Lots of design things I have been going nutty over lately!

1. Tufted banquette

Most of you know that I am totally tufted (see one of my previous posts) and that I am always lusting for a casual (not contrived) bistro style dining area. I see this tufted sofa embracing the dining table and I just sigh. One day… And I want a pretty lantern too.

2. Tabletop Décor With An Impact

I will now be hunting for an old, gigantic wooden bowl – to place some (naturally shed) antlers in. Simple and pretty.

3. B/W shower curtain

Chic with wide black and white stripes. A bit dramatic.

4. Long vintage table turned desk

Brilliant! I want this as my work space! How pretty the wood is with white and black details. A desk like that can serve so many different purposes over time. (I also like that white upholstered stool underneath the table — to use as extra seating or to put feet or stuff on!).

5. White is always right

So fresh and pretty. A LOT more white is moving into my own home.

Just came across this “white” art piece by Canadian Eleanor Doran. Look closely. Being a city girl at heart (I should really be living in NY) I like tall buildings.

6. Design Chic

A must read blog driven by two wonderfully talented and stylish ladies, friends and design mavens! I have followed them from their very early blog days – their blog is filled to the brim with design inspiration. These gals always deliver.

It is an honor for me to be guest posting over at Design Chic, chatting about how to “Decorate Like A True Swede”. Please, hop over and say hello. And make sure to include their blog as a daily read!

Hop to my guest post — here. I hope you enjoy!

Warm hugs to you all.

Images: No. 1 via Splendid Willow, no. 2-5 via House & Home (scanned Sep. 2012), no. 6 + 7 scanned via Style At Home (100 Designer secrets) .

Today you will find me over at Tina’s wonderful blog, The Enchanted Home. That girl makes me so HAPPY! She shares tons of excellent design inspiration (yep she is the lady who lives in that fantastic mansion) and she is one of the most upbeat, generous and thoughtful people around. I am proud to call her a good friend.

My guest post is about things that make me Happy This Summer. (A lot!). There you will  learn about a new fancy creme I have invested in!

Hop over and say hello – here.

For those of you who follow Tina, you already know that she has a thriving on-line boutique packed with lovely things for the home and as gifts. Here are a few of her latest additions:

Adorable salt and pepper shakers!

Link to Tina’s lovely store – here. Be prepared to shop!

There are also a couple of brand new things in my store that I am super happy to share!

Firstly, a wrap cardigan from the wonderful Swedish brand Odd Molly. I have purchased two of these cardigans on visits to Sweden (Do you remember, Charlotta!) — and people always want to steal them off my back. They are that lovely.

And secondly – cool European Birthday shirts! For ages 1 to 5. You will only find them at our store in the US!

The other day my kids and I bumped into at Mom and her daughter at Costco. My son William and her adorable daughter Leah used to be in Pre-K together. We chatted a bit and after we had said our goodbyes my son stopped me and gesticulated wildly “why did you not tell her that I had turned five!?!!!”. Yep, the actual birthday year is important at that stage in life (me on the other hand have totally forgotten all about mine..!).

The tees come in many fun color combinations.

And here my own William gets to model.

If you know anybody who turns 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (!) this year – please feel free to share this post with their family & friends!

Enter Splendid Avenue — here.

Now hop over and meet me over at Ms. Tina’s blog - here!

Happy, Happy to you all.

Today you will find me over at the extraordinary blog, The Enchanted Home. Hope to meet you over there!

The author behind the blog is the beautiful Tina, and while she is hardly a new name to my blog friends she might be a new face to my readers. So let me introduce her to you. (I briefly showcased her home a few months ago - and boy did you respond!).

When I first came across her blog, I, like everyone else, almost fell off my chair. She lives in her newly built mega mansion outside of New York. I was convinced a certain attitude would go hand in hand with that gigantic home – how wrong I was.

Tina is incredibly generous, kind, supportive and thoughtful. And behind that bubbly and witty blog personality I have found a very serious, hard working and good hearted person. I adore her.

Tina’s blog is jam packed with good ideas and design information and I find her posts about the materials she is using in her new home very useful. I learn a lot.

 (Don’t you just love the floors she picked for one of her bathrooms!).

Tina will soon open her first on-line store, offering goods she is truly passionate about. I can’t wait to support her new venture. (I will let you know when it goes live). I’m sure she will do so well and deservingly so. (I’m rooting for you Tina!).

