Quiet Time

Via Interior Decline

Hello all, hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Sorry for being away for a while; I came down w/ the flu the day before Christmas Eve :-( It was very sad, and I spent most of the day alone; so I wouldn't spread my germs around! I did combat my illness with many hours of Christmas movies, though. 

Back again soon!

Carolina

Shopping Off The Beaten Path

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to share the goodies I found this past weekend. As I mentioned yesterday, I spent a weekend in Dallas, wandering and finding new and interesting things. Perhaps my favorite find was the shops of the lower Greenville area, along Henderson ave. They are a funky mix of vintage furniture and decorative accessories sourced from independent designers. They are so fresh! In fact, most of these shops have been in business less than two years.   

 Our first stop was Sputnik Modern. Although, not a large shop; its packed with very cool and original mid-century furnishings. Ahh, heaven for a vintage lover like me:) I think I loved most, the collection of leather chairs. Beautiful!

 I wish I could move in here. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, right?

 If, Sputnik does not have enough mod furniture for you; go across the street to their second shop called Form. Also, both of these stores can be found on 1st Dibs.

Next, we stopped at a very unique jewelry boutique called; The Shining.  All the intriguing pieces sold here are designed by independent jewelry designers. If you gotta have jewelry like no one else, this is your place. I would have liked to have taken everything there home with me.

 The showroom is very minimal and mostly white, but very welcoming.  Everything in it has such a beautiful texture.

 I'm crazy about these rings! Check out The Shining's blog, too

Finally, we stopped at We Are 1976. 

This is such a fun store! Its like taking everything that's great about Etsy and placing it in your favorite corner store. Again, the pieces here are made by smaller independent designers from around the world. There's more cool things in this place than I have time to describe.

If you are out "last minute" Christmas shopping, this is a great place to find unique gifts at great prices. P.S. be sure and stop at The Pearl Cup Espresso bar for a very delicious cup of coffee. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Frida Kahlo: I Will Never Forget You

Last weekend, Mark and I spent our anniversary in Dallas. (Kid free!!) My husband is so sweet, that while there; he willingly wandered through countless galleries and furniture stores with me. Thank you, Sweetie:) Anyway, I stumbled upon PDNB Gallery  and found an exhibition of Frida Kahlo portraits taken by various photographers. Wow, I was so excited! Frida has been such an inspiration to me since I was a teenager. Aside, from our shared heritage; I always aspire to be as unique and bold as she was. My motto is, WWFD. (What Would Frida Do? For those of you too young to know what I'm talking about). The sad thing is, I have never had the pleasure of seeing her paintings in person! That's why this exhibition was a must-see.

Some of Frida's most iconic photos are part of this collection and some photos I have never seen before. They are worth stopping by to see. The exhibition closes on January 1, so don't miss it! If you can't see it, many of these photos are included in a book called I Will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nikolas Muray. Check it out here,  in my brand new bookstore! I'm very excited about it, so I hope you enjoy looking through it this compilation of my favorite books.

P.S. Tomorrow, I will share some of new favorite Dallas shops. Ooh, I found some great stuff!!!

Eclectic Christmas

Via Escapade 

Merry Christmas! I would like to say that before I write the rest of the article. You may be wondering why. Well, again we find ourselves at a time of year, I don't really like. Ahhhhh! How do I convey my feelings? As a Christian, I most definitely observe the meaning of Christmas and am grateful for all it includes. But, I DON'T LIKE THE DECORATING! Pretty much every year I say the same thing on this blog. So some of you may have heard this before. Sorry for that. For some reason, I always feel pressured to write something Christmas-y, even though; I really don't want to. So, as a way to deal with that dilemma, I write about small details that I do like. (You may also notice that I tend to put this off for as long as I can). 

Via Knock Knocking 

I haven't figured out why Christmas decorating disturbs me so much. I think its because it often seems tacky or forced. I don't like doing things just because it is "expected" of me or because everyone does it. Perhaps I need therapy? 

