Next Year

Luxe and Lillies

Hello all my lovely friends. I want to wish everyone a bright, prosperous New Year...may your 2011 be filled with love, laughter, and life.

 

Source

Retro Chic

It's retro and chic...Can you dig it?

Living etc, M Design Interiors, Design Sponge, Jeffers Design Group, Elle Decor, Babe Paley 

Denni - the Chic Muse - Paris

Warm the Heart

Hello friends and happy day to you. I am hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday and was able to enjoy a little break with some loved ones. Christmas was exciting and in full swing here in my household. It looks like a bomb went off spraying tiny toys all over the place. At this point I am not sure where to start in the clean-up, organizational process and frankly am very unmotivated...maybe better left for next year.

The highlight I suppose was the snow that started Christmas night leaving us with around 7 inches of beautiful snow...a White Christmas indeed. I have been bedded down by the fire enjoying my family time and looking forward to the New Year. There is nothing like a cozy fire to warm the heart and these are some inviting living rooms where I could spend some time sipping a hot toddy in my slippers with a good book.

Photos courtesy of Lonny, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Canadian House and Home

Li Han - Palais de Tokyo - Paris

" ... My name is Li Han. I study Fashion in Paris.
For me Fashion is a way of Life. Today my look
has a japanese touch. I love to eat and study Fashion.
I hate to be alone in daily life. My message to the world:
Do your best ! ..."



I wear a jacket designed by myself
Hat by H&M
All the rest of my outfit from Hong Kong
My bag is a gift from my mother
Perfume by D

Blouson Noir Girl - Paris

Dans les années 60, les "Blousons Noirs" désignaient des "Bandes de Voyous"
qui aimaient bien se battre avec des chaînes de vélos, le soir dans les environs
de Pigalle ou de la Bastille ... Aujourd'hui, c'est un classique des garde-robes
pour les filles comme pour les garçons. Le problème est surtout de trouver
le modèle qui vous convient fait d'un cuir de bonne qualité, à un prix abordable,
quelle que soit la marque ...

Red Beret Lady - Paris

The beret is a french symbol even wears by a japanese girl ...

Have Yourself

Living Etc.

a Merry Little Christmas...from my family to yours.

Phreckles Photography

Mlle Haruka - Palais de Tokyo - Paris

J'ai croisé 2 fois Mlle Haruka (voir la photo ci-dessous).
Elle est étudiante en Mode et en français à la "Japan Woman University".
Ses efforts pour écrire en français sur son "Palais de chaillot" sont très touchants,
même si son style est assez particulier. J'aime le côté énigmatique
qui se dégage de certaines jeunes femmes japonaises.

Inspired Decor

On the Thursday before Christmas, yes Christmas Eve is tomorrow, my fingers have finally stopped cramping from addressing Christmas cards. I just finished the last bunch yesterday and now I have to do the awful task of sealing them and off they will be. I am elated! Everyone has sent such beautiful cards this year and it is always such a joy to see children, families, and beloved pets.
What is even more fun than receiving these beautiful cards is looking into the beautifully decorated homes of some of the people you know and finding inspiration right around the corner. Betty Eatman Nelson of Eatman's Carpet and Interiors is doing precisely that with her blog Inspire Me. Betty was kind enough to come over and and take some pictures of my home with all it's holiday finery you can take a look Here. Thanks Betty, it is always a pleasure! 

One of her recent posts is Holiday Doors is One Yours? I do love driving around town and looking at holiday decor and sometimes wish I would remember my camera. I adore this chic ribbon, simply stunning. For more inspiration and exquisite goodies for the home, check out Betty's Inspire Me.

While we are sharing favorite shots, this happens to be one of my all time favorite holiday covers and interiors. Aerin Lauder on the cover of the December 2007 issue of House & Garden magazine at her home in East Hampton which is the former home of her grandmother Estee Lauder.

The Peak of Chic

Timeless Tartan

Uk E Online

There is something about winter and the Christmas holiday that makes me want to wrap myself and home in luxurious, festive plaids. Masculine but feminine at the same time. Sarah Jessica Parker and the late great designer Alexander McQueen are a quite vision in their plaid even Charlotte York found plaid chic enough to wear as a full length ball gown to the annual Highland Fling in an episode of Sex and the City. For those of you who love a touch of tartan but not a ball gown worth there are a few great resources for your home as well as just about anything you might like in plaid.

The latest issue of Rue Magazine took my breath away with the inspirational "Tartans & Toddies" by San Francisco, CA based designer Scot Meacham Wood. This man knows Tartan and is not afraid to use it, love it! You can also see Mr. Meacham's daily musings on his blog, The Adventures of Tartanscot. 

