a magazine photo shoot and more...

It’s Friday, and I’m so happy to be back here on the blog. Blogzilla hasn’t quite emerged this time around, as I await a magazine photo shoot of some of my outdoor entertaining areas next week.

I’ve been in my calm “hunting and gathering” mode for the last couple of weeks. Hunting around my favorite shops and thrift stores for just the right coastal-inspired pieces that I may need to incorporate for this photo shoot and gathering some of my favorite things from around the house, that have been stashed away for safe keeping.

My front porch will probably be one of the main areas that’ll be featured. It’s the favorite napping spot of our old grey kitty Amos, and with a little tweaking, I think the porch will look just as I imagine it in my head. 😉

These blue and white ikat pillows with the hot pink trim are a brand new addition to the porch and created by the amazing Brenda Kristine, who knew exactly the look I wanted!

In my gathering phase, I also put together a collection of mismatched little blue and white flower pots that I had stowed away in my shed and planted them with my favorite dainty flower of the summer, Santa Barbara Daisies! 

My larger blue and white pots are planted with hot pink geraniums, which I’m also obsessed with this summer.

By the way, this little faux wicker outdoor table is a new acquisition that I just absolutely love! A fun and inexpensive find from World Market. Check it out on my front porch in the first photo, above.

    

Do you follow Studio McGee on Instagram? I love their fun coastal style and best of all, their little shop is just down the street from me, so I did pick up a couple of cute things this week… you’ll have to wait and see!

And the most fun local news of all… this Newport Beach Peninsula Point home that was on the Newport Harbor Home Tour a couple of weeks ago was just photographed yesterday for Cottages & Bungalows! Editor-in-chief Jickie Torres shared these pics on her Instagram stories yesterday. Take a peek….  

Molly Wood is offering her monthly table top class today. Look at how cute this green and white look is…

(There is a materials fee for this class.)

And also on Instagram this week are more photos of this black farmhouse from the home tour. 

Follow homeowner and designer Colette for more inspiration!

I'll share more on this amazing home soon!

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

For more Newport Harbor Home Tour inspiration,
check out this brand new book:

the old-town tustin home & garden tour

The McCharles House serves a delicious and charming 
“high-tea” in their Victorian house and old-fashioned garden.

Saturday was a gorgeous day here in Orange County. Perfect for the Tustin Historical Society who was hosting their 17th annual promenade of lovely historic homes and gardens. 

I had been on this tour once before, and was really looking forward to exploring this charming area again. 

This year they featured a lovely collection of historic homes, most of them built between the 1880's and the 1930's. 

The guides and hostesses were all so friendly and informative, and I could really feel the sense of pride they had for their neighborhood. I hope you enjoy some of my favorite things about this year's tour! 

  

a pretty hollyhock greets visitors at the McCharles House.

The Pankey home is a 1928 Monterey Spanish Revival house,
and features the oldest surviving sycamore tree in the area.

Mrs. Pankey has lived in this house since 1956.
She is in the center posing with the
May Pole dancers from Tustin High School.

This is the Edgell home originally built in 1905.
It has doubled in size over the years.

A charming neighborhood home.

The Clifford house has a very creative garden
& front porch. This tall dresser was planted with
a variety of succulents and cottage flowers. 

The porch of the Clifford house. The home was built in 1884
in the California Craftsman style.
Flamingos and Xanadu were the themes for this year's tour.

A pretty shaded chandelier adds drama to the black and
white porch.  Pops of red brighten the space.  

Another vignette of the cute porch with yet another dresser.
This one is planted in patriotic colors.

A whimsical fairy garden is a lovely surprise for visitors of the Clifford house.

A pretty quartet serenaded guests at the Johnson home.

All set up for lunch on the porch!

My favorite little vignette!

The Zell garden was expansive and featured this cozy outdoor fireplace.

A  charming sitting area close to the garden and to the left of the fireplace.

A small children's playhouse
with a loft in the Zell garden.

This walking tour also offered the comfort of an old-fashioned buggy ride.

Pretty landscaping for this historic 1926 home.

Cheery succulents.

Happy birds must live here.

A lovely little mason jar vignette at the front door

A glamorous laundry room is always fun to see!

Another little fairy garden in the Berryman Cottage.

Pretty in pink

Another pretty Victorian.

The tour started right across the street from one of my favorite restaurants, Rutabegorz, so of course my friend Nancy and I ended our fun day with lunch there.

We had a fun lunch at one of our favorite spots,Rutabegorz!
Their featured appetizer was
an artichoke, olive and tomato dip with chips, only 47¢!

I love Old Town Tustin!

ciao! fabiana

a coastal inspired magazine photo shoot

with  Cottages  and  Bungalows      

Backyard seating area near the shed.

Happy friday, y’all!

I wanted to make sure I checked back in with you guys to share some behind-the-scenes pics from Monday’s photo shoot with Cottages and Bungalows.

Beverage station which also doubles as my garden work station.

The theme of the day was Coastal Style, as this is earmarked for next year’s Cottages & Bungalows Coastal issue, which is technically the August/September issue, but comes out in June!

In fact the 2019 issue is due out next week, but our photos are for next summer’s issue.  

  

Close-up of the beverage station.

Vintage glasses, napkins, lemons, limes, pineapple, juices and even a pot of basil are on hand to get the party started. 

The coastal-inspired tablescape in the breakfast room.

Here’s the blue and white table I set using some of my favorite plates and linens. Those fun vintage placemats are probably my favorites that I’ve collected over the years!

And, I added a little pop of green to the table at the last minute for a little something different. 

Jickie and Brett checking out the shot.

It takes a lot of patience to get the shot just right!

The outdoor table under the olive tree and next to the fire pit. 

We set up a little charcuterie board here at the outdoor table and also added beverages to the fun South Seas Cart. Lemons always add that desired shot of color!

Sammie doing a little modeling on the front porch.

The afternoon heatwave on Monday inspired us to set up a little table on the front porch that included cool watermelon and a pitcher of iced tea.

We gave Dugan a try first, but he didn't look too happy

After Dugan turned out to be a mediocre model, we gave Sammie a chance and she did great!

The "Ciao" hat from Lisa!

My friend Lisa had this “Ciao” hat custom made for me a few years ago, and I just love it! It's so perfect for a hot day! 

Jickie loved my matilija poppies that tower over our heads! 

Both Jickie and Kelly were enthralled by these huge matilija poppies. You can see them growing behind the black gate, and we thought they'd look cute with the watermelon on the table.

The cute way Kelly styled the poppies when she got home.

The garden gate brightened up with my favorite blue hydrangeas.

The last shot of the day was the gate, decorated by more of my favorite blue hydrangeas that were sitting in this fun hanging basket I found at World Market. These kinds of baskets just look so adorable on a front door or gate!

So it'll be a whole year until we get to see the official photos in print, and I hope you enjoyed this little preview! If you have any questions on the tableware, linens or other accessories, just leave me a comment. 

Happy weekend!😃

ciao! fabiana

For shopping info on this cute front door basket, 

click here. 

Door Basket from World Market

For shopping info on this fun pennant,

click here. 

C'est la Vie Pennant from McGee & Co.