I was so happy to learn that La Tartine Gourmade blogger Béatrice Peltre has a book out since February under the same name, La Tartine Gourmande, and though I don’t have a copy I’m sure it’s truly inspiring and delicious in every way. How could it not be? Béa is superfab. One look at her photos below and if you don’t already know her you will definitely want to…

If you’re not familiar with Béa, she works out of her home studio as a blogger and freelance food writer, food stylist and photographer in Boston. I wish I had known about her before I moved away from Boston in 2009 as I would have enjoyed meeting up with Béa. I’m always keen on meeting stylists as I find their creative perspectives rich and interesting. Her work has been covered in a slew of great publications including The New York Times Dining Journal, Food and Wine, the Washington Post, Saveur, The Chicago Tribune and the Boston Globe along with a bevy of blogs. Just look at her work — my goodness, no wonder she’s so well known.

What I admire about Béa is how organic and artistic her work looks and feels. It seems to come very naturally to arrange her handmade creations onto pretty plates set against floral textiles with a sprig tossed here, a cracked shell there, a piece of crusty bread off to the side… I love the perfect little imperfections in her styling as that is very close to my own work and heart and what I admire more than the perfectly perfect styling that I see in lots of magazines where nothing feels casual and you know a ton of work, conversations and equipment went into a single image – and the photo almost feels watered down and uptight as a result. This isn’t the case here with Béa. Her photos do not feel labored over (though I’m guessing they are!) and that is a beautiful, delicate art – and to me, what makes a good stylist amazing, inspiring and one to follow.

Again, this isn’t a book review as I don’t have the book (yet!) but if you are looking for gorgeous food, stories and recipes then visit La Tartine Gourmade, the book or the blog – and her blog just-so-happens to be the decor8 blog of the week so definitely check it out!

Nom nom!

(images: Béatrice Peltre)

Hello friends! I’m back from a mini time off – Easter weekend here in Germany is equivalent to Christmas so things completely shut down for days and you are forced into down time whether you want it or not. Personally, I needed it. I have been working non-stop on several projects lately so I had to turn off and step away from the internet for a bit. I missed you though! It’s always so hard to step away, because one always feels like they are missing out. Do you ever feel this way?

I’ve been writing online now for quite awhile and so I’m locked into a routine and just go, go, go and push, push, push! It takes a holiday, getting ill, working on a shoot or something like that to push me away from my desk. I’m glad I took the extra long weekend off but my inbox didn’t seem to slow down and my work has piled up so it’s time to pay for my absence. Oh dear, right? You must relate to this. We have to pay for our freedom in one way or another and if a full inbox is my only stress then I consider myself lucky.

I’m so happy to be back to blogging again though, and though this week and next will be super light with posts because Debi Treloar is coming to work with me on this in my home next week for a few days and I’m busy preparing for her visit, I’m still around and will pop in throughout this week to keep you posted.

How are you? Did you take time off for Easter? What did you do? Are your jeans tight from all of the chocolate? Mine are. I started detoxing today. I’m sure to be a total crab/pain in the butt for the next few days… ha! Do you get crabby when you detox? Oh my goodness it’s not a fun time for me but I’ll be better off for it!

I’ve inserted a darling video above from kids company bla bla. I love their soft toys and I thought it was so precious. I also inserted a video about a cat that also caught my eye and made me smile. After a long weekend I find a little humor is needed because really, breaking back into a routine is no fun is it?

See you soon! Smile and tell me how you are if you have a moment….

(image: blah blah kids)

The new April issue of Matchbook mag just went live and I’m loving the bright bursts of color and the fashion spreads. They’ve totally energized me today – hope that they do the same for you. What colors are you into at the moment anyway? I was just thinking about how much I want to work with peach, copper, mint and neon orange so I think I’ll put something together around that palette. Any color crushes that you’ve having lately?

Beautiful spreads, Matchbook girls! Juicy fruity colors definitely work on this gray Spring day for me…

(images: matchbook mag)

Home really is where the heart is, but what does that really mean? What does home mean to you? I find myself thinking about this more and more as I am writing my next book and exploring the topic of decorating in a much more personal way than my first book. This is both exciting and scary because one can feel so vulnerable as an author but my wish is that you will really like it as much as I am liking the process of putting it together for you. But on the topic of home is where the heart is, while it is true that your home can be with a person in a place that you love most, I think it can also be in the physical environment in which you live whether it’s your temporary home or one you’ve lived in for years. I’ve moved a lot in my life but each home that I’ve lived in always felt like home to me. I also believe that your home can be inside of your own heart, not always reliant on a place or person.

Lovely palette in the dining room of stylist and blogger Marie Nichols.

As I break away from my text for a moment though to blog, I found myself feeling inspired today by the Spring issue of Heart Home because I think they really show what it means to have heart in the home – their focus on British interiors really captures life and style there so well and I enjoy seeing these impressions through their eyes. This season I’m inspired by several images and encourage you to click here to check them out in full.

The home of designer Catherine Hammerton. The dress is fun and unexpected!

A retro modern dining room that belongs to Chelsea Cefai. So clean and harmonious!

This credenza top makes me happy. H is for Happy right? This is from the home of Keith and Mark from Mini Moderns.

Another pretty peek into Catherine Hammerton’s apartment, the quirky bits give me little spine tingles. I love quirk.

