jungle in your home

the past few days have been a whirlwind with an ugly cold taking over my life last week, family in town, and then the ny gift show this week. however, the gift show has been so much fun for juliet and i to peruse with my momma (also a small business owner) and we passed some surprisingly inspiring things along the way, which we're very excited to incorporate into our styling & designs this year.

i've been meaning to share this amazing photograph with you for some time now. check out the full story behind this amazing installation in the home of florist simone gooch here.

instagram

juliet is still gone this week in south africa visiting family, so i've been holding down the fort around here. you shouldn't feel badly for me because in another week i'll be jetting off to costa rica and she'll be doing the same for me. whoohoo!

i got to thinking this week that there are so many social media networks to belong to these days that it's beginning to make my head spin. it also seems to be a bit repetitive to update everything from facebook, twitter, and instagram on a daily basis. not to mention i'm feeling a bit bored with twitter and facebook lately. my new crack is instagram. instagram is sort of a visual diary for your life with the only difference from your other diary is that everyone can view this one. most of the photos posted are gorgeous, which makes it even more addicting and you can easily see what your friends thought to be a pretty post or an interesting tidbit making the fun endless.

i thought this morning i'd share a few of my recent posts from the past two days. yesterday i woke up at 6am to deliver flowers to the james hotel for an event, which may sound horrid to most people but it was actually a fun little adventure. i had no idea that their view from the penthouse was so breathtaking and they have a pool to go along with the high rises! occasionally some of the flowers make it back to my apartment after an event, so naturally i woke up this morning and began rearranging them all just for the hell of it. i thought this second photo was a lovely moment captured of some gorgeous blooms hanging out together this morning. moving right along my boyfriend's catering company, michael stuart ny, catered the event yesterday, which means the leftovers come to me. i whipped up a bowl full of their homemade baked oatmeal (kind of like soft granola) paired with fresh fruit and a little bit of soy milk.

if you're interested check out my diary here.

our plants

in the middle of wedding madness last october my boyfriend, our dog, and i moved to a brand new spankin apartment. at the time we were sour about the move, because we were being forced out due to flooding at our old house. once it was all said and done it turned out to be a blessing in disguise and it didn't take long for us to realize that. my favorite part about our new home are the huge windows and amount of direct sunlight we receive daily.

since thursday is our mandated water the plants day, i thought i'd share a few snaps from our dining room. this is the first time since i moved to nyc in 2002 i've been able to keep my plants happy and alive thanks to a lack of sunlight in most city apartments. some are even sprouting new growth, which makes me overly giddy on a daily basis.

it's the little things in life and i try to remember that!

i can't wait to share more of our humble abode here in brooklyn as we piece it together little by little.

yes, please!

there are many reasons people tend to argue that the west side is the best side. for one the weather in the LA/southern cali area is pretty much sublime, there are a ton of super creative people living and working out there and well the attitudes towards life tend to be a bit more laid back. while i love new york city with all my heart and really can't imagine moving anywhere else in the near future, casa de perrin from a design perspective gives me the itch to pack up and move to sunnier lands. their boutique approach to rentals for weddings, photo shoots, and private parties is unlike any other. their collection consists of feminine, antique chinas, vintage persian rugs, unique flatware, glassware beyond belief and so much more.

plus the owners/couple have a very cute story to boot.

holiday hair

{found here}

{found here}

{found here}

{found here}

i just got my hair cut yesterday, so i'm feeling inspired to try some new hairdos over the holidays. i've been trying especially hard to complete a fish tail braid (harder than they say for us hairdo inept folk)

man gift

with two brothers, a boyfriend, and a dad i am always racking my brain for good man gifts. it's harder than some may think! i thought this tobacco & sandalwood candle that can be used as a drinking glass for their manly bourbon afterward is just genius.

