• decor,  my view

    Color-licous

    October 21, 2009 /

    So you know, Valorie, right? Sure you do. Well if you don’t she’s a Visual Vamp and you should check out her smooth New Orleans style over here. She always has something clever up her sleeve.

    Well you can Vote for The Vamp and for New Orleans!


    In the Apartment Therapy Room For Color contest.You have to register to vote. Sorry. And now you have to vote again for those who have made it to the next round!

    Visual Vamp Valorie Hart has made it to the next round with her spicy Modern Creole room.

    She lives in New Orleans for ten years now, and brings her New York roots to her love for her adopted city of New Orleans.

    The room you are looking at is her office. You peek through an original archway into her office, which is flanked by a pair of vintage skeleton charts. One of them sports a Mardi Gras mask . The color palette is Late Creole Tomato (a coral based red), Vibrant Turquoise, and Sophisticated Chartreuse. Generous built in shelves house her collection of design books.

    A white cowhide rug makes the space cozy. A pair of pale aqua lamps with couture lampshades from Paris grace her desk, an antique table from France. Nestled into a corner is a Gris-Gris altar, filled with mementos found and given to her over the years. During Katrina, the home was spared, and many credit the power of this altar for saving it! So please vote! A vote for this room is a vote for New Orleans, as well as for The Visual Vamp! But please vote right away!

    You only get 24 hours to cast your vote in this round. If we pull her through to the next round, you’ll be ready to make her a winner!

    Go here to vote NOW! but remember you can only vote in this round on Wednesday October 21.

    Best,
    Kwana

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  • Books,  my view

    What Cha Reading?

    October 16, 2009 /
    Right now I’m reading this:

    and this:

    and a whole bunch of these:

    and hope to read this:

    before this movie comes out:


    And we won’t even get into my huge TBR pile.

    As you can see I still have that pesky multi-tasking problem.
    So are you like me? Do you read a bunch of books at once hopping around or are you the one book at a time type? What’s holding your attention right now?

    Best,
    Kwana

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  • accessories,  Books,  domestications,  food,  movies,  my view

    And Featuring…

    October 12, 2009 /

    What’s Jack up to? Nothing much besides being the Just Jackster lately and having quite a time with that. He had fun helping the DD with a photography project for school what got him plenty of bribe treats in order to keep still (which he never did do) so WIN for him.

    Happy Monday and Happy Columbus Day!
    This is probably one of the latest Julie and Julia posts ever but here goes. Many of you know that Julie and Julia was my last book group book and I was quite excited to read this book and even more excited to see the movie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

    Well, I guess too excited because I did an off reversal thing that I really thought would work. I saw the movie before reading the book and as it happens, I LOVED the movie, maybe a little too much.

    The problem with that was the movie, for me, was adapted so differently from the book that it made the book hard to separate and enjoy and I think if I had read the book first, I would have enjoyed it more. Or if I read the book maybe a year prior and then read Julia’s MY LIFE IN FRANCE and had those to go on I would have had a different experience.
    That said, this is not really what this post is about. This post is about the other little star of the movie. You all know how I can get swayed by a good accessory. Don’t let a fine handbag cross the screen. Clive Owen can be bare chested and I will barely notice. Well, that fine accessory moment in Julie and Julia was the Le Creuset dutch oven moment. I instantly turned to the DH and whispered, half breathless, “look my pot”. He just sighed knowing the trouble ahead.

    I had been coveting one of these pots for years but just could not justify the purchase of one in my own mind even a discounted one (on sale) and I really didn’t want another brand. You know how it goes. Real or Canal Street knock off? I go for real every time.
    Well this weekend after countless trips to Home Goods and TJ Maxx the DH had had it with me and the anniversary had not quite worn off so I now have my very own pretty yellow dutch oven. (sorry it’s dark in the pics)

    The first meal: braised ox tail stew with onions, peppers and potatoes. A fave of the DH.


    I also got this great casserole and one-pot book for myself to go with it. Who knew I’d be so happy over a pot?

    Could I be sorta domesticated? Kinda?
    Um… Nah. I’m not getting crazy here.

