Who wants cake?

Too bad. You have to have had a birthday for me to make it! I ended up making THIS classic Yellow butter cake with Chocolate frosting yesterday (above). It was SUPER good although I had some issues with the frosting which were quickly remedied and the cake part wasn't as sweet as I would have hoped. Oh well, these things happen. This too shall pass. Try not to be so dramatic about it.

I really love photographing food!

Anyway, I'm not going to lie when I say that I completely nailed it and the birthday was a hit! Next stop: my surprise giveaway THIS WEEK!!!

Alicia B.

Design Lesson: Ikat

Ikat pillow from Sheherazade.

A few weeks ago, a reader asked me what ikat is. I realized that some people, who are not design nerds, actually read my blog! I was just whisking you through some fabric and didn't even bother to explain what it was. My apologies. And now you're all subject to a little lesson in design. Ikat is "a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie dye on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design." Huh. Anyway, ikat comes from southeast Asia; Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and that area. It's a very beautiful style of fabric and seems to be quite popular right now.

Micheal Smith uses ikat here in this beautiful red and white throw pillow. This is actually one of my favorite images of a room. I love the yellow contrasted with the red.

Suzanne Tucker used ikat fabric to cover this entire sofa. The color palette works well with the reds she's used here in the carpet and pillows. It also works well with the handmade baskets on the coffee table.

A large piece of ikat can be used to simply cover the seat and back of a sofa like this one designed by Moises Esquenazi.

Madeline Weinrib has an amazing line of ikat pillows, as well as many other items which I almost bought (this rug). This is her house and she uses one of her gorgeous chocolate brown pillows on the chair.

I've always loved this little sitting room by Hal Williamson. The pair of chairs flanking the fireplace are in ikat fabric and they work so well with the antique rug!

David Easton (swoon) has his own line at Lee Jofa including this ikat fabric called Westmount Wall.

Fabric this beautiful certainly deserves to be framed. I have a piece of fabric framed hanging over my bed now! From Elle Decor designed by Anne Becker.

Besides using this fabric for throw pillows, and upholstery, it can of course be used as a wall covering like here in Bob Bob Ricard Restaurant in London c/o La Dolce Vita.

Truth be told, I really love ikat but I'm going to be a total snob and say that it's on its way out as a trend because I recently saw it at Pottery Barn. I know what you're thinking: "Oh Alicia, get over it," but I must be at the CUTTING EDGE, okay?! I like it in small doses, but when it becomes a trend, I tend to back out. Thoughts? Want to get some of it for yourself? HERE is a pillow from Pottery Barn and a cute BAG from Target, or for more home accessories, Sheherazade! Another great place for affordable ikat pillows is Fabricadabra--my fave is the pink "M" shape.

REMINDER: A surprise give-away contest will be happening sometime next week! Check back for more deets.


Alicia B.

Let Me Eat Cake

How cute is this one? Very spring looking. No Bake Marshmallow Cake!

Let's take a break from design for a hot second, yes? I've been looking at some cakes lately for a special someone's upcoming birthday this Saturday. My assumed parameters are the following:

1) Cannot be healthy or a pie.
2) Must have chocolate in it
3)Cannot forget important ingredients like eggs or baking soda. This has NEVER happened before, I swear! (It's happened twice, WHATEVER.)


As any good Martha Stewart-ite, obviously I will be making this cake from scratch; that's not even a question. Here are my choices so far:

Okay I know this doesn't have chocolate but it DOES have ice cream so perhaps I could slip that one by him. Muah ah ah. This is a Martha Stewart Inside Out Strawberry Ice cream cake. It looks so fresh and yum.

This one looks INCREDIBLY rich. The Mexican Chocolate Cake is from Real Simple. And apparently this cake is "kid friendly."

This one is fighting for first place in my mind. Its just simple and beautiful and not too much work for me! Moist Devil's Food Cake. YARMMMMM.

There's truly no way that I'll be making this cake but I just thought it was funny. Burgers are somewhat of an addiction for SOME PEOPLE. HA. I found it at good ol' Betty Crocker.

From Cooking Light (love you!), this decadent Dark Chocolate Orange cake doesn't look "light" at all.

Hopefully in this endeavor, I don't end up eating all the dough and/or frosting myself before I put it in the oven! Does anybody have any other suggestions? I also looked at my secret love, Paula Deen's recipes but there are no pictures! Hmm.

PS: Possibly could be doing a surprise give-away next week. TRUST ME, it's really good! Look out for it!


Alicia B.

Non-boring Side Tables

If you show me this boring thing again I'll die. I don't want to be dramatic or anything, but it's a very real possibility.

Since the big move, I've noticed that my new apartment is really lacking a great side table in which I can put things; bowls, frames, and stack papers (that go in cute containers, duh). So I've found some fun and different side tables that include shelving! I can't take this modular look for another moment, so I've branched out and I hope you enjoy them.

This little unassuming table is from LL Bean Home and comes in many fun bright colors for $99. Great price for so many shelves!

