Floral Fever

When I started my new job a couple of months ago, my mom was super-excited and wanted me to text her pictures of what I was wearing.  Since this new job is a bit more "corporate" than my last, I'm required to make more of an effort in my daily wardrobe.  Looking back on some of the pictures, it seems I had quite the floral fetish during the late summer!  Good news for me: winter florals are quite a big trend for Fall and Winter 2012, so I can continue rockin' the florals even though the temperature slowly starts to drop. Here are some of my favorite winter floral ensembles from the F2012RTW shows.  Unfortunately though, I'm not (yet) a multi-millionaire, so Burberry and Valentino will have to wait.  For now, I'll stick to my trusted favorites like Zara and Asos to get my fashion fix. xoxo

Fall 2012: Valentino, Burberry, Erdem, Burberry

Who knew I was such a floral freak?! 

Trusty Go-to Zara:  1,  2,  3,  4

Some other goodies: 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7

Resort Review: Terranea

View from our room on Sunday morning.

For my recent birthday, I thought myself lucky to be surrounded by good friends and good food.  No gifts needed.  But to my delight, my husband also booked us a stay-cation at Terranea in Palos Verdes. Never visiting this region before, we weren't sure what to except.  It could have been the overcast skies or the looming storm, which made the resort pretty quiet, but the overall aura of the property was peaceful and serene and exactly what the doctor ordered.  Upon arriving on Friday afternoon, we went down to our room (which opened to a lovely patio, overlooking the bluff and ocean!!!) and then off to explore the grounds.  During our little adventure we 1) journeyed down to the natural cave site from The Lost Boys and 2) spent some one-on-one time with a couple birds-of-prey (as usual, pictures below).  After that, it was a casual dinner - alfresco, of course - at Nelson's and then a cozy Irish coffee on the terrace, complete with a fire pit and live jazzy-music.  And just when I thought life couldn't get any better, we woke up on Saturday and did it all over again!

The day unfolded with a hike along the coast to the lighthouse (really!?!), a beautiful brunch, one of the best spa days I've ever had (a couples massage basically in the ocean and a glorious swim in the heated lap pool - also basically in the ocean), tasty cocktails on the terrace, a fabulous dinner at Mar'sels and even a little dancing!  Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I couldn't be more thankful.  Terranea is a beautiful property in a gorgeous area with lots of restaurant and entertainment choices and is also pet and family friendly.  I'm already looking forward to our next visit, hopefully with family, friends and a casita!  xoxo

Final Rating:

(Had to take a bit off due to price.  You'll spend some dough, but so worth it!)

Terranea Resort, Palos Verdes

I really enjoyed our bathroom and patio...

Falcons & Albert (the owl) live on the property to keep seagulls away. Ha!

The Lighthouse, north side of Terranea

"The Lost Boys" cave, south of Terranea

The "Shot in the Dark" had my name written all over it!  Hamachi from Mar'sels.

Our massage room at The Spa. Gorgeous!

The Casitas - fingers crossed we're in one of these next time!

OMG! Baby & Child: Restoration Hardware

Whoever is responsible for the current holiday catalogue for Baby & Child by Restoration Hardware deserves a big, fat promotion! Although we don't have any children of our own, I'm determined to buy everything in this catalogue for anyone we know who has little ones under the age of ten. Some of my favorite items are:

The "kid's table" never looked so chic! 

I might just get one of these tent for myself...

PS: the RH Holiday Source Book is jam-packed with must-have gifts and stocking stuffers as well, many of which I will be including in our Holiday Extravaganza. Hehe! Xoxo

Simply Delicious: Figs & Ricotta

Recently a friend of ours was visiting from Hong Kong (or is it Sweden, not sure what's correct here.  You see, he's an Italian from Australia who lives in Hong Kong, but has been living in Sweden for the past several months with his wife and children while on familial maternity leave.) Anyway... after a tiresome day at the beach during his visit, we headed home for a delicious dinner of seared ahi tuna salad and a Pimm's cocktail.  Super-tasty! But the highlight was the ever-so-simple dessert our trans-continental friend quickly whipped up: fresh figs and ricotta cheese drizzled with premium raw honey.  It was that understated, rustic-y chic I just love!  Recipe (as if you really need one) below.  It's literally as easy as 1,2,3!  xoxo

Literally one, two three!

The Cotswolds Better Get Ready...

Bourton's annual village tree. via

Because the Fusehoff's are coming! Speaking of English country house... In exactly two months from today, we will be packing our bags and getting ready to embark on our journey, rightly titled, "Cotswolds Holiday Extravaganza 2012"!  We have rented a rather large house (to accommodate both families and some friends) in a quaint, picturesque village (somewhat reminiscent of the movie The Holiday or another one of my obsessions, Downton Abbey) located in the Cotswolds region of England, about 2 hours northwest of London.  Although the temperature is nearly 90 degrees in California again today and we haven't even celebrated Halloween yet, I can't help but get excited for this winter wonderland experience!  Activities to include: walks through the countryside, strolls to the pub, dinner at the Dial House and day trips to Oxford. Oh what fun!  Could anything be better?!  Maybe New Years in Paris?  Details to come about that leg of the trip later.... xoxo   

The village. 

Our cottage in the village.

The River Windrush runs through the village, though only inches deep.

Loving...

Zara Home! It's finally available in the US! My favorite thing about this debut is actually the "film" on the homepage... The music is absolutely beautiful. Also beautiful is the tableware, in particular the wide selection of tumblers and the Duck Pitcher. I will be filling my vacation cottage in the English countryside with lots of these goodies! Okay, maybe not. But a girl can dream! xoxo

All images from Zarahome.com

Fall Folk Festival Fun

Say that four times fast!  Like many others, I've been having a strong Fall-fun desire for a few weeks now. Unfortunately for those of us that reside in Los Angeles, we've been privileged with 90+ degree weather up until just a few days ago. So to kick off the delayed arrival of our autumnal equinox, we headed out to Underwood Family Farms with some friends for their annual Fall Festival extravaganza! Complete with a farmer's market, tractor rides, farm animals, pig races, live music, a cornucopia of pumpkins and a corn maze, it is a full afternoon of fun. We had a blast! (check out a few pictures below)  The event runs until October 31st, so if you're in the region, check it out!  xoxo

Piglette Races!  You should see these little guys jump!

One of the MANY dead ends in the corn maze...

Such a flirt!

Angie loves corn!

I'm Baaaaack!

Oh, how I've missed you! With my uber-crazy Summer finally at an end and a new season upon us (my favorite, Fall), I am now ready to join the blogosphere again! I won't be able to return to the daily postings, but am hoping to share some goodies with you a couple times a week.  I am excited and hope you are as well!  xoxo

via