Brooklyn beauty

This Clinton Hill brownstone is just fantastic. I just love how the floors and stairs are painted in this dark high-gloss floor paint. I also love the huge crate and barrel kitchen table. You can see more here at remodelista blog, they provide a lot of good links. Makes me want to do my whole house over :) Enjoy!

bedtime

Bedtime for the kids is definitely my favorite and most difficult time of night. It's always hard because it's the end of the day and you are so so tired (and so are they), but you also get to really enjoy the kids because you know there is a nice break in your future. I find that it's always easier for me to give that extra bit of attention, read just one more book, enjoy the bubbles in the bath, and really see my kids for how completely adorable and precious they are. There is just something about kids in PJ's all snuggled up cozy in their beds....it's so hard to say no to them, you just want to eat em up! Tonight was one of those dreamy nights you hope you remember when your kids are all grown up.

Night time always makes kids rooms look so magical too. I had a lot of fun decorating Leas room. I think it's really important to keep a kids room fun and colorful, but also to make it a place you would want to be in ...cause your in it a lot! I love having a couch in their rooms. Not only is it great to sleep in on the sick nights, but it makes story time great when the whole family can read together comfortably. Also to use a good eclectic mix of furniture from a variety of sources makes it feel less styled and more homey, but still decorated. OH and dont forget the swing! Didn't you always want a swing in your room when you were little??

sleep tight xo

swing and pillow from abc, chair from beall and bell, rug from ballard, couch from ikea

have fun with little girl details. artwork by lea age 1 :)

curtains from Urban Outfitters. quilt from abc

pillow from John Robshaw

decorated plane with lea from Greenport Art and Design.
lights made by Megan from White Flower (egg carton cutouts over lights)

artwork Ruby Beets

sleep tight xo

homes and places I heart

Today driving around Greenport and Orient I took a few shots of these amazing homes I admire...some have such incredible colors they seem to glow in the snow.

Greenport

Greenport

bungalow row in Greenport

the famous Orient shack

Orient

Orient

Orient

Orient

Orient

Orient

beach art

via Black Eiffel

These photographs remind me a lot of the north fork summer time. They are printed on canvas and almost look like impressionist paintings, really stunning. You can find them here, Cheryl Maeder Photography.

After seeing these photographs I was inspired to print my own photographs on canvas. I could not believe how easy and inexpensive it was! They came out beautiful too. You can get it done at Canvas On Demand. You can also print your photos on plexi glass as seen here, which has an awesome effect. I just love this underwater shot in the living room. It makes the room so much more fun!

quote for today..

via giggles down under

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Agnes Obel - Just So (official)

a very sweet soft song for today....

(via Black Eiffel)

want a family vacation??

I thought I would post this great site Family Getaway for all people out there sick of the winter and needing to vacate! I remember when Cookie magazine was around and they always had these great ideas for family vacations. It's really hard to find a classy place that's suitable for kids and they did a pretty good job at finding some! Well this site does just that. It has great packages and great escapes of all kinds and you don't have to go to "sesame street hotel" in order to have a getaway everyone would enjoy :)

Thailand

Rio de Janeiro

Maldives

Texas

goodbye Matty

We put our sweet sweet cat, Matty, to sleep yesterday. It was such a sad day, but she was very sick and we hope she will be at peace now. Some cat videos to cheer up the mood in her honor :) We miss her so....

west elm surprise

I got the west elm catalog yesterday and noticed how incredible their bedding is right now! Usually I find west elm to be kind of hard and plastic but these quilts and pillows are totally John Robshaw or Derian look-a-likes!! Such beautiful patterns and soft colors, and consistent with robshaw they have different patterns on both sides. Some of their furniture caught my eye too like this towel rack.

This industrial pendant is great in a kitchen.

And some of the rugs I saw seemed like a cheaper alternative to  Madeline Weinrib's beautiful rugs.

getting on board with the stripes!

love the black

wish I could find that basket!

dinosaurs and colds

So we are back from our big city adventure and it was wonderful. We saw the dinosaurs, and butterflies...got our sushi and whole foods fix, and even picked up a few colds :)
And on our way home I finally got the chuszpah to run out of the car in Orient and cut down these squirrel tails!