Melissa Loves

See you in the New Year!

Hello Sweet friends, 

                   Christmas is upon us, my folks arrive tomorrow from Florida and my girls are beside themselves with glee. I am happy & excited myself. Always love this time of year.....So, I am going to sign off for a bit but, wanted to share this image below, it really brings back childhood holidays for me, which are some of my favorite memories.

                    

I wanted to wish all of my readers a wonderful holiday and a wonderful weekend as well, perhaps you are celebrating something else? Wherever you are & whoever you are with, I hope you feel loved, safe and happy. I will see you back here in the year 2011....wow. All the best & until then...be well. :)

xo

Melis

 

Pairs

Hello my sweets, 

                 You know when you come across something that just really, really inspires you?  You're floored, amazed and completely smitten. And then, you cannot wait to share it with others? That is how I felt when I came upon Anne Siems work in the latest issue of Small magazine. I fell madly in love & could not wait to share her work with all of you.  Magical, right? To say the least... History, warmth, magic and nature all rolled into one? I am hooked. So, I had to reunite these long lost loves, it seemed to be the right thing to do. :) 

~ "Crowned fawn" here ( #9) 

~ dress here 

~ "Swift fox with Garland" here (#6) 

~ bracelet here 

~ "Hare & Hummingbirds" here (#2)

~ pillow here 

Oh, and you know what else? When I contacted Anne, she could not have been sweeter. That always hooks me in too. I am a sucker for talent and sweetness. Have a great day, my friends. I am excited to be seeing my lovely friend Brandi today. Also, it is her birthday! Happy Birthday hun! I will see you back here tomorrow for my last post 'til after the new year. Until then, be well. 

xo

Melis

 

Cheap & Chic

Hello my friends, 

                  A festive outfit for my festive friends! And even if Christmas isn't in your plans this week, you always need a festive outfit to have on hand. Right? So, here you go! 

~ gorgeous dress here $89.95 

~ bag here  $79.00

~ drusy ring here $42.00 

~ bow ring here $35.00

~ jacket here ( in black) $48.65

~ heels here ( in black) $79.95 

I sure hope you like it! Wouldn't it be fabulous to wear this & somewhere fabulous to wear it to? I hope whatever your holidays bring, you wear something that makes you happy! :)  I will see you back here tomorrow my dears! Until then, be well. 

xo

Melis

Monday inspiration

Hi my friends, 

                      How was your weekend? I am wondering if you all had a lot to do or were able to relax and enjoy a little bit? We had a busy weekend but, it was fun. Over the weekend I saw some of Ayumi Horie's new pieces in her shop & fell madly in love with this little owl. I adore the pink & orange dots surrounding her. Always a fan of Ayumi's work, I love seeing the new things she comes up with & this one inspired today's picks. 

~ Ayumi's beautiful little owl here 

~ vintage lamps here ( sold)  

~ beautiful earrings here 

~ wooden decal here 

~ Miles of light print here 

~ frock #7 print here 

I hope you enjoyed & have a wonderful start to your week! Christmas is in 5 days and we are so excited in the de la Fuente house! :) My girls have begun their countdown...See you back here tomorrow for a festive Cheap & chic. Until then...be well. 

xo

Melis

Closer to home

Hello my darlings, 

                           It's friday!  What are your plans for the weekend? Anything fun planned? For those of you who celebrate Christmas, are you feeling ready? :)  I mentioned before that we have lots of birthday parties to attend, visits from friends from out of town, and I have to deliver some Christmas orders from my shop. All in all, a very fun weekend! Yesterday, my dear Jaime linked to this etsy shop on twitter and I am smitten. I love things that mix elements that you wouldn't expect. How about you? 

~fabu bracelet here 

Those that know me, will attest to my tendency towards the understated & casual. However, sometimes over the top & fabulous is just what the doctor ordered! Right? This is the kind of weekend I am wishing for, for all of you. A great mix of  sparkle & down to earth. But, before you go...

~ I want to thank lovely Jaime for this post ( she is a good one, I think we'll keep her) 

~ Also, if you missed the blog for digs post, here is mine & the list of other bloggers contributing. It should be a LOT of fun, traveling around and learning about childhood bedrooms, no? 

