image via Domino; Photographic print Marrakesh Market, Morocco by Peter Adams; Belmont Lamp; Savoir Chair; Hammered Wood Side Table; Beaumont Pillow; Edo Linen -Opal fabric by Kelly Wearstler; Pinstripe Raspberry Wallpaper; Cannock Fabric - Osborne & Little; Round Reflector Sconce - Global Views.