Now, hop over to her blog, if you have a moment, where you’ll find a fun little Q&A she did with me. But most importantly say hi to Tina and check out all the amazing things she’s got going in her new home. Visit here.

Hugs to you all.

Images: all images via The Enchanted Home.

The Holiday Issue of House Of Fifty is out and it is jam packed with loveliness. 186 pages to be more exact. I have featured the Founding Editor and Blogger Extraordinaire, Janell Beals, many times on my blog. She has become a good friend over the years and I have so much admiration for her. She is extremely talented and has a great design eye but she is also a very genuine and thoughtful person. What you see is what you get with this lovely lady.

In this Holiday issue you will drool over segments covering, interiors, art, food, photography, perfect  Holiday Music (I need that list myself!), and tips on Smart Charitable Giving.

There are also several colorful pages of gift ideas, one of them by me. Janell invited me contribute to the ”Gift Guide For Men”! Yikes! (The hardest of them all, at least for me). But I put my thinking cap on and really thought of gifts I would want to give to my husband and (picky) big brother. I hope you will find some inspiration too. (You need to also read the texts with the pictures to understand my thinking). Perhaps a punching ball (in rustic leather – to go with the decor of the house. Ha!).

Also fun to see many of my blog friends in this Holiday issue.  Hi to you all!

In this feature I am also running my first magazine Ad – ever! I have teamed up with my close blog friend, Jill with Live Like You, and together we have a  House Of Fifty Special going. 15% off on anything in our stores. Can come in handy before the Holidays! (Redeem your promotion code via the magazine).

Now pour yourself a cup of “something good” and get prepared to be inspired! Hop over to House of Fifty here. You will be glad you did.

Hugs to you all!

This weekend I was shopping for some extra chairs for our outdoor patio at Pier 1 and I ended up staring at some glass rings at the counter. I admit I like good quality jewelry and I would rather wear nothing at all than some cheap and mass produced, but some of these rings were really beautiful, chunky and fun.  Glass is such a  lovely material. I think over-sized, bohemian rings are perfect for all those summer parties. And they were on sale for, hold on to your hats, under $4!

I got one with a Emilo Pucci (The Lord of bright colors) inspired pattern and I love it! Who knew that a $4 dollar ring could make me so happy! I will be wearing it a lot this summer.

And if I was as super model, I would have been wearing these sexy lace-up boots to a party, without any hesitation along with the dress too. (Too bad I am a short, petite thing with soccer calves…) The designs are also by Emilo Pucci (the business is now run by Emilio Puccis’s daughter — and I absolutely love so many of their collections).

I have also been eyeing the fabulous Hunter’s Dominica Flats. (Thank you Jenny for the inspiration!). And yesterday bought myself two pairs — white and black. They normally retail for $180/pair but several stores like Nordstrom and Pipelime now have great summer sales were they are 50% off. These flats are so comfortable and city chic. (Nappa leather upper/leather lining/rubber sole).

(But as far as rainboots go the best maker of high quality rainboot is still Ilse Jacobsen — hands down. I am so proud to be representing that fabulous brand in my store Splendid Willow Avenue, which right now is undergoing some changes. You will see very soon!).

Through a gift (or rather a giveway) is how I met Marianne with Style For Living. She won my giveaway back in December. She e-mailed me her address and would you believe that the girl lives literally around the corner from me - like 15 minutes away! Scramble, scramble, a coffee get-together was quickly set up and we hit it off right away! I am so incredibly happy to have met her. Blogging can get lonely at times and it is sometimes hard for me who is a social type. What keeps me going are virtual connections like this which blossom into good friendships also in the real world. How wonderful it is to be able to call Marianne and just say “up for a drink tomorrow evening”? We have the best time when we get together! We like similar things, are very supportive of each others ideas and we laugh a lot together! How lucky am I!

Today you will find me over at her lovely blog taking part of her ABCs of her blog friends. If you are interested, you will learn a little bit more about me (yep, all the way from A to Z!). But more importantly you will meet Marianne. Hop over and visit here. And say hi from me!

Warm hugs to everyone!

Images: no. 1 via Portero, no. 2 via Splendid Willow, no. 3 via The November Girl and last image via Style For Living.