Okay, enough! I really don't like being negative, so I am concentrating on what I do like. Here are a few details that are very beautiful and unique.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas, is the gift wrapping. Every year I try to think of some new and unusual way of presenting gifts. I found these adorable pom-poms via Bugs and Fishes, here.  She includes a tutorial and many more gift wrapping ideas. 

Via Bugs and Fishes 

Via VT Interiors 

Yay, I may have a little Christmas spirit after all!!!

P.S. If you are looking for my Eclectic House  articles, they will be back after Christmas.

Just Because

I have no real reason for posting this, except that it just grabbed me. Although, it does share a similar theme to the picture of the mobile; I posted earlier this week. So there, I did have a reason after all;)

Via Convoy

Floating in Space

Happy Monday! I spent my entire weekend away from home with my wonderful husband of 11 years! We had a wonderful time, but I didn't have much time to post today. So, I'm borrowing this dizzy inspiration from someone else. It takes me back to my childhood and how much I loved mobiles.  Maybe, adults would benefit from having beautiful mobiles around, to remind us to let loose and have more whimsey in our lives. What do you think?

Via Seesaw designs 

Dreaming of The Black Pearl

I know what you're thinking. "Oh, the Johnny Depp dreams again". Who me? Never...o.k. maybe. But that really isn't what I meant, by this title. Its actually the name of this gorgeous townhome  in Rotterdam. A total reformation of this century old building has resulted in an amazingly innovative home. I think my favorite detail is the bright green wall on the exterior. It looks like some sort of fabric, but I wasn't able to find any info. about it. Its awesome, though!!

The unusual details in this house are worth studying for a while. Especially if you need some ideas to kick you in the pants!  Find more info. at We Heart , Studio Rolf. fr , and one of my new favorite blogs The Best Part  .

Ghostly Images

 Anthony Goicolea

This morning I was greeted by these ghostly images, found via Wo and We. What attracts me to them, is the thought that perhaps there are other realities going on around us; but they are invisible to the naked eye.  Maybe the artist is allowing us to peek at this other world!

So, I hope today you remember to look past the superficial. You never know what you might find!

Eclectic House: Living Rooms

  (Via Houzz)

Thanks for visiting my home again! As you can see its coming along quite nicely. Having already built the kitchen and the dining room, its time for my personal favorite space; the living room. I know most people say they love the kitchen best, but I'm going to be honest; I'm a terrible cook and don't enjoy that one bit. I love t.v. and sitting with my family chatting or playing games! Sorry Mom:(

 So, when you come to my house be prepared for take-out. On the other hand, in spaces like these; wouldn't you want to hang out for a great movie or some coffee and conversation? That's the way to fully appreciate beautiful rooms like these...if you ask me.

 Via Living Agency

Via Casa de Valentina

Find more living room inspirations here.

Moving Pictures

from HN on Vimeo.
Growing up, Sunday mornings were reserved for church, but in the afternoons my dad and I would always sit down for a Sunday movie. In the 80's, before anyone had more than 20 channels or so (Yikes!!) there was usually some sort of "family movie" showing on Sunday. It would be a classic story like The Prince and the Pauper or maybe, Heidi. I can't tell you how eagerly I waited for those films! They were like candy for a kid's imagination! Of course, what I also loved was spending the time with my Papi. Just me and him:) I've been thinking about that a lot lately. 

Now, I realize that all of you reading this don't have the time to sit and share an entire movie with me; (although that would be awesome), so I'm sharing a short video instead! Besides being a movie buff, I love video as an art form. This video, found via Booooooom ; is actually a Japanese add featuring the music of  She & Him . Its fantastic!

Hope it inspires you today.

Eclectic House Inspiration

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for following the construction of my virtual home this week. I'm taking off early on building it, but thought I would share another fantastic and eclectic home that will inspire. I'll be back to work on my own place next week. (I'm giving myself a three day weekend!)

What I most love about this home is the way the family lives with art. Even the young children are taught to care and appreciate it. Personally, I feel its important to have a creative home for kids to grow up in.

Amazing, right?

Have a wonderful weekend!