1 degree closer to Martha…

I adore Martha! She has always been a personal favorite of mine. Not only is she a craft genius, but an amazing business woman.

 

Last week there was buzz around the web about a blogger party that MS LIVING was holding next week. Sadly my inbox was completely free of any invites.

 

So sad, but don’t worry I begged and pleaded a little bit and I got an invite!

 

Any other bloggers/readers going to be in NYC for Blogher and the Martha party next week? Would love to meet up!

 

Have a lovely weekend.

 

xoxo,

 

Camila

IN HER SHOES:Flip Flops & Pearls Design

While I’m still not best friends yet with twitter it is quite the wonderful tool. This week I connected with a fellow blogger who shared my love of Rachel Zoe and later on in the week when I was searching for a lady to feature for IN HER SHOES she came to the rescue.

I’ve had so much going through her lovely blog. I hope you all enjoy a day in the life of Jade from Flip Flops & Pearls Design.
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I want to thank Camila for featuring me in her blog today! It is an honor! I wear many shoes in a day...mommy shoes, wife shoes, and of course, designer shoes!

5:30 am

I awake to a little one hoisting herself up on my bed and squeezing in between my husband and me. This is the third morning in the row I have seen her before dawn and I hoping she’ll go back to sleep for an hour before we have to leave.

6:00 am

I accept the reality that she’s up for the morning and get out of bed to get her morning cup of milk and my coffee. Cup number one of many for the day. Today is a busy day for us…my brother and sister just moved into their new apartment the night before and I have to take my mom to the airport for a two-week vacation to Europe. I try to fit myself into her suitcase with no luck. Guess I will be helping my brother and sister unpack their boxes at the new place!

6:50 am

Rush out the door so my mom can make her flight…I have to add that I also had to allot myself enough time to run through the Starbucks drive thru!

7:45 am

Kiss my mom goodbye and make my way to the new apartment. I am very excited to help my brother and sister decorate their new place and make it a home. Since I am a nice sister, I run through Dunkin’ Donuts and grab some breakfast for everyone!

8:30 am

I am crossing my fingers that they stayed up the night before and got most of the unpacking done, but I was wrong. Oh well, time to get to work!

11:00 am

We have made major progress. Almost all the boxes are unpacked and the apartment is starting to come together. I start placing things around the different rooms trying to figure out the best place for all their stuff. It definitely pays to have an interior designer as a sister in times like this!

12:15 pm

Everyone takes a break to get a bite to eat. After lunch, I fight the urge to lie down and take a nap with my little one.

2:45 pm

Make a Wal-Mart & Target run with my brother. He was in desperate need of bedside lamps as well as other odds and ends that you always need when you move into a new place.

5:15 pm

Bid my brother and sister farewell and head home. The little one is beat from playing all day and so am I!

6:00 pm

I sit down in my favorite chair to catch up on emails from the day. I got the new Veranda in the mail today…might skim through it really quick…

7:00 pm

Time to make dinner for the family! I would love a glass of red wine but I promised to run VERY early with a friend tomorrow morning so I stick with the Pellegrino.

8:00 pm

All’s quiet on the home front…the little one is tucked into her bed and fast asleep. Speaking of the little one’s bedroom, I found a sketch that my design mentor did 30 years ago and I would like to clean it up and frame it for my daughter’s bedroom. I bought the bedding for her “big girl” room months ago and am just about ready to tackle that project.

8:30 pm

I am debating watching ‘Remember Me’ with Robert Pattinson but I am so tired from the day, I am afraid I will fall asleep halfway through it. I can’t do that to him so I am saving the movie for another night.

9:30 pm

Off to bed early tonight since I have another full day at my brother and sister’s place tomorrow! I drift off with thoughts of Home Goods & IKEA running through my head!!

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A big thanks to Jade for sharing her day with us. It reminds me a lot of my days. Helping siblings with various apt re-vamps, home design work, client work and always thoughts of Robert Pattinson. :)

If you have a special someone you want to see featured on IN HER SHOES please drop me a line and let me know!

Look for less: Missoni Rug

A traditional flame stitch pattern will forever remind me of Missoni. While they normally design ready to wear they do have some home good items such as this colorful rug:

It retails for almost $3,000 in the 5 x 8 size.

I think this budget friendly rug gives the same impact:

The 5 x 8 version retails for $119!

