food for thought: coffee?

My friend Wendy posted on fb this morning, "You should never skip the most important meal of the day...COFFEE! =)"My BFF, Z, is an especially happy camper now that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks, I'm holding out for the Egg Nog Latte, more on that in November ;) For me, coffee is a bit like a meal. I get my daily 24 oz. of milk through my homemade cafe con leches. Yes, I drink three a day.

Coffee is not just a simple cup of tasty caffeine. The growing, the picking, the roasting, the ecological effects, preparation, etc. Quite interesting, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/coffee, loved the part about the coffee prohibition!

The jury is still out on the health benefits of this magical bean, but the findings are pretty good. I can say on behalf of myself and I'm sure many others, I LOVE IT! It gets my day started. It warms me up on a chilly afternoon. It makes me feel good. That's a mighty fine benefit in and of itself!

How do you like your coffee?

wednesdays interior: country home archive

Today's interior is from Country Home, March 2004. The home is that of Sarah Kaplan, and it is fabulous...It is such a perfect example of elegance meets country meets modern. I love the color palette of soft grey walls. The modern settee, table and rug above work so well with the cheetah Louis chairs and the crystal chandi.

The dining room below is stunning without being stuffy. Again, modern table and chairs (in grey velvet nonetheless) paired with glam lighting and accessories while all be anchored with a sisal rug. Exquisite.

The glitz of gild in the library just lends to the warmth and coziness of the fireplace and leather club chairs.

The constant style of the house is not lost in the kitchen, love, love, love the chandi.

Beautiful home, simply beautiful.

Don't you think?

Trend Tuesday: Fall Color Trends Part VI, Bright Red

Bright red is the final color trend for Fall 2010, and the hardest to pull together! As with purple, red is not one of my usual colors, but I like what I pulled together...

I of course couldn't do ALL red. I thought about doing red/grey or red/camel, until I found the oh so perfect Ara Chest, red/chocolate, with a touch of cream, it would be. It is definitely a warm room if even perhaps hot, with lots of texture and visual intrigue. Primarily contemporary, but with a twist.
The only red I have in my home is a risotto pan, but I could definitely live with this red room, could you? Or maybe you already have a red room...

Fab Find: Jean Paul Gaultier for Roche-Bobois

When fashion design comes together with interior design, the end result is pure style. The new Jean Paul Gaultier line for Roche Bobois is as fantastical as his fashion, glam while at the same time playful.The floor cushion sectional above is amazing. The mix of fabrics and the profile are so lounge-y, the perfect backdrop for Dirty Martinis and Proseco.

I have always loved old steamer trunks and wardrobes for use as stylish extra clothing storage, I have one in my bedroom, so I am loving these case goods. Jean Paul has perfected the style of classic luggage while creating a fabulous modern piece of furniture. C'est magnifique!

You likey?

Friday Musings: Fashion Confusion

Every year, I always switch out my clothes and shoes the first week of Spring and Fall. I was going to do my Fall switch today, but our weather here in Colorado has been so fantastic, so not Fall like, I decided to put it off. Then the confusion set in...
I decided to catch up on Fashion Week at http://www.style.com. The designs were beautiful, some even breathtaking, I wanted to go shopping, but there is a catch, the fashions are for Spring 2011, not Fall 2010. The dress above had me daydreaming about riding a horse, named Ringo, on a beach to meet a handsome man for a romantic dinner...learn more about Ringo and other horses available at http://www.CHR.org.

There will undoubtedly be snow between now and Summer 2011, but knowing what fashions await me on the other side of the icicle, I think I'll manage just fine.

Have a great 1st weekend of Fall!

TC

Wednesdays Interior: House Beautiful Archive

Three words, MY DREAM HOME! I love, love, love Mid-Century California Ranch houses. They just ooze cool while at the same time, they are on auto glam. Being that this home is in Palm Springs (I get dizzy just thinking about the parties this home must have hosted), helps the glam factor. But I imagine if it was on Main Street in Bayfield, CO, it would be just as glam.

The walls of windows...the painted brick freestanding fireplace...the mix of mid-century and traditional furniture...the ultra fabulous flokati rug...the oh so cool concrete floor...and the tub...a sunken tub with shower, magnificent! They just don't build homes like this anymore =(

I truly need to make a buying trip to Palm Springs, twist my arm. The owners furnished this home rather inexpensively with consignment pieces, sorry, magnificent consignment pieces.

