Ms. Jenn turned me on to these stunning designs by Christina Drejenstam. And lest you think the artist's creations are all about glitz and glam, think again. She's got quite a bit of range in her collection, even managing to make asparagus seem quite chic. But I think I can comfortably speak for Jenn and I both when I say, we adore her the most for these decidedly more feminine. I've tucked a few more or her illustrations below the fold...

Still trying to determine what to wear tomorrow? Much of it will depend upon your plans. If you're headed to your family's estate for croquet and cucumber sandwiches, I'd recommend this lovely Milly dress I've been lusting after for quite some time. If your weekend is a bit less country club chic and a bit more relaxed, I like this Ella Moss halter dress. Personally, I'd wear this over a black bikini with gold sandals and a big hat (J. Crew stores have some fantastic ones right now). And because I can personally never have enough white in my wardrobe (it's a weakness I'm not ashamed to admit) I would wear something along the lines of this delicious Milly maxi dress. I'd top it with a colorful sweater to pick up the beading (turquoise would be perfection but I might just opt for a white-on-white situation), simple gold hoop earrings and these Tory Burch flats.

By the way....all of these are an additional 30% off at ChickDowntown.com (just through tomorrow). be sure to add "JULY4" promo code during checkout to get the discount. Now that's a cause for celebration.

Happy holiday, everyone! Catch you here next week!

For some reason I can still clearly recall that first day of kindergarten. At some point we were all supposed to magically fall asleep at designated "nap time." Naps? I didn't take naps at home. Why would I sleep here?

And so a battle ensued every day at "nap time" between myself and our forceful teacher. I found myself in trouble with Mrs. King (aka "meanest kindergarten teacher ever") constantly for talking with my girlfriends and fidgeting while most of the other (incredibly boring) children slept. "Who were these lazy kids? There's so much to DO. How can you possibly want to sleep?" I thought.

Fast forward years later...the modern me adores the idea of a midday siesta. Brilliant idea! I try to take one as often as life allows. I'm convinced it is the secret to higher brain function and increased beauty. I'm not kidding. Some of the greatest minds in history were proponents of the mid-afternoon nap. (If it's good enough for Albert Einstein, it's good enough for me.)

Even if you're just powering down for a few moments, it helps you gain perspective and recharge. Especially on these long lazy summer afternoons. Admittedly, I like to tell myself I am emulating my stylish Italian brothers and sisters, not those lazy bums from Mrs. King's class years ago. (Something tells me those docile creatures never amounted to much.) At the very least I need to catch up on those naps I missed at the ripe old age fo five. Mrs. King, if you're reading this: I don't talk any less these days, but I'm always ready for nap time.

Although I know many people hold on to things, and boast generous collections, I am now a "keeper" of things. Shoes and clothing flow in and out of my closet making way for new items over time. Furnishings evolve. With the exception of handbags and jewelry, I have a catch and release approach to my possessions. Enjoying a brief love affair with them before letting them go lead a new life without me. In short, I prefer to own my things rather than allowing them to own me.

Talk about a powerful quote. I think it ties in nicely to the message of this post. For over a year I've been quietly working on building my own online boutique. It began as an idea when I was expecting the arrival of my daughter. It was just a loosely formed thought, but I could not shake it from my mind. Instantly I knew the name of the shop, the vibe, the essential look it should have. I knew I would have to build this store and make it happen.

But until you put the hours in, an idea is really just that: a thought. How on earth was this going to happen? How could I fit this into my already packed schedule? And more importantly, what exactly was I going to have in the store? I've had many ideas on this and many attempts to see it come to fruition. In the end, I actually designed and built the boutique before my daughter was born.

The challenge: I hadn't quite nailed down what I would carry or how to handle the logistics of selling other people's creations. I spoke to many vendors, many talented people and danced with many (many, many) iterations of the original idea. And while I found many amazing products I could display in the shop, it seemed I was reinventing the wheel, as they were already for sale elsewhere. Why was I reinventing the wheel? It just wasn't adding up.

