happy holidays...

simply fabulous.

Some things need no explanation, these are posters by Craig Damrauer of More New Math.

DIY holiday tags.

I'm done with my christmas shopping, gift wrapping and thanks to Design*Sponge (my ultimate daily read) I found these super cute holiday tags that Julia Rothman designed and is so generously sharing for all of us to download. Now I can sit back and relax...

Happy Holidays!

santino federico

Santino is my cat. 

I adopted him from a shelter here in Miami and if I remember correctly, he chose me. I was looking through the cages and from all the way in the back he came and started to smell my hand. He was this tiny fur ball and I was a goner, I loved him immediately. Right now he reigns supreme, he has made my home his kingdom and loves to lounge around everywhere and run up and down the stairs at crazy speed. He wakes my daughter and me in the mornings, and has an addiction to ham and rotisserie chicken (I know, true carnivore). He won't even come near dry cat food!

It is incredible how much happiness he gives, how affectionate he is. People are always saying that cats are not huggable or lovable like dogs, but I beg to differ. Yes, they are independent but not distant. 

As I wrap my holiday gifts, he is sitting right beside me, playing with the ribbons, going through the boxes... oh Santino!

This holiday I wanted to make him a little hat and t-shirt, but he is not having it. He doesn't want anything on him at all! I have a balcony (screened) which he loves to hang out and watch lizards run around, and every morning he meows for me to let him go out there...maybe I should try walking him.

undeniably fashionable...

And on the 20th day of Christmas Fifi Lapin wears...Paul Smith!

This bunny is by far the most stylish fashionista ever, when I saw this blog, my heart began to beat faster and then melt... all these wonderful illustration by Fifi Lapin just made me reminisce of my days in art class back in '92 when I used to draw a cartoon bunny named Weasel (he was a dead bunny, but so lovable).

Love at first sight is what this is! and now I must add the book of Illustrations "what shall I wear today?" to my forever wish list...

christmas countdown...

I am big movie fan, I mean I love every aspect of cinematography and going to see a good film is always a treat for me. I can't think of a better way to countdown the next 5 days till christmas, than watching my ultimate top 10 sweetest (and some not so sweet) holiday movies:

1. Love Actually
2. Mixed Nuts
3. The Family Stone
3. The Holiday
4. The Nightmare before Christmas
5. Bad Santa
6. Charlie Brown Christmas
7. Serendipity
8. How the grinch stole Christmas (animated)
9. Fred Claus
10. You got Mail

chinese new year.

I'm taking a break from making cake decorations so that I can sip a bit of coffee and take a bite of my bagel, I came across this color palette that truly inspires. Since I celebrate chinese new year and usually make a small get together at home, this color board is exactly what i was looking for! oh Preston Bailey you have done it again...

cakes, piñatas and fun.

I don't know how it happened but I find myself in the middle of some serious event planning. I have a birthday cake to decorate this week, piñatas to make and a party to plan... did I mention that I am hosting a christmas dinner too?

yea. I'm busy.

So you can see why I haven't posted anything lately but I will as soon as I have everything under control. Till then I will share the dreamiest of lofts featured in Marie Claire maison, one that I wish I could move into asap (seriously immediately.)

winter crafts.

This is the first year that I do not put up a christmas tree in my home, but I did make my wreath from scratch, not your traditional wreath I know, but I love the way it came out, and best of all, it smells like pine and eucalyptus!

winter in Miami.

   

I am forever complaining about Miami's weather, and how much I adore colder climates, and this winter I am going crazy because everyone keeps showing me pics of their beautiful snow filled yards and most of them are going to be having a white christmas! Obviously, it doesn't snow in Miami and you can still go to the beach in the winter but this weekend the weather was at its best, breezy, cool and incredibly sunny. So this weekend Sophie and I took a nice walk, took pictures and simply enjoyed our lazy sunday without any complaints...from me. 

and when we came home guess who we found waiting for us...Santino, we love you.

oh happy weekend...

Life is good when my 11 year old makes me breakfast in bed... have a great weekend, see you monday!

it's a bake off!

After a couple of days of hard work (I painted and redecorated my guest bathroom) and busy schedules, I finally get a chance to look through the tons of recipes that I've been seeing these past few weeks. Since we are in holiday mode here, I want to make truffles and mini rum raisin cakes. So I'm sharing this recipe that I watched on tv,  Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network; I can't wait to give it a try...

it's a mad mad world!

and I'm mad about the show, I have been watching it religiously ever since Mad Men made its appearance back in 07. Not only did it make working at an ad agency cool (not that it ever wasn't) but it also helped bring back some pretty sexy fashion. Now, I have loved good advertising ever since I can remember and even went as far as to wallpaper my walls with Guess and Calvin Klein ads when I was a teen. So you can see why this show would spark my interest, and has kept it all along...

I found this charming book by Dyna Moe: Mad Men the Illustrated World that has some cool tidbits about the show and of course, super cool quizzes and illustrations, it leaves me with no choice but to pick up a copy or two (and I know just who to give it to!)
 At Mod Cloth there are tons of great dresses that have that "mad men" flair, I suggest that if you want to channel your inner Joan, Peggy or Betty... make a point of stopping by their website.

lucky little duckie.

H & M came out with great holiday ads this year, and it inspired me to take a more editorial christmas pic, so this Wednesday I am excited to announce that my good friend and awesome photographer Amanda is taking holiday pics of Sophie and me! lucky lucky me...

Spring 2011.

I couldn't help but fall in love with these fabulous dresses, and I want them all! but since I refuse to make a hole in my bank account I am formulating a plan, stay tuned and you will see... oh J.Mendel these dresses are to die for, Spring 2011 indeed!!! (find the whole collection at style.com) Now that I'm taking a longer look, I wouldn't mind getting a pair of those shoes...

casa batlló... part 2

Now this took me a long time to finish, but with tons of patience and a lot of glue I managed to get this done! maybe not as impressive as the original but still seriously cute... I took the tour of the house and I remember that while some of the rooms where light and airy, there were some that felt eerie (it must be the "old house syndrome") For those who are planning to go to Barcelona, do take the tour, it is simply amazing, but till then I leave you with a few pics I took.

casa Batlló.

My trip to Barcelona was so special, and completely unforgettable. One of the most shocking pieces of art I have ever seen is the Casa Batlló designed by architectural genius Antoni Gaudí. I couldn't get over how over the top this house is, not to mention how it must of been for the people of 1800's to deal with such vision. Nevertheless, I took tons of pictures and bought myself my very own paper Casa Batlló which I am FINALLY getting around to it! Finish what I start! is my new motto, well one of my new mottos... So here is my first pic, and I will post more as I continue the project.

dear santa...

Since I've been so good this year, I feel that it is only fair that I get everything on my list... ok, maybe not everything but at least 3? or 2?

p.s. the list in no way in order of preference!

1. DK Cashmere 2. Cuisinart Grill 3. Kitchen Torch 4. Juicer 5. Bonsai Forest kit 6. Typeface memory Game 7. Dress 8. Shoes 9. Yudu 10. West Elm bamboo spoons