 Rue and San Francisco Chronicle

This is just a glimpse of the article and the rest is eye candy too, a definite must read! Click Here for a behind the scenes video of the table setting...gorgeous! 

Pendleton Woolen Mills a classic source for plaid. 

Fantastic fabric by the yard

A collection of dessert plates would add just the right touch to your table.

These linens from Williams Sonoma Home are timeless.

Available

This fantastic book offers a history of plaid, profiles of high fashion designers who incorporate plaid into their work and images of more beautiful rooms like the one shown below.

Ralph Lauren

Happy Wednesday!

Hairstyles Makeovers

Add Side Swept Hair Bangs for a Simple Makeover

The best place to go if you are looking for a hairstyles makeover is to celebrity hairstyles galleries.  Celebrities typically have full time hair stylists that try to create the best look for their clients.  When it comes to celebrities, image is of utmost importance, so you can be certain that any hair style worn by a celebrity has been designed for the best possible appearance.

Some of the most popular makeover ideas come with adding hair bangs.  This is a very subtle makeover that doesn't require drastic changes to a cut.

Bangs help to frame the face, while camouflaging facial features that are unbalanced such as a high forehead or a narrow jaw line.  See more celebrity hairstyles examples and get going with your makeover.

A Gluten-free January

Are You Gluten Sensitive?

Many people are totally unaware of the fact that they react poorly to gluten. Because they've been eating wheat, barley and/or rye products every day for virtually their entire lives, they don't know what their bodies feel like without gluten. In susceptible people, eating gluten is linked to a dizzying array of health problems that stem from an immune reaction to gliadins and other proteins in gluten (1). Are you a susceptible person? How do you know?

The gold standard way to detect a gluten sensitivity is to do a gluten "challenge" after a period of avoidance and see how you feel. People who react poorly to gluten may feel better after a period of avoidance. After a gluten challenge, symptoms can range from digestive upset, to skin symptoms, to fatigue or irritability within minutes to days of the gluten challenge.

With 2011 approaching, why not make your new year's resolution to go gluten-free for a month? A man named Matt Lentzner e-mailed me this week to ask if I would help with his (non-commercial) project, "A Gluten-free January". I said I'd be delighted. Although I don't typically eat much gluten, this January I'm going 100% gluten-free. Are you on board? Read on.

A Message from Matt Lentzner

Hi There.

My name is Matt Lentzner. I'm just some guy who lifts weights on his patio and tries to eat healthy. That's not important, but I have an idea that just might be.

I am trying to get as many people as possible to go gluten-free for one month - this January 2011.

I've considered this whole ancestral diet thing and I've come to a conclusion. If you could only do just one thing to improve your health then not eating gluten would be it. This is not to say that avoiding other nasty things like fructose or industrial vegetable oil is not important. They are, but you'd get the most bang for your buck from not eating gluten.

"Eat No Gluten" is simple and easy to remember. I think that sometimes the rules get so complicated and overwhelming and people just give up on it. We're keeping it simple here. Even at this simplified level I see that it's difficult for a lot of folks. I think people, Americans especially, tend not to pay much attention to what they're eating - what it is, where it came from, etc.

Getting people to get out of their eating ruts and think a little about what goes into their mouths is a valuable exercise. It sets the stage for better choices in the future. I hope that some success with the simple step will encourage people to further improve their diets.

I have a website at www.glutenfreejan.com. If you want to sign up just send an email with your first name, last initial, and town of residence to glutenfreejan@gmail.com. If you are on Facebook there's a community you can 'Like' called: Gluten Free January. So far I have over 120 people all over the world signed up. If you are already gluten-free then I still want you to sign up - the more the merrier. You can also use this opportunity to spread the word and sign up your family and friends.

Merry Christmas - Looking forward to a gluten-free New Year.

Matt

Wrapping it Up

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I hope everyone had a splendid weekend, I know I sure did. We, as in my family have been making our Homemade presents, spreading some Holiday cheer, and enjoying time together.

Christmas on a Saturday this year is the best, I feel like I can actually plan this week for a party. We will have family to our home Christmas morning so it will be a festive weekend...let the party begin! 

Gingerbread cookie decorating

Beautiful cookies and tasty too

A few pics of a playroom I have been working on. I just love the Asher bedding by Serena and Lily. The brown with the red ticking looks awesome with the green walls. 

These pillows below I am waiting to give to a client,they are yummy...just in time for Christmas. I can't wait to see the room all put together.

Happy Monday!