Would you like to see my latest thrift store finds?
I cannot have enough vintage toast racks for organizing my stationery so am always on the hunt for another one. I found a silver william adams (sheffield-brimingham) toast rack. At $4.99 someone obviously doesn’t know its real value!
A round glass fishbowl vase for $1.99
A set of six “wheat” knowles plates designed by freda diamond for $1.99 a piece! I thought they looked so delicate and love the design. I cant wait to use these for my next tablescape.
I love good bargains, dont you?
xo
images: manvi drona-hidalgo
hello dears, hope you had a fantastic weekend.
since so many of you asked, here is a glimpse of mine -
- fresh tulips from the huz
- good times (and late nights) with friends
- yummy dinner made by the huz. I’m crazy about his french onion soup.
- my monthly supply of fresh hamdmade cosmetics from LUSH.
- a new addition to our living room, an antique clear glassbase lamp. At $14, it was a steal!!!
- shopping!!!!
This week promises to be even busier than last. In addition to the regular stuff, I have tons of new and ongoing assignments and projects, need to get ready for Aspen, and several social engagements! A busy week is a good week. Have a great one yourselves!
xo
images: manvi drona-hidalgo
Hi dears,
A big hello to all the new visitors to mochatini. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Its a pleasure to see new faces here and I will be getting back to each one of you very soon.
Activity here on mochatini has been a bit slow lately. Partly due to being a bit sick, social engagements but mostly because I have been tied up with a variety of different projects. I have doing a few e-courses, styling projects and also few website/blog design projects. Some of you have emailed to ask about blog designs and I want to let you know, I am working on setting a site up with info on that. Thank you for your patience and I promise it will be up soon. Until then, if you need a blog (wordpress) or website or banner designed, please email me mochatiniblog {at} gmail {dot} com.
and here is a little something to bring cheer to your wednesday.
happy hump day. xoxo
image: manvi drona-hidalgo
I hope you all had a super weekend.
It was a Valentine weekend for us. We were invited to a v-day party on sat night and on sunday my huz and I celebrated v-day by dining at VOLT. Volt is by chef Bryan Voltaggio runner up on Top Chef last season. Volt is a culinary delight and an exceptional fine dining experience in historic Frederick, MD. A must visit if you are in the DC area. Its the little details and innovative courses that set VOLT apart. We had a great time and came back with a rose, two muffins compliments of the chef and a major food high.
Did you get up to anything special for V-day?
image: manvi drona-hidalgo
Have a great week. xo
A while back I received a copy of Abigail Ahern’s book, A Girls Guide to Decorating, in the mail. As soon as I had turned the cover and flipped through the pages, I knew this was a book many of you have been waiting for. A hip practical guide to taking your pad from drab to fab! I have been dying to share my thoughts about this excellent resource with you since.
Abigail is a designer, stylist and owner of an interiors store in London. In A Girls Guide to Decorating, Abigail compiles years of her experience as an international designer into a handy reference for anyone looking to take on their first decorating project. If you are style conscious, budget restricted, and want to make sense of decorating, this book promises to be your best friend. 
A girls guide to decorating is a must have if you are looking to do small DIY projects to glam up your pad but dont know where or how to get started.
I found the room analysis sections particularly helpful. Abigail has rough sketches next to real photographs that aid in visualizing the thought process.
A whole section in the book is dedicated to choosing the right lighting for the space. An excellent piece of info – each room needs three types of lighting types: general background or ambient lighting, task lighting for cooking, working, reading etc, and feature accent lighting such as chandeliers etc.
Of course, there are pages and pages of beautiful interior photographs by Graham Atkins-Hughes to inspire your projects.
With a hands-on approach, Abigail shows you how to choose your style, plan your space, work with what you’ve got, create a wow-factor, add personal details and play with colors, textures, and lights, and offers wonderful tips and techniques throughout the book. You will also find a list of essential tools that no girl on a decorating mission should be without.
A Girls Guide to Decorating is available in hardcover on amazon
Atelier Abigail Ahern
images: manvi drona-hidalgo
Happy friday my dears. Thank you for stopping by here this week and leaving me sweet notes. I hope you all have a wonderful love-filled weekend. Happy Valentine’s day!!
images; mario testino, manvi drona-hidalgo
Happy hump day dear readers. For those of you on the east coast, hope you are staying warm and safe. Here in the DC area, its been snowing non stop since last night. The area is pretty much at a standstill. Apparently this is the most snow we have had for a long time. I find everything covered in snow pretty inspiring. A great excuse to stay in with a warm fire keeping us cozy and get those creative juices flowing. I created a valentine’s day mood board using a lovely minty green fabric that I got a few days ago in combination with a soft pink.
images and styling by manvi drona-hidalgo
My dolls, as you know I am a huge fan of handmade holiday tabletops. Not only are handmade tables unique, they are also more heartfelt because of the effort that goes into creating the look. In that spirit, I created one for you; a valentine’s day tabletop with a simple red and white palette.
My local fabric store had sale on valentine’s day prints and I bought a yard of a cute white cotton one with red hearts. I paired it with two other fabrics; a solid red which I used as a runner, and the other a red pinstripe as the tablecloth. The dinner plates, pearl napkin rings, votives and wine glasses are from pier 1 also all on sale. The silverware is from william sonoma. I designed and printed the bird notecards that can double as menus with lil love notes on the back. The entire look was created in under 90$ including the tulips. Hope you like. xo
images styled and photographed by manvi drona-hidalgo
We all know February as the month of the popular (and equally unpopular) Valentine’s day. While, I dont necessarily agree with the over commercialization of this day, I do enjoy a romantic dinner for two. 
To me this day is not only for couples. Growing up, I took the occasion to express my feelings to loved ones. I remember making cards, cakes, and mixed tapes for friends and family.
Let’s celebrate February by thoughtful handmade gestures towards our loved ones. All month long I will be featuring a daily post inspired by love. I hope you will join me and feel in making this month less commercial, more handmade and very heartwarming.
image: manvi drona-hidalgo
and hello February! I hope you all had a lovely weekend.
Since, it snowed most of Saturday, we cooked up a nice meal, and watched the movie paranormal activity on demand. I have to say, I am still a bit spooked. It is sort of like the blair witch project with raw footage, but instead of being afraid to camp in the woods, paranormal activity makes you scared of being at home. In your own bed. Especially when you live in a single family home. A home that makes noises at night. Maybe I’m being a big wimp but there are certain scenes from the movie that might really creep you out I cant get out of my mind. I wont go into more details, but just thought I’d give you a heads up.
Anyway, lets move on to fun stuff. I have lots of great posts planned for you this month.
February being the month of love, I plan a daily feature inspired by love and romance. This is in addition to the daily interior inspiration feature. Many of you told me how much you loved the daily entryways and foyers and I hope you will like this month’s spotlight on living rooms.
You will be meeting some more lovely guest bloggers who will share their inspiration.
And a pretty giveaway which I will announce tomorrow!
See in you in a bit.
image: manvi drona-hidalgo
