Lace Me Up and More

Traditional Powder Room by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms Eskuche Design

Whoa. My week has been a blur. I can't believe that I quit one full-time job and yet my schedule has gotten even busier. Being the boss of me all day, every day, is really a never-ending venture.
Any who, I've been missing around these parts but have been drooling over all the fab work being done over at the One Room Challenge aka, my design virtual reality show addiction. Can't wait to see all the reveals next Wednesday.
As you can see from the above photo, I've been smitten by lace. Definitely a sexy re-emergence of this timeless fabric being seen on the runway and in home decor. I dished about it over on Houzz this week.  

Modern Dining Room by Amsterdam Architects & Designers gosto design & lifestyle
  
What a soft touch this lace add to this modern dining room.
This other Houzz feature on ways to build a strong client/designer relationship went viral and sparked quite the conversation. So pleased to see homeowners and design professionals learn and share so much about their own experiences and expectations. Definitely an eye-opening read for many so be sure to swing by, check it out and share some feedback. 
In other news, Xavier and I survived a little fender bender yesterday. Definitely a scary moment as the car was hit on the back passenger side where he was seated. I think my heart stopped when I felt that impact and realized how close it came to my little man. Thankfully, the dude who hit us was coming out of his driveway, with not much speed, so the impact was not devastating. We are both okay and had no scrapes or bruises, just shaken up for much of the day. Thankful and eternally grateful to be okay. Thanks to everyone who sent some well-wishes and to my virtual sister/bestie DesignAddictMom who called to be sure we were okay. We have been trying to connect by phone for an eternity and just like that, I finally heard her voice. It meant the world. Cheers to a fab and safe weekend to everyone.
 

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A-Efendy Personal Musings, Whisk Me Away Fridays, Xavier

Go Girl, It's Your Birthday!

Source: designdazzle.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

Age is a funny thing.....
The older I get, the less concerned I've become with celebrating each birthday with a big bang of a celebration.
I've learned to savor the moment, to dance in the wind if you will, to just revel in the awesomeness of being alive to see another year.
In truth, I'm just happy as punch to be in good health, to be a new mommy, a relatively new wife, and to have lived long enough to learn how to surround myself with true friends.
This year I'll gather a group of those close friends for a dinner celebration to toast to those simple things.  

 

Source: thefoundblog.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Glaci on Pinterest

Of course, since it's a freaking birthday celebration, some cake will be had...

Thank you all for welcoming me into your lives - albeit virtually. 

It's been quite a year and I'm truly blessed. 
Happy birthday too to all my Taurus peeps. You guys rock.

P.S. Some lucky peeps will win these giveaway items tonight. 

I'll announce the winners on Monday. 

Have a great weekend y'all, or as we'd say in Jamaica, walk good.

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A-Efendy Happy Birthday, Personal Musings, Whisk Me Away Fridays

Negril! Vacay Here We Come.....

We're off to our favorite island, specifically to one of our favorite places on said island, Negril. 



We'll be doing lots of this.....

Source: thebottomoftheironingbasket.blogspot.com via Sam on Pinterest

And maybe some of this....

Source - Rick's Cafe Negril

Sippin on lots of this.....

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Playing plenty of board games like this....

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But in the end, we just wanna have a good time and plenty of chill moments like this.....

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We'll miss you guys, but we REALLY need a break and LOTS of fun.
Since we'll be hungover much of next week, we'll have some amazing guest posts from a few of our blogger besties. Stay tuned.  

Cheers.
Nicole and Debbie

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A-Efendy Negril, Vacation, Whisk Me Away Fridays

Jamaica Here We Come - My Weekend Getaway with Xavier

So I haven't made it home for Christmas in three years. Our wedding accounted for year one's absence, then came Xavier on year two, and last year we thought we would have seen my family during our November vacay in Negril but hurricane Sandy had other plans.
I needed some mommy time. As in time with my mom, two grandmas and other family/friends so I decided to sneak in a quickie getaway with Xavier in tow. I mean, going without him would have been akin to treason so I pulled on my big girl panties, loaded up three suitcases full of clothes, food and other goodies (my Caribbean/Latin American peeps understand the need for this kind of luggage debauchery) and off we went. 
Traveling with three bags and an active 14-month old aint NO joke. That was a first and a last time.  Hubby dearest you MUST always be there for these trips!
Anyways, I survived - of course - and spent some quality time with the fam. Xavier's soul belongs to that island because it was as if the kid knew everyone and everything (we'd taken him there to visit when he was a mere four months old).
Here's a recap...

