Instagram: A Feed I'm Loving
Happy Valentine's Day. Oh, c'mon for any of you who are all, I hate this holiday. What do you have against hearts?
I may be biased because I love most things cute and still have an affinity for pink. And I'm also in a relationship. Not the point.
This week I was super loving Sara Mueller's instagram feed. You may remember her from this post when I met up with her in Peru a few years ago.
Her feed was (mostly) all about Valentine's Day and I so appreciated the prettiness and consistency in color palette.
Makes me want to dive into some sweets, refill my coffee and squeeze into that adorable sweater.
Happy Valentine's Friday!
Tio's
My family's in the restaurant business. If you guess Mexican food, you've been paying attention.
My uncle had the genius idea of opening in a developing city where there was essentially zero competition. Business boomed and customers practically demanded a second location. In came my dad, followed by my other uncle and two more locations. Now Tio's (means uncle in Spanish) is on to their fifth location and expanding no.4. And since we're keeping things in the family, I've been brought on to create a design concept and make materials/decor selections.
I want it to have color moments in thought out places. I don't want people to walk in an have it be arriba arriba all up in your face as most Mexican restaurants are known for. No cliche wall murals here.
Here's a look into what my brain is thinking.
I want a neutral base with half painted walls in that rich green color to add depth and dimension. An easy way to bring in a bold hue without going overboard. Brighter colors and texture will be brought in through decorative items, art and selective zarape upholstery.
My first commercial space. Exciting times.
Happy Birthday, Blog
Yesterday was my blog's unofficial birthday. Four years, folks. That's a long time in internet years. It's like the equivalent of my real age. Or the age I feel at least. This was my first baby. First came the blog, then came Bams then came (real) baby. And a Nora in between.
I don't think I've gone more than a week without posting. It's been a big commitment if I do say so myself. It's tough coming up with everyday content but so far I still enjoy the occasional posting. It's a public record of what I like and it allows me to go back and see how my stile and I have evolved. And hopefully sharing the things I'm into and inspired by have somehow inspired you too.
This definitely calls for a celebration and I'm for sure drinking champagne tonight. I should probably enjoy it with cake.
Cheers with a round up of pretty champagne flutes.
one :: two :: three :: four :: five :: six
Happy Thursday!
Three Months
Felix is now three months and life feels more normal. After the initial weeks of sleep deprivation, labor recovery, raging hormones, and sore nipples I'm really enjoying our little boy. He discovered his hands not too long ago and sometimes chooses to suck on them in lieu of a pacifier. He's a big time smiler and seems to only cry when he's hungry. He's thisclose to laughing and every day I try new ways of getting him to. He rolled over for the first time yesterday as TH and I were debating his superbowl outfit.
TH: No, you can't put him in orange. Broncos are orange.
ME: Jeez okay, it's not like either of us knew the Broncos were playing.
Rule no.1 of becoming a sports fan, Felix, you turn superstitious. See, if I hadn't changed him out of orange, the Broncos may have won and I'd never hear the end of it.
But back to relevant stuff. Felix, he's a cutie. Of course any mother should say that and I promise I'll never end that with a question. That just begs for the awkward, uhh, uhhh, from people forced to tell you yes. People usually say he looks just like TH or just like me. Although I used to think he looked a little like Mark Wahlberg but TH is the father so that eliminates any cause for concern.
His activities still mostly consist of eating, sleeping and pooping but he's a little more alert every day, making things that much more exciting. I sometimes (all the time) just stare at him, thinking I can't wait until he starts talking or walking. But I know that time will quickly come so I'm patient and enjoying this stage because he'll never be this little again.
Happy Monday!
Instagram: Skies and Such
Came across some pretty gorgeous sunset pictures on instagram this week. The ubiquitous sunset picture, what else is new. But really these aren't as cliche as you would imagine.
First one comes from Anne of citysage. It's hot pink! When I think of the word rad this is what I'll now think of. And I don't know where you live but I've never seen a hot pink sky. But that could also be because I need to get out more often.
A purple-ly orange sky taken by Melissafindley here in Los Angeles.
Now I'm showing you Italy. Traveling without the jetlag. This pictures makes me feel relaxed. I'm so zen.
source: _hotfrog_
Does this image look like a watercolor version of the previous picture? I'm an artist now. For $2.99 you can buy the waterlogue app and pretend you're talented. That's two dollars more than I would pay for an app but if you're trying to pass your art class it could totally be worth it. danterose is the instagrammer who tweaked the original image.
And kind of out of left field is an action shot of the ocean. What a striking picture. I think it'll look so cool blown up to make oversize art. Follow photographer Melissa Findley (from the los angeles shot above) and you'll feel like you're on this continuous vacation.
Happy weekend!
Kimberly Lewis Home
I often get emails from vendors asking if I'd like to review their products. I can't always say yes because it only feels right to post about products I genuinely like or would purchase myself. But every once in a while I get that email with the product that totally speaks to my aesthetic.
