What I'm Reading Today

While in the airport yesterday I picked up the latest copy of Domino Magazine, special edition Small Spaces.  I thought it would make for an interesting read while on the plane, but a quick nap got my attention instead.  So, today after I've gotten caught up with a few projects, I plan to sit and have a leisurely browse through one of my favorite magazines.  I was so glad to know that I wasn't the only one out there that sorely missed Domino when they ceased publication a few years ago, and was thrilled to have them publish a special edition (now their third), for we who find inspiration in their pages.

 

 

This issue is on newsstands until June!  Plenty of time for you to pick up your copy!

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda



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What Does It Mean To Further A Theme?

I really love the images of Ivanka Trumps Upper East Side Manhattan apartment featured in the October issue of Elle Decor.  Ivanka collaborated with Kelly Behun to create the comfortable "warm modern" home she shares with her husband, Jared Kushner and new baby girl, Arabella Rose.  The apartment overlooks Central Park and only blocks away from her office.  Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

 

This is by far my favorite of all the images featured!  I am so in awe of this foyer!  The driftwood table was designed by Behun and has an amazing mosaic glass top.  Don't you just love the contrast of something so rustic and something perceived to be as fragile as glass?  I adore branches of any kind and to have these sitting atop the table in silver glass vases with their voluptuous silhouette, leaning towards the mural that was handpainted by muralist Bob George Studio is nothing short of striking!  I am struck by how the mural looks like the shadows of the branches on top of the table!  I love it! The narrow bench (although beautifully upholstered and properly scaled for the space) isn't much of a perch to sit on and enjoy the room, but I suppose it would do for a bit!  While this isn't your typical spot in a wooded park, it does bring the outdoors in in the most glamorous way! 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 



*Image via Elle Decor



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Where Did The Week Go?

  Seriously, where did the week go?  It's all a blur!  I literally think I spent all of my time dropping the kids off at school and picking them up!  Can I vent for a moment?  Thank you!  My alarm goes off every morning at 5am, but most of the time my feet will not hit the floor until 5:30.  My schedule is so tight.  I have no room to meander about, because from the time I get home from dropping my son at school, until I have to be in the carpool line to fetch the little girl, I have four and a half hours to get the brunt of my work done; go to meetings, source, etc. 

 

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Once I get dinner on the table, whether I cook it or do take out, get homework done, and the kids off to bed, I try to get more work done. I typically get into bed around midnight. Where was I going with this...hmmm, anyhoo! Oh yeah, I'm pretty spent by the time mid-week rolls around, so you've got to know that I am so looking forward to the weekend when it comes! Although, I'm not going to be able to unplug completely like I did a couple of months ago when I turned off all electronic devices, I will be catching up on some reading and living life so that I will have interesting stories to share with you!  In the meantime, here are a few new online mag releases for you to peruse at your leisure!

 

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Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda



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Timeless Elegance

The September, 2012 issue of Architectural Digest "Timeless Elegance" features some of the most stunning interiors!

These photographs are of Sidney Torres IV, home in New Orleans, LA.  The interior design was done by architect Lee Ledbetter.  If you have not already gotten a copy of this issue, a trip to your local bookstore is in order!  You will not be disappointed!

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

*Images via Architectural Digest



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Time To Chill: A Weekend To Unplug!

You know, maybe A Time To Chill isn't the most appropriate title for this posting, but that's exactly what I'm doing today and for the rest of the weekend.  A few days ago I was chatting with a friend of mine, Angela, and we were catching up on what's been going on in each other's lives, when I began to vent about how I feel as though the magazine collection I've amassed through the years has taken over my house, and how I may soon be seen on an episode of Hoarder's, one of Angela's favorite shows!  It really is just that bad!

