Winter Weekend {So Cal Style}

Last weekend my sister and I went on a little road trip down south.  We stopped at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach.  I have read a lot about it and seen blogposts, but never experienced it in person.  It did not disappoint.  The weather was beautiful and there were amazing flowers everywhere.

  What could be better?

We cruised around Balboa Island, did some shopping at Fashion Island and then spent the night at my favorite hotel down that way, the Hyatt Regency.  The next day, we woke up to cloudy skies, and after breakfast we stopped at the historic Crystal Cove. 

After a nice walk down the beach, we arrived at the cluster of old cottages where people have been camping for the summer since the early 1900s.  

 

The history of this place is pretty fascinating.  If you google, you can read more if you're interested.

As we continued south to San Clemente, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful Southern California winter day.

I mean seriously, how lucky are we to live in So Cal?

I wouldn't trade it for anything.

And here is the view from my friend Judy's balcony, right by the San Clemente pier.  I don't think I'd ever leave the balcony.  Can you imagine the sunsets?

We continued on south stopping in Laguna Beach, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe where I had a work meeting on Monday morning.  Unfortunately I did not play golf that day, but it was a beautiful course at the Santaluz Club.

  

We did a fair amount of shopping and I came home with a new pillow sham from Restoration Hardware, some cute black and white cocktail napkins, a couple of amber bottles and a cute little gold nut dish.

It was a pretty good weekend.   Let's hope this one can hold up as well.  It's three days long and going to be warm, so it's already got that goin' for it.

Wishing you a good one!

As always, thanks for visiting.

#sunnyskiesforall

xo

~Karen~



Bookcases {In My Case, Less Styling More Books}

So tricky, yet so pleasant (when done right).

My bookcases are less stylish and more workhorse.  While I love a beautifully styled bookcase, in my small condo, I don't have the luxury of having a lot pretty stuff on them. 
I need them to store my BOOKS. 

I got the idea to use two Ikea Expedits from Meg Lonergan's four stacked units in the photo below.  I'm sure everyone has seen this by now...it's been around for awhile and in many publications.

  

So brilliant.  I mean really, that's a LOT of books.  And I think they look fantastic!

I don't have nearly as many books, but I wanted them all in these units.  As you know, I'm not a fan of clutter, so I needed this space to look clean and organized. 

I started with all of the white-ish books in the top two center cubbies.

Then all of the black books in the bottom, just above the two baskets (which are great for storage). 

I placed the colorful books together in sections of reds, blues and greens.
All of the children's books are in the bottom cubbies
(where there will soon be tiny ones who can reach them :)   

These are all books that I used to read to my kids.  They're all tattered and loved up, like childrens' books should be :)

I still have books stacked throughout my place and some of the decorative stuff will probably have to go soon since I keep getting more books.  But for now everything fits pretty well in these two units.



Can't believe it's Wednesday already.  This week is flying!

As always, thanks for visiting.

#footballisover

#countdowntobaseballseason

xo

~Karen~



New Lamp {West Elm love}

I stole a great line from Sherry Hart (Design Indulgence) and it's ok because she stole it too! 

I'm "auditioning" this lamp for this corner of my living room.  In L.A. where everyone is auditioning for something, it's especially appropriate.

Yes, I realize the plastic is still on.  I'm taking it off soon.  When I'm sure.   ;)

I've had this big empty corner to work with.  I've tried a few different things here but nothing too thrilling.  I think I've finally found a winner with this new floor lamp from one of my favorite stores, West Elm.
 

I have to tell you though, when I first started thinking about this lamp about six months ago, it was $169.  It's now $229.  I used some discount codes, free shipping and a gift card (thanks Katie ;) so I got it for a little less cash out of my pocket.  But still, that's a pretty hefty price increase.

 

I like that it's tall because my ceilings are tall and I needed some height in the space.  And it's adjustable so I can change the height if necessary.  I also like that it has two lightbulbs so you can have different levels of light.  And I've got a pretty good mix of modern and traditional going, so I think it might work.

Did I mention that I get afternoon sunlight?  It's pretty cool.  I get to watch the beautiful Los Angeles sunset every evening. 
It's one of my favorite things about my place.

The weekend is almost here, friends! 

Hope you have a great one.

#superbowlsunday

#itslikeanationalholiday

xo

~ Karen ~



Ikea ~ The Return of the Frosta

I don't know about you, but I missed the Ikea Frosta stool the first time around.

 

 

 

I recently (probably a year ago now, because time flies like a mother these days) started crushing on this great little stool and could not figure out why I couldn't buy one.  Not available in the US.  Why?  It's always been available in the UK and all over Europe, but not here.  Not fair. 

 

 

Recently I've read in several places that it's coming back on February 1, 2014 as part of Ikea's new spring collection, Brakig.  This is pretty exciting. 

So many possibilities.

 

 

 

Part of the collection includes this desk with copper legs and wood top.

 

 

 

 

And pastel pink modern open shelves.

 

 

Ikea just gets it.

 

 

 

 

Hope you're having a great week.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

#returnofthefrosta

 

~ Karen ~