Art: Beach Vibes with Minted

While I was in Florida last month, I took a bit of time in between beach walks to zhush up the dining room in my parents’ beach-front condo. Minted, one of my long-time fave destinations for art, stationary, and (now!) fabric, lent a generous hand to this project, so I’m giving the company and its designers a major shout-out here!

Here’s a before of the space:

Florida-before-dining room-2 It’s a mess, isn’t it? Beach towels are everywhere, the lamp and dried flower arrangement serve no purpose, and the buffet is serving as a sunscreen station.

I knew I wanted to get rid of the lamp and flower arrangement tout de suite and hang a large piece of art above the buffet. I was looking for something light, bright, modern, and beachy. After reviewing Minted’s website and lookbook, I landed on Anchor in Ink by Two if By Sea Studios, and I knew it would be just perfect!

MIN-UU4-GNA-007_A_APZAnchor in Ink (available in black, navy, fuchsia, and aqua)

While I would typically be drawn to the black version, for this condo, I knew that navy would be the most suitable choice (how cool is it that it comes in different colours?).

White-Cabana-art-Minted-Florida-3In addition to the art, I added some fabric (Sailboat Splash by Lindsay Megahed) to my cart. At the moment, I used the fabric as a table cloth, but my mom will soon be sewing it up into pillows for the living room. Since the living and dining room are open to one another, the future sailboat pillows will work nicely with the anchor print.

White-Cabana-art-Minted-Florida-6 White-Cabana-art-Minted-Florida-4    White-Cabana-Minted-art-Florida-7 White-Cabana-Minted-art-Florida-5This is the first time I ordered fabric from Minted, and I have to say that I’m impressed with its weight. It’s heavier than I thought it would be. It will definitely be perfect for pillows.

Many thanks to Becky L., Molly B., and Minted for supporting this project.

Photography: A Walk Down Memory Lane

Before the age of 5 I had seen a good chunk of the world thanks to all the amazing family trips my parents planned. Even before I really figured out what traveling was all about, I had caught the travel bug. When I was at my parents’ place over Thanksgiving weekend I had a chance to look through some family photo albums. I always enjoy the walk down memory lane. I can remember the cities and countries we visited and I try to imagine how my parents traveled with two small children to such far away places.

Here is a very White Cabana worthy photo of me at a beach in Portugal when I was 4 years old.

photo of me taken by my father

My tastes haven’t changed too much, have they? Beach, white, red – I’m a happy girl!

How about you? Did you travel as a child? Do you travel with your children?

Travel: Florida Vacation

This past weekend I made a quick trip to Florida and boy-oh-boy was it worth it! I was hesitant to spend the money on a flight (did anyone follow my decision making on Twitter?) since I was just in Florida last month but I am so glad I decided to go. Four days of sunshine, ocean swims, and shopping trips (not to mention meals cooked by my parents and nightly ice cream snacks), made me feel so spoiled. I’m so grateful I had the chance to go!

photos by me

Where would you go for a four day escape?