Kitchen Love

A brand new week awaits and after a weekend full of drama (sliced my finger making this), vintage shopping, catching up with friends, and fresh cut lilys, I am ready for a new week! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and soaked up that amazing sunshine! Now time to get to work!
This week it is all about my kitchen. What can give it more life, character, and fun. It is super small, so with space limited I will have to get creative. I love rustic lettering! Jayson Home & Garden make amazing letters -check them out here - but at almost $300 a letter, I need to keep looking. I want to spell EAT above the stove! So while I search it out, enjoy these beautiful kitchens, with all the details!

Happy Weekend

A weekend full of home decorating, wonderful vintage finds, and being pampered has arrived! (If the weather was better I would be poolside as well!) With the lower temperatures for the weekend I will count on the new additions to our apartment to keep me warm. With a week of listening, re-inventing and re-focusing behind me, I am excited to reach the weekend and enjoy myself a little. I will begin daily blogging again on Monday, much to look forward to! Have a great weekend! 
ps. follow on twitter @thesimpleblife

Beauty. Framed.

A picture here and there, street art, and some sconces all decorate my walls as of now. One of the walls in the bedroom has been saved for me to create a framed collage, for about a year now! I now, horrible slacker! But I found so much inspiration in the past three weeks and I can't wait to get started. It is my new little project (along with finding a new rug for the living room). The search is on for little framed treasures.

Tasty Tuesday - Pizzeria Mozza

Los Angeles is filled with tastemakers, especially when it comes to food. Anyone that has lived in LA has heard of Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza. The place was created by Mario Batali (Italian yum!) and Nancy Silverton (La Brea Bakery). Bread and cheese, quiet possibly the best combination ever.
When it first opened it was nearly impossible to get a reservation, and that has not changed much four years later. The open floor plan captured me right away, and the old pizza oven - I couldn't get enough! How have I not been here! The only thing missing was some good garlic bread to start - breadsticks were a let down. 

I ordered the Mozza Caprese and the Meatballs al forno to start. So good. Love me some caprese, and this was amazing. The baby red tomatoes were grilled/toasted to perfection! Although I think the prosciutto meat plate would have been delicious, I went for it on my pizza - with rucoa, tomato and mozzarella. Yum! Wash it all down with 3 glasses of Italian Vino, and thats a birthday dinner!

So many choices, I can't wait to go back.

Vintage Monday

I have been bitten by the inspiration bug. This morning my boyfriend "didn't want to start the day with T.V. commercials," so morning news was passed up for vintage vinyl. I must say the mood on this Monday is very calm - collected - and filled with creativity. 
With a new interest in home decor, my apartment is in for an overhaul. And again I turn to Anthropology for guidance. I spent too much there this weekend on books! Yep books! Not clothes, or bedding, but books! From Vintage Cocktails - brings me to The Great Gatsby - to Modern Vintage Style... my head is spinning and my apartment is in for some Spring cleaning!

Inspiration In My Hand

With a new year ahead of me I have been looking for the perfect "thing" to hold my inspiration. An inspiration board is the perfect place to gather your breath, but in my apartment it would loose that special quality of being "just for me". So when I came across this binder, I was sold! Its perfect size, my style, and a touch enlightening on its own. The binder is from Russell and Hazel. The price is perfect, and they are made from 100% recycled post-consumer content. Now I just need to pick a color - I think gold!

Birthday Week

It was my birthday this past week and I snuck in a little time off blogging. Up early. Out late. Birthday's are always less relaxing then you imagine - which was a great thing! Lots of vino and cheese got me through the week. Great friends, good conversations, and tasty food! Now back to real life, a year older and with an entire new inspiration. Here is just a taste - 

All Lacquered Up

The first day of Spring! New clothes. New trends. Warmer weather. Longer days. And an entire new set of nail polish colors! I can't find the exact moment that I began my love for nail polish, but I think it started with a sticker collection I had when I was four. I would put different stickers on each of my nails - it never caught on. Now I'm that girl with a ten day max  between manicures. One of my resolutions for this year was to learn how to do my own manicures (I'm still working on it!).


My favorites are OPI and Essie. Last the longest, most even color, and best selection of shade. I can't wait to have an entire collection, displayed in a chic white cabinet. Another resolution! Until then here are my choices for Spring...

 Essie | Chinchilly

 Essie | Fifth Avenue

 OPI | Glitzerland

 Essie | Haute as Hello

 Essie | Mademoiselle

 OPI | My Chihuahua Bites

 OPI | Over the Taupe

 OPI | Pamplona Purple

 Essie | Peepshow

Essie | Topless & Barefoot

 OPI | You Don't Know Jacques

 Essie | Tart Deco

Books & Libraries

I love books. The smell. The feeling. The ink on the pages. The words. The colors. I continually fall in love with storage ideas for all the books I have started collecting. I have a love for coffee table books recently, and know I will need somewhere to place them all one day. 


I remember the first time I was inside my boyfriends parent's place. Their entire home feels like a personal library. Each book has a place, each room a certain collection, each corner a place to curl up and get lost. The kitchen is full of cook books - almost an entire wall! The living rooms are lined with books that make you want to discover. And the entire place is organized to perfection!


So as my collection grows, I'm taking note on some of the most beautiful libraries and book collections. 

A Touch Of Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A little fact to share about this holiday, the original color associated with today was blue! But in tradition, here is a little touch of green to keep from getting pinched!