A photo taken by Debi Treloar for Selina Lake’s latest book, Homespun Style. Those green chairs really make this space, don’t they?

A pretty spread of patterns curated by lovely Heart Home editors, Arianna and Carole.

A very decorated and smart living room belonging to Chelsea Cefai. The bookcase is great, so often I wish I had a bookcase that allowed me to show off the beautiful covers like this!

This is a view of Chelsea Cefai’s bedroom, gorgeous bed! I just realized I have three views of her home in this post – I think I am drawn to her very neat home though I don’t live like this at all!

I have to get back to my book right now, but I wanted to pop my head in to say hello and wish you a very happy Monday. I’ll see you again soon! :)

(images: heart home)

It has been so nice to visit with you this week through these digital pages — I have enjoyed connecting with each of you so much! It is now time for the weekend and I must sign off and do all of those weekend-y things that need to be done but I wanted to wish you well and hope that you have a very happy weekend!

Have a very nice & restful few days until we meet again and loads of love! xo, Holly.

(image: The Shop at Number 57 with permission.)

Have you ever heard of V.K. Rees Photography out of Brooklyn? I hadn’t until recently and I am smitten by her blog so I’ve decided to make it the decor8 blog of the week. Vanessa Rees, aka V.K.Rees, is a photography studio specializing in food, still life, lifestyle, portrait, fashion, event, and weddings. This talented lady launched her studio only recently in 2010 after completing her MFA and has already made quite a name for herself with clients both near and far. She has shot weddings for clients all over the east coast and has contributed to Food & Wine magazine. I find her blog stunning and I love that each of her posts wraps up with a darling photo of her cat. It’s the little things, right?

What gorgeous photos and I’m sorry, but how cute is it that her cat is involved in her photo shoots? And I like that she sets up her shots near her bedroom window sometimes near to all of that gorgeous natural light. It’s inspiring to see such a simple set up and shows that talent doesn’t have to do with having a massive light studio and a crew, that it really boils down to having a vision and just going for it in any way that you can. What a nice way to wrap up a work week, for me at least…. Animals always make me smile and I love homecookin’, that doesn’t hurt either. I think the egg toast looks like a great Saturday morning breakfast idea for me tomorrow… Yum.

(images: Vanessa Rees)

There are so many inspiring spaces to see both online and off in our favorite magazines, books and on blogs. There is no end to the inspiration. As I work on putting the final touches on my work studio before Debi Treloar arrives to shoot it next month, I’m drawing my inspiration from a bunch of beautiful rooms that I’ve been collecting online. It’s a great idea to build these style files so that you can keep all of your room ideas in one place. Here is my work room style file, see if there are any below that you feel a certain connection to.

Taken this morning with my iPhone of a nook in my office.

vtwonen can pull together a room like no other. I really like the tones in this room and that bookcase is painted so beautifully.

frau-p – This lady lives in Germany and really knows how to pull together a bookcase!

vtwonen – My favorite magazine and it always delivers the best of the best. I really love this glass wall!

lisa congdon – A kick butt artist in San Francisco with a kick butt space.

My workspace, at least as it was a year ago. I’ve updated since as I always do. :)

Here are a many more workspaces to inspire you today that I’ve rounded up for you >CLICK HERE<.

It is so important to have a nice work room, at least when you are a freelancer working from home as I do. It’s where everything begins and ends for me each day so I need it to support me. Do you feel the same way? Do you have a room in your home where you can escape? Do you have a creative nook if you don’t have an entire room?

(images: linked to their source above.)

Hello friends, this is Leslie here and for my column this month on decor8 I am using a springtime palette of peaches, pinks, and yellows combined with a soft, putty neutral to inspire you for Easter. After a long, dark winter here on Vancouver Island, I am excited to see all the buds and blossoms on the trees. The soft pink cherry blossoms are incredible and the daffodils, forsythia and hellebores are blooming in the yard.

The sweet colors of spring are here, I hope you enjoy these ideas that I’ve pulled together to inspire you for Easter or springtime in general.

I have been seeing so many pretty ways to decorate eggs lately. From simple dips in vegetable dyes to using rub on tattoos as décor motifs. I decided to go for a more painterly approach. I did the typical poking of the eggshell on each side, as well as poking the yoke to break it and then blowing out the inside into a bowl (lots of scrambled eggs the other morning). I used Martha Stewart acrylic craft paints from Michael’s to dab on my various floral and confetti patterns. It was so much fun to decorate them!

I then hung them on a cherry blossom branch for a festive display.

I decided to take some of my ribbons out of their usual storage bin and hang them from pretty blue hatpins on my tack-board. I love looking at all the thin strips of color and it got me thinking about what else I can use them for…

Like tying different ones simply around napkins when entertaining…

Or bundling a few small bottles together to make a sweet floral arrangement. Sometimes just looking at my craft and art supplies gets me inspired. When they are all tucked away too neatly I forget they are there!

I also wanted to share with you some art supplies I have been experimenting with called PanPastels. I know they have been available for a while but I just started using them and love the effect you can get. They are similar to typical pastels but less messy and easier to control. You can apply them with various sponge like applicators and they layer really well. The hardest thing is choosing the colors, as there are so many. I am partial to the “tint” tones right now and I can see myself using them for sketching and collage.

I hope you got some ideas today and thank you for having me here Holly! I will see you all next month. – Take care, Leslie.

(photography: leslie shewring)