hello mes amis! i hope you’re having a wonderful summer night. i’m at home working, trying to get the web boutique situated and catch up on my blogging. (i wish)!

just thought i’d share some pics from over here. this is liz’s guest room and it’s turning into a serene getaway. i haven’t been decorating too much, so i’m living vicariously, can you blame me?

i mean, white cut velvet tiger pillows? and monograms? all from ikea

well don’t think i’ve given up on my frenchie side…i’m always on the lookout. poodles count, right? these animals are going to be our blogger’s interstate greeting card line. starting right here with florida. if you or your neighbors have any great animals in your area, send in pics!

well it is florida

but elk? ok now you know i am really very silly!

what happened to my marie antoinette life?!

but for now i can live with the animals, my reward is worth it!

well at least there are chateaux right around the corner!

if you need a little design exhale after that visual assult, check out Barbara Jacksier, who’s first book is about to be published:

yum! have a great nuit!

hi everyone, it’s saturday night and i just wanted to say hello to all my wondeful blog buds. life’s been great here and the outside world is not too bad anymore. life’s gotten simpler, everything from recycling to electric, when i got hot water the other day, it was like i’d never had it before i was so grateful. and i never thought i’d care about grass,  but have to admit i’m thrilled to see its buds after a long day! watching this pattern blossom is instant gratification. my own little versailles, and so easy!  ;p

anyhoo, over next door you know who got this beauty as she preps for a hot tub

amazed me and hung this up

and got us both bird feeders.

we just got back from a midnight bike ride and barbecue. we’re having a ball being 16 again! buona notte!

gorgeous perfumes and accessories at France-Hersher Antiques in Dania

it’s one of those treasure troves. and next door is the ‘antiques gallery and picture frames’

great old deco pieces

and miscellaneous wonders. i can’t help it, i’m so drawn to this…

you know i love this girly stuff! but mi casa is anything but. in fact it’s pretty masculine!

anyway i rediscovered one of my old stomping goldmines, the town of Dania. it’s one of those great places that seems to have stopped in time. it’s completely filled with antique and consignment stores, with no other kind of stores for blocks. this is the largest antique malll there at 11 federal highway. (954-921-7604)

this set had black and white striped seats, kind of golden girls moderne

this was super low but really interesting. maybe it’s the giraffe

i can see where these would have come in handy back in the day, this place must have been one big party back then

and what a vanity/desk…it comes with the stool, both are thick lucite

love the pink inside of this bamboo vase

these swivel! i’m nuts! or maybe just a sucker for good presentation

and back at liz’s, she’s been decorating, and built her own table and chairs (both from ikea)!

the table is uber heavy and the chairs are surprisingly comfy

this i died for but she found it first yesterday cause i stopped off for coffee ;p

her first piece ever purchased (that meant something) was this chair from afganistan. the pillow from target was the perfect fit.

details details all from target

well that’s about it, but tomorrow is another day, and i can’t wait to explore every nook and cranny of south florida! if you want info on any of the pieces let me know!

xoc

bonjour friends! tonite is my first evening in my own home, i can blog uninterrupted all nite if i want! i hope to get over to see you and say hi. i’m glad you’re here!

well, even tho i’m not even thinking about opening another store, i can’t resist daydreaming about it when i see something special. then reality sets in and i say, enjoy your freedom!

still, it’s cute isn’t it?

well we’ve been having a love affair with our new town, pretending it’s the summer of ‘72, (this statue is in the center of town, mom, do you love it)?

days have been filled finding resources for fabrics, visiting upholsterers and doing runs to ikea and target and home depot more than i’d like to admit…of course it’s all soooo much fun!

these canvases were some of the great art pieces that ikea had, i thought they were both powerful and whimsical

as for chez moi, my floors came out better than i ever dreamed. i don’t even want rugs and thought i’d have to cover them completely!

but something may be missing…

till i can figure out what i’ll keep on working and nesting

and working hard to be organic as challenged by carol…i did get solar lights for the walk, organic sheets and detergents. there’s a lot to think about but i like it!

and of course liz has been a decorating fool and got even more yellow pillows! more of her great taste tomorrow!

these are liz’s new shoes. and pillows. who is this liz?

we’ve been bff’s friends since ‘93 when we met on 9th street where we both had stores. we actually came down to florida together the first time so long ago, and even rented some places together over the years. we’ve lived, traveled and worked together, and are basically just like sisters (even the fights)! somehow karma is bringing us together again, we’re both excited after 4 years to see why! she has amazing taste and is a stylist so there’s always plenty of shopping going on and something new for inspiration. (or to borrow

i figured i’ll keep posting her place since it’s easier to shoot and mine still looks exactly the same…till tomorrow that is! the waiting game is finally over, pros are coming to clean and wax the floors! i’m excited on one hand and so sad on the other.

i’ve come to know a little community here, my italian landlord, the old lady next door, the beach itself just outside. but i know it’s a good move for me, tho i’m going completely on instinct. here goes nothin…or a lot of something…here’s to the future!

i have absolutely no furniture for this house except for vanities! here are a couple i have for sale. hope that’s not too bourgeois to sell them here but i am being held hostage by my web guy! do you have a shopping cart that you use and love on your site?

the mirrored vanity above is about 36″ wide and the mirror is attached and comes off for shipping. i’m selling it for $1995. just wanted to put it up here before ebay.

i also have this little sweetie for $995 and measures about $16″ wide. both are 1930’s and are in great shape.

ok that’s all for now, more tout de suite!

