Interior Desigen

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wedding Wednesday.....Stay Thirsty my Friends.

I have some VERY thirsty friends.

And when you're buying every round of the night for those friends,

things can get 'spensive.

Enter the signature cocktail.

I feel like people often stray from this idea because they think it makes the

party look "cheap" or makes cocktail hour boring.

I couldn't disagree more.

Here's how I'd play it.

We'd start the signature cocktail idea before the ceremony

by offering guests a choice of mini champagne or San Pellegrino Limonata.

Simple, sophisticated, sexy.

Then, during cocktail hour I'd offer a few different cocktail options.

It keeps things fresh, and since you're not having to buy a ton of the same liquor,

you can purchase a few bottles of each and be good to go.

I would serve my/my girl's favorites....

The Greyhound

2 oz vodka
4 oz grapefruit juice
lemon or lime wedge for garnish
(Salted rim makes a "Salty Dog")

recipe via about.com

The French 75......also known as My New Obsession

2 ounces gin
1 ounce lemon juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup
Champagne

Shake gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice, and strain into a champagne flute.

Top with champagne, and garnish with a long, thin lemon spiral.

recipe via cocktailenthusiast.com

The Vodka Martini

1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz dry vermouth

Shake vodka and vermouth together with several ice cubes in a shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with an olive or lemon peel and serve.

Then, I would throw a few "manly" cocktails in.

Like a Jack & Coke

Or you could get creative and serve the classic cocktail

in a slushie version

And, if you're located in the South,

It's just good measure to keep Scotch on hand.

If your man is anything like mine,

I would have a couple craft beers on tap.

And of course Red and White wine,

for the winos in attendance.

Since these options leave you with Vodka, Gin, Champagne, Whiskey and Scotch on

hand, I would decant the remaining liquor not used for cocktails into some attractive glass bottles.

And maybe re-create this lovely label below.

If you're really concerned about everyone getting the exact drink they want,

I would purchase a few standard mixers: Diet Coke, Soda, Tonic Water, etc.

You can add these mixers to the liquors decanted.

And instead of plastering your names on coasters,

why not add drink recipes?

images via Pinterest.com

I adore these coasters from Steel Petal Press!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A Love & Hate Relationship with.......RED.

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with RED.

In my opinion, it can be a home run, or a VERY bad decision.

Especially where interiors are considered.

I find that I do like red when mixed with other colors and layered with different prints and textures.

And I like red most when it's used as a bold statement.

Like on this dining room wall.

Or mixed with aqua & graphic black and white.

I also love red when mixed with classic navy.

And rich cobalt.

Red looks great when mixed with ivory and gold

Designer Miles Redd is a veritable master of red.

Miles Redd

Mr. Redd is especially into tufted red sofas, it seems.

I love how he mixes pink and red and takes it from Valentine's-ey to sophisticated.

I'm also a major sucker for the iconic Scalamandre Zebras.

And I definitely like the red colorway.

images via Pinterest.com

I love how designer Jamie Meares used the Scalamandre zebras to grace her bar!

What's your take on red?

Love it or hate it?

Monday, September 10, 2012

Loving Palm Prints!

I'm really into palm prints right now.

Especially where wallpaper is concerned.

It's very Dorothy Draper. Very understated glam.

images via pinterest.com

What are your thoughts on palm prints?

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Saturday Morning Coffee......Football Fashion

image via pinterest.com

It's gameday! I will admit that one of the best things about living in Fort Worth is that I'm able to be here for all the Fall Football Festivities. I especially like seeing what fun ensembles my TCU gal pals come up with, because they're quite a creative bunch of ladies. It's unseasonably cool today. and I was just thinking about how I should probably pop into Old Navy and purchase a pair of colored jeans for the game. My original outfit plan was a purple skirt, but I'm afraid I might freeze to death.

Here's a little gameday outfit inspiration. Go FROGS!

I try not to make my whole outfit purple, for fear of looking like a cartoon dinosaur.

So it's nice to break up the purple with a little graphic black and white.

This polka dot blouse from Anthropologie is darling and pretty reasonable!

The aformentioned purple skinnies.

via Old Navy

I laughed out loud when I saw these.

They're a little subversive, but they certainely send a message to tailgaters from

the opposing team.

via Stubbs and Wooten

And we have to top off our game day outfit with a little purple bling.

via Jcrew

And a couple darling stacked bracelets.

I already have the one below, and I'm thinking I need this one to go with.

Mom? Christmas?

Via Jcrew

Via Hermes

Happy Gameday everyone!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

A Tasty Discovery!

Last night I had an impromptu dinner in Dallas with my friends, Kaitlin and Richard.
They live in the COOLEST neighborhood ever, Oak Cliff.
And the adjacent Bishop Arts District is super fun.
You feel like you're in a teeny tiny version of Brooklyn.

There are a bunch of local businesses----restaurants, shops, bars, etc.
After dinner at one of my favorite pizza joints, Eno's, we headed across the street
to visit The Emporium for a slice of pie.

I'm definitely a pie lover and just a general lover of all life's little pleasures.

This place is precious. It's a little "pie only" bakery, where all the pies are homemade and therefore free of all the icky stuff you usually find in store bought pies.
They're super fresh and really fantastic.

The pies have inventive names like "The Drunken Nut", which is a Bourbon Pecan variety and "Lord of the Pies" which is a tasty apple.

I'm now KICKING myself that I didn't creepily snap any decor pictures with my iPhone, so I could share with all my lovely readers. Promises to do so upon my next visit.