Decorators' Handbook: Dorm Room Style

I can't believe I'm already seeing ads on TV for Back to School. This summer has really flown by. I'm certain that home stores have been flooded with shoppers ready to stock up on supplies to make their cinderblock rooms aka dorms a home away from home.

Here are some tips:

1. Have fun! Being away from home for the first time is a great experience. Don't let the stress of decorating get to you. It should be a fun experience.

2. Mix & Match: In most cases you will probably have a roommate so if possible talk to roommate before hand and see if you can agree on a color combo. No need to get the exact same bedding set, but it would be pleasing to the eye if you stayed in similar colors. You're room will feel larger and more organized.


3. Your bed is the key focal point in the room, because most times it is the largest piece of furniture in the room. Don't neglect it. There are a bunch of different choices out there, but one of my favorites has to be this:



I would also add some toss pillows in this:



And this:



4. Storage is key! So look for it everywhere. I would make sure to put my bed on lifts and then hide the mess with an easy DIY bedskirt:



Rachel from Nest Egg used burlap in her headboard above, but you can use any fabric you like.


5. Flooring: Since you will have a roommate it is probably best to keep your rug choice neutral. I would probably go with a runner to go in between the beds and stick with sisal

Of course I found a sisal with a touch of orange with this mock-up dorm room:



6. Lighting: A big no-no is florescent lighting and I'm certain that the majority of dorm rooms have them. A key to making your room feel more like home is get lamps to sprinkle through the room and cast a nice glow.


This piece would fit right into the space and provide a lot of light for $90 bucks:



I also loved this little guy for on top of a dresser, desk or night stand:

It's only $15!





7. Soften things up: While the dorm room will most likely come with blinds of some sort it would be nice to add a little something to the walls and break up all that white. Here is where some colorful window panels would come into play. For my mock up I would go with these:




8. Framed: While you are not allowed to nail things into dorm room walls you can use 3M command strips and get some artwork up. Now your first thought might be to paper the walls to cover up all that empty wall. I wouldn't recommend this. It could end up looking too cluttered and make the room look smaller. I would go with some frames in a grid like pattern:



This looks can easily be recreated on the cheap by printing out images you find online on your home computer and using Dollar Store frames. I have found many 8 x 11 frame options with glass at my local dollar tree that would fit the bill perfectly.

Hope you enjoyed all of my little tips for Dorm Room Style.

Look for less: David Hicks Fiorentina

One of my favorite prints will forever be David Hicks Fiorentina

Yesterday I found a great look alike in a very budget friendly price:

Only $9.50 a yard

Image via Palmer Weiss

Open House: The Babs Blog

A couple of weeks Kari from The Babs Blog sent me an email with some pictures of her home and told me that her design style was “college chic”. Kari and her husband don’t plan on being in this house for a long time so they decorated with mostly hand me downs, thrift store finds and clearance items. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect when opening the pictures, but I must say I was floored.

 

Take a peek for yourselves:

 

Entry Way: Everyone needs a lovely tufted chaise to rest when they come home from a hard days work.

I spy my favorite initial plates from Anthro:

Highlights:

- That amazing fainting couch that can still be purchased at Urban Outfitters.

- Chic end table

- Chiang mai dragon pillows from ebay!

 

Living Room: Look at all of that amazing sunlight that streams in. I’m totally jealous.

Highlights:

-Thrift store sofa purchased for $175! I love it. Kari had it recovered in white duck cloth.

-Gallery wall made up of ebay frames

 

Other side of living room:

Highlights:

- White chair use to belong to Kari’s grandfather. Kari gave it a new lease on life with some new fabric.

 

Coffee Table Vignette:

Highlights:

-I love the milk glass. It’s quite easy to start a collection on your own. I normally find them in my thrift stores for $1-$3.

-Fireplace filled with candles. What a great way to make an impact for little $.

 

Looks like Kari had a green thumb. Every room needs a touch of green in it.

Highlight:

- Amazing end table on clearance from Target! Wish I grabbed that one myself when it was on sale.

 

Living Room nook:

Highlights:

-This artwork was a quick DIY project. Kari used two pieces of canvas that she clamped together, painted grey and wrote out a poem in French with a white sharpie marker. Love this!

 

Dining Room: Love the touches of black all throughout the home.

Highlights:

-Fun capiz chandelier.

-Oversized artwork. This piece is from IKEA, but you can do the same with any pictures you may own. This piece is partially special to Kari, because her old NY apt is in it.

 

A big thanks to Kari for showing off her space. If you have a home you think everyone would enjoy please email me with pictures at cpavone0107@gmail.com.

