Washi Tape

My latest crush and source of fun: cute washi tape ordered from Etsy.
Diferent patterns and sweet pastel colours, or really fun days of the week to help me keep organized.

 

An old corn can to keep my chalks.

And a "hint" on the fridge door, in case my boyfriend feels like making dinner...

Blogfest 2012

~ Everyone's sentiments as Blogfest 2012 ended with a BANG.  The activities and seminars were inspiring; the people even more so!  It was great to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.  Everyone is always so lovely and gracious.

A BIG thank you to Kravet and company for making it all possible.  You can read a little more about them here and here.  They are as beautiful as the textiles they design and produce!

We were off and running ~ no time to dawdle; there was a lot of material to cover. 

Kravet and Hearst publications are a mighty force.  They each won a Circle of Excellence award in their respective fields; they are embracing social media, love bloggers, have shown growth in a challenging economy, and give back!

I was so thrilled that the clouds parted long enough for us to finally get a glimpse out of the 44th floor of The Hearst Building's windows to experience the view.  I wrote about the building last year because I was so blown away by it!

A few take aways:  A Hearst reader is not trendy.  He/she is a discerning luxury consumer, but wants authenticity.  Each magazine has a distinctive voice.  American designers have an "I can do anything attitude."  We (consumers as well as decorators) embrace a high/low sensibility, and there must be transparency in business.

 House Beautiful is the 1st magazine to have a print to pin ability.  With Pinterest exploding, every inspirational picture can be archived by anyone.  They also have the House Beautiful Connect app thru iTunes, that brings the pages of the magazine alive with video and more info.

There were shelter magazines in attendance and speakers galore.  We are all still trying to navigate social media and everybody's place in this fast paced, ever growing, ever changing medium.  It frankly makes my head spin!  There was definitely a "help me to help you" attitude because the business of design is changing, and changing quickly!

A true design darling, and one of the funniest speakers was Alexa Hampton, shown here with Anne Maine of Traditional Home discussing what traditional means to her.  Alexa and Kravet were unveiling a new fabric line.  She is quite the wordsmith as well.  AND she repeated words I say often ~ "Rules are meant to be broken."  Alexa, let's do lunch!

There were show houses to experience ~

and the Kravet studio tour to be taken, see my post here ~

There were contests ~

and cocktail parties ~

there were poignant moments ~ 

great food (the lobster rolls were a hit) ~

But most of all there was JOY!  Bloggers/designers just seem to be joyful people; wanting to help and be helped.  They are an inclusive bunch, happy to meet, mingle, learn, and educate.

Hip hip hooray.  Thank you EVERYONE for making it such a wonderful experience. 

ph: CLI and Blogfest

Summer Beauty Product : Nurture Skincare

I only discovered Nurture skincare recently but have been very pleasantly surprised with their products. I have tried & tested 4 of them this month and would happily recommend them all.

Daily Face Protector SPF 30 - this has a gorgeous smell of the kind that makes you want to re-apply it at least once a day because it's just so lovely. It's a light and very refreshing moisturiser, it suited my dry skin perfectly, went on very well under make-up. I would definitely buy it again.

Daily Spa Nourishing Body Moisturiser - a 24hour all over moisturiser which contains Vitamin E, macadamia nut oil and shea butter. Very light with a lovely fresh fragrance, it absorbs very easily. This is a perfect summer moisturiser I think.

Anti-Ageing Conditioner Hair Treatment - I have mentioned many times that I am always looking for good hair products, particularly those for dry hair. It's no exaggeration to say that I loved this product, I've used it several times now and I could feel the difference immediately....the treatment is a leave-in serum which you add to wet hair after washing and conditioning it. My hair was softer and shinier after just one application - unlike other similar products/serums that I have used before, I really felt this made a difference.

3 in 1 Gentle Cleansing Wipes  - I very rarely use wipes on my face since I'm always worried that they will dry out my skin even more. These were lovely though and extremely gentle - they're enriched with camomile, vitamin E, pro-vitamin B5 and aloe vera. The wipes are strong, pleasant to use and my skin didn't feel dry at all after using them, just extremely clean and fresh.

Nurture skincare can be ordered online.

Prices are extremely competitive....the products above were :

Daily Face Protector - £7.45 (50ml)

Nourishing Body Moisturiser - £5.45 (200ml) 

Conditioning Hair Treatment - £7.95 (for 20 capsules)

Wipes - £4.45 (for 25 wipes)

Nurture

Kids room furniture designs ideas.

Kids room furniture designs ideas.