Any other Mid-Century fans out there?

Trend Tuesday: Fall Color Trends Part V, Pale Blue

A day late, but who's counting. The pale blue color story is usually one you would find with a beachy, coastal theme. This room could go that route with a couple of tweaks, but since it is for Fall/Winter, I chose to glam it up a bit.

The exquisite blue velvet love seat has nail heads, which makes it auto glam. The other glam touches would be the fabrics and chandi. The cocktail table has a mirror top which naturally has a blue tone and a contempo glam style. The vintage chairs are just plain cool. I also added a lil beach with the jute rug and the casual glam of the garden stool. The armoire is simple, casual, beachy and classic.

I could easily live with this room, could you?

Trend Tuesday...tomorrow, Pale Blue

After driving for 6 hours, my brain is fried. Trend Tuesday: Fall 2010 Color Trends, Pale Blue will post tomorrow with Wednesdays Interior. Sneak peak...

Out of Office...

I had to make an impromptu road trip to deliver some goods to my favorite clients. I was hoping to stop into some local boutiques in Durango to find something fabulous to write about, but I didn't have time :( Back in the office late tomorrow with a "trend" in blue.

Friday Musings: Black Tie Optional

"A Black Tie Optional...should clue you in on the formality of the event, meaning a dark suit and tie...Women wear cocktail, long dresses or dressy evening separates.", as stated on http://www.ask.com/, however... when attending a fundraiser in Colorado, it could also mean nice jeans. I am attending, well helping at, a fundraiser tomorrow night to raise money for our fabulous equine at the Colorado Horse Rescue, http://www.CHR.org. I would do anything to help the horses, but the fact that I get to dress up a bit also brings a smile to my face.

Unfortunately, I do not own the stunningly beautiful, Holly Golightly-esque, perfect LBD by Dolce & Gabbana above, hey, a girl can dream! But the dress I will be wearing has the same fantastic trapeze cut and it even has a tie around the neck. It is chiffon and has a fall colored geometric design and I will be pairing it with snakeskin boots.

Since we girls will be dressed up, we think it only fitting that we hit the town afterwards, so look out Denver!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

TC

Food for Thought: Men Who Cook

To me there is nothing sexier than a man who cooks. Wait, a man who cooks and likes to! I love food. I love to cook, and it is sooo amazingly satisfying to create a dish that not only I like, but others as well. So when I get the opportunity to enjoy a dish created by a man, and I'm not talking about a hot dog off the grill here, but a dish that requires preparation, like ceviche. My brother is one such man who likes to cook and does it very, very well, and he's single. He made ceviche this past Spring for, of all things, my nephews baseball game. I'm going to miss baseball season since my nephew has since graduated, but luckily, he is not the only man I know that makes delicious ceviche.

For those of you who have never had ceviche, what's wrong with you! Ceviche is a Mexican seafood cocktail. The seafood; shrimp, fish or scallops, actually "cooks" in citrus juice. The other ingredients vary, depending on the creator, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, etc., but always seafood and citrus.

Go find yourself some ceviche, or better yet, find a man to make you some ;)

Enjoy!

Wednesdays Interior: Veranda Archive, Design by Sandra Chancey

This home has such a tranquil feel to it. The neutral color scheme plays a big part in the overall feeling of tranquility, as well as the furnishings.

Clean lined, contemporary and modern with a few Asian influences, I am so loving the medicine chest in the back.

One of the truly amazing features about this home is windows that go from the floor up to there! The drapery in the bathroom just make for a soft wall . With the addition of the Foscarini Caboche Chandi, one of my all time favorites, this is a fantastical contemporary glam retreat.

Trend Tuesday: Fall Color Trends Part IV, Mixed Olives

I have to say I get a lil hungry when I hear the term mixed olives, not to mention a bit of a craving for a Dirty Martini, but I also got excited for this weeks Fall Color Trend. That is until I discovered how difficult it is to find fabulous olive colored furniture.

