paris hotels - how fun!

paris is basically everywhere (i look) for decor and fun stuff.  its wild.  i'm constantly bumping in to things online about paris.  maybe its a sign i should move there. or maybe its just because i love it so much, it sticks out.  ha. so there is this hotel in paris where you can pay what you want. cool idea. i dont imagine i would ever stay there since i have friends in paris with whom i would stay, BUT its cool to get the word out AND i love the decor.

here is the hotel: Tour d'Auvergne, a three-star hotel in the city's Opera district, which is an amazing location!

and here are some cool rooms:

and more stairs!

its true, i love the stair.  many in a row is preferable.  stairs.

so this website has a list of 17 awesome staircases around the world.  here are some of my favorites - i've never seen ANY of these in person - MUST. GO.

in my next apartment...

so it appears that i will be moving in 2 months time. i need to commemorate my current apartment, but until then, i am going to begin collecting ideas for decor (which i have been doing all this time, but now i might have room to do things!).

i've been looking at furniture, because i will have to buy quite a bit of furniture for my next place and boy oh boy!  its expensive.  so i would like to get some used pieces to redo or bring to new life.  the only issue is, living in a city, there aren't many random garage sales where i can pick things up for cheap.  der.  and the consignment stores are actually quite expensive.

in any case, i would love to do this on something.  here is the aftermath, what i quite love, and what it was.

maybe some colored books? from here.

many moons ago...

i lived in paris.  sniff.  i lived in an apartment in the 10th arrondisement that, if i remember correctly, was 18m squared. or maybe it was 15.  i can't remember. it was a small studio. i wish i had more pictures of it.

in any case, when i saw this apartment in paris, it reminded me of my place. my bed was lofted and my family (parents and 2 brothers) came to visit and stayed WITH ME in the apartment. it was soooo cramped. think dickens-style poor cramped.  this is a bit more spacious, it seems, but very small and yet ultra cool.

i've love to own a place like this for when i travel there and i could rent it out at other times.

more pics here and here is the floor plan.

i guess thats why they call it a bathroom...

because you can take BATHS. bahahaha.  ok, that wasn't that funny.  but i have to write about these bathrooms.  they are
GOR
JUS

so gorgeous.  find more here.  below are some of my favorites.

the following one makes me feel a bit exposed... what if someone came by??

and this one i like because you could float around... reminds me of the springs in new zealand, rotorura.

stairs! they're everywhere!

last week, i wrote about some funly painted stairs.  funly is a word, right?  ok, it's not.  i'd like it to be.

well, now there are MORE stairs from here.  that just keep getting crazier and crazier.  here are some of my favorites.

this one would be great for rolling suitcases up and down.  (or kids, if you have them)

friday night in paris

tonight is friday and i am spending it in paris.  fortunately, the place where i am staying is free for me.  unfortunately, it is not any of these places.  my friend gidge sent me this site and i thought you'd enjoy some of the parisian apartments.  here are some of my favorites.

up and do and round and round

i love stairs.  i'll say it again.  they are so cool.  what would we do without stairs??  i'm in france today and i went for a walk in the village.  there weren't any stairs. but there were hills.  and i was tir-ed after the walking.  i would've liked to have seen some fun stairs like these.  from here.

organizing - i LOVE it!!!!!!

the other day at work, i was talking about how i read a bernstein bears book to my nephew.  and my colleague said "i loved bernstein bears!  the messy room was my favorite!" and i was like "that's MY favorite, too!"  here is a picture of it.

my colleague said "there's the bulletin board - i love that!" and i do, too.  so, when i saw this post, i instantly loved it.  here is the before and the after.

click here for all the details.

and doesn't that closet remind you of the bernstein bears closet??

don't just buy from a furniture store!

i'm using this place to write about different art and decoration things i like.  i love apartment therapy, and have been (re-)posting a lot of pics from there recently.  here are some others i like.  different ideas for nightstands.  i am thinking i would love a wine barrel - refinished, but with a cool brand name on it as a nightstand for me.

which one is your favorite?

check out other ideas here.

fun storage idea!

thought this ingenious storage idea for the unused space next to your fridge was a great idea.  i have a step ladder next to my fridge, but maybe someday i'll do something like this...

from here.

what sayst you?

i LOVE this kitchen!

for some reason, kitchens are starting to become my favorite room in the house.  or, rather, favorite room to look at in OTHER people's houses. and favorite to think about what i could have some day.  i feel like if i had an amazing kitchen, i might want to cook more.  ha!  so i was blown away by this kitchen.  what do you think about it?  whats in your favorite kitchen?

if you want to see the "before" pictures, check them out here.

sometimes it works out, sometimes not.

i started documenting my paintings a bit ago, and i'd like to restart doing that.  you can check out some of my work here.

so going back to my painting history.  i took an acrylic painting class and loved it.  i painted a few things in black and white and then we were told to do a homework assignment using just two complimentary colors (e.g. red and green, blue and orange, or purple and yellow).  i chose purple and yellow.  i painted the below chandon wine bottle in my hotel room in phoenix arizona, when i was there for a work conference.  it took me a few hours and is on a flat canvas board.  it is about the size of a piece of paper (maybe slightly larger - 9" by 12" probably).  i used only yellow and purple.  and maybe white.  i can't remember.  i must have.  i quite like it, although this isn't the best picture of it.  i did not paint this from a photo, it is painted from something that was in front of me.

