Project Runway fans: What's your MOOD?

I have been a loyal Project Runway fan since season two (I caught the first season when a marathon aired), and I'm looking forward to the new season on Lifetime. How cute are Tim and Heidi?!

ANYWAY, to get back to the title of this post... I pass

  

every day on my way home from work. I had some time to kill this morning so I stopped in to see what the contestants experience when they have their budget and 30 minutes!! Eek!!

When you first walk in, to your left, there is a huge display of buttons. If you can't find a button that you are looking for here, it does not exist. There are GIANT buttons too!!

After I recovered from button overload, I moved on to check out all of the fabrics in the store. Like O-M-G dudes, there is so much to choose from. I found a print that I really love and there are a variety of colors. I pulled out the sticker and of course I picked a Marc Jacobs fabric at $35/yd. I might buy a 1/4 of a yard, lol :)

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday! 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!! -E

Giveaway #2!!!

I have a confession to make... and YOU have the opportunity to benefit from my shopaholic tendencies!!

As mentioned before, I stumbled upon the beautiful illustrations by 

Kate Gabrielle. 

Confession time: I ordered two prints and have decided to "gift" one of them to a lucky Olive My Life! reader :) I realize I just wrapped up my first giveaway on Monday, but I just couldn't help myself. These illustrations are adorable and I just l-o-v-e giving gifts!!!

Here are the rules:

1. If you have a blogspot account, become a follower. 

If not, it's ok, you can still enter! 

(just make sure you leave a way for me to contact you)

2. Check out Kate's blog and etsy shop. 

3. Leave a comment on my blog and tell me which of her illustrations catch your eye.

Make sure you leave your comment by 6pm (pacific time) on Saturday. Check back Sunday morning for the winner!

Thank you again for reading! -E

Dying for these Designs

I am a light person.

Table Lamps, Floor Lamps, Bay Windows, Chandeliers... It doesn't matter if it's natural or artificial, I love light!

I found these lamps at The White Attic; I love new design finds.

This pillow from Hettle would go perfectly with the two pillows I just bought at Anthropologie. 

Thank goodness I'm on the schedule at J.Crew this week; I definitely need to replenish the back account :)

Have a terrific Tuesday! -E

Giveaway Winner!!

Congrats to the winner of my first giveaway: 

BLC from "The Company She Keeps" 

Random.org selected post #4 as the winner! 

I must admit that I'm particularly happy she won, seeing as how she is a dedicated reader and always leaves such sweet comments.

Well Miss BLC, send me an email with your address so that I can mail your prize!! Congrats again!!

Check back soon for the next giveaway!!

-E

Hat Couture

The Royal Ascot 2009 was featured in the Charlotte Observer this week. Not much was said about the race; the emphasis was on the hats worn by the attendees. There is a very strict dress code for the Royal Ascot, and the website provides pictures of "Dos" and "Don'ts." I have to share some of these pictures with you. I am all about big hair and big hats, but do some of these go too far? You be the judge...

First up, the ones that I would totally wear...

And now for a couple "what was she thinking?!"

seriously, this girl has strawberries and a spoon on her hat!!

I have this dream to go to the Kentucky Derby one day so that I can wear a cute dress and a fabulous hat. 

Have a splendid day!! -E

100th Post!!

Celebrate good times COME ON!!

Today is my 100th blog post :)

I'm going to celebrate by hunkering down on the couch and reading Harry Potter (I've just started the series)

Today is a special day for another reason as well: 

Happy Father's Day Papas!! I love you! Enjoy your video!

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday! 

Don't forget that today is your last day to enter the GIVEAWAY!! 

Be sure to tell your friends!!

-E

Broadway Buzz

I was browsing my usual websites today, and two photos caught my eye as I navigated to Broadway.com.

The first is the celebration cake for Shrek The Musical's 100th performance. This cake is the product of one of the cake competitions on The Food Network. I just love it!!

The other picture is from "The Wiz." And it's not just any picture. That hottie on the far left is my buddy Daniel. We did "Footloose" together during summer stock in NC in 2003. He also appeared in "The Color Purple" and "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway!

Don't forget to comment on the Giveaway Post! 

The winner will be announced on Monday!

-E

Giveaway!!!

Drumroll please... today is the big day!! 

It's the first giveaway on Olive My Life!

School's out for the summer, and my favorite summer treat is ICE CREAM.

I love Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Moose Tracks, Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch, and Sorbet (just to name a few).

My boss gave me a little jar of heaven at work the other day: 

Fudge is My Life,  "a delicious fudge sauce as happy to meet the cold shock of ice cream as it is to greet dipping fruit or a tasting spoon."

The winner of this giveaway will receive a jar of this yummy fudge sauce. It'll give you a reason to have fondue with friends or ice cream on a summer's night. 

