The frozen land across the lake

The frigid air hits your face as you leave the protective terminal and get in the (thankfully) warm rental car. Heading west on I-94 to north I-43 the lights of Milwaukee quickly fade to black. The aging two lane highway can seem desolate but offers a great opportunity to be alone with your thoughts...or '80s pop blasting from the Sirius radio. There is nothing like rocking out to Guns 'n Roses - Sweet Child 'O Mine as I try to stay within the (slow by Michigan standards) 65 mph speed limit - no tickets on this trip!

A short hour later, the car pulls into the outskirts of Sheboygan and the hotel. After the dark car, the light from the lobby causes temporary squinting as I make my way to the desk and get my key. The room smells slightly of a bad nursing home but then the scent vanishes and I notice the two double beds that suddenly look so much smaller than my queen at home - good thing this is a non-husband trip!

My stomach rumbles and I remember my last meal was five hours ago - as my choices are Arbys or Chili's, I opt for an over-cooked steak and wilted broccoli - at least the potatos were mashed to perfection. Dessert was an apple from the hotel lobby as I settle in for some surfing of the World Wide Web and mindless television drivel in the backround.

What will tomorrow bring?

Bring on 2008!

Santa Baby...

Best Christmas present this year, bar none was the wonderfully generous gift from my husband - a Canon Digital Rebel XT, 8 megapixels of pure joy!

He also bought me a bag, extra battery, 2 gig memory card and a 75-300mm zoom lens.

I've been playing with the camera since the week before Christmas (we opened gifts early to have time to ourselves) and will post pictures soon...

Almost a real bedroom...

A free weekend would not be complete without a trip to the mothership. And my mothership I of course mean Ikea. Dearborn to Canton is a mere 20 minute trek, filled with anticipation of the joyous shopping to come.Today's mission: FINALLY get a real bed! Not that the boxspring and mattress on the floor, as we have been sleeping for the last 3 years, isn't sufficient - but let's face it, we're grownups now, we need a real bed!

2 cinnamon rolls, 2 hours and several dollars later we had MOST of our bedroom - we were seconds too late from picking up the last headboard and footboard in Aisle 30, Bin 17 but are assured that four more are on the truck unloading tomorrow morning so at 10:00 am we'll have the whole bed!

Since you can't have a bed without a place to put all of your books and...well...general junk, we bought matching sidetables in red:

Light is usually helpful when reading said books - found these really cool brassy table lamp bases and shades (we bought the top shade, white with off-white stitching):

Now if I could just find someone to paint upstairs - of course that would mean I would have to have picked a color!

Oh, and we also bought this great duvet cover (to match the tables of course!):

Waspy Chic in Newport

The New York Times had a great article this week on John Peixinho, a decorator that is ever so gently updating the fabulously waspy homes of Newport's elite. There was also a beautiful slide show of homes/interiors, my favorites are shown below (you can see the rest here...)Photos: Tony Cenicola/New York Times

What I love about Mr. Peixinho's work here is that rather than the rather popular "gut and redo" method, he made minor changes to these interiors - new paint here, slipcovers and draperies there, re-arranging furniture and re-using heirloom pieces. Very classic and chic.

The great Chandelier search

I want to put a chandelier in my office at home (Tim thinks I'm crazy). I've always wanted a pretty chandelier and think that they instantly turn a space, when done correctly, from blah to wow. The problem is finding the right one...

Here are a few I've found:

Kristaller from Ikea

Teardrop Chandelier from Urban Outfitters

And the search continues...

The Birds

I've noticed a trend towards birds in design lately. Kind of a throwback to kitsch with a modern twist.Love this trio of olive sparrows from CB2
Even Pottery Barn is jumping on the wagon with this spin on traditional patterns..Love this pillow made of vintage handkercheifs by seller PleasantView on Etsy
I also love these jade bird bowls from the fabulous Jonathan Adler.