Is it possible to be fabulous and permanently attached to your laptop as well…? I guess we’ll find out in 2008!

I’d like to officially say Happy New Year to you all! I have a lot of things up my sleeve for this new year – a few plans for my blog and a few more for me – and I can’t wait to share them all with you!

May 2008 will mark the one year anniversary of coco+kelley, and I hope by then to have an updated look for this little blog of mine. I also want to start carrying more great vintage finds on my etsy store… perhaps expanding it to a real store at some point! (Well, maybe we’ll save that one for 2009….)

For now – here are my top three official resolutions:

1) More yoga. And speaking of which – could someone come up with laptop yoga? I think it would save my life (and my ass). Which leads me to #2…

2) Less computer time. No, that doesn’t mean less blogging, it just means that I really need to get out more and take advantage of this city and the energy it has for design. Not to mention that I could afford to spend less time on energy-suckers like myspace…

3) Follow through. See, I’m one of those people who is always coming up with ideas and filing them away for later… well, later needs to be NOW! Whether it’s goals I’ve made for myself in the past, or simply getting through the ridiculous stack of magazines by my couch ~ no more being lazy!

There are a lot more where those came from, but I always stick with my top three… after all, a girl’s only got so much time and willpower

Thank you so much for all of your support and readership in 2007, and here’s to a fabulous 2008!

If you’re planning on celebrating with a little champagne tomorrow night for New Year’s, might I suggest the coco+kelley cocktail?

This incredibly cheesy photo is of me on my birthday a few months ago in Seattle at Barolo (psst – you have to visit their site to see the rest of the gorgeous decor and best theme music I’ve ever heard).

A swanky little setting, isn’t it?

We had the private table above, and wonderful service. My best friend Erin called ahead and requested that they create a cocktail for the evening – and thus the coco+kelley was born.

What they came up with proceeded to be ordered throughout the evening – it was a wonderful little concoction, and oh so simple: Champagne, Vodka, and a splash each of Raspberry Juice and Orange Juice. Fabulously yummy, not to sweet, and sure to get you tipsy (so watch out!).

Wishing you a very safe and happy New Years…

“Now let us give thanks for the New Year ahead, which is given to us fresh, untouched and filled with things that have never been.”
~Rilke

Just wanted to wish you all the best for the holidays before I disappeared for a bit. I go home to Seattle tomorrow morning to be with my family and friends for nearly a week, and I am SO looking forward to it! I may post a few things while I’m there, but will be back to my regularly scheduled blogging after New Years. I leave you with some fun images in one of my favorite color combos… (still crazy about it after all these years!)

Images via Toast and Tables, and Flickr.

Here’s to you and yours…

Luv&Ciao!

Cassandra

Whenever possible, I always believe it’s best to support artists and designers by purchasing their goods directly from them… well, now you can add one more designer to that list – Eva Zeisel.

Some of you loyal readers may remember me blogging about this gorgeous coffee table from the talented Eva months ago. Well, thanks to a nice little email from her grandson, Adam, I discovered that all of us are now able to purchase a number of her amazing designs straight from the designer herself through the website Eva Zeisel Originals.

They, of course, carry the coffee table I’ve been lusting after, not only in black, but also an exclusive warm walnut…

But, my new favorite is the dining table, which I am SO going to try and convince my dad to use as the ‘table of honor’ at his next restaurant. Can’t you just picture it… “Yes, I’d like to reserve the Zeisel table tonight”… sounds so fancy!

Eva’s designs have been praised throughout the years, and have provided inspiration for many. They are still as significant today as they have ever been, with their gorgeous curves and a truly unique and personal touch. Can you imagine growing up with her as your grandmother?

As Adam wrote in an article for D Home, “Blinded by normal adolescent behavior and an immature eye for true beauty I never quite realized how famous Eva really was. I grew up receiving her designs as gifts and attending her award banquets but it never clicked that she was so revered. It wasn’t until I started building this business that I learned the extent of her following.”

To gain a full appreciation for her process, check out this video…

A few more of my favorites from Eva include this incredible acrylic candelabra…

…and sensual recycled brass candlesticks.

From the sounds of things, Adam is just getting started on growing this online shop with more of his grandmother’s amazing pieces, so bookmark it now and stay tuned!

