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INA-ILA

a stylish and fun life

Texture

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I’ve always been obsessed with texture detail.  The palpable elements on the surface of some objects is what makes them special.  Here are three texture-heavy favorites currently residing in my apartment.  Above, the hammered outside of this otherwise streamlined metal pitcher is an ode to an amazing age-old technique.  The pair of framed puzzle pieces below hangs above my bed.  I love these plaster frames from Pier One–they look architectural and elegant with their nested lines.  I repainted their surface with Behr’s Swiss Coffee paint and added the mounted, gold-painted puzzle pieces inside.  And finally, this wood-carved Arabic verse piece reminds me of the delicate, lace-like carvings in walls of the Alcazar in Spain.

Living Room Inspiration

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Recently I came across the MyDeco 3D Room Planning tool and have been having fun designing rooms. The tool allows you to upload a floor plan or build your own, place furniture and architectural elements from a list of available items and then render a high quality photo. Take a look at this Living Room I’ve put together and shop the room below for similar items.

Finds and Favorites

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I love incense–it’s a big part of my upbringing and its heady smell reminds me of home.  Lately, I’ve been using a lot of this hand-rolled in incense from Ramakrishnanda.  My favorite scent is Yamuna, which has vanilla, copal and amber in it.  The scent is pretty strong but it’s gorgeous and there’s a lingering after-scent that makes the room smell warm and inviting.  Visitors often remark on how good the house smells when they enter–it’s all because of this incense!  I buy these at a local shop but you can purchase them here.

I’ve been doing a lot of spring/summer cleaning and found this necklace at the bottom of my jewelry box.  I decided to rotate it back into my summer wardrobe because the big, milky blue gems remind me of seaglass–perfect for wearing with a breezy, beachy maxi dress.

If you haven’t heard of it, Rockabye Baby makes baby-friendly versions of rock and pop favorites.  For me, the lullaby renditions of the Smashing Pumpkins are beyond sweet and amazing; I downloaded a few of the tunes for fun post-birth listening.  Check them out!

In Bloom

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I love having fresh flowers around the house.  Here are some quick tips to get the most bang for your buck when buying flowers for your home:

  • Buy flowers that are almost blooming but not quite there yet (see above).  After a day or two of care, they’ll bloom beautifully and you’ll have fresh blooms for longer.  The stargazer lilies above bloomed beautifully and continuously for several days after I got them.  Look closely at the flowers you are buying: if too many flowers are already in full bloom or the stems are mushy and old, your cut flowers will not last very long when you bring them home.
  • Cut the stems at an angle under running water as soon as you get home.
  • Clear away any foliage towards the bottom of the stems–leaves deteriorate faster than stems and can start polluting the water more quickly.
  • Immerse stems in luke-warm water.  Instinctively, I used to always put flowers in cold water, envisioning the thirsty stems drinking up nice cold water.  The truth is that cut flowers actually take up warmish water faster.
  • Use that packet of flower food the florist gives you–it actually makes a difference.
  • Don’t use too much water–just enough so that there’s an inch of water around the bottom of the stems.
  • And finally, change the water every day to keep things fresh.  This can be annoying but it’s key to keeping your flowers fresher for longer.  Otherwise, you may want to invest in a nice potted plant.

Finds and Favorites

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Happy 4th of July everyone!  I chanced upon this fantastic stool/side table by Jason Phillips on gilt.com the other day.  It looks like something Hansel and Gretel would have in their living room and I’m totally obsessed.  It’s pretty pricey, however.  Think I should try to make one of these at home with a tree trunk section and some silver spray paint?

My go-to weekend outfit in the summer is a long maxi with sunglasses and large tote.  I’m partial to purple bags but my hands-down favorite bag is my purple Beirn bag.  It has a single strap so it’s easy to carry and it’s roomy enough to stash all of my stuff.  Colorblock maxi: Old Navy Maternity, Sunglasses: Chloe, Stud Hoops: Forever21, Bracelets: Rainbow Stores

This was a recent last-minute brunch recipe made mostly from dinner leftovers: roasted mushrooms and potatoes got folded into eggs beaten with parmesan and the whole thing was put into the broiler for ten minutes on high.  I topped it all off with my favorite summer-time salad topping: baby argula.

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