House Tour – Part 2

From the Sitting Room to the Studio (my favorite bit)!

Studio/Office From the Doorway, not much to look at now, but this will change soon...

Studio/Office From the Balcony

Studio/Office Balcony

Office/Studio Lights! or Close Encounters of the 3rd-Kind..., notice the colour change...

View From Studio/Office: Day, you can almost see our resident wild(?) herbal-remedy growing in the grass below...

View From Studio/Office: Night

Blue Bathroom From Doorway, Flower power!

Blue Bathroom From Bath

End of Hallway (Master Bedroom off-screen left and Blue Bathroom left)

Spare Bedroom From Doorway, notice the heart-shaped light design...

Spare Bedroom From Windows

View #1 From Spare Bedroom: Day (This is the second time this school here has fallen down apparently...)

View #2 From Spare Bedroom: Day

View #1 From Spare Bedroom: Night

View #2 From Spare Bedroom: Night

Master Bedroom From Doorway

Master Bedroom From Walk-In Closet (Finally! Real Closets! Forget Narnia!)

Walk-In Closet

Master Bedroom From Windows

Ensuite Bathroom From Master Bedroom

Ensuite Bathroom From Corner Tub

Master Bedroom Lights! Yes, we sleep in a Central Asian Flower Bordello...

Dead Light Bulbs... We have 138 lights in total and loose wiring...fun times!

House Tour! – Part 1

It has taken some time, but finally we have begun to settle here in Astana. Take a full tour of our new home!

Main Hallway Looking at Entry Door, shoes off here!

Hallway Closet #1 From Entry Door

Hallway Closet #1 Opened, it's big

Hallway Closet #2 Next To Entry Door

Hallway Closet #2 Opened

1st Stop: Joker Bathroom/Utility Room From Toilet

Joker Bathroom/Utility Room From Doorway, sorry about the amount of knickers in this photo...

Joker Bathroom/Utility Room Towards Windows

View From 1st Joker Bathroom/Utility Room

2nd Stop: Kitchen From Doorway, the water cooler in the corner is our drinking water as tap water is off limits here...

Kitchen From the Balcony

Kitchen Balcony

View From Kitchen Balcony: Day, the Gotham-like structure is the "Triumph" Apartment building, modeled on the "Seven-sisters" Building in Russia...

View From Kitchen Balcony: Night, looking toward the "New downtown"

Hallway (Kitchen Doorway to the Left)

Sitting/Dining Room From Doorway

Sitting/Dining Room From Dining Table

Sitting/Dining Room From Windows

Sitting/Dining Room From 2nd Sofa, notice the massive dinning table for 8 that is not even currently extended...this is hopefully going...

Sitting/Dining Room Lights

View From Sitting/Dining Room: Day, similar to the kitchen, the construction site is a school.

View From Sitting/Dining Room: Night

More to come… Up next: My studio space!

That Sweet Sugar Rush

One of the featured trends for Spring ’11 fashion collections has been ice cream colours (like these pieces from Michael Kors, Christopher Kane, Luella and Marios Schwab). These lovely pastel shades make the perfect palette for Spring weddings and can be painted into every aspect, from the dresses and reception decorations to flowers. Have a look at these sweet images!

The newest collection from Oscar de la Renta features these soft gauzy, delicate shades for a romantic effect.

This recent bride chose a light, dusky lavender as an alternative to the usual white dress.

The bridesmaids dresses can take on a stronger shade of the ice cream palette, giving a very fresh, eye-catching look to the wedding party.

Don’t forget the groom’s all-important tie!

Use peaches, pinks, light blues, light greens, pastel yellows and lavenders in you flowers. Often hydrangeas, avalanche roses, and hyacinth are good options in this color scheme.

When it comes to the reception scheme, create a creamy effect with a white background and the bright, fresh ice cream colors as highlights (like flowers, napkins, and stationary).

Candy stripes also create that ice cream parlor vibe.

For those of you that want to take it even further, create your own DIY Ice Cream Booth with this tutorial at Eat, Drink, Chic!

Most of all, savor the sweetness of your day!!

Up, up, and away

Having just re-watched the movie “UP!” recently (my top two hankie movie), I suddenly felt inspired by balloons. There is something about these floaty, bouncy objects that seems to fill people with instant child-like wonder. It made me interested in how these colorful lovelies may have floated into the wedding dreams of others.

What can make a happy occasion even happier? Balloons!

For further inspiration, read Graeme King’s love poem, “Balloon”.