Getaways Guest Blog Series: Stacey from Quintessence

I'm very happy to have the lovely Stacey from Quintessence as a a Getaways Guest Blogger today. Stacey's blog is filled with thoughtful, informative posts on everything from wine and design to movies. Here's a bit about Stacey's vacation tips and faves...

Favorite Vacation Spot

I want to thank Connie for inviting me to participate in her fun Getaways Guest Blog Series. For me it was an easy choice since I have been going to the same vacation spot for many years. Nantucket is a small (only 14 miles long by 3-1/2 miles wide) island 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts with over 82 miles of beautiful unspoiled beaches, a charming historic town of cobblestone streets, chic shops and restaurants and an abundance of natural beauty, 40% of which is protected by the Land Trust.

Photos Courtesy of The Wauwinet Inn

Where to Stay

The Wauwinet Inn is a luxe Relais & Chateau property on the northeast part of the island where it is very narrow, so there is access to both bay and ocean. You can stay in the lovely main building or rent a cottage. Toppers is their award winning restaurant and there is a fabulous spa as well but the best part is sitting out on the lawn in the evening enjoying a spectacular Nantucket sunset overlooking the bay with a glass of champagne or a cocktail.


Photo Credit: Michael Galvin/Nantucket Chamber of Commerce



Where To Eat

Nantucket has a wide variety of great restaurants. For an adult evening out without the kids, our choice frequently is The Chanticleer in the “other town” of Siasconset (pronounced Sconset). Reopened a couple of years ago as a more casual version of the original French restaurant, we like the more laid back bar area to enjoy the bistro cuisine. Or go for a leisurely lunch and sit in the beautiful rose garden outside.

What To Do

One of the best aspects of Nantucket is that there is something for everyone at every age making it the perfect getaway location for either a family or a couple. From exploring the many beaches to visiting the historic whaling museum to renting bikes to tour the island, you could easily fill up a long weekend or week with activities.

And there is always town with its many tempting shops for fashion, art and decor. I always find something new to bring home.


Photo Courtesy of NJ Tours



5 Vacation Essentials

Essentials for a Nantucket vacation are good sunscreen, strong sunglasses, a great cap or hat, a book for the beach, and your camera. And if you’re renting a house, make sure you have a hair dryer because Nantucket is a notorious bad hair island.

Top: Birger et Mikkelson, pants: J Brand, sandals: Prada,

Bag: Chloe, Hat: Helen Kaminski, Sunglasses: Oliver Peoples

Packing Tips

Packing for Nantucket can be tough because of the unpredictable weather. Style tends to be casual chic. For day I pack long slim shorts or capris, fitted tees and a couple sun dresses with flats or comfortable sandals and havianas and a cover up for the beach. For evening I always bring several pairs of white pants from jeans to dressier versions that I can wear with a variety of tops, a couple sleeveless summer dresses in case we get invited to a party and sandals with a bit more of a heel. You have to bring an assortment of layers like sweaters and wraps because it can be hot during the day but the ocean breezes mean evenings get quite cool. I add belts and accessories to mix up my looks.

Favorite Travelling Companion

My favorite traveling companions to Nantucket are my husband and children. My kids have been going their entire lives and look forward to our traditions such as lobster dinners and family game nights - thank goodness we have an even number for teams. As you can see, even my dog likes it! My husband and I try to go up by ourselves once a year for a long weekend where we just relax and do things both together and apart. We’ll spend afternoons lounging at the beach (me under an umbrella) or he’ll get in some golf or fishing while I poke around town. Then we’ll rendezvous back at the house for a home cooked meal of fresh grilled swordfish and sweet island corn or go out to Chanticleer’s (see above) or Lola’s for sushi.

Photo of Prague via

Next Spot I'd Like to Visit

My husband would like to go to Hawaii because he prefers vacations where he can do things outside -golf, snorkle etc. Another option he likes is a ski vacation in the Rockies or Alps. Any more urban destinations that interest me like Prague or Barcelona I'll have to do with girlfriends!!

Guest Post: All About Brights & Colour Blocking

Color Blocking at Its Finest: Gucci SS 2011 via style.com

Get Ready for Summer with Rainbow Bright Colour - Spring/Summer dressing has burst into life this year with an eye-popping array of bright hues in bold blocks of colour. Colour blocking is a key trend for Spring/Summer 2011, seen on everything from women’s dresses to accessories.


Alex Perry SS 2011 via style.com



Models exploded onto the catwalks in a riot of paintbox colour, with zesty citrus tones simultaneously complementing and clashing with bright pops of red, aqua, pink and purple – all in their loudest, most in-your-face forms. 



