green as a neutral color

I hope you've read the new issue of House Beautiful. If not, go out and buy it right now. Seriously. Okay, you can finish reading, and then go buy it.

It was one of my favorite issues to date. 

I fell in love.

With a neutral color.

Green.

Wait what!? Green as a neutral? Yes. The focus of this issue was on incorporating green into your house and life, and to treat it as a clean color palette. Pretty fitting with St. Patrick's day around the corner. 

After reading and feeling inspired to live a green life (literally and figuratively), my green thumb was hard at work on Pinterest. 

Here it is on a ceiling. How surprising and stunning?

via

Such a fun accent wall.

via

Green dresser. Need one.

via

Drooling yet? Feeling like you need to run out to the store and grab a can of green paint? 

Me too.

If you're more color conscious, I've put together some items that will slowly incorporate green into your life. My personal fave is the bar cart. I neeeed one.

Mirror//Flats//Candle//Mug//Chair//Pillow//Bar Cart//Topiary//Matches

weekend recap: sweet home chicago

Happy Monday!

I hope all of you had a fantastic weekend. I've been home in Chicago since Thursday, and have been doing all of my favorite things.

I spent the day downtown on Friday meeting with people, and visiting my Dad/Brother at work. Love the "Sears" Tower (I refuse to call it anything else...Willis what?)

Saturday I went out with some of my best girlfriends. I miss them terribly when I'm in NYC. 

Fun fact: I was a figure skater when I was younger. 

Seriously. So when I discovered the Kristi Yamaguchi was going to be at the local bookstore yesterday, I just HAD to go.

She read her new Children's book, and then did some Q&A. My favorite question/answer:

Question: What are your thoughts on practice makes perfect?

Kristi: I think that practice makes pretty good. If it made perfect, we would stop trying. You should always be striving for something better, and always working on your craft.

Carly and I had brunch yesterday. She is as sweet in person, as on her blog. Seriously love her. If it weren't for her coming to my town, I would have never seen that Kristi was coming. Thanks Carly! 

And of course, I was with my little noodle Penny Lane all weekend. She's such a doll. 

And I leave you with possibly the greatest song right now. And the video is the best. 

Selena Gomez + Justin Beiber + Ashley Tisdale = perfection (the Disney kid in me is VERY happy)

happy weekend!

No, this won't be me this weekend. But I am home in Chicago and completely loving it. Happy weekend! xo

spring fever

with these freakishly warm temperatures (I'm not complaining) in NYC lately, I've been cravingggg fresh manicures. 

For a while I was borderline addicted to shellac - but my bank account was not. So, I've become quite good at painting my own claws.

This week alone, I have bought 2 new Essie colors, and Tamra has generously lent me THREE! Woa. This girl is one happy camper.

Below are the new colors. What do you think? 

I need to paint them before I had home to Chicago today. Any thoughts on which color? 

Have a happy Thursday!

swoon with me!

After months of hard work, dedication and planning, ever swoon is open for business! Tamra has been secretly plotting ways to make us swoon, and the site does NOT disappoint. I feel honored, and lucky to have helped in this process, and that I can not only call Tamra a boss, but also a dear friend. Before we started working together I knew she was a brilliant woman, with lots of sparkly goodness up her sleeve. However, she has blown me away with her integrity, patience and ambition, and I cannot wait to continue on this journey with her. 

Congrats, Tamra! Get ready to pop the bubbly and #dancetildawn.

ever swoon is a boutique event planning and styling company offering custom packages designed to tell your story, excited your guests and allow all to dance 'til dawn. 

An exciting part of ES will be the blog, Studio Swoon that will highlight all of life's celebrations from proposal stories to engagement fêtes and every love story in between. 

I hope you put on your sparkle, pop a bottle of champagne, and share your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #dancetildawn.

Happy Swooning! 

parisian shopping

When I think of Paris I think of three things:

1. Food (specifically macarons, croissants and cheese)

2. Unparalleled architecture and art

3. Shopping 

(in no particular order)

This post focuses on my most recent purchases in Paris. We'll just ignore the fact that I still haven't looked at my credit card. Why would I ruin a perfectly good day? Never.

No, I didn't purchase a Céline bag. I marveled at it at Bon Marché, but couldn't pull the trigger. I did however purchase some cute items that didn't really break the bank.

Diptyque Candle

Merci (beautiful store that is unlike anything I've ever seen)

Skinny Gold Ring

Chevron Sweater from Montmartre

Striped shirts from H&M and some goodies from Kookai

Shirt//Necklace //Shirt

Water Color Picture from Place du Tertre

I also managed to snap this picture by Rue St. Honoré. Parisian street style at it's finest. Pretty sure the girl on the right was on her way to a casting call for Paris Fashion Week. Trés Chic. 

See? I was a good girl! Nothing outrageous, and all practical items. Stay tuned for more posts inspired by France and Denmark!

Bisous! xo

weekend recap: catching up

Happy Monday lovelies! I had a wonderful weekend catching up around the city, and hanging out with good friends.

Friday, I attempted to go to the Ditpyque Sample sale. TOTAL letdown. Let's just say that if a fragrance company is having a sample sale, it won't smell very good (thank god I bought a candle in Paris last week).

I worked on some exciting ever swoon things in the afternoon, and had lunch with Tamra and Roxy, too! 

all the essentials: coffee, iPad and planner

I shopped around and had a boozy lunch on Saturday. Diet starts...now?

 pretty window display at Joie on the UES

gorgeous cakes at the Little Red Hen Bakery

I made brussels sprouts and roasted tomatoes for dinner. My addiction is getting pretty severe.

