Ease the Winter Blues: Tropicalize Your House!

Tropicalize Your House! by elbonner featuring Zara Home

Most of the Eastern Seaboard, South, Midwest, and Northern states have had it with all this freaking snow. I'm over, you're over it, we are all over it. I've just about finished my week off which would have been a thousand times better if the weather hadn't been a total crapfest. With only one day of sunshine in the past 12, I'm looking to other things to lift my spirits. What better way to brighten your mood than to add some tropical fun to your home?! I'm all about fun prints, bright colors, and beachy accents. You can incorporate these things into most color palettes. Have mostly neutrals? Throw in a neon pillow, throw, or vase to shake things up a bit. I think everyone needs to embrace brights a little more and bring some color into their lives!

1. Pineapple Tealight Holder from Zara Home: super cute and subdued way to get some color and fun into your home decor. Will be great lit up out on your deck for a summertime BBQ too when the weather heats up!

2. Bath and Body Works 3-Wick Candles in "Coconut Leaves" and "Aloha Waikiki": These scents warm up any room and bring beachy clean scents to your house. Coconut leaves is a fresh green fragrances with a hint of coconut, citrus, and vanilla and Aloha Waikiki is straight up plumeria and tiare blossom. Not too sickly sweet and far from all that cinnamon nonsense you get at Christmastime.

3. Sisters of Los Angeles Beaches Glasses: These glasses go from the mornings orange juice to homemade margaritas without skipping a beat. I have all four of these and they are always a fan favorite. It's a great way to brighten up your beverage routine.

4. CWonder Ikat Dinnerware: I love printed plates and bowls. It's little things like these that can really brighten up your life. Your day may have sucked ass, but at least you have the most beautiful dinner plates around!

5. A Funky Rug: Now, a bright orange rug may not be your cup of tea, but the concept of a bright area rug is a great way to bring some life to a room. It's like putting art on your floor! There are so many cool rugs out there at places like Ikea, World Market, and even Target so you have no excuse not to chuck out that boring jute rug and get something with a little more life to it!

6. Beachy Wall Art: If you want to create a beachy haven, what better way to do that than to put beachy pictures on the wall! Everywhere you look can be a tropical paradise. You could even go for some bright, punchy prints of patterns if you don't want just photographs. I like this one from Goldfish Kiss at Society6 because it's part photo, part life inspiration, and totally drool worthy subject matter. Society6 is a great place to find original artwork for a great price and they have plenty of bright prints for any room!

7. Bright Pillows/Poufs: Have a plain, brown sofa? Most of us do, so spruce it up with some fun pillows! If you don't want a bunch of pillows on your sofa or want a cool little accent for your bedroom, invest in a fun pouf that can be used as a seat, footrest, or clothes holder like all of my furniture has eventually turned into! Big plus, most prints on Society6 can be made into a pillow! If you find a beachy print that you don't have the wall space for, you can make it a pillow instead!

Now, a tropical home space may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if sure helps having bright things in the house if you succumb to the winter sadness. Light yourself a delicious candle, snuggle up with a tropical pillow/throw, and enjoy a beach cocktail in a fun glass to take the edge off of this never ending snowpocalypse!

Summer Florals: Gardenia Madness!

Floral Fabulousness by elbonner featuring a perfume fragrance

It's one of my favorite times of the year: gardenia season! I love walking the neighborhood and getting down wind of a gigantic gardenia bush, it's like being whisked away to a tropical paradise! I'm getting excited about the new smells and blooms I'll be seeing when I go to Hawaii, but since I'm not there yet I'm turning to some great products to get me through the next few weeks! I usually prefer citrus and fruity scents, but there's something about gardenias and plumeria that just get me in the mood to walk barefoot down the beach whilst getting my white jersey maxi dress wet (I don't do that shit).

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Solid Perfume: Great to throw in your purse without fear of breaking a glass bottle or as a mid-day pick-me-up that you can huff in a bathroom stall when you realize that you've already used up all your vacation days. The scent lasts a long time and smells like a warm Tahitian breeze!

Diptyque "Gardenia" Candle: Diptyque candles are always classy, smell amazing, and make you feel like you're living in a fabulous Parisian art loft, complete with flower garden. Great at bath time to calm you down, and great right before bed so that you fall asleep feeling like your surrounded by gardenia bushes!

Kai Roll-On Perfume Oil: Beautifully light and reminiscent of a romantic beach walk with a hot local name Paulo or something, Kai products are simple yet luxurious and just all-around great. The fragrance doesn't just come in a roll-on, it's a soap, it's a candle, it's a shower gel. Your whole house and being can smell like the vacation you've always dreamed of! 

Malie Plumeria Body Cream: Okay, okay! I know it's not gardenia, but plumeria (or frangipani) is a very similar fragrance that I love just as much are gardenia. This body lotion is all organic and is a great moisturizer that is light enough to be worn on hot days which is a big factor in what kind of lotion I buy. When I use it I don't even think about the fact that my hometown climate couldn't support a plumeria bush! (so much sadness)

Get your fragrance on, people! Don't load it on like you're masking your scent from zombie hoards, just a light spritz with a sashay walk-through is good enough. Light florals like gardenia and plumeria are great for summer since they do well on their own and don't need other notes that can weigh them down. Gardenia up!!

