One of my favorite fall collections! Everything is so gorgeous and wearable, from the jumpsuits:

to the dresses:

Azzaro’s creative director stepped down a few months ago, and as far as I know a successor hasn’t been named, so I’m very curious how this will affect the label. Will the collections continue to be this simple yet luscious?

Naturally, once my sister’s save-the-date card was completed, we got started on her invitations. I wanted to use the same cute floral pattern and strong text, but because it’s the wedding invitation—part of, yet more important than, the save-the-date—I wanted to switch things up slightly for an element of surprise.

So instead of using the pattern as a border, I used it as a strip along the top, and to add something new and unexpected, I enlarged an ampersand and a curly bracket:

Now that we’ve added this new, enlarged-punctuation element to the design, it’d make sense to continue it elsewhere in the wedding; so now I’m completely fixated on where. Any ideas?

*These fake names are a stretch. Yes, I know.

If you assumed I’d be designing my sister’s save-the-date cards, wedding invitations, and programs, you were right! I’m knee-deep in her wedding design, and I love it.

Our starting point was some of my wedding inspiration boards. The two boards I really liked for her were Youthful Pink and White and Crisp Coral and White. We had a couple of back-and-forths about how to apply one of these color palettes, when it occurred to me that we could combine the two.

My sister really liked the idea of a softer color with something brighter and punchier, so I sat down to brainstorm how it would all come together. I wanted to give her a visual before going much further, so I created a collection of spring dresses from Banana Republic:

And a collection from J.Crew:

And voilà, we were done with the hardest part! With the green-light* on a coral and pink palette, it was time to come up with an overall motif for her big day. I wanted so badly to go with stripes—like you saw in the inspiration boards—but it just wasn’t connecting. My sister isn’t “stripes” as much as she is “cute flowers.” I had to trust my instinct by switching gears completely and going floral.

Initially expecting to design just a few cute flowers, I was pleasantly surprised as an allover pattern began to emerge! I haven’t done pattern design in years (such a shame, considering my love for it), so it was very exciting. Once again, green-light (yay)—so I refined the pattern to make it seamless.

While applying the pattern to our first project, the save-the-date card, it became clear that the girlish sweetness of the colors and style needed to be balanced by something more tough and masculine. So that’s how I approached the information.

Here’s the final card (with names changed, obviously):

*I’d just like to note that the green-light came from both the bride and groom. In case any of you were thinking there’s no way the groom would approve! Nuh-uh, this is a couple that works in total unity.

I woke up this morning with this dress stuck in my head. Am I copying something I’ve seen before, or am I the next Kate Spade?

Perhaps my favorite thing in the world to eat—even above cheese, dark chocolate, ghormeh sabzi, New York style pizza, cupcakes, and curry—is fruit. I love to eat fruit and try to start every morning with at least four or five different kinds. This morning I had an apple, a pear, a banana, a peach, and a nectarine for breakfast. My three year-old had the same. And my love for fruit has grown exponentially since living on the Mediterranean, since it’s so much juicier and tastier here.

When fashion designers went crazy with fruit prints this spring, I kept thinking that the clothes looked good enough to eat. Yum, and yum.

And it’s not just fashion designers. Fruit prints are popping up everywhere in home accessories. Some are painterly, some whimsical, some graphic—which means that this mouth-watering motif can make its way into any style of décor.

One of my favorite interpretations of this trend is fruit wrapping paper from Happy F&B, a Swedish design agency. One:

And two:

As is often the case, my husband and the kids are sleeping soundly in their beds while I’m tapping away at the keyboard. And, as usual, I’m insanely sleepy but pushing through it to get things done.

Although tonight I’d like to make it to bed before midnight. We’ll see.

Hopefully this is the last button I’ll press before going to bed. Publish!

If I had these windows, I would be doing everything in my power to keep them unobstructed. Unfortunately, sometimes there’s only one good direction to fit a bed, and if it’s against a window—what then?

I’m making note of this idea from the Pottery Barn summer 2011 catalog. I love how the wood blinds draw your eyes up to the ceiling. I love how it doesn’t feel like you’re missing out on a view. I love the symmetry.

Here’s another one, also counterintuitive. But I think the reason this works is because the headboard is just slightly smaller than the window frame (same goes for the previous image). By seeing a bit of the frame on either side of the headboard, it doesn’t feel like the bed is overpowering the window—and thus, not overpowering the room.

Much to my good friend’s chagrin, her daughter wants a unicorn-themed bedroom. “Do I have to give in?” she asked me. “Can’t I just put up fuzzy pink drapes and call it a day?” So I offered to come up some ideas that would satisfy her ten year-old and her own worldly tastes.

My starting point was this unicorn print by Etsy seller serpentmandalas, which is more colorful-tapestry-storybook than pink-glitter-rainbow (1 point: Mojan). I then built a room around that style with pieces that are equally colorful and appropriate for a ten year-old girl—and acceptable for a world-traveled mom.

At first glance I thought this was a black-and-white photo with a yellow color pop, but it’s full-color. And guess what? I LOVE IT. I could totally live in shades of gray.

My big sister is engaged! I am so excited that sometimes I think my head is going to explode from happiness! Eeeee!

I had no idea I’d been waiting for this day to come—until she told me she met this guy and that he might be the one. Unbeknownst to me, my head was on its way to explosive right then and there, and it has been building since. Right now, the situation is verging on hazardous.

I. Cannot. Contain. My. Excitement.

That said, I’m looking at these wedding inspiration boards in a completely new way, and I think it’s time I go crazy creating more.

This one, coral and white, may be one of my favorites and has my sister’s name written all over it.

Loves:

- Coral, in general.
- When the bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses complement each other.
- Seersucker bow ties.
- Wedding accessories from Etsy.
- Cupcakes echoing the gerbera daisy centerpieces.

And:

- Thinking about my sister’s wedding. Yay!