My mom sent me chocolates from Hawaii. Not helping with the post-Europe diet.

And I leave you with this picture of Miss Penny Lane sleeping on the chair. She thinks she's a human.

Also, be sure to catch me over at A Day In the Life and Mind, where I'm sharing my dream beach bag essentials. Missoni. Need I say more?

happy weekend!

Sorry for not posting yesterday -- my sleep schedule is all out of whack, thanks to Europe. I can't complain though. I had the time of my life. I think I gained 1390193 pounds, and charged an absurd amount of money on my credit card. But obviously I'm ignoring these facts. 

I want to move back to Paris.

Now.

Seriously.

Is that too much to ask? I don't mind where I live, or if I have a shoebox for an apartment. I just want to be there. Merci. 

I leave you with a few pictures from my travels. Stay tuned next week for Denmark/France related posts.

Bisous! xo

being a silly tourist in Copenhagen.

I don't think there is anything more romantic, beautiful and exquisite than this. Tu me manques Le Tour Eiffel. 

guest post: carly from a simple affair

Hello fabulous readers! Carly here from a simple affair.  First and foremost, how great is Julia? Ya I know, so great.  Hence why I was ecstatic and flattered when she asked me to do a post while she frolics around Europe.  I'm so jealous of her trip.

Speaking of Europe, did you know I'm an Irish dancer and that St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays of all time?  Ya smooth transition, I know.  Anyways, we are one day away from St. Patrick's Day Month (Happy Leap Day by the way! See where my priorities lie?).  Have you gotten your Shamrock Shakes yet?!

Moving on...I hope you all know about those crazy leprechauns and their pots of gold.  If you don't, Wikipedia does a great job of telling you all about those mischievous little guys.  This would be my ideal pot of gold:

salt & pepper shakers // gold leaf tray // mirror // decorative books // peace and love dinner plate // tray // chevron lamp shade

Are you with me on the gold train? What would be in your pot of gold?

And per Julia's request, here's an Irish dancing picture...well at least the get up.  I don't have too many action shots.

Get your green and gold ready folks because for this month, you're all Irish whether you like it or not!

Thanks so much for having me today, Julia!

Literally obsessed. How amazing is Carly!? Happy Leap Day everyone! I'll be back tomorrow, and will share tons of photos and stories from my trip. xo

guest post: sam of the peak of tres chic

Since I am in Paris today, I thought it would be fitting to have the always chic Sam give us all a brief history lesson in style and fashion. Parfait, n'est pas?  


Bonjour, Urban Slant readers!  This is Sam from The Peak of Tres Chic, a lifestyle blog I curate that focuses on interior design and fashion.  I am thrilled to be here posting while Julia is off traveling the world.  I just adore Urban Slant and like to live vicariously through Julia and all the other New Yorkers who get to experience the city every day. 

If it wasn't already apparent from the title of my blog, I just adore French style.  Tres chic is French for "very stylish", or "very cool."  I have always been mesmerized by how effortlessly stylish the French are. 

 Since Julia is in Europe and because I want to pay homage to beloved France, my post today focuses on the Louis-style chair.  But first, a small history lesson (I promise I won't bore you!)

Although comfort is a huge priority when purchasing furniture these days, this wasn't always the case!  In fact, it wasn't until the reign of Louis XIII that furniture actually became comfortable for the first time.  Furniture was named after the reigning monarch at the time.  In previous centuries, royalty always defined fashion and design, what was "in vogue" and what was out.  Fashion came from the top down.  It wasn't at all like today- when we often see street style represented on runways.   Lucky for us, Julia Rothman provided a visual representation of the different Louis chairs on her website.

Here's a dining room I love that features the Louis XIII chair.  

As you can see, King Louis XIII's style of chair was rigid, short in the back and square in shape.

I would reccommend using King Louis XIII style chairs at kitchen tables or at desks.  However, when decorating a more casual space, these chairs will likely be too rigid.  I would choose the more relaxed King Louis XV in rooms where people will be relaxing, watching TV, or lounging.

Next up is the King Louis XIV chair. King Louis XIV was the infamous Sun God.  During his reign, chair styles became larger to accommodate the more ornate fashions of the day.   As you can probably guess, the Louis XIV was often very ornate and opulent.   Although I had trouble tracking down a good interior representation of this chair, I thought this King Louis XIV-like chair was too gorgeous not to feature.  How wonderful is the Kelly Wearstler fabric?!

I also adore this King Louis XIV chair.  Gorgeousness, no?

The King Louis XV chair is by far my most favorite and also the most popular today.  After the death of the Sun God, French design became much simpler and quieter.  Comfort became the main priority.  Madame de Pompadour starting coming around the Palace of Versailles at this time, as a mistress to King Louis XV.  Her influence on the King and on French design was very prominent. 

Last but certainly not least, the King Louis XVI chair.  These chairs always have the fluted leg shown above in the picture.  We see a transition from the Rococco (curved back) to the Neoclassical again (straight back).  Although King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were both imprisoned and eventually killed, the Neoclassical trend they favored had a lasting impact.

 Which Louis-style chair is your favorite?  Seeing all these pretty chairs makes me want to go re-tour the Palace of Versailles.  The French had such opulent taste, then!  

I hope you enjoyed my post and weren't too bored with a small history lesson.  

Thanks again for having me, Julia!

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

Historical Information from here.