Many months later that initial seed of an idea has now bloomed into something much more meaningful and far more personal. In an odd way I'm happy it took so long to complete the project. It gave me time to distill the idea to a clear, elegant concept.
So...what's the skinny? It's simple, actually. Occasionally, in lieu of buying art for our home or office I end up creating pieces of my own. Sometimes it is the only way to get the desired result. Some of the designs offer bits of wisdom, some remind you to get out and explore the most fabulous destinations this planet boasts, and others are simply meant to be beautiful. (Hey, there's nothing wrong with just sitting there looking pretty.) Each design is colorful, happy and intended to inspire.After assembling a collection of work, it seemed only logical to share them with you. In short, I'm presenting to you a collection of modern prints I have personally designed. That's right, hipsters. I'm offering you some Venti Cup-style design for your own bad selves. After much delay, many long nights and much fussing over details, I proudly present to you...the Venti Cafe, my own little boutique! And here's the best part: 10% of the proceeds from the Venti Cafe are going to a charity very near and dear to my heart. This has become the driving motivator for this project and I hope you feel the same compassion I do for this cause. It truly made an impact on my life and I feel a deep need to give back.

So I hope you'll pop over to the cafe just to see what the fuss is all about. I'm sure you'll love what you see!

{P.S...In the near future I'll be adding new collections, including several designs for nurseries. Stay tuned!}

Today I'm working on a personal project and feeling a certain Parisienne vibe. It seemed unfair to keep it to myself. Here's hoping your Sunday is as fabulous as mine.

{gorgeous image found on Garance Dore}

One of my best girlfriends went to medical school near Miami. It become a bit of habit to visit her once the weather in my state turned cold. Snow storm? Perfect. Just hop on a jet and escape for a few days like the other snowbirds.

There's nothing quite like visiting a Floridian mid-winter. The weather is absolutely perfect, poolside grilling is a regular affair, restaurant patios are brimming with people. It's Florida at its best. But locals think it's intolerably cold. I am no stranger to hot climates. (50s? 60s? It can seem chilly depending on how the sun hits. But mid-to-upper 70s is just not cold. Sorry.)

To my Miami friends it was the middle of winter. I saw people on the beach in parkas (I'm not kidding), couples bundled in sweaters and long pants, children in coats. Had I entered another world? An alternate universe? It was perfect outside. I made a mental note to myself one morning as I jogged along the beach: always fly south for the winter. Regardless of how offensive my open toed shoes seem to those in their fur coats.
In the process of my trips, I developed a bit of a fascination with Miami. The beach culture, the nightlife, the Art Deco design, South Beach. And sadly I never made it down there as much as I should have. Funny how you long for something you never quite had. Miami certainly had that affect on me. I always wondered what it would have been like to live there and really dive into the culture that is South Beach. It's an entirely different world. Would I eventually pull out my fur jacket come January? Given enough time in the tropical heat, probably.

These days I wouldn't dream of moving to Miami, but it's been too long since I vacationed there. As I did a bit of digging I stumbled upon a marvelous find: The Shore Club. Smack dab in the heart of Miami's pulsing nightlife district, it's a luxury hotel that doubles as the center of the strip come nightfall.

70 suites, 307 stunning rooms, a cluster of bungalows, villas, extravagant penthouses, famed NOBU restaurant, the iconic Skybar and standard 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets... Aye! It's no wonder this is often described as one of the best hotels in Miami. I'm tempted to pack my bags as I write this, but I realize this would be quite the treat come winter.
But really, it's not the club scene pulling me this morning. It's the lure of the completely luxe spa. Get a load of this:

Bienvenido a Miami! I should tell you that rooftop pools are one of my longtime guilty pleasures. And Florida boasts some of the best rooftop swimming pools I've crashed. (Yes...I've been known to invite myself to a swanky pool or two with or without an invite. What? Who's going to tell a girl in a bikini no? The answer to that is simple: no one.)

