Simply, Neha Leela

‘Tis the hallmark holiday season.  Sarcasm aside, these images from Irene Suchoki make such sweet Valentines day (or every day)  cards. Find this lovely photo at her Etsy shop.  Sorry hallmark. 

Wishing you a week full of sweet surprises around every corner.  Happy Monday.

image credit: BeachBungalow8

Living two blocks from newbury street, and having visited many of the spas in this neighborhood, I have never seen any spot that oozes as much vivid warmth and energy as this Portuguese barbershop.  I’m infatuated with the turquoise chairs, the contrasting red door frame and the bold teal walls captured in this photo.  I hope but am doubtful that if touring this town, many of us would stop to admire this colorful cave. 

image credit: The Sartorialist 

Lethargy resulted not only in a lull on the blog for the past two weeks, but a brief halt on all things on the home front.  Laundry piled up,  suitcases remained unpacked, thank you notes were much delayed, and decorating projects lagged.  After falling asleep early last night, even for me, I woke up this morning, surveyed the seemingly unfamiliar surroundings and state of my home and began rebooting. I sorted stacks of mail and swiffered up a storm.  

But even after generally resuming order, the corner of my bedroom is still stacked with forgotten rolls of fabric and samples, meant for projects that were shelved in my mini-recess from the decorating frenzy that consumed the fall.  Determined to resume after this recent bout of winter listlissness, I’m starting with the paint project that has been most daunting. With help from Lisa, my design idol and co-owner of Nest,   I’m down to a few options for the living room that are derived from the damask wallpaper in my entryway.

Just having returned from Puerto Rico, I’m favoring the warmer gold and tan colors to set off the aqua in my curtains but these greenish blues are a bit more daring, while still offering calm and consistency with the color palette in the room so far.  

I’ll be bringing home more paint samples tomorrow and playing around a bit, please chime in with any and all input or inspiration!

With winds and temperatures that are severe and sharp, even for this season, there’s nothing I want more than to seek refuge in the comfort of my bed.  Typically an early riser,  extricating myself from layers of bedding has proved to be challenging.

The inevitable mid-January cough and cold has me re-considering the bedroom.  When I first moved in,  I began creating a cozy escape, with maize walls, clean white linens, charcoal ikat and toile anchors and pops of red.   

But I’m eyeing the easy elegance that channels Canyon Ranch in these bedrooms below.  Though its too soon to replace my wallpaper with grasscloth, it does make an immediate difference in the first room.   In both, the tufted headboards, glass lamp and soft palettes add serenity.  For those of us who can’t re-skin our rooms, we can transform with tranquil textures:  the faux-bois pillow, suede bench, silk cushion or cashmere throw, are all attainable accents to create a space that is a spa-like sanctuary.

(images via Canadian House & Home)

(image and thoughts via realsimple )

Deal a luxurious hand out of the classic tiffany-blue box.

Indulge at tiffany.com

With the craze surrounding the kindle this holiday season, and the hype around the tablet, I’m a little sad about the notion of future generations never having quite the same appreciation for dog marked pages, coffee spills and yellowed paper, and the beauty of an ever expanding bookshelf.  

The greatest nostalgia is for the start of summers as a school girl, accepting the local library reading challenge and dawdling around the old building on a scavenger hunt for books on the recommended reading list.  

This cardstock creation from Anthropologie is meant for saps like me.  The cover is a sweet reminder of the inside of library books.  And the lined pages, pockets and sporadic images of polaroids and postage stamps inside, invite you to store sentimental scribbles.  

The annual clamor to create resolutions has passed, but in lieu of resolutions I opted for reflection on the brightest parts of 2009.

I’m scribbling and sharing a few of the highlights here, with a new year’s wish that 2010 brings an equal amount of successes and learnings, adventure and leisure and spontanaeity and comfort.

Some of these will seem trivial, others much more fascinating, but each carried meaning and created a memory.  Cheers~

1.  Bought a house and began making it a home, on my own.

2. Strolled through the fresh markets in the south of France.

3. Cheered for the Patriots at Wembeley in London.

4. Re-started my blogging adventure after I quit the year before.

5.  Visited the Google HQ and felt instantly more intelligent.

6.  Watched one of my best friends walk down the aisle and marry the perfect person for her.

7.  Caught my first wave and surprisingly a few others during  surfing lessons.  Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

8.  Courted myself on weekly solo dates to Cafe L’Aroma.

9.  Attended my first blogger event (as a blogger).

10.  Built up my collection of old first edition books, including Vanity Fair, the Scarlet Letter and The Art of French Cooking.

11.  Overcame a fear of seafood and tried lobster, shrimp and tuna (by accident).

12.  Manned a grill for the first (and possibly last) time.

13.  Braved boeuf bourginion.

14.  Took on my first of many reupholstering projects.

15.  Asked for a stranger’s book recommendation in an airport and it changed my life (dramatic but true).

16.  Fell in love with turquoise damask wallpaper and covered my halls with it, against everyone’s reccomendation.

17.  Got a kitchen aid mixer and made more muffins than ever necessary.

18. Rode the T from one end to the other just because.

19. Survived Disney as an adult (and enjoyed it – see #6).

20. Accepted that a day spent with loved ones being lazy might be the furthest thing from unproductive.

These bone chilling temperatures summon visions of a mountain side chalet, blazing flares within a stone fireplace,  antler adorned mantles and windows looking straight into the mountains.

Though my decor is not easily transformable into ski-chic, I’m determined to find ways to channel that seasonal, intimate scene without replacing teacups with horns.  As a start, I’m topping my summer white bedding with this taupe faux-fur throw : my shortcut to layering on winter luxury to create a bedroom retreat.

image credit: elle decor, pottery barn

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