Oh Domino

I love this laundry room from Domino. I suppose it's the paint color - but I also love black and white against a turquoise-ey blue. Oh how I miss my magazine!

Image: Domino

For Future Reference

I am keeping this photo on file, in case my next place is a blue door candidate. There is some paint color information here, if you're a fan as well. What color is your front door?

Image: Style Redux

Registry Snoop

I have watched enough episodes of House Hunters on HGTV to know that home builders have pretty much done away with a formal dining room. I am wondering if people are still registering for china. I sure hope so! What do you think? If you have a set, would you care to share the name and pattern? I love to see what people choose on their gift registries. I also love to see the couples' bedding selection. I guess I just admitted to being a little snoop! What is your favorite item on a gift registry?

Image: Paul Costello

Miette

I was peeking at blog archives over the weekend, and saw this adorable photo of Miette on Design Sponge. I realize that it's a "patisserie and confiserie" in San Francisco, but I could live with this paint color and wallpaper in my own place. Magnifique!

Images: Design Sponge

Matryoshka Mania

(Measuring cups - Anthropologie)


(Ravenhill)


(Matilda Jane)

(Hiccups)

Have you noticed that Matryoshka dolls are everywhere at the moment? Do you own anything "matryoshka"? My husband had a set of the Russian rulers before we got married, and a friend of my Mother-in-law visited Russia, and brought back a set of beautiful girls for Kalia. I would share a picture, but unfortunately my camera is in need of repair. Kalia also has a Santa set from my mom. I am definitely a fan of the trend - how about you?

Have a Marvelous Weekend!

Image: Oh Joy / Sarah Magid

Blank Canvas III

Every once in a while I come across a white room with a lack of furniture, and it's so inspiring! I love to dream about placing my own pieces in the space, and about the paint colors I might consider. Do empty rooms inspire you as well, or am I just, um - unique?!

Image: Haus Maus

La Plates

This plate belongs to the daughter of Courtney Cox Arquette.



The one below was made for Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter.


I really, really like these personalized melamine plates. I would love to have one with my initials, and I'm sure Kalia would like one with her complete name spelled out. Are you into monograms? The site offers a great selection of fonts, as well as actual plate backgrounds...and there is even a "Monogram Etiquette" page, which I found to be very useful.

Images: La Plates Blog

Marie Antoinette

uwstopia


Kerbobbled


The World According to Jessica Claire


New York Times

If I could choose to be an actress in any movie, I think it would have to be Marie Antoinette. I love the gorgeous costumes, scenery, the palace, and once again - the sweets. I must admit that I watched it three times within the last week, while matting art projects for Kalia's preschool. I just get lost in all the beauty, and find myself wishing that women still wore amazing dresses on a daily basis. If you could be an actress in any movie, which one would you choose?

Sweetiepie

Elle

Sweetiepie

Transracial

We have Angela to thank for this post...she tipped me off to the article on Sweetiepie in the April issue of Elle. Yet another restaurant that I am absolutely in love with - but the chances of a visit are pretty slim. The restaurant is in Manhattan's West Village, and if you decide to drop in for dessert, the one in the photo is $75. We can at least swoon over the girly decor!

Printable Calling Cards

Here is a link for these free calling cards. I found them on How About Orange and just couldn't keep 'em to myself!

Pickles

Pickles is such an easy name to remember, and if we were taking a vote for the cutest title bar ever, this one should win - hands down. I just wanted to introduce you to Pickles, and let you browse at your leisure. I think you'll like it!

Vintage Green Appreciation Day

Lately I have been drawn to this color that I like to call "vintage green". I guess it has a little blue in it too - so call it what you want, but I'm liking it at the moment. I noticed that Miss Kate has a few versions of it throughout her home and shops, and I have been seeing it all over blogs and magazines - on everything from walls, to furniture and accessories. It's been around for a while, and I guess I'm finally appreciating it - and publicly! Although I can appreciate the color, I have a hard time appreciating walls with chipping paint. I can deal with "chippy" furniture, but walls is another story! I think the color combination here is quirky and interesting. How do you feel about vintage green? Hot or not?

Image: Roland Bello

Peekin' on Pickin' - Miss Kate's Place

Well, I don't actually know Miss Kate personally, but I found photos of her house on flickr, and asked permission to share a few. She is the owner of The Flying Cupcake, AND Girly Chic Boutique in Indianapolis. I just adore her vintage style, and thought you would enjoy a mini house tour today. I would really appreciate it if you would kindly sign the "Guestbook" before you leave! (a.k.a. Comments) And now for the tour...