As I was sorting through some of the magazines, I came across the December, 2009 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine.  This is where the title of this posting begins to make a little sense.  While thumbing through, I came across the article featuring the Georgian townhouse of U.K. based designer Kelly Hoppen (pg. 73).   I realized I was running on fumes and needed to chill.  Why did that make me come to this realization?  I spend so much of my time reading, researching, speaking with clients, and doing all of the things that I feel are necessary to grow and progress, until I forgot the very reason why I do all of that stuff to begin with.  The desire to create interiors that are not only beautiful to look at but feel incredible to live in.  Interiors that move you to have peace of mind, a healthy well being, and an amazing sense of self.

 

I could wax on and on about how much I love her home, but I won't.  If you read yesterday's posting Variety Is The Spice Of Life..., then this excerpt from the article will shed a little bit more light on why her home made me push the pause button.  "Kelly Hoppen is a balance of opposites:  glamorous and functional, extroverted and serene, exuberant and contemplative." (Met Home of the Month: December 2009).  The images in yesterdays posting spoke to one side of my personality, and Ms. Hoppen's home speaks to the other.  The side that is intrinsically me.
 

There are times, when in order to continue to love what you do, you have to take a step back and remember exactly what that is, why you started doing it, and what about it made you love it.  Even the best of us find ourselves being a wee bit sluggish in doing the things we love.

Even when we're able to do what we love, we still become so consumed by all that it takes to do it, we forget to take some time to just chill.  Take this weekend to do just that!  Technology has made doing our jobs easier but made our lives more complicated.  I am turning off the laptop, iPad, and my iPhone this weekend.  I am one of very few that still have a land line, so if an emergency arises it will be okay!  I look forward to talking with you again on MONDAY and not one day sooner!

Make it AMAZING weekend!

Rhonda

*Images via Elle Decor (original article Metropolitan Home, December 2009)

*My Pinterest Board Words of Inspiration and Humor

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Stylesetter Aerin Lauder's New Manhattan Office

I've been an admirer of Aerin Lauder for quite a while now, and when Architectural Digest featured her new Manhattan office in their June issue, I knew that at some point I would have to talk about it!  The new office is a collaboration with acclaimed French designer, Jacques Grange.  I don't have to tell you, because I'm sure you've seen images, of what an absolutely stunning space the two of them have created to be the base of her new home furnishings and fashion company, Aerin.  Aerin Lauder's lifestyle brand will launch in late August, first with its beauty line to be preceeded by jewelry, tabletop items, fabrics, and home decor.  A book on living and style will also debut from Random House in fall of 2013.  I look forward to all of the exciting things her new endeavor will bring!

I've always identified with Aerin because of her love and admiration of her grandmother, Estee.  To read her words of her recounted memories strikes a chord with me.  My grandmother celebrated her eighty-seventh birthday on June 28th, and what a pure joy it's been for me to have her as my grandmother.  She is a petite little thing, who would always be found properly dressed in her perfectly pressed dresses, nylons, jewelry, heels, and handbag; never a shoulder bag!  As you see, she felt shoulder bags were an enemy of perfect posture!  Oh, and let me not forget, powder, lipstick, and Estee Lauder's Youth Dew.  In everything she did, she did it with such ease and elegance.  She took ordinary things and made them amazing!  She was one of my first introductions, only second to my mom, to style, grace, intelligence, strength, and charity!  Just as Aerin's grandmother has made an indelible mark on her life, mine has as well, and for this I too find Aerin Lauder to be an inspiration. 

*Google Images

*Pinterest

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

*Resources:  [1] Architectural Digest [2] Aerin [3] New York Fashion [4] Huffington Post Style

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The Much Anticipated Domino Quick Fixes!

One of my very best friends has not been the same since Domino ceased publication a couple of years ago! I must admit, I was a bit lost without it myself! I still have every issue from 2005-2009! I was thrilled they were releasing a special publication this month that hit newstands on Tuesday, the 17th! I was a little taken aback by the $10.99 price, but was not deterred! If you have not picked up your copy, I suggest you run out and grab yours now!



Want to see better pics than I was able to take sitting on my sofa with my iPhone?  Then go get your own copy and enjoy every wonderful page with amazing pictures and great ideas for "quick fixes"!

Make it a great day!

Rhonda

*via Domino magazine "Quick Fixes"

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