Bricolage

Ferragamo's L'Icona: Pure Style Inspiration

2013-05-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessing a little bit over L'Icona, Salvatore Ferragamo's new campaign celebrating 35 years of the designer's most popular shoe-- the Vara. L'Icona features 21 portraits, shot by fine art photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank, of modern, stylish women from around the world wearing customized Varas (or Varinas) paired with pieces from their own wardrobes. Not only are some of these women, like Lauren Santo Domingo and Olivia Palermo, my absolute style icons, but the locations and art direction are just killer. I could just live in these photos! I tried to edit them down, but seriously, each of the 21 portraits is as stunning as the next.

Pure style inspiration... In commemoration of the classic shoe's anniversary, Ferragamo is offering the chance to customize your own pair of Varas (or Varinas), right down to your initials engraved on a sole plaque. I think I hear an all black pair calling my name! (Although I wouldn't complain about a bisque pair with a white bow!) Designer shoes are pricey, especially if you're on a twenty-something's budget like me, but as these photos show, classics never die.

xoxo, bri

Words for the Weekend: Mother's Day Edition

2013-05-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

I ran across these darling little trays from at Nordstrom the other day, and I thought they'd be the sweetest gifts. Too late for this Mother's Day, but I thought the quotes about mothers were still worth sharing today!

Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo, Bri

Gifts Mom Will Love This Mother's Day

2013-05-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is May 12th.

Nothing beats spending the day with Mom, but it's still fun to surprise her with something special after all she's done.

Here are some things I think my mom would appreciate and some I would love to receive if I were a mother.

1. L'Occitane Nourishing Shea Butter Set, $25 / 2. Jackie Cardigan in Stripe, $62 / 3. Pink Peony Trinket Tray, $52 / 4. Philosophy 'Amazing Grace' Shampoo, Bath, & Shower Gel, $24/ 5. Mixed Herb Garden in a Pail, $26 / 6. Translucent Stone Necklace, $98 / 7. Tory Burch 'Amanda' Hobo Bag, $485 / 8. Michael Kors Chain Bracelet Watch, $225 / 9. Voluspa 'Saijo Persimmon' Candle, $27 / 10. Clarisonic Mia Skincare Brush Set, $119 / 11. Spring Garden Infinity Scarf, $48 / 12. Sperry Topsider for J.Crew Metallic Leather Boat Shoes, $98 / 13. "The Flower Recipe Book", $16 / 14. Kate Spade "Mom Always Said" Idiom Bangle, $58

New York City 2013

2013-05-04T11:33:00.001-07:00

I'm back! I won't bore you with excuses, but it's definitely been a crazy few months, and now I'm ready to get back to business here! In March, Brandon and I took a spontaneous trip to New York, and even though it's been a while, I thought I'd recap our little trip for those of you who are still hanging around!

Thanks to an expiring airline voucher and a handful excuses like March being my birthday month and Brandon's spring break, we thought, why not? I've addressed my obsession with New York before, but just to remind you, I am OBSESSED with New York. This was an unusual trip to the City for us as we weren't visiting for any reason in particular and we weren't accompanied by any newbies so there was no need to hit the usual tourist attractions. We stayed at The New York Palace, which was undergoing some major renovations but still managed to fulfill my wannabe Gossip Girl aspirations. The Palace is located across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral and Saks Fifth Avenue, so we spent a good majority of our trip in this area, exploring the Upper East Side and the area south of Central Park.

Night 1: When we arrived it was snowing, which was totally unexpected. I actually love snow, but freezing cold air-- not so much. After checking into our hotel, we braved the weather and walked to Serendipity 3 for gloriously oversized desserts. A little touristy, but I can never resist. (**Let me prep you-- one of my favorite parts of traveling is taking photos, and when we got to our hotel room, I realized I'd brought my DSLR with a dead battery and no charger. Major bummer. All of the photos in this post were taken on my iPhone.)