Great Buys: Zebra Ottoman

You all know I love a touch of animal print in a room. For a long time I’ve been marrying my love of black and white with animal prints and using zebra.

 

Design goddess Windsor Smith loves zebra as well:

Currently one of my favorite steals from Walmart is on super clearance at only $49.98:

 

Thanks for the heads-up Emily!

Mixing it up!

A couple of weeks ago  I finally got my high-heeled foot in the door in freelancing writing! I went to school and got my degree in communications so writing has always been something I wanted to do.

 

 

While this little blog of mine helps me flex my writing muscles on a daily bases it’s nice to be to write a piece and reach a different audience.

 

I have received my first official assignment with a company that I truly admire and can’t wait to finish up my piece, see it go live and share it all with you.

My first piece is about mixing design styles.

I’ve already come up with all of my tips for mixing different styles in your home, but now I need some beautiful images!

Now this is where you come into play. All of the images  above are examples of different design styles in the same room.

 

If you have a room in your home where design styles blend together into a perfect mix  I would love to see pictures!

 

Email me at cpavone0107@gmail.com

 

Images of mixed design styles via Mix Art & Interiors

Do I do it?

Last week I stumbled upon this little guy:

 

Totally tempted to add him to my shopping cart and bring him home with me.

 

I think I may have a problem. I can count at least 20 little and some big elephants in the main floor of my house.

 

He is available in medium for $28 and large for $58.

Weekend Recap: Here comes the bride….

Hi Loves,

 

Hope you had a great weekend! I was a busy bee. You see in between blogging and my design work I’ve been working on another little project.

 

This year Mom and Dad will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. When they got married the first time and funds were tight they went to the court house and got married.

 

Mom has always dreamed of having a traditional wedding in a church, walking down the aisle, photographer, etc.

 

So two weeks ago we decided to plan a renewal party for them!

 

Mom wanted a classic and romantic event.

 

I immediately knew what sort of color theme I wanted for the big bash and sent Bridezilla Mom this picture from Nonpareil:

Mom loved it. It gave her a bit of classic & romantic, but also a bit modern and fun. Win, win!

 

The big day is September 5th so this weekend was a mad dash to find the bride a dress.

 

I was a complete wedding dress snob when I got married in 06.  I never even stepped foot into Davids Bridal and today I’m eating my words.They had amazing things! We have one really close to our house we decided to take a peek:

They had a million different options to pick from and most of them were stunning and I would have totally worn them for my big day. Plus most of them were way around $900.

 

Here is what she tried on:

 

Dress #1: Creamy ivory, bolero jacket as a cover up for the church, small lace detailing, a bit of beading, satin sash, overall we all agreed on this one.

Dress #2: Had the classic vibe Mom was going for with the clean lines and beading, but I just wasn’t loving it. It just looked a little too young.

Dress #3: This dress was a favorite for all of us. We loved the bit of ruffle on the jacket and the ruching all throughout the body was very figure friendly.

 

Dress #4: Of course this dress was one of my picks. I loved all of the ruffling throughout and then the top was really pretty. We all loved it, but wanted something a bit more reserved.

Dress #5: Creamy ivory color, perfect tea length and I loved the the stripe effect the dress had. It had an Audrey Hepburn feel to it.

So after Mom tried on all that we put one on hold and went to see what else was out there. We hit all of the big retail stores and some smaller shops and found….NOTHING.

 

We went back to pick up the hold dress after a very long day of shopping. Any idea which one we picked out? Which was your favorite?

 

In between all that shopping we also found some bridesmaid dresses for…….$38! Amazing. Now a girl needs some secrets so I’ll reveal what we picked on my wedding day recap.

 

It was nice to have weekend that didn’t revolve around client projects or my own personal projects.

 

What were you up to?

Knock on Wood

This coming January me and Jon will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary.

 

I  was filled with excitement and was eager to start hinting about  all of the lovely things I thought would make for a perfect gift.

 

Quickly I ran to the computer to see what the traditional gift was for year 5.

 

It’s wood…How do I convince Jon that diamonds are part of the wood family? Not going to happen.

 

Oh course Deborah came to my rescue. Check out the sign in her mudroom:

 

I love it! It has her and her husband’s names and their wedding date plus it was made on a vintage shutter aka WOOD!

 

<

p>Bingo we have a winner. Want one of your very own?

 

Contact Ray.

IN HER SHOES: LIVING LIVELIER

You all ready know a little bit about this weeks featured lady. We got to snoop around her home last week.