As a reminder, here are the rules:

1. If you have a blogspot account, become a follower of Olive My Life! If not, don't worry, you can still enter.

2. Leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite summer treat.

3. Check back on Monday for the winner!!

This is just a small "thank you" for checking out my blog! -E

Living in LA-La Land...

As kids stare off into space, they are often told that they are in "la-la land." Well, I really am in LA-la land this summer. That is the affectionate name I have given to LA :) I thought about this as I drove home from work today (and spent 2 hours sitting in traffic... grr)

Los Angeles is La-La Land for a couple of reasons:

1. It's La-La Land for me because I pass a lot of Range Rovers daily... my dream car... It's borderline painful to watch these beauties drive by, but hey a girl can dream!

2. It's La-La Land for others because there are some real Coo-Coo for CoCo Puffs folks around. Now, Crazy Land is just sound of La-La Land and there area plenty of people that commute. Like this guy, as if the hat alone wasn't bad enough, there is a wooden spoon poked through the hat... I'm sorry, what?! I almost crashed my car trying to take this picture... oh bother...

TGIF!! -E

tum, ta-tum, tum, TUMS!!

I love my nieces and nephew... alot... however, my tummy isn't such a fan... While I was babysitting last night, we watched "Chopped" on the Food Network. After the second round when the ingredients were presented to the contestants, one of the kiddos said, "Aunt Liz! Can we make you a dish and you pick the best?!" Who I am to squash the creative passions of youth?

Ummm... as they started to ask me questions, I started to re-consider my willingness to participate...

"Aunt Liz, do you like pretzels?"
"Yes."
"Do you like marshmallows?"
"Yes."
"Do you like peanut butter?"
"Yes."
"Do you like broccoli?"
"Yes... Wait what?! Are you combining all those?"
"Aunt Liz, do you like cashews?"
"Yes."
"Do you like cheese?"
"Yes."
I then overheard them say... "Can we add water?"
"NOOOOO!!!"

Oh man, I'm going to have a runny, green, sticky mess... Where are the Tums?!

First up: Caroline. "I've made a sort of dessert with some good healthy things. There are chips that hold the marshmallows, and I added some Oreos for texture.

Next: Big Will. His approach was much more organic. There wasn't a lot of chopping involved. But he exclaimed, "Aunt Liz! You're gonna be full!"

Finally, Sallie G. "Well, to start, I heard broccoli and peanut butter are good together for some people. And here I did some strawberries with a little bit of broccoli. And over here, some marshmallows with broccoli.

There were some adorable moments in all of this.

Sallie: "Oh man, my work station is a mess! I need to clean it up now."

Caroline: "I love watching them make stuff (the chefs on TV), because it encourages us to make stuff!"

Sweet Caroline again: "Aunt Liz, have you ever had a kid make you something before? This is my first time making something." What was I thinking?!

The best part though is that they tried each others' dishes and LOVED them.

Here's to creativity and fun in the kitchen! -E

small sidenote: I must admit that I am in love with Bravo's "Top Chef Masters." It is so refreshing to see a competition show where the contestants are kind and complimentary to one another. They laugh and are enjoying themselves!! Loving it!! :) Ok, bye!

Poor, poor Betty... she is NOT a California girl...

My poor sweet Betty has had a rough summer in California. As mentioned in a previous post, she had a squeaking problem. Then a service engine light that felt the need to keep on illuminating. As I left work yesterday I checked my mirrors for oncoming traffic before pulling out onto the street. Wait, why do I not see anything on my drivers side? Oh, hmm... my mirror is GONE! I have no idea what actually happened, but the mirror was gone... there was no mirror corpse :( Nate, from Land Rover, and I are now on a first name basis. Actually, all of the guys laugh when they see me walk in now, "Back again?!" Oh yes... the joys... but I'm grateful for Betty... please don't mistake my frustration with a lack of appreciation. 

I woke up at 3:40am to work the inventory at Anthropologie at 5am. After only two-and-a-half hours we were finished! At about 8:20am, my brother comes running in the house and says "Your car has a ticket!" "What?! The streets get cleaned on Wednesdays!! That's not until tomorrow!!" You know what I'm about to say... today is Wednesday... Luckily, I have a great big brover (lol) who offered to pay the ticket for me... he's a keeper!

I spent the rest of the day enjoying the California weather. I went on a long walk and happened by the park where the kiddos were celebrating the last day of school! 

Sallie begged me to walk around the block with her so she could ride her bike. Being the "cool aunt" that I am :) I said YES!

After my walk, May and I sat outside and read for a bit. 

Then, while babysitting, the kiddos asked if we could go for a walk so they could ride their scooters. Again, "Cool Aunt Liz" said "of course!!!" I'm going to miss them so much when they go to the East Coast for 6 weeks!

I must mention this as well, I saw the most unusual gerber daisy (maybe?) today at Ralph's. 