Day 2: We got up early and walked to the Met to check out the new (at the time) exhibit: "Impressionism, Fashion, & Modernity." Loved it. Nineteenth century clothing and paintings side-by-side in my favorite museum ever = pretty much the ideal scenario. After the Met, we spent the afternoon shopping (and window shopping) on the Upper East Side and finally got to check out the New York Laduree location without the line being wrapped around the building. No tea house/place to sit, and lacking in pastry variety, but macarons galore and didn't have to order in French, so the place still earned two thumbs up from me! We finished the day off with dinner at Carmine's in Times Square. (If you visit New York, Carmine's is a MUST. An absolute MUST.)

Day 3: One thing that characterizes all trips Brandon and I take together is we walk absolutely absurd distances. Walking is the best way to experience and see a city, but seriously, we take this to an extreme. At the end of a day, our legs are throbbing. We usually plan to avoid this in the future, but we never change. On our third day in New York, we walked from our hotel all the way down to Tribeca and back. Such a fun day though. For lunch we had our favorite New York pizza, at Bleecker Street Pizza in Greenwich Village. For dinner, we hit up our favorite Chinese restaurant ever, Szechuan Gourmet in Midtown.

Day 4: On our last full day we got to experience something most little girls dream of, something I'd been imagining since my first encounter with Eloise-- Afternoon Tea at the Plaza Hotel. It was fancy, it was overpriced, and I don't regret a second of it. We loved exploring the hotel and wishing we were fancy enough to stay there. Other than that, we spent the day shopping and walking through the park. That night, we saw "The Lion King" on Broadway, a classic that neither of us had ever seen before. We topped the night off with burgers, fries, and shakes from Shake Shack. (Sidenote: Why does a California girl like me like Shake Shack soooo much more than In-N-Out?? It's not right!)

Anyways, I know this long-winded, photo-heavy post was probably an odd way to end my lengthy blogging hiatus, but at least it's something! I hope all who read this are well and enjoying lovely spring weather wherever you are! :)

Any New Yorkers or fellow-wannabes out there with some recommendations for our next trip?

House Tour, January 2013

2013-01-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I made the mistake of calling our house "finished." Like most projects in life, I don't think it will ever truly be "finished." So at this point, by "finished" I mean to say that phase one of the remodel is complete, we have come to the end of our budget, and just couldn't wait any longer to move in. After three months of remodeling, we now happily reside in our house. Each day I fall more in love with it, but in each of these photographs, I still see a list of projects yet to be completed and objects yet too be saved for. But at long last, here it is! Besides maybe our wedding, there has never been a project more personal and dear to my heart than this little house you'll find photographed below. Welcome to our home!

Living Room/Entry Before & After:

All of the furniture in this room is from our first apartment together. My favorite part of the living room is the crystal chandelier. I was so excited to finally have a place for it after buying it in an antique store in Asheville, North Carolina two and a half years ago. Since we moved in, my mom helped me paint the front door black, which I'm also pretty psyched about!

Kitchen Before & After:

My hands-down favorite part of this room is the change we made to the overhead light fixture. I still can't believe how much it opened up the room!

Dining Room Before & After:

This may look like a simple little "room." However, one of the toughest projects of the whole remodel was removing the wrought iron railing and extending the curved steps, not to mention covering the curved steps in wood flooring. But I thought I would like this area opened up, and I was right--I love it. Definitely worth it. The dining set (antique) and rug are from our first apartment. The flushmount chandelier and coordinating sconces are from Home Depot.

Family Room Before & After:

We still can't believe what a new room this became after painting the wood paneling and shelving! I love how the beams and stone fireplace give the room a rustic vibe, which I normally wouldn't have chosen, but ends up balancing out my style quite well! The TV/stand is from our old apartment and the sectional (Ashley Furniture) was our first big furniture purchase for the new house!