{sydney hale company}

sweet paul

with the holiday season officially upon us i know i'll be doing lot's of entertaining and hope you will be too! we'll be hosting thanksgiving at our new apartment on thursday for the first time ever. whoohoo! michael's family is coming over and we have a killer menu planned out. the only thing that could make it any better is if my family was coming too, but we'll see them soon enough for a cozy week in new hampshire next month.

around the holidays i am always tempted to try new dishes and bake something i've never tried before (which is pretty much everything because i never bake). somehow unknown to me, i stumbled upon this amazing online magazine that is jammed packed with gorgeous photographs of fall food dishes & amazing recipes. i'm sure this is proababy the most popular magazine around and i am behind once again, but if you haven't heard of it you will definitely want to pop by and check it out. thank you sweet paul mag! click here for the full magazine and holiday recipes.

save bristol bay!

my brother is in town this week with his organization, trout unlimited, spreading the word about a very important campaign he's been working on. it's the save bristol bay campaign in alaska working to stop a mine from destroying the world's most productive wild sockeye salmon fishery. check out more here!

tonight we'll be a part of their vip event to benefit the save bristol bay campaign here in nyc. they have a fantastic line up of well known chefs who are going to be preparing their favorite salmon dishes at the foundry for guests to enjoy. michael stuart ny catering will be passing some delicious bites and we'll be spreading a bit of beauty through the space. we urge you to check out their campaign and get involved!

say cheese!

a couple of weeks ago jen huang and i found our way (barely) to the melangerie trunk show at the brooklyn collective. i say barely because it did involve me picking jen up off the side of the street not long after i found myself lost on the same dark corner. it was well worth the adventure once we made it! melangerie sold some beautiful goods and there was a photo booth!

gosh, i love a photo booth!

thanks to george massim photography for running the booth!

we've got tammy golson, pepper (soon to be the most famous pup in blog world), jen huang, & elana from melangerie.

stunning trash

there are inevitably always some flowers left over after every wedding. i am ashamed to admit i don't always put them to the best of use, but this time around i did! i made this arrangement for my boyfriend's family last week and everyone really enjoyed it as we ate a delicious meal.

dress to kill

i was so thrilled to see my my soon to be sister in law's friend's wedding invitations featured on design sponge! check out the full post here! also don't miss out on this!

farm to table

this past weekend my boyfriend, michael of stuart & welch catering, and i traveled to pennsylvania with some of our family for a nice relaxing mini vacation. his family's property where we stayed is so outrageously amazing it makes me want to pack up, move to the country, and start my very own vegetable garden.

being that michael is an incredible chef we always spend a good portion of our time in pa cooking delicious meals and enjoying them outdoors. this summer we were able to enjoy the fruits of his family's labor, a fresh vegetable garden! picking fresh veggies five minutes before we cooked dinner gave the term "farm to table" a whole new meaning.

grilled zucchini and squash from the garden

fresh beet, cucumber, and goat cheese salad (all veggies were fresh garden picks)

sweet dreams

i plan on catching up on some much needed z's this weekend. would love to dream in this lovely room underneath this whimsical duvet cover. {found at dwell studio}
sweet dreams!

sunnies

sadly my sunglasses died a tragic death this weekend during the usa vs. ghana world cup match. luckily the few cold beers i enjoyed buffered the loss nicely, but here i am lost in a bright sunny world without them. during an online shopping search here is what caught my attention.
any votes?

tom ford

tried and true ray-ban

dior

rooftop flowers

we often dream about the day we'll have gardens, backyards, front yards, and maybe just maybe even a porch. living in the city can get tough when you long for outdoor space because it can be hard to come by as many of you know. when i first came across these images at papertastebuds i was so envious. just half of one of these rooftop gardens could make me live in the city for life.

check out the full post on re-nest

meg

i heart meg ryan in a big way. always have and probably always will. french kiss will go down as one of my all time favorites. when i stumbled upon her home featured in elle decor i had to wipe the drool from my face. her kitchen is simply stunning!