Two words: Ghetto fabulous! Founders Jimmie & Martin are brilliant. Their work “combines the decadent and quirky with the nostalgic & urban” – quote taken from their website: www.jimmiemartin.co.uk. Price tag: pricey – rightfully so. The end product is unique & well done with close attention paid to details. I would love to see one of Jimmie Martin’s pieces in person… doable if I could afford the presidential suite in Manhattan’s luxury Surrey hotel – as one of Jimmie Martin’s pieces is in the suite’s bar, lobby. Since our budget’s not allowing this visit anytime soon, I’ll settle for these lovely photos below (these are my favorites from Jimmie Martin’s work).
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Seriously… did you make your bed today? If not, shame on you (just kidding). Did you know that making your bed in the morning sets the tone for the entire rest of the day? It’s true. I’ve heard that multiple times from multiple people. If you don’t believe me try it & you’ll see for yourself. It has the same affect that putting on make-up & getting out of pajamas does. It somehow tells your brain subconsciously that the day has begun now get prepared to face it with your best foot forward… well, that’s my interpretation of it. One of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ll ever give (to be especially followed when having a bad day or during one of life’s difficult seasons) is: make your bed.
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Thank you Taco Bell for your “think outside the bun” motto – it has inspired this post! I know I shared this idea with my Manhattan ORK poster post, but I wanted to share it now with a photo. Do you like? I guess the point is that anything can be pant-hanger hung… posters, photos, art, calendars, you get the idea. This precious photo is of my mother in law, Nora, holding my hubby when he was a newborn. One of my favorite photos ever. I have it in our half bathroom / powder room for all to see. In case you’re wondering… no, there’s never any moisture in that room. It has an air conditioning vent & there is no shower or bathtub where steam would generate. If anything it’s one of the coldest rooms in our house, especially because of it’s marble floor tiles. I featured this half bathroom this past weekend in HGTV’s Rate My Space & it has just been slammed for it’s “think outside the frame” ideas… primarily it’s collage wall – which I must point out, is another great way to think outside the traditional photo frame. Click here for a link to the Rate My Space listing.
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Let me begin by saying that I must have said “omg! omg! omg!” at least 10 days at first seeing this dining room. Everything about it is divine! Worthy of a “Love at First Gasp” post. Poppytalk (located in Vancover) introduced me to Canadian House & Home magazine & now I am hooked. No need to be physically in Canada to appreciate it’s decor. This photo was in Canadian House & Home’s online sample magazine under the topic: Indie Chic. Well, I guess I’m a fan of Indie then! The owners of this home are a very creative duo: Matt Carr (industrial designer) & Joyce Jo (fashion designer/retailer). I’m already a fan of their home decor taste – I imagine their other work is brilliant as well.
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The blog world is very forgiving… I’ve been MIA (missing in action) for a whole week now. I’ll spare you the details, but will highly recommend this: a weekend get-a-way minus the kids. Just want the doctor would prescribe, I imagine! My spontaneous husband decides Saturday at 1pm that we should go to NYC & at 5:25pm we fly over flat Florida towards our beloved Manhattan. Thank God for credit cards. Don’t do it every weekend, but at least once, DO it. Thanks to Twitter & various tech people we ended up at The Roger Smith Hotel. Budget friendly, nicely located. No, we didn’t run into Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook) or Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple), but we would’ve loved to. The word “tech” to my husband is like the word “decor” for me… explains why he picked this hotel. Altogether good experience though. Only one complaint which you’ll read in my “Dislikes” list…
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Go easy on me now… My living room is somewhat incomplete. It does works for the time being. I can smile about that. Check out the inspiration photo (bottom left). Gorgeous, isn’t it? First time I ever saw a file cabinet look so great in a living room. It gave me the courage to bring our file cabinet out of hiding – it was cooped up in our closet. I placed it next to our lovely couch, added a little tray on top along with some accessories (books, of course) and voila! Now I have better access to organizing our files as well as a place to put a coffee mug. Great way to give an object more purpose. Not that storing manila folders isn’t significant… now this cabinet looks good doing it AND can help keep sticky coffee from staining my white couch (it’s slipcover – I can wash it, don’t worry)! I’m actually motivated to file away our bills now instead of just putting them in a neat pile one day & a messy pile the next.
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Ok, I’m so blown away by the un-upholstered chair in this living room. It actually took the spot of the Love at First Gasp post I had planned for this week. I just had to share this photo ASAP! I don’t know that I am this bold to leave a chair un-upholstered in my home. Folks, this photo is in a printed decor book: “Perfect English Cottage” by Ros Byam Shaw! What in the world? I’ve always had this idea that home photos inside decor books & magazines were the finished look. In other words, they weren’t still a work in progress…
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LOL! No, I didn’t burn them. If you remember, I had books in my fireplace for decor. Today, in this not-so-hot Florida weather my fireplace actually has fire in it. Do you like? This is worth posting about because we only get to do this about once a year here in normally crazy-hot South Florida. This is not your typical Florida photo folks. Most people think: Florida & they picture the beach or palm trees or Disney World, Sea World even NASA. I bet most don’t picture cozy fireplaces. I, myself, associate cozy fireplaces with white snowy mountains in Colorado. Or white snowy mountains in Alaska…. basically anywhere with white snowy mountains! So, enjoy this experience with me while it lasts.
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So, my “local” category needed some attention… hence this post! Let me introduce you to “Jane’s Furniture Divas”. Formerly known as “Jane Loves Cheap Furniture”. Owned & run by two savvy ladies named Jackie & Cricket – oh wait, with a bit of help from Bella the cat & Charlie the fish, of course! Located in Lake Worth, Florida. About 15 minutes south of the famous West Palm Beach (remember, where the Williams sisters live?)… I gotta find another celebrity that livest there too – I could say Donald Trump, but he has property everywhere so he doesn’t count. In case you’re wondering Jane was Jackie’s mom. She & Jackie opened “Jane Loves Cheap Furniture” 16 years ago. Jane passed about 2 years ago, but her memory lives on in a fun, furniture-shop sort of way. Today Jackie & Cricket keep Jane’s furniture redo dreams alive. Way to go girls!
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This is the first of many weekly posts that will be called: Love At First Gasp. Refers to items, photos, rooms, decor, furniture, accessories & such that “had me at hello” – 2nd Jerry Maguire movie reference in the history of this blog! LOL! These Love At First Gasp occurrences happen quite regularly for me. A gasp is the default reaction, but sometimes these lovely finds cause me to do a double-take, my eyes widen, mouth drops & the word “WOW” comes out of my mouth – sometimes with a bit of drool (just kidding on the droll). These Love At First Gasp finds are things that sometimes will be out of my means because of price, distance, space limitations, you get the idea, but a girl can always dream!
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