Juggling in Heels X Birdaria: "The Last Hurrah"

Last week, Juggling in Heels and Birdaria Home and Gift joined forces to give my girlfriends one last hurrah before school is out and summer begins.  Specializing in custom placemats, lucite trays, bottles, canvases and more, Birdaria was the perfect co-host as we all get ready to entertain all summer long.  Birdaria brought in their beautiful pieces that we placed around my home as decor while I put together a lunch filled with some of my favorite things (I am a sucker for a croissant sandwich). Twenty women joined me to eat, drink and learn about Birdaria and all the products they offer.  Some loved the line so much that they couldn't leave without placing their own custom orders.  It was too much fun and made me think I should have been doing these lunches all year long!

What I love most about the Birdaria products is that the sky is the limit when it comes to design.  They can say anything you want them to with any print you want.  The colors, the font, the design.  Everything is up to you.  The lucite trays and placemats are double sided so you technically get two designs or the price of one.  Having a themed party?  You can also order additional inserts for your trays to make them relevant to any celebration, holiday or "just because".  Like I said, the sky is the limit.

The canvases come in all sorts of shapes and colors!
What are they going to say?
It is up to you!

I am obsessed with my new custom lucite trays and monogramed placemats

There are so many patterns to choose from there is definitely something there for everyone

The lucite trays served as perfect serving pieces for our cocktail options.

We utilized their engraved bottles to hold the wine, ice tea and sparkling lemonade.

They didn't plan this.
Does this ever happen to you?
All the girls get together and two people show up wearing the exact same thing?
Happens all the time around here.

The canvases come in a variety of sizes and it is truly up to you how they look.  These were just a few examples.

This might have been the most popular saying among moms with teenage girls.

These adorable monogramed luggage tags made for the perfect party favor.

I want to thank Liz and her team for doing an incredible job hosting this event and introducing Birdaria to Orange County!  I wish I would have gotten more pictures of everyone chatting and previewing the items but everyone was having so much fun I hated to stop them for a picture.

Liz of Birdaria, me and Renee, the friend that introduced us!

If you have not made a visit to the Birdaria website, I highly suggest clicking here.  Take a moment to peruse all the options for placemats, trays, canvases and bottles and I am sure you will have fun creating your own entertaining pieces!

Fiddle Dee Dee

I am totally jumping on the Fiddle Fig Tree bandwagon.

They are just too cute.

I went back and forth between a real one and a fake one because I tend to have a strong inability to keep plants alive, both inside and out.  I really tried for the fool proof fake but nothing looked as good as the real ones.  And so, here I go.  Lucky for me a local nursery will order the tree, pot it for me and deliver it right to our living room, without me destroying it.  Once it is in the house, it is up to me and I am going to DO MY BEST to take care of this thing.

Besides my recently potted succulents in our kitchen, this will be the first living plant allowed into our home...  

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

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Cowgirl

via

I may not be an official cowgirl but I often find myself drawn to cowboy hats, country music, boots and cowhide.  It tends to get worse whenever I leave the Santa Ynez Valley.  Sure you can totally overdo it, which can be bad...really bad.  But when tastefully incorporated into your wardrobe and interior design, it adds a warmth and comfort that I just love.

The taped rectangle

See that large taped rectangle in the bottom center of the wall?

This might be the only rectangle in the world that can drive me crazy.

The smaller rectangle is a print that is currently being matted and framed.

The two sticks are the lamps that are already purchased and waiting to go in their place.

The large rectangle is a modern wood sideboard that works in the room and is 72 inches long and 32 inches tall, at a price that makes sense.

And it apparently doesn't exist.

I have look at more websites than I can count and have texted my designer more than she cares for with items that I am finding but are just a little bit off.  Perhaps it is a little short of 72 inches long.  Perhaps is is not 32 inches tall.  Perhaps it is not modern enough.  Perhaps the wood is not right.  Perhaps it is more than I want to spend.  Perhaps it is located in Belgium and too much of a pain to get here (true story).  Whatever the problem, I get extremely close to loving one, only to find that it will not work.  

