NEW ORIGINALS and COUPON!

Poinciana Pineapple - one of a pair I painted recently

Many new original paintings have been added to my shop and more are being added all the time! Check them all out here. Use code COLUMBUS15 at checkout for a 15% discount this week ON EVERYTHING IN THE SHOP!!!

ELEMENTS OF STYLE RELEASED

So excited to see Erin Gates' book "Element of Style" released by Simon and Schuster tomorrow as I created the illustrations for this book and started working on it over a year ago!  Fun to see it come together and be officially "published" in book form now. Congratulations to Erin and all the rest who worked on this book.

NEW ART!

"Pip and Bert"

One of my latest original paintings available for sale here

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

Sunset at La Jolla Shores

At the end of last week, after visiting family out West, my husband took me to La Jolla, CA to celebrate my birthday. We had both been there before many years ago, but this was our first trip there together and we had a wonderful time. Southern California's climate is pretty amazing, and we were told we had just (narrowly) dodged a major heat wave, so we felt blessed to enjoy some great weather and even better food the couple of days we were there.

My birthday dinner was at Piatti - a quaint Italian restaurant with a charming outdoor courtyard. I had this AMAZING saffron pappardelle. Everything was phenomenal and the service was terrific.

I'm in awe of the trees in La Jolla - between the windswept gargantuan pines and the stately old eucalyptus, we were stopping to admire the vegetation constantly.

Love the eucalyptus trees!

Art is everywhere! Loved this mural, although the photo doesn't do it justice.

The cool courtyard at our hotel - Kimpton Hotel La Jolla

A sample of the charming local Coastal architecture

The "Grande Dame" of La Jolla hotels - La Valencia. Pink, stucco, Spanish Colonial......count me in!

A great French place in La Jolla Shores, the Cafe Solange - a perfect spot for breakfast. The avocado scramble was extremely tasty.

The views from our hotel were picturesque - this view was from the back. See the cross at the summit of Mount Soledad?

View from our room over the Pacific

The heirloom tomato and beet salad from our last meal at Poseidon in Del Mar. Nothing like eating right on the beach at sunset......

What a perfect finish to a very special trip. If you haven't yet been, I'd certainly recommend a visit to San Diego and specifically, the coastal towns dotting the North shore. Each area has it's own unique personality and there is a plethora of cute boutiques, great restaurants, natural beauty, outdoors activities and exhilarating weather.

FUN PHOTOGRAPHY IN DECOR

(found on amandanisbet.com)

Happy Monday! Hope you all are well!

I absolutely love it when decorators throw in an unexpected touch of humor or whimsy that lightens up the entire feel of a room. Love this overscale doll print with the vacation vibe. I'd like to find something like this.....kids love it and it makes adults lighten up and creates a conversation piece. What do you think?

MORE FURNITURE MAKEOVERS

Hello!!! I know my posts have been few and far between this Summer, I have been super busy and traveling quite a bit as well. I miss keeping up with all my favorite blogs and blogger friends and am trying to find more time to get back in the loop! I just finished re-habbing this Chinoiserie style cabinet. I bought it from a guy on Craigslist for a song and used chalk paint and some new gold hardware to give it a completely new look.

This was the cabinet before - a shoddy spray paint job, dirty and missing hardware. Now it is clean and bright and can hold much of my painting paraphernalia and some tchotchkes as well! Craigslist is the best. Here's to the rest of September! Hope you guys have a great week and I will be back soon.......

LABOR DAY SALE & NEW PAINTINGS!

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Many new originals have just been added to my shop AND I am having a 20% off everything Labor day Sale from now until September 5. Just type in code LABOR20 at checkout to receive discount

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Check them all out here

ANNECHOVIE POP UP SHOP ON DESIGN DARLING BOUTIQUE

Design Blogger Extraordinaire Mackenzie Horan is featuring some new original works of mine this week in a pop-up shop. I am excited and honored to have some of my work in one of my favorite blogger's shops. Check it out HERE

ANOTHER FURNITURE RESCUE!

Sorry that I have been so MIA lately! Been crazy busy gearing up for a pop-up shop next month (more details on that later!) After I catch up with all of my work, I am going to re-hab this Chinoiserie treasure I got from Craigslist for a mere $40!! Needs some cosmetic work, but nothing that will deter me.....I will post the pix once it's finished. Just let me say that there are many benefits to living in a place where nobody wants their deceased grandma's furniture or knows its' value...

IN SITU

I love it when my customers and clients send me photos of my work in their home.

This loyal client has commissioned work from me as well as buying some of my prints. She and her husband have been renovating a charming older home in Portland, Oregon and I love how she hung my pink espresso machine canvas in her kitchen. Everything is coordinated! If you have any photos of my pieces in your space, feel free to submit them and I may get a chance to post here on the blog.

Thanks so much and Happy weekend!

MAHALO PRINTS ARE HERE!

New print from a painting I did last year....."Mahalo"

The original was sold and is at home with its owner so I have released the prints - find them

here

CHAIR REHAB

As any of you who follow me on Instagram know, I found a steal-deal at the Church Mouse when I was in Palm Beach a few weeks ago. I have wanted one of these classic Chinese Chippendale armchairs for years and even painted one (print available here)and so, when I spotted this for a mere $95, my husband suggested I snap it up.

