Shortcut to Fabulous French Inspired Decor

We found an Etsy store, Littlebrownpen’s Shop, with positively perfect photographs of all things French. The photos are beautiful and not kitschy or trite. They have a modern feel. Pick a few prints, frame them up and group them on a wall for a unique, crisp, modern and sleek with a nod to Paris look. Our favorites are the Impressions of Paris collections, which are collections of photographs grouped by color theme. They have red, yellow, beige/neutral, black & white, blue, pink (photographed here), green and gray. Nine photographs are included in the set and are only $36.00!!!! The Impressions of Paris collection includes nine original 5×5 inch photos with a white border for framing. All photos are printed on heavy, fine art, 100% cotton rag paper. It’s archival, acid-free, and has an enhanced matte coating for exceptional color.

So, add some flair to your home decor and enjoy this shortcut to fabulous French photography!

Shortcut to Fabulous Lamp…on the cheap

We found this hammered metal lamp on Walmart.com. The lamp base comes with an eco-friendly bulb…all for $25. The lamp shade comes separately and there are few around $10 on Walmart.com, but we think Target might have some lamp shades that will bring this lamp to the next level in terms of style. The lamp also comes in a bronze finish. Either finish would be a great, inexpensive way to spruce up the decor of just about any room and would work with a variety of styles including modern, rustic and traditional. Click here to check out the lamp.

So, get enLIGHTended and enjoy this shortcut to a fabulous table lamp on a budget!

Shortcut to Fabulous Solar powered Outdoor Lighting

Check out these fabulous solar glowing globes that floats in water, stakes in a garden, or rests on a table — and require no electricity
You can select a single color program or program the sphere two ways to cycle through a spectrum of yellow, magenta, red, green, lilac, orange, blue, mint, and purple. The light lasts up to 12 hours per charge. They float too, so you can add ambiance and make your space look ultra chic by floating them in your pool or water feature. They are $29 a piece but add a ton of ambiance and are worth the price tag!

Click here to order.

So, add some light and color to your life and enjoy this shortcut to fabulous electricity free outdoor lighting.

Shortcut to Fabulous Affordable Custom Lamps!

Lighting is a great way to add pizazz and ambiance to a room. We found a great lamp company that not only has a great selection of lamps, but also has a feature that allows you to customize lamp shades from a selection of fun patterns and colors to suit your taste and room decor. The table lamps start at $89.99…that is less than a Pottery Barn lamp…and this is custom people! Look at some of the custom lamp shades we created…

Click here to check out Lamps Plus, and design your own lamp shade!

So, shed some light on your own creativity and enjoy this shortcut to fabulous custom lighting!

10 Easy Ways To Be Green And Fabulous In 2010

Most of us have a stereotypical image in our heads of the treehugging lifestyle – short showers, unflattering compact fluorescent lighting, rough recycled toilet paper – but in my world, going green has nothing to do with wearing Birkenstocks and eating Boca Chick’n Nuggets. I’m an environmentalist, yes, and admittedly, my bathroom is stocked with rolls of Marcal’s recycled finest; but I also eat incredibly delicious food, love shopping for vintage Hermès scarves, and go on amazing trips with my husband. Helping the planet doesn’t have to feel like a sacrifice — it can be fabulous and fun, too. Some ideas to get you started in 2010:

1. Eat real food. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about organic food and how it’s better for the environment, but I say we all take a step back and focus first on eating and enjoying real food. You may laugh because it sounds so simple, but think about it: When’s the last time you went an entire day without eating something from a package? Aside from being bad for your health, processed foods take a ton of energy to produce, and most of that packaging ends up clogging our landfills. So take your cue from real food advocate Michael Pollan and stick to foods that your great grandmother would recognize (roasted chicken and veggies, yes; microwaved Lean Cuisine, not so much).

2. Go meatless on Mondays. You may not be able to afford a Prius, but if every American went meatless one day a week, it’d be the equivalent of all of us switching from regular cars to super fuel-efficient hybrids. You’ll be in fabulous company, too; the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health started the Meatless Monday movement in the US, and Sir Paul McCartney is spearheading it in the UK. And you don’t have to eat soy cheese and Tofurkey, either; stick to the “great grandmother” advice above and whip up some scrumptious favorites that are already meatless, like eggplant parmigiana, a savory frittata, or red beans and rice.

