LATELY I’VE BEEN…

November 12, 2012

1. Freshening up my inspiration page. Scalamandre’s Tigre is my favorite animal print du jour. Oh, what I would do for a pair of those pillows!

2.Contemplating the perfect shade of charcoal to paint my dining room table. I think I’m pretty close to pulling the trigger on Benjamin Moore’s “Soot”.

3.Spending way too much time curating my Pinterest boards.

4.Vetting recipes to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner. Garden and Gun’s Cornbread Oyster Dressing is a front runner.

5.Writing guest posts galore for the holidays. I’ll be sure to share once they’re posted!

6.Thankful, as always, to the men and women who risk their lives make sacrifices daily to protect and serve our country.

What have you been up to lately?

GIVEAWAY: IVY AND VINE

November 9, 2012

Ivy and Vine is one of those shops that I get a little giddy about whenever I visit because it’s just so me. I feel like I’ve found a style soul mate in founder Heather Roberts who masterfully mixes color and pattern to reinvent classic pieces.

SHOP

Lucky for us, Heather is partnering with One Kings Lane in a Tastemaker Tag Sale this Sunday, November 11, so we can snag her carefully curated finds at a discount. Better sign in early, I’m predicting this one is going to sell out fast!

WIN

I’m going to go on record and say that I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a giveaway in the history of The Pursuit of Style! Heather has been incredibly generous in offering up a pair of turquoise linen pillows with chocolate greek key trim. These pillows are one-of-a-kind and oh-so-amazing that I’m tempted to pick myself as the winner (kidding!)

To enter, like Ivy and Vine and The Pursuit of Style on Facebook and leave a comment below with your name, email, and your favorite Ivy and Vine product.

The giveaway will close next Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 5:00PM EST and a winner will be announced on Thursday, November 15.

Good luck and remember to check out Ivy and Vine on One King’s Lane this Sunday!

**This giveaway has closed. Congratulations to Caitlin C. and thanks to all for entering.

DISCOVERY: THE SMITTEN KITCHEN COOKBOOK

November 7, 2012

I love to cook at home but don’t do it nearly as much as I’d like to. I’m definitely one of those people that needs a recipe and am terrible at planning menus ahead of time. This tends to result in last minute trips to the grocery store for obscure exotic spices that I’m pretty sure most people don’t keep in their pantries regularly.

I have noticed that I’m happier and feel healthier when I cook meals at home rather than ordering We The Pizza (whoops did that last night) or picking up noodles from Toki Underground.  In an effort to get back to the kitchen I’ve been visiting my local farmers market (H Street FreshFarm Market ) on the weekends and adding more and more food blogs to my google reader.

Smitten Kitchen has quickly become one of my favorites and I was thrilled to learn its author, Deb Perelman, has come out with a cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. I’m planning to order a copy ASAP–which I’m sure will quickly end up dogeared and splattered with various ingredients–but isn’t that how cookbooks should be?

P.S I really loved reading all of the recipes you’ve tried and loved in yesterday’s Let’s Chat! Do you have any food blog suggestions that I should be adding to my reader? I’m sure my boyfriend would be forever grateful. He’s pretty excited about the promise of more homemade meals!

LET’S CHAT

November 6, 2012

Have you done your civic duty and are in need of a break from partisan politics? Me too, so let’s chat. It’ll be more fun than waiting for the poll numbers to come in. Promise.

Here’s the deal: I’ve answered a few questions below and hope you’ll do me one better by sharing your answers in the comments section.

ME
I collect: tortoise glass, statement jewelry, design books
Words to live by: Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful
Favorite place I’ve traveled/place I’d like to travel: Antigua/Greece
Biggest risk I’ve taken: a leap of faith.. but more on that to come!
  Item on my wish list: Anthropologie Everjade necklace
Recipe I made and loved: corn and cheese chowder

YOU
I collect:
Words to live by:
Favorite place I’ve traveled/place I’d like to travel:
Biggest risk I’ve taken:
  Item on my wish list:
Recipe I made and loved:

I can’t wait to read your responses!

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STYLE ICON: MARISA BERENSON

November 5, 2012

  Marisa Berenson: A Life in Pictures was released last year but I’m just now adding it to my bookshelf. The model/actress exudes glamour and her life as a seventies ‘It Girl’ certainly seems like a charmed one. Photographed by virtually every famous photographer of the last few decades, I’m sure the editors at Rizzoli had no shortage of material in putting this book together! Here are a few interesting tidbits I picked up while reading up on her amazing life:

  • Legendary fashion designer and rival of Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, was her grandmother
  • Her christening photo appeared in Vogue
  • Diana Vreeland discovered her at age 16
  • Yves Saint Laurent called her “the girl of the 1970s”
  • She was also known as “Queen of the Scene”
  • Andy Warhol photographed her wedding

Ohh to be so stylish!

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