Round Hill

I came home from Arizona ready for some warmer weather....no such luck. But second best was my new issue of Coastal Living and this spread of Meg Braff's recent redo of Round Hill in Jamaica. I'm dying for some bright, juicy colors and sunshine right now!

Naturally I ended up on the Round Hill website dreaming of sand between my toes. A classic Jamaican resort built on the site of an old plantation, Round Hill has been hosting jet setters since the 1950s. You can see why!

Wish we were off to zee islands MON! (that was for you Morley).

Fried Oreos

Arizona was beautiful. Couldn't have asked for better views....

Unfortunately I didn't make it to Taliesin. But I did get treated to homemade fried Oreos! My first ever fried dessert.

Fried Oreos:

• 2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk
• Bisquick mix
• Frozen Oreos (or any other cookie or candy for that matter)

Heat oil to 375 degrees. Our oil was too hot (blame it on the wine) which is why the crust is a little dark but it tastes just as delicious! Whip up the Bisquick batter, dump in a few Oreos to coat and toss in the oil. Give them about 2 minutes to get golden brown and remove to a paper towel to drain. If you want to dress them up, sprinkle a little confectioners sugar on top. Enjoy!

Taliesin West

I'm headed out to the Scottsdale, AZ area today for a long weekend. If there's time, I'm hoping to visit Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home he built for himself in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains. Taliesin West is now also home to the FLW School of Architecture and FLW Foundation. Also on the grounds of Taliesin West (there's also a Taliesin in Wisconsin) are what's called the Desert Shelters, structures planned, built and lived-in by students at the School of Architecture to encourage understanding of the relationship of architecture to it's surroundings. In fact the entire compound is made up mostly of buildings designed and built by the students. If I get a chance to visit I'll be sure to post some pictures next week. In the meantime have a great weekend!

Help for Haiti

For those in the Philadelphia area, there are a number of restaurants and bars raising money for Haiti. Starr restaurants will donate 10% of meals purchased on Monday the 25th to the BushClinton Fund; Wawa is collecting $1 coupons for Red Cross at all of it's locations; and all of the change collected in  the life size piggy bank in The Reading Terminal will be donated to the Red Cross. See a complete list here. If you know of any other local fundraising events, please post them here.

And if you haven't already - take a look at Craft Hope for Haiti on Etsy. 

Good Morning

Print by Jennifer Ramos on Etsy.

I Love You, Man

Have you seen I Love You Man?? It's hilarious. For some reason I had my doubts but finally caved this weekend and literally laughed out loud through the entire movie. I noticed some great decor in the house that Rashida Jones and Paul Rudd's characters lived in together and tried searching online afterwards for some info (there's a great wallpaper behind their bed). I wasn't able to find any info on the set interiors but I did come across an article from Domino on Rashida's NYC studio apartment. At just 400 square feet it's teeny tiny but so adorable (just like her)!

The article highlights the 3 elements that make this apartment work.

1) Efficient floorplan:

2) A focused color scheme. Blue, white and magenta. Notice the great mix of modern (the dining chairs), traditional (the couch...and I think that's toile on the headboard?) and boho (the rug and side tables).

3) Hidden storage. You'll notice that the curtains don't just cover the windows, they also conceal built-ins on either side.

If you haven't already seen the movie, go out and see it immediately! And let me know if you find anything on the set design!

Post Script: Just found this article on Apartment Therapy (clearly I wasn't looking hard enough).
On the Set: I Love You, Man.

Happy Weekend!

Have a great weekend! See you next week.


Image from Lucy Berridge via Desire to Inspire.

Kristen Hutchins Design

I stumbled across Kristen Hutchins' portfolio when browsing for inspiration for my parents place in Florida. Kristen is certainly no newbie to the design world. She worked under Kelly Wearstler and Ruthie Sommers and her work has been featured in Vogue, W, and Elle Decor to name a few. I was particularly taken with her Pacific Palisades project (partially because my Mom is from there and I knew she'd like it!) I love her use of modern with traditional design elements and lots and lots of texture.

 

Angela Adams

I'm on the hunt for a rug (more on that later) and was reminded of the beautiful rugs by Angela Adams. She's inspired by the natural surroundings of Maine where she now resides. The rugs above are from her new cotton line and below, from her wool collection.

She now also features other products reminiscent of her rug patterns.....

Paper

Coasters

Melamine Trays

And being in Maine, only natural for her to hop on the recycled sail trend!

Shop online here. 

Happy Friday

And Happy New Year! One of my new year's resolutions is to blog more.... which I'm clearly doing a great job of being that it's the 8th and this is my first post. Way to go. But I have been gathering ideas and have some fun things to share like fabulous designers, a project or 2 I've been working on close to home, trends to 2010, love for some other blogs, and lots of other random stuff that's clogging up my computer. Come back Monday for more!

Image from Pink Wallpaper.