(my guy imports olive oil from this farm in italy. it’s my inspiration for the day)

hi there! hope you had a great holiday. it’s been a couple days and so much has happened. living like this is wild, really different from apartment living! not that i’m living there yet. i haven’t done much lately since my guy is in town. it’s finished inside as far as cleaning (actually it still needs another round i’m gonna give it), painting is done and cable is on, lastly, the floors have to be professionally cleaned. and how!

it’s not that this is the home of my dreams but it’s a block from the beach and directly next door to liz which is the only reason i took it. we’re both surrounded on all other sides so we call it ‘the compound.’

i guess it’s a good time to rent because owners want to have people in their places, so you can get a make a good deal. i got in with just 1 month’s rent and amortized the security over 4 months.

this is the third place i’m fixing up after renting. i have never owned property but it’s fun to make deals with your landlord for your sweat equity. he’s paying for the renovations, i’m overseeing!

i feel really lucky to be caretaker of these old and giant trees and plants

it’s a wild jungle, i have lots to do

of course liz’s came perfectly manicured

i saved these pics for liz but have no idea where i got them. i’ll look at my history tomorrow. all she wants is a jacuzzi and a trampoline.

as for the insides, fresh paint changes everything, even the garage floor. i got some sage to burn in there tomorrow and hopefully that will chase the smelly demon out!

i was in the bookstore today when my friend carol called with the challenge to make this house totally green. get solar panels, solar water heating etc, paint, recycling, etc

so i started researching

www.amazon.com/Green-Chic-Saving-Earth-Style

www.gaiam.com

thank god they recycle here. from south beach to where i was there was no recycling! it was nutz!

more researching led me here

www.solarenergy.com

and

in florida for a free consultation www.solarenergysystems.com

they got me with this:

The pleasure of a remote home or cabin is even greater when you are sure of year after year of trouble-free electrical power, with practically no maintenance needed. Dependable ProCharger systems operate silently, burn no fuel, and create no waste. Modular design lets you expand a system easily if your electrical needs grow.

oh, plus brad pitt’s into it too

www.msnbc.msn.com

are you using solar power at all? what about recycling? do you have it? isn’t that a stupid question? miami beach does not recycle.

as for the spiders, one of my handy guys did end up relocating them from the entrances to the house, all but this one. i couldn’t believe it but he actually sewed a salvage edge in the center of the web for reinforcement. how could i destroy that?

liz’s place was move in ready. note to self: that’s a good plan.

how the hell she convinced me to move in to a fixer upper i’ll never know. talk about sweat equity… thankfully i have charming landlord who’s helping cover the costs to do the work. but what i’ve seen and done over the last few days is far from pretty.

she also has furniture. what was i thinking?

and those floors!

ah yes, the tour of liz’s petit palace ends with her terrazzo porch…

mine got its first round of cleaning and pressing yesterday as i prepped the garage for the cleaning crew (i didn’t want anyone to see it as it was, it was so bad)! today was interior cleaning and painting, both of which are going to happen all over again tomorrow! but covering up these horrifying colors was crucial for my aesthetic sanity and the entire place finally got primed today, whew! (these are of course before pics)

thankfully the kitchen and baths are updated so cleaning is the main thing

believe me, i made these pics look good. the last tenants trashed this place.

next task? painting the garage floor. then before i can move a thing in to the house, the terracotta floors have to be restored. how can you trash terracotta? i’m so on autopilot, but the end is in sight. must keep going…i could care less about furniture and stuff, as long as the bones are clean and polished.

btw, i need your opinion: do you leave spiders and their webs where they are or encourage them to relocate? (they’re outside, not in)

hello dear friends! it was a wild and wonderful weekend, and magical too as a spell was cast: i rented the house! i still don’t know how or even why exactly. it was just too obvious to resist! it’s something i never even considered, having been tucked into apartments nearly 20 years. suddenly there are 4 sides around, on top of a lawn! i’m sort of on autopilot about it, didn’t have any savings for it and am totally winging it.

what’s maybe the weirdest thing is that i have to credit some of it to my blogging world. stumbling onto posy (her images above and below), got me thinking about having a real home of my own, and not waiting for (ahem), anyone else.

after my melange left a note for me this am, i stopped by her blog and and found this:

‘”i have admittedly read way too many memoirs containing story upon story of apéritif in the French Countryside and aperitivo in its Italian counterpart. Each tale filled with deliciously prepared food of the season, friends and family gathered around the old wooden communal table dressed in white linen and placed under the afternoon shade of the nearest olive or fruit tree, sharing stories, clinking glasses of continuously topped-off wine until dinner arrives and it’s all repeated well into the wee hours of the night.

Oh, what I would not give to be a part of that.”

that was the clincher, family and friends (well, and the table). my blogger friends really made me feel like i could do it so, thank you, thank you! and ps, you’re invited!

one more thing from my blogging bud, bonnie: she sent a link to this vintage fabric to kick it off! thanks girl, i love it!

liz is moving into her house! it’s a block from the beach and me, so of course i’m in charge of decor :p

above is her inspiration pillow, everything will be muy tropicale! it has all the amenities we never dreamed of when we both lived in new york…washer and dryer, garage, driveway, and oh yeah, butterflies, a yard and 3 bedrooms!

and look what just happened next door…

it’s a bit smaller and i like that…and the awnings are navy! how nautical

a real fixer upper but something to think about anyway! it’s always fun to look dream! as for ‘the secret’, well i’m at the part where they say ‘i can do that, i can afford that’ instead of the usual internal dialogue i won’t mention. guess we’ll just have to see what lies ahead. they say we’ll be surprised in more ways than ever imagined. how true! i know this book is super hokey but i do love this stuff!

in the meantime i’m taking my own advice to add a little something each day even if it’s super simple, and took out all my gran’s vintage sheets, got green apples just because they matched,

made a curtain for the door, (read: hung a piece of fabric from a great resource i discovered yesterday…every fabric was $5 a yard)!

and have my extremely low maintenace air plant friends

ok back to work! happy weekend!