Friday, April 29, 2011

Ode to Ode



Happy Friday lovelies!! How fun was it to wake up to a Royal Wedding this morning?  Thanks to tivo we slept in and watched at a much more civillized hour...Kate did look just gorgeous and classic, no?  I can remember watching Diana with my mom so it was great to snuggle with my L's and watch a real life fairytale unfold...
Speaking of my girls, it's hard to believe Miss Louisa is already two weeks old...so much to tell but just haven't wrapped my head around it all yet...it's been a whirlwind but all in all a much more relaxed beginning than the first time around...one little tidbit - we had a water birth which I highly recommend if you are into natural labor!....anywho...now that I have two girlies I couldn't resist adding some littles to the shop like these super cute dresses from Ode...gorgeous, colorful cottons...Lila's pick is the whimsical Yashvi...check em out before she scoops them all for herself (like Mother like daughter, eh?)
Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend ahead!
 xoxo, M

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Everyday (Home) Obsessions {24} - Chassity Evans, Look, Linger, Love

I'm thrilled to have one of my favorite Southern girls share some of her Everyday Obsessions today - Chassity Evans of Look, Linger, Love...It's hard to believe she's only been blogging since September because her charm & style have already created quite a interweb buzz...head on over there and take a peek for yourself! Thanks for sharing Chassity!!

So happy to help free up a few spare moments for Michelle to soak up her new little one.  Here are a few of my favorite things...
EVERYDAY OBSESSIONS: Home Edition
On the walls... Art
{Art by Sally Benedict}
Bedding... Comfy + Casual
Flowers... Peonies
{via}
Favorite design source... Blogs + Magazines, of course ;)
xoxo, thanks for having me!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Bits & Baubles



A few things from the shop for Mother's Day...something blue by Bosquez, a bevy of bangles by Dream Collective, a layered lovely from Laura Lombardi, and the ultimate in hippie chic by Lizzie Fortunato...
xoxo, M

ps - feel like I've been stuck on the couch nursing for ages and am now addicted to Pregnant in Heels...love Rosie - her clients however are CRAZY! and I now know more about Kate & Will than I ever thought possible...
pps - just restocked Ace & Jig if you missed out on the first round...

Monday, April 25, 2011

Simplify: Guest Blogger - Torrie Sessions, A Place To Share

Happy Monday! While I'm hanging with the new babe I asked some of my favorite bloggers to sound off on my favorite topic - Simplifying your life - first up is Torrie, who writes the fantastic blog A Place to Share...not only is she one of the nicest, coolest girls on the interweb, I always look to her blog for parenting sanity and wisdom...thanks for sharing T!! xoxo, M

 
As much as we strive to simplify each year- each spring- after the holidays, we find ourselves in the same spot.  Overstocked and under-prepared.  Let me preface by mentioning that we live in a relatively small southern CA home.  In other words, one holiday and a couple of birthdays can put us over the edge.  The age-old organization dilemma...  too much stuff - not enough space.  Each year, we continue to streamline, to sort through the old, and make room for the new.  We feel focused, organized, and prepared.  Yet, with the onslaught of summer vacations, homework assignments, birthday parties, and extracurricular activities... the holidays hit us like a mack truck- leaving us flat on our backs (under Barbie dolls, DVDs, Wii games, craft supplies, candles, dishes, cookbooks...).

Well, enough is enough.   This spring, Simplification has become our middle name, and we are on a mission to keep it that way.  We're not aiming for perfection, but at the very least, "a place for everything..." (aka- the clutter culprits, the collections, the gadgets... the good, the bad, and the "unaesthetic"), so that "...and everything in its place" could be a little more attainable.  

Here are some of the most simple, yet effective changes we've made.


Moved all of our DVDs to a media door & wall rack.  
  
{holds a ton, accessible, and hidden!}
   Image via

Placed the endless piles of magazines (a future project) in two wine crates.

{a chic storage solution for an irrational collection}
Image via

Hung mini magnetic strips right above the desk for 'must-see' paperwork, photos, clippings etc. 
  
{and reserved the bulletin board for artwork, photos, and other pieces of inspiration}



 Images via here & here

Consolidated all video games into a CD wallet.

{and stored the cases into a bin in the garage}
Image via
    

That's just a few, but I'm sure there will be more once Michelle returns and shares a bit more of her newly organized home! (ahhhhh, the wonder of having a professional organizer)

Thank you Michelle for havin' me!  

I'm sure we all agree that Michelle is unequivocally the sweetest, chicest, most down-to-earth blogger around, and I'm honored to be here =).