Don't Want to Go Full Throttle? Try a Color
Block Accessory {Scarf from Tory Burch}




Or Try A Brightly Trimmed Bag
{Marc by Marc Jacobs via Net-a-Porter.com}





After the muted tones and sombre palettes of winter, tackling these new, bold hues can seem as daunting as ditching the opaques and baring your legs – but the beauty of colour blocking is that it can be as full-on or low-key as you like.

Try a One-Colour Bright Outfit
{Blouse, Skirt - Christopher Kane SS 2011,
Clutch - Jimmy Choo via Net-a-Porter.com}

For maximum, impossible-to-ignore impact, try building a head-to-toe outfit in a single colour – turquoise shorts and a lace tee in a matching shade, for example, or a vibrant purple maxi dress. Then build in accessories that either match or contrast with the main colour: try acid yellow against blue, or tomato red on purple.

Great Contrast {Marc by Marc Jacobs
Silk Dress via The Outnet}

No less noticeable a way of embracing the colour blocking trend is to build up pieces in different colours, whether contrasting (a pink top, tangerine skirt and red wedges, for example) or ones that create more of a sense of harmony, such as citrussy shades of orange, lemon and lime.

Colour Blocking is Beautiful with Muted, Classic Hues,
Too {Colour Block Dress Available at LauraAshley.com}

If all of this seems too dazzling – and let’s face it, after a long winter, summer dressing can take more than a bit of a mental adjustment – and you find yourself clinging to a more neutral palette, you can still introduce bold colours in ways that are impactful and fresh without feeling like a walking Lego creation. Pep up an otherwise plain ensemble with just one or two acid-bright accessories: an oversized slouch bag, for instance, or a colourful scarf and zingy espadrilles. You could even just opt for brightly painted fingers and toenails, leaving the rest of your outfit relatively neutral, or provide a subtle hit of colour with a chunky bangle in a vibrant hue.

The Right Trim Adds Interest {Sweater by
Miu Miu via Net-a-Porter.com}

Broad stripes, or hoops, are an easy and unforgettable way to do colour blocking but if an all-over look is a stripe too far for your tastes, look out for designs that incorporate block colours by way of a contrasting band at the hem, for instance, or with edging in a solid colour on pockets or along fastenings. Picking up these colours with a matching accessory, such as a shoe or bag, will lend a greater sense of relevance to the outfit, making the use of colour look meaningful and confident, rather than incidental.

Colour Blocked Silk Top by BCBG

Yes, it’s time to cast off the safety of winter’s charcoals and blacks and embrace a rainbow of colour. After all, haven’t you been longing for lighter days and warmer temperatures? Try for some sartorial positive thinking: go bright and here’s hoping the weather will follow suit. Even if not, the bold exuberance of this trend will imbue even the most dismal day with an irresistibly mood-enhancing burst of colour. Now doesn’t that sound as tempting as an icy-cold, neon-bright Popsicle on a hot summer’s day?


Guest Post Supplied by Laura Ashley

Bright, Cheerful and Functional: That's cobistyle

You know me, I'm always trying to find ways to make things I like (ie: light-coloured fabrics) functional and worry free. I don't want to have to freak out every time someone sits on my chair holding a glass of red wine and I don't want to have to start banning my niece and nephews from coming over. Which is why I think the new collaboration from Cobi Ladner (former editor of House and Home) and Joanne Fabrics is so great. Cobi has recently launched cobistyle, a new line of upholstered items and decorative accessories that went on sale in Canadian stores this month.

And the upholstered pieces can be purchased in her "high performance" fabrics too. Like the indoor outdoor fabrics Trina Turk designed for Schumacher (I love the Peacock Print in Driftwood) or the velvets now produced by Sunbrella, these can be used inside or outside and are great for spills or wiping away dirt. Just great for a living or dining room chair or a banquette. I'm sold.

“When I started cobistyle, I made a promise that I would never add to the marketplace more of the same. I believe your home should reflect your own unique character and make you happy. In order to do that, we need choices we can fall in love with!” ~ Cobi Ladner

New House Purchase: Carrera Marble Washstand

Do you remember my post awhile back about finding a vanity just like this one for a steal (the one above is from Restoration Hardware)? And how my husband wasn't thrilled about the style? And then I was all heartbroken and what not? Well, good news! After searching high and low for something else we liked M finally came around and decided he liked this washstand (which he's dubbed The Spider) after all. My faith in my superior powers of persuasion has been restored!

So yesterday we went to buy it and...guess what? It was even cheaper than the first time I looked at it. This never happens to me. Obviously this washstand and I were meant to be. Now I just have to decide on what fixtures to put with it and whether or not I want to change out the builder tile. I'm not 100% on doing that yet. I'd like to but there are definitely more important house things to spend money on first.

Due to exposed pipes M says he'll be installing
a finishing valve like this one from Dahl.

