From the category archives:

blinks

hello monday

by manvi on August 23, 2010 · 2 comments

And hello you. Hope your weekend was as nice and relaxing as ours.

Since restaurant week is on in DC, we decided to check out one of the participating restaurants, bistrot lepic. Though we enjoyed our meal, it was nothing special. We also went to watch the second movie in the Stieg Larsson series – the girl who played with fire. I know, I know, I should read the books first, but i just havent had the time. Im still on the first book – the girl with the dragon tattoo. Have you read the books or watched the movies?

This lovely pic is by Leslie from a creative mint. have a great week ahead. xo

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happy friday

by manvi on August 20, 2010 · 3 comments

Monika over at Splendid Willow is hosting a lovely guest blogger series called A postcard to you where we shared one of our favorite places to visit. Hop over to say hello to Monika and the other bloggers in the postcard series. You can see my summer postcard here.

And happy weekending. xo

via automatism

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summer flowers + table decor

by manvi on July 27, 2010 · 4 comments

= gorgeous!

Its usually the simple details that are the prettiest, no?

- frolic

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a little of this and a little of that

by manvi on July 7, 2010 · 7 comments

oh hello friend. this is glamorous. simply seductive. sunday suppers. living etc

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happy loving weekend

by manvi on June 25, 2010 · 2 comments

Well, here’s to a great week behind and a fabulous weekend awaiting…

I am going to try and finish a photo shoot for a client, find out if my bone has healed enough to allow horse riding, plan a romantic picnic, catch up with friends and hopefully visit a flower market. Et vous?

If you havent already entered this week’s giveaway, what are you waiting for?

Have a super weekend. xoxo

images: via thisisglamorous

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blinks; summer at the city sage

by manvi on June 17, 2010 · 5 comments

You have been incredible, so patient while things settled down for me with my work at carbonfund.org and my injury. Thank you. I have missed not being able to spend more time with you here. How did this week treat you?

did you get a chance to visit the city sage yet? If you haven’t lets play catch up. We have summer inspiration waiting.

chicest room for a lil girl..

With a very busy day behind me and only one more day before its the weekend, I cannot wait to spend more time enjoying summer outdoors.
Say hello over at the city sage

images: thecitysage

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Blinks: this is glamorous

by manvi on June 15, 2010 · 4 comments

I have been so caught up in new projects that I haven’t had time to browse some of my fav blogs. I have missed out on so much inspiration..so how about we catch up together. First up let’s visit this is glamorous…

i love collecting match books from restaurants I visit during my travels. They come in handy in addition to reminding me of good times had. I usually throw them in a bowl but isnt this a fun way to display them?

Love at first sight..when can this bathroom move in?

Can you ever have enough trays? especially gold mirror ones that add oodles of glamour?

cork isnt the first thing that pops to mind when thinking glamour, but dont these lamps make you wonder why not?

you knew you would find at least one pic of chandeliers in this post…

perfect spot to unwind after a long day!

images: this is glamorous

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guestpost; monika from splendid willow

by Mochatini Guest on April 28, 2010 · 22 comments

Hi my dears, hope you are having a good week. Today is a big day for me. It involves a photo shoot of my home and my tabletop designs. To say I am excited is an understatement. I’ll be sharing details with you as soon as I can. While I am busy with the shoot, I leave you with a post from a wonderful woman.

Allow me to introduce today’s guest blogger Monika of Splendid Willow. Monika is a dear dear blogging friend and has been an incredible pillar of support to mochatini and me. Her passion for decorating is indulgent. Her charming home in Seattle, WA and inspiring blog Splendid Willow are attributes to her distinct twist on Swedish style. It is a real pleasure having her here today…without any delay, take it away mon.

Hello! Monika from Splendid Willow here. When Manvi invited me to write a guest post on her lovely blog, I felt more than honored. Not only is she very talented and creative (and her blog so inspirational), I also consider her a very dear friend. Manvi asked me to write something about design linked to my Swedish roots. So, this is what I consider – Simply Swedish.

Swedes crave light. For many long winter months the country sees very little light and the people do everything they can to let the light into their homes. No wonder gallons and gallons of white paint is the main staple in most Swedish homes.

Hardwood Floors. The Scandinavians love their hardwoods floors. And they show them off with pride. Area rugs on top of the floors, yes. But wall-to-wall carpeting makes most true Swedes totally nervous. (Never know what’s hiding in those carpets…).

Swedes like it clutter free. And to them, less is definitely more. Most people prefer to save for that very special object rather than to be caught up in mass consumption.

I personally think the Swedes are masters when it comes to mixing old with new – whether it is architecture, art or interior design. And they do it so effortlessly. Sweden is an old country where the “Modern Sweden” emerged in 16th century. The country is filled with lovely old treasures. On the other end of the spectrum, Sweden is a highly modernized state-of-the-art technology country. That mix, between long ago days and today, is something I so take to heart.

Swedes showcase their books with pride (and books are not props, they are meant to be read!). Don’t hide the key that tells people what you are all about!

Swedes love and respect mother nature. And their love is so apparent in all the organic materials and colors the Swedes love to use in their homes.

Swedes treasure time off work and would rather take more vacation days than salary increases. Many Swedes are saving for or dreaming about their own weekend/vacation homes where simple living, closeness to quiet and to nature are priorities. I so heart this spot between the sky and the ocean. What a place to unwind!

Thank you so much for reading all the way to here! I had fun sharing a dose of Sweden with you. I wish you a happy rest of the week! Cyber hug, Monika.

Images via: 1) Flickr, 2-4) Skona Hem, 5 = 6) KMLDesign-Dk, 7) Solid Frog, Skona Hem, 9) RumID-Dk, 10) Trendenser, 11-13) KMLDesign-Dk

Thanks Monika for such a lovely post.

