Naomi is a super talented Interior Designer and was actually my first design blog crush. The way she’s able to put color and pattern together really gets me going. And now she probably thinks I’m a lezzy. But seriously, when she put brilliant blue and very berry together it had me going like, Whaaa, I thought I was a color queen. Clearly, I’ve got some learning to do.

Today Naomi is sharing her South American dream home.

Hey I’m Naomi from Design Manifest and I’m thrilled to filling in for Irene while she’s on her tropical vacay.  Actually, I’m not thrilled, I’m pretty pissed off that I’m in Frigidelphia while she is probably swimming up to some pool bar and sleeping in late.  Since I can’t be frolicking through South America in my real life, I thought it would be fun to put together my dream vacation home- South American style.

What goes into my dream vacay home?  Lots of views, clean white walls, a tad rustic, a dollop of bohemian, a good dose of modern, and not a bit of fussy.  Honestly it’s like my normal style just a little looser.  Remember, it’s vacation, I’m probably tipsy.

For my living room I want the feel of nature at my feet and a huge daybed full of pillows when I want to get cozy.

When it comes to meals, I better be outside, or damn close.  This would do…

(Rees Roberts)

 

When it comes to time for my daily soak, I wouldn’t mind scrub-a-dub-dubbing here…

Source: completelytotallymadly.blogspot.com via Naomi on Pinterest

 

 

Or maybe I’d just skip the bath and hop in the pool.

Source: completelytotallymadly.blogspot.com via Naomi on Pinterest

Aren’t imaginary vacation homes fun?  Almost as cool as going away for real.  Ok not really, but I’ll use anything to warm myself up on this chilly day.

Mrs. stILes, I hope you are having a wonderful trip.  And to the rest of you, thanks for indulging my fantasies!  Pop over to my blog, if you’re new-to-me.  I like sharing fantasy spaces and real-live projects too.

Off to my imaginary pool-bar!

Thanks Naomi, they always say dream big. And if this dream home comes true, I’m visiting!

Happy Weekend.

 

(images are source from my pinterest, but most were found on the lovely blog, Head Over Heels.)

 

On her blog, she also shares some tasty recipes (vegetarian for you veggies out there) and her photography skills improve by the hour. Oh yeah, and she cracks me up. Never met a funny girl I didn’t like.

Bring it on Sabra!

Why hello there friends of designstILes. I’m Sabra from the Lonely Wife Project. Just because we’re not in South America with Ms. Fancy Pants Irene doesn’t mean we can’t eat like we are. Thus I bring you what I hope is an authentic South American recipe (according to AllRecipes).

I took a simple black beans and quinoa dish and added bell peppers and jalapenos because I have a problem following directions exactly. If you’re not familiar with quinoa then I feel sorry for you.

Seriously, this grain is healthy and stuff and satiates your carb craving. I promise you will love it. Also, this recipe is low-fat. I now understand why Gisele looks the way she does. Quinoa and black beans people…quinoa and black beans.

Recipe:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 or 2 cans of black beans
3/4 cups quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin
cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until slightly brown, add bell and jalapeno peppers and cook for a few more minutes. Add quinoa, vegetable broth and spices. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add black beans and cilantro and cook for a few more minutes or until quinoa is done. Serve with alcohol.

Come visit me at the Lonely Wife Project for other healthy recipes and random stuff. Thanks for having me Irene. Come back tan and happy!

Thank you Sabra!

I’ll probably have to eat only this for about two weeks after I come back, so I’m glad I have it saved here in this blog of mine.

PS – Your pictures are fantastic.

Happy Thursday!

Today I’m having her share some wardrobe items I wish I would’ve purchased before my trip.

Summer will be here before we know it, so I’ll be seeing you soon, 4, 5 and 7. And probably 3.

Welcome Erika!

Hello stILers! It’s Irene’s bud Erika from small shop, filling in for her as she jets off on a romantic getaway with her main squeeze. Peru – how amazing is that?!

Since it’s summer there, I thought it would be fun to pack Irene’s suitcase with colorful ensembles that she can mix and match for sightseeing, shopping, sunbathing, and lots of romantic dinners. And because you never know when you might get back to your hotel, day-to-night looks are what it’s all about when traveling!

1. Topshop Iris playsuit, $92 2. JCrew Panama hat, $58 3. Topshop Mint Twist Leather Bag, $116 4. Michael Angel slip dress, $610 5. Topshop Keyhole Round sunglasses, $32 6. Ralph Lauren Uma espadrilles, $295 7. Mara Hoffman bikiki, $195 8. ASOS suede fringe bag, $53.72 9. Current/Elliot ankle skinny jeans, $198 10. ASOS FAST leather whipstitch sandals, $57.30 11. Topshop roll sleeve white tee, $20 and Tilo ombre cashmere scarf, $198 12. Rag & Bone cut-off shorts, $154

Throw in some hiking gear for Machu Picchu and she’s ready to go!

Hope you have a wonderfully adventurous and romantic anniversary, Irene!

Thank you Erika!

Visit her blog. This girl’s got lots o’ stile.

Happy Wednesday!

Vmac is awesome. She’s got chef skills, graphic skills, photography skills, and pretty much has this whole blogging thing down pat. I can always rely on her to give me some delicious recipes and keep me up to current trends.

Today I’m having her share her travel essentials. While we have a lot of similar ones, there were a few I had to integrate into my current trip.

