Master Bedroom Suite Specifications

I'm so excited, I finally received the specifications  from Kelly of Porter House Designs that came along with the e-design rendering for our bedroom.  She also attached a shopping list on where to find the accessories, lighting, and tables (night stand and end table for sitting area) which made my life so much easier..  So here it is:

Porter House Designs

Love the warm gray tone combined with Turquoise (my favorite color) colors that will be painted on the walls and ceiling respectively and the pop colors of red and plum pillows as accents.  I already have the Serena and Lily Tess Duvet Set and the Pierre Mirror from Z Gallerie (one of my fave stores) that is currently hanging in our family room above the fire place.  I will probably scout for a cheaper alternatives for the night stand and end table at Home Goods and Pier 1. If not, I think the webste store she sent me should be fine too.  Will definitely post a before and after photos as well as the e-design rendering itself.

Radisson Edwardian Heathrow

On our last night in London, we checked in at the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel (very close to London Heathrow Airport) before we went back to Central London to watch Jersey Boys in West End. 

Here are a few pictures of the Hotel Interior that I took:

 

Love this light fixture by the elevators on our way back to our hotel room

The grand chandelier (with it's mirrored ceiling) inside the Bijou Bar and Restaurant on the first floor

I loved this Velvet Damask print wallpaper and dreamed of having this in our master bedroom suite

Oxford Circus and Sloan Street, London

So on our first day in London, we can't wait to hit the shops and see what's the Fashion Trend in London now a days.  We took the tube a couple of blocks away from our hotel and got off at Oxford Circus. 

Walking down Oxford Street

                                             Miss selfridges, lots of cool clothes and accessories

Mango and Gap

A huge Marks & Spencer with it's own Supermarket downstairs

Didn't know they have UniQlo in Europe

Love the clothes in Zara London Stores.  I was getting tired of their clothes here (in their South Coast Plaza store) but seeing their clothes in London with jewel tone colors (green, hot pink, purple, yellow) made me wanna go back to London again and again for shopping.

                                           The building on the left is the big Rolex Store

To me, Sloan Street is a Fashionista's Haven.  Will make you drool with all the designer shops lining the street. Too bad the stores were already closed (but good for my wallet) by the time we got there, so we ended up just enjoying our walk and took lots of pictures instead.

                                           The LV Store

Gucci Store

Hermes

Then There's Dior

My all time Fave, Jimmy Choo

There's Valentino and D&G right next to each other

YSL

You can never go wrong with the famous Pucci Printed Dresses like those on the mannequin

and then to cap it all off, there's Chanel

Ultimately, I loved London Fashion compared to Parisian Fashion.  Londoners are very fashionable, chic,  updated yet understated.  And most of all, I love all the designer bags (should've taken pictures of them) thay they carry around while taking the tube from Miu Miu (load of this), some LVs (I guess they're not really into LV much unlike Asians who line up their store), Prada, Longchamp, some Chloe, Chanel to mention a few. I loved the designs in stores overall compared to what I see in the stores here in the US.  I guess I was just getting bored here. And seeing what they have in the TopShop and Zara Stores in London got me so excited and wished I could see more of these styles here in the US. 

Progress on our Yard Project

When I got home, I was eager to see how the progress was with our yard and this is what I found....

Shot crete (not sure if I spelled it right) should be done this week.  Few more months and we're hoping it'll be done in time for summer.

And here's a sneak peek of our back yard (part of it).  I can't show our dying (or died- past tense) cypress trees from lack of watering them.  I need to keep up with garden work, which I only have time to do while the kids are playing in the backyard.

Home is where the heart is....

After a week in Europe, We're finally home.  We had so much fun during our vacation, sightseeing, shopping and meeting up with my friend in London and catching up with family in Paris.  All is can say is, seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time made my jaw drop..

                                                       The Eiffel Tower on our first night

Pictures will never do justice on how magnificent it was in real life.  Paris is a very romantic city, from walking down Avenue de Champs Elysees hand in hand to dining along Seine River (at night time) with my hubby.  This is the best date I've been on in my entire life.  Not sure if anything else will top this.  It was very exhausting (due to walking all day) that it made my feet and knee hurt and literally have blisters on my feet from too much walking ( should've have brought a pedometer with me to see how many steps we've walked during the whole trip).  We visited a lot of tourist attractions, seen many places and saw Londoners and Parisians style, dining and way of life (which is a whole different post).  But at the end of each day we're gone, I missed my kids terribly and wished they could enjoy this with us.  I wish that one day we can go back with them and they'd see and experience these places with us. Yes, I'm happy to be Home.

London Calling

photo courtesy of Tech Cruch Europe

In less than 48 hours, we're off to London. I've waited for this trip for a long long time and after months of planning, I can't believe we're almost here.  I am so excited to see my friend in London and meet hubby's side of the family in Paris.  Although I will miss my kids terribly while we're gone, this is a great way to celebrate our anniversary and have a fresh break  from our hectic (and sometimes crazy) everyday lives.  I hope one day I can take the kids there when they're older  to enjoy and appreciate the fabulous sites each city has to offer.. Now back to packing...... haaaay!!

I'm in LOVE....

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

with Jonathan Adler Design that is.. I just got a hold of this book from the library today and couldn't help smiling.  I agree with his philosophy that color does make you happy and that in terms of designing, the wife is always right, unless the husband is gay.  The husband readily agrees as long as he takes charge of the garage interior (his soon to be man cave, haha!- which is one of our home improvement projects in the next couple of weeks) and he has a say in the family room design.