If walls could talk...

If I had - excuse me- balls, I'd do something like this in the house!!!  More concretely I'm referring to the PHENOMENAL WALL!  Maybe I'll just settle for some tastefully placed Botticelli angels floating on the ceiling in the extension.  ...Nope, just kidding... I got no courage...

Eclectic Living Room design by New York Photographer Rikki Snyder

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Eat the furniture please.

 I saw this in a magazine, snapped a photo to remember to look it up...  How cute!?  A waffle maker with little furniture shapes!  A real "treat" for any home decor obsessed friend.  Or maybe your toddler who needs to play with their food before eating it.

source

Not sure if this is yet available for sale to the "general public" but this is definitely a fun way to surprise your guests with desert or a gift for that hard to shop for person who already has it all.  And now we can finally furnish the gingerbread house of the gingerbread man!

And guess what!?  Tomorrow is FRIDAY!

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I visited the Woonbeurs (Interior Design Expo) Amsterdam this weekend.  It was magic.  I saw absolutely incredible things for the home of really surprising quality and craftsmanship.  It was overwhelming   But of course here at the Sunny Orangery, too much of a good thing is just about right.  It was however alarming to see the number of companies that make and sell throw pillows!  I have counted 35 at least.  Throw pillows everywhere...  Pillows that look like little carpets, pillows with silk flowers on them, pillows with birds on them, with poetry on them and so on and so forth.

I did leave with a feeling that what it all comes down to is having excellent sales people because NO ONE will know or care about your product if you don't strategically stick it under their knows at the right time.

Mexico?

Sexy... This display was done as a luxurious tent in the desert with burning incense and candles.  I just wanted to recline there eating grapes for an hour or six.

I wanted to just take this guy home with me!  Isn't he so "matter of fact" cool, so colorful and ethnic, yet modern too.  When I came home and showed it to Vito, he said it was a good thing I din't take him home.  

Of course that made me want it even more!

Lesson for the day: Kiss a sales person, they're saving your a$$!

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Power my Shower!

hmm... I'm actually not sure how I feel about these..

A RAIN Shower?

I think they look really pretty, but I don't think they're very practical. I like showers with lots of power! I would not like some weak drizzle in my shower! Ew.

Maybe someone can think of the super storm shower!? That would sound more up my alley. Maybe even a WAVE shower!!!!! You know like those wave pools! Awesome, I gotta confess I was a lifeguard at one of those during my Highschool years and let me tell you, everytime they'd turn the waves on, I'd have to kinda force myself to swallow... scary stuff...

So no rain showers at our new place, a bath however is in order. You can do all kinds of beauty treatments such as bathing in milk like Cleopatra!!! (whole milk, non of that 2% nonsence), or rose petal bath! Yummy! Vito thinks he is too much man to be taking baths.... well I don't know, I BET he'd enjoy nice aromatic bath with lavender salts and aromatherapy candles....

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white sand white? or japan blossoms white? morning after the party on the yacht cappuccino froth white????

As you know this whole month we are readying the new house for our move in begining of December. It's hard work!! Yes it's very decadent to say oh... I've been painting the walls all weekend... and I loved it, there is something so exotic about doing things with your hands...

Well, yeah for the first 10 minutes! Then you sweat and feel like a servant and then you get paint on your haaaaaaaa-aa-a-a-aaannnnndd waaahhh!!!

Ok, I'll be a big girl now.

So anyway, we are still in process of cosmetic adjustments to the interior (aha, you like my half-way pro lingo eh?).


So let me recap:


We have choosen the the paint, do you know how hard it is to choose the color that will represent you? Calm you or cheer you up? That will channel all the right things in all the right moments? Do you KNOW how hard it is to choose the RIGHT shade of white???!?!

Everyone is asking if I'm having fun decorating, we're far away from that still! For now the only decoration in the house is Vito and his cute painting outfit...

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I disagree

We're shopping for furniture for the new house so I've been following the latest home decor trends and such.... So what is up with BENCHES being all the rage?

They look cute, fine, but completely NOT functional. Like what happens if you ate so much that you just have to recline!???

This is clearly designed with skinny people in mind that don't plan on actually eating when they sit down for dinner.

Don't like..

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Home candy

Zara Home is kinda nice.... very pretty actually.

Have you been? It's not in the usa yet... momi you would LOVE it.

I like the style a lot, it makes you feel like you're browsing someone's wonderful market finds from all over the world.

I went this thursday for the first time and got some table dressing so I'm all set for Thanksgiving dinner. :)

Speaking of purchases for the home Vito and I were at Ikea last Saturday (again Mom I know you're jelous!) and got a dresser. I can now get to the back rows of clothes! I realized I have so many more things, it was like doubling my clothes!

And also the rug for the bedroom as you see... sorry blurry.

The Heineken truck matches too! :)

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Herb Garden Revelries

I know I know again with the food... but not really. You see all the fresh greens on top of that pasta came from the terrace herb garden. I want! I want basil, dill, thyme, and mint. This could be a nice little project to do, no? Is it harder then it seems? I don't want to touch any dirt or anything... (my nails are so gorgeous right now).