Laundry Room Before & After:

It may be a laundry room, but I got the black and white tiled floor of my dreams, so I'm a pretty happy camper! (Not to mention a new washer and dryer!) Looking forward to eventually getting around to decorating this room. And figuring out how to push the dryer all the way up against the wall. All in good time...

Master Bedroom Before & After:

Our bedroom consists completely of generous family hand-me-downs, except for our Pottery Barn bedding, which we got for our wedding. Like sleeping on a cloud. :)

Vanity Before & After:

I can't even pretend to not be psyched out of my mind about my vanity area. It's still pretty 60's-licious, but my mom helped me cover the bench in leopard and I hung my cute little Chanel mirror I found at an antique fair a few months ago! I'm planning to paint the vanity table white and change the knobs.

Master Bathroom Before & After:

Most people find out our house has a mint green bathroom and are horrified. I decided to run with it! Ripping out all of that tile just would not fit into our budget, and finding this rug at Anthropologie opened my eyes to embracing the mint. Add a new faucet and shower door, and I think we managed to modernize our mint pretty substantially. I don't hate it! ;)

Guest Bedroom Before & After:

Our guest bedroom has nothing in it. Hopefully this will change when we manage to save up some more money. For now, not a priority. But pretty sweet new fan and crown molding, right?

Guest Bathroom Before & After:

The theme of our guest bathroom consists of two of my favorite things: pink and toile. Shower curtain, towels, and bathmats are Waverly for Target, purchased about three years ago. The other accessories are from Pottery Barn, still available.

So there you have it! If you made it through that entire post and kept genuinely interested, I could just hug you! Although I attempted to give a quick little summary under each room, I'm sure I neglected many details. If you have any questions, or are curious about any specific project or source, please feel free to ask away in the comment section! xoxo, bri

Catch up on our house tour here: The Before Pictures (Sep. 2012), The Exterior (Nov. 2012), The Living Room (Nov. 2012), The Kitchen (Nov. 2012), The Den (Nov. 2012), The Bedrooms (Nov. 2012)

December 2012 in Instagrams

2013-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right? ;) I definitely didn't intend to be away from the blog for so long, but between settling into our new house, a broken computer, and discovering/simultaneously becoming obsessed with Downton Abbey, it happened. I appreciate you guys hanging in there! Even though January will be coming to a close before we know it, here are some highlights from December courtesy of my Instagram feed:

By the way, I've never formally invited you to follow me on Instagram, but if you have an account, feel free to follow me @briannecain. My account is private, but if you don't appear to be a stalker, I will happily add you! I'm much more active on Instagram than I've been on this blog lately! Speaking of inactiveness on the blog, I hope you'll let me make it up to you by revealing our finished house next week! How does that sound? xoxo, bri

Cheers to 2013!

2013-01-01T11:35:00.001-08:00

We rang in the new year with our first night spent at our new house! It doesn't get much better than that! I've decided that this will be the year of living life and chasing dreams. (And lots of blogging in between!) Happy New Year, dear blog readers! Cheers to you! xoxo, bri

House Tour, November 2012 { The Bedrooms }

2012-12-11T00:26:00.000-08:00

I've fallen behind on our November house tour, mostly because we've been so busy working on the house. Also, so much has changed since I took these photos that posting them feels a bit like old news. However, I'll try to keep on keeping on, because even though these photos may be less than glamorous, I recognize the importance of capturing the in-between stages of a project. Looking back at the before photos helps me to appreciate the final product so much more! I'm so glad you're enjoying the messy part so far! Today, I'm going to share our two bedrooms. First, the master bedroom:

In the master bedroom, we removed the carpet, popcorn ceiling, and drapes, and added crown molding, fresh paint, and a new fan. Pretty basic, but to me, this is a good example of how few changes you need to make to completely change the look of a room! Since these photos were taken, we've added floors, some new windows, and plantation shutters to both the master bedroom and the guest bedroom. Speaking of the guest bedroom....