~ Isn't this beautiful? 

~ how awesome is this? I love "So you think you can dance" although I never remember to watch it. Last night I caught this video on youtube, a classically trained ballet dancer who proved he could also do hip hop with the best of them. Awesome. 

~ how cute is this little one? 

~ mad for this & this  ( site link: here ) 

I will see you back here on monday, my friends. Until then, be well. 

xo

Melis

 

 

The little things

Hello lovelies! 

                    For you all are lovely, you know that right? Right.  Ah....thursday, one day closer to the weekend. I am looking forward to this weekend for several reasons: It is that much closer to Christmas, my folks visiting & since my girls have birthday parties this weekend with two of my best gal's girls...I get to hang with my friends too! :) Never a shortage of things to love, here are 3 I am loving this week.

3 little things: 

 

~ how crazy cool is that necklace?! I have bets going already as to which of my readers are going to fall madly in love with it! :)  here 

~ ditto for that paper house mobile! Stunning, isn't it? here

~ and those little felt trees are just so sweet & simple here

3 little moments: 

~ taking my girls shopping for their daddy's Christmas presents, they wanted to pick out something for him just from them & they were so sweet doing it.

~ wrapping presents with my girls last night 

~ taking a walk last night with my youngest gal, flashlight in hand, and seeing how delighted she was to be on a special walk with "mama". 

How about you, my friends? Any special things or moments that are making your day today? I always love to hear about them. I will see you back here tomorrow, until then...be well. 

xo

Melis

 

Blog for digs: My childhood bedroom was...

Hello darlings! 

                   Today is a special Wednesday post, initiated by the lovely Claudia over at Stonehouse love. It is a round-robin of blogging to benefit "Dwell with Dignity" called "Blog for digs" & Claudia thought it would be a fun idea for bloggers to talk about their childhood bedrooms. So, here we go! :) 

My childhood bedroom was...

My haven. I could often be found down on the floor, grabbing a leg of my very heavy furniture and pulling & pushing it with all my might to re-arrange my room yet again. My mom said she would leave the bedroom area and 20 minutes later come back and see my entire room moved around. My room was yellow and I remember that there was a tiny spot near the ceiling where the paint had been messed up & it looked like a ship to me. The carpet was tan and my furniture was yellow. I had a brass single bed and remember always yearning for a double bed.  Even then I loved having things hanging from the ceiling and in the 80's there were soft & satiny soft sculptures that were popular for little girls rooms( at least in southern  Florida!) :) I had a cloud with satiny rainbow strips hanging down & a purple satin star! I loved them, truly. 

The room above is what I think the younger me would have picked now....I always loved soft things around me ( that velvet duvet & faux fur chair would have made my little heart beat that much faster) I felt I had to guard my secrets very carefully so, I would have loved a vintage suitcase to store them in and hide under my bed! I love the print above and think the younger me would have loved it too. And of course, soft sculpture art by one of my all time faves ( Tamar Mogendorff) would have sent the little Melissa over the moon. That birdcage & sparkly unicorn would have been in my room faster than you could say "lickety split". And of course, no home or room was complete for me unless there were dogs around. We always had 3 or 4 at any given time and things haven't changed much for me. Those are my two furry sweethearts above and for me, they make our house a home. Whenever I was sad, happy or frustrated as a little girl...I would retreat to my room. I felt very lucky, even then, to have a room of my own. Something every little kid should be able to have I think. And every family should have, a home that they feel is a haven for them to come home to. That is why I am so enamored with "Dwell with Dignity", their mission is to change the lives of those less fortunate with design. "One household at a time". Check out more about them here. Thank you so much Claudia for asking me to participate, it is an honor. And don't forget to visit lovely Amy over at M-dashing tomorrow, to see what her childhood bedroom meant to her. 

links: 

1. Tamar's birdcage here 

2. "we rule the world" print here 

3. Tamar's unicorn here 

4. lamp here 

5. faux fur pouf here ( shhh...don't tell but, I think Santa might be bringing this to my eldest daughter this year) :) 

6. velvet bedding here 

7. bed here 

8. vintage suitcase here 

9. Maddie & Luna ( my two furry girls) 

...and here is the link to all the bloggers who will be participating if you'd like to check it out, should be a lot of fun! 

I hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane, my friends! I will see you back here tomorrow, until then...be well. 

xo

Melis

Cheap & Chic

Hello my darlings! 

                     Still stuck on sparkles & luxe for the holiday season! Sorry about that, perhaps you don't mind too much? I saw the clutch down below and thought I would get together an outfit around it. I love heels with harem pants & I love the casual jacket with the luxe heels. That necklace? Well, it is fabulous, no? Then of course, you could always substitute flats & a simpler necklace( like these & this)  and wear it anywhere! 

~ top here $24.80 

~ jacket here $29.80 

~ necklace here $48.00 

~ bag here  $26.00

~ heels here $49.95 

~ pants here  $22.80

I sure hope you like it, my friends! Have a wonderful tuesday and I will see you back here tomorrow. Until then...be well. 

xo

Melis

Monday inspiration

Hi sweethearts! 

                     How was your weekend?  One of the highlights of my weekend was going to Deb's wonderful holiday party/sale. So many lovely things, so many thoughtful touches and it is always so much fun to hang out with Deb, P & Deb's lovely friends and hubby. Lovely soft knits from lovely Hortensia handmade, delicious candles from sweet Tamika ( I bought a Christmas one & currant one and they smell divine! Also you can reuse the simple & sweet glass container afterwards.) Beautiful bags from Puro Corazon, items from Sesame Letterpress, ties from the guys at Sovereign Beck & of course Deb's beautiful jewelry. Thank you darling Deb for a wonderful time! Over the weekend I also saw this magical photograph of Irene Suchocki's. Always a fan of her beautiful photography but, this one really got me. So incredibly beautiful...It seemed the perfect way to start the week & for this time of year. 

~ Irene Suchocki's inspiring & gorgeous photograph here 

~ chandelier here 

~ Beautiful elephant necklace here 

~ lovely tipi here 

~ gorgeous bag here 

~ mittens here 

~ awesome bracelet here 

I hope you all have a beautiful beginning to your week! I will see you back here tomorrow, until then...be well. 

xo

Melis

Closer to home

Hello darlings, 

                   You know, Christmas holds some of my most wonderful childhood memories. I loved everything about it, the sights, the sounds, the smells & the closeness I felt with my 3 brothers and mom & dad at that time of year. So, now as a parent I am very conscious of trying to create special memories and traditions for our two girls. Not just at Christmas time, mind you, but, anytime. I don't go crazy with decorations but, we have quite a few that we have collected over the years that I love and put up every year. We also let the girls pick out a new one every year to add to our collection. The one you see below  is one I bought a long time ago. She reminds me of little Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas ( my absolute favorite when I was a little girl). I bought her at ABC carpet in the city, one of the few things I could afford there :). That place is magical on a regular day so, at Christmas time it is just aglow. At the time, when I saw this little glass girl, I hadn't seen one like her before. Come to think of it....I still haven't. Have you? I am amazed every year, when she comes out of the box not broken. Even in ABC, quite a few of them were broken when I bought her. Do you have a favorite ornament or memory from the holidays when you were growing up? I would love to hear it. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends. My oldest gal has some parties to go to this weekend & I am super excited to head into Brooklyn to my lovely friend Deb's holiday studio sale/party on saturday. What are your plans? Whatever they are, I hope you have an absolutely lovely one. And I will see you back here on monday...but, before you go: 

~ this site is too funny, thanks Cas for giving me the heads up! :) 

~ I was over at the lovely Kind over Matter yesterday with a handmade gift guide for the ladies, head on over if you'd like to check it out. 

~ um...how adorable is this little guy? 

~ I am besotted by this, this & these ( yowza) 

~ Lonny mag's December issue comes out today, I am excited! :) 

~ If things are getting you down, go watch this video by the flight of the concords...I love these guys, they crack me up no end. ( hope the language doesn't offend you though) 

Until monday...be well! 

xo

Melis