happiness found in orange & khaki

How adorable are the above series of pictures with Jenna Lyons and her son. Made me think about how her son picks out her shoes for her everyday. Children are the most brilliant creatures.

Also I guess I am not sick of chalkboards because I really enjoyed the one in the above room...perhaps the orange velvet couch helped to up the chalkboard's stock.

I am so ready for fall.

and you?

(1st 2 photos via William Waldron, 2nd 2 photos via Chicago Home Mag)

{textures and textiles oh my}

{via here}

this one is a beaut with all of those rugs...amongst a few other items of lovely business.

have a great weekend!

speaking of textiles I am test driving the below 2 pillows. I am feelinf they might

There are not enough hours in the day I say.

Can't seem to keep on top of things.

That's OK though because I just found the most wonderful lacquered trays and boxes from Home Goods that look just like this and that. They are really quite lovely so I would not blame you if you headed over to your nearest Home Goods. I could think of a few friends right now that could REALLY use the them in white and black.

Also I really quite enjoy the above fabric that I ordered swatches in all of the colorways. Fabric via Lewis & Sheron.

When I catch up I will be back.

{Found by Domestic Bliss}

On occasion I get emails from my readers that are coming to visit the The Valley of the Sun wanting to know good places to eat and shop. Usually I just feel like I want to direct all of those inquiries here to the real expert but without a doubt I can tell them to visit Found. The owners Kristen and Dan Alber are not only such nice people but have a beautiful shop where they have hand picked so many of the items that go into their shop. Oh and if you can't make it to their shop then perhaps a little visit here will help satisfy that something, something.

Nana's house

I thought Nana didn't do to bad on going to her first estate sale. She didn't even buy the above piece of art for the zig zaggityness but for the pexi-glass frame. She wanted to use it to display our ancestor's native Montenegran costume. She said the art has kind of grown on her though. I told her that many folks out there would love to have that piece. At first glance it looked like it had been painted 2 different colors but in reality is just a solid piece of paper that had been folded all fancy like. Makes me want to go check out the estate sale scene.

It was also such a nice treat to do my inventory check on the children only to find the above scene. You know because usually when it's all quiet & kids are awake there just may be some unfortunate events going on.

white & gold metallic cowhide

I noticed that Kristin Hutchin loves to use that white and gold metallic cowhide rug. She has even upholstered a few items in it. That sure must have been a fancy cow back in the day. I love the top 2 photos with the pink & gold combo. Can you tell that Kristen has been the senior designer for both Ruthie Sommers & Kelly Wearstler?

{All photos via here}

{Flashback}

For me a piece of Heaven on earth exists while sitting with a child in the glider that is in the corner of the boys nursery. I almost didn't buy that chair 5 years ago when I found out that I was finally going to be having my first batch of kids. It was so darn expensive that I went back and forth on the purchase & in fact it was the very most expensive item we purchased for the nursery. It has certainly paid it worth back in dividends. Every night when I put the boys down they all will remind me of that chair when they say, "I wan rockie". You can say it has become a tradition. I often feel so guilty wondering if the kids get enough love & attention but the chair has helped to make many of those feelings go away. I'm pretty sure it makes all of the difference for the kids to even have just a few minutes to themselves in that glider...I know for me it does. Guess you could say that if anyone were to come and ask me what my top picks on a must have list for a Mom, then I would without a doubt say a gliding chair.

***The above was posted over a year ago on the family blog. As I rocked little boys last night I thought about this post because in just one year things have changed. It's amazing what happens when 2 year old boys turn 3..no more holding still. That is why a "flashback" was necessary today.

{sweet sorbet}

{above via my Sept. '07 issue Elle Decor - Morjorie Gubelmann's apartment}

For some strange reason I went to bed thinking about Marjorie Gubelmann's velvet pillows in the top two images and then I woke up craving sorbet. Not just any sorbet but the sorbet that can be fount at Sweet Republic. Fine I admit it I crave sorbet often so perhaps it has nothing to do with some silly pillows. I have tried almost all of the below flavors but love mixing the chocolate with the coconut just in case you weree wondering.

Happy weekend!

Basil Lime Sorbet
fresh basil leaves and zesty lime – an invigorating treat

Chocolate Sorbet
our dangerously dark blend of premium chocolate

Coconut Sorbet
real shredded coconut in rich coconut cream

Strawberry Sorbet
red luscious sweet strawberry bliss

Additional sorbet flavors (rotate regularly):
Banana, Blueberry, Cabernet Pear, Cantaloupe, Cranberry Orange, Peach, Pear Ginger, Pineapple, Plum, Watermelon

(End of summer days)

Squeezing the last days of summer...well we all now know summer lasts a little longer in these parts. Anyway, I really loved the photo shoot done by Amanda Pratt, Check out more of her portfolio here.

The DIY project that almost happened

So the above was going to be the lastest DIY project that I was going to tackle. As with many things I reserve the right to change my mind a million times. Now we are back to upholstered headboards combined with a possible bunkbed. Trying to work my boys room has been a tad tricky as I try to fit 3 beds into a very small room and still make it look good.

Anyway I thought I would share a peek into one of the latest projects that almost happened but didn't. Would somebody else pls. give the above project a try? The Ikea bed frame can be found for only $79.99.

Doing a double dye dip flip

I wonder if Mr. David Collins used one of Martha's tutorial on die dipping with his luscious window treatments?

Seriously though did you see the whole dye dipping spread in last months Martha Stewart Living magazine?

{above photos from MS Living via La Dolphina}

Double seriousness, have you seen David Collin's place in London? It is really gorgeous and anybody who makes me want to use any shade of celedon or lavendar when decorating must be a master designer. Especially the color lavendar always seems to take a back seat in colors that I would typically choose when decorating. I'd do a double dye dip flip to take a live tour of Mr. Collin's stylish abode. For now I wil settle for the online tour as seen below.

All of the above photos via Inside Living.

Just for kicks I found a couple more shots of the bedroom found on Habitually Chic that were published in the Spanish AD in December. David added the the turquoise rug and coverlet for that shoot. Actually I noticed a few differences from the Inside Living shoot to the AD shoot. I wonder which one is more current.

All of those textures in his place scream Fall to me.