All we have left to do in the bedrooms is add baseboards, and then they will be finished! Thanks again for following along and sharing your homes and house-related wisdom with me! xoxo, bri

Catch up on our house tour here: The Before Pictures, The Exterior (Nov. 2012), The Living Room (Nov. 2012), The Kitchen (Nov. 2012), The Den (Nov. 2012)

November in Instagrams

2012-12-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

This year continues to fly by! For me and Brandon, November 2012 was a month in which we had so much to be thankful for. Looking back on the month, I mainly remember a big blur of rainy days and long hours spent working on our house. It's been so rewarding to begin to watch our hard work pay off. Some of my other November highlights were celebrating Brandon's 25th birthday, spending Thanksgiving at home, and attending the beautiful wedding of my sweet friend, Danae. As we enter December, I can hardly contain my excitement about both the Christmas season and finally moving into our house! Hope you all enjoy a blessed holiday season and last month of 2012! xoxo, bri

What were your November highlights?

Currently Loving: Creamy & Cozy Layers

2012-11-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

The above photos represent my favorite look for this time of the year-- rich, layered textures in a clean, light color palette. Just looking at these images makes me feel all warm and cozy inside! As much as I adore color, if forced to live out the rest of my life in just one color scheme, I'd absolutely choose camel and cream. Lately, I've been dreaming of cable-knit sweaters, cozy turtlenecks, and cashmere snoods. Below, you can find some beautiful items to achieve this look in real life:

If you had to wear one color/color combo for the rest of your life, what would it be? xoxo, bri

House Tour, November 2012 { The Den }

2012-11-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

I hope that you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend! It was our first one spent at home, and not by ourselves, since we got married, so that was nice. Last week, I started showing you pictures of the progress we've made on our house. Keep in mind that these are not "after" photos, but behind-the-scenes updates on the work we've done so far. We're hoping to start moving in in the next month! So naturally, my calendar is jam-packed for the next couple weeks, between appointments at the house and the usual holiday festivities!
The next room I'm going to show you is the den. I feel funny calling it "the den," because I've never lived in a house with a den and don't know if I even know what it refers to, but it sounds better than "living room # 2," right? The kitchen and the den are probably my favorite rooms in our house right now. They've both already seen major transformations, which are always fun to watch! First, we had inset can lights added, since there was no overhead lighting. But the biggest change we've made in the den so far is painting all the wood paneling our wall color, "Timid White." Although the wood was beautiful, the look just wasn't for us. I felt that leaving it would look dated, and I just couldn't stand the thought of picturing it next to our (different colored) wood floors. I absolutely love the way the paneling looks painted white, and I can't get over how much it lightened up the room! In the pictures, you really don't get the full effect of the visual texture the paneling adds to the room, even when painted. I just love it. And once we painted the paneling, I instantly fell in love with the ceiling beams and the stone fireplace. I'm envisioning this room with a big comfy couch, a TV, and not much else. It will be such a cozy place to relax and watch movies!

In the dining area, we removed the mirrored tiles. (My brother actually popped them off with a knife, scaaaary!) We also added two sconces to the wall. (Well, I actually haven't found the right ones to put there yet, but there are spots to hook them up, and once I do find some, I'm envisioning a mirror hung in between them.) We also removed the wrought iron railing and will be extending the lower step, to achieve a more open layout. Our little dining table and chairs will be in this area.

I'm so glad you guys are enjoying our house tour so far. I can't wait to show you the house in December, when it looks move-in ready! xoxo, bri

Catch up on our house tour here: The Before Pictures, The Exterior (Nov. 2012), The Living Room (Nov. 2012), The Kitchen (Nov. 2012)

House Tour, November 2012 { The Kitchen }

2012-11-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

The next room on our house tour is the kitchen. It's a pretty small kitchen, but no smaller than what we've lived with in our previous apartments, so it will do! The first improvement we made to our kitchen was ripping out the fluorescent light fixture that covered up the whole ceiling. Once we pulled down the plastic panels and wood frames, we were thrilled that the ceiling was a foot and a half higher than it had appeared. We replaced the light fixture with four energy-efficient can lights, and had the border of the ceiling framed in crown molding. This one adjustment immediately made a world of difference! The room feels a lot bigger with the higher ceiling and it was a relatively easy change to make. Next, Brandon and his dad ripped out the linoleum floor, only to find out there were three layers of linoleum laid on top of one another. This became quite the ordeal of a project, one Brandon may have referred to as "the worst thing he's ever done in his life." But now we have a clean subfloor to work with!