Also, some beautiful hot pink peonies. They are clawing their way to the  front of my "favorite flowers" list.

Happy WEDNESDAY... that's right, it's WEDNESDAY in case you were wondering!! -E

Coming Attraction...

I have seen them done and have been fortunate enough to benefit from two, so I have decided to host my own... "Olive My Life!" is holding its first giveaway!!

More details to come... In the meantime, feel free to recommend my blog to friends so they can get in on the giveaway action as well. 

The rules for my giveaway are simple: If you have a blogspot account, become a follower. If not, no worries :) On the day of the giveaway, leave a comment on the "giveaway post" and a winner will be chosen at random.

I'm so excited for this opportunity to say "thank you" to my readers!!  -E

Design Inspiration? Yes, please!!

Thanks to Jennifer at Made by Girl for exposing her readers (myself included) to Canandian House and Home. I spent some time yesterday exploring the site and found some rooms with parts (or wholes) that I simply adore. 

There is something about this room that I just love. Once again, I've got another great idea of what to do with all of my "beautiful books." Stacking them under a table is the perfect way to display them!! And I just love that purple couch! It's trendy (and I'm way to practical to purchase a sofa like that), but it adds so much to the personality of the room!

Next, the yellow of this room is WAY to bright for me, but I love the white trim and symmetry of the lamps on either side of the Cameo portrait. I fell in love with Cameo rings while in Italy, so this would be the perfect way to share it with guests in the home! I also love the combination of the teal blue with white and black. A resemblance to Tiffay & Co. anyone?

Finally, I chose this pic because of the variety of patterns of the pillows. They all have a similar color scheme, but they bring a variety of patterns to the table (or couch, lol). 

There are so many brilliant design ideas out there! Have a terrific Tuesday! -E

Flapper Doodle: The Adventures of Eloise & Ramona

Check out these adorable illustrations by Kate Gabrielle. 

These may just be the perfect addition to my apartment in the fall!!

  

  

Just call me Rachael Ray...

Today was a lazy day in LA... I don't go back to work until tomorrow... so I took a trip to the neighborhood Ralph's (grocery store). I l-o-v-e to walk up and down the aisles. 

Because I am missing Italy pretty badly today, I decided to channel all of the lessons I learned in our cooking class in Florence (and all the hours I've spent in front of the Food Network) to bring out the domestic goddess in me. This is what I picked up...

Two heads of broccoli, a cantaloupe and pineapple (p.s. notice that I bought the real thing, not the pre-cut fruit from the store... Go Me!), raspberries, strawberries, squash, and zucchini. 

After I cut up the cantaloupe (my knife skills still need some major work, but I got the job done), I noticed something... and maybe it's just a subconscious manifestation of my love of venice, but the rind of the fruit looked like a gondola... 

...so I let two of the strawberries go on a romantic cruise. LOL!

After the boat ride, I washed and cut up the strawberries. 

I then combined all of the fresh fruit and made a yummy salad... ahh, summer!

The plan is to saute the veggies for a dinner tonight. 

As I walked through the grocery today, an idea hit me. The Food Network should produce a show that is based on the premise of preparing college students with the cooking skills they need to go out into the real world and cook for themselves. Hmmmm... it's a thought :)

Okay, well Happy Monday!! Off to watch some more Food Network! 

-E (aka: wanna be Rachael Ray)

Room decor possibilities?

In keeping with the "I'm going to be a grown up soon" theme from my previous post, here are a few pictures that I think could absolutely work in an apartment... maybe in NYC? lol

I love this sitting area in the kitchen. It feels so warm and comfortable.

L-O-V-E the setup of this couch. I never imagined I would love throw pillows as much as I do. I would always complain about all of the pillows on my bed when my mom would get on me about not making up my bed. She would always tell me, "when you are older you can decide how many pillows you want on your bed." But I must admit, I love pillows!!

I can't fight it... I love me some bright colors! Where do you find your design inspiration? -E

All the Anthro-possibilities...

I love Anthropologie. Like, alot. And I will be working their inventory on Wednesday for the second summer in a row. In addition to making some $$, I have the opportunity to benefit from the employee discount! Hooray!!!! So I did some pre-shopping yesterday. 

Before we walked in the store, the realization hit me. I am about to be a senior in college!! After three short semesters I will be a real adult with a real home of my own. So as I walked into Anthro, I thought of all the possibilities for my future home. I have settled on the following items... I think... LOL:

These two pillows

And this dessert plate (in addition to solid red dinner plates). I bought red cereal bowls after working the inventory last summer and these will match the bowls and utensils I have for when I'm a grown up :)

I bought some adorable pasta in Italy and this container will be the perfect vessel to display my pasta!!

I realize my taste may change with time, but I cannot pass up this awesome opportunity to SAVE money. And I love the idea of having a red kitchen!! Hip hip hooray!! -E