IKEA jewelry display cabinet

re-purposing a glass cabinet

Mine has glass sides and shows off necklaces perfectly

We purchased a GREVBÄCK glass-door cabinet from IKEA about six years ago to display my son's Lego collection.  Well, fast forward to 2011, and the Lego's are out, and we have ourselves  cabinet without a purpose, until...I was inspired by watching one of the Real House Wives shows.  One of the  "wives" had all her necklaces and costume jewelry hung on cup hooks in her closet area.  I took that idea and incorporated it into the six foot tall IKEA cabinet.  Now I can see all my necklaces at once, and they don't get tangled.  It's quick and easy to find what I am looking for. 

I think it would look better painted a fun color.  What  do you think?

Ciao!  Fabiana

looking forward to the weekend

my inspiraton for the weekend...

A Tuscan style lunch by Carolyne Roehm

with all my favorite antipasti,

parmesan cheese, green olives, and fresh salami

I think we will try a Skinnygirl Frangelini this weekend. 

Bethenny has a bunch of new Skinnygirl recipes out, and I'm already a big fan of her margaritas. Check out Bethenny for more fun drink recipes.

Ciao!

Fabiana

back yard mini make-over

a work in progress...

We just finished a mini make-over for our patio and pool area, and now comes the fun part, DECORATING!  The photos I took are a work in progress.  I'm currently looking for a 7-8 foot long rectangular dining table and am having cushions made in Sunbrella's Sand color. Pillows will be muted shades of blues, greens and tans.  I need all the inspiration I can get.  I'd love to hear your suggestions!  I think a bright punch of color would be fun...

lambs ears, thyme, and succulents

wating for a cushion
and solid colored throw pillows

an area for barstools now

the former grassy area.

Master-mason, Randy Speer, helped us to put into fruition the plans we had imagined, and we are so happy with the results!  He added a fire pit in a dark gray concrete finish and constructed a new counter to match for our bbq station.  Now we have room for four bar stools.  He also poured a new patio area for our lounge chairs that previously was an small, unused grassy patch.  And, one of favorite parts of the make-over was getting rid of a large brick planter that was between our house and bbq.  In it's place, we built a zig-zagged brick seating area that I call my little "Laguna Cafe".  It was inspired by all the quirky and fun brick work and styles in Laguna Beach.  I added two small granite and iron cafe tables, and a vintage wrought iron sign that we found at an antique store in Pismo Beach.  Here are some photos, and I will update them as things progress. 

backyard buddies

Ciao!  Fabiana

a windy day in newport

the balboa peninsula

local hangouts 

come down to newport soon...

there's so much to see and do! 

Ciao!

Fabiana