A visit with Eddie Ross

Yesterday Eddie Ross hosted his one day pop-up shop in Greenwich, CT. I attended, I was delighted!

Eddie has impeccable taste. I was thrilled to peruse his offerings and purchase some of his gathered treasures. I bought eight of these amazing vintage glasses that are in mint condition!

I adore this vintage set of English steak knives, they came home with me. Now, I'm on the hunt to find six more.

Eddie Ross & Hamptontoes

Pretty Pink Tulips, Hamptontoes & The French Tangerine

The Entertaining House, Hamptontoes, Pretty Pink Tulips & Quintessence

Where do you find vintage or unique items for your home? Are you ready for al fresco dining?

A country wedding

When it comes to designing spaces I am truly inspired by nature and my travels. Over the weekend I was in Asheville, North Carolina for a wedding. The bride and groom are outdoor enthusiasts who chose Claxton Farm, a premier destination for weddings as their venue. Located fourteen miles north of Asheville in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this 500 acre farm was dreamy! 

The bride is the kind of gal we want in our court, she is a scientist who worked for several years in a lab doing breast cancer research. Impressive!

I love how the bride displayed the cupcakes on a huge chunk of wood...it looked fabulous!

 

The cupcakes were like artwork...just beautiful!

Both of their dogs were part of the ceremony and dressed for the part!

The fish was grilled and delivered right to your plate!

What inspires you when decorating a space? Are you a fan of mother nature's color palette?

Blogfest: The loot!

My last post detailed Blogfest 2011. Today is all about the loot. Let me begin by saying not only did Blogfest 2011 have venues that were amazing, a stellar line-up of editors and designers that were awe inspiring, food that was presented nicely and tasted great, a schedule that was packed with pure goodness, but the loot was amazing! So good that next year they will have to pull an "Oprah" and give out cars or something!

Here's the breakdown:
Global Views - an orange vase. I'm using this vase as a pencil/pen holder on my desk!  

Kravet - beautiful window treatment tie-backs.
Lilly Pulitizer coffee/tea mug.
Seattle's Best coffee (4 pouches!)
New Traditionalists look book, plus fun coasters with witty sayings.
Calligaris chair pin. I am using mine as a push pin for my cork board!
Molton Brown - two 10oz bottles of hand wash...fabulous!

A Restoration Hardware 20% off coupon. 

Butter Lane cupcake...yummy! They offer baking classes that are a huge hit! Anyone want to take a class with me?
John Derian Company - floral paper weight.

Kravet - tablet/pen. 
Elle Decor journal notebook & a mouse pad.
USM Modular Furniture - mini-journal. 
Mayo Studios - a journal notebook.
House Beautiful Blue book. It's filled with blue design happiness...buy one!

Thank you vendors for supporting the blogging world! Isn't it fun to get "swag" that you'll actually use or enjoy reading?!

Recap: Blogfest 2011

Beth Greene, Kravet's marketing guru was the genuis behind Blogfest 2011. Jennifer Powell deserves recognition too. These two ladies have an attention to detail that made for a very impressive experience. 

Monday we spent the day in the Hearst Tower dynasty beginning with a kickoff lunch hosted by House Beautiful. 

The Buzz Blog/Diane James Home, Hamptontoes, Pretty Pink Tulips, The Zhush 

Pretty Pink Tulips and I had the opportunity to speak with Newell Turner, House Beautiful Editor-in-chief. I've long admired him, so chatting with him about design was an opportunity I enjoyed! Newell has a "no diva" policy at House Beautiful and that made me adore him even more! Great guy.

Hamptontoes & Newell Turner, House Beautiful, Editor-in-chief 

An informative panel discussion with Hearst editors titled: The Importance of Blogs to the Print Magazine Industry Today was held following a Q & A with bloggers.  

Mark Rozzo of Town & Country, Newell Turner of House Beautiful, Dara Caponigro of Veranda & Beth Greene of Kravet 

Veranda editors talked to us about their roles at the magazine. Lets just say it takes a village mentality to put together one fabulous issue after another. Impressive group of editors!

Veranda editors: Dara Caponigro, Kate Bolick, Catherine Lee Davis, Mario Lopez-Cordero, Eugenia Sebastian-Soto

A champagne reception was hosted by Town & Country that allowed bloggers to mingle with one another followed by a presentation titled: A New View on Luxury. Yes, flowers, food and beverages were exceptional at all venues!

I had the chance to meet and chat with Town & Country editors. Mark is hilarious and Whitney is an absolute gem!

Town & Country's Mark Rozzo, Hamptontoes & Town & Country's Whitney Robinson

 Hanging out with blogging buddies is always something I'll welcome! 

Pretty Pink Tulips, Stylebeat, the Zhush, The Buzz Blog/Diane James Home, Hamptontoes

Elle Decor hosted a cocktail party and tour of their Modern Life Concept House located at 540 West 28th Street. Grant Gibson was the clever designer behind the idea of using take out menus as wallpaper!

Another chance to mingle with blogging friends!

Shorely Chic, the Zhush, Pretty Pink Tulips & Hamptontoes

Tuesday we immersed ourselves in textiles at Lee Jofa and Kravet. Lilly Pulitizer's space in Lee Jofa was vibrant and inviting, it had me longing for the beach on a rainy day! 

Barbara Barry was certainly a high light of the day! What a gracious, beautiful and talented woman. She was so passionate when she spoke about her designs, her Asian influenced textiles, her tea line, her 40's inspired luggage line at Bloomingdales and her mindset for living a gracious life. 

 Barbara Barry

Barbara Barry and I...chatting about my snakeskin blouse!

I had the chance to meet, speak and spend time with Tobi Fairley...great gal! 



Tobi Fairley, Hamptontoes & Pretty Pink Tulips

Hamptontoes & Stylebeat

New York Spaces Magazine announced that ten lucky bloggers will do a guest post in their magazine! We entered by dropping our business cards into a stylish fish bowl! Wonder who won?

Yesterday, bloggers were invited to Conde Nast for breakfast followed by a gathering with Architectural Digest Editor-in-Chief Margaret Russell. She spoke about being new at the helm, about her vision for the magazine's new direction while being committed to its solid roots and AD's on-line presence. Check out their iphone apps!

Blogfest 2011 was AMAZING! If you were there, will you try to attend next year? If you weren't, will you be sitting by your computer ready to go when the day/time is announced for next year's sign up?

Do you subscribe?

Today through Wednesday I'll be attending Blogfest 2011, where I'll be engaged in informative sessions given by editors from the following Hearst publications:

All images taken from Blogfest 2011 website.

I'm curious, do you subscribe to any or all of the following publications: House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Veranda, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest and Town & Country? Even in a highly technical society, I still prefer to receive printed magazines. How about you? Many of you devour design blogs, like I do, has that influenced whether you subscribe to shelter magazines? I'll be tweeting and posting about the my adventures at Blogfest...stay tuned!