Blue bottles, Vera and Tarte....my week.

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from Jonathan Adler: on Happy Chic colors

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via House Beautiful




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As my boy Jonathan Adler says, it's " The easiest, happiest solution to any sad and lonely shelf..." in his book On Happy Chic Colors. He was referring to a grouping of blue glass bottles! I have to agree, my darling JA. There's a reason blue bottles were brought to mind.....voila! what I did this week:

This week was crazy. CRAZY!!! I worked out of town, which is always hectic. But this was a commercial project, which meant navigating downtown St. Louis, parking in scary parking garage, using scary freight elevator and working in the lobby of a very fancy Accounting firm with 100s of employees, all questioning where I was going with this. And don't even get me started on the constant loop of Fox News on the flatscreen TV nearby. Fair and Balanced? Heh????

That's a photo of the project a couple of minutes before I left. It's Stuco Lux, in the colorway Azul, with a cobalt blue wax topcoat. I am quite proud of the final results. The color...well that's a perfect bottle blue for you. I didn't pick it, I can't take credit for that. I think the design of this reception area is just stunning. Good on you, Lawrence Group!!! I like the combination of the dark wood and the bright blue.

Since I feel self imposed obligation to find beautiful rooms for your viewing pleasure,here are two of my favorite blue-ies. Love bottle blue with crisp white!!! designer, James East.



and bottle blue and white and lime green! Sweet!!!!

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Tuesday, after I had applied my basecoat, I had an entire evening to myself. I finally made it into an Anthropologie!!! I looked at everything, was in there for over an hour, but was really disciplined and only bought books. My favorite one is this one:

Vera: The Art and Life of an Icon

I love Vera and her simple, scratchy sketches. The woman lived the exact kind of life that I want to after my children are grown-- traveling the world,drawing and painting, shopping in local markets, with her beloved husband by her side. Sigh....
Anthropologie had the most amazing Vera print dress....I wanted it sooo much, but I could NOT justify spending the money when I have so many projects going on at home. Berry Months dress via effortlessanthropologie.com

I have loved Vera since I discovered her at a garage sale. I got a Christmas table runner circa 1960-something for a quarter! So glad her designs are being revived by the We Love Vera line at Anthropologie.

My other great find this week was the Tarte Natural Cheek Stain. So it was the best of 2010, so as usual, I'm a little behind, but better late than never!!!
It seems powder blush just vanishes from my face so this is a dream come true. The 'True Love' color gives me a perfectly flushed and fresh look that I really like. And it lasted all day!