 He sat still for a few minutes to learn some words on the tablet, but once he spotted another kid he was out of that child in record time. The wonderful Pierre was gracious enough to share his game.

Yay! We're finally at grandma's! Hanging with his favorite cuz, my niece, Deja.

Okay, so I'm from Kingston which is not the tourism mecca you see plastered around for every ad featuring Jamaica. It's the city life which means no ultra fab beaches to saunter right on over to. But there is one nearby indulgence that us city folk must do, even if we're only in town for two days. Go to Hellshire beach, just a few miles outside of the city. 
Now most of us don't go for the beach. We go for the ridiculously tasty heaps of fish, lobster, festival and bammy that is cooked by the gazillion vendors who have set up shop there.

Hmmm, I didn't know my dearest Cuban friend Sophia had snuck into the island and set up a stall? This explains why she's always missing on the weekends. hehe.

This is my favorite spot. Well organized and pretty freaking budget-friendly.

Hi there, you want a lobster?

Once you place your order, you go out back to chill out on the beach and check out the scene.

Me and my mom. That lady spoils me when I'm in town! Love it!

Deja on her first horseback ride. Wait? Horses on the beach? Hey, whatever hustle works in Jamaica. There was also a massage therapist roaming around with his table, CD vendors, women selling fruit, peppered shrimp, and vendors selling items that are well, sorta, kinda illegal.

Fresh from a nap, I'm pretty sure he smelled his fish cooking. Chillin here with his Uncle Shomari.

Lunch is served! Yep, fried fish and the local fare of bammy (fried cassava) and festival (a fried dumpling of sorts made with cornmeal, flour, sugar).

Your fish isn't complete unless you dress it up with some pepper! Scotch bonnet pepper and onions are soaked in this tub of vinegar which is pretty potent. I use it sparingly!

We drink our coconut water straight from the coconut here! 

Letting Xavier get his feet wet before we leave.

Once back in Kingston, we stopped by to say hellos to my Grandma, Enid, who turns 82 this year.

And that's it folks. A two day whirlwind experience. Xavier did pretty well and things were a lot more manageable on the trip back to Miami, since I no longer had three suitcases to contend with. Missing everyone terribly, but we'll see most of the fam when we return to Negril later this year for that rescheduled vacation. If you're ever in Kingston be sure to have someone take you to Hellshire. It's quite an experience.TGIF!
P.S.
We have a lot going on this weekend. We're installing a few projects this month so I need to work up a punch list of all that needs to be done to get those finalized. We also start a new and fun one on Monday, which means I'll be spending a few hours at the fabric store to get things rolling. Can't wait. Oh and of course, I'll be watching the Super Bowl, for the commercials and Beyonce, only. No football fan am I. Hehe.   

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A-Efendy Hellshire, Jamaica, Vacay, Whisk Me Away Fridays

This Girl is on Fire

I've been obsessed with the latest single from, Alicia Keys: "This Girl is on Fire". It is the ultimate ladies anthem for any woman who has ever dared to dream, and had the conviction to push through any adversity to make those dreams come through. This weekend and beyond, power through ladies!

p.s.

Don't forget we're hosting our first giveaway eva, so go on and follow us all over da place to win some amazing treats from the Nicole White Designs Store including these goodies:

 

 

Head on over to Mix and Chic for all the juicy details. TGIF and again, cheers to a fab weekend.

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A-Efendy Music, Personal Musings, Whisk Me Away Fridays

Cheers to the Freaking Weekend and More.....

Two hands in da air if you're happy it's Friday! Three hands in da air if you're glad the elections are ova and your phone is no longer ringing off da hook with campaign calls - though I gotta say, it was kinda cool to hear Alonzo Mourning, Serena Williams and Magic Johnson on my voicemail! 

Any who, as always, we have lots to be grateful for in our neck of the woods. 

We're installing this guestroom/office this weekend and yikes, I still have so much shopping to do to finalize that. Lord help me. 

I'm finalizing fabric selections for the sectional in this awesome family room project.

lol. So much has already changed since this initial design.