3. Try an organic food delivery service. Like any foodie, I really relish going to my local farmers market – that is, if I manage to wake up early enough on a Sunday morning to get there. Fruits and vegetables that were raised within an hour’s drive of my home just taste better, and eating food that doesn’t travel thousands of miles to reach your plate greatly reduces the environmental footprint of meals. But I realize that weekly farmers markets trips aren’t feasible for everyone; that’s why organic delivery services like Spud are a great solution. You fill out your order online and voilà! – farm fresh groceries delivered weekly to your door. Don’t live in a Spud delivery area? Do a quick Google search for “organic produce delivery” and you’ll find similar services in nearly every corner of the country.

4. Splurge on items that last. Times are tough; shouldn’t we be buying the cheapest stuff possible to scrape by? While you may congratulate yourself on finding a pair of pumps at Target for $20, when they fall apart four months from now, you’ll be out 20 bucks and those shoes (made from toxic PVC) will be chucked in the trash. Contrast that pair with the London Sole leather ballet flats I invested in five years ago; I take them to the shoemaker every time they start to look a little worn, and he fixes them up like new for mere peanuts.

5. Plan an incredible trip. Going green doesn’t mean giving up your wanderlust. But instead of setting your sights on Bali (7,175 lbs of CO2 for a round-trip flight from Los Angeles), why not first explore what’s closer to home? People visit the United States from all over the world because there’s so much natural beauty here (58 national parks!). I could spend a lifetime just exploring my state, California – Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Big Sur, the Monterey Peninsula… There are no doubt equally as amazing destinations within driving distance of your own home.

6. Choose experiences over “stuff.” What does it mean that Americans consume 25 percent of the world’s resources yet rank 16th when it comes to perceived happiness? (El Salvadorans, with a per capita income of $5,842, rank 11th.) To me, it means that once basic needs are met, additional “things” don’t make us happy. So choose experiences over stuff: Break bread or go for a hike with friends instead of shopping, give your sister a massage appointment for her birthday instead of another pair of earrings, or treat you and your loved one to a romantic anniversary dinner instead of buying each other yet another round of sentimental tchotchkes.

7. If you do have the urge to buy stuff: Why not hit up your local thrift store or flea market? It’s guilt-free shopping as far as I’m concerned, because you’re finding a second life for clothing and items that would otherwise have been thrown away (the second of the three R’s of recycling is Reuse, after all). Plus if I’m lucky, that’s where I discover the vintage Hermès scarves I adore, and for a tenth of the price that they would normally cost.

8. Buy wine with a real cork. Your fabulous instinct is right: Those metal screw caps and plastic corks are not only tacky looking, they’re almost impossible to recycle. Cork, on the other hand, is a renewable resource that can be repurposed into useful products like flooring tiles and insulation. Plus, did you know that cork trees are not cut down to harvest the cork? By using natural cork, you’re actually ensuring the survival of Mediterranean cork forests, which support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity.

9. Find out what cosmetics are toxic. I’m not saying you have to give up that lip gloss or shine-enhancing conditioner to go green – I like to look pretty as much as the next girl – but it’s amazing how many hazardous, polluting chemicals are lurking in the everyday beauty products we use. I don’t buy a new lotion or mascara without first consulting the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database – an unbelievably thorough online resource that shows you what ingredients in your product could be potentially harmful.

10. Take a technology break. It’s a cliché, but life moves so darn fast now – texting, iPhones, instant messaging, Twitter. I think more of us would be greater committed to the environmental issues we’re all working so hard to solve if we just took the time to stop — really stop — and smell the roses (sorry, another cliché, but true!). It’s not enough to watch people hiking through forests on the Discovery Channel; sometimes you have to actually go see those forests yourself to really remember why they’re worth saving.

Wishing you all the best for a fabulous and green 2010!

Jennifer Grayson is founding editor of environmental website The Red, White, and Green and green advice columnist for The Huffington Post (Eco Etiquette).

Shortcut to Fabulous Party Etiquette

Happy Turkey Day All! We thought today would be an appropriate day to say thanks for reading and give you some shortcuts to fabulous party etiquette so you can say thanks to party hosts this holiday season.

There is no better way to say thank you to someone who is hosting a party than to follow some simple rules of etiquette. So here goes….

Cocktail Party Etiquette

If the party is after 7 pm, leave the kids at home unless the invitations specifically state that children are welcome. Parents seem to forget this rule of etiquette and it can often create severe anxiety and stress for a host who has planned an adult only evening and not hidden breakables and child hazards. If you can’t find a sitter, sit this one out and send your regrets to the host. If the party is before 7 pm, it is best to ask the host if it is a “family” or “kid friendly” party. DO NOT ask if you can bring your kids. That puts a host in a very awkward position.

