Month: May 2017

04May

10 meaningful and thoughtful Mother’s Day gifts she’ll remember forever.

Mother’s Day is everyday, cliche but true.  In the perfect world we would treat our mothers regularly with one or two of these gifts listed here but, we either lack the monetary access to afford them more frequently or we don’t make them a priority.  If the latter one is the case, it’s a shame.  Since I became a mother myself, I have understood the tremendous sacrifices mothers make for their children everyday.  Many mothers give up their carriers to dedicate full time to their children, others go through emotionally and physically painful process to have a child. Suffice to say how special mothers are, therefore I came up with the most meaningful and thoughtful mother’s day gifts that are not necessarily cheap or free but, indeed caring and considerate.

Give her the gift of A massage experience

To make it even more memorable and fun, team up with her best friends own children to plan it so they can share the experience together.  You can even bring the spa home so they feel the comfort of home.  Zeel is an app that sends masseurs to home.

Take her to the Opera for a night.

If you live in New York City or its vicinity, take your mom to one of The Metropolitan Opera ABT (American Ballet Theater) 2017 Spring Season performances.  Make sure to pre-order your drinks for intermission.  For the first time The Met Opera is offering the ability to
pre-order your drinks for easy pick up at intermission.  Pretty cool.

Organic meal delivery service

Is your mommy is a healthy or junkie eater, either way I’m sure she would very much appreciate a week or month without cooking while still consuming healthy food, so give her the gift of organic meal delivery service.  There are a few Organic delivery services offering healthy food options from Paleo, Vegan and Gluten free options.  Here is a helpful list.
Give her a canvas portrait of her grandchildren or pet.
To many, this type of gift may sound sort of dreary but, mothers that are also grandmothers may know or understand something we younger people can’t totally grasp yet, because
for them it is all about sentiments and they love gifts like this in particular.  Etsy has a few artists that offer a personalized pop art-like portraits and cartoon like ones as well, take a look at here and  Here .

A month worth of weekly housekeeping services

Nobody wants to talk about housekeeping since it’s not too glamorous, but boy are they helpful… and wouldn’t you feel good knowing that your mom won’t have to lift a finger for an entire month.  I know I would.  This is a gift that specially new moms would appreciate.

Take her to a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Who doesn’t love Michelin-Star worthy food?  Usually lunch menu’s are more affordable than dinner and mothers love lunch anyway.

Delivery Hairdresser

Boy isn’t this a good one.  Everything has an app right now and hairdressers coming to your home is in my opinion one of the best things ever happened to the modern world right now.
Glamsquad is an option.  What about combining a delivery hair dresser, a Michelin
starred lunch and a night at the opera?  I added the numbers for you Blowout $60 including tip, approximately $150 per person for lunch, ballet performance start in the $20’s.  A very special day for your mom for under $200.

Donate to her favorite cause in her name

We all have a special cause that speaks to our heart.  Either an illness that took a loved one
away or under privileged children.  Make sure the charity you decide to donate sends
her a thank you note, so she knows that a good cause was done in her name.

A glamorous book

If your mom loves gardening and fashion and beautiful interiors, what’s better than a book about the late Oscar de la Renta “The Style, Inspiration and life of Oscar de la Renta”?  The book highlights images of fashion editorials, pictures of his homes and garden and more.

A unique subscription

I’ve been meaning to do the  ancestry test so I know that is a gift I would never forget.  For the beauty conscious moms who love to take care of themselves and like to try new products, a subscription to a service like Birchbox is fun and and useful.  For the Home Decor aficionada, a subscription to one of her favorite magazines would be fitting.

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03May

12 European Country Side and Provencal Gardens

Provencal Gardens design ideas with terracotta pots with boxwood and stone walls and shutters

Francois Catroux courtyard in Laurmarine, France.  The Provencal garden has ancient fortified stone walls with shutters on the windows, the floor is in gravel and the green throughout is planted in terracotta pots.