Olive green is big, big, big this season in fashion, in fact, I have already written about it, so I wanted to make this "olive" feature a little more brighter. The sofa above is so fantastically glam, that I couldn't just let the rest of the room be hidden by it. I brought in plenty of gold, so I went with a rougher industrial table so as not to over do the gold and lose sight of the olive. While I did mix two animal prints, a "don't" in fashion, I could not pass on this rug.

All in all, I love this room! Then again, green is my favorite color...

Fab Find of the Week...In My Closet!

I was able to kind of catch up on some fashion mags this weekend. So can I say how excited I was when I read this article in Harper's BAZAAR, August 2010 (I said "catch up"). Camel, military green, menswear, leopard fur scarfs...let's just say, me likey! Me likey even more since these things already exist in my closet. The camel sweater, 2003...the leather jacket, 2003...the fur scarf, 2005 or 2006...the pants, 1997!
Yep, what goes around comes around. It pays to buy classics :)

Food for Thought: Chili and...

I have a tradition that has been going on for nine years now, chili and the 1st weekend of the NFL. Yes, nine years ago, when the world as we know it changed forever...Mom made a big pot of chili for Monday night football, September 10, 2001. Eddie Mac had a career changing injury to his knee and the next morning our country was attacked. I love chili, but I realize now that the tradition has more to do with comfort and security. The comfort and security of how life was before September 11, 2001.

I will never forget that day. The emotions of fear, anger and sadness that I and my friends and co-workers shared together. I remember how everyone, I mean everyone, complete strangers, how people were so polite and selfless. The country had been hit, we all felt it and we all came together...for like a minute. The brotherly love lasted for only a few months and then it was as if September 11 never happened.

I for one have never forgotten what happened. I have never forgotten the innocents that were taken from this earth before their time and the heroes who gave everything they had, selflessly. And to the heroes who are still fighting the enemy, I say thank you.

I really had intended to write about chili and football today, but once I sat down to write, I realized this tradition was about much more. We must never forget...

Wednesdays Interior: Met Home Archive

The past couple of days here in Colorado have been a little coolish, so naturally I have been in a Fall state of mind, especially since the NFL starts this week, but I digress...this TriBeCa apartment has such a warm color scheme, I naturally gravitated to it for today's interior. This is another fabulous sectional. The styling is impeccable and the fabric sublime. The metal "wood" cube is crazy cool. The mix of modern; clean lines and glass, with traditional; Queen Anne chair and a few curves, is fantastic.

I find this office to be a room I could spend some serious time in, not just for work. Great texture with the grass cloth on the walls and the sleekness of the blue laminate and walnut storage unit. The sofa sleeper above with the great orange chair, also live in the office for a guest room. All in all, this is a comfy cool home.

Trend Tuesday: Fall Color Trends, Part III, Metallic

This weeks color is richly luxurious metallic. I actually added metallic last week for accent, but this week, it takes center stage.

This sofa from Room Service is absolutely exquisite. The textures I married together, the velvet, leather, metals and the fabulously furry flokati definitely feed the senses. I love the addition of Robins Egg blue for a bit of pop.

This is a room that is richly divine.

Friday Musings: Labor Day Weekend

I hit the road yesterday with the boy to spend the weekend with the fam in the beautiful Pine River Valley...


The river valley is amazing now, but it won't be long until the green turns to gold, truly one of the most spectacular sights to behold. Stay tuned!

A happy, happy boy!

Have a great and safe weekend everyone!

TC

Wednesdays Interior: ELLE Decor Archive

This weeks home is the apartment of fashion designer, Julie Anne Quay. The apartment was designed by Richard Mishaan. One of the aspects that I love about the home is that the rooms are all different. The sectional above is amazing. It looks like velvet, but it is actually silk. I may have mentioned before, I am very picky about sectionals. I prefer them with bench seats; they are more comfortable and stylish. This sectional is perfect!
The dining room is just cool. If you have a fantastic art collection, such as this one, when displaying, more is definitely better.

I am so enamored by the glitzy screen above. It is a vintage screen by Paco Rabanne. Not exactly obtainable to the masses, but there are mirrored beaded curtains available to replicate the look.

The ceiling in the library is gold-leaf paper by Stark, such an amazing effect. Who new a library could be sexy?

What a fresh master suite. The glossy walls are the perfect touch. The room just glows with the all the white furnishings reflecting off the walls.

A truly splendid home.