RSVP by the date specified, and if no date is specified, at least one week before the party. This ensures that the host has enough time to plan seating, food, beverages and other logistics for guests. If you have a significant other, don’t assume the host will count them as a plus one. Specify whether your significant other is coming.

Bring the host a token of appreciation for the invitation. Even if the host tells you not to bring anything, the polite and appropriate action is to bring a small gift. Favorites of mine include candles, wine, liquor, liquid hand soap and monogrammed beverage napkins. These are all items any host could use either at the current party or for future parties. NEVER expect a host to open or use the item that you bring at the event. If you have ever thrown a party, you know how difficult it is to coordinate everything and opening your bottle of wine or serving your delectable Bundt cake may not be easy for a host when guests are present and need attention. Avoid flowers unless you know the host well and know they would appreciate them.

Greet your host/s and say thank you. Seems obvious right?! However, sometimes when people have large parties it can be difficult to find the host. The first thing I do when I get to a party is find the host, tell them I’ve brought them a little something and thank them for inviting me. I try to find the host before I leave and again say thank you.

Don’t be the last to leave. The perfect rule of thumb is when about half of the guests have left, start preparing to leave.

Be Fashionably late, but not too late. What is fashionably late anyway? If it is a formal event hosted by an organization or business, ten to fifteen minutes is fashionably late. If it is an informal event hosted by a friend or acquaintance in their home twenty to thirty minutes late is fashionably later. NEVER arrive early.

Dinner Party Etiquette

Follow Cocktail Party etiquette and add….

Call your host ahead of time and ask what you can bring. If the host tells you not to bring anything, suggest some items like beverages, appetizers or desserts. Otherwise, bring a hostess gift such as those listed above in the cocktail party etiquette section.

Never bring surprise guests. When hosting a dinner party, inordinate amounts of time and thought are often put into seating. Adding one extra person to the mix can throw an entire evening off kilter for a host.

Offer to help clean up. If you host declines at least help them clear the table and throw away any items such as paper napkins.

Don’t be more than ten minutes late to a dinner party. Your host has gone through a lot of trouble to serve a beautiful meal for you. Being late can mean cold food and a ruined dinner party.

So, get out your party dresses, follow these etiquette tips and say thanks to those who host parties with our shortcuts to fabulous party etiquette! Please join us on facebook and become a fan for the latest updates, shortcuts and info on contests and prizes!

Thank you for reading, thanks to friends, family and of course God for giving all of us life and beautiful happy moments to share with those we love.

Shortcut to Fabulous Small Space Entertaining- Dinner Party!

So what if I told you that you could have a Martha [Stewart] worthy dinner party in a 700 square foot apartment? You would flip over the fabulosity right! Guess what? I am about to tell you how!

The key to entertaining in a fabulously small space is to think outside the box and be prepared to rearrange furniture and rent some items if needed. For example, if you want to hold a dinner party for eight, but have a table for two, consider using your sofa as seating. Here is how it can work: I highly recommend every small space dweller buy one of these adjustable height folding tables. You can store the table against the wall in a walk-in closet (behind your clothes) or under your bed when not in party mode. This table is awesome because on the lowest height setting it is at couch level, so can use your sofa as seating. (At the highest setting you have a bar!) Move your coffee table to another room and set up the table in front your your couch. Sit on the sofa and pretend to eat to see where you should place the folding table.

If you need seating for the other side, buy some of these cheap, yet chic storage ottomans for $24 from Walmart. These ottomans are perfect because you can use them as extra storage and extra seating. They can be stacked in a closet, grouped together as a coffee table or extra seating in your living room.

Don’t have a square inch to spare to store this stuff? Rent it! Or consider having a buffet style dinner party and renting small tables and chairs to seat two to four and placing several tables in your living space. Regardless of what option you chose, moving your coffee table to a bedroom or balcony is probably necessary in a small space.

Now, on to the tablescape. Need to create a fun tablescape on the cheap? Try using candles and curling ribbon like we did in the tablescape here.  Charger plates instantly glam up a table and can double as serving trays when you are having a cocktail party. Check out this set of ten charger plates from Macy’s on sale for $23.99. Try and get something that coordinates with your china and in a neutral, such as a silver or gold, so you can use and reuse with any theme.

Not sure what to serve or want some tips for cocktail parties? Sign up for our newsletter and learn more shortcuts to fabulous small space entertaining in weeks to come!!!!

So, assess your living space, make your perfect dinner party guest list and enjoy this shortcut to fabulous small space entertaining.