The seat was filthy and dingy, but I knew that I could either clean it or reupholster, so I didn't let that small detail deter me one bit! I hated to have to rip out the nailhead trim, so I opted to clean the white upholstery with Bar Keeper's Friend after reading online that it works on vinyl like a charm. It did the job and the seat is now spotless.

The frame was a little too drab for my liking as well, so I decided to mix my own paint color and give it a brighter look.

Here it is, cleaned and freshly painted with my "Italian Gardens" cushion that is available here

Hope you have a great start to your week!

20% OFF EVERYTHING AT ANNECHOVIE!

prints

totes

clocks

and originals!

20% off everything in my shop from now through this weekend! Use code MOVE20 for discount.

Check out all the goods here

A HAPPY ISLAND - PALM BEACH

My husband and I just returned from a short little jaunt to Palm Beach to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.  We thoroughly enjoyed the vibe, the food, the eye candy and each other. Here's a few photos of some of the highlights.

the pool courtyard at our hotel, The Chesterfield, a quaint boutique hotel with plenty of charm and a very friendly staff

Dinner at Charley's Crab was good and the view of the Atlantic was even better...

The lush flora on the island is everywhere.....lots of orchids and beautiful potted plants

The shops are one-of-a-kind, this lantern outside a paper shop on Worth Avenue was what caught my eye.

I love Spanish Colonial architecture, pecky cypress (see ceiling above) and any Mizner designed buildings especially.

Couldn't pass up a shot of the Staffordshire collection in Letitia Lundeen Antiques, that has another location in Nantucket as well.

We visited the famous "Church Mouse" thrift store and I scored this amazing deal on a Chinese Chippendale armchair!

I thought these shoes were very reminiscient of a Palm Beach socialite in the 60's. They were huge and left me wondering if they had belonged to a famous style icon we all know had very large feet and spent time there at a family compound??

The homes are very tasteful and many are quite understated as well, not a lot of nouveau-riche flash all over the place, which is refreshing.

I wasn't sure what type of tree this was, but it was pretty nonetheless. The blossoms looked like a cross between mandevilla and petunias.

Another beauty

This was my favorite and also happens to be for sale here

For all of you fiddle leaf fig fans, I found the mother of them here

I am pretty much convinced that Palm Beach Style is kind of up my alley

On Worth Ave.

These beautiful Chinoiserie fretwork details were outside the deli, for crying out loud. Ever seen a deli in a building with such cool classic architecture?

The breakfast was pretty delicious, too. Eggs Benedict with nova. Try it at Toojays.

This cute classic Morris Minor was parked out front

I wanted to steal the mirror out by the pool at our hotel but settled instead for a quick snapshot.

Visiting the Breakers was a treat. This historic legend lives up to the hype and is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. They even have a Lilly boutique right on the premises! 

(love the painting of the hotel hanging in the shop above!)

One of the gorgeous courtyards at the hotel

The outdoor furniture was so charming and colorful. Not your typical generic patio set, for sure!

The plantings are incredible

The hotel's gift shop - The Breakers News and Gourmet- is a great place to pick up some necessities and non-necessities as well.

Beautiful fountains

The ceiling in the lobby......magnificent.

and this concludes my photo tour. I thought this "living" wall on Worth Avenue was worth showing.

Any places I missed that I need to check out next time?

Have a wonderful weekend!

LIGHT & BRIGHT

From Architectural Digest - just love this light-filled room!

Muted colors, painted furniture, skirted slipcovers, and a Diego Giacometti cocktail table furnish the tray-ceilinged living room in Bunny Mellon's villa at Antigua’s Mill Reef Club; the framed museum poster on the far wall depicts a Mark Rothko painting.

BIMINI ABSTRACT PAINTING

Feeling inspired by marine life and living in the tropics, here's my latest abstract painting, 

available here in my shop

Hope you all have a Happy Memorial Day - I will be in Palm Beach celebrating my wedding anniversary!

LACQUER LOVE

I love these lacquered blue walls in this Robert Couterier interior (I'd ditch the Chinese figure, though)

This color is soothing and the shine is perfect!

PURPLE POTATO SALAD

I just made this recipe for the first time last week and it was a hit. It's not your everyday potato salad, but it's pretty delicious. The key to the extra flavor is leaving the skin on and roasting your potatoes in the oven vs. boiling or steaming them.

I diced up some purple potatoes, threw them in a glass baking dish, splashed on some EVOO, a dash of garlic salt and coarse ground pepper, bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour and then let cool until the potatoes are just warm. Dice up about half of a large sweet onion and then add defrosted frozen green peas and mayonnaise to taste. Combine together and grind out a bit of sea salt and more pepper and then you're done!

Ingredients

5-6 medium purple potatoes, diced and roasted

1 1/2 cups peas

1/2 large sweet onion, diced

4 tablespoons mayonnaise (or to taste)

coarse ground salt and pepper

Let me know what you think if you decide to try this!

Bon Apetite!!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Love these outdoor chairs new this Spring at CB2 here

These go well with the chairs also.

Are you looking forward to time outdoors and relishing the warmer weather?

ANNECHOVIE RUGS ARE HERE!

These are just a few samples of the new rugs I have available now in my shop in 3 different sizes.

Peruse the selection here