Cocktail Culture and the Home Bar

When Life Gives You Lemons...

A Change is Gonna Come...

design babylon dances with the green fairy {that’s absinthe, don’t ya know?}
I love Halloween — who doesn’t love the chance to dress up and “be” someone else for the night?  However, I am NOT a fan of blood and guts and scaring the beejeezus out of myself.  I am attending a party at a downtown loft and the hosts request that guests bring a bottle or an app.  As I always strive to be the best guest {or host} possible, I immediately hit the internet to find a totally unique and fun cocktail to bring.  Why bring a bottle when you can bring a cocktail, n’est ce pas? After seeing more than one recipe for “bloody eyeball punch” or “vampire-tinis,” I decided to be a bit more creati

rachel ward and kate spade new york
Do you follow kate spade { @katespadeny } on twitter ?  Well, you should. Had I not been following kate spade, I would not have been privy to some truly behind the scenes photos of the new flagship in Tokyo. The flagship recently opened its doors and {swoon} I’m positively in love, enchanted, obsessed, etc! ward's concept sketches

I {heart} jeff lewis
Some may find him abrasive.  Some may think he is out-and-out rude.  Still others may think he is certifiably insane, but what can I say?  I kinda love the guy.  When I first saw this clip of Jeff and Jenni with Vlad the Contractor and had a disturbing sense of déjà vu I couldn’t help but bust out laughing. Trust me, when you work in the architecture and design business for a while you will hear every possible excuse from your general contractor, and maybe even some you never expected {potato bugs in “colorada,” anyone?} please to enjoy.

db gives her kitchen a little botox injection
Last week I decided to give my kitchen a little Botox.  Why Botox?  Well, my plans weren’t quite the scale that would warrant the moniker “face-lift” – “face-lift” implies general anesthesia, cutting, pulling stitching and a recovery period {i.e. new cabinets, appliances, permits, general contractors, and not being able to use the kitchen for a while.} I really just needed to “zhuzh” up the kitchen because it really needed some TLC.  So here is the progress in pictures! SO…. here is what the kitchen looked like when I first purchased the house.  Notice the darker ceiling and beams and

tongue in chic – animal print
I love it when designers have a bit of cheek when it comes to their interiors and Jeffrey Bilhuber definitely did not disappoint in his design of this hallway. designer: jeffrey bilhuber Animal print has been popular for centuries, but how fabulous is this carpet with the actual leopards on the floor?  Cheeky indeed. {Does anyone know who makes the carpet?  Please comment below!}