Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Nancy Meyers Mini-Series

I am a raging fan of chick-flicks.

I have a huge selection of them that are constantly in rotation in my DVD player.  My poor husband.
;-)  I am not too terribly picky when it comes to chick-flicks.  I love most girly things that I watch, or I find things, scenes, characters, or accessories to love enough that I watch the movie over and over again.  But among my favorite movies, there is a common thread -- they are all Nancy Meyers movies.

In this month's Elle Decor magazine, I stumbled across a mini article about Nancy Meyers and her work.  She is a master at set design, and all of her creations are executed in the most beautiful, elegant, and delicate way.  I loved a part of the piece where she said that she loves her job so much because she can't redecorate her home every couple of years, so instead she gets her design fix with her movies.  :-)  That made me smile.  This is a woman with an impeccable eye who truly loves what she does -- and it shows.

I thought that once a week for the next several weeks, we could dive into some of my favorite movie interiors that all have the Nancy Meyers theme in common.  :-)  I had such fun gathering the photos for these posts, and I can't wait to share them all with you!  We'll look at the Father of the Bride all-American decor; the cozy, warm cottage from The Holiday; the contrast between the London and Napa homes in The Parent Trap; and more!  It'll be fun, and I'm so glad to have you with me!

We'll start this week with It's Complicated...


I absolutely adore this movie -- it's definitely in my top three favorites.  Meryl Streep is so wonderful in her role as mother of three, ex-wife of one truly adorable Alec Baldwin, and blooming 'girlfriend' to lovable Steve Martin's character, Adam.  This beautiful ranch-style home is where she resides, and the inside is even more gorgeous than the outside!


The living room -- a warm place with beautiful built-in bookshelves and a fabulous furniture set-up perfect for conversing.  I love how the chairs seem to 'talk' to one another.  And of course, those luscious beams on the ceiling -- they really cozy up this space!



A lovely, traditional bathroom complete with a claw-foot bathtub.  There is something so sweet in this room's simplicity.  It is almost to the point of shabby chic, which I love, but still maintains a really well-planned and put-together look.


A stunning hallway with archway after archway.  I love the visual effect of looking through many doorways, which end up leading into the final doorway of a room at the end of the hall.  Such great design!  And that chandelier?  LOVE!


Okay, don't even get me started on this kitchen.  I am in deep love here.  Chaos meets utter perfection; I just can't get enough of the open shelving to display all of the creamy white dishes contrasting with the copper and stainless steel metals of the pans on the opposing side.  I love galley kitchens, and this one is fabulous because it is open on both sides -- easy entry and exit!


The upholstered butter yellow barstools -- simply delicious.


I love this dining room that lays right outside of the kitchen.  Another archway stands between the rooms to give them a separated feel without there needing to be a door -- essentially keeping the floorplan open and airy.  I love the burnt orange seat cushions -- adding warmth to a white room with accessories and furniture.




I'm totally loving the symmetry in this room with subtle differences like the side tables and the lamps.  The colors are, again, warm (like the rest of the home!) and the contrast really works beautifully.  And the wooden bench at the foot of the bed?  I cannot get over how simply awesome that is.

What is your favorite room of this home?

Have you seen It's Complicated?  Is it one of your favorites, too?

love, maria

Friday, June 22, 2012

High Five For Friday

This week, I am joining in on the fun over at From My Grey Desk and writing a High Five For Friday post!  Thanks for being the host, Lauren!  You are awesome!  :-)

Here are five of my favorite things from the past week...


   





1. Getting to snuggle in bed on a Friday and check in with my favorite blogs.  A great way to start the morning.

2. Organizing all of my magazine tear sheets and putting them inside of my very own DIY coffee table book.  

3. Finding a new home for my upholstered bench.  Next week I plan to begin the search for some different fabric -- we're changing up the colors in the living room...finally!

4. An outfit pairing that I loved.  My Damier Louis Vuitton with pretty thrift-store animal-print flats.

5. Neutral nails for summertime.  I don't paint my nails often, so this was a nice change of pace.

Happy Friday!

love, maria

Thursday, June 21, 2012

DIY Coffee Table Books

Last week while perusing one of my favorite blogs, Centsational Girl, I came upon a post that she had written about what to do with the "dog-eared pages" in your life.  You know -- the magazine photos that you tear out of House Beautiful and Dwell and save for inspiration.  I happen to have a problem with this.  I save, save, save, then forget, forget, forget.  I even had a family friend gift to me many of her favorite tear sheets and provide me with a binder full of amazing inspiration from a real interior decorator's perspective.  I hadn't gone through those pages yet, but I decided to take a look.


The first thing I did was go through all of the sheets and decide what was relevant to my design and decorating tastes and what wasn't.  This was a great exercise for me -- really taking a look at a photo and deciding if it just appealed to me, or if I would want it or an aspect of the pictured design for my own home.  I figured that anything that I like to marvel at from afar but not use within my own home, I would recycle.  