Now that my longtime BFF is a full fledged doc, she's no longer living a quick drive from South Beach. My winter escape is now a thing of the past. This December, I suspect I'll feel that annual snowbird craving that can only be quenched by the beach. And when I do, you can bet the Shore Club (and that coveted rooftop pool) will hear me come knocking - even if the locals are all huddled inside by the fire in their UGGS and chinchillas.

Really? Is this where we are? Denim cutoffs? According to Nordstom and those Real Housewives of NJ, I'd say we're in the midst of a full-on denim cutoff explosion.

Honestly, I don't remember these ever being in style. I do recall people wearing them. But I have no memory of them ever being posh, cool, hip or desired. Do you? The bright side? If you're a slave to fashion and just can't wait to rock this look, at least you'll have something to do with those stovepipe jeans in the back of your closet.

But maybe...just maybe...let's don't and say we did.

If you missed yesterday's post, pop over and see what Ron Fiore, creative director for Hickory Chair, had to share with us about style, muses and the influence of fashion on the way we live in our homes.

Already up to speed? Enjoy part deux of the interview.

On collaboration:
Hickory Chair has teamed up with some amazing designers to create collections. Suzanne Kasler, Thomas O'Brien, just to name a few. It takes confidence to invite the disruptive force of outside ideas and opinions. Is it challenging to ensure the capsule collections relate the "whole" of the company's furnishings? How does the collaboration process work? What is it about these designers that make them ideal for collaboration?

On getting away from it all:
In my mind it would be a dream come true to design beautiful pieces of furniture. The concept...the sketches, the revisions, the finished work. It is an amazing profession. But we all need to get away once in a while. Where do you go to relax and refuel? Do you love to travel? What does Ron Fiore do to recharge his creativity?

On playing favorites:
I must know... what are some of your favorite pieces and why?

Ron's take on coffee pretty much sums up my view of him as a designer and by extension, the essence of the Hickory Chair brand. The focus is on top quality ingredients and authenticity. There are no shortcuts, no substitutes, no quick fixes. Start with the best and the results speak for themselves.

Thank you, Ron, for taking time out of your busy schedule. We look forward to seeing what your next muse inspires you to create!

Lately it seems that durable pieces of furniture look...well, durable. Not stylish. Not luxurious. Not achingly beautiful. And the pieces that I typically do pine for simply aren't designed to endure the challenges that my husband and tiny daughter are sure to put them through in years to come.

I've scoured catalogs, showrooms and web sites in search for pieces that look sensational and can hold up over time. I've spent the past few years convinced that these pieces existed. There must be furniture that gets better with age. Louis Vuitton luggage, a prized vintage bottle of Lafite Rothschild, George Clooney...some things simply improve with age.

So surely a settee, a sofa, an end table, a dining room chair could look as timeless and grand in 20, 30, 50 years as they do today. Well...they do. I've seen them. I've sat upon them, I've touched them, smelled the kiln dried wood that they are made from and - yes - met the man largely responsible for their beauty.

Ron Fiore, creative director for Hickory Chair,  is a creative visionary with a "venti cup" outlook on design. Rather than ask why, he and the team at Hickory Chair ask "why not?" The result is a brand of furnishings unlike any I've ever seen. Handcrafted, made in the United States, allowing customization down to the most minute details. This, my friends, is the very furniture I've been seeking for years. Sophisticated, sexy, classic and timeless.
I had the privilege of asking this creative genius pressing questions about style, today's clientele and even what lies beneath the lid of that Venti Cup. Ron shared so much insight that I've decided to break this into two posts. Pour yourself a fresh cup and settle in to see what he has to say today...

Saint Pete Paul just tipped me off to a wildly talented designer. He's not in Milan, or the garment district of any typical fashion metropolis....he's in Aspen. Listen, if these are the sketches that living a mile high inspires, we should all be headed west with our box of sharpened colored pencils.

The designer is Gabriel Conroy, and his actual translation of these illustrations into reality is every bit as marvelous as the artistic expressions themselves. Have a looksie. (Nice work, Paul, on discovering a rising star!)

By the way...Paul has just informed me that I'll be guest blogging for him next week as he jets off to the Bahamas. Do swing by and visit me as I perform my very best Giada de Laurentiis impersonation and indulge you in some of my thoughts on the ideal kitchen.