in class around that same time, we were given an assignment to paint fruit.  and i didn't get the assignment, honestly.  it was so confusing to me.  everyone ended up with fruit that was different colors. and i wasn't really able to see all the different shades of the fruit.  so i did this in class on my canvas book.  it sucks, but i'm posting it here anyway.  i might have painted over this, it's so bad.  the teacher had the fruit in class for us.  bleh. i hate this so much.

repurpose! don't throw out!

so i have this side table that i love, but no where really for me to put it.  it was in my closet, taking up room and not being functional.  i'm thinking of giving it away.  but then i think... well, if i move soon, then i might want it...?  so i'm not really sure what to do.  in any case, it is in great condition and very sturdy and i have always loved it.  and i thought of it when i saw this cool repurposing.  it was an old dresser and now its a fun kitchen storage area!  what do you think?

then (and this is all from here)

charlies angels desk

so this video is pretty cool.  the finished product is neat - i wish it were a teeny bit more spiffed up, but thats just me.  if i had a big, eclectic house, i would definitely put this in it somewhere.



saw it here.

lawyered.

haven't posted in a bit, but I recently spent some time painting.  I love to paint, even if I'm not any good at it.  I enjoy giving the paintings away (if people like them).  I painted this one for a friend in nola.  I call it "lawyered."

acrylic on cavas.  created June 2014.  I think it's 10x10inches.

i do love to travel...

oh my gosh.  i love AND kind of hate this.  i think i'm leaning towards loving loving loving.  its quirky.  i like quirky.  but its also weird.  what do you think?

it kind of makes me worried if i was sitting in it, it might close up with me inside... anyone else feeling that?  from here.

creepy AND cool?

for some reason, this staircase (and i LOVE staircases) is really freaking me out.  but, i'm drawn to it, as well.  what do you think?

from here.

its almost my birthday!!

i need to get back in to this blog!  shame on me!  it's saturday and i'm inside because the pollen is HORRIBLE outside.  so, because of this, and because its almost my birthday, and i love bright pink and cool creative apartments and whatnot, here are some cool decorations with bright pink highlights found here.  what do you think?  in both pics, the pink is what i like best and probably wouldn't do the rest!  ha!  i think i'll clean my apartment so i can take cool pictures tomorrow.

stroopwafels

i consider myself gluten free.  sure, i don't follow 100% of the time, but in general, i try very very hard to follow a gf lifestyle.  and there are very FEW things that i want to eat.  good scallion pancakes are one.  the burger bun from the gallows is another.  picco pizza crust.  and stroopwafels.  if I haven't given you some, you should definitely let me know.  we shall share some.  so when I saw this office decorated like this, I thought - that's. so. cool.  great design.  and how could you possibly work there??  you would want to stuff your face all the time.

what is a stroopwafel you ask?  Here is the def from wiki:

(English translation: syrup waffle, treacle waffle, or caramel waffle; lit "syrup waffle") is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. They were first made in Gouda in the Netherlands. Large versions are sold in the streets as a snack.

you make a mug of hot tea, and then put these on top for a few minutes (resting, so they don't touch the water) and it melts the caramel inside and they are mmm mmm good.  so good.

from here.

posting this in honor of my friend, r, who headed back to the Netherlands the other day.  she is there with her baby and hubby and they are planning to leave the low country to head to cali.  good luck!

i'm hungry

this is a video of BEAUTIFULLY shot food.

ROSE">http://vimeo.com/69161600">ROSE by Carte Noire
from http://vimeo.com/datafone">))) datafone on Vimeo.https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.>
delish.  thoughts?

dancing is art, right?

I love this idea - I need to dance more.

would you do this with me?

i. must. have.

but that could be dangerous.

and when i say "have" i am referring to this:

lest you think it's just another crazy ring i want to wear on my soft, delicate fingers, tell me this does not make it perfect for me:

1. it is called "Femme fatale" ring
2. it is from 1870 - umm... VINTAGE?
3. it only cost $11,350 at an auction
4. IT SHOOTS REAL BULLETS
5. IT SHOOTS REAL BULLETS

AMAZEBALLS.

i sent this to miss molly via email and said "I think i should own this, what do you think?" and here is her response.  which is perfect.

Lol was going to say yes absolutely but then saw price, but then saw it shoots real billets and arrived back at absolutely!!!! ;-) you're worth it! 

swing and eat - perfect!

what do you think of this?  how cool would it be to be swaying while eating?  (not to make you sick, just a little)

from here.

i love the red and black mixture.  i would put a bright pink and blue version in my house.

dancing is art, right?

put this on my long list of things to do one day.

to do:
learn this dance



could you do it?

ummm... amazing? it' just a sink.

ok, so apartment therapy has done it again.  something i would've NEVER thought of and its just... amazeballs.  a LAZY SUSAN SINK.  check it out.

from here.  i mean.  i don't know what it's for.  or why you'd need it.  but it is awesome.  just build it.  for me.