Currently Loving: Rope

 

1. Michael Kors Espadrilles via Shopstyle  2. Navy Blue Skinny Rope Belt via Topshop 3. Turk's Head Rope Bracelet by Tanya Aguiniga via A+R Store 4. Arteriors Glass/Rope Cloche via Candelabra 5. Roped-in Tote via Anthropologie 6. Ropeball Door Stop via ThisNext 7. Maritime Rope Headband via Forever 21 8. DIY Rope Necklace via Miss Vinyl Ahoy 9. Decorative Woven Buoy via Williams Sonoma Home

Eco Pavilion by MMX

Atelier 688 Original Rope Lights 2 via Etsy

Staircase by Thom Filicia via House Beautiful

 

Sake Bar designed by Architects Eat via The Cool Hunter

David Stark Rope Bowl from West Elm

Outfit to Outfitted: Dark Blues and Tan

Outfit

Look from Rebecca Taylor Fall 2011 at New York Fashion Week via Marie Claire

Outfitted

Living Room designed by Todd Romano, photo by William Waldron via Elle Decor

This Week: Summer is suddenly promising to be a whole lot sweeter and refreshing!

photos by me

I've had the loveliest day! I spent the afternoon with one of my best friends and I had lunch with two of my best friends! Quality time with girlfriends is always a treat on a weekday:) And I got the loveliest birthday present too! Crate & Barrels Ice Pop Molds, a Popsicle Recipe book and a Popsicle kitchen towel! I am so excited about making Popsicles, all of the recipes sound delicious and refreshing!!  I think homemade Popsicles will be the perfect treat on these hot and humid Summer afternoons! The recipe book she gave me even has cocktail pops recipes...Mmmmm:) So this week...

1. My lovely friend, Kaelsie has shared five things she is loving for Summer with us!! Read the post and see her beautiful watercolor paintings here.

2. Am excited about a new restaurant opening on South Beach!! Jeff McInnis the Top Chef who left Gigi is opening his own restaurant, Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. Can't wait for Fall to indulge in some Southern delight!! 

3. Oh to spend the weekends in East Hampton preparing delicious meals and decorating! Check out the designers of Roman and Williams (responsible designing wonderful spots like the Ace Hotel and the Boom Boom Room) Montauk, NY weekend retreat here. Be sure to check out the Hibiscus Flower Punch recipe at the end of the article!!

4. We went on a lovely double date with friends! We started off the evening at a gallery in Downtown Miami followed by a lovely dinner at a wonderful little restaurant called Soya & Pomodoro! The place is great, as soon as you walk in you just feel like you're somewhere else, on vacation, away! Nothing beats an evening of art, delicious food and great company:)

5. So excited to go see Conan O'Brien Can't Stop a documentary about Conan after he left NBC! 

Have an amazing weekend!! Indulge yourself with delicious, cold treats to stay cool! xo

 

Currently Loving: Kaelsie Saravia's Favorite Things for Summer 2011

Kaelsie Saravia is a young designer and manager at Surface Workshop, a sustainable custom furniture company in Miami, FL.  A designer, a bicycle-riding enthusiast, an artist, a muralist, and a marathon runner, Kaelsie is always up to fun, creative things and is sooo talented (look at her lovely watercolors below)! Here she shares five of her favorite things for summer...

Given that I work at my woodshop/studio without adequate air conditioning, it always feels like summer.  Luckily, all the sweating and hard work comes with much fun and play. Here are the things that help me stay happy and fresh in the summer:

1. Hand-painted Espadrilles

Espadrilles or alpargatas, have made a big comeback. I make friends bring them to me from Spain or South America because I prefer the kind that are handmade. For a pair of black alpargatas from Uruguay, I decided to hand paint my own designs onto them. You can use acrylic paint and a thin paint brush or fabric sprays to create whimsical designs, colorful stripes, or any pattern you can think of. The best thing about these are that they keep your feet cool and there is no need for socks! I like to wear the flat model for day and the platform heel model for night or special occasions. 

2. Picnic by bike 

The two loveliest activities for summer combined: picnic and bike ride with friends. Forget soups and warm food. For a summer picnic you have to pack cold treats that are lightweight. My dream menu would include the exotic salad, blackberry tarts, and at least a dozen macaroons from Buena VistaDeli, some champagne in a can like the Sofia Mini 4-pack, a small ipod and speakers, and my friends! 

3. Fabric jewelry from Tigerlily Dream  I am convinced that it gets a little hotter outside every day. While conventional jewelry feels too sticky, fabric covered jewelry feels lightweight and fresh against my skin. I am in love with all the necklaces my sister is making for her Tigerlily Dreams accessory line. So inspired that I am making some creations of my own and joined the creative team! I can throw on a plain t-shirt, shorts, and a colorful fabric necklace for an effortless, but cute outfit. All my chunky bead and chain jewelry will stay put away until fall, because this summer I will be sticking with fabric and wood pieces!