It's been hovering near 100 degrees for days on end. In order to play outside you'd need to do so before 8am or after 8pm. That is if you hope to feel comfortable. I'm not exaggerating. And this isn't the blissfully dry heat of the desert. No. This comes brimming with oppressive humidity. I liken it to being wrapped in a wet wool blanket each time I step outside.

Instead of frolicking in the sunshine of the season I find myself hiding indoors for hours at a time. After just a week I'm beginning to feel like a caged animal. I want to run. I want to play. I want t swim. I want to feel the wind on my face and the cool breeze of the surf blowing my hair. I want to rebel against the weather itself. Futile? Yes. But my feelings are no less genuine.

What do I want? Well if I must be in the heat, at least let me be lounging in this scenic location. But ideally I'd be overlooking the ocean.

Tell me, dear weather gods. When will you relent?

Don't you love it when you discover remarkable gems online? I've found a few such wonderful blogs lately. All of them were discovered either by a great little email or comment from the editors or just happy accident of web surfing. Saying thank you simply doesn't cover how I feel. It's happy and inspiring sites like these that make me smile every day. I hope that you'll enjoy them too...

Where the Sidewalk Begins is the latest discovery. Authored by Sarah, who has an eye for charming details, a passion for stylish spaces and clearly an eye for stylish footwear. I particularly love the images she chooses for her Happy Friday posts. She has a way of reaching out and touching the most delicate of imagery and pulls me into her magical tales and descriptions of beautiful things I'd have overlooked without her.

Next up...Ramblings of a Fab Brunette. Wow. Where do I begin. Here's a girl who pours her culinary-loving soul into every post. Take on look at her list of things she's learned and you'll feel an instant connection. Or if you've got a few moments, read this post on boredom and you'll be sure to cure yours. 

I often feel like a hit and run blogger. My post are often riddled with typos, I don't often cite sources for images. Rarely will you see a well-researched, lengthy post from me where I've culled information from many sources and outlined that data for you to read. It just isn't what I do. But it is what you'll find at Blueprint Bliss. Here's a design observer who will lead you on a well documented tour of whatever her latest obsession happens to be. Witness her post on wheeled serving carts and you'll agree. I admire her commitment to the blog and what appears to be painstaking effort to create each thoughtful post. (She and Joni make me wonder if I shouldn't just stop and slow down.)

I hope you'll enjoy this select group of recent discoveries - and possibly share a few of your own hidden gems.

Okay...this isn't your typical post on Brazil. But there seems to be nothing normal about this fellow, Dr. Mike. As a girl who wouldn't be caught dead eating egg salad (eww!), it baffles me that a man would spend his days eating (or at least greeting) things the rest of us strive to avoid.

And yet, here we are. Tonight the Travel Channel will air an episode of this culinary Braveheart deep in the forests of Brazil meeting all things disgusting and vile. Honestly, a getting a Brazilian might just be more fun than encountering the nasty things this guy is sure to uncover in this episode alone. It certainly yeilds more...um....attractive results.

Meanwhile, I'm working on a post that will actually be a treat for your senses and will extol the many adventurous virtues of the land that is Brazil (see the tie in, now?). Now, there's something to wax on about.

Until then, indulge in my behind-the-scenes look at Little Passports on Sippy Cup. This month they take us on a virtual tour of amethyst mines, Carnival and other exciting (and might I add insect free) adventures in this South American country.

We just finished watching Yes Man, the recent Jim Carrey release. I've got to admit, the message isn't lost on me. Saying yes to what life places before you is a very Zen approach to life, and one I've been encountering more and more these days. In many of the books on my nightstand I've noticed a recurring theme, that good things are trying to come your way if you'll oly let them. That it's often you stand in the way of your own success. And if you'll stop fighting the current and go with it you'll discover that your life experience is so much better than the one you were fighting to establish.