Cue in Kimberley Lewis Home and her boutique wallpaper and decor site. A) I love wallpaper and B) I love wallpaper. Her selection is super cute and it was really sweet of her to send me a sample of my choice. I chose the Beverley in the Perry colorway because I was inspired by the preppy colors and thought it would be great to pair with some boho elements.
Once I received it, the colors are exactly the way they appear on a computer screen. I hate it when there's variation and you can't pick up on it until you see it in person, but this was spot-on.
I was then eager to put it together with items to complement it with in a room board that feels feminine, colorful, a little bohemian and slightly traditional. Polished Boho, maybe?
wallpaper :: headboard :: nightstand :: euro :: sham :: art :: lamp :: dresser :: chair :: rug
Thanks so much, Kimberly!
Be sure to check out the rest of her wallpapers here.
Happy Thursday.
Linens and Lace
Today is a special kind of Tuesday. It's anniversary Tuesday. My anniversary. I mean, our anniversary. As in, mine and TH's.
Eight years, you guys. And when I looked up the wedding anniversary gift list, linens and lace are the gift of today. Aka modern. Pottery/bronze if you want to be traditional. We don't really go off this list but it's fun to check out and look ahead. It gave me some motivation to make it to at least ten years because diamond jewelry. Ha!
But really, more than looking ahead, today I'm just sort of looking back at the last eight years and thinking I'm so glad I said yes.
We've done a lot of growing together and learning from each other and now we get to mix that all up and raise Felix and hope that he turns out to be a good balance of each of us. With TH's smarts and my sense of humor Felix is sure to find his mate. Vice versa and he might have some trouble.
Joking aside, I can only hope we're a positive marriage example to Felix the same way our parents were to us.
And now here are some linens because they're pretty and lace because they're zexier than nursing bras.
Instagram: A Color Story
This time around, the instagram shots I liked seemed share a similar color. Can you guess the one?
This image is so cute and feels a little Wes Anderson, no?
image credit: joannagoddard
That's cauliflower, you guys. And it's growing in my backyard. Or front yard. I forget. This is TH's doing and I usually tease him about his photo skills, or lack thereof, but I liked this picture so much I actually liked it.
image credit: ev34ev
I wish my desk looked this pretty and neat. I'm always a sucker for turquoise, coral-pink and some sparkle. And coffee.
image credit: theglitterguide
This trunk may have been scored for only $60 but it was that painting that stopped me in my feed. Instagram feed
image credit: emilyhenderson
A turquoise sink?!? Whhaaa? I love the way it mixes with the splash of orange, yellow striped dish towel, soap dish and brass.
image credit: designlovefest
Instagrammers
Instagram is pretty much the best thing to happen since Pinterest. And forget facebook. I somehow get less annoyed seeing what you're doing than reading about it.
Bravo to pretty pictures. So many great feeds out there. I think I do my best instagram creeping while breastfeeding and find myself inspired a lot.
I've been thinking it would be fun to share some of my favorites of the week and hope to inspire some of you as well. Maybe do like a different theme each time. I don't know, that might be too ambitious. But anyway this time around I seemed to be drawn to landscapes, which would make great art in the home when blown up bigger than iphone screen proportions.
Filter or no filter, these grammers know when to snap a good shot when they see one.
a glorious California desert by anelisesalvo
"this is why people can give up everything to become hippies" said ilovemartine about the image she took.
Orange County beach in January snapped by SmallShopStudio
Easy for me to say freezing looks so beautiful because it was 72 degrees in LA when sabralattos took this picture while in Toronto.
I guess I like pictures of beaches more than going to the actual beach. This one taken by thisisglamorous lures you in.
photographer GrayMalin takes his followers on #thegreatexpedition through Antarctica. It was tough picking my favorite shot but loved the humor of a beach umbrella by a glacier.
And you can always follow me along here.
Happy Weekend!
2014
Our last day of 2013. Oh what a year. The year of the baby.
From working with pregnant clients to close friends announcing their pregnancy to delivering my own little guy, I was surrounded by baby fever. This year brought the biggest change in my entire life. And unlike other years, my goals and resolutions, if you will, will now forever include the person I brought into this world.
It's been one emotional, hormonal, exciting, challenging, scary year both personally and business-wise, my busiest year yet, but most of all it's been rewarding. designstiles experienced some unexpected (top 25 home decor blog from The Vivant), fun mentions and features (remember this House Trip and this house tour) and despite the one mention that would've had me feeling way proud did not come to fruition - Good Housekeeping wanted to feature our house - it was still a reminder of how far I've come. I realized that when I'm only in competition with myself, I focus on improving me. And my biggest motivation was my baby. I literally worked up until the second my water broke. And sure I have the luxury of working from home but that never stopped me from playing the I'm pregnant card. I managed to balance freelance work while continuing to grow my business to investing time on this blog, though sporadic, and contributing on Spearmint Baby. I tried to never slow down because Felix and being his role model kept me going strong.
I've always lived for myself and took my time with things because I was more of an easy-going-things-will-get-done-type. But this year changed me. Growing a person will do that to you.
See you in 2014.