As you can see from the before pictures, the cabinets had a very strange, streaky paint job and diagonally placed hardware. We removed the hardware, spackled the holes, and had the cabinets painted white. (We left this painting job to a professional.) We bought new satin nickel hardware for the cabinets that we haven't gotten around to adding yet. The wall color is the same as the rest of the house: Benjamin Moore "Timid White." We'll also be buying a new cooktop. (Holding out for a Black Friday deal!) For now, the rest of the appliances will stay.

So there you have it! It's by no means a dream kitchen, but I've always wanted a white kitchen, and now I've got one! I love how it still has a retro flair and I can't wait to set my "Martha Stewart blue" KitchenAid mixer right on that countertop and get baking! Thanks for following along! xoxo, bri

Catch up on our house tour here: The Before Pictures, The Exterior (Nov. 2012), The Living Room (Nov. 2012)

House Tour, November 2012 { The Living Room }

2012-11-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

In the front living room, we started out by stripping the popcorn ceilings and removing the carpet. We planned on stripping the ceilings ourselves, but found a great deal, so ended up having that done professionally. We removed the carpets ourself, with help from our family! Next, we painted the walls and ceiling Benjamin Moore "Timid White" and had crown molding installed. We removed the retro entry light fixture and replaced it with a flush mount crystal one. We also added an overhead light fixture in the living room, but it's been hung since I took these most recent photos, so you'll have to wait to see that until next month. (It's a bit more stylish than the lightbulb you can see hanging in its place.) We have chosen to keep the wrought iron railing in this room, so that will be reattached once the floors are in. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I like how it divides the entry hall from the sunken living room. And since we are already changing so much about the house, we're making an effort to keep some of the retro details intact. For the floors, we chose a laminate that looks like mahogany. This is a pretty large room, so I have lots of thinking to do regarding furniture layout. Eventually, I'd like the far wall to be covered in bookshelves. The only plan that's set in stone so far is the Christmas tree I can't wait to place right in front of that big window!

(Excuse the ugly drapes that are still hanging in the "after" pictures. Their sliding mechanism is broken so we have them rigged closed until the new window coverings are delivered!) By the time I show you this room again next month, the floors, baseboards, and window coverings should be in place. Thanks for following along with my house tour posts! Any questions or tips are welcome and encouraged! xoxo, bri

Catch up on our house tour here: The Before Pictures, The Exterior (Nov. 2012)

House Tour, November 2012 { The Exterior }

2012-11-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for the encouraging comments on the before pictures of our house! I really hope you enjoy following along as I show the progress we've made in the first month and a half of owning our house and share our plans for the future. First up is the exterior! Nothing too exciting to show off here, since the majority of our remodeling budget right now is going to the inside of the house. The only change I've made so far is planting the boxwood hedge along the front. Can't wait for that to grow!

The other update we're making in the near future is having the front windows replaced. (Never realized how crazy expensive windows are! We might seem like cheapos, but we'll definitely be replacing these in phases.) Next spring, we're planning to have the rain gutters replaced and the outside of the house painted. As far as paint colors, we're thinking of taupe with white trim and a black door. We're also adding black shutters. We still haven't decided if we're keeping the current door. It's solid wood and I actually really like the style of it, especially the diamond-shaped panels. What I don't like about the current door is that the diamonds and the side panels currently consist of dark yellow, bubbled plastic. The options we're considering are: 1. Keep the current door and side panels for now, but in the future, have a glass company replace all the yellow plastic with frosted/stained glass. 2. Replace the door with a new one and get the side panels replaced with clear glass. What do you guys think? Other ideas?