Friday, April 22, 2011

Back In Black...(and navy & cognac)



Hello dear friends! I apologize that it has been all shop news this week - but every time my tired mommy brain starts to compose a post a little someone decides she's hungry... so I'll just say there has been lots of sleeping, eating, and cuddling happening and hope to get to something more substantive next week...
However, I did have to let y'all know that we actually have Clare Vivier Messengers IN STOCK as of this post...whew!! I know everyone has been so patient with their orders so Thank you!! My personal fave and the only bag I carry these days is the cognac - tres, tres chic...
Happy, happy Easter & Earth Day - have a lovely weekend and stop by to check out some fantastic guest bloggers next week...
xoxo, M

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Hippie Deluxe







New Matta goodies in the shop...all gorgeous...nuff said!
(well I would say more but typing one handed is a bit of a hamper on my composing skillz)
xoxo, M

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Punch Drunk Love



In light of the fact that it has SNOWED twice this week - I'm getting my happy on by unpacking the new Ace & Jig that just arrived...these breezy, bright stripes are making me want to drink the kool-aid so to speak...okay, enough work for the day...back to baby love!
xoxo, M



Monday, April 18, 2011

A New Favorite....

 Introducing Louisa Pearl...Born Thursday April 14th...we're pretty smitten...


 My two beautiful girls (it's so amazing how much bigger your "big girl" looks when you bring a baby home), lots of beautiful flowers
Four days old now...we're all a little sleepy ;)
Hope everyone is having a lovely Monday!!

Speaking of lovely - I had the distinct honor of hanging out over on Simple Lovely friday with my Blogger's Favorites...I'm sure you'll agree I have a new one to add to the list...
okay, off to nap...
xoxo, Michelle

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Two...

Hmmm....I'm kind of feeling like I should have scheduled those beauty appointments earlier in the week...just might be baby day...I'll be popping in here and there, have some awesome guest bloggers on tap (and some I still need to ask - ahh procrastination!) and I may be over on twitter.  In the meantime - don't you love these amazing caftans by Two (and I need that basket, please)? If you are in Brooklyn they are having a trunk show this weekend...and I'm thinking they would be a perfect addition to the shop, no?  
Ouch...okay, I think it's time to unplug when the contractions start hurting...
xoxo, M

Monday, April 11, 2011

Nesting vs Spring Cleaning


some of my favorite organized images: 1/2/3/4

Hi Lovelies! I feel like I've been away so long and am bursting with things to tell y'all but first things first...remember a couple of months ago when I was trying to lure you into hanging with me poolside in Palm Springs?...well, I obviously didn't get my #^$! together to pull off a trip so last week I decided to take that money and hire a professional organizer that my friends have been raving about - let me tell you...it was seriously life changing...and while my house doesn't look quite like the pics above it has the potential to be a palace of clean now...My personal princess of pristine, Vasilia, came on Wednesday, whipped the girlies rooms into shape (yeah - a baby can live here now!) turned my kitchen shelves into models of minimalism and littered my back porch with a whopping 10 bags of stuff to give, sell, and trash...(did I mention she's down in my basement right now tackling the real crazy!)...I'm officially declaring it the best baby shower gift ever because what you really need when you have kids is less stuff not more, right?? So drop the blankie, the cute onesies, the hand carved maple teether, grab your friends and chip in for an organizer for that new mom to be in your life...
I spent about half the time I normally do picking up this weekend and every stitch of kiddie clutter now resides safely in lovely organized bins in the girl's rooms - whew!!
Now I'm declaring this week Beauty Week...haircut, color, pedicure, bikini wax (umm...is it sad that the only time I make this a priority is right before giving birth?)...
Hope you are all well and enjoying gorgeous spring weather! It was actually 75 here yesterday - which was a weird contrast to the patches of ice still on the lakes...
xoxo, M
ps - If you are in Minneapolis Vasilia's contact info is: organize.vasilia@gmail.com or (507)319-8874

Thursday, April 7, 2011

New Ace & Jig!!



Good Morning!! Just popping in to make sure you check out the new Ace & Jig at the shop...I can't rave enough about how cool and easy all these pieces are...I love the fabrics, the great ethics behind the line and the total wearability...
xoxo, M

ps - I'll be back soon to tell you about yesterday, which happened to be my 9 year wedding anniversary - yeah!!!, and the day I had a professional organizer come over - seriously life changing....

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

All in the Details

Hello friends! Happy Tuesday - even though we still have snow patches everywhere it's warm enough to open the windows and let in some fresh air - ahhhhhh!  Speaking of fresh air I'm mad for this tangle of intriguing details...the crisp blue monogram shirt, the pile of bracelets - none too precious, and that amazing fuschia suit with the gold buttons...it immediately brought to mind the lamp I've been obsessing over, in the room everyone's been falling for...
 
I know it's been blogged to death by now but is there really a better "undecorated" room than Roman Alonso's of Commune fame?   I'm on the lookout for that crazy gold lamp with the hot pink shade...if you spot one send it my way, pretty please??  

On a side note - if you haven't noticed, things are running awfully slow here at Casa Michelle...only 10 days til my due date and honestly, if I could sleep for the next two weeks I'd be perfectly content...so my lovely assistant will be keeping the shop running smoothly (new stuff online by tomorrow - yeahh!!) and top of my to do list is lining up some fantastic guest bloggers to keep this space entertaining...okay, YAWN...gonna catch some zzzz's...my couch has the perfect napping in the sun spot...
xoxo, M

ps - any tech junkies out there? My desktop keeps giving me the blue screen of death so looks like it's time for an upgrade - I'm so smitten with my iphone that I'm leaning towards a mac? do I go all-in-one or just ditch a big computer and stick with a laptop??