I did it! I found myself with some time to spare around 4:30 in the afternoon today, after finally finishing up all my Christmas shopping, and I decided to do a little hunting around the neighborhood for branches… a harder task than I thought it would be since I live in a concrete jungle, but I found them! My neighbors probably thought I’d completely lost my mind, carrying a bunch of sticks up in the elevator, but I propped them up with sweet little birdies and bulbs, and here’s how it turned out…

I have no mantle, and no cool credenza or buffet, just my completely awesome bar cart, so I decided to put my ‘tree’ up on it. Trust me when I say it looks better in person than it came out in the photos… The mirror is an old cast off piece from a submarine (random, but kinda cool, right?), the bronze birdies I found on ebay, the chocolate brown votives I bought years ago and I loooove the way they glow.

The candlesticks (which are a bit hard to see) are one of my favorite pieces on my etsy store right now, and the bowl of nuts is actually the leftover glass from a D&L candle. A pretty thrifty little set up if I do say so myself! Which is probably a good thing since Christmas is in FOUR DAYS!!

I finished it off with this little bronzed branch in the shape of a “C” that I knew would be perfect the second I spotted it during my shopping excursion today. Found it at one of my favorite stores in LA – New Stone Age on 3rd. If you’re having trouble finding the perfect gift, GO HERE!

As for the tree… I think I’ll have to keep it up at least through the next few weeks so that I can really enjoy it

I’m not quite sure what it is about this room… but I absolutely love every little piece of it. It has a sense of calmness and simplicity that I need in a bedroom, with gorgeous details. I love the chandelier – how it was placed so low, off-centered, but perfect somehow. I have a thing for buffets and dressers with dozens of little drawers or closed shelves like the one in the window – something about the rich wood and maybe a bit of curiosity at what exactly is hiding behind all those doors? Like an adults version of an advent calendar… which drawer to I get to open today? And what little treasure is hiding inside? The peachy chair looks so inviting and worn in, the bare floor perfect for bare feet, a cozy fireplace with simple mirror and accessories, a small vanity set up on the dresser, and the all white bedding…

Plus, the windows! I think they must look over a beautiful city like Seattle, San Francisco or Boston… maybe a little peekaboo view of the water…

Yes, it’s official, I’d like to move in now.

The NY Times recently published this article about how the accessibility of design has become a challenge and annoyance to designers, editors, and bloggers alike. It’s so hard to be original when once something gets picked up a few times in a decor mag (and then a blog… and then all over the internet), it automatically becomes commonplace. With large corporations making popular designs available to the masses (which I am not necessarily complaining about!), it does make certain pieces less special. Why would you go spend a few hundred when you can drop $39.95 for a knock off?

Affordable Ikat from Z Gallerie, and not-as-affordable from Madeline Weinrib

Here’s how I see it – there are certain trends you know you’re going to get sick of (bubble skirts, ikat pillows, whatever), and you go to Forever 21, H&M, Urban Outfitters, or Target and you drop a minimal amount on it because in a few months you’re going to be over it anyway. But, there are those pieces that REQUIRE investment. A nice pair of jeans, a tailored suit, THE purse. A gorgeous lacquered console, luxurious linens, THE dining room table. It makes all of our livse better and worse at the same time. There were trends this year I was so sick of before I even liked them (wall decals! skulls! sorry, but, ugh!), and there are trends I am still in love with (admit it, you’d take a Madeleine Weinrib pillow or zebra rug right now).

Ok, I’m ranting a bit here (wow, I believe this is a coco+kelley first!), but I suppose that there are good things that come out of the accessibility of trends – it keeps me on budget, and keeps all of us us on our toes – always looking out for the next big thing, discovering boutique treasures or true talents, and usually returning to (or at least incorporating) the classics. But it’s time to get creative and trust our instincts, so here’s my first official new year’s resolution. I WILL NOT LET MY BLOG GET BORING. And by boring I mean, I will try very hard not to simply copy posts from other’s posts, or reiterate what has already been said a million times on the pages of major design magazines. If it moves me, I will post it. If it’s a stupid trend that I cannot stand, you will never see it on my blog. I am not claiming to be THAT original (I’m a sucker for Kelley Wearstler too… ) but I believe in creating and promoting designs with personality. I think most of us out here in blog-world do the same. And what’s great is that we really ARE all different – we all have our little loves and obsessions, and it’s so fun to learn about those. But yes, nearly all of us has probably posted on zebra-print rugs and hermes blankets and skull patterns and deer heads and every other ridiculous trend because, let’s face it, it’s hard NOT to!

So, now I ask you, as we look back at the year, what trends did you hate, and what do you hope will be sticking around for a while? I’m interested to see what designs really spoke to you this year, and which ones fell short… And thanks for letting me rant