Eating Seasonally

For about a month now I’ve been following a clean eating diet, and it’s going really well. I’ve never liked meat (aside from the occasional cheeseburger), and absolutely love fruits and vegetables. And I have to say, my energy levels have been way higher than normal – BONUS. This print from Concrete Lace would a fantastic reminder about season produce to hang in the kitchen, close to the grocery list. (via Paper Crave)

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Design Crush Does Las Vegas (Market)

Two firsts happened last week – I visited Las Vegas and I attended market. Vegas was way more flat and brown than I was expecting, and the difference between the streets of the city and the extravagant interiors of the hotels and casinos amazed me. Market on the other hand was a lot of what I had anticipated, showroom after showroom of goods and very sore feet at the end of the day.

 

I have Traditional Home magazine to thank for both, they invited me to a blogging event taking place Monday and Tuesdsay. I flew in Sunday afternoon, and after a crazy long check-in line at Aria I settled in. I don’t even know the last time I had an afternoon with nothing on my schedule, so I took full advantage. A bubble bath, robe lounging, room service, and lots of Olympic watching made up a super relaxing day.

 

I also managed to do a little exploring, my favorite parts being all of the modern art and textures happening around the casino level. I’ve been in my share before, but never one so massive (16 restaurants!).

 

And oh my, these stainless steel bird chairs. I wanted to take them home and make them my own personal version of pink flamingos in the front yard!

 

Monday morning I headed over to World Market Center. I couldn’t help but notice that the architecture of the buildings was perfectly suited for what was waiting inside. In the plaza between the three buildings we were greeted with plenty of chic seating as well as coffee, fruit, and pastries. What a great start to what was sure to be a fun day!

 

At the Traditional Home Bloggers Salon I met up with the magazine’s team and the nine other bloggers participating. Left to Right: Quintessence, Kelly Market, Stylebeat, me, The Decorista, coco+kelley, Design Manifest, Vanguard Blog, Desire to Inspire, and Design Lovers Blog. All ladies with great taste and interiors blogs. So in a way I was the odd woman out, having an all-around design site. I loved hearing their opinions on things and seeing how our tastes differed.

 

Traditional Home put together a fantastic non-traditional treasure hunt for us to explore market. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with building after building, floor after floor, and room after room of STUFF. But they helped us narrow it down to retailers we were all sure to love.

 

One of the first directives was to visit Sherwin-Williams and choose a color we thought was going to be huge in 2013. I went with chartreuse, you can hold me to it!

 

A new-to-me company was Lexington Home Brands, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with some of their more modern pieces. The orange, leather-covered dresser on the right hit all of us right in the gut with love. Very Hermes-inspired!

 

Arteriors Home was my hands down favorite showroom, however. Especially their light fixtures, and especially especially Laura Kirar’s Caviar Collection.

 

I fell hard for these low-sitting swivel stools from Palecek. They aren’t made for the outdoors, but you can bet I’d be carrying them in and out of the house every chance. They just scream give me a patio and a drink!

 

Broyhill is such a classically known brand, I was very pleasantly surprised by some of their pieces that had more modern lines. This buffet and set of armchairs were some of my favorite pieces, not to mention the fat felt woven rug!

 

Four Hands was another my favorites, tons of great pieces and spot-on styling. Not to mention a bar in the back with a cute bartender and strong margaritas!

 

Monday night we ate at one of Aria’s many restaurants, Sirio Ristorante. Both the design and the food were extremely good.

 

I had to leave a day earlier than everyone else, but had such a great time. It was so nice to meet some of the brilliant people behind Traditional Home and to meet some new bloggers. Until next time, Vegas!

 

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Travel and accommodations provided by Traditional Home.

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Happy Weekend

01/ Make a modern DIY playhouse!
02/ Doilies + driftwood.
03/ Turning stubby old pencils into fun toys.
04/ The couple I saw spooning on the gate floor at McCarren Airport this week needed the Blandito.
05/ Matchbook is all about bikinis and books and pairing the two together.
06/ Fabric-covered soccer balls.
07/ A multicolor sprinkler that paints rainbows.
08/ Water tower turned townhouse.
09/ Preciously tiny, these Olympian Meals are representative of what a few athletes actually eat.
10/ Smart folding Piegato shelves.

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Happy Weekend

01/ The Mason Jar cocktail shaker. Hipster approved.
02/ Humiliating giant head squirrel feeder.
03/ A DIY to save your sofa arms and spare an end table.
04/ AmoeBAND, a customizable bandage.
05/ A combo Beer/Shotglass, talk about space saving.
06/ Cookie + coffee cup = the cookie coffee cup!
07/ Animal sculptures made of reclaimed household items.
08/ Ever think of painting your shelves?
09/ Solar. Making triple digit temps look good.
10/ STACKED – wine, stemware, and corkscrew in one!

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How Sweet It Is

no-bake coconut cream (goat cheese) cheesecake

 

white chocolate lavender vanilla popcorn

 

white pizza dip

 

Everyone has a secret favorite site, I don’t care who you are. Blogger or not, sometimes you don’t want to spill the beans on where all of the good stuff comes from. Well, in the case of food blogs I’m spilling. This site is just too good not to, the kind where I pin nine out of ten recipes posted.

Meet How Sweet It Is.

I’ve been following this blog for a few years, and just now realized the girl behind it all – Jessica – lives in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. And a new layer of love is added just like that. Jessica’s recipes are beyond good, they’re smart. And I think what sets them apart is the tweaking of one or two ingredients, like adding goat cheese to cheesecake or lavender to popcorn (see both above). I also love the way she looks at food through her camera lens as, really nice shots that make you start drooling on your keyboard just a little. Like I am now.

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