Shabby Chic Design

Shabby Chic Style is a form of interior design style where furniture and furnishings are chosen for their age, signs of wear and tear or distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique look. The end result of shabby chic is to achieve an stylish elegant overall effect. Shabby Chic interiors are works of art. Stylish rather than fashionable, Shabby Chic reflects fresh quality as opposed to newness.

The Basics of Shabby Chic living (follow the basics but add your own flair--let your design reflect your personality!)

* Comfy, overstuffed furniture upholstered with slipcovers
* Plenty of soft, fluffy pillows
* Flea market finds with distressed paint finishes
* Floral arrangements, especially using roses of all kinds
* Mix-and-match dishes and glassware
* Vintage paintings or prints with an aged quality
* Neutral or lighter tones with dark colors used for accent
* Cotton, poplin, and linen fabrics in sun-faded colors or subtle floral prints
* Colors like white, cream, and pastels

Not every chair has to be sat on. How about using a sturdy, painted straight chair as a table at the side of a bed or sofa or in a corner to hold a vase of flowers? An old picnic bench or trunk can serve as a coffee table. Stack wooden boxes at the side of a chair for books and flowers. Be creative and use what you have.

Don't be afraid to interject different styles into the Shabby Chic style. What I particularly like about Shabby Chic is that you're able to mix and match pieces from different styles and it just works. Mix French Eclectic into it with a little bit of Traditional Country and it will look incredible.

Thing To-Do: Live Well, Love Spring

“An optimist is the human personification of spring.”
Susan J. Bissonette

After a long and cold winter it’s refreshing to finally have some warmth, a few birds singing and see more smiling and enthusiastic faces as you walk the streets. Bright and colorful wardrobe choices replace the dark chocolate fabrics of winter. Wind blows fresh air through open windows and focus is placed on getting organized. While doing your Spring cleaning and getting rid of the excess junk acquired over the past year, get rid of any negativity. Embrace the sunshine you have within yourself. Become an optimist:the human personification of Spring.Here are a few of my favorite sayings about spring that can help you make this year's Spring the best one yet.

Be consistent to get some real results.

“One swallow does not make a spring, nor does one fine day.”
Aristole

To live a happier life and make a real change you can’t just take action or do things on a day when you feel inspired. Sure, the spring may give you a boost of energy and inspiration right now. But what will you do with that? Just surf on those good feelings for a day or a week? Or let it be a start to consistently taken action each day, even if that inspiration and initial enthusiasm may dissipate (which it pretty much always does)?

Keep going.

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”
Hal Borland

Persistence might not exactly be the sexiest sounding quality. It might not sell a lot of products to people looking for the magic pill. But it is an immensely helpful quality to cultivate and put to use.If you fail, what do you do? You dust yourself off, learn what you can from what happened and try again. If the success you are looking for won’t come that quickly – a pretty likely scenario – then you have to persist. Persistence is one of the most useful qualities one can have. Not only because you will still be out there in a less competitive playing field as lot of other people have given up and gone home. But also because developing persistence will enable you to get what you want. It may just take a little longer than had hoped for. But if you keep going, if you refine your approach based on what you learn from experience and other sources then better times will come.

Winter makes the spring so much better.

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
Anne Bradstreet

The winter of life is often in retrospect a gift. It makes you stronger. More empathic and understanding. It helps you out in some way and guides you. You can always look back at it when you feel down and be happy that you aren’t in that place anymore.
Your winter and adversities expands the spectrum of human experience, understanding and emotions for you. Your capacity for genuine gratitude increases because of it. The sad times make the happy times even sweeter.

Malibu Seafood

In its physical landscape (from glittering beaches to shrouded canyons to funky urban quarters), demographics, and culture—yes, culture—Los Angeles is far more varied than it's ever given credit for being, and way more complex. Yes, it can come off as maddeningly superficial. Yet even a single day reveals the city's myriad, wide-ranging charms: surfing Malibu at sunrise, hitting the Farmer's Market in late morning, lunching on the beach, shopping on Melrose, watching the sun set from the Getty Center, and sipping cocktails on a rooftop lounge beneath the stars.

Today's mission in LA is to EAT.

Take a drive up the coast to Malibu. Stop at Malibu Seafood. Quality is their main Focus. They serve never frozen food. The line is always long, because the food is incredible. The fried fish is tempura style, and the grilled fish is so fresh it was swimming only days before,if not yesterday. If you don't spot a celebrity, you may very likely see a pod of dolphins pass up or down the coast. The scene is a lot more classy than Neptune's Net. You can buy beer or Wine there, or bring your own wine. But this place will not have the fifty thousand bikers at a time, so you can have a quiet, nice time with your family or with kids, or on a date. There is a covered patio with bougainvillea's trellising up on the upper deck. Hints. Bring your own tablecloth to set a nice mood (and your own wine glasses is a nice touch). Make it even more special by bringing a picnic basket with table cloth, glasses, and silver ware thought this in no way necessary, just fun!-the tables are clean). Go in the late afternoon and take your time. After dinner hop across the PCH (carefully, please!) and watch the sun set. Meditate as it gets darker and enjoy the company of those you are with. Embrace the beauty of the simple things life has to offer and be happy.

What's Bloomin' in LA?

