this summer.

this summer you'll find me in a mixture of stripes, florals (who's surprised?), and a dreamy combo of earth's prettiest pastels.

3 reasons why it's the coolest:

JILL

one nook... 2 ways.

i pinned this first image over a year ago:

i was kinda struck by the whole thing.

the religious images and black and white stripes are what did me in... pushed me over the top into loveland.

but i couldn't ever find who did it/where it was from.

i wish i could see the whole house this nook resides in.

then, the other day, i pinned this as well.

i knew i had seen it before!

same nook!!

this time i found that it was done, at least the second time, by martyn lawrence bullard.

i love it i love it i love it.

(and still wish i could see the whole house!)

but i don't know which way i love it more.

point won for the upholstery in the second image.

i like how the stripes are now mixed in with more pattern.

another point still goes to the first image for the artwork.

and i might like the moroccan table in the first image as well.

but i think it's a tie for me.

any preferences for you?

JILL

(you can see more rooms done 2 ways:  here, here, here, and here.)

berry christmas

wrap me up in some black and white ribbon,

some cranberry and magenta garland (or any berry color for that matter),

with a cinnamon white russian in hand,

and a gold star (brass is even better!) on top...

and consider my christmas perfected.

do you guys ever get into something and then love it so hard?

it's consuming my christmas.

but i'm ok with it.

they = my christmas spirit circa 2012.

what does your christmas look like this year?

JILL

{images via my pinterest page}

b+w

cyber monday is hard!!

i think it might be a bigger shopping day than the day after thanksgiving.

i got a million and one emails telling me all the great deals to be had and how easy it was to do with a few clicks....

i don't shop on black friday because i don't like the hoards of masses of people. so that's easy. i just don't go.

but i found it really hard to sit at my desk and not shop for myself.

for me, not for christmas gifts. for me!

so i decided, one thing.

i'd get something small to get it out of my system.

and then sit on my hands for the whole rest of the day unless i was being selfless and buying a gift for someone else. or in fact, getting some real work done. at work, ha.

so i headed to f21.

i'm into the whole black and white stripes thing more than ever right now... remember here. and they didn't disappoint in that arena:

here

here

here

here

here

here

this faux leather was tempting...

but you have to be careful at f21. some of their stuff can look so cheap (bc it is), so this one i had to see in person.

and i haven't seen it in person, but you can get yours here.

here

and finally settled on this:

here.

it was free shipping.

and the sweater itself was only like $17.

after that, i made it through the whole rest of the day without spending all of my savings account :)

did you find it as hard as i did?

online shopping is so dangerously easy.

soo, happy post-cyber-monday-tuesday.

hope you survived.

what did you get!!!??!!

i wanna hear.

JILL

this holiday....

i'm adding these to the festivities.

because the holidays, they're here!!

i cannot even believe thanksgiving is next week.

NEXT WEEK!

must be why i'm singing christmas music already :)

JILL

{dressings via the katie ermillio, pillows on one kings lane, ribbon at the hob lob.}

oscar inspires.

have you ever seen a gown so lovely and amazing and gorgeous?

this is the ultimate for me.

the very dress of my dreams.

oscar de la renta. spring 2013.

i'm so in love.

i love that the white and black stripes aren't the same size.

i love the necklace with it. big. black roses and a bit of gold.

i love the cut and the lay of the stripes, and how they meet in the center.

and the full skirt.

love.

and you know what else i kinda love with it?

that man's blue shirt and shoes.

make this into a bathroom?

sure, why not?

and although i love the colors of that chair, i wish it were a little less harsh. maybe a gilded louie with some cobalt velvet? regardless. pretty.

happy thursday!

JILL

{bathroom via elle decor.}

musings

just a few things i'm digging today.

where do you find such mirrored-like metallic nail polish?

and why can't they also make it in gold?

(same goes with spray paint... you spray paint makers, i'm talkin to you.)

graffiti art

that makes you smile.

lady like buns with gold bejeweled mcqueen skulls tucked in. yes. yes. yes.

from here.

this teensy bathroom with big personality.

it's kinda like elle's.

love.