I LOVE how she painted the pink and white checkerboard floor, don't you?!


Lovin' the wallpaper.


As the caption for this photo on flickr, Miss Kate said that her boyfriend often looks at this rack and asks "why?" I personally enjoyed seeing her vintage prom dresses!


I LOVE the pink and white dollhouse. I feel inspired to give my black, white, and gray dollhouse a makeover!


I want the white sofa.


Don't you love this corner?!

Chickabiddy Baby

Oh my goodness - are these cute or what? I really need a reason to buy one, so if you could just have a baby or something, and invite me to your shower, that would be perfect. I am just smitten with these little dolls! I know I'm not the only one, so be sure to check out the chickabiddy baby ETSY shop. The creator has a lovely blog as well, if you're interested. I think I found the epitome of pickin' cute!

The Flying Cupcake

Hello - I'm back! I hope you had a lovely week. We went to the Chicago area to see Grandma and Grandpa, and took Kalia to the Steel Beam Theatre for "Thumbelina". It was an adorable play, and she was so excited to get autographs and photos with the actors. We also went to The Flying Cupcake in Indianapolis, and it was just as wonderful as I imagined. It was decorated with vintage everything, and we had an overall fantastic experience. I can't wait to go back and try another flavor. If you're ever in the area, you MUST treat yourself to one of their fabulous cupcakes. I took some photos of my own, but will also share a few from the owner's flickr page - although they're a little Christmas-ey!


Don't you love the black and white awning against the wall color?


The decor just screamed vintage bakery, and it was absolutely charming.


It was so difficult to choose only one.


I heard they also serve ice cream in the summer!


It didn't take long to go from this -

to THIS! Deeeeeelicious!

Images: Personal / I heart cheesecake

Too Cute

I just have to share this display from The Flying Cupcake booth at an Art and Antiques show. I just adore their use of vintage tablecloths, bunting, and of course the sweets!

Images: The Flying Cupcake

Happy Easter!

Image: Daisy Pink Cupcake

Don't Forget...

Just a reminder - I won't be blogging this week...but be sure to come back next week, because you won't want to miss my post on the cupcake shop, AND a mini house tour! We can look forward to a few more that I have lined up. I'll leave you with two links to check out while I'm away - this one will allow you to "age" your photographs, and this one is just fun to browse. See you next week!

Have a lovely weekend!

You didn't think I would leave without giving you a weekend sweet - did you?! I promise to come back refreshed, inspired, and with a ton of beautiful photos to inspire you as well. I'll also return with a review of our local cupcake shop - and hopefully some pictures of its cuteness. Have a lovely weekend!

Image: Creature Comforts

Inspiration Vacation

Pickles


fryd + design

My daughter, Kalia, is officially on Spring Break! We are going to "staycation" for part of the week, and visit Grandma for the other part. We have some big crafting plans - in fact, hitting Michael's is on the agenda for today...and we are looking forward to trying a local cupcake shop I discovered a few weeks ago! Right now, I am loving these flag banners (or bunting) - and just might have to add the materials to our craft supplies shopping list. I think I'll search ETSY for some inspiration. Speaking of inspiration, I am in desperate need of some - and hope to return from Spring Break completely refreshed and inspired. I am going to take an entire week off from blogging to spend some quality time with Kalia, and to take some pictures and search for inspiring subject matter for my blog. What inspires your creativity?

Playroom Inspiration

Playroom inspiration can be found in magazines, on blogs, in other homes, at the Children's Museum, preschool - just about anywhere. I love to pick up little ideas here and there, and then pull all of my favorite "inspirations" together to suit my own style. This playroom from fryd + design is fabulous. I love the comfy reading area, the hanging plate rack in the kitchen, and the dress up corner. The thing I love most is that the room appears to encourage kids to use their imagination, while at the same time, there are plenty of toys to inspire their creativity! Did you grow up with a playroom or area? What do you remember most about the space?

Images: fryd +design

Call Me Crazy...

But, I really like this wallpaper! I am taking a bit of a blogging break today (not my usual 2-3 posts), and I'm just going to ask that you leave a comment with any design issues or questions that we could possibly cover in the future. Also, let me know if you have a favorite design topic- such as kids, bedrooms, kitchens, storage, color, yada, yada, yada. Thank you for peeking at my blog, and thanks for your comments - I have really enjoyed your feedback and thoughts. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Image: I wish I knew!

Wallpaper: Etro - Factory Paisley