Here’s Vmac:

Her blog always makes me feel so at ease. Her focus is organization and I’m always so surprised at how many things she manages to find organizational. And she does it in such a way that always looks stylish.

Today she’s sharing some tips on organizing that pesky task of packing for a trip. I hate packing more than the dentist.

Take it away, Ari.

Hi all! Arianna here of Arianna Belle Organized Interiors filing in for my amiga Irene today while she’s away in beautiful Peru and Costa Rica. When I travel there are a few things I like to keep in mind that makes packing a bit more efficient. Hope any of you that may also soon be jetting off somewhere find them useful!

• Make a list of outfits you’ll wear each day. Doing so will help prevent over-packing.
• Choose versatile pieces that you can mix and match.
• Save space by tightly rolling as much of your clothing as possible. Line the botton of the suitcase with your heaviest items first, then put lighter items on top of that.
• Fill nooks and crannies with smaller items -socks, belts, etc.
• Since shoes can take up a lot of space, try to wear on the plane your bulkiest pair.
• Always put toiletries in a plastic bag. Believe me, you definitely don’t want to open your suitcase and find that the shampoo (or lotion, or body wash) exploded all over your clothes.
• Leave some space for anything you might want to bring back!

Thank you so much for filling in for me, Ari.

Make sure to visit her blog if you need to put your organizational skills in check.

Happy Monday!

Well, I scheduled this before I left so I guess I was never really gone.

But today’s our anniversary and what better way to profess the love you have for your husband than on the internet. To strangers. Who weren’t there for your wedding.

Six years, ey. It only feels like 60.

 Kidding.

I found this picture in our wedding photobooth scrapbook and it made me laugh.

I remember this was at the very end of the night and I’m not sure if a) it hit me that, oh man, am I really married? or b) wait, is this ring even real?

To answer my own questions, I am married and it is real….and needs to be cleaned.

I’ll keep the extra corny stuff for the anniversary card, but just wanted to openly share how lucky I feel to have been paired with such an amazing person.

Happy Sappy Saturday!

TH and I leave for Peru and Costa Rica later tonight to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. We’ll be gone for ten days.

I know, I’m gonna miss you too.

But you’ll still be able to feast your eyes on some pretty because some of my best blogging buddies will be filling in for me while I’m away.

The pretty resumes on Monday!

You won’t wanna miss out. These posts are better than some of the stuff I give you.

Miss you already!

images via streamzoo, honestly WTF, unknown

Ooh, Pottery Barn. You can afford to pay for overpriced boring sh*t.

There was like this list that I needed to cross off.

Dark or ‘espresso’ matching furniture – check.

Stick some curly willow in a vase – check (whyyyyy???)

 Buy fake apples (check) and plop them on your coffee table. The real apples belong in the kitchen. But somehow putting the fake ones on your coffee table lets people know that you didn’t put out an apple spread when they come visit. Like I just always knew if I saw apples on a coffee table that meant they were fake. Put out some fake chips and you might fool me.

But with all due respect my fake apples look so real they have teeth marks in them.

People ask me all the time, Are these apples real? Um yes, I shop at Wholefoods.

To really confuse people, I should put them in the bathroom.

So yeah, I still have them and I’m thinking of using them to bake a fake apple pie.

Happy Real Tuesday!

images via elle decor, lonny, live creating yourself, the painted hive

TH and his friend mail each other music compilations (music on a cd, by mail. They’re oldskool) at least a few times a year. Randomly I decided to make said friend my own mix and a few months ago I received his mix to me in TH’s last compilation package. I look forward to these mixes even if they’re not addressed to me because I know I am guaranteed songs I’ve never, ever heard.

My absolute favorite song off my mix was this one, by TOKiMONSTA.

When I asked him who the artist was he replied with this, “That Tokimonsta track was the first song I heard at this cool record shop in Portland, OR when I went there this summer. I was there right when they opened and the guy behind the counter just played that EP while he was still getting the shop in order. It was perfect.”

Soon thereafter I looked for more songs and am currently really enjoying this one.

Blue and orange aren’t typically colors one would reach for first, so it was interesting to see what would come up in my room search. Something simple to balance a more intricate, progressive sound.

The sloped blue wall reminds me of one of the blue triangle sides.

Happy listening!

The 13th.

If you’re superstitious (TH) isn’t some stuff supposed to go down, or something?

The only stuff going down is my wine.

But not until tomorrow so I guess I’m safe.

Me and some of my best girlfriends are heading out to Malibu for some much needed wine tasting. Our meet-up is much needed too.

On our trip to Charlotte, our host had a vase filled with wine corks on her kitchen table.

Ooh, I wanna show people my drinking habits too, I thought. So I came home and started my own.

Wine corks are way classier than all those vodka bottles I stash in the recycling bin.

Just Kidding.

Jar of good times.

Unless you count dust, this is about the only thing my house collects.

People are overachievers. And by overachievers I mean, alcoholics.

Look at what these people created.

So for a long time did these people not have a coffee table?

Hope they drank the cheap stuff otherwise they could’ve used that money for a really cool table.

Table setting place cards.

This seems pretty easy, if you have a wedding guest list of like 50.

Or an intimate dinner.

Cork wall.

So does that make it soundproof?

A cork pillow (not really cork).

I wanna see the size of the bottle this came from. Wine for a year.

Do any of you collect corks?

Happy Weekend!

images via me, houzz, stylemepretty, designsponge, a diary of lovely