Happy New Year!

Image via Pinterest

Hope you all have a Happy New Years!  Thank you so much for your support and readership this year, hoping that 2012 is even greater!  See you here next year...

House Progress Final

Continuing on my week of reflection before the year's end.  One of the most exciting things that happened was purchasing and building our home here in the Dallas area.  We broke ground in March and moved in early August:

Entryway Lighting: The One!

I found the one!  While browsing through this month's special edition of Elle Decor, this Ralph Lauren pendant light available at Circa Lighting stopped me in my tracks:

I posted some options for an entryway lights here for our dark entry, but this purchase has taken a major backseat to other more pressing matters, i.e. the nursery, which I have an update for early next week.  At least I know exactly what to dream about for my next home purchase down the line.

Happy Last Night of Hanukkah

For those who celebrate:

Enjoy the last night!

Monday Escapes: Reflections

Last year I started the tradition here of reflecting on my past years travels and counting my travel blessings.  This year I spent a lot of time on planes going back and forth to San Diego and elsewhere, including two international vacations to Central America.  I think this may mark the most round trip flights I have ever taken in one year especially if you count all the puddle jumper flights I took in Central America:

1. Palm Springs (for Mid Century Modern Week)

2.  Guatemala

3.  Florida (3 times-Miami, Naples, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton)

My Dad's 60th Birthday Celebration

4.  Austin

5. New York City

6.  Las Vegas

7. Belize  

8. San Diego (at least 6 times-I may have lost count)

My Baby Shower
Images via Travelmoon

I am also thankful for all my friends and family that came to visit me here in Dallas, which made the transition to moving here much easier.  I have a feeling next year my travel schedule will definitely wind down :)

Happy Holidays!

See you back here Monday :)

Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide 2011

I tend to be a very last minute holiday shopper, which seems to translate into being a last minute holiday gift guide blogger (last year I had a last minute holiday gift guide too).  All the items on this guide are under $100 and while I don't know if it is guaranteed you would be able to get them by Christmas, maybe they could arrive at least by the end of Hanukkah!

1. Zara Fur Waistcoat $39.90

2. Luxury Monograms Navy Linen Throw Pillow $95

3. Kindle Touch $99

4. West Elm Fur Throw $29

5. Michael Kors Logo Toggle Bracelet $85

6. Splendid Infinity Scarf $48

7. Kendra Scott Tela Cocktail Ring $48.97

8. Crate & Barrel Large Rectangle Slate Board $24.95

Holiday Book Party

Normally our book club meets at different wine bars around town.  But in honor of the last book club of the year and it being the holidays, I hosted a holiday book party at my house.  I served dessert, wine, and cheese, we discussed the book and did a white elephant gift exchange:

Floral Arrangement on my Coffee Table

More Flower Arrangements

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with Peppermint Bark

Holiday Cookies

Cheese & Cracker Plate

Garland and Tea Lights Over the Mantel

Hope you are enjoying this holiday week!

Monday Escapes: Postcards From Around the World

This time of year it is always fun to go to the mailbox and get personalized cards.  It is so rare these days to get anything in the mail other than catalogs or bills.  The lost art of receiving handwritten mail got me thinking of postcards.  I used to send them often on trips, which I stopped doing, and I have a friend who  has recently sent me some from her travels (namely: Belgium, Paris, and Jordan).  When I went on Semester at Sea, I sent my parents many postcards from all over the world and they saved them for me:

South Africa

Kenya

China

India

Salvador, Brazil

Next time I travel I'll be sure to send a postcard!

Stripes!

So excited that the nursery ceiling got its stripes.  I have mentioned my inspiration a few times (see here and here).

Very tedious taping job.  Hats off to anyone who does this themselves.

Finished Room.  

Wish I could replace the ceiling fan with a cute lighting fixture but it sure gets hot here in the summer!

The color we ended up choosing was Sherwin Williams Impatient Pink--it looks a touch less bright in the room than in the photos.  It seemed to blend with all of the other pink shades that will be showing up in the room.  I am now inspired to get going with the rest (see here)...

I'm Back/Florida Visit

I'm back!  I had a great trip to Florida and my Mom returned with me to Dallas to spend a few days here before heading home.  Lately, we have started a tradition of seeing a new place we haven't been to when visiting family in Florida.  So far we have spent most of our time on the Southeast coast of Florida but have never been to the Gulf/West Coast side.  We decided to take a day jaunt to Naples:

Gingerbread House at the Ritz Carlton Naples

 The beaches were beautiful with miles of white sand:

There are also various beautiful shells to admire and collect:

We had a great lunch downtown, walked around to do some shopping, drove around, and hung out at the Naples Pier:

The weather dropped significantly in Dallas so it was great to spend some time in a warmer climate at the beach.

Now, I'm back and grounded in town until February!

Florida Bound

I'm heading to South Florida today to visit family and my mom is meeting me there. I am excited to see everyone and going to enjoy my last trip before baby comes!  The added bonus is seeing all of the beautiful holiday decorations this time of year.  I also took a trip to Florida last December and saw all of these gorgeous displays in Palm Beach:

The Impressive Lobby at The Breakers

Gingerbread House at Cafe L'Europe

Christmas Tree on Worth Avenue

Progress!

I have been waiting to receive my fabrics for the nursery from Quadrille for a long time.  After a mistaken order that I received in early October and waiting over a month all the while never receiving a replacement, I had to come up with another solution.  Now, I have all of the fabrics I need and sent them off to their respective places to be made into bedding and window treatments:

Speaking of baby stuff, J. Crew expanded their children's line and recently came out with J. Crew Baby.  I don't think I could justify buying a cashmere sweater for more than I pay for my own at Bloomingdales, but these booties and their price point ($12.95) are just too cute to pass up:

Monday Escapes: Photo Selections

These are the photos that I ended up selecting for the canvas photos that will be hung on our family room wall (there will be 3 24 x 36 prints).  Thanks everyone who commented, it seemed that many picked some of the same one's as their favorites.  Can't wait to receive them in the mail!

Have a great week!

Canvas Photo Art

I have been talking about putting some photography of our travels in black and white in our family room.  I had always envisioned three large canvases hanging vertically over our large blank wall.  We even had special lighting installed to highlight whatever we decided to eventually hang in that space.  When I saw that Easy Canvas Prints was having a 60% off sale that lasted until midnight last night (sorry for posting about the sale after the fact, I just saw it late afternoon yesterday) I decided to take the plunge.

The most difficult part is photo selection.  I apparently have a massive predilection towards taking horizontal photographs.  I had so many to choose from, but most cannot be formatted for a vertical canvas.  Next time we take a trip my husband promised to remind me to flip my camera.

I have so many unusable travel photos from the days before digital.  There is no way the resolution of those photos would work after being scanned and then blown up.  So my criteria became, the photo had to be a trip my husband and I took together and come from a variety of locales on different continents.  I wanted them all to reflect an architectural quality but I couldn't find three that worked out that way in the end.

These were the frontrunners:

Bora Bora

Giza, Egypt

Giza, Egypt

Giza, Egypt

 Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

Tikal, Guatemala

Ambergris Caye, Belize
Images via Travelmoon

I was initially going to put them up to a vote but unfortunately I had to order immediately to take advantage of the sale.  So, I will post the final selection on Monday!