JILL

{via pinterest, tumblr, neiman marcus, apartment therapy--crystal gentillo's apt.}

wedding weekend.

did your wedding fly by? go way to fast? wish it could have lasted longer?

mine, too.

this particular couple wanted all that to linger as long as they could...

so they rented out the entire ace hotel in palm springs.

for 4 days.

for all their friends and family.

on thursday night, they had a swanky bourbon and bow ties party to kick off the weekend and welcome everyone in.

friday morning they had a special and intimate ceremony in the dessert with just their closest friends and family...

and came back to this:

a giant pool party.

and the addition of those hundreds of black and white beach balls = perfect.

anything en masse makes it a while lot more special. 3 beach balls just wouldn't have cut it.

the next day, they just wanted to host a giant dinner and dance party. 

successful.

again, the mass of balloons... awesome.

and then finally:

the wedding.

with more dinner.

more drinks.

and lots more dancing.

there was even a local marching band thrown in for good measure.

seriously, do you wish you were invited as much as i do?

what a great party.

what a great long weekend!

how special for them, their friends, and their family.

i only shared a fraction of the details and pretty shots

{taken by my idol, max wanger}

you can find more over at 100 layer cake.

they had 3 separate posts to cover the whole thing.

the first.

the second.

the third.

go check it out.

love.

JILL

just a smidge

of the things making me squeel with delight this morning:

still on the mint kick.

who's with me?!

everyone put your hands down, that's what i thought.

especially mint in the velvet variety, with black and white stripes, and and and! stuffy old oil paintings that don't look stuffy in the slightest, and wood and LIME.

empty frames, you can exit stage left.

but the rest of you, you may stay. i'm talking to you in particular, minty glossy woodwork.

floral, color explosion, stripes and fur? yeah.

eggplant walls and a light blue table should be illegal.

it's the best.

yep.

yep here, too.

and mint on your house?

i just may have to rethink my house color scheme!

like what you see?

i do, too.

JILL

{images via: pinterest, coco + kelley, mfamb, mfamb, inspire-design tumblr, notetosarah tumblr}

the graduate...

is one of those movies where you almost pay more attention to the setting and details than the actual plot. at least for me. i am eternally obsessed with mrs. robinson's home/style. but the sun room used for seduction cocktails below:

is fierce.

inspiration can come from anywhere. and this picture has done it for me.

when elle and i first thought about doing this blog a couple years ago, i knew i wanted to do something with this photo... whether just use it for my own house alone (which i am), or make some kind of post out of it. its too pretty not to!

fast forward a few years and i thought about it again.

and thanks to this domino bath i had saved from eons ago, it made that second task really easy!!

this bathroom has all the same elements... lush greens, the colors, black and white stripes, sleek white and a little texture. you could call it good, or

with a few additions, you could almost confuse this bathroom with the set from the graduate. maybe not, but i'm sure its as equally seducing to recent college grads.

obviously, this is the perfect excuse to use my all-time favorite wallpaper.

obviously.

and in my opinion, you could always add a few more stipes.

and some masculine leather tufting for visitors next to the tub.

so here's to you, mrs. robinson.

la la la la la la la la la.

hey hey hey.

hey hey hey.

JILL

{bath via domino, my FAVORITE martinique wallpaper, romans from pinterest, turkish bath towel from west elm, and the tufted beauty from craigslist.}

a few simple changes

some fabric changes and a switcheroo of the furniture and....

TA DA! new space.

i just came across the black and white striped photo (from traditional home), and knew it looked familiar! i blogged about the top pink photo (from coastal living) here last august.

looks like a brand new space!

JILL

more stripes!!

have you seen this from eddie ross? it's from the latest woman's day mag. he diy'ed it with a simple white mat and a magic marker. hello!

i'm not sure what it is, but lately black and white stripes are singing to me! i will have to try this out in my living room for sure.

{and speaking of stripes, i'm still loving these. i'm just waiting for kc to get their very own ikea. geez.}

JILL

i was busy this weekend trying my hand at my very first chair reupholstery job... i have pics to share. be back soon ;)

appreciating our roots

as i mentioned in my new years post i have several apartment projects i can't wait to get finished with the new year. one of them is completing the bathroom off of our bedroom. keep in mind our apartment was built in the 30's, we live in new york city, and we don't own it...so this doesn't involve anything more than a creative paint job and hanging some pictures. however, i have decided on black and white stripes about 2-3 inches wide. since this is not a place we will live forever i feel it is the perfect opportunity to be a little more fun/risky (not that stripes are totally out there) doing something that if i was living somewhere else i might fear is too trendy or not something i would like for a long time.

last time i was home my mom mentioned she had a stack of old family photos that she just didn't know what she was going to do with and asked if i had any ideas. i immediately thought of my bathroom.

i brought them back with me, went and purchased standard, inexpensive black frames in various sizes and have them all ready to add to my bathroom. i think the look of the black frames covering the black and white stripes in our petite bathroom will have a neat impact and is a daily reminder of where i come from. i hope to add photos from my husband's family as well. a fun and inexpensive way to add flavor to our home while appreciating our roots.

we'll see how our stripes turn out and share pictures soon :)

xoxo

elle.

{images via j.crew collection store, blog branca, unknown, domino mag, sarah shift, elle decor}