To start the week

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was gorgeous here in NC and I enjoyed every minute of it. It is amazing what a little sunshine will do for the soul!

Oscar 

Well I know a majority of you caught the Academy Awards last night and for those of you who did not I just thought I would share a few pictures of some of my favorite ladies and gentleman of the evening. It is kind of ironic that I am a brunette and my top 3 looks for the night are platinum blondes? I suppose the grass is always greener but these lovely ladies rocked some gorgeous gowns and have given me some divine inspiration.  

Michelle WIlliams in Chanel Haute Couture

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Haute Couture

Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein Collection

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Haute Couture

Anne Hathaway with Mr. Valentino in vintage Valentino

The amazingly talented and dapper men of the evening Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth.

Secrets of a Stylist

Onto other inspiring news from the weekend...Emily Henderson debuted her new design show Saturday evening Secrets of a Stylist on HGTV. I raved about Emily in a previous Post after she had won the Design Star competition and I will sing her praises again today. Emily, a thrifty flea market shopper, takes couple's personalities through a style diagnostic in turn coming up with their design style, "country club chic" meets 'hollywood regency." She then layers the looks to create a space that will suit the Mr. and the Mrs. Great idea and fun to watch, a little crazy with this all being packed into 30 minutes but well worth it.

As you can see in the pictures below the transformation of the room looks awesome! 

Matchbook

As a follow-up to my previous Lela Rose post I wanted to direct you over to the fantastic online magazine Matchbook. The interview with Lela is candid and there are some great photos...they were even able to finagle a homemade Biscotti recipe from Rose. I will have to give that one a try.

The latest issue of Matchbook went live today and one of my favorite shop owners and design bloggers Kelly Galvin Robson of High Street Market is featured on one of her antiquing excursions. She is adorable and has great style. If you have time to stop by her shop I spotted these goodies for sale! 

High Street Market

Worlds Away

The past few weeks between work and play I feel like I have traveled around the globe yet have only been in 3 states. I suppose that is a good thing, being able to find so many worldly goods without traveling to the ends of the Earth. One of my current client projects is finding outdoor accessories including topiaries for their front porch, the perfect planters and the greenery that will complete their "Low Country" front porch look.

 

Success in finding ligistrum double ball topiaries, low maintenance and beautiful.

 

Beautiful, affordable black urns...picture of the finished product will have to wait until the project is complete... Success!

Market Imports

 

My hunt for the perfect accessories took me to an amazing store, warehouse, not sure what you call it... Market Imports located next to the State Farmers Market in Raleigh, NC has the most amazing finds! It is a treasure trove of eclectic furniture and accessories for indoor and outdoor. While I am picturing the most extreme and diverse of their inventory please know that they have a great collection of blue porcelain china, clay pots in every shape color, size, fountains galore and the list goes on... 

I wish I were as comfortable as this Merlick in the 100 degree weather while working.

Furbish Studio

I was also able to do a little shopping for myself while working of course, hazard of the job but I dropped into one of my favorite new haunts Furbish Studio. Lucky for me they had just received their newest shipment of Roberta Roller Rabbit for home. All I can say is ooh la la, fun fun! First of all every little accessory in Furbish is a designers dream. Jamie Meares the creator and owner behind all the beauty paints most of her furniture with a little help from her friend she has that pops up from the basement. She has ready made pillows ready to walk out the door onto your sofa and great knick knacks for your home.

I happened to pick up these 2 Roberta Roller Rabbit pillows for my newly painted wicker chairs and voila ready for my party.

Remember my chairs for a deal?

Before

After

Love the blue and green elephant print.

This bamboo bench at Furbish is tres chic.

Perfect sized asian inspired side table.

Furbish Studio

1020 Glenwood Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27605

High Street Market

New fantastic finds just listed last week!

Images Courtesy High Street Market

Calypso

St. Barth

2 things would love to have... Calypso's Chevron Kurta and

Jodhpur Pouf

Betsy Burnham

One of my favorite designers is LA based Betsy Burnham and her designs are edgy and eclectic. I like her because she is under the radar yet her work is phenomenal. She always loves to use an animal print which I think too is a staple for any space.

Images courtesy of Design Sponge, InStyle, Lonny Magazine 

Keep Calm

After a long weekend and Monday my mantra for the evening is the Bristish government's propaganda poster.... I am feeling as if I might wind up wrapped in my fur coat like little Edie Beale of Grey Gardens singing show tunes in my next life!

Thankfully there is only one Monday a week and I just received this great email from High Street Market introducing their new items to the shop for sale. http://www.highstreetmarket.etsy.com/

They have some awesome handmade pillows and accessories for a great prices.

Here are some of my favorites!

Images courtesy of  Dress Vintage, Keep Calm Carry On and High Street Market