Friday, March 8, 2013

designed: a well stocked bar

Pretty much everyone that knows me knows, I love a good cocktail. I was given this book, "The Cocktails of the Ritz Paris" many years ago and have been interested in the art of mixology ever since. Its sort of goes hand in hand with my love of entertaining, I guess its the Southern in me. Check out this list of everything you will need to properly stock your bar. Here are a few of my favorite at home bars, starting with my bar in my dining room.
I have it on a cool buffet from my Mother in Law, and I got the brass lamp at Lucketts a few months ago. The art is Mr.Brainwash  and I have a Laguiole  bottle opener, out. The rest of the bar accoutrements are in the drawers below, along with cocktail napkins and glasses.



My bar is set up like this, on a buffet in the Dining Room. And this is a girl after my own heart with the greyhound statue...

Source: flickr.com via Lea on Pinterest


Nice and simple, love how all the National Geographics look stacked up on the bottom self.



This is great for what could just be boring old built ins, set up and ready to entertain!



Really love using a barristers bookcase as a fun bar.



This is so nice with all the custom built ins. I think this would be a perfect set up in my future beach house ;)



Such a sleek, modern and retro bar.



A fun outdoor bar like this one is happening on my porch this summer... for reals

Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


OK, seriously?! How awesome is this entire room? A fully loaded bar cart is just the accessory this room needs.

Or maybe want to do a fun temporary bar like for parties. How about



a fun bubbly bar for a swanky evening affair!



Or a mimosa bar for a brunch get together. I've done this a couple of times and its always a big hit! Its a great "signature cocktail" to have because it allows guests to mix their own drinks and lest you focus on greeting people. Here is a shot of one we set up for a baby shower recently.


It was a simple little set up, I used a vintage linen table cloth on top of a big butcher block cart. We just rolled it into the Dining Room and, I added some lemons, limes and pomegranate seeds after this picture. We had a bunch of Cava in the galvanized bucket and an assortment of juices (guava, orange and pomegranate) along with bubbly and flat water, and a whole bunch of small clear glass juice cups.

I love, Love, LOVE the banner that we designed (and my MIL made) as part of the decor! So CUTE



Here are a bunch of fun drink recipes like these!



xo Lea Hart




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Thursday, March 7, 2013

designed: blue mason jars

Simple and pretty, mason jars can be used for a whole bunch of different things. While I was out in New Mexico the year before my wedding, I came across a huge barrel full of old mason jars in the old ranch house, so we used them as the vases for all the flower arrangements.










They were one of my favorite parts of the decor. It was great to have some authentic things that had been part of a working ranch. On top of that they were free, and you can't beat that with a stick. 

I came across this beautiful apartment the other day. I just love how that mason jar blue is splashed about the space. 



So simple, so fresh. It inspired me to do a little sprucing up around the Casa Pino. 


The mason jars on the mantle are from the wedding. I stuffed as many of them as I could in my suitcase. 
I'm going to bring back more this year.

xo Lea Hart

ps- I'm so ready for winter to be over... If you are too try this amazingly easy Spring-y pasta dish, I made it the other day and it was beyond delicious!  





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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

designed: black and white

I'm always drawn to the simple, clean, high contrast combination of black and white . It's classic and something that I never tire of. Here are a few favorites I've come across recently.





Source: homedsgn.com via Lea on Pinterest



Source: shop-hers.com via Lea on Pinterest

Source: cococozy.com via Lea on Pinterest





There are quite a few more in my Pinterest boards. I'm working on a few projects, our office is one of these and black and white is the way I'm going to go. I feel like, when you work with pattern and color, a crisp clean black and white workspace is the best environment. 
Its a cold snowy day here in DC... here is a recipe for a little something to keep you warm 

xo Lea Hart



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Sunday, February 24, 2013

designed: the backyard fence

Soooo yeah... we got a dog. And he is totally awesome and all kinds of cute. But its winter and having to let him out every morning at 6 am is a very cold way to start the day.






















We've decided now would be a good time to finish the fence in the backyard.  Its a been a little tricky trying to figure out how/where to connect the fence to the house. Here is what the backyard looks like now... btw- don't judge me. I haven't done anything out there. Its sad now, but I've got a few ideas... anyway... I think this side is pretty easy. We are just going to run the fence up another 4' or so and turn towards the house with a gate. Can you believe how big the neighbor's new garage is?!? That's all I'm going to say about that monstrosity... I want to bury the white pipes that had to be added for basement ventilation. I need to figure out a patio surface too. I think concrete pavers could be cool...






The fence is in good shape. I want to plants all along the fence and I'd love to have a livestock tank pool here. Something like this would be perfect

This is the other corner, it looks pretty bad now, but in the summer is all full of ivy and bushes. 
And here is where we keep the garbage cans for now. I'm going to have a screen for them put in when the rest of the fence goes in. Here is part where it gets tricky. Our long single lane driveway is right next to our neighbor's long driveway. I want to cover as much of that view as possible, but we need all of the driveway for car parking...so I'm going to have the fence come across, just in front of the raised bed. I want to clean up and fence in that area for a kitchen garden.
  





a metal fence like this, is what I'm thinking
Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


Here is the awesome view of our own private parking lot.  Isn't that, um... ugly! The wood pile won't stay there. I think we are going to lower the fence and put the gate opening onto the concrete sidewalk. Like this maybe

I'm not crazy about the fence style, but since it's in really good shape- it makes no sense to replace it. If I were starting from scratch, I'd do something more modern and perhaps with mixed materials. I really love how these look


Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


I want to mix it up a little bit, while working with whats existing. I think I can do a more fun gate. Something a little more modern. I'm going to use these images as inspiration and see what I come up with. I'll share all the progress as it happens!



Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


Source: houzz.com via Lea on Pinterest


If you'd like to see more of my outdoor ideas and inspiration, check me out on Pinterest. I've got a couple of pin boards for outdoor landscaping, gardening and entertaining.

xoxo Lea Hart







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Saturday, February 9, 2013

loved: my Saturday morning routine

So now that my wild and crazy all night partying days are behind me... I find that I quite enjoy my early Saturday mornings. I usually let M sleep in, so its just me and the kittens. And now the puppy, too. The little black cat is Dizzy and the striped and white girlie is Blossom. They are named after a few favorite jazz greats.
I've been in love with Blossom Dearie since I discovered her in a London CD store many moons ago.



And the newest edition to the Pino clan is Zozo, he is a 1 year-old Springer Spaniel mix. We named him after Carrizozo New Mexico, the town where M's family is from and where we got married 2 summers ago. Awwwwww, he is so cute! We adopted him on New Year's Eve from the Washington DC Humane Society. He is a funny smart sweet little pup. Actually all our little critters are adopted from there. I strongly recommend/beg/plead for anyone considering a pet, to PLEASE adopt!!! There are so many sweet little buddies that need loving homes. And I think, they know you rescued them and they are always so loving and grateful. 


Ok, now back to my Saturday routine...
First, I'll play a little music and make my chocolate-y cream-y all natural latte. It is sooo good and so simple and not bad for you. It sounds weird to put maple syrup in coffee, but trust me - it doesn't taste maple-y at all. Seriously, try it... you'll never go back to Starbucks. Promise.

And then I read design magazines, design blogs and online magazines to my heart's content! Here are a few of my favorite online magazines:
Lonny
Est
Rue
Matchbook

Perfect for a lazy Saturday morning. 
xoxo Lea Hart



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