Same with wallpaper. I'm planning on wallpapering our powder room and because it's a small space it will be relatively affordable if I'm good and pick relatively affordable wallpaper, but I may just paint it for now and do wallpaper down the road. I guess we'll just have to see where we're at when the time comes.
Oh, and I'll need to buy a toilet paper holder, garbage can, mirror and light fixture. How is it my lists just keep getting longer?! There is the issue of lack of storage with this vanity, but I'm not too concerned as it is just for a powder room and I can always put a basket or something underneath if I feel the need.

Anyway, I'm just glad that the powder room vanity can now be crossed off our house To Do list! We had a pretty productive weekend in terms of furniture too, I think we've narrowed down our couch ideas and found some great contenders for a table. Oh, and yesterday I went to try Five Guys Burgers. I've heard a lot about them and decided I wanted to see what the buzz was about. When I got there the line was out the door. My verdict? Burger was definitely good, fries were meh, I doubt I would wait in that line up again. Have you tried Five Guys? What did you think?

Book of the Week: The Eternal Ones

I've been slacking with my book reviews, but I have been reading. Promise. This week I read Kirsten Miller's The Eternal Ones, a young adult novel that focuses on Haven Moore, a girl stuck in a suffocating small town living with her damaged mother and her hell-on-wheels grandmother. Much to religious grandma's horror Haven has visions. Since she was a little girl she's had flashes of an earlier time, of two young lovers named Constance and Ethan. These flashbacks are set in New York and it is no surprise that Haven feels drawn there, and drawn to Ethan, a man she's never met. But for a long time Haven has tried to block her visions to keep from being committed or being accused of being possessed by a demon.

As Haven approaches the end of high school the power of the visions are intensifying and getting impossible to stop. When Haven spots playboy billionaire Iain Morrow on TV the girl literally passes out. Something about Iain is familiar to Haven, and while he doesn't look like Ethan, Haven knows there's a connection. There's something quite romantic about the idea of an undying love and I was drawn to the elements of the story that had to do with reincarnation and the enigmatic Ouroboros Society. It was only at the end of the book that I realized that despite it's initial promise I was left feeling strangely unsatisfied.

SPOILERS BELOW...

For one thing the love between Haven and Iain seemed kind of hollow. Their relationship needed to be the driving force of the book, but it kind of felt like Haven was going through the motions. Sure, Iain is rich and good-looking but he's also controlling, wooden and not that much fun. Half the time it seemed like Haven didn't even really care about him. And the other time it wasn't love that was driving her, it was that other four letter word starting with L--if you know what I mean.

While in New York, and unsure of what the truth or who to trust, Haven is constantly changing her mind and her alliances. While I quite liked the character while she was living in the small town (looking back the time in Snope City, and Haven's best friend Beau, were my fave parts of the novel) Haven quickly became a plot device once she ran off to New York. Haven needed to quibble and forgive, be naive and ask the wrong questions in order for the plot to move forward. I can imagine that not remembering the whole past was confusing for Haven but if she felt such a connection with Iain that she immediately jumped into a relationship with him how could she have not felt more loyalty to him or some sense of his innate goodness? Again, this may have just been a plot device to make Iain appear like he may be the bad guy for the majority of the story (I'll get to the Bad Guy later--don't even get me started). And while I did end up wanting to know the truth and the answers to the mystery at the end I guess I just wasn't very satisfied with the answers I got. Like:

Haven and Iain first fell in love on the island of Crete in the time of Julius Caesar. She was a rich man's adored prisoner wife and he was the servant she ran away with. Ever since then they've kept coming back as different people to find one another again, usually with bad results. And not just because Haven doesn't always remember Iain. There's the added complication of the husband who isn't just some crazed psycho jealous guy, but actually like the Devil or Chaos or something. And while this is the Ultimate Baddie the character wasn't really fleshed out at all in the book and while creepy he wasn't very scary. On the terror scale he was more stalker than Satan.

Which I think brings me to the biggest problem I had with the book. This dude is Satan and yet he's not very charming at all. Somehow he can't get this woman he's adored for a millenia to love him back, probably because she loves someone else. Okay, fine. And he doesn't want to hurt her because he loves her. I'll buy it, although I'll leave the question of whether or not true evil is even capable of love to another day, what really bugs me is that he just let them go. That's right. Iain fakes his death and then he and Haven run off together. And while at the end it's fairly clear that the Bad Man has found them, he doesn't really do anything. I mean, I wouldn't imagine that running away from the Devil is the same as hiding from the law. You can't just change your name, and poof!, he won't be able to find you. On top of that Iain and Haven run off to Rome. Based on their history in the book that is the FIRST place anyone would look for them. I mean, really?! Really?!

I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking this. It wasn't a terrible read but I guess I was just hoping for more. If you've read this book I'd really love to know what you thought.

