Bella Vita

Pretty Preppy

2011-04-22T14:51:00.002-04:00

It's the summer of the "Prep" wouldn't you say? I've always loved the classic look but definitely don't want to look like a boarding school brat. So I try to "modernize" my look with a few fun statement pieces like a great necklaces, a shoe that stands out just a bit, or a pop of color. Here are some images that are really inspiring me for the Summer:

{Happy Thursday}

2011-04-21T14:14:00.000-04:00

High Gloss II

2011-04-11T22:51:00.000-04:00

One word. Obsessed. I love high fashion and amazing decor and this online magazine has it all!! Pages of pages if wonderful things I love...

...this Italian Brass "Bamboo" Barcart on page 9

{1stDibs}

Stunning Closets on page 17...

{Clos-ette too...}

My new favorite iPhone App on page 32...

And this dress on page 30...

{Lanvin}

The list goes on. Enjoy!

I'm Here...

2011-03-31T13:39:00.000-04:00

...I know I know...I haven't posted in a long long time. So here is a quick update on my life from the past month or so...

1) I was in NYC a couple weeks ago. I hope to get a NYC post out there in more detail since we had the best "foodie" experience while we were there. It was a fun/work trip. I went with some girlfriends for the weekend...saw Mamma Mia!, ate at AMAZING restaurants, made new friends, and rubbed elbow with "fancy" people. I also spent two days working out of our NYC office. I travel back there on Monday for work...hoping this project will turn into a regular visit for me in the future. I heart NYC!!!

2) I'm going to INDIA in June!! It has always been on my list of places to visit but it was definitely on the bottom of that list. When I got the opportunity to go for work I was all over it. Right now the dates are tentatively scheduled for June 1st. It will be HOT HOT HOT!!! I will probably spend about 10 days visiting about 3 cities; New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Very excited about this opportunity!

3) LASIK - Finally I've decided to take the plunge. I've had worn glasses/contacts since I was in the 3rd grade. It has become my life so I am very excited to be able to see without contacts or glasses. So here is the last photo of me in glasses.

4) Home Office Update: So some of you know I've had a flooring issue which has prevented me from installing hardwood floors in my home office. Good news HOA will be paying for the repairs (PTL!) so we had to go through several rounds of estimates from contractors. This is still moving forward and hopefully we can get these repairs started ASAP. In the mean time...here is a photo of the chairs I'm having recovered. I'm bummed I didn't take a picture of them before I painted them but you get the idea. The fabric laying there I had custom made at Spoonflower.com. Please check out my designer's page Domesticate. She has some great stuff and she was so great to work with. I'll update you all once I get those back.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Sewing Projects

2011-03-06T17:13:00.001-05:00

My home office project has been put on hold until I get the floors finished until then I have decided to work on updating my bedroom. I bought new linens not too long ago from Restoration Hardware in a slate gray. Love!

{Restoration Hardware}

Since I was in no mood to change the paint color of the walls I decided to find a fabulous fabric to tie the green and silver together. I found this amazing Ikat fabric from Mary Jo's in Gastonia (That place is magical!).

I was just going to make a couple throw pillows but because I loved this fabric so much I decided to make drape panels too. So what do you think??? (Sorry these photos aren't that great but you get the idea)

Fashion Overload

2011-02-17T22:50:00.001-05:00

One item that is close to the top of this little lady's bucket list is to attend the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC. While we are at it, let's just make it VIP All-Access.

Here are some to-die-for pieces from some of my favorite designers this week...Enjoy!

Badgley Mischka Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

BCBGMAXAZRIA Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Carolina Herrera Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Diane von Furstenberg Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Elie Tahari Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

J. Mendel Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Jenny Packham Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week
LOVE HER

Jenny Packham Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Monique Lhuillier Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week
WOW!!!

Nanette Lepore Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Tibi Spring 2011 | MB Fashion Week

Pretty Potties

2011-02-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

This may be weird to admit but I love to check out bathrooms in nice restaurants. One of my favorite things I loved about living in a big city was going to fancy restaurants and then checking out their fancy loos. It's amazing what people come up with. Here are some wonderful WCs from my friends at {Lonny Mag}.

High Gloss Magazine

2011-02-01T20:21:00.000-05:00

Ahhh I'm loving this! For my friends that love online mag Lonny Magazine may I please introduce you to {High Gloss Magazine}! This brings together my loves: Fashion, Interior Design, and Travel. What else could be better??? And for my male followers (crickets)...it even has a great article for the "guys". Enjoy!

J.Crew Goes to Italy...