4. Rubber rain boots and bright umbrellas

I got these super-utilitarian rubber rainboots on my trip to Honduras recently (for $6 U.S.) and I have a collection of cute umbrellas that include pieces by Marimekko, Lilly Pulitzer, and Marc Jacobs. I look out my window every morning hoping to see rain or at least some dark clouds so I can bust out my cheerful rain gear. So far it’s been mostly sunny. But, the day that it pours, you might see me splashing around in big puddles or riding my bike to work holding a huge, strawberry and polka dot umbrella. If we had cooler weather, you better believe I would also throw on a bright rain coat and funky hat. But, it's too hot to do that here (and I speak from experience on this one! The boots are hot enough, I carry a pair of flip flops in my bag in case the weather suddenly goes back to perfect I can change. 

 5. Summer Music Mix Summer for me also means being very active. Whether I am running, biking, or walking; I always have a soundtrack to go with me. Lately, I am loving:

 Ceu

Antibalas

3 Na Massa

Radiohead's King of Limbs

Download's of the weekly disco show "Vamos a La Playa" 

Cut Copy's Zonoscope

The XX

I'm wishing you a fabulous and fun summer! And remember, sweating is inevitable, just be sure to look fresh and smile so no one notices the drip or your scent, rather the radiant glow you are emanating! 

xo 

Kaelsie

Summer 2011: Welcome, Summer!!

Cover of January 1952 issue of Harpers Bazaar via Matchbook Magazine's blog, photo and recipe of homemade snow cones via My Restaurant Guru blog, Evelyn Maillot swimsuit from Anthropologie

Summertime is here!!! Yay!! This year is going by sooo fast, isn't it?! This summer I plan to: have some bbq lunches/dinners with friends, take advantage of the fact that the beach is only four blocks away and go at least once per week, treat myself to delicious, summery goodness (i.e. fruity desserts, gelato, snow cones), escape the heat and go to the movies on hot, humid afternoons, get some projects done around the apartment, and find the perfect, not-too-sweet Rum Punch recipe! What are your Summer plans?! Hope it's off to a great start! xo

This Week: So long Spring!!

photo of Proseco with Watermelon Sorbet and Lobster Sandwiches from Food Fashion Friends by Fleur Wood

Can you believe Spring is almost over?! I love Spring, I really do! Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about Summer, it's great, but as I've already started to remember, Miami's Summers are soooo HOT! Here's to the last days of Spring! So this week...

1. Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads!! Be sure to spend time with them and treat them to some quality time and a little something special:) If you're stuck on what to get your dad/husband/brother/friend perhaps my Father's Day Gift Guide might help!

2. I Learned about a new amazing little spot in Miami!!! It's Chef Michelle Bernstein's latest project, Crumb on Parchment (isn't that the loveliest name?!) in the Miami Design District. They serve coffee and sandwiches and teas and offer the most lovely array of baked goodness!! With it's shabby chic inspired aesthetic of mismatched chairs and sofas in the most unexpected spot, it's the most pleasant little escape from the daily grind, check it out if you can!

3. We're heading out to lovely Palmetto Bay to partake in some Miami Food Truck action with the family!! There's plenty of other Food Truck spots tonight, find them here!

4. Don't forget to shop Tigerlily Dream on Etsy and receive 20% off your purchase by entering Coupon Code: HAPPY at checkout through Sunday, June 19th, 2011!

5. I want to try this Grilled Goat Cheese Crostini with a tangle of marinated roasted peppers recipe  (found on pinterest) for our Father's Day gathering(s)!!

Have a lovely weekend and squeeze your dads tight!! xo

Color Stories: Melon Pink(s) & Gray(s)

images from left to right: warped asterisk pattern by me, Fashion Academy 1933 vintage book, Space Travel by Lulu Wolf , melon pinks and gray palette by me

GIVEAWAY: And the winner of the lovely Tigerlily Dream BON BON Necklace is...

and the winner is...

 Lissette!!