Characteristics of Provencal Gardens

European Country or Provencal gardens are informal with a more laid-back atmosphere.  When more European formal gardens are meticulously planned and focused on symmetry, many countryside gardens share a common thread that reflects their slower pace of life and unpretentious approach to design.  As in many of their choices in life, Europeans first priority when it comes to designing their garden is about creating the space to celebrate the pleasures of life among friends and family.  What an inspiring way of living, taking what you have and working with it, instead of falsely inventing what’s not there.  Of course, not all of us
have the perfect surroundings of the South of France but there is something to be learned from this realistic low maintenance approach to design.  Europeans have an innate sense of style and even though their country gardens are casual they sure are stunning and charming settings where we can linger and never get tired of them.  One main element I constantly see in these gardens is gravel, typically used in patios and pathways as well as partitions between boxwood.  These countryside gardens in Europe may be full of harmony, but make no mistake, these lush outdoor spaces are full of varieties.  Usually lots of container
plantings for easy caring, lavender for the beauty as well as for the aroma, vegetable and herb farming for an organic living and ancient old trees.  Since food and wine is an integral part of good living (in my and many others opinion),  iron garden tables and simple chairs are a must for outdoor eating.
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02May

The Most Glamorous Night of the Year

Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the in-between exhibition

Photo by The Met via Vogue

This year, on the 1st Monday of May a.k.a Costume Institute’s annual The Met Gala happened last night, as I’m sure it’s no news.  This year the exhibition is “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between” celebrating the unconventional fashion of Comme des Garcons creator, Rei Kawakubo.  An innovator of her own who has always refuse to follow rules when it comes to designing and creating her clothing line.  If you go into Comme des Garcons website you’ll be welcomed with a massage that reads “wear your freedom” in Japanese translated into English.  The celebrated Fashion Designer also owns the department store Dover Street Market with flagships in three different continents including one in London and one in New York.  If you have ever visited one of Dover Street Market stores, you can clearly see the concept is one of its own where the designers show a very strong personal design vision and style.  The exhibition is curated by Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute.  Raul Avila has been in charge of the gala décor since 2007.  Apart from being one of the only places where streaming live from inside is strictly prohibited, the event main purpose is not only to provide a platform where the most coveted celebrities can show the world how beautiful and privilege they are, we all already know that but, the main purpose of the most glamorous night of the year is to raise money for the Costume Institute; the fashion department at the Met.  Last year’s exhibition “Manus ex Machina,  raised $13.5 million.  Tickets this year are $30,000 apiece, and tables are about $275,000.  Anna Wintour, American Vogue editor-in-chief oversees every detail of the event.
The exhibition opens to the public three days later on May 4th and goes  through September 4th, 2017. If you cannot make it to the exhibition, there is a book authored by Andrew Bolton and designed by Fabien Baron, published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art that you can buy here.  Below, some of the most stunning gowns of the night.

Naomi Watts, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson in Stella McCartney

 Naomi Watts, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson wearing Stella McCartney.  I love both of these dresses and I think Kate’s very white hair looks great.

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01May

Bruce Budd Designs An Alluring Houston Home

Many of you may have already seen this home in Houston designed by Bruce Budd in collaboration with Bute King Architects, previously featured in Architectural Digest.  The Georgian style home is redecorated portraying a quintessentially Bruce Budd style, elegant and classic with modern touches in the form of art.  The relaxed but elegant atmosphere of the decor throughout the home was the response to the homeowner’s request for a home with a welcoming environment to entertain his grown children and grandchildren.  The transitional style is timeless and up-to-date.  The home’s casual and relaxed but still formal decor is thankful to the mixture of expensive antiques, modern art and humble materials as woven straw, linen, cotton, materials that are usual staples of Budd’s design.  To give the formal home a sense of lightness, Budd limed the Louis XV boiserie paneling as well as the floors and millwork throughout the house.