And now I have the travel bug...

Never has a house tour made me want to pack up my bags, grab my passport and totally peace out more than this one. Featured on Design*Sponge, it is the Soho, Manhattan home of twin sisters Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato, of the incredible accessories brand Lizzie Fortunato. I admit I had never heard of these two talents before, but now I am daydreaming about owning every single thing in their collection, especially this little duo. And just as their world travels have clearly influenced the colors, textures and shapes of their jewelry, the same kind of style is found all over their home. And I am in love! Below are some of my favorite shots from the house tour, but make sure to check out this Design*Sponge post to hear the details behind all of their treasures.

Fabulous, no?

Have any of your travels influenced the look of your home?

Skull Crazy

There are generally two types of people in the world: those who count down the days until they can bust out the holiday decorations (and the days until Pumpkin Spice Lattes return at Starbucks) and those who realize it's less than a week until Halloween and they haven't even picked up a pumpkin - or figured out a costume. This year, I have fallen into the latter category. 

I don't know if it's laziness or what (it's probably laziness), but I've never been one to go all-out with holiday decorations. Christmas, okay kind of, but most other holidays I either do nothing or do something pretty simple. So, instead of providing you with traditional Halloween decor inspiration in this end-of-October post, I thought I'd find some cool examples of one of my favorite (and Halloween-appropriate) objects: skulls. I think they're spooky enough...

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And now after looking at skulls online all night (and trust me, there are some freaky-ass photos when you Google image search the word "skull') I'm gonna go have some nightmares...

Is holiday decorating your thing or do you kick back and let others take on that job?

A Favorite Thing: Open Kitchen Shelving and Cabinets

No matter how hard I try to go for lamps, artwork, chairs, or vases - when I get to the checkout line I always end up with a mixing bowl in one arm, a cast iron skillet in one hand and a fluted cake pan in the other. I just can't get enough of kitchen stuff!

Most kitchen things (especially if you make a point of collecting them) are worthy of display, but so many kitchens don't have enough counter space to have items sitting out and prepare a meal. That's why I love open shelving and cabinets so much; stored items look great and everything remains out of the way. Unfortunately the new apartment I'm moving into (next month!) has standard cabinets with doors, but I wonder if a little do-it-yourself kitchen enhancement would be worth the consequences.

But until I have some open cabinets of my own, I'll just be crushing on the photos below...

via Pinterest

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via Courtney Lane

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via My Paradissi

via Etsy

And a few of these kitchens have another feature I lust after: apron sinks. But that will have to wait until another post...

Are you kitchen crazy like me? What things do you tend to gravitate toward?

Latest Inspiration

I have a lot of catching up to do since blogging has taken the backseat to this other project I'm working on that I will finally be sharing with the world minus my mom on Monday. I am SO excited. I can be a bit of perfectionist with the things I really care about (as I'm sure many of you are) and so it's taking way longer than I would like it to. But it's getting soclose.

I'm also really looking forward to getting back into my groove and spending Sunday morning at my favorite bakery, chocolate croissant and latte in hand as I read through all of the wonderful blogs that I have been neglecting recently. I can't wait to see all of your latest visual inspiration, read your creative short stories, find out what food you have been enjoying (does anyone not blog about food?), and learn about the home projects you've been spending time on. I get so much inspiration and enjoyment from the blogging community and can't wait to be 100% involved again.

Until then, here is some of my favorite inspiration from all over the web... (and if you are active on Pinterest I am a bit of a pinning psycho and would love to connect on there. Heehee. Find me here)

this pretty living room via House Beautiful's Pinterest account

this very cool entry table (loving the polaroids) via Design Sponge

the cool-as-it-is-cute style of Miroslava Duma, former editor of Harper's Bazaar Russia
(if you search for her on Pinterest you will not be disappointed)

this elegant but cozy bedroom featured on Glitter Guide

this eclectic, treasure-filled vignette via Design Sponge

this fantastic combo of leopard and grey via Lauren Santo Domingo's Pinterest boards

this incredible bathroom via Gild & Grace, one of my very-favorite interior design blogs.
Constant eye candy.

this great mixed-style living room in San Francisco via Apartment Therapy

this Oscar de la Renta NYFW runway look (actually the entire RTW collection - trust) via vogue.com

this perfectly rustic bathroom via Apartment Therapy

this ultra-glam living room featured on Vogue's APT with LSD

What do you have planned for the weekend? And give a girl some tips: how do you successfully stay on top of blogging? I need to knoooooow ;)