I made three categories with my tear sheets -- Interiors, Vacation Cabin, and Details -- and realized that these would make great coffee table books, full of all of the pictures that I love to look at.  Grey and I dream to have a cabin in a woodsy area someday, and I have tons of ideas for that, so I'm really glad that I included our hopeful home in the categories.  The Details book was to hold many things -- ideas for place settings, holiday decorating, how-to's, color schemes...  Anything detail-oriented.  


I found a beautiful canvas book at Michael's, and I decided to start on that particular afternoon with my Interior tear sheets.  I'm sure you can guess how this went...  You just need a glue stick and a book of your choice, and, of course, your inspiration.  :-)




There is still a lot of room left in the book to fill as more inspiration falls into my lap, and I have two other books in the works.  I have already flipped through this many times while waiting for my husband to get ready for a date, or passing the time between appointments.  It just makes me happy to see all of the aspects of what makes my decorating style unique in one place.  :-)



love,
maria

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day


Happy Father's Day to my daddy.
The man who taught me what goodness is, what love is, and what kindness is.
The person I could always turn to, could always trust with anything.
The daddy who calls me 'Poochie' and 'honey' and always makes me smile.
The best father any girl could ask for.

I love you!

love,
maria

Saturday, June 16, 2012

What We're Up To: Breakfast For Dinner

My hubby came home last night from work to a pretty apartment with candles lit and all the right ambience...and -- wait for it -- no food.

That's right.  In my excitement of getting the apartment all nice and cozy for us, I forgot that we didn't have much food in our pantry or in the refridge -- just some odds and ends.  When we both decided that we were hungry enough to eat, I walking into the kitchen and started to scrounge.

Frozen chicken?  Freezer burnt.  PB&J?  No J, no thank you.  But eggs -- we had eggs!  And goat cheese!  And two gigantic beautiful portobello mushrooms that somehow hadn't gone bad yet.  We decided upon breakfast for dinner, and when I said to Grey, "Do you want me to make it?" he looked at me and sweetly said, "Honey -- you know that I am the Egg Master."

Let me tell you -- he's right.  I make breakfast a lot of the time; but he is always, always, always in charge of the eggs.  He's just great at it -- they taste better than the restaurant-egg variety every time -- no joke.  So while he started on the eggs, I chopped up the mushrooms and then threw them in a pan of browning butter and garlic powder.


Our goal was to have the mushrooms mixed in with the eggs, but it turned out even better -- they became a delicious side dish, one in which we could decide our perfect egg-to-mushroom ratio on our own.


We ate at our dining room table which was covered with magazine tear sheets for a project I am tackling today, but it was delicious nonetheless.


And what would a breakfast-for-dinner scenario be without cozy mismatched pajamas to simply add to the relaxed feel of the meal?


That's right -- now you know something about me.  I don't match my jammies.  Sorry, we're keepin' it real here.

love,
maria

Friday, June 15, 2012

Maxi Love





Maxi Dress: Old Navy {on sale}
Earrings: Kohl's Spring 2012
Sandals: 6pm.com
Sunglasses: Target

There's something about a fun, printed maxi dresses that just screams summer.  While on my trip to Tucson, I stumbled upon this adorable ikat dress on sale for $24 -- quite the steal.  After trying it on, I knew that it had to come home with me.  :-)

love,
maria

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Wednesday Wants

Revitalash Spotlight Highlighting Pencil, {Lovelyskin.com}

Orange Boatneck Tee, {Target}

Women's Cropped Linen-Blend Pants, {Old Navy}

The Mini Carrybag, {Madewell.com}

Minted Rose Lip Balm, {Sephora}

love,
maria

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Layers and Gold

I tried my hand at something a little new to me this morning while getting dressed.  Layering!  With a pale pink button-up top and a yellow vest-tank over it, I really liked the look!


And as for the shoes, there is definitely a party goin' on down on my feet.  Gold Kate Spade flats with some pearly accents make this outfit equal parts preppy and fun.


Did you know that these flats were actually my wedding shoes?



Just the right amount of frilly, in my opinion!  ;-)

love,
maria

I'm Back!

Well, it's been a long, much-needed break, but I am back!

After doing a lot of thinking, and re-evaluating my plan for the future, I am happy to say that I am going back to school to finish up my teaching degree.  I am so happy about this, and I cannot wait!  I thought that I was going to stop blogging, but after really thinking about it, I have realized that maybe I'm limiting myself by only sticking to interior design and decorating.  Which is why I am excited to say that this blog will be turning into a lifestyle blog of sorts.  :-)  I am thrilled!

Tune in later this afternoon for this blog's first lifestyle post.  I am going to be heading up to Tucson later this AM so I really need to get to sleep; but, I am so happy to share with you this journey and I can't wait to start!

love, 
maria