2011-01-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

This is a reblog from one my favorites {The Lonny Blog}. Check out the first installment of {J.Crew Goes to Italy}...all I can think about is I need to book my trip. Who's coming with me?!?

A "Delightful" Giveaway

2011-01-17T17:33:00.002-05:00

Please visit {All the Delightful Things} blog for a chance to win this gorgeous brooch AND 20% off your next Stella & Dot order!!! How fabulous!!

Office Lighting

2011-01-13T15:59:00.002-05:00

So we've hit a bit of a glitch with the home office...let's just say there is a delay with putting in the hardwoods due to an unforeseen issue with the flooring system in my home. More to come on that...pray my warranty company will take my side of things. Anyway onto lighting...

I was browsing through the Restoration Hardware Clearance Sale (they are offering an additional 10% off on Sale items through Feb. 4th) and found this awesome pendent. It would actually order it in black.

{Restoration Hardware - Pearson Pendant}

Here are some of the inspirations for my look. What do you think?

{Lonny Mag}

{Restoration Hardware}

Happy Thursday ya'll!!!

Hair Dryer Investments

2011-01-05T15:53:00.002-05:00

So my hair dryer died while I was up in Ohio for Christmas. When I noticed a spark and a green flame I knew it wasn't good. Luckily my hair didn't catch on fire but I did know that thing had to go. So, I was on the hunt I go for a new hairdryer.

If you're like me, I diffuse or straighten my hair daily unless it's the weekend and I don't feel like washing my hair (don't give me that look...they say it's not good to wash your hair everyday anyway). So, being the savvy bargain shopper I "think" I am I ran up to Target to see what they had. I decided to go with the one around $25. It wasn't the cheapest on the shelf and had great "perks" and I wanted to stick with a brand that I had good luck with before. I bought the Revlon Tourmaline Ionic 1875 Watt Hairdryer, took it home and tried it out. Crap Crap Crap! Everything about it was cheaply made and I felt like the thing was going to take off in flight any second. It was going back!

Revlon Tourmaline Ionic $25

So instead of going with a cheap-o hair dryer which I know would probably last a year at most I decided to run up to Ulta to see what they had. Ulta is like a beauty candy store for women. They have everything you see in a magazine and more. They had at least 20 different hair dryers ranging from $250 to $20. Here were some of my options...

T3 Featherweight Luxe $250

Ulta CHI Red Pro $150

Hot Tools Tourmaline IONIC® Professional $85

I ended up with the Hot Tools dryer. It also came with a nice size diffuser and the best part it was also on SALE! Since I spend at least 30 min on my hair every day. This dryer actually cut my drying time in half. I was amazed!! Fifteen minutes of my life I can have back. The dryer is extremely light so I can straighten my hair with out getting a hand cramp trying to hold that thing up in the air. So if you're in the market for a new hair appliance, I highly recommend spending a little bit more. You definitely get more out of it in the long run!

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-04T15:48:00.001-05:00

Goodbye 2010! There was some good times and there were some rough patches along the way but looking forward to 2011 and what is ahead. I hope that you all are greatly blessed as well!

Here are my goals for 2011...

Reading my Bible daily - yes, 365 Days.

Being content in all things...

Working out regularly...

Visiting Italy

I'll leave you with another New Year's Blog post from my good friend - Lipstick Makes Everything Better. I think she needs to write a book, don't you think?

...The Countdown to 2011...

2010-12-28T18:33:00.001-05:00

What a year it has been and I'm excited to put 2010 to bed and start anew. What will 2011 bring???

{Images: Everything Fabulous}

Lonny Love

2010-12-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

I love Lonny Magazine! They have such amazing ideas and photos of homes I long to live in one day.

Here are some photos of some of my favorites....

Best Purchase of the Day

2010-12-09T12:42:00.000-05:00

So some of you know I have been obsessing with Madeline Weinrib's stuff. They were having a sale today on GILT and had the rug I've been eyeing for my new office.

But forking over $750 for a rug with no returns or refunds gave me heartburn. What if it didn't work?!? So all credit now goes to my blog friend at Copy Cat Chic. She wrote about this find back in April and it made my day!!!

Madeline Weinrib's Black and White Zig Zag Rug approx $1500 for 5x8/GILT today $750

Rugs Directs Milliken Vibe Rug = $206 + 20% off + Free Shipping + add'l 15% = $146!!!
Thank you very much!!!