Signs of Spring

Today I'm posting over at Emilija's lovely blog, The Homeslice, about what decor item reminds me of spring. After the dumping of snow we got yesterday I'm looking forward to sunshine and warm temperatures more than ever. If you have a sec head over and check it out. I'd love to know what reminds you that spring is finally here. (Thanks for including me Emilija!)

 

Most of you have probably already looked through the latest issue of Rue. I know I have. For me there were two highlights in this issue. The first was getting to see inside the home of one of my fave bloggers (Bailey from Peppermint Bliss). The second was this Turquoise Capiz Shell Chandelier:

I love turquoise and this light fixture definitely reminds me of spring--and summer! It also immediately reminded me of the amazing light fixture from a Massucco Warner Miller interior...

...and the amazing, amazing, amazing Turquoise Empire Chandelier by Marjorie Skouras that I've always loved to bits:

And the capiz shell chandelier is only $165! I'm trying to figure out how I could use it in my house. What was your fave part of Rue?

The Great Couch Debate: Leather vs. Fabric

If I had unlimited funds, no husband, and someone to constantly clean up after me I know exactly how I'd like to decorate my house. Considering I don't, I'd like to keep the one I have, and that person is generally me, the things I'd love to see in my house are not always practical.

White sofa? Not so much. Light coloured dining chairs? Likely not the best option. Carrera marble countertops? A bit too much trouble for me. Same goes with a sofa in a brightly coloured hue. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of changing out large pieces of furniture on a yearly basis so I'll stick with throw pillows to inject some colour into a room.

All of this debating--weighing what's beautiful against what's comfortable, what's practical against what's stylish--came to a head this weekend when we went looking for furniture. Originally M campaigned for a sectional sofa, but based on the layout of the room we've ruled it out. Then he sat on a leather sofa and fell in love. This couch was the real deal--good quality, supple leather with decent lines (I'm not into the uber modern leather look) and a good colour (I happen to love a vintage-y looking brown for leather but unfortunately it doesn't go with what we have, so the search has been on for a workable leather in another colour).

How great are the colours in this room?!

And while a good leather couch is likely more expensive than one in fabric it's also probably more durable and a hell of a lot easier to keep clean. I've always been drawn to a tufted, chesterfield-style sofa but have come to find that while beautiful it's also not as comfortable as other options, and I do want a couch that we want to curl up in.

So the question remains: leather or fabric? The decision needs to be made soon. Maybe one of each? I'd love to know what you think!


Photos via Decorpad

Pretty Little Liars Finale Fashion and The Avenue



Last night's Pretty Little Liars spring finale, "For Whom The Bell Tolls" left us with quite a cliffhanger. I find myself eager to find out WTH is going on. Is Ian dead? Probably, but then where is he? Did A get to his body? And, of course, who is A? The questions are enough to ensure I'll be watching when a new episode airs.

Pretty Little Liars "For Whom The Bell Tolls" Fashion

Hanna's coat by BCBGeneration

Cut Out Shirt - 3.1 Phillip Lim

Necklace - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Boots - Steve Madden [similar]

Emily has been sporting some fab jackets lately.

I really like this leather one from A.L.C.

Jeans - Paige

Boots - Diba

I mostly want to punch Mona in the face but I love her metallic, ruffled

Leifsdottir blouse from Anthropologie which features a flame print.

Metallic Gold Tote - Gap

(Hanna's Outfit Above)

Aria's black and white striped sweater from Jamison

Resin Bird Necklace - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Leggings - American Apparel

Shoes - Asos

Spencer's plaid shirt and jeans from BDG at UO [similar]

Jacket - Cooperative at Urban Outfitters

Boots - Off the Beaten Track Nordstrom

Aria's black lace dress - Free People

In other show news have you heard about The Avenue? This web show was created by Ryerson University students (and features several of them) and stars Gregory Glamour, best known for his YouTube make-up tutorials. The other star of this Hills-meets-The City "reality" show is Toronto, which is fun to watch when I'm so used to seeing U.S. cities featured on TV instead. Apparently the show gets the most views from the U.S. and Australia, but a lot of Torontonians are buzzing about it--both those that love it and those that love to hate it.

I haven't seen all the episodes yet and, while some of the dialogue seems stilted and some of the scenes forced, I'm not going to lie and say I won't watch the rest. File under guilty pleasure, I guess. The producers claim that none of the show is scripted, but I'd venture to say that at the very least the scenes are planned. Some of the so-called drama is funny too, like an over acted fight in a bar and a distraught Glamour bemoaning the fact that his boyfriend broke up with him after he moved to Toronto for him--all the way from Mississauga (about a half hour away). Still, I think it's quite a slick production considering it was put together by students. Have you caught an episode yet?


Pretty Little Liars Photos via ABC Family
The Avenue Photo via stylespy.com