Regatta watching

Photo via Mary Ruffle

This morning is sunny and beautiful. I'm wishing I were out on the water, sailing and enjoying that full-on summer is here. In the meantime, this photo will have to do. Isn't this snap of Jackie O and JFK watching the sailing boat races dreamy? They really were American royalty.

Be back soon for more, in the meantime, hope you're either outside or at least able to peek out the window and enjoy some of this sunshine!

Dreaming of getaways

With my return to work, I think my brain is already in vacation overdrive. I've been dreaming of exotic locales and awe-inspiring trips to take for days now. Luckily for me, the blogosphere provides plenty of inspiration. Here are three interesting idylls that have caught my eye lately:

1.

At the Utter Inn in Sweden, it's just you (and perhaps one other person, preferably someone you like a lot) in a typical Swedish red house. This red house floats one kilometre out on Lake Malaren (where you're brought by boat). You can have dinner delivered to you by boat, or use their inflatable canoe to visit a nearby uninhabited island. You can also swim and just relax in general. And oh yes, and the sleeping quarters are below the water level, so you fall asleep with fishes swimming around you and eying you suspiciously. Kinda weird, kinda cool.
Spotted on mix tape.

2.

Villa Else is not too far from Utter Inn - it's located in Denmark in the middle of Søllerød Nature Reserve and facing beautiful forests. This bungalow is so cozy and cute:



Photos by Stuart McIntyre. Spotted on Walking Around.

3.


Perhaps the swankiest of all. The entire page was in Spanish (or Portugese?) so I don't have too much info on this house, other than that it was photographed by Romulo Fialdini. Sorry. Pretty, though, no?
Spotted on Aubrey Road.

Ahh, to get away. A girl can dream... Until then, I'm excited for today - it's supposed to be 82 degrees! Hello, summer! (Wait, where did spring go?...)

P.s. If you think sleeping in a treehouse would be more your style, check this out! And don't forget about the possibility of swimming on the edge of a waterfall - yikes!

This rocks!

For those of us not getting real "rocks" for Valentine's Day, I thought these giant crystals might give us something to ooh and aah over instead. (I keed, I keed.) ;)

These photos are from crystal caves in Naica, Mexico called Cueva de los Cristales (or "Cave of Crystals" - brilliant name, by the way, right?).


Doesn't this guy look like Luigi (of Mario & Luigi) in his little navy plumber's outfit and green hat?

Photos from National Geographic

Discovered in 2000, the caves contain some of the world's largest known natural crystals, which are as long as 36 feet and weigh up to 55 tons; the largest crystal in the caves is 500,000 years old.

These aren't the kind of caves you can check out yourself, though: the main cavern can kill humans after just 15 minutes of exposure due to its 100% humidity and temperatures hovering around 136°F. Only select scientists have ever been down there, and they are required to wear protective suiting (basically filled with ice cubes and a dry air system).

Regardless of the danger, these caves yield huge amounts of silver, lead and water, which is handled by a Mexican mining company. The water has been used to create a lake in the desert, as well as water a nearby golf course. (Okay...An amazing natural treasure and that's how we use its resources...)

Either way, these caves are cool. Well, actually, they're hot, but you know what I mean...

Thank you, Alyson, for sharing these amazing crystal caves!

Summer on canvas: Samantha French paintings

I remember when my brother and I were younger and spent our summers on Cape Cod, we would spend literally all day in the pool in our backyard, swimming and diving. We wouldn't get out until our mom dragged us out for dinnertime, and by then our fingers were prune-y and numb.

At summer camp on the Cape, we had morning swim lessons in the freezing cold pool or in the murky pond (depending on how old you were), and then I'd spend all afternoon sailing on little Sunfish boats or FJs and 420s as I got older.

To me, the water symbolizes everything fun and full of life I remember from those summers.

Now I live in Annapolis close to the water, and fill my house with things reminiscent of the sea and the color of pool blue. As I get older, I hope to one day have a real painting (or at least a high-quality print!) to put on my wall to remind me of the summer.

I spotted these Samantha French paintings on Mint a few weeks ago and fell in love. The colors, texture and movement of them feel so connected to me.




Do Samantha's gorgeous paintings and prints speak to you too?

Have a great weekend!

TGI-effin-F, people! I am supremely happy for it to be Friday, and Friday afternoon at that. I hope you are too. The week is almost over, so relax and get ready for the weekend! On that note, I'll leave you with some gorgeous photos, all from the amazing photographer Cade Martin.




See you Monday!

Take a deep breath and jump

Photo via FFFFOUND!

I have some meetings today. I haven't had those in a while. I'm nervous - like I'm jumping off a big diving board. Anyway, please excuse my lack of posts this morning, though I will be back here later today before the week wraps up officially, so see you then (and wish me luck please!).

Sea painting

Photo found on Desire to Inspire, from Patrice Cowan Bevans

The bedding and some of the furniture choices in this room are a bit...mature...for my taste, but I am absolutely enamored with the painting above the bed. Just looking at it makes me want to curl up under a blanket and take a nap or serenely rest for the night. The lamps are pretty chic too (I have very similar ones in my house!). I only wish I knew who painted it. Anyone?

On vacay!

Maine, here we come. Posts will be back when we return on September 2nd (wow, September already?!). Blog ya later!

(Ok, I know this photo is technically of Round Island Light in Michigan, but it's a beautiful photo and it feels like Maine to me. Sorry, MI.)
(Also, I would love to credit this photographer, but I can't seem to find out who shot this photo. I saw it on a reader-submitted inspiration board on Style Me Pretty. Sorry I can't accurately attribute it...but please do let me know if you know where this came from.)

