Ahhhhh, the Food

Can you say chocolate? 

Mint chocolate, dark chocolate, light cocoa chocolate, white chocolate, pink chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate, coconut and chocolate, butterscotch and chocolate, strawberries in chocolate, shortbread cookies in chocolate, vanilla and oreo cookie sticks dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, rice krispies and chocolate, caramel and chocolate, and candy kiss chocolate lined the table at my mother's birthday party.

The other items that weren't chocolate were pink spritz cookies, cream puffs, white and strawberry cake, and Norwegian celebration cake, (more on this later).

The best thing about all the chocolate is that it is highly caloric all the calories were taken out. Everything was yummy!

Still more food, favors, and decorations to come. On Monday, Part 3!

Have a beautiful weekend,

Ele

Chandelier Crystals

It's my mother's fault, really. There are genes in my family for crystal, and chocolate.
The following experiments show scientific proof:

• Place two food items in front of said mother, (make sure one is chocolate). Chocolate will be immediately picked up and transferred from hand to mouth. This experiment has been conducted thousands of times with many variables. Different food items, and even change of environment does not yield different results. Chocolate is always the food of choice.


• Take said mother to a store that is new to her, and she will head right to the crystal department. The woman can "smell" her way straight to the Waterford. Again, this experiment has been conducted over and over....same results.


• Gifts of chocolate or crystal given to my mother produce squeals of delight, (if you want proof I'm sure there's a video recording somewhere!).

So, it's really not my fault that the new chandelier I picked out for my family room looks like this:

Crystal prisms are usually associated with white chandeliers in the shabby chic style. Traditional gold chandeliers look gorgeous draped in crystal prisms. I chose a black rod iron chandelier because my Asian cabinet is black. Even though the chandelier and cabinet are not the same style, the black ties them together. Remember when mixing styles, make sure the pieces have at least one thing in common. In this case, the color black.

The crystal drops satisfy "the gene". Thanks mom! Decorating with crystal prisms doesn't have to be expensive. Prisms hung from a simple candle holder look great. This chandelier isn't actually up yet, as Mr. Pink Heaven will have to hard wire it for me. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it actually lights up!

For now, I'll just stare at the prism bling while I eat my chocolate.
Blessings, Ele

Fresh Green

The celery green and chocolate brown bedroom. Yes, you read right.....celery green.

I'm not a big green fan. It just happened. When decorating this room, I wanted a fresh, clean look and Mr. Heaven approved of the colors, (actually he really doesn't care how I decorate, but I did hear him say under his breath, "thank goodness it's not pink").

Lets discuss some of the "issues" in this room:

*Boring Beige Carpet/Walls- carpet HAS to be pet friendly (as you can see in the pic). I also like to change accent colors in the bedroom, and even with a change, beige is in it for the long run.

*White Tab Top Drapes- I like how it pops against the beige

*Bed in the Middle of the Room- This is a really big room and I move my bed around a lot. Sometimes it's in the dormer under the window (where the chair sits). Remember when I told you a couple of posts ago that I can't sit still. Neither can my furniture.
*No Dust Ruffle- Hate. Dust. Ruffles. I think they look good, but I just don't like vacuuming under them, washing them, repositioning them, not being able to see under the bed (monsters and lost items!).)etc. I might give into a coverlet that goes to the floor. Maybe. Stay tuned.
*Ugly Chair in Dormer- Breathe a sigh of relief. This chair will be recovered as will it's partner . At this point, I can't decide. Should I go fun and funky (celery and brown cheetah fabric or flowers similar to pillows), warm chocolate tweed, or sensible beige?
*Not a lot of Foof on the Bed. You know I love foof and frou frou like all of you, but lets face it, I am a REAL person. I throw together my bed in the morning, and get in at night. I might add that I am quite skilled at making the bed with Miss Cocoa (see above picture) on top of the covers. As much as my bed would love to spend all day getting ready for a magazine shoot. It does not. If it did, a dust ruffle, shams, IRONED pillow cases would be applied to the bed. Large ornate pieces would be on the bedside table. I decided to show you "fresh, simple, usable lifestyle".

*The Honey Brown Piece of Wood on the Right Side of the Bed- Wooden drawers built into the side of the dormer.

Let's move on to the closeup shots-

I actually did choose fabric with a little pink in the design. Don't tell.

The comforter that started it all.

This chair fabric DOES NOT work with the pillows, so as soon as I decide on fabric and my upholsterer has time for this chair, it will be recovered!

Chocolate curtains and a new Paris plaque are hung in the bathroom.

I really like this celery green shower curtain that I purchased.

Usually, when I go to the ocean, I am smitten with the beautiful blues. On our recent trip to Mexico, I really noticed the greens. Could it be that I was longing for green grass and leaves on the trees at home?

As I'm typing the windchill is -15.

Our house had a beautiful garden with many shades of green.

I was surprised to find that the third floor bedroom of the beach house we stayed in (pictures courtesy of margarita-villa.com) was accented with greens. Pink girl and cousin stayed in this room.

The view of green off of the 3rd floor sundeck. Brown palapa roofs and green palm trees similar to the palette of my bedroom at home. Outdoor temp- no comparison.

Blessings to you,

Ele, Cocoa (first pic.-bed) and Sage (first pic.-floor)