Spring is in the air and so is the scent of stargazer lilies, tuberose, roses and orchids just to name a few. Under the roof of the cavernous aromatic warehouses, the scene is the same: Cool air, rows and rows of white buckets stuffed with every commercially available type of cut flowers, varieties from all corners of the earth, shoppers with arm's full of newspaper wrapped bunches of the freshest, most beautiful creations under the sun. At the Downtown Flower District, thousands of fresh cut flowers are handled daily. Most every stem resting in a vase in Southern California came from this Flower mart. The giant bouquets you see at your favorite restaurant, the flowers in the lobby of your Century City office bldg, The bunches at your local super market, the Roses in the window of your neighborhood Florist, all were most likely at this Flower District the day before.

A morning visit to the LA Flower Market District is certainly a treat to the senses, a color burst of natural beauty, and a spectacularly pleasant oasis in a downtown. Maybe this trip to the "mart" will inspire you to release your inner florist. Choose your favorite flowers, be creative and arrange something YOU think is beautiful!

TIP: Shop the vendors. Some are more expensive than others and each vendor carries different flowers. Also, make sure to check out the shops outside of the mart especially the ones that are next door to the right because they make be a little cheaper than the actual mart. The flower mart is cheap, fun, and colorful. It smells intoxicating and is probably one of the best ways to spend a few hours in LA. I'm going to go to bed with daisies in my head just thinking about it!

Alcove: A Los Feliz Treasure

Alcove is a favorite of young, artsy Los Feliz natives and of mine. Introduced to me by my mother (who knew she was such a hipster?), the cobb salad swept me off my feet and the red velvet cupcakes topped with rich, decadent cream cheese frosting made me swoon. The atmosphere is chic and so very LA. Come and peak hours (lunch any day, brunch on the weekends) and you will be eyeing the packed garden for a table while waiting in a line. Though the food IS worth the wait, come after 9pm (it is open til 11 everyday) and the true ambiance and unique vitality of the location and food can be truly appreciated. Alcove is a bakery and cafe housed in a historic bungalow surrounded by garden patios and terraces. Intimate, shabby chic decor completes the picture.

Favorites:

1. Love notes-- at the small, oak table for 2 in the building toward the back, people over the years have placed notes into the drawers. These notes are random and can embrace a wide range of topics from lessons learned, hopes, fears, likes, dislikes, ETC. Take a peak, they are brilliant.

2. Candied walnuts on the house salad

3. Organic, Egyptian chamomile tea-- add in a stick a honey and a soothing elixir that can make you forget all your worries and anxieties emerges

4. Turkey burger--Make sure you choose blue cheese to go with it!

5. CREPES--need I say more? From sweet and full of fruits & nutella to savory, you will be satisfied and begging for more!

Alcove itself is an alcove so do not miss it! Located right in Los Feliz on Hillhurst!

Little Bridges and Quaint Canoes: The Venice Canals

Venice, California may bare the name of an Italian city but comparing it to that European location is like comparing apples and oranges. Though the California beach community located in the Santa Monica Bay between Marina del Rey and Santa Monica has canals and was created as the Venice-of-America in 1905, it is Southern California to the core. Venice Beach, California is unlike any place on Earth, well known for its artists, street performers and funky atmosphere. It is a virtual carnival running year round with free admission. This atmosphere changes a few blocks from the shore as you enter the Venice Canals. Ducks swimming in the canal, whimsical homes dot along the streets, well-kept lawn and garden add colors to the serene setting, and white foot-bridges criss cross the canals. It is an idealistic area of Venice that makes an afternoon romantic. The houses that dot the edges of the water range in style and form. Each one has its own character and history.

Now, about that history. In the sixties the canals were home to beatniks and artists that soon gave way to the hippies. Rock bands and pot parties were the norm. Jim Morrison of The Doors called the canals home during the 60s. As real estate prices skyrocketed in the late seventies, the houses along the canals were remodeled and homes were built on the numerous vacant lots. Soon the affluent home owners replaced the artists and Bohemians.

So take an hour and explore this part of history. The setting is pastoral, with lovely cottages facing the water, landscaped walkways, ducks and rowboats meandering about. Be a part of the fun!

Tea Time at the Huntington Library

There is something so marvelously comforting about a brilliant cup of tea, especially when the delicious company of freshly baked scones is included. Add a lazy Sunday in Spring, blossoming flowers, & good company to the equation and you have a perfect day. Combining all of those elements is tea at Pasadena's Huntington Library. This Los Angeles landmark attracted me from a early age. My first tea-time experience took place here and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The aromas that greet the Tea Garden visitor entice you to take another step in and enjoy high-tea in the quaint, meticulously decorated, naturally lit cottage. Overlooking three acres of roses, the Tea Room is the perfect setting for a memorable repast. Dress to impress and reservations are a must.

While visiting the Huntington, the art (one of the most distinguished collections of 18th- and 19th in the United States) should not be overlooked. Some personal favorites include the late 19th-century galleries featuring paintings by John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and William Merritt Chase, the furniture by Herter Brothers, and (of course) silver by Tiffany & Company.

I personally recommend visiting The Huntington in Spring. The rose garden will be in full bloom and an photographic hot stop. Also, make sure to notice the entrance pathway that leads to an 18th-century French stone tempietto and statue, “Love, the Captive of Youth,” encircled by “French Lace” roses. Lastly, the beds north of the arbor next to the Shakespeare Garden have a paved walk, and feature Tea and China roses. This spot is perfect from brushing up on your literature or meditation.

Explore away and enjoy!