And normally, I have extreme patience with these sorts of things, knowing that at times, it can take a while to find something.  But for whatever the reason, I am determined to find the perfect one, no matter how many hours I spend scouring the internet.  It is totally unlike me but I cannot help it.  I try to step away and then I start searching again.  It is almost like the harder it seems to be to find, the more I am crazed with finding it.

Has this ever happened to you?

I have promised myself that I am not going to look at all this weekend, leaving the hunt for the professional that I have hired to help me with this.  No more sideboard searching for me!  The insanity has got to stop!

And on a less crazy note, the room is coming together quite nicely!  Our bottom rug is almost done and will add some warmth and coverage under the cowhide.  We had a large mirror made that is going to be installed next week and I CANNOT wait to see how it turned out.  Next on the list is wallpaper for the entry and drapes.  It has quickly become my favorite room in the house.  I will be sure to share photos when everything is complete.

Happy Weekend.     

The Butterfly

With the New Year, I am committed to getting the living room in the front of our house decorated and ready for entertainment purposes in 2014.  Though I have picked up a few items, there is still so much to do and so I had our interior designer come visit on Monday  to start putting everything I have in my brain together and bring this room to life.  

After a couple hours of chatting over chairs, mirrors, sideboards, shelves, wallpaper, drapes and a million other things, I felt fantastic with the direction we are going to take.  With our eclectic taste, I feel that it is hard to make sense of all that we like but our designer is AMAZING at bringing it all together.

One thing we had not picked out yet were chairs to compliment our sofas.  The first thing she said when she walked into the room was "this space needs leather butterfly chairs".  This is what I love about our designer.  These are the last things I would have thought of but loved the idea.  With how formal the couches look, the room needs something to soften it up.  These mid-century chairs bring in the perfect laid back feel, opening the room up to a more relaxing space.  I am crossing my fingers they work!

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New Additions

With Christmas right around the corner, the hubby and I decided it was time to get our formal living room decorated so that we could actually use it with friends and family this holiday season.  We had already picked out the sofas and purchased the pillows last January (yes, these pillows have been sitting in a closet for almost a year) and just placed the order for the sofas last week.  I have shared them a number of times but just in cased you missed it, they are Murphy Sofas from Room & Board.  

With the larger pieces ordered, it was time to move to some accent pieces.  I had seen the Dot Inlay Side Tables by West Elm  on Joanna's blog, A Cup of Jo, and wanted to check them out so we made the trip this past Saturday.  In person, they were even better and both the hubby and I agreed they were a must.

While chatting with the sales associate at West Elm, he mentioned that the Marble Oval Coffee Table might look great with the couches and side tables so we went to take a look.  It looks so good next to the side tables that we didn't second guess it and added it to our order.

Last but not least to the trip was stopping by IKEA where our interior designer said we would be able to find a cowhide rug for much less than what we were seeing online.  I was shocked and how nice the rugs were and the price.  Crazy.  So, we picked up the one we liked best and headed home feeling that we at least got a small portion of the room done.

Sunday was spent picking out purple paint because, well, I really want a cozy purple room and with all the jewel tones we have picked out, I think it is going to be a great compliment.  Of all the spaces in the home, this room is where my truly eclectic side is coming out and I am having such a great time designing it.  

The rest of the details of the room will come together when I bring our interior designer back in after the holidays (art, bar cart, record player stand, wallpaper, bookshelves and a larger rug to go under the cowhide are all on the list) but for now, the room is beginning to feel more like a part of the home and less like the empty space we have been avoiding.  I will be sure to keep you posted on other items we pick up and of course will share photos as it all comes together.

Happy Monday.

Holiday Entertaining with Anthropologie

Last year I took over hosting Christmas dinner with my family, which was exciting and overwhelming all at once.  I love having everyone over to our home and transitioning that tradition from my mom to me, but I was not prepared for the amount of work that would go into it.  Along with the decorating!  It just did not meet my expectations.  This year I am planning ahead and beginning to preview different decor ideas so that when 20 people show up at my doorstep, I am ready.  