We love that the house has a huge backyard. Most of the newer houses we looked at had tiny to non-existent yards, so ending up with this was an unexpected perk. The lawn is in good condition, but the rest of the yard is kind of a jungle. I definitely have a lot of plants to identify and trim back. My favorite part is the giant hydrangea bush. And I'm also super excited to start a vegetable garden on the left side. I have so much to learn about gardening, but luckily, it's something I really enjoy! Any gardening tips would be appreciated as I venture into this new hobby! Thanks for following along! xoxo, bri

House Tour, October 2012 { The Before Pictures }

2012-11-16T13:17:00.001-08:00

Remember how Brandon and I bought a house? Well today, I'm finally going to show you some pictures of it! I'm going to be extremely candid with you. I've been scared to show pictures of our house to anyone, even to my real life friends, because I'm genuinely afraid that people will think I'm crazy. Our house is nothing like any of my friends' houses. So many of my "blog friends" showcase their gorgeous homes, and I start comparing and worry that ours won't measure up. Our house is a California Ranch-style,1598 square feet, with two bedrooms and two baths. It was built in 1966 and belonged to the original owners until they passed away recently at over one hundred years old. When we bought it, the inside was totally unchanged by time, still containing original carpet, light fixtures, popcorn ceilings, and wood paneling. The main wall in the dining area was covered with mirrored tiles and the master bathroom was mint green. When we first saw it, Brandon compared it to Graceland. But gradually, it started to grow on us. I saw a vision of our lives there. Not fully understanding the overwhelming amount of work ahead of us, we put in an offer, and so our adventure began! Meet our house, as it looked when we got our keys on October 1, 2012.

The Outside:

The Entry & Front Living Room:

The Kitchen:

The Dining Area & Den:

The Guest Bedroom:

The Guest Bathroom:

The Master Bedroom:

The Master Bathroom:

The Laundry Room:

The weekend after the house closed, we ripped out all the carpet and had the popcorn ceilings stripped. I remember staring at our house, with tears in my eyes, and telling Brandon that I feared we'd made a mistake. There wasn't a single feature of the house I didn't hope to change, and at this realization, I was completely overwhelmed. After some deep breaths, I decided to fully commit to believing in my vision. I promised myself that someday, nobody will believe how "us" our house is. Like I said, it's not our dream home. Someday, I dream of having a Tudor or Victorian style house with marble countertops, high ceilings, and a couple more bedrooms. But for now, I'm so thankful to own a home that we can afford all by ourselves at 23 and 25 years old. I'm thankful to be in a neighborhood that we absolutely love. And I'm thankful we had extra money leftover, so we could begin phase 1 of renovations immediately. I'm beyond excited for the next chapter of our lives that we'll spend living here! We still haven't moved in, but now, a month and a half later, I've seen so much progress and I feel so much better about this decision. I can't wait to show you the changes we've been working on! Starting Monday, I'm going to take you through our house, room by room, with updated pictures and details of future plans. Be prepared-- I like a lot of white, and crystal light fixtures. ;) xoxo, bri

Fab Finds Under Fifty

2012-11-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

I just finished updating my "Fab Finds Under $50" widget! Just in case you haven't noticed it before, this fun little feature, located on the right sidebar of my blog, features a rotating collection of stylish items priced under $50, curated by me! I feel like it's a better fit for my blog than traditional display ads, and I hope you enjoy browsing through once in a while! Here's a little preview of what you can find there:

Stay tuned for Part 1 of our house tour later this week! Our house has a long way to go before I can show it off with confidence, but you guys have me convinced to show a little preview of the "before." Hope you're having a great week! xoxo, bri