This doesn't sound very compatible with achievement and goal setting...but are they in fact diametrically opposed? I'm not so sure. What opportunities would life place your way if you just stopped resisting? If you didn't hesitate each time you received an invitation, where would that leg of the journey carry you? What if those invitations, chances and opportunities are the answers to your master plan? What if each time you said yes to what seems to be a random event, it was actually putting you closer to your goals?

Saying yes doesn't mean you're an agreeable flake that doesn't make their own decisions. It seems the secret is to consciously choose to try new things that seemed like roadblocks before. It means adding more adventure, more fun and more experimentation to your experience.

I'm going to add "yes" to my process right now. Yes to opportunities that seem like diversions. Yes to chances that seem anathema to my goals. Yes to life's opportunities. Things are going so swimmingly well right now, that it seems like the perfect time. I'm not fighting the current. I'm not forcing things. So let's see if this added bit of Eastern flair makes an impact in my Western approach to success.

What about you? Are you saying "no" to life?

The "venti challenge" was intended to take one week. I've come to recognize that I'll need two weeks to do the process justice. Over the past week I've done things I'd been putting off, braved new frontiers, knocked myriad things off my to-do list and boldly stepped in a new direction. But I found that I needed to organize my physical world before I focused on my future.

I anticipated a week of journaling and goal setting, but recognized that I wasn't going to be able to focus on anything until I deep cleaned my surroundings from top to bottom. Please, please... appreciate that this is a feature in my programming, not a bug. I've since organized every drawer in my home, decked out my closet like so that it shimmers like the interiors of a Tory Burch boutique, scrubbed my floors and rewashed nearly every item in my wardrobe. After all, once I cut out television I discovered I had quite a bit of time on my hands.

So this week is going to be the week where I get to the meat of the process. If you're playing along at home, feel free to join me in my continuation. Already done? Then you should be basking in the glow of your newly framed future. Drop me a note and let me know what your vision for life looks like. I'll certaily be sharing mine once I'm done.

It's official. I've abandoned eBay. The fees, the seedy practices, the restrictions, the auction formats. I'm done. Finito. Exit stage left.

And while I've sold most of the goodies I'd culled from my closet, I do have a few small gems left. Notably this Tory Burch Brewster tote. New with tags. It's sold out in this color on Tory's site and Bloomingdales.com.

If you're interested, make me an offer. :)

There are few actual possessions that I covet as much as the classic black quilted caviar Chanel 2.55. Timeless. Classic. Enduring. Um...Chanel.

I won't deny that I visit this bag at the petting zoo (the Chanel department at my Saks) as often as I can. The double strap, flap version with goldtone hardware is the one for me. She's lovely. Perfectly sized. Ideal. And eventually....she will be mine.

In case you're wondering, no, a vintage version won't do. I won't settle for the Forever 21 pleather version either. I won't buy a pre-loved bag. I won't lower my standards. Eventually I'll walk into Saks and slap down my Amex and she will be mine and I will love her forever. But for now, I covet.

And while I meditate on my future purchase and visualize it as mine, I wonder...what do you covet?

{image via garance doré}

A few years ago I received a pair of sterling silver earrings engraved with my initial. Those dangling F's on my ears might have been a wee bit ghetto, but I couldn't get enough of them. What is it about monogrammed pieces that we love so much? Are we really that vain? Do we need a reminder of who we are, lest we forget?

Fast forward to today. I find myself hot on the hunt for a big gold medallion necklace with (you guessed it) an "F" prominently displayed on the front. Am I secretly wishing I were one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey? Have I been watching too many of those late night reruns of Sex and the City? Carrie's necklace played such an important part of her character. Is a monogrammed necklace really that different from a tee shirt with a company's logo on the front? Isn't a personalized piece of jewelry just another version of personal branding. Or is this simply the modern girl's version of a dog tag. "If lost, please return to..."

Honestly, I can't say what the reason is behind the urge. What I can tell you is I want one. I want it big, gold and fabulous. And yes...on some level I'm hoping Caroline Manzo wants to adopt me or at least take me in as part of the Manzo clan. I can assure you there will be no quarrels over our jewelry After all, the pieces that belong to me will all be very clearly marked.