Old-School Americana

I was perusing A Continuous Lean (which is sort of a mannish site, but still has amazing content and is well worth the look, if you have some time) the other day and came across these photos of a family in 1950s and early 60s America. They're all from one man's flickr stream, as posted on ACL. At first I scanned through them, bemused but not particularly involved, but went back to them later on. I can't get over how different life looked back then. It actually looks like a set from Leave it to Beaver or some movie (Pleasantville perhaps?). Keep in mind these are real photos from a family and not Hollywood-ized versions of what we think that time was like. It's so crazy to look back at these. I wonder if people will look at pictures of the 2000s and think we look hilarious. At least we don't still have 80s hair...Now if we could just get rid of leggings once and for all.

Summer swimming

While I don't actually get The New York Times (I know, I know, I should - but I am being green by reading online!), I do subscribe to their blog, The Moment. One of today's posts, from Senior Editor Sandra Ballentine, was of this photo. It's an image taken by Andrea Tese called "Rock Swimmers" and it's one in a series of works called "At Leisure," which is currently on exhibit and for sale at the designer Jarlath Mellett's shop in Amagansett Village, NY. (Whew, that was quite the run-on sentence.) I guess I really am grasping to hold on to summer as much as possible, because this photo called to me. I can't wait to head up to Maine in a few weeks. I'm certain the water will be much too cold to jump into, but at least the rocks and the deep blue water will look like this. I love summer up North.

Look to the sea (alternately titled "have a great weekend!")

Photo from Crystin Moritz

Being that I was in NYC until mid-week, this week has really flown! I hope it did for the rest of you; if it didn't, well then, TGIF right?

I am loving the above photo, which made me think of summer travel - like the whale-watching trips we went on to Martha's Vineyard as kids - or perhaps fall, since she's wearing a hoodie and trench. For some reason it also makes me think of Maine. I can't wait for our upcoming trip in August and am counting down the days, so this pic makes me happy.

In the meantime, though, I can't believe we're at the end of July already (!!). I hope that you all have a great weekend and enjoy the last days of July. We're heading up to Philadelphia for a few friends' parties, but will be back for Monday, so see you in August!

Sea & sky

I want it, I need it, I have to have it. The bedroom itself is a bit muted and mature for me, but I love this photo by Marine Hugonnier:



I don't think seeing it alone does it justice, but I love how it's used in the above room and so simply framed in white. So gorgeous! Room by Steven Gambrel, as seen on Shelter.

See you next week!

Wanted to add in one more image before I head out for the weekend...
Doesn't she look like a gorgeous mermaid / siren on the rocks? Photo by Emma Tempest.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you next week! xoxo -r.

CG Textures

If you're not an aspiring video game designer, I'm not exactly sure what you'd use the CG Textures website for, but it's still pretty cool to look at. I even had fun browsing through the "showcase" section to see how some of the "3-D artists" (I didn't know that's what they were called) had used these textures in their own creations. All of the textures on the site are free and come in varying sizes from small to really quite large. The textures are really there for professional designers to use, but I could possibly see using these images myself for various projects (invites, party decorations, etc.) or even printing on their own for some visual impact. Thanks for sending me this link, Mr. S!

Vintage surf's up

Photo from Tim Clark Interiors, a design firm in Santa Monica

Someday I will have a vintage Woody (in blue and wood, please!) to put my surfboards atop. With my scooter, my Woody, my surfboards and B's kayaks, we will have the perfect fleet. A girl can dream, right?...

Shaw looks good to me

The Shaw House in Vancouver is a very modern-looking house but completely genius:

How incredible is this front door area?

Here's the view from pool level (which is obviously above the front entrance area):


Since the lap pool is above most of the house, there is this very cool entry area where you can see up into the pool. (Jeesh, you'd really have to be on point with your self-maintenance - I'm sure things could look really scary from that angle!) It's also located on the west side of the house, meaning that tons of light floods through the pool and into the central area of the home. I love how it bounces off all the surfaces, creating these amazing textured reflections on the walls:


Oh, and the inside is kinda okay too:


Here's the view:


You can check out more pictures of the interior and read about the floorplan on the Patkau Architects website (the firm who designed the Shaw house).

Stairs to the sea

Photo from House Beautiful

Whose house is this and when are they inviting me over? The stark white everywhere plus the angular table and slightly abstract art are more modern than I'd use myself, but I cannot get over the words on the stairs! I want to go up those stairs and see where they go, or go down them and around the corner to see if they indeed lead to the sea. Even if they didn't, I'd still adore the idea. Also how cute are the seagulls above the stairs?

If I had that perfect little summery cottage on the lake, I might even put these words on the patio stairs that led out to the beach (the ones right next to the outdoor shower). A girl can dream, right?

Good, clean fun

Ever since I was a very little kid I remember wanting an outdoor shower for our house. My mom used to tell me how the house I was born in (which was just blocks from the beach) had a little enclosed (but open-roofed) outdoor shower that she would take steaming hot showers in, even in the dead of winter, and look up at the stars. How dreamy is that?

Here are some of my favorites "open-air showers" from around the interwebs:



Three photos above by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn, as seen in Coastal Living


Photo by John Clark, as seen in Dwell


Modern minimalist shower in Montauk, NY by Murdock Young


A more preppy shower by Murdock Young


Simplistic, unsheltered shower in California by Feldman Architecture


Photo by Maura McEvoy, as seen in Coastal Living

Throw in a bar of soap and a nice fluffy towel and I'd be ecstatic with any one of these outdoor showers. (I think I'd even be brave enough to use it throughout all the seasons.)

Plus, if you have kids or pets, it's the perfect place to give them a good hose-down after the beach (or soccer game, or mud puddle, or any day in the life of a kid/pet really) before they enter the house.

So whatever you use it for, an outdoor shower is a win-win (or should I say "wang to the wind"?) situation.