October in Instagrams

2012-11-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

October was a pretty significant month for Brandon and I, considering that we bought our first house! Since the house closed on the first of the month, our life has been a whirlwind of remodeling. Too many trips to the hardware store to count! We've still yet to move in, and every project has taken twice as much time and twice as much money as we expected. Sometimes I'm tempted to feel impatient since the house doesn't really feel like ours until we live in it, but we just feel so blessed to be where we're at! We're determined to have fun with this chapter and to focus on thankfulness! Anyways, I know this is a little late, but here's a little peek into my Instagram feed from the month of October! What was the highlight of your October? xoxo, bri

An Elegant Halloween Party

2012-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

As you know, I'm not one to get caught up in the spirit of Halloween. I hate to be a spoilsport, but it's just not my holiday. I don't eat much candy, and I'm not a fan of gory zombies or pointy-hatted witches. Compared to other holiday decorations, I find Halloween decor to be cheesy and garish. But if I had to style a spooky soiree, I would definitely go light on the spooky and heavy on the glamorous. I'm drawn toward the enchanting mystery of costume balls and the stark elegance of a black and white palette glowing with candlelight. This little Halloween-themed party, featured on Style Me Pretty, nails my ideal approach to Halloween decor right on the head. Love it, love it, love it!

Definitely a Halloween party I wouldn't mind being invited to! Also, the closest I come to dressing up is throwing on my Gryffindor tie, but here are my favorite costumes I've seen popping up on Pinterest the past few weeks: a little toy soldier, a French Bulldog clown, an ode to The Birds, and Vincent van Gogh. Happy Halloween! xoxo, bri

Words for the Weekend { A Beautiful Form of Politeness }

2012-10-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Image Source: Katie Ermilio Lookbook, Photo by Jamie Beck

Hope you all had a happy weekend! xoxo, bri

P.S. Remember, you can also find me on Pinterest and Tumblr!

Pretty Juxtaposition: New Modern

2012-10-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Image Sources: Dress / Rug (on sale!)

It's been quite a while since I've posted in my Juxtapositions series, but these are among my favorite posts to assemble. I've always experienced such happiness at finding similar patterns and themes running through unrelated realms. I love to see two objects or images complement each other. This rug is on my wish list for our new house, so when I viewed the Sportmax collection from Milan's Fashion Week, I loved the way this dressed shared the same vibe as my favorite rug of the moment. Something I always am drawn toward is a black and white palette done in a fresh, light, delicate way. This dress will not be appearing in my closet anytime soon, but this juxtaposition represents a palette I could certainly live in for a while! xoxo, bri

House Inspiration: Black & White Tiled Floor

2012-10-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hello and happy Monday! Sorry I disappeared this past week. I was feeling quite under the weather, so blogging slipped to the bottom of my priority list. I'm so happy to be feeling better and back on the blog! Also, I know you guys are waiting for house updates and photos, so I hate to hold out even longer-- but let me promise you, you're not missing anything pretty! Soon after receiving the keys to our new house, we began ripping it apart. (Proof that we just might be crazy!) Right now the place is looking more like a construction zone than home sweet home. Just imagine concrete, drywall, and lots of dust and debris. Seriously, like HGTV status. I promise that as soon as things start coming together, I'll take you on a "before and after" tour, room by room. Until then, I hope you'll be entertained by my remodel inspiration!

Image Source

A feature I've always been drawn to is black and white tiled floors. It's a look that's so classic, yet it also adds a graphic pattern to my neutral decorating palette. I've dreamed of having a kitchen with this flooring someday, but in our new house, it just wasn't working with the layout. When you enter through our front door, a path leads from the entry way through the kitchen, all the way into the dining room. We've decided to run our wood flooring all the way through this area, instead of breaking it up with the checkerboard floor of my dreams. I tried to let it go, but then I had the idea of doing my black and white floor in the laundry room instead! What can I say? I'm determined! We're moving forward with that, and I'm so excited about my cute little laundry room!

