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8.15.2012



My one and only, Sophiefabulous, started her freshman year the The University of Alabama this year and since the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, she inherited her mother’s passion for design.  More thought and care was given to the décor of her dorm room than I’m sure was given to any scholastic project she was assigned in the last four years. 

Once a color scheme was selected (no small feat between two roommates who are best friends but are NOTHING alike), the next challenge was storage.  Since her passion for design extends to fashion, there is no dorm room in the world with enough storage.  After suffering through her teenage years with her bedroom resembling as episode of Hoarders, I was bound and determined to put her on the road to organizational maturity.  But for Sophiefabulous, the most important thing was that the room was, well…fabulous!

We tackled the storage issue head-on with a trip to, where else? IKEA.  Stacking two shelving units with canvas drawers horizontally proved to be the holy grail of storage and we were able to move on to design and décor. 

After visiting, oh, I don’t know…543 fabric stores…we were unable to locate a single fabric that was “just right”.  Well, I am about to let you in on the best kept secret in interior design…Spoonflower.com.  You can actually design your own fabric, upload it, and faster than you can say “My daughter is high-maintenance”, it will be shipped right to your front door.  So we (that means “I”, with her supervision) designed three fabrics to use in the room:  two geometrics and an ikat. Here they are:


On to accessories. No Southern dorm room would be complete without monograms!  The towels were a start. Then we found adorable wooden monograms for the walls!


The piece de resistance was the collection of desk accessories from Dress the Desk, designed by her mama:  a matching set of monogrammed paperweight, desk blotter, and note sheets.

Here’s another version of the collection, on display at the National Stationery Show, where we won Best New Product!

And here’s the finished dorm room…

Fabulous, right?


storage unit and canvas drawer, IKEA.com
wooden monogram, bellacreativeexpressionsboutique.com

4.13.2012

Oh, Pool Boy!


Hello, Sunshine!  The unofficial end of winter is Spring Break, bringing with it the promise that summer is just around the corner.  If you can't get away to somewhere fabulous this spring, here's a little taste of sun and style.

Here's my view from my lounge chair at the Lowe's South Beach...where they conveniently have little flags on your chairs to signal a cocktail emergency!


the Loews at dusk...
loews south beach.


here's the walkway to the beach...
Loews South Beach.  Saw Spike Lee by the pool last time I was there.

There is no better place to pool-hop than South Beach.  Here's the pool at the Raleigh Hotel...

Another great pool...at the former Versace mansion...now The Inn and Restaurant at Barton G.

The pool at the Versace Mansion.  (now barton g restaurant and inn)

You're gonna need some shades.  Check out this retro-glam pair from House of Harlow, Nicole Ritchie's
line.  


And from Kate Spade, this fun beach towel...

and the piece de resistance...Valentino flip flops!  My daughter has these...got a sweet deal on them at Neiman Marcus...cha ching!



When it's time to nosh, don't miss the stone crabs at Joe's...

stone crabs. joe's, south beach. don't forget the mustard sauce!

of course, you need a trashy beach read.  Celia Rivenbark is the queen of southern humor...do yourself a favor and pick up one of her gems.  You'll be laughing so hard, your mojito will come out your nose!


And when in Rome...er, uh, Miami...Must. Drink. Mojitos.


And don't forget your TPD cocktail napkins...





mojito pic courtesy of willjogforfood.com (love that name!)
House of Harlow pic courtesy of myfacehunter.com

2.24.2012

There's a Meeting in the Ladies Room!



     At Palazzo Puma, we are getting ready to undertake a bathroom renovation.  Actually THREE bathroom renovations, but the master is the most important one to me (my daughter, Sophiefabulous may disagree).  I am totally overwhelmed with too many choices and trying to compromise with Honey (who thinks he is Martyn Lawrence Bullard!).  Between houzz.com and pinterest.com, I've found lots of inspiration (see below)...now the hard part...making decisions.  I'll keep you posted on the progress...should start in a couple weeks.  Have a great weekend!

XOXO,
T.
love. the. windows.

classic.
Yes, please!
to. die. for.

Calgon, take me away!

Love the bathroom!  Getting ready to re-do mine.

sleek + chic.

2.17.2012

Hermes Love!

 

     A chance meeting in NYC in December, led to one of my daughter's favorite Christmas presents.  My BFF and I were noshing at Rue 57 and seated next to us was a fabulous woman.  You know the type...impeccable taste and effortless style. I complimented her on the beautiful scarf she was wearing.  She told me it was vintage Hermes, her father had given it to her when she was 18, and she has collected them ever since.
     My own daughter, Sophiefabulous, is quite the fashionista and had just turned 18, herself. So I thought, "What a great Christmas tradition!"  Off I went (my BFF + Hermes addict in tow) to the Hermes store, in search of the perfect "first scarf".
     There were SO many choices.  I knew I wanted something versatile and colorful, but most importantly, I wanted something that was "classic Hermes".  I finally decided on this one:




     I spent the rest of December worried that she wouldn't like it. (I get crazy over too many choices!)  I even went to my local Hermes store when I got back to Charlotte, to see if there was one she might like even more. In the end, I kept it and she LOVED it!

     She also collects fashion coffee table books, so I gave her the Hermes tome as well:

1209 Carre Hermes 420 1

     360 pages of gorgeous scarves.






     And she got this fabulous green and white "H" bracelet, too:



     And how great is this???  They gave her this little set of "knotting cards" with different ways to wear her scarf.


     Check out these Hermes scarves as artwork.


(photo courtesy of claireblock.blogspot.com)

These are actually prints taken from a coffee table book:Girl's_Pink_Bedroom_Art
(photo courtesy of littlelovely.typepad.com)

And made into pillows!!!

(photo courtesy of sfair.blogspot.com)



(photo courtesy of sfair.blogspot.com)



This is the home of Kelly Bensimon, former Real Housewife of New York City:

Kelly Bensimon
(photo courtesy of sheknows.com)

And check out these incredible light fixtures!


(photo courtesy of nicolicious.com)

     I think for next Christmas, I'm going to  track down some vintage scarves and have pillows made from them.  Imagine the possibilities!  I'll keep you posted.

2.15.2012

Think global, Drink local!


        So hubby and I are invited to a wine tasting this weekend at the next door neighbor's house.  How  convenient! We can sip to our heart's content and safely skip across the driveways back home to Chez  Puma.  Our neighbors love wine as much as we do, but favor red more.  I, on the other hand, believe in spreading the love...white, red, I don't care...I'm an equal opportunity drinker!  Looking forward to the wine tasting...is it Friday yet?

2008 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay-1

My fave white...Cakebread Chardonnay!
(photo courtesy of Craig's Grape Adventure)




My fave red...Biale "Black Chicken" Zinfandel!
(photo courtesy of englewoodwinemerchants.com)

wine
My mantra!
(available at etsy.com)



My own "wine bar"...I took out a broom closet in my kitchen and replaced it with this.
 Sooo much more useful!

Here's the inside:


Cheers!