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Sunny in Brussels

Another fabulous weekend clocked! Hmm... this is becoming a pattern... YES! Ok, so since sightseeing was gotten out of the way this past winter when I was in Belgium for the very first time, this weekend was about quality time and relaxation (right, because I'm oh so very stressed...hahah).

Ok, so I arrived Friday morning. There was a bit of an adventure when for the very first time (in history probably) the Dutch train system hiccuped and delayed me! It threw me back an hour. I'm convinced it happened because when Aurelia suggested I should leave an hour earlier just in case the train is late, I laughed in her face (well, via the phone). Ugggh.. But it was ok. The regular train has a special weekend price of, R U READY? GRAND TOTAL of €40 for a return trip! How cool is that!? For trips during Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Love it.

I arrived a bit hungry. (STARVING) Not that I couldn't buy anything on the train because a nice but slightly unamused young men kept making rounds every half hour with a little cart selling all kinds of goodies. I however decided to be on a "health conscious kick" and felt guilty purchasing pre-made sandwiches that of course contained mayo and were not made with whole wheat bread...

I was rewarded however by Aurelia who immediately proceeded to stuff my face with SUPER healthy whole wheat sandwich with hummus and fresh cucumbers! AND she made me a wonderful juice cocktail with carrot and tomato juice not forgetting to add some pepper and Tabasco!!! (Oh and a sprig of greens) YUMMMMMMY!!!!!!!!

She then jetted off to work and I was left to my own devise with a hand drawn map of the fastest way to the shops. Hehe. I didn't have to use it because I decided to choke the pillow for a bit in preparation for a late night that would surely ensue for her birthday.

Plus Aurelia's place is just SO so sweet and peaceful that it is very conducive to lazying around. (Though I'm pretty talented in that area and can accommodate myself to that activity in a variety of environments.)

Ok, my view from the bed as I took a nap (before I closed my eyes of course).

And good thing I did because the birthday celebrations that evening lasted very well into the morning hours. I really do not remember the last time I came back with morning light.

Saturday was spent leisurely checking out the shops and boutiques. I'd like to report that shoes are more to my liking in Belgium, and I figured out why. Belgium seems to import a lot more Italian shoes and you can find more variety in styles. (Not to mention variety in prices rather then just SUPER HIGH as it is in Holland.)

Speaking of Italian stuff, we had the absolute greatest ice cream at this little corner shop.... that's all I have to say, I think you can all come up on your own with praise words for a blissful ice cream experience.

For dinner on Saturday we went to this little but super cute Thai place where the owner herself (Sally) was making rounds in the room. The food was delicious, the presentation was authentic and came in beautiful green jade plates with elephant families walking across their borders. Our curries came in matching sets of heated pots! How fun! Anyway the dinner for two came out to €33 WOW. (I guess that's how it is when you don't order bottles of wine ;) And we had a starter too of cellophane noddles with giant pawns. After dinner we were supposed to go to a free outdoor concert but we are too above going to crowded public activities and decided to go snooping around the richest neighborhood in Brussels.

This is simply us driving by and ogling at the HUGE mansions sometimes offering useful advice in the area of cosmetic home improvements... The richy-rich neighborhood is up on a hill surrounded by green lushness (of course) and the houses are huge. Just like in the old fashioned movies like Pride and Prejudice and such. Some looked like real castles, some like chateaus with gates and all the works. There were also mixed in a bunch of super lux condo complexes that were also gated and you can just imagine they put California's Melrose Place like places to shame with the drama and intrigue... We also came across some smaller houses in the area at the sight of which we both took out our cellphones to call our real estate brokers to order them to place a bid... then we woke up. Ahhhh... but girls can dream can't they!? It's very good for the skin I hear... ;)

Anyway, I personally believe that it's not about how BIG your house is, but how well you capture the ESSENSE of living comfortably and enjoyably.... again going back to Aurelia's place, I say her one bedroom apartment channels the best and biggest mansion in St. Tropes...! Oh, you are not convinced.. Look at this picture and tell me what it makes you feel!

Anyway they did a study on home space usage and concluded that no matter how big your home is, most people use only one or two rooms to the max.

Oh this is getting really loooooong! So I will summarize. Sunday we had a gorgeous breakfast at the neighborhood patisserie...

And then stopped by her mom's house to pick up Vodka (the dog) and take her for a walk in the park...

Ahhh....

Then I got on a train, came home to Holland (I like the sound of that) where Vito dear was definitely a sight for sore eyes... and then we watched Bourne Supremacy during which I did not shut up even for a second... PERFECT WEEKEND!

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Doing peachy!

Now, you all are asking me how everything is going so to illustrate I took a few pics around the house.

For example, today I caught our shoes having a conversation:

his shoes: how you doing?

my shoes: heeehe... how YOU doing?

my ''Blonde'' voice: omg! like, we have matching shoes!! it's like... we have SO MUCH in common!

And this one is entitled: Move over boys!

How am I doing? Well, lets just say... everything here sings to ME!!

I especially enjoy having breakfast with Mr. Presley... Yeah! Sing it to me baby!!

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