Midnight in Paris

Last night I watched this movie:

Which gave me an overwhelming yearning to go to this city:

But not just Paris during the present.  Paris in the 1920s.

Images via Pinterest

The movie was infused with a sense of place and was as charming and dreamy as the magical city itself.
Perfect movie escapism!

House Progress 4

They have installed all the cabinets in our home!

And painted the interior:

This is the view from the family room to the kitchen-the fireplace has been painted too:

Our stairway rail has been stained an espresso color along with the powder room vanity you can see adjacent to the railing:

View of the dining room facing the butler's pantry:

View of the Study-you can make out the wall paint color a little better here:

More to come next week!

West Elm to the Rescue

I think I am slowly awaking from that design block/haze all thanks to West Elm.  The last day of the dining sale (15% off) gave me the push I needed to order this table for my kitchen:

Remember these chairs I had refinished:

They will be surrounding the Parsons Table.

I also ordered curtains--white linen for the family room, which I am having lined and wooden curtain rings added to.

And these for the dining room:

Next up is ordering window coverings and making the final decision on my couch.  I have settled on this one from Room & Board but have been waffling between two fabric choice for weeks:

Here's hoping I will continue on track from here on out!

Monday Escapes

This week we are going to go to a place known for its vast beauty and majestic splendor: with towering mountains, unexpected wildlife, waterfalls, and humongous trees that stretch on forever:

It's Yosemite National Park, California!

*All photos via Travelmoon taken by my Dad.

Office Block

It's June and that means that the move-in date for our new house is scheduled for two months out.  While the prospect is exciting, the decorating is daunting.  I have been having severe design block lately, and have also been plagued with indecisiveness.  Big decisions were made in March and items ordered but now I feel stagnated.  

I am deciding between two fabric choices for a sofa in our family room, I need to pick out window treatments for the entire house, pick out furniture for our office, and the list goes on.  Then, I went online only to find that the Urban Outfitters Settee I was set on for the office is sold out (not even pictured online anymore).  Anyone know where to find a yellow settee at a reasonable price?  I also need to find a chair for the desk.  Here's what I have so far: 

Suggestions welcome!

The Met: Alexander McQueen

If you are anywhere near the NYC vicinity or find yourself there, do yourself a favor and visit the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit at the Met.  I expected a few rooms of his designs hung on mannequins to be the extent of the exhibit, which I would have been happy to see but was met with an entirely different experience.

Image via Travelmoon

Each installation in the many rooms that comprised the exhibit provided a unique cacophony of sights and sounds.  Revealing that not only were his display of his designs deeply thought out but so were the surrounding feel of the rooms, music, visuals, and mood.  

The first room was stark, with mannequins on wood floors showing his early designs.  Placards told of human hair hidden within the designs, this gave way to even more unique and artistic creations as you weaved your way through the exhibit.

Despite your familiarity with Alexander McQueen (vast or non-existent), it is instantly clear that his designs were not mere pieces of fashion but thought provoking, at times disturbing, always making a statement about something much deeper than what initially meets the eye.  So many pieces were so off the wall, that it was hard to imagine that one could even espouse the immense vision and go to such a dark place to dream them up.

Many of the pieces were inspired by periods of history and rooted in Scottish and English tradition.  

While in others, inspiration were found in far flung places spanning the globe.

Whether it was a dress flowing from some unseen blast of air, a 3-D hologram of Kate Moss twirling in one of Alexander McQueen's creations, or the re-creation of one of his fashion shows that included the use of a two way mirror to reveal a shocking image, each room evoked a visceral sensation of other worldliness.

Images via The Met Museum

At times sinister, macabre, inspiring, and utterly beautiful, this truly is a sight one must behold in person if only to grasp a tiny granule of the intense artistic visionary that was Alexander McQueen.

NYC

My trip was a whirlwind of shopping, dining, site seeing, and celebrating.

We made sure to take plenty of time to walk the busy streets, take in the architecture, and absorb the feeling of being in this electric city.  Not to mention take advantage of the weather. Rain? What rain?  The weather cooperated all weekend until my departing flight at an ungodly morning hour, but the plane took me away from the storm and onto more sunny weather.

There was a lot of shopping, which is to be expected with a group of all girls-- all over the city with some time to snap photos inbetween.  Then we dined and dined again tasting such varied cuisine from Polynesian, French, Italian, Thai, and Middle Eastern.  Each place with its own unique ambience that matched the theme of the food.  That's definitely one thing to love about New York City.

We had an opportunity to take a luxurious boat down the Hudson and stopped in Long Island Sound for a late lunch.  It was breathtaking to view the city from the water and of course Lady Liberty herself from this vantage point.

A trip to the Met was in order to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit all topped off by a fabulous engagement party that is magazine worthy in its splendor.  We danced and partied the night away and I enjoyed two hours of sleep before my plane whisked me away back to reality.

Images via Travelmoon