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In case I haven’t made it clear in the 1 million posts and tweets I put out there I have had some nesting tendencies recently and am putting my apartment through a whole summer renovation.

Now that I have purchased new wallpaper, a new bed, dressers, coffee table and dining room chairs all that is missing is this banana rug from Jonathan Adler. It looks fun and delicious!

I have had this huge Ikea Expedit storage unit for a few years now and although it has a ton of room to hold everything I can’t fit into my closets (yes, closets plural — I am a VERY lucky girl), I decided that it was time for a change. So, I ordered two of these shop chests from CB2 in the tornado of summer renovations my apartment has been going through. I definitely have to downsize the amount of clothing that is currently being held in the expedit, but these fun, hi-gloss red dressers are well worth the wardrobe purge!

My half birthday just passed on July 13th and in case you were still searching for some gifts here are a few things I have been eying to spruce up my apartment. If you haven’t already caught on my apartment is in perpetual “sprucing” up need!

(From left to right)

1. Jonathan Adler Druggist Love/Hate Lamp

2. Crate&Barrel Paloma Square Dining Table

3. CB2 Taxi India 16” Pillow

4. CB2 Taxi London 20” Pillow

5. CB2 Un Homme/Un Femme Vases

6. CB2 Buddha Head

7. CB2 Metal Trunks

8. Jonathan Adler Capricorn/Cancer Zodiac Pillows

9. Crate&Barrel Delta Side Chair

I’ve always loved the classic look of a bowl of apples, pears or lemons on a table or sideboard. But what I really want is something more unique, obviously, and something that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

I have been searching high and low for the perfect filling for a simple glass ice bucket and I think these boysenberries and raspberries are just the ticket. It will take a ton to fill the whole bucket, but I think the dark red and blue will look rich and delicious!

I LOVE THIS IDEA. Finally I get a say in what is being added to the already saturated ‘contemporary furniture’ market. StyleFactory lets you do just that and I think it’s brilliant. Not only are they getting some of the best young designers to design new pieces but they are being eco, and budget, friendly by only making the pieces that voters decide are worth of manufacturing.

Right now I am all about the Eileen Lamp but not loving the Z Shelf. I think this is going to blow Ikea, CB2 and Design Within Reach all out of the water. Crowd-sourcing. It’s so hot right now!

How could you go wrong with patterned chairs, antlers and a fireplace?! This place has the perfect amount of flair and style combined with old world touches and architectural elements. It’s a film shoot location, but I would be more than happy to take it off their hands and live there full time!

I keep seeing these pictures of peoples’ apartments, dorm rooms, bedrooms, etc. with these different words spelled out in big letters. While I think words like ‘live’ and ‘love’, ‘peace’, ‘happiness’, ‘joy’, ‘friends’ and ‘family’ are all great words, they do nothing for me in terms of motivation. Instead I have decided to take the road less traveled, as I so often do, and choose words that mean something to me but little to others (in fact I get many questions from people about what the word in my living room even means!)

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Moxie (spelled out in my living room)

–noun Slang.

1.     vigor; verve; pep.

2.     courage and aggressiveness; nerve.

3.     skill; know-how.

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Gumption (hanging over my bed)

–noun Informal.

1.     initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness: With his gumption he’ll make a success of himself.

2.     courage; spunk; guts: It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job.

3.     common sense; shrewdness.

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I have been thinking a lot lately about getting another pet. My options are somewhat limited because my best friend is allergic to basically everything including dogs, cats, angora and cashmere, to name a few. This poses a bit of a problem because I would really love to get a cat, but hairless cats scare me and there are not many non-furry creatures that I want in my house.

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But then I thought of getting a bird. And admittedly I am becoming more and more obsessed with this idea less because of the actual bird and more because of how beautiful birdcages are! They add such an old-world feeling to a room. And obviously I love anything that is both functional and fashionable. Maybe I will just buy the cage for now and hold off on the bird — avian flu is not of real interest to me!

A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard
Why can’t we all be like this wise old bird?

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My dear friend, and Chinese grandma, Connie Lui, and her friends Ling and Emily Chen, are setting the accessory market ablaze with their new line of hand designed over sized cashmere scarves. They are all beautiful pieces of art and I couldn’t be more proud of them.

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To find out more about ‘We Are Owls’ check out their website. And here are a few great publicity pieces that they have gotten so far (here and here). I am so proud of them and so excited to see the spring line!

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Day 3 of inanimate object portraits. I love these chair pictures because even though the chair is the main feature of the photo, the unique setting they exist in gives the chair and the whole picture a personality and story. If stairs and doors as bedroom art play the role of the pathway and gateway into a dream world, what would a chair be? Maybe stairs lead to doors that open to one of these unique spaces and the chair acts as the place to relax and dream?!