I Want To Sleep With These Rooms...

Xoxo Andrea

Elegant Funk

A friend told me years ago that she would best describe my style as "Elegant  Funk".... I've found myself in the years since trying to live up to that. Recently I realized that I was leaning more in the "Funk" direction and less in the "Elegant".   

  Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that New Orleans has re-awakened the need for elegance in me. So it's time to hit the thrift shops to look for some glittering mirrors, shabby chandeliers and lux linens to take things up a level. 

   These rooms are all kind of a Before idea, they are all luvly but could do with a little shine, a little glitz, a little somethin, somethin.

A switch to a fancier lamp perhaps...

A chandelier over the bed in this case maybe?....

Some more delicious fabric on this daybed...

Gilded mirror here would do the trick.

A more fabulous shower curtain... ( Like one of These Bohemian Shower Curtains)

Hmm I see a gypsy lamp with fringe and tassels here, and  a shimmering table runner.

~Andrea~

New Orleans River Houses

  It's amazing how long I lived in New Orleans before the storm and didn't know about so many of it's secrets. When you live here you are either an "Uptown" person or a "Downtown" person. They are like 2 different worlds really. I WAS the latter, but when I moved back here a month ago I moved to Uptown and have discovered many new things since then. These "River Houses" are one of them. They sit on the very edge of the Mississippi River Outside the levee! They have zero protection from the rising waters of the river and yet still choose to live there. I have driven past the river levee many times and never imagined there could be homes on the other side...

  There is a biking trail I didn't know about either that runs along the top of the levee and beside these sorta-secret river houses, that's how I first came across them. Now I'm a bit obsessed about meeting someone who lives in one of these "impossible" houses so I can see the inside of them and their (must be fabulous) Mississippi River views.

  This one you can only see the driftwood fence and steps but I imagine it's incredible judging by the yard...Sigh

Some pretty cool spots aren't they?

~Andrea~

Alternative Living

True Gypsy at heart I always have dreamy places to live on my mind....I have no idea where this lovely is but wouldn't I love to restore her to her original grandeur.

There was a time that that I would have done this...

Or this, but nowadays I require more of a structure. Something like this in my back yard - however -would be heaven.

I love a good tree house, a few of my apartments have closely resembled tree houses in fact.

I have never really been  much of a cave dweller, but in this case I would make an exception.

Hippie house in the city? Oh heck yes. This I could do.

Grand old plantation home in the city? Yes, imagine the garden parties!

Latin flavored artist retreat in the desert? I don't know, always been more of a water person...

Now this is another story...Maybe someday. I'm happy in my little magical New Orleans shotgun. For now....

~Andrea~

The Secret Gardens & Painted Ladies Of New Orleans

Secret gardens are in my list of favorite things...Luckily I am surrounded by them here in New Orleans, especially in the French Quarter. There's nothing like wandering the streets of the Lower Quarter, it's so full of beauty and inspiration. It even has a certain smell that's hard to describe. A combination of very oldness and sweet smelling gardens...

All photos taken by moi while wandering the streets of NOLA, spicy bloody mary in hand :)

~Andrea~

Sexy Kitchen Plus Sera Of London

I wouldn't have thought of red and black for a kitchen, but it is a SEXY look don't ya think ? Spanish and Gypsy all at the same time, right up my alley.

Okay, I can't even comment about these pictures yet. I am soooo in love with them. I have been staring at them for 2 days now just trying to absorb.

No words.