Fall Trend Watch: Color Blocking.

If there is one trend to watch this fall, it's color blocking, and nobody is happier about it than this girl.  I am a color girl.  I was so bored by the hues that have shown the past few seasons... Finally color is back and brighter than ever.  From Gucci to J. Crew color blocking is making a BIG waves in fashion.  Many people believe that there are rules in color blocking.  In my eyes, there are no rules in fashion, so let's just call them color blocking "tips:"

1. Analogous colors: any three colors lined up on the color wheel (e.g. violet, violet-red & red)

2. Complementary colors: any colors directly across from each other (e.g. blue & orange)

3. Pair colors that form 90 degree angles with each other (e.g. yellow & red -orange)

4. Pair colors that form an X (e.g. blue, orange, violet-red & yellow etc.)

5. Pair colors that form a T (e.g. yellow, blue-green & red-orange)

6. Color-families: You can substitute pink with red and still be able to pull off the combos based on the color wheel.

And now that you know how to color block, go out there and get yourself some colorful frocks.  Here are some of my most vibrant picks for fall:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |9

Sources: J.Crew, Gucci, Haute & Rebellious, Talk Nerdy to Me.

I Can't Fight This Feeling.

I had another HomeGoods home run last weekend.  And believe it or not, I actually ended up going to two different stores in one day.  What?....  We were in the area.  

There were Suzanis galore.

As well as stylish lamps.

This one was on clearance for $39.99

 These would be perfect for a pair of nightstands.

Loved this shade.

 Adorable for a tweener's room.

Show. Stopper.

They'd sure look amazing with those lamps, wouldn't they?

Of course they would. 

Love the lines on this piece.

Great storage for a kids' room.  In fact, they'd look fantastic with that clearance lamp!

Wouldn't either of these make adorable panels for a nursery?

Now that I have the lamps and the pillows, I am DEFINITELY redesigning our guest bedroom.  I am thinking one of these mirrors would be perfect.

$79.99

$59.99

But... I had to show SOME self-restraint.  So I settled on the pillows and the lamps, that are now sitting in our garage awaiting their new home.  When I got home I told Mike that I found new lamps and can't wait to redo the guest bedroom (he just rolls his eyes at this point.)  Well, he walked out into the garage and after seeing my purchases he asked me if I was planning on making our guest bedroom into a bordello.  I told him never to stop an artist mid-stroke, and we just left it at that.

The Grand Daddy Hotel.

The Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa is certainly making it's mark on the hotel industry.  This swanky yet playful hotel has put a new twist on the old trailer park.  The Daddy is famous for it's Airstream Rooftop Trailer Park.  It's seriously amazing.

Let's take a looksie at the interiors, shall we?  Each Airstream was custom designed by local artists.

I want to go there, now.

Fried Green Goodness.

The tomatoes in our garden are thriving.  We can't eat them fast enough.  We originally planted two varieties; a cherry tomato and one similar to a beefsteak.  After our trip down south, I was inspired to make some fried green tomatoes.

The girls had a blast picking them from the garden.

Mom was obviously in charge of the slicing...

and I think that they had the most fun coating the tomatoes.

Lou was in charge of the flour (you can imagine what our kitchen looked like afterwards.)

E did the bread crumb mixture.

We also fried up some goat cheese.

I should also mention that we planted some red onions.  I tossed them with some arugula, avocados and oil and vinegar (a little salt and pepper too),

topped with our fried deliciousness, 

and served with some grilled corn and Daddy Steak.

It was amazing.  I literally danced throughout dinner it was that good.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium green tomatoes
• 1 log of goat cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1.) Slice tomatoes and goat cheese (if you don't cook goat cheese immediately, place in freezer to keep firm)

2.) Place the flour on one plate, the whisked eggs in a bowl and the cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate.

3.) Start with tomatoes.  Coat in flour, then dip in the eggs and lastly dredge in bread crumbs.  Make sure they are fully coated.  Place on clean plate until all tomatoes are coated.

4.) Cover the bottom of a large skillet in vegetable oil, place on medium heat.  Once oil has been heated add tomatoes (do not crowd) once the tomatoes are browned. flip and fry on the other side.  Drain on paper towels.

5.) Repeat steps 1-4 with goat cheese patties.

6.) Enjoy.  You'll be doing a dance too!

These Have Always Brought Me Luck.

While sourcing items for Lou's room, I was on the hunt for a four leaf clover.  One thing I realized is that there are a TON of adorable clover items to be had.  

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Get a little luck for yourself!

Copy Cat.

As most of you know, we have been working on Lou's Big Girl Room.  First, the bed, then the mirror, shelves and stripes, next up:  new lighting.

We have all seen this Majorie Skouras chandelier, which I love.  Unfortunately, it is a bit out of my price range.  But that's ok, because it's far to large for Lou's little room and the turquoise beads would be a bit too bright.  That being said, check out this tutorial on making your own.  

I was able to locate the beads that I beleive they used on the original.

 Here's the turquoise 

and here's the green.

I know my limits (ability and time)  and will be outsourcing this one, but I am confident that it will be just perfect as we have painstakingly selected all of the elements.  I can't wait to send you pictures of the finished project.