    Best,
    Kwana

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  • awards,  meme,  my view

    Me? Over The Top

    October 10, 2009 /

    Super brave American, Frau on a West Family Adventure in Germany was kind enough to bestow this Over The Top award on my blog. At first I thought it was Over The Hill (hmm sensitive much?) but now I know it’s a nicey nice blog award with a fun ONE word challenge. I look it as a fast and furious psyche test. Here I go:

    1. Where is your cell phone? Bed

    2. Your hair? Difficult

    3. Your mother? Ha

    4. Your father? Heaven

    5. Your favorite food? Rich

    6. Your dream last night? Lost

    7.Your favorite drink? Diet Coke

    8. Your dream/goal? Joy

    9. What room are you in? Bedroom

    10. Your hobby? Photography

    11. Your fear? Mediocrity

    12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Bestseller

    13. Where were you last night? Movies
    14. Something that you aren’t? Calm

    15. Muffins? Banana-Nut
    16. Wish list item? Cartier

    17. Where did you grow up? NYC

    18. Last thing you did? Read

    19. What are you wearing? Jeans

    20. Your TV? Old

    21. Your pet? Wild

    22. Friends? Blessing

    23. Your life? Turbulent
    24. Your mood? Uneasy

    25. Missing someone? Sometimes

    26. Vehicle? Truck-light

    27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

    28. Your favorite store? Anthro

    29. Your favorite color? Green

    30. When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday

    31. Last time you cried? Recently

    32. Your best friend? Cherished

    33. One place that I go to over and over? Church

    34. One person who emails me regularly? BFF

    35. Favorite place to eat? Johnny’s

    Now I have to pass the award along to six Over The Top Blogs that I really like. Too bad it’s only six. I like so many of you. Like Frau said, if you’d like to play along too, feel free to join in. If not, NO pressure. Cut and paste these questions to your post. Please let me know if you play along. Today’s picks are:

    Ina in Alaska http://ina-offret.blogspot.com/
    Amanda McCabe     http://amandamccabe.blogspot.com/
    Deidra at Jumping Tandem     http://www.jumpingtandem.com/
    Tam Styles at Get It Girl Style     http://getitgirlstyle.blogspot.com/
    Kate at Babbling about Books     http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/
    The Broke Socialite     http://thebrokesocialite.com/

    Best,
    Kwana

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  • love,  marriage,  my view

    In A Blink

    October 8, 2009 /

    Thanks so much for all your well wishes yesterday on my anniversary. You all made the DH and I feel so good.

    I have to say it was a lot to live up to this 20th anniversary thing. The day before, heck, weeks before, I had so much anxiety and I think some was due to the upcoming anniversary. How could I be having such a big milestone in my relatively short life?

    I did just have my 40th birthday back in June that was enough thanks. I felt with this big milestone of the 20th anniversary and having a 40th birthday and having kids in high school shouldn’t I have all this grown up like crap together? Shouldn’t I be more together and know what I’m doing by now? Shouldn’t my career be in place? Shouldn’t I have this parent thing down? Shouldn’t I at least not have so many freaking bad hair days?!!!

    Well, I guess not. Because the milestone came anyway. I woke up next to the DH and said, “well, this is what 20 years looks like.” He smiled, laughed at me and said, “and you said we wouldn’t make it.” The day began.

    20 years is not perfect, but it’s not all drama or even a romantic comedy. Nothing is. It’s life full of moments that go by in the blink of an eye.

    Best,
    Kwana

    photo thanks to flickr- Blink of an Eye
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  • gardens,  inspiration,  my view,  photography

    Last Picked

    October 2, 2009 /

    Happy Friday! Well you made it another week. Good for me and you, eh? How did this week do ya? How did this month do ya for that matter?

    It’s flown by on a breeze and I’m left wondering where it went and left looking at its back. Now here it is October and Fall is here for real- real.

    The garden thing is officially done. Here you see the end of our labors.
    The last picked. Aren’t these last pick tomatoes and peppers just beautiful? Sometimes those that are picked last can be the most special. The ones with the most promise. There’s no shame in being the last picked.

    “…so the last shall be the first…”

    Best,
    Kwana

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  • life,  motherhood,  my view

    Multi-Multi Tasking

    September 21, 2009 /

    What’s Jack up to? Jack is being Jack. A little bossy, a little cute, so very Jack. Keeping me on my toes.

    It’s early Monday, well, late Sunday night as I’m writing this and already I’m overwhelmed with the family schedule this week. Not just this week, this year really. As women we are the keepers of the schedules. Ours and everyone else’s. Annoyingly, I found myself taking unnecessarily drives this weekend to classes that didn’t happen because I didn’t have a teen’s schedule memorized in my head. Not that said teen should not have had their own schedule down. Sigh.

    To make things just that more nutty, I’m already thinking ahead to the new year. January and February. So much so that the beautiful months of October and November are getting lost in the shuffle as just pages I’m flipping on the calender.

    And in all of this I’m terribly afraid of dropping the ball. That my whole house of cards will come tumbling down from all my multi-tasking.

    Knock Knock. Is it just me knocking at this door? Think I need a cup of tea and a moment to think about this.


    Beware Of Multitasking – Robyn Pearce Time Management Expert on Howcast

    Oh and thanks to Prof Melissa Harris-Lacewell on twitter for pointing me in the direction of this article from The Huffington Post on the ever growing unhappiness of women and and multi-tasking. A longtime sign of the times.

    Best,
    Kwana

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