Anthropologie has been one of the best places I have seen so far for holiday decor.  I love all the gold accents, the simplicity in their designs and the slight rustic feel of different pieces.   They also have a number of items that would make the perfect hostess gift for upcoming holiday parties.  

I am REALLY trying to wait until after Thanksgiving to start actually purchasing Christmas items but retailers like Anthropologie are making it EXTREMELY hard.   

Glimmer Wrapped Glassware / Gilded Snowfall Coaster / Etched Fern Stemware 

Gold-Embroidered Table Runner / Elk Horn Serveware / Cheers Cocktail Napkins

 Limited Edition Golden Monogram Mugs / Crystalline Decanter / Elysees Cocktail Shaker

Life, Styled with Missoni Home

One thing I have fallen in love with since beginning the decorating process in our home is mixing prints.  This is something my Interior Designer does so incredibly well and has pushed me to forget about "what matches" and get creative when it comes to bringing colors, fabrics and prints together.  When done well, there is a warm feeling that comes with print mixing that you just do not get without them.  It is now being incorporated into all of our decorating.

When it comes to prints, no one does it better than Missoni.  Whether it is for your closet or your home, their signature prints are eye catching, beautifully done, and created with fabrics you simply want to live in.  Your eyes cannot help but be drawn to the prints of Missoni.  They always seem to brighten up a room.

When the Missoni Home Humbert throw arrived on my doorstep, I knew exactly where it was going to go.  Our family room is an eclectic mixture of fabrics and patterns and it was immediately deemed the appropriate home for this gorgeous piece.  Plus, I am a huge advocate of wrapping yourself up in a cozy blanket on the couch and sipping tea as winter sets in.  As you can see, Humbert fit right in.

That's me, sitting under the blanket that has now been deemed "Mommy's Special Blanket".  Hey, if the kids can have one, I can too.  

And there is absolutely no reason prints need to stay INSIDE the house.  I have found that this throw also makes for the perfect picnic blanket.  

* Juggling in Heels received this Missoni Home Humbert Throw courtesy of Missoni Home but the opinions are 100% my own.

For the library

We took a hiatus from decorating for a bit in the larger areas of our home to focus on getting the children's rooms in order.  Our plan was to take one big project at a time (and give my hubby and bank account time to breathe).  The front formal living room as been sitting empty for the last year and a half and our plan is to tackle this from December through the New Year so that we can utilize it at Christmas with the family and finish it in time for Spring.  I have always, always, always, wanted a library and sitting room in my home.  I dream of walls filled with books of all sorts.  Books given as gifts, art books, travel books and ones that we simply have loved to read.  I have also imagined this room to be a place where the adults could sit, enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine and chat for hours while the children run crazy through the rest of the house.  And of course, it may just be the perfect place for me to curl up with a book on a Saturday with a cup of tea.  I have already decided this is going to be my favorite space in the home.  

Our interior designer and I have already decided a few things.  One, we must use some wallpaper.  Two, there must be velvet emerald green couches.  Three, there must be prints.  I can tell this room is going to be way too much fun.

Couch: Room & Board / Light: Lulu & Georgia / Deer: West Elm / Cowhide Rug: Jayson Home / Blanket: Missoni Home  / Bar Cart

Books

Even though there are a few pieces we are still looking for to put in the family room, I am beginning to start gathering inspiration for the formal living room.  Right now, there are only three things I know about this room.  One, I already own pillows for the couches.  This is because when you find one of a kind pillows that you love, you buy them.  This education came directly from my interior designer and I quickly passed this knowledge on to the husband.  They are sitting in the closet just ready to make their debut!  Two, we know we are purchasing emerald green velvet couches.  This is because when you find fabulous pillows, the couches need to be equally fabulous.  And three, there MUST be book shelves.

I have always dreamed of a formal sitting room with a wall filled with my favorite books.  Old books, new books, kids books, art books.  You name it, I want it on the wall.  The big question right now is, what will the shelves look like.  I have changed my mind numerous times with this, stretching from traditional to modern.  Thanks to Pinterest, the ideas are endless.  Here is some of my current inspiration...

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