Dining Alfresco

There is a buzz about this drizzly week in Spring that cries Summer is nearly here! One of the best things about summer is dining alfresco!! The summer air, the sound of the crickets, the stars above you and meals that are fresh, light and lot's of beautiful bright colors.
The daffodils are just desperate to burst into colorful life. My new outdoor dining set is being delivered sometime today (you know, sometime between 8am and 11pm). The kids and I are watching our homegrown vegetables and herbs sprout and grow super fast in their little greenhouse trays. Jamie Oliver is inspiring the country to eat right in Jamie's Food Revolution on ABC on Friday nights and in his cookbook Jamie's America. I am starting my P90X workout and we are transitioning into an organic and whole foods household. There is something about the sweet air of Spring that inspires all these wonderful things; life, health and new growth. Do ya dig it? Check out that awesome lighthouse lantern that hubby picked up at Crate and Barrel this weekend and loads more fun shatterproof dinnerware at French Bull.
The sun is coming out and there's a pep in my step!
xo
Elena

Stunning bathroom design!

Our friend Oli, and as you can see very talented builder of Oliver Wilson Construction just finished this fabulous bathroom so I just had to share with you! oliverwilsonconstruction@yahoo.com

Feel Good Monday

It is raining. It is cold. It is Monday. Sunday was hugely unproductive which had nothing to do with the goings on on Saturday night (big lie..huge). There is a lot of laundry. There is a very long to do list on my desk. So let's go to our happy place and enjoy these Feel Good finds:
This Zia shag rug from Crate and Barrel to tickle my toes into. A Sugar scented candle from Fresh that is on my wish list. Earl Grey tea from Bamboo Tea Company, because we can't drink Savingnon Blanc all the time. My Wedgwood "Nantucket Basket" cup that I use every day. The fabulous Ektorp chair from Ikea that I have to find a spot for because really you just can't afford not to have it. This kimono from Etsy is just gorgeous and it has "take me away" written all over it.
Happy Monday! xo Elena

Family wall

via Peggy Wong on Design Sponge

via BHG

via Living Etc

via House of Bliss

via House of Bliss

via Pottery Barn

We have a debate going on here.. Whether to do a "family wall" or just display out pictures randomly around the house. I'd like to do a wall on upstairs landing (do we it call it that here? I grew up in London until I was 12 so I forget sometimes what is correct here) Maybe we call it upstairs hall. OK, annnnyway, I have a selection of pictures old and new, candid and professional that I want to display. I need to get some printed and then get some framed.. So OK, see you here in a year when I get this project underway! Here are some ideas and inspiration.
xo
Elena

Spring Gardening..

Spring is in the air! (or at least is was this weekend.. it's wet, foggy and miserable today) We were the merriest little family of suburbanites all weekend long raking, weeding, moving over-sized shrubbery, and overall doing a great job looking like we knew what we were doing. I know the ones with bulbs and petals in pretty colors are most likely not weeds and my fingers are crossed that paring down long straggly branches and things is the way to go. A Friday road trip to Home Depot for packets of seeds that the kids were pulling off the shelves like they were gummy bears and sour patch kids (wait until they see them full grown and ready to eat.. can't see quite the same enthusiasm) and then a Target trip for all the pretty little gardening tool must haves.
In our little Spring Gardening selection above, we have:
A crocus: (plural: crocuses, croci) is a perennial flowering plant placed botanically in the iris family. The plants grow from cormshrdy perennials, and are found in a wide range of habitats, including woodland, scrub and meadows. There are about eighty species of crocus (of which approximately 30 are cultivated). Their cup-shaped, solitary, salverform flowers taper off into a narrow tube. Their color varies enormously, although lilac, mauve, yellow and white are predominant. from Wikipedia.
A Cynthia Rowley pink gardening hose: You can longer get this so I hope you didn't fall in love already, but it is pretty hot right? (She is a friend of a friend so if you're desperate for it, I'll see what I can do ah)
A blue OXO watering can: This you can actually get. They have it at Kmart, so knock yourself out!
Purple gardening gloves: From West County Gloves and you don't have to get purple, I just liked the way they looked with the pink hose (which you can't get)
Buzzy gardening tools: from Target, beats the usual boring green they come in.
You Grow Girl: A book I so need to get so I can actually figure out what I'm doing back there.
I'm making some gardening worksheets! I'll post them next week.
xo
Elena

portrait of me on day 4 of no school..

OK, not really me but isn't this an awesome painting? I love love it. See more here Kelly Reemtsen. And the reference in the title is in regard to it being the 4th day this week that my kids school has been canceled due to the storm that hit last Saturday night knocking down trees all over town and causing power outages everywhere. We got lucky but a lot of people were without power for days!

Leo's room

Leo's love of Buzz and Toy Story shows in his room. We think we kept it still pretty classy and versatile if the admiration should someday dwindle!..

He has quite a collection of Buzz's so I used these box displays to show them off.

Our neighbor/babysitter surprised Leo with these Toy Story 3 posters straight from the movie theater.

Blue and green sheets accent the Toy Story colors.

A Toy Story 2 poster next to his real clock and his learning clock.

Toy Story the original movie poster next Leo's reward chart. The purple frame lists his daily jobs that he checks off with a wipe off marker and each night he gets a big blue star on the blue board. 5 stars gets a little reward toy. It works really well and encourages good behavior!

The man himself.

Sun, sea and sand..

Last week i was doing a whole lot of this in Turks and Caicos.. ahh.. beautiful beautiful place!!