Image Sources: 1: Angus McRitchie Photography, House and Home / 2: Elizabeth Dinkel Design / 3: Haynes-Roberts, Inc. via Wall Street Journal

4: Canadian House & Home / 5: House tour on Cote de Texas / 6: Pinterest

So what do you think of my fixation with black and white tiled floors? Have any of you experienced a remodel?

Any words of advice or encouragement to get me through? xoxo, bri

Milan Fashion Week Favorites { Spring 2013 }

2012-10-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've got a couple more Fashion Week Favorites posts left for you this week, beginning with Milan! I was so charmed by the collections in London that for me, Milan just didn't compare; but I did love the neutral black and white palette that was prevalent, and also the voluminous silhouettes, and Mod influences. Which designer or look is your favorite? And up next: Paris!!

All images from Style.com

Words for the Weekend { The Happiest People in the World }

2012-10-14T21:53:00.001-07:00

Image source unkown

I know it's Sunday night, but better late than never, right? I don't know about you, but I love to kick off a new week with some inspiring words. I especially love this quote. Doesn't life feel so stifling when filled with too much of one thing? When I'm feeling overly consumed by one aspect of my life, I always try to take a break for reading, going to the movies, or even coffee with a friend. Adding variety to my life really helps me to breathe and to feel like a happier person. Hope you had a great weekend! xoxo, bri

P.S. Remember, you can also find me on Pinterest and Tumblr!

Dress for the Season

2012-10-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Image sources: Harper's Bazaar / Olivia Palermo at Mulberry, via Pinterest

What better way to celebrate the change of seasons than dressing in head to toe fall colors? These color combinations are so natural and rich, yet unexpected. Yesterday, I pulled out my riding boots for the first time in months and bundled up in burgundy and camel and I felt like I fit right in on such a crisp, cool day. I'm sure we still have some warm days ahead here in California, but this little glimpse of autumn has been so welcome! Has fall hit where you live yet? xoxo, bri

Gossip Girl Is Back Tonight! { Season 5 Fashion Highlights }

2012-10-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! Thank you so much for your congratulatory comments on my last post! Home ownership is already such a crazy adventure. It's been just one week since we got the keys and we are already in full-on remodel/demo mode! My life is currently feeling pretty hectic, between long days at work and all my free time spent working on the house, but of course I'm carving some time out tonight for the season premiere of Gossip Girl! I know I've addressed my not-so-guilty pleasure on the blog before, but it's been a while, so I thought I'd update my favorite GG fashion moments with my favorite looks from season 5!

**Previous season spoilers ahead!!**

1. Princess Blair may not have been meant to be, but I loved the hat/fascinator obsession that period inspired!

2. The Vera Wang bridesmaid dresses at the Royal Wedding were perfection. If those dresses had been available at David's Bridal at the time of my wedding, I definitely would have considered them-- or at least worn one to my rehearsal dinner!

3. Speaking of the wedding, Blair's first Vera Wang gown was a highlight for me.

I liked it much better than the one she ended up wearing in the wedding.

4. Even though I'm partial to Blair's style, I absolutely loved how Serena looked in this gold gown. Styled to perfection.

5. These are my favorite dresses Blair wore to events in Season 5.

I would absolutely love to wear the Dior dress with the bow that she wore to her shower!

6. Last but not least, this tribute to Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn might be one of my favorite TV moments ever. Once again, you know I love Audrey/Blair, but doesn't Serena make the most stunning Marilyn?

The season premiere will feel a little bittersweet, since we know it's the final season. But I still can't get enough of my favorite Upper East-Siders, and still get crazy butterflies and teary eyes over Chuck and Blair, so I absolutely can't wait for this season to begin! Here's to another season of beautiful clothes and overly-dramatic plot twists filmed in my favorite city! Any other Gossip Girl fans out there? What are your thoughts on the upcoming season? How do you hope everything will turn out in the end? xoxo, bri ;)