Last Minute Shoppers: Get Presents That Don't Suck

I say this from atop my high-horse, I got all of my Christmas shopping done about a month ago and have really only supplemented it with little things I think are fun along the way. If you are way too busy and have only got a few days to get your shit together, then you are in luck. Here are a few last-minute gift ideas for your loved ones:

Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara Collection- Sephora

Most major cities have a Sephora, and luckily Sephora has some great gift sets that give you lots of stuff for not that much money. I like this set because Lancome Hypnose is a tried-and-true good mascara. Plus you get a primer, liquid liner, and a makeup remover. I would totally want this!

 

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette- Sephora

Thank you again, Sephora. This palette has every neutral shade you need, plus a brush, plus a tiny adorable lip gloss. Unless you like wearing wild colors all the time and work as a circus clown/colorful stripper, this is really all the colors you'll ever need. 

 

Art of Shaving Unscented Initiation Kit- Nordstrom

Most dudes shave or have refused to since Movember. Guilt them into shaving off that beard with this fancy kit from Art of Shaving.It has a badger hair brush, shave cream, after shave balm, and pre-shave oil to make your dudes face smooth and classy.

 

Jack Black "Balm Squad" Balm Quad- Nordstrom

Everyone hates dry, crusty lips. Jack Black's (not from Kung-Fu Panda fame) lip balm is supposed to be the next best thing in lip care. With this set you can either give them all to one person or you can divvy them up and give them to four different people. It even gives you the opportunity to keep one for yourself!

Diptyque Holiday Candles- Diptyque

These are fancy-ass candles that make for a fancy-ass gift. Diptyque has released two Christmas-themed candles, sapin dore that smells like Christmas trees, amber oud that smells spicy and seasonal, and oublian which smells like frankincense (baby Jesus approved). Diptyque candles always make a good gift because they look nice and everyone likes candles. If they don't like candles, too bad!

(available at Nordstrom or Saks 5th Ave)

Cashmere Infinity Scarf- J. Crew

If all-else fails, you can never go wrong with a nice scarf. It works for either gender, and unless it's made of burlap and razor wire, it will be soft and comfortable no matter what the price. If you really want to make someone feel bad about not getting you something better, get them a cashmere scarf. Now, whenever they start complaining about things you can remind them of how much you spent on that scarf and the guilt should shut them up!

Hope this little guide helps in a pinch. If you really don't have time to shop just resort to food. Everyone likes cookies and here are a few of my favorite cookie recipes. Some don't even need baking! Happy shopping everyone!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (vegan)

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Peppermint Bark

Gingerbread Cookies

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sleepy Time

Sleep Time by elbonner featuring old navy pajamas

Hurricane Sandy has decided to make this Sunday the greyest, windiest day we've had in a long time and all it makes me want to do is sleep. I know I need to clean my shower and mop my kitchen floor, but falling asleep while pretending to read a book sounds so much more satisfying on a day like today. The house is stockpiled with tea, chocolate digestive biscuits, bread and stew so it's really only a matter of time until I'm lulled into afood and weather induced coma. 

When it comes to sleepwear I like to keep things simple and comfortable. I prefer dark and soft colors as opposed to bright and happy prints because the last thing I want to do when I'm tired is have to look at something that could possibly give someone a seizure. Cream, light blues, purples, blacks and greys are what I tend to move towards when I'm looking at sleepwear. Other than color I spend a lot of time finding things that are inhumanely soft and comfortable. No tags, nothing scratchy, just balls-to-the-wall comfort and softness. I then snuggle up in a super soft blanket, light a candle and snooze the day away. I read somewhere that jasmine scented things can replicate the kind of relaxation people feel after taking a Valium, so I've started anesthetizing myself from the world with lovely jasmine candles.I'm getting sleepy just writing this so I'm off for a nap everyone. Take it easy!

Candlemania!

Candlemania by elbonner on Polyvore

Another day of my vacation has been written off due to rain, and all it makes me want to do is light a beachy smelling candle and forget that it sucks outside. Here is a small selection of my favorite candles that I have acquired over the years that make my apartment smell awesome. Clockwise from the top:

This candle came out in spring 2012 at Bath and Body Works and it smells incredible. Very green and fresh, but aquatic and fruity too. I bought like 5 of these since they're limited edition.I hope they come back next year! B&BW Coconut Leaves.

This next one by Ted Shreds smells just like surf wax. Can't get more summertime than that! 

Diptyque makes some great scents, my favorite being their "Philosykos" scent which is supposed to smell like a fig orchard. It's woody, fruity, dirty, it's the whole package. Their Figuier candle is the home scent companion to Philosykos.

Yankee candle is not just for teacher appreciation day presents, they make some great scents that don't smell like apple pie and laundry. My favorite is, surprise surprise, Sun & Sand that smells just like a day at the beach complete with salt air and coconut sunscreen.

This last candle is probably one of the more comforting scent combinations I have. This always helps relax me when I burn it during a bath or before I go to bed. Illume's Coconut Milk Mango candle smells like a dessert and makes you feel as if your inside a mango coconut cream pie. And what can be bad about that?!