How I love bargin shopping!! Happy Thursday! xo

Christmas Beautifulness

2010-12-01T19:08:00.001-05:00

I thought you would enjoy this one Mom. Merry Christmas!! xo

{Photo Credit: Home Life}

...Dreaming of Venice...

2010-11-24T10:12:00.001-05:00

{Photo Credit: The Cherry Blossom Girl}

Vintage Bicycles

2010-11-23T17:50:00.001-05:00

So my dear friend, Courtney has been on the look out for a fabulous vintage bike for her 30th birthday.

{Photo Credit: Cycle Chic}

This has indeed been a mission since it's been difficult to find just the perfect one especially one under a thousand buckaroos and that actually works. I saw them everywhere in NYC and you would think in a biking city that the Queen City has become that there would be bikes everywhere...well not so much. Here are some ideas:

This one is my favorite...I mean just look at that basket.

{Princess Sovereign by Pashley - $1,295}

Paula is also fabulous...

{Paula by Retrovelo - $1,800}

I think I would like to name this one. She's a beauty...

{Photo Credit: Chic Cyclist}

Skirts and Bicycles is a must!

Happy bicycle shopping my friend!!!

The Before...

2010-11-17T16:49:00.004-05:00

I spent a good couple hours at Lowe's last Thursday on the home office.

Here are my inspirations:

Can you guess what I ended up with??

I picked out the paint color, the chair rails and framing for the walls, and found the flooring:

Solid Bamboo Floors - Color: Jacobean

Here are some before shots:

More to come...

...giovedi felice...

2010-11-04T11:38:00.001-04:00

"Refined detail and understated opulence set the scene for the grandest of seasonal get-togethers."

Vogue AU Dec 2010.

ikat | youkat | weallkat

2010-10-31T20:41:00.002-04:00

My new decorating obsession is Ikat. Since I am finally doing my home office I've decided to have some fun with color.

So I am looking to take the two Louis XVI chairs I've inherited from my grandparents from their legendary Le Gourmet restaurant they had back in the 70s that look similar to this:

And transforming them using a purple ikat fabric that is similar to this:

...Happy Day...

2010-10-28T11:14:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to the best sister in the whole wide world!!!

For the Foodies: NYC

2010-10-25T16:41:00.006-04:00

I just got back from spending the weekend in NYC with a few girlfriends. It was a blast! This was the first time back in the Big Apple since college and boy was this trip different. From staying in an amazing apartment in the Upper East Side, to seeing my first show on Broadway, to a club opening in the Meatpacking District. We lived it up SITC style! Carrie Bradshaw would have been jealous... I feel we walked every street and every little corner of Manhattan. I personally fell in love with SoHo. I loved everything about it! Here are a few places we checked out and some recommendations on places to avoid.

Ostera al Doge - Theater District - We went to this place right before our show. It was by far my favorite restaurant in NYC. Tiny little place (make sure to have a reservation). The food was AMAZING and totally authentic including the wait staff. Fabulous!! Made friends with the table next to us who were also locals.

Sal's Little Italy - We were fortunate to stumble onto this place on Friday afternoon when we needed a break from shopping and rest or sore feet. Not only was this place convenient we also find out this was probably the best pizza places in NYC. I mean President G.W. Bush visits them every time he's in town. Now that should say something. The pizza was awesome!!! We made friends with Sal himself. You must try this place for yourself! Right in the heart of Little Italy.

Little Cupcake Bakeshop - Nolita - Yum Yum! This was such a cute little shop and it's was in a great location! I loved Prince Street. It had wonderful shops and cozy little restuarants. I could live in this area!

Craft - Flatiron - Atmosphere was nice but the service was horrible and very expensive. Totally overrated. Save your self the time and money and avoid this one. Only one highlight they did server the dishes in these lovely little copper pots. It is also family style but no one cared to share that with us until we got the food.

The Collective - Meatpacking District - Oh my! How could I forget this place?? We ate here for Brunch before our flight. It was soooo great! It was so eclectic and the area was awesome. I got the Sweet Potato Waffle. Yum-Yum! They even served us our bill in an old library book. Too cute! Highly recommend. Need a reservation.

...New York State of Mind...

2010-10-19T21:10:00.002-04:00

So this weekend is quickly approaching which I'm extremely excited about. This Thursday, with three of my girlfriends, I'll be traveling to the land of NEW YORK CITY!!!! I haven't been to the city since early 2001. Crazy I know! We plan to see a show, eat at fabulous restaurants, shop shop shop, and check out the latest in NYC nightlife. Watch out New York - Carolina girls are coming to town!