Invite me to your house...

...if you have a guest room like this. I've got house guests coming soon, and I wish wish wish I had a landing spot for them that was as fab as these.


Oh, to arrive to a guest room like this...that pink is glamour!






The luckiest girl would get to sit here while getting dressed for an evening out and pick which diamonds to wear.







From Veranda, a guest room in the Greystone Estate.



I want to use this dressing table to get dressed for a night out in Beverly Hills.

Armoire extreme makeover

I've been staring at the non-descript maple armoire in my bedroom for weeks, knowing it needs an extreme makeover. It's a great basic shape, but it's just blah. I'm in search of inspiration...



Oh my. Baroque mahogany at LaylaGrace.com




This 1800's Swedish piece is getting closer. Love the vibrant yet subdued red.




Wow. This needs to be the bright spot in the room. I don't plan on going quite this bold.

Ombre for me, please!

Um, headed for the car, must get to Old Navy for this $39 lovely!


Add flip flops, done.


Love this at Calypso, I'm always a sucker for tie dye. Gives shape to anything.

Yellow dinner

I find yellow dining rooms to be warm, refined, but also cheerful. Guess what color my dining room is? Might be biased...Found this on twoliablog.com. Love the dark wood contrasted with the yellows.


At Pottery Barn






Having a little dinner at our house this weekend to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. She loves yellow daffodils, so I'm in search of yellow tables inspirations.

Rainy days call for color

I'm still in desperate need of color, especially corals, which are particularly fab with turquoise. And I'm dreaming of the happy chair for yesterday...if a chair could have a jewelry cousin, these ear bobs would be it.


I wanna wear these with a white swimsuit on an island - note to self, get tan.



Gerard Yosca Cuff, $240. Screaming for gold gladiator sandals.



The ultimate bargain, buy extras for gift. Charlotte Russe, $4!

Color my world

Neutrals are necessary, how would we decorate a room or create a cohesive wardrobe without them? But today I was positively CRAVING color! The sun was bright, everything looked bright and shiny, and there was the slightest hint that Spring might actually come.

Love this fabric combo, made by, who else, Happy Chairs.


I've never seen sconces made from coconut shells, but I think these are fab.


Oh, if only these would appear on my porch! Some lovely southern boxwoods in these and I might swoon.

Intaglios

I'll gladly admit I knew nothing about intaglios until my sister in law introduced them to me. They're tiny little molds of scenes and they date back centuries. So of course, if you're getting the real things, they're gonna be a little pricey...like these in a local store that are $850 each. They are amazing, the fabric mattes are phenomenal, but no can do for $850.

So on Presidents Day, I made my own budget version - so economical, in fact, that I found the frame in a dumpster. The muslin fabric was about $2 at WalMart, and my sweet sister in law shared some extra intaglios she ordered off ebay. So my version totals about $2. Obviously not as fab as the $$$ version, but gives the same impact.


Close up. I picked the largest with the male head because it looks a little like my husband.

Wonderful Wonder Woman

How freaking amazing does Lynda Carter look in this luscious, red Carolina Herrera dress?! That body is rockin'!

Simple, stark, and soothing

These few days at the beach have reminded me how the most basic, natural things are the basis for so many things we define as beautiful. So many times we want to "guild the lily," we over-do-it. We create spaces that are so complete and full that you walk into a room and too many things scream for attention. Then nothing gets attention. Here's a perfect example of how beautiful the basics can be.

Nature can nurture

I took the picture to the right on a little walk behind the Bodie Island lighthouse on the Outer Banks, and I thought it would be a great starting point for an open dining room. I'd toss in some peacock/aqua accents for a punch.

Sticks are still free, aren't they?

This lucky girl has run off to the beach this weekend. It's beautiful, but of course too chilly for sitting on the beach, so I'll have plenty of time for a project. How perfecto is this light fixture for a beach dining or breakfast room, or leave the sticks a natural color and use it in a mountain cabin. I'm thinking I can recreate this one that I saw in a store ages ago - sticks are still free, aren't they?! I might spray paint my final version a vibrant turquoise.

A warm weekend

I must dig out my floppy beach hat...

Today it's February, this weekend is supposed to be late April. SO I've got a low-grade Spring fever, and I'm ready for some Spring browsing and maybe a new goody or two. The last couple of Summers I have absolutely loved my long (maxi) dresses. I feel slightly goddessy, ethereal, and...taller. Love this one from Single on edressme.com, all I need are metallic gladiator sandles, my favorite bangles, and some basic hoops.

Perfect! Find these babies at piperlime.com, they're Sam Edelman for $89!

Be My Valentine

One wonderful thing about snow days is a few hours of unexpected extra time. You can whip up one of these homemade, from the heart, happy 3D valentines! It's just a foam heart (craft store) covered in curled white ribbon. In the center is a "Z", for Zelickson of course, made on bent wire with pearls (of course they are real). My mom actually made this one when I got engaged (they're also beautimous for weddings) and since then it has become my fave Valentine decoration. They would be fabulous on the ends of pews in a church wedding. I think I'd have a party, serve my girlfriends plenty of wine, and have them curl pounds of ribbon. So that means all you need is: foam hearts, ribbon, wire, pearls, and wine!

Spring fever, WAY too early

It's cold and getting colder outside, and they're calling for snow flurries. But I've got a tingle in my toes that will soon turn into Spring Fever. Got a pedi yesterday, and for the first time in years, I just had to have a happy peach polish. Yes, the hue will look much better when I get a little more tan (a shade darker than the current pastry-dough color I am now), but it's a reminder that Spring frocks and barefoot days are little more than 60 (optimistic) days away! This washable dress from Banana Republic will get lots on attention from me this Spring. I do love washable, packable dresses, and the color will be delicious with my new favorite color, peach. Never thought I would say that!

This hasn't shown up in my fortune cookie just yet

Confucious says "he who will not economize will have to agonize." Not necessarily true. Today I visited a few of the stores I've tried to stay away from while trying be extra careful about how I spend money. I used to stop by a few boutiques each week just to see what might be new and exciting, and many times I left with a pretty little bag brimming with things that would live with last weeks purchases in my over-crowded closet. I can't say I am agonizing because I am economizing, in fact, the things I do buy, I might even be MORE excited to have. If I buy it, I love it. Not just like it, not 'maybe I'll wear it this Spring,' but I love it, I'll wear it home and maybe even sleep in it. Or it will be on my mantle, front and center until July.
Here's a little example. I love bighorn sheep, I've hiked hours in 100 degree heat to find them. So of course, I thought I was the only girl in the world that would want a sheep's horn candlestick. But for $4, yes, I HAD to have it (small picture). So imagine my shock when I saw these lovelies at Vivre.com for $1200! The hunt is even sweeter when you now you got an amazing deal. So lets economize, but lets still spend on things we love and will love. They keep saying we have to spend our way out of this mess. Who am I to argue?!