This bobbin table from MGBW would be perfect, but I need more shelves. I still love it though and it's only $325.

Perfect for small spaces, here is an Asian inspired table, the Harbour Tea Table from Gumps for $259.

J'adore this faux bamboo etagere on castors, also from Gump's for $649

Very attractive 4-shelf bookcase from Ballard Designs. The Dunstan for only $289.00

This one is plain, but classic. The Conservatory Garden End table from Ralph Lauren Home for ONLY $7485.

When I'm a high end designer, I plan on using Hickory Chair all the time. The Chippendale lamp table HERE.

I like the brass accents on this; especially the fretwork top! This 3-tier etagere is from Baker for $3038.00 Hmm.

This beautiful mahogany antique table that I found on 1st Dibs is most certainly going to be out of my range, but aim high...right? From Burden and Izett who has very beautiful antiques.
I've really fallen in love with Victoria Hagan's Designer collection through Target. I am leaning towards this one. I like the wood ornamentation on the sides and its only $79.99. And Victoria Hagan designed it so...I'm in!

When I said I was "leaning towards" the Victoria Hagan one, I really meant that I bought it four hours ago. Oops! I'm so excited to get some things off the ground--literally. Next stop: the Container store for some more cute boxes. What?! They're having a sale!!


Alicia B.

Escape: Molori Safari Lodge

My sister kindly gave me a gift subscription to Forbes Magazine a few months ago. While I thanked her for her thoughtful gift, I thought to myself, "I'm never going to read this." It's for business and finance people and I'm the artsy design-y one! Well sure enough, I actually started reading it! There was this amazing spread of a high end safari lodge in South Africa, the Molori Safari Lodge. Usually I'm the type to fall in love with some traditional design but this is fun and funky with a bit of traditional wrapped it. Molori actually means "dreamer." You had me at Molori. Check it out:

Can you just imagine sunning yourself here? Out in the African wilderness? I love those chairs contrasted with the modern outdoor rug and the beautiful smooth terrace. They have fold away glass walls in nearly every room so that you can be sheltered, but enjoy the outdoors as well.

Are you inside or outside? Who cares!

That lantern hanging from the super high thatched roof ceiling, the fur at the foot of the bed, and the asymmetrical headboard made of drift wood are such surprising design elements here.

I especially love the views from each room. You are in an uber luxurious bedroom with a stone fireplace and a tree growing off to the side, looking out on the amazing African landscape with lions, elephants, and all sorts of other wildlife just right there. Ridiculous.

Is that not a relaxing scene? I love the woven stool there. Everything looks so warm.

Apparently this is where African Heads of State have secret meetings here; the who's who in Africa have stayed here and are friends with the owner. The average night's stay here is about $1800-4900. Not bad! I think what I liked the most was how much this surprised me. The designer, Stephen Falcke could have gone uber traditional but they used so many eclectic pieces and many natural textures. I'd love to go there and just touch everything...and then go swimming in the pools there. ps-photos by Collin Miller Photo.

Alicia B.

Fur Sure

From Living etc, this luxurious throw comes from Heal's.

It all started with a pair of mink earmuffs. You get one pair of mink earmuffs and it becomes a slippery slope to buying a huge fur to put on your bed as a comforter (see above). Basically, I'm obsessed. Earmuffs, vintage fur shawl, fur pillows, mink collar over the weekend, and now I've discovered these amazing fur rugs by Kyle Bunting on Decorati. The patterns and wild colors are so interesting. Check out my fur obsession.

This is Sweet Caroline in Cream. I love this pattern in a neutral slash subtle color.

What a fun Greek key pattern! Rip Cord looks dramatic in these contrasting colors.

One of the most popular ones is this pattern called Jet Stream. It's amazing how many colors these rugs are available in.

Cute patchwork one here. I love the different textures of the furs--they add so much depth to something flat. It's called 3 Lock Box (haha remember the lock box?) in cream and turf.

I love this fun modified quatrofoil shape, called Kashmir with these pretty celadons, and charcoals.

Doesn't this remind you of a pretty Twister game? Called Limelight--not twister.

Clearly, they can be in different shapes and sizes; this one is a runner size. Called Confusion.

The textures of these are so gorgeous! This one is a blonde sort of color--so pretty!

Here are three that Kyle Timothy Blood used in the Hamptons Idea House in 2008. So unexpected!

Hamptons Idea House again.

What I love most about these is that you would associate fur with winter and warmth, but here Kyle Timothy Blood uses them in a summer/beach atmosphere! They are light colored and it just shows that these furs can be used in all seasons.

Perhaps I've gone off the deep end, but at least I did so in high-end style. I'm just so drawn to the textures and the creative colors that the furs are dyed. It's very unexpected--I've never seen anything like them. How amazing would it feel to walk on one of those rugs; they look so soft. Check out his website HERE and his profile on Decorati. What a hard worker!

UPDATE: He has a blog too! HERE.


Alicia B.