Thank you to all of you who entered to win! And a BIG thank you to Yelsi Saravia of Tigerlily Dream for sponsoring the first ever giveaway on Lilly Pond(ering)!! Head on over to Tigerlily Dream to shop the rest of Tigerlily Dream's lovely accessory collections and receive a 20% discount now through Sunday, June 19th, 2011 just by entering Coupon Code: HAPPY at check out!! Lissette, please email your mailing address to me at  lillypondblog@gmail.com

Have a lovely day!! xo

Gift Guide: Father's Day 2011

Gift Guide: Father's Day 2011 by lillyphunq on Polyvore.com
*Click on the photo to shop the items:)

This Week: Visiting 1920's Paris

photo via Walrus Magazine

How was your week?!  It was a pretty exciting week, it went by so fast! I'm designing a Pent House in this building and spent the week preparing for our presentation. So after an exhausting couple of days, I was happy to spend a day of leisure with a friend who I recently reunited with that up until then I had not seen since Elementary School! We had a lovely lunch and went to watch Woody Allen's latest film, Midnight in Paris. It was soooo great! I walked out feeling as though I had visited Paris....in the 1920's!! Now I'm inspired to read Hemingway and Fitzgerald and maybe this book to learn all about the time they spent in Paris. I want to listen to Cole Porter and Josephine Baker and to be in Paris again, hearing accordions in the background as I walk down the street! I don't want to give too much away but you absolutely must go see it! So this week...
1. Our friends gave us a bunch of Indian River oranges so I put them to good use and baked this Orange Cake recipe with them! I used the cakes to build a trifle with berries and the cream cheese-whipped cream from this Martha Stewart  recipe (see step 2), it was sooo yummy:)
2. I fell in love with the Cesca, Elbow dining chairs and am torn between those and the Wishbone and the Era chairs as my current favorite! Which one do you like best?!
3. Design Miami Basel opens in Basel Switzerland next week!
4. Friends with You's Rainbow City opened in the lovely High Line Park in NYC!
5. Tigerlily Dream is sponsoring a giveaway on Lilly Pond(ering) blog!! Click here to enter to win this lovely necklace! Be sure to leave a comment to officially submit your entry to win!!

Have a relaxing, lovely weekend!! xo

Currently Loving: Candy Colors

 

cinderella shoes by Kartell via Nylon Blog, Button Candies via Bento Box Gifts, Sephora by Opi Digital Diva Collection  via Dazzle n Sparkle the cosmetic journal

GIVEAWAY: Enter to win a Tigerlily Dream BON BON Necklace!!

My lovely friend Yelsi Saravia is the shop owner of Tigerlily Dream an etsy shop where you will find beautiful, unique, handmade fashion accessories she designs and makes herself. Yelsi has offered to sponsor the first ever giveaway on Lilly Pond(ering) Blog!!!! She is giving away the Marimekko BonBon Necklace from Tigerlily Dream's Bonbon Collection that I featured here. 

How to enter: All you have to do is visit and "like" Tigerlily Dream's Facebook Page and/or Lilly Pond(ering) Blog's Facebook Page  then come right back here and leave a comment letting us know you've done so and your name on Facebook (if different than what appears on your google profile). If you already like us on Facebook, just leave a comment below to guarantee your entry into the giveaway! Be sure to enter between now and Monday, June 13th! A random entry will be selected and the lucky winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 14th. Good Luck!!

*If you have trouble leaving a comment, go ahead and leave it as anonymous and include your name/email address in the body of your comment:)

*Sorry, shipping is only available to addresses in the continental US

 

 

About the designer: Yelsi Saravia is one of the most creative, stylish ladies I know. She is a talented Interior Designer, a wonderful mother, and the designer of her own line of handmade fashion accessories available online at her etsy shop, Tigerlily Dream. Visit her shop, Tigerlily Dream to shop and support an independent designer! PLUS Yelsi has extended a 20% Discount to Lilly Pond(ering) Blog readers!! Just enter Coupon Code: HAPPY at check out!!

This Week: Counting down to Summer!!

 

photos from left to right, Beach Ball via Cinemaretro, Reasons to wear swimming caps via yummy bubby, Healthy summer popsicles via Fit Tip Daily

As Spring comes to an end, I find myself excited about a new season once again!!  And so the countdown begins!! 19 days till Summer!! I'm excited about sunny pool/beach days, popsicles, ice cream, gelato, BBQ, Miami Spice, margaritas, lemonade, sun tans, bike rides, and the overall more relaxed feeling that comes along with summer! First on the agenda for this season is to buy a new BBQ, tan my legs (so I can wear dresses...they are too pale), and come up with a few delicious cocktail recipes inspired by all of the amazing concoctions I tried in NYC. What are your plans this summer?! Are you excited about it yet? So this week...

1. Check out some delicious popsicle recipes from Country Living here.

2. I found out David Sedaris will be visiting Miami Beach in November! I want to go!!! See the rest of his tour dates here!

3. Am falling more and more in love with bird cages lately, this one is lovely!! Wishing I had a spot in my apartment where I could hang a little cluster of old bird cages.

4. My friend, Cristina shared 5 of her favorite things with us! See them here!

5. Tigerlily dream has offered to sponsor the first ever giveaway on Lilly Pond(ering) Blog!! One lucky reader will win the necklace featured in this post!! Pop in here on Monday to enter to win!!
Have a lovely, sunny weekend!! xo