grand budapest interiors

have you seen this wonderful website, wes anderson palettes? 

 

we are going to see wes anderson’s new movie, the grand budapest hotel this week and i am so excited. i have always been interested in set design and am feeling so inspired by the imagery and palettes in this film. anderson always creates incredible worlds within his stories (and he loves symmetry, like me.) apparently the film is set in a fictional country, zubrowka, so he literally created his own world in this case. the film sets were created in  former german department store! there is always a consistent color story in his films – some create nostalgia, some create whimsy, all of them surreal – a world more colorful than the real world. the colors of the interiors are also reminiscent of spring and the pastel pastries in the film…

 

 

 

images:  1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

 

have you seen the movie? and what do you think of wes anderson’s style…

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my sister’s new blog

i have the best sister. in. the. world.

{sisters, madeline and natalie circa 1987}

 

we have been so close our whole lives, but now she is halfway across the country. to stay connected, we skype, call, and read each other’s blogs. she started a new blog this month, wild communion – go check it out! she is a super talented massage therapist and health/paleo guru. she blogs about health, wellness, and he life in houston, texas with her husband (and my brother in law). she is also the prettier sister and extrovert of the family. i can’t talk her up enough….she is my favorite.

first signs of spring

{flowering hawthorne branches}

spring has quickly become my favorite season. working in an cubicle eight to five has made me appreciate the extra hours of daylight at night and the approaching color in nature. the yard is so beautiful this time of year; i am so thankful to live somewhere so beautiful with such a deep connection to nature. i get to watch the plants that my grandmother planted here come to life every year. yesterday was the first day of spring, and i am thankful for it’s arrival – bringing us all out of the winter blues. here are some blooms to brighten your day from our home. the first signs of spring peaking out…

{wild daffodils and lavender}

{forsythia and tulip tree}

{helleborus blooms}

 

happy friday!

NYC part III

it seems odd that the first day of spring i am posting photos of a blizzard….for the last installment of our new york pictures, i present HERCULES 2014. both of us are born and raised in tennessee, so we have never seen snow like this. it started snowing the night before and we woke up to a winter wonderland. we practically ran down to central park to find families and children sledding – everyone seemed so happy! i had to include this next shot of josh stealing a child’s sled and wiping out…he says sledding down the hills that day was one of his favorites memories of the trip.

 

we explored a personal favorite, the metropolitan museum of art (met). i love the eqyptian wing shown below; the windows were even more beautiful framed in snow. i wanted to post a few pictures of the cute apartment we rented in the upper east side from airbnb. we had a little kitchen and living room to kick up our feet after longs days. our host was very sweet and it was overall a good experience.

we knew our travel home might be delayed due to snow and ice, but i don’t think we were prepared. we had to stay in the city an extra day after all flights were cancelled for a week…we hitched a ride with my dad the next day. 36 hours later, we were happy to be home to see this little guy. nyc, chantal and paul – we love you.

spotlight : nyc’s hudson hotel

{ground level entry into hudson hotel}

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a little green for your st. patrick’s day – while we were visiting nyc, we stopped into the hudson hotel for a drink. during college, i studied this boutique hotel and have always wanted to visit. it was designed by philippe stark, the product designer behind some iconic kartell furniture, namely the ghost chair. i highly recommend staying there if you can afford it…or like us, stopping by to explore the interior. there are two bars inside the hotel, a library bar, and an outdoor lounge. these first five shots are my own, but they don’t do the space justice – so i have linked to a few more from pinterest below. it is such a magical place and was the perfect retreat from the blizzard that day. we drank cocktails, ate truffle popcorn, and warmed up by the fire in hudson common.

 

{street facade of hudson hotel in midtown}

{glass box at top of entry escalators}

{the front desk and lobby, covered in vines}

{outdoor bar and lounge}

{modern white bathroom, love the backlit mirrors and wall panel texture}

images via 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

NYC part II

today i want to share more from our new york city trip. i posted this week about our first two days in the city – times square, central park, grand central station, and new year’s eve.

 

on our third day in the city, we spent the morning at the high line and walking all around the city. it is such a nice change of pace to walk everywhere when you live in suburbia! we toured the museum of modern art (moma) in the afternoon and stopped by the beautiful hudson hotel bar for a drink. i loved this spot so much i will be posting a spotlight on this later. we stopped into sofia wine bar for pizza; this place seemed like a place we would hang out if we were locals. to finish the night, i fulfilled my life long dream of visiting the top of the empire state at night. the whole time envisioning all the famous movies filmed there….

on on fourth day, we started by heading out to brooklyn, we crossed the brooklyn bridge in 4 degree windchill (!?!) and walked through brooklyn heights. while downtown, we walked by the freedom tower and saw the new calatrava path station going up below. visiting the 9/11 site was so moving, 13 years laters. the blizzard (hercules 2014) started very quickly, but this did not stop us….we toured my best friend’s architecture firm and headed down to chelsea for dinner at jean gorges’ spice market. we walked down to chelsea market, which unfortunately was closed due to the blizzard, and ran into a favorite, fish’s eddy. the blizzard was crazy to witness – our first one!

i will be sharing our final photos and about the apartment tomorrow. happy friday.

 

madeline

study time

i will be sitting here in this spot studying for the next two weeks and i am curious, has anyone taken the NCIDQ interiors qualification exam? do you have any advice for me or any general tips? obviously i am nervous, but i will be so glad to have my professional exams behind me. although it is a long story, this feels like a big step for me. i have had a few difficult years wavering between jobs and constantly transitioning and i am ready to move forward with healthy decisions for my future. what are you up to this weekend?

 

thank you in advance for any advice.

 

madeline

NYC part I

i am long overdue posting about our wonderful trip to new york city in january. we had so much fun visiting our friends, chantal and paul and seeing the city. we decided to rent an apartment in the upper east side through airbnb; it was a lovely place and really gave us a more genuine feel for the city and what it would be like to live there. we arrived before new year’s eve and were able to see times square with our friends as it was being set up for the balldrop. afterwards, we had dinner at the wonderful cafe cluny in the west village.

our second day in the city, we explored ‘our’ neighborhood in the upper east side where my friend lives and ran in central park. we visited grand central station, the chrysler building, and rockefeller plaza. we saw the ice skating, 30 rock, and the beautiful christmas tree. for new year’s eve, we decided to sit out the times square festivities on recommendation from the local, and we went to a party at the empire hotel in lincoln center. we had so much fun dancing and drinking dirty martinis.

 

i will be posting more this week on the rest of our week in nyc! hope you enjoy.

xoxo madeline