Take a Little Trip: Barcelona

When I traveled to Barcelona in 2007, I was surprised to become so smitten with the city. As I rambled along Las Ramblas and ambled through the ambulatories of Barcelona's churches, I started to adore the city's architecture.

Wonders for Your Wall

As they so often do, the aesthetic gurus over at DesignSponge have introduced me to another lovely new artist.

Saturday Sweet Treat

I baked you some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies:While I was at the market, I picked up some purpley-pink tulips for you: Photos by moi.

The Art of Design: Rothko

Last week, I romanticized about building an entire room around O'Keeffe's sorbet-hued abstraction from 1919.

Today, dream with me, as I wonder what it would be like to have Rothko's nonrepresentational color block study from 1949 on my lowly walls. (Recommendation from your art historian blogger buddy: if you are not a fan of Rothko, watch Simon Schama's The Power of Art and you might just become a convert.)

How might Rothko's warm palette affect your design choices? How would his blurry evanescent borders and soft billowy edges play out in your selections?
Images borrowed from HollyDymentDesign, ApartmentTherapy, ElleDecor, CountryLiving, & KimberlyAyresDesign.

Coveting: Kitchen Goodies

I would certainly be a better baker if I were wearing this:
while plucking farm-fresh eggs from here: and measuring the finest Madagascar vanilla with these: and mixing ingredients in here:and storing my delicious cookies in here:Images borrowed from Anthropologie.

At the Movies: Black and White

Recently, I've been exploring films that implement color effectively. I've examined green and red in films. Today, let's consider movie scenes that are nuanced with a black and white palette. Sometimes, an absence of color can be even more effective than a radiant rainbow of shades. There are no gray areas when you adorn your characters in black and white.

• Something's Gotta Give
• To Catch a Thief
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
• Under the Tuscan Sun

• My Fair Lady
• Sabrina
• It's Complicated
• Coco avant Chanel
• The Wizard of Oz

Words to Live by

Green Goddess

In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share some of my favorite "green products." While I'm not a full-on green-freak, I do try to choose products that are friendlier to the sky and the sea and my lungs. You will be surprised to discover that not only do these products clean just as well, but they smell fantastic and most of them are at the same price point as your regular ole' cleaners.

Sugar Sugar

"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup." -Buddy, Elf



It's the end of the week. I can tell you need a little sugar infusion. Go crazy: like a kid (or an elf) in a candy store.

Images borrowed from Flickr, Miette & AmyAtlas.

Sweet (16) Dreams

I must have the design aesthetic of a teen or tween because OMG I want to sleep (or read Seventeen magazine while listening to Gaga and eating twizzlers) in these funky eclectic twin-sized rooms.

Images borrowed from HouseBeautiful.

Singing in the Rain

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

It is easy to forget the simple joy of a rainy afternoon.

Taste Treats, Banana Edition

As I have kvetched before, I always have overripe bananas sitting around the kitchen. My usual solution to this problem is the ubiquitous banana bread; however, my banana bread inevitably ends up dry on the edges and raw in the middle, traits not becoming of a baked good.

Then, yesterday, a revelation: why not bake banana bread in a bundt pan? Better yet, why not bake banana bread in my favorite fleur-de-lis bundt pan?

Here's my new favorite recipe for banana bread:

100 Posts Old

Ladies (and perhaps one or two gents): this is my 100th post! Here's hoping, like Chateau Margaux and Robert Redford, the blog only gets better with age. Next, to get 100 people to follow the blog....