Of course I had to bug Deb again and ask her let us in a typical day in her life. Of course she sweetly said yes!

Enjoy!
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Thank you Camila for including me the In Her Shoes series! I've had a ball putting this together...

The last time my daily life was chronicled was three years ago, for a "Day in the Life of Twins" segment that aired on the Today Show. A lot has changed for me since then - I moved from NYC to the New England suburbs, had a third daughter, and recently started a small garden and decorating company (and accompanying blog) with a close friend.

That was then...

This is now...
4:45a.m.
My youngest daughter (20 months) mistakenly feels this is an appropriate time to start our morning. My attempts to coerce her back to sleep with binkies, milk, and a gentle reminder that plenty of people are stumbling home from bars in Manhattan and haven't even slept YET get me nowhere.

5:30a.m.

I acquiesce and decide we are indeed up for the day. My five year old twins join us soon after. The next couple of hours include a gripping episode of Curious George, some play, breakfast, extensive discourse over why it is indeed necessary to brush your hair before the leaving the house, and a quick log on to my computer to publish the previously drafted Living Livelier blog post of the day.

8:30am - We're out the door! After dropping the twins at art camp, the "baby" and I hit our local hardware store to pick up some paint supplies for a little DIY project in her room. At this point I realize that only 4 out of the 5 of us made it out with shoes on today. Still, that gets me an 80%, and I can live with a B-.

9:45a.m. I slap a couple of white coats on this bookcase for my little one's room, and then drop her with the sitter.

10:15a.m. While that dries, I head to a local showroom to look for window hardware for a client, and then drop her the samples.

11:30a.m. I supervise the installation of this kitchen shade. It came out great - the fabric (F.Schumacher's Jaipur Tree in Sable) is amazing in person!

12:45pm I grab lunch with a friend/client and discuss ideas for the redo of the living room in her beautiful Victorian home. She convinces me to pose for this picture in the parking lot...

But in reality, I've only driven this beauty a few feet in the parking lot to pull up to my real ride, the permanently-smells-like-rotten-milk Honda mini-van.

Mini-Van, Mega-Fun - that's my life right now!

2:00p.m. I take a few minutes to mod podge some trim on to my daugher's bookshelves. The pattern is cut out of Jonathan Adler wrapping paper to match the hanging lantern on the other side of the room.

2:30p.m. The rest of the afternoon is play time with my kids. Lots of swimming with them and their friends!

5:30p.m. I work on preparing something that can pass as supper as excitement builds that Daddy will be home soon. While the girls wait for him to come up the walk, I notice (though you can't tell in the photo) that my little blondies' hair has started to turn green from all the chlorine.

6:00p.m. One of my favorite parts of today? Being labeled one of the "specialist people at the table" in this sign created by one of my 5 year olds. (Although 60% of the family has also been bestowed the honor and my name was spelled wrong, at least I am listed first.)

7:00pm Once Dad gets home, I head to CVS to seek out shampoo to tame the greening of my daughters' tresses. They've got nothing, and I end up spending a small fortune on fancy salon shampoo for this condition. I convince myself this will all come back to me in the form of a super plush assisted living facitlity in 50 years as I fork over my Visa.

8:30p.m. Bryant Park Designs/Living Livelier Blog business meeting with the fabulous Beckies - our Vanderbilt University intern Becky and my talented landscape designer/interior decorator business partner Becky. Topics of discussion include the various projects we're working on, our sponsorship of a holiday house tour for charity in December, and things our husbands have done wrong lately.

9:45pm. Connect with my husband for a few minutes, and trade stories about our days. Review some "constructive criticism" for each other, topics including number of recently attained parking tickets (him), and over-consumption of high fructose corn syrup and enriched white flour (me). Finally log on to some of my favorite daily blog reads, including HHFITD, Little Green Notebook, Elements of Style, and La Dolce Vita. Too tired to work on any of my own blog post drafts tonight - that's why it's great to have a business partner who has things covered!

10:00p.m. Settle in to bed to watch one of my absolute favorite shows, Rescue Me. I start to nod off almost immediately, which is a shame because Denis Leary really doesn't deserve that kind of treatment.

Big thanks to Deborah for letting us in on her day. Love that she has partner to help with her company and blogging. Perhaps Jon needs to quit his job and help me full time. :) Ah a girl can dream...one day.

Itching to see someone featured on IN HER SHOES? Drop me a line and let me know.