Halloween on the Walk Streets

Too tired to make a design post tonight, a few images of our night in Manhattan Beach trick or treating on the walk streets...

The streets are pleasant and not crowded, aka perfect for toddlers before the sun goes down.

My little Kansas City Chief!

We love the walk streets because they are one of the safest places to trick or treat

All the kids thought Elmo was really Elmo and kept touching him!

This was one of my favorite family costumes, two little bees, a queen bee, the baby as honey and dad as the bee keeper!

Food Blogs

One of my favorite food blogs is called At Home with Kim Vallee, she pairs wonderful recipies with stunning photography and entertaining ideas. Definitely a daily read for me. The photo above is from her Halloween treat post today.

Additionally Louise from Table Tonic posted the link to this wonderful dictionary of a food blog called The Food Blog Blog. Seriously your one stop shop to find the best food blogs (not that many of us have time to scour through to find our favorites). But if you are looking for something to do on a rainy or snow day, this would be a good project.

Happy Halloween!

Loving Jonathan Adler

Stop by Project Nursery today to read about my favorite pillow picks for a nursery or children's room from Jonathan Adler.

Halloween Decorations in Texas

I was in Texas over the past weekend visiting my parents and definitely forgot how much Texans love Halloween! Seriously almost every house in my old neighborhood was overflowing with decorations. Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.

If you are a faithful reader of this blog, you know that I envy my mom's decorating skills. She always has tasteful displays during the holidays. Here are a few photos of the decorations in her morning room. I have to hand it to her, with no grandchildren living closer than 2,000 miles away she still gets into the spirit! I need to start taking more notes and get more into this holiday! But the great thing about just decorating with pumpkins and gourds is that they easily translate over to Thanksgiving. See two months of decorations for the price of one! Now that's a recession special!

Table centerpieces

Fairy tale pumpkins, so perfectly casually placed

A view from afar

Adorable Vignettes at Newport Cottages

A few weeks ago I attended a wonderful event at Newport Cottages in Fashion Island in support of Breast Cancer awareness and research. Naomi & Gerri from Little Crown Interiors were there co-hosting and showcasing the Hope Crib which they designed with Pockets from Newport Cottages. Their pretty in pink vignette is shown below.

I was glad to attend the event to support their cause but was also selfishly happy to have an excuse to go down to their Fashion Island store. All of the vignettes in their store are wonderful and inspiring. The Newport Cottages store features their own furniture line but also carries bedding lines such as House Inc., Serena & Lily, Petunia Pickle Bottom & Doodlefish & Caden Lane to compliment their designs. A few of my favorite looks are pictured below.

If you are in the area, definitely stop by the store. It is right next to Restoration Hardware in Suite A206.

Modern Animalia

Really how great is this room featured on Deco Peques? I love it how the animal decals are not all full animals, showing just the giraffe head and the whale tale create inquisitive. I'd like to see the bathroom to this room wallpapered in the Hicks wallpaper below. A perfect compliment I'd have to say~!

Here is a shot of the other side of the room, complete with a blackboard calendar.

Couture Prints on Etsy

I just love Etsy and could honestly spend all day and night searching through all the handmade items. While looking for some prints for a girl's room, I found this new shop called Couture Prints. The shop is brand new and for a limited time to promote her site, the owner is selling her prints for 1/2 off (the sale prices are listed on the site). Truly a great deal for some modern artwork. My favorites are the ABC and 123 prints, yet you can't go wrong with the Keep Calm & Carry On posters in an array of colors to match.

Decorating for Halloween

I always like looking for new and creative ideas for decorating for the holidays. These two are pretty easy that even I could manage to do. The first image a genius play on the snowman, instead make one out of pumpkins! From Martha Stewart of course!

This second idea of a chalkboard pumpkin, I saw on At Home with Kim Vallee this week. So easy and the pumpkin keeps on giving since you can write a different message every day! Idea and how-to on Zakka Life.

One more painted version, a little simpler, I bet you could even do this one with a few permanent markers! Image via Good Housekeeping.

Any other unexpected DIYers that you all would like to share?

The Emerson House, a True Modern Dollhouse

Nope this is not a model of my dream house, well I guess it very well could be, but this is a dollhouse modeled after the designs of Richard Neutra and A. Quincy Jones. Yes a truly beautiful "dollhouse" complete with minimalist architecture, scored hardwood floors, and recessed lights (powered by solar panels).

The house measures 18" x 21" x 30" and is built at a 1:18 scale. The windows are acrylic and the finishes are all lead-free, non-toxic stains and glazes. Supposedly the creator's 4-year-old stood on it and it did not break. Now the price tag on this baby is a bit hefty $329 for the house, but I consider it to be a piece which you will pass on forever and eventually pass down to your grandchildren.

They even make furniture (sold separately) for the house to fill seven rooms (32 pieces).

I want this living room for myself! Is it weird to be jealous of dolls?

And the nursery! Basically a complete ringer to the Netto Collection, of course I love it!

This "dollhouse" will be your child's only toy that will look good center stage on your dining room or coffee table. You will probably even find yourself playing with it after a few glasses of wine.

To purchase the Emerson House & Furniture and be the hit of the holidays, visit Bloume Baby.

I'm working for two separate clients now who are looking for a bright and modern nursery. This one designed by Elizabeth Kimberly is wonderfully playful & crisp. I love it that she kept the walls white!

Even More Trees

image via Flickr

Continuing with my posts on trees, I wanted to share a few images of different takes on using trees in room decor. Some are painted, some are murals, some are wallpaper, and some I can't tell. As you can see, you can bring foliage into your nursery or child's room fit for any budget or decor.

image via Oh Deed Oh

Black, white and yellow, a fun an unexpected color combination for a nursery. The white decals definitely help make the space more playful.

image via Project Nursery

A wall decal, image via Decor Pad

A childish take of a tree in a mural design by Jane Reiseger

image via Domino Magazine designed by Krista Ewart

I've been saving this design for a while. If I have a girl someday I'm definitely copying it!

The iconic Cole & Son wallpaper.

Image via Coco Cozy designed by Ghislaine Vinas Interior Design

A more classic wallpaper by Thibaut

And lastly, why not paint a real tree branch white and put it in a pot for a three dimensional tree? Image via Flickr