New Look

Today I felt like changing the look of my blog. It was like when I change the place of a vase at home, and then, without previous warning, I'm changing the entire organization of the living room. I wanted to get it more organized and ended up changing the whole image.

I'm going for a clean, organized, easy on the eye look...but with a pinch of retro, to make it more "homy" and more me. There are still some things missing, namely changing the pictures that link to the thematic posts. But I'm happy with the results so far. Hope you enjoy it too.

Tips I learned from this year's Kips Bay Decorator Show House

I was able to walk the Kips Bay Decorator Show house for a few hours and took a lot of it mentally and in photos.  There is always something new to see for the first time and tones of inspiration to get from show houses.  This year there was a lot of interesting details too good to not share them.  When I looked at Thom Filicia's space the first thought I had was that he had set up his shop in the middle of Kips Bay Show house, although none the less beautiful.  His space (above) called "The Gallery" was a walkway between the dining room, living room, entrance and hallway and every piece of furniture in it belongs to one of Thom's many furniture lines.  The space had only two small walls of about 3 to 5 feet and two other even smaller ones.  Magically Thom made it feel like a room.  My conclusions of how he nailed it!

Painting the ceiling the same color as the walls not only make the space bigger by (blending the boundaries but at the same time it encloses it by making the space feel more like one whole space and giving the fifth wall (the ceiling) a more important roll.  The high gloss walls bring movement.   

A Light and airy chandelier instead of a closed one or a shaded one helps open up the space.  

A black painting brings depth to a small space.  The curtains help make the walls feel bigger.

Secure your runner in a stylish way.  By Charlotte Moss. 

Add a cool wallpaper to baseboard for a touch of whimsy.  By Charlotte Moss.

Wrinkle-looking curtains for kids rooms is a brilliant idea. Very appropriate and fun.  By Laura Bohn.

all images by Julie Yenicag for Belle Vivir

Sponsored Video : Aviva Home Insurance Partnership : Fish Tank

Have you done something unusual with your home?
Aviva Home Insurance are running a competition to find the most extraordinary homes in Britain - share yours and you could win £5000.

Jack Heathcote is a stingray breeder who has built what is believed to be the UK's largest domestic aquarium at 20 tonnes in the basement of his house - it's currently home to 18 fish and 2 turtles.
I'm not sure if it would be for me....although no doubt my children would absolutely love it!

Other amazing entries (which can be seen on their Facebook page) include a garage converted into a disco and a garden full of topiary animals, including some really fabulous topiary turtles!!

To enter, just make a short film or take a photograph - then send it to their Facebook page....
it can be indoor or outdoor, a child's room, pet home....the quirkier or more creative the better!

"This post has been sponsored by Aviva but but all thoughts are my own."

My latest crush: Blackband Home & Design. One FAB porthole mirror, and a little peek at my apartment..

I'm giddy today as I am sharing with you the newest addition to casa de Ashley, the gorgeous Porthole Mirror. Convex and framed out with a painstakingly detailed antique gold finish, the mirror was inspired by an antique discovered by the brilliant minds over at Blackband, so the piece is truly a very special replica. The gold is a perfect compliment to my robin's egg blue walls.

*Swoon! I love it!

It really turned out to be a perfect addition to my space - I couldn't be happier.

A close up of the detailing that went into getting the perfect patina.

I thought the cloche bell jar was a nice complement to the convex surface of the mirror.

I found an abandoned robin's egg, so I emptied it and brought it home to see if I could find a place for it in my apartment.  I also had some feathers from our guinea fowl, so I strung them both up in the cloche as an objet d'art.  What do you think?

Getting back to Blackband, here's a little bit more about them:

"Wendy Blackband, co-owner of Blackband Design, is one of Southern California's most sought-after designers; known for her eclectic take on coastal elegance. A California native, Wendy grew up on Balboa Island and has traveled and lived in Africa, Spain, Australia and South America. Her style inspiration has been influenced by vibrant colors and foreign cultures that punctuate her fresh and
distinctive "Coastal Bohemian" look. 

Blackband Design enjoys a well-deserved reputation for fair pricing, exceptional client service, and a personalized approach for every project, regardless of scope."

Here are a few more goodies from Blackband's online store that I have my eye on:

 Vintage wine jugs.

 Red coral (this would also look great with my light blue walls)

 White and blue lamp.  Love it.

Blackband also does interior design and showcasing.

This might possibly be my dream bed.


Want to see more? Go to Blackband Design to shop online and see more of their work.


 disclosure*: I received the mirror as a sample from Blackband Design