If you havent already, hop over to visit Monika on Splendid Willow

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thank you for the spotlight

by manvi on March 18, 2010 · 4 comments

A big thank you to lovely Monika of Splendid Willow for featuring lil me “in the spotlight“. Splendid Willow is one my fav blogs and a constant source of interior inspiration with a swedish twist. Monika asked me to share my thoughts on design and more. Click here to read the full feature on Splendid Willow. I am honored by Monika’s friendship and her lovely words of encouragement.

image: lerkenfeldt via emmasdesignblog

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blog it forward; what inspires me most

by manvi on February 12, 2010 · 15 comments

Hello sweet dears.

Some of you may have already heard of blog-it-forward.

For those that havent, blog-it-forward is an awesome blogging initiative conceptualized and headed by victoria of sfgirlbybay to bring the blogging community closer. A group of 300 participating bloggers will be sharing “what inspires them the most?” on their blogs and then pass it on to the next blogger on the schedule. Kind of like a chain post.

It all started on wednesday and today marks the third day. My group was started by oh hello, friend who passed it on to liana from mixed plate who in turn passed it to me. I’m super excited (a tad bit nervous) to be a part of this awesome initiative and have already discovered so many wonderful blogs.

So, what inspires me the most? Well, really so many things inspire me everyday. Personally, my main source of inspiration is my loving husband. Without him, I am incomplete and can barely function. I wouldnt be doing what I do if it wasnt for him.

My family and friends inspire me everyday. My mother is very creative and I am super inspired by all her handmades. I am also inspired by love, generosity, random acts of kindness, handmade gifts, and my home.

And then there are things that inspire my style and work.

I love things that invoke my senses. Such as -

Traveling. The more I see the more I want to look around. Having lived abroad with expat parents, I find most of my inspiration comes from travel. I get so excited with just the thought of experiencing unfamiliar sights, culture, cuisine and shopping in a new place. I love taking it all in and come back so inspired! One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to spend time in a cafe (preferably outdoors, weather permitting) either with a good book or playing scrabble with my huz.

Photography. It was only recently that I started to get into photography myself, but have always been incredibly inspired by photographs.

New York City. I cannot get enough of this edgy vibrant city. Its filled with inspiration everywhere! There is always something to do and see. One thing I really miss about living there was gallery hopping on thursday evenings. My huz used to organize a group that met every thursday and we would go all gallery hopping in chelsea. It was such fun looking at new art and art installations. I cant wait to make NYC my home again, at least partially.

Interiors. I have always loved going to show homes, open houses and parade of homes, and watching home design shows. I always come back filled with inspiring new ideas about design and decoration. Well decorated homes and stylish interiors make me all warm and fuzzy, and inspire me to decorate and then redecorate and then redecorate some more.

fresh flowers: There is some sort of magical power that fresh flowers have over me. I just have to have fresh flowers in my home all the time. I even try (not very successfully) to grow some of my own. Flowers add instant cheer to any space and I absolutely love photographing and styling them. My favorites are tulips, peonies, roses, lilies and orchids.

Beaches. I grew up minutes away from the beach and could be found there night or day. I absolutely love being next to water. The sound of the waves, the breeze and the colors, they all bring a tremendous feeling of calm and balance to me.

Fashion. I love patterns, textures, colors, prints and find fashion feeds inspiration to my creative soul.

Some other things that inspire my style and creativity are perfumes, candles, blogs, books, magazines, music and movies. Oh I could actually go on and on…

So with that, I say thank you for taking the time to stop by. It was my pleasure sharing my inspirations with you. And I do hope you visit me again. I now pass it over to Amanda at mocking bird. Cant wait to read about your inspirations Amanda.

I encourage you to visit the other bloggers sharing their inspirations today.

A big thank you to Victoria for the opportunity to participate in this fun mashup.

images: sources coming up

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honest scrap award

by manvi on January 19, 2010 · 9 comments

A while back monika from splendid willow sent me the honest scrap award. I kept meaning to post this.. And then when I got another one from teacake martini yesterday, i ran out of excuses. Thank you so much. And so sorry monika that it took me so long to do this.

Here goes -

1. I love flowers, crystal chandeliers, champagne, dresses and dancing.

thisis glamchandeleir

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2. Blogging has changed my life. I met so many wonderful friends. Blogging also made me pursue my passion for decorating, styling and photography.

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3. I am into adventure sports like fast cars, sky diving, scuba, paragliding, skiing etc. i would love to be on the amazing race with my huz.

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4. I love to sleep in and stay up late. a breakfast in bed kind of girl.

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5. I am convinced i have the smallest adult feet ever, US – 5. I rarely ever get my size and never on sale. all those pretty shoes, but not for me

thisisglamshoes
6. My handwriting changes in the same sentence…..i wonder what that says about me. i should stay close to photojournalism perhaps.

aliceslookingglass

7. Having lived in so many cities around the world {DC, new york, london, dubai and new delhi}, i find it hard to answer the question “where are you from?”. My favorite cities are Paris, New York and Buenos Aires.

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8. I love to travel, like really love it. like a new place every month sort of love. i wish my pocket would allow that.

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9. I am actually kind of shy. Bold but somewhat shy.

thisisglam

10. I bite my nails. not when im nervous, but like when im bored. i know i shouldnt but the only time i don’t bite them is when i have a manicure or am making something.

simpleseductive

sfgirlbybay

oh and while you have me going… im super romantic but never imagined that i would meet my husband on a plane. It was on a fourteen hour non-stop flight where we sat next to each other, saw three movies ate three meals, and took naps together {no touching}. A pretty fab first date don’t you think?

pomegranita-weheartit