Not our exact sectional, but pretty close and it'll be a left hang chaise as shown here, and not the right as shown in the rendering.

Our tropical inspired holiday design board is also causing a buzz over on Olioboard. But we need a LOT more votes to help us win this challenge so please click away and vote for us and spread the word! We promise there will be no long lines and unlike our beloved Florida, your vote will be counted on time. 

   
 
The little man is again feeling under the weather. Congested once again. Sigh. I swear daycare is a recipe for illness times 10. But he was pleased as punch to get his first Miami Heat gear, a gift from my amazing boss and his equally amazing girlfriend, who as you can imagine, are sports fanatics.

He'll suit up next week for a sports themed day at the school. Pictures to come of course!
And after weeks of not running into the teacher who caused this shit storm,I finally saw her last Friday. I'd already had my angry Jamaican mama chat with the Director about braiding his hair without my permission, and her using God knows what comb to do such styling.
The teacher was apologetic and insisted she meant no harm and conceded that she had crossed the line and would consult with us first should she wish to practice her hair styling techniques on our child. We are now all good. He'll be moving up to her class in a few weeks once he is walking confidently on his own. Any tips on that fellow parents? He only walks unassisted when we're not looking! Drops to the floor and crawls otherwise.
Any who, have an amazing weekend. We're sending lots of love and warmth to Linda at My Crafty Home Life and all my peeps in the Northeast.   
P.S. If anyone knows what the heck is up with Blogger and the craziness that we've endured with each post this week, please send me a holla? Especially if you have a solution!
Thank you, merci and mucho gracias!

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A-Efendy Guest Rooms, Interior Design, Personal Musings, Whisk Me Away Fridays

Vacation Destination Vs. Hotel Decor.....

So when it's time to plan that getaway, I always try to cop as many deals as I can, but if airfare is included, that's not always possible. I mean, these airlines charge you for every darn thing...mark my word one day soon we will be paying a separate charge for the use of oxygen while in flight. Hence, I usually end up settling for the basic kind of accommodations. Hey, I'm easy as long as the hotel is a safe area, clean and centrally located it's a win win for me...Double Tree and Four Season hotels are usual my go to brands.  
Now, Niks on the other hand sees her accommodation choice as part of the whole travel experience and will usually splurge on this, while my motto is I just need a place to sleep and store my luggage while exploring the chosen local.
But, I must confess that after coming across some of these hotel images, I feel that I have been depriving myself of a great treat while on vacations. Take a look and you'll see what I mean.

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This is hands down my favorite...amazing mix of color.

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The perfect honeymoon setting

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Can you believe this is the reception area of the hotel...if you're thinking Vegas..you nailed it.

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Errr...a hanging seat in the lobby..and it's kid friendly.  Who would have thought...LOL

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Do you only splurge on the hotel if it's for a special occasion? Or do you agree with Niks that a chic and sexy hotel can make all the difference on how you view your vacation experience?  Have you ever stayed in a hotel that just took your breath away with it's amazing design?

Have a great weekend and be safe. See you on the flip side.

xoxo

Debbie B. 

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A-Efendy Hotels, Whisk Me Away Fridays

A Chic Contemporary Home In The Big Easy

Whenever I think about homes in New Orleans, I always pictured them heavy on the traditional side, jam packed with antiques similar to those at Grandma's house. 

Source                                 The Historic Williams Residence on Royal Street

So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this very contemporary home designed by New Orleans' own Lee Ledbetter for Sidney D. Torres IV and his fiance. The exterior of the home doesn't even give so much as a hint of the contemporary gems hidden behind it walls. Take a gander and you'll see what I mean.

Sidney D. Torres, IV and his fiance - are the extremely lucky couple that get to call this amazing place home.

Images Via 

Now I have never been to New Orleans, (Nikki has been twice! Hate her!) but I'm dying to try some beignets at Cafe Du Monde and some authentic shrimp and grits so it's definitely on my Travel Bucket List. 

Do you think a home this contemporary loses that vibe that is unique to New Orleans? What do you think about Ledbetter's use of mostly neutral colors. Check out more Ledbetter's amazing work here.

Have a great weekend. See you on the flip side.

xoxo

Debbie B. 

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A-Efendy New Orleans, Whisk Me Away Fridays