2016 Independence Day Weekend In Guerneville, California

9 Things People With Clean Houses Do Every Day

 by MAGGIE WINTERFELDT (Popsugar.com)

Find yourself feigning excuses for why your friend can't pop up to your place to use the bathroom before the movie? Ever turn beet red with embarrassment when unexpected guests enter your home? It sounds like you have a messy house.

Imagine how much more enjoyable life would be if you were one of those perpetually tidy people whose homes could be company-ready with 15 minutes' notice. We wanted to turn our clean fantasies into a reality, so we researched the daily habits of people with clean houses — note the word "habits." What we learned is that it takes more than a few deep cleanings to achieve this status of cleaning goddess. It takes daily work and preparation to keep your house in a constant state of near perfection.

Read on to discover the nine habits people with clean houses do every day, and how you can adopt them to get out of the disaster zone you've been living in. [Click Here For Full Story & Tips]

W.O.W. World Of Wearable Art

Today is the last day to view the World Of Wearable Art(W.O.W) exhibit at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The exhibit is a collection of past winners from the annual internationally famous art awards show in Wellington, New Zealand.  

Ornitho-Maia by Nadine Jaggi/New Zealand

"To Be Or Not To Be" by Joanna Peacock/United Kingdom

The  event features a grand 2 hour spectacle of art,theater,music and dance created by artists from all over the world. Each year, the event draws an audience of 50,000.  

Honeycomb by Xin Liu/Donghua University China

Inkling by Gillian Saunders/New Zealand

Honor th Huia by Robin Parkinson/New Zealand

The collection debuted its first U.S. exhibition tour on October 3, 2015 at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu,Hawaii.  

Interwoven by Carol Laloli/New Zealand

On Reflection by Philippa Stitchbury/Australia

The magnificent  collection will then be available to view at the EMP (Experience Music Project)  Museum in Seattle, Washington from June 24, 2016 through January 3, 2017.

Revive' by Mengyue Wu & Yuru Ma/China

Founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff 

W.O.W began in 1987 as a promotion for a rural art gallery in Nelson, New Zealand. It's founder, Dame Suzanne Elizabeth Moncrieff, a sculptor- arts entrepreneur and native to New Zealand came up with the brilliant idea of taking art off the wall and exhibit it on the human form.

Templa Mantis by Daniella Sasvari/New Zealand

Deadly Beauty by Xi Zhang/Donghua University, China

  In 2005, the event moved to Wellington to showcase in larger venues to accommodate the growing attendance.  2016 will mark W.O.W's 29th years of success.

Kaleidoscope by Tess Tavener Hanks/ Sydney, Australia

Get Behind Me Satan by Rodney Leong/New Zealand

Each year the event draws over 300 artists from all over the world to compete.  About 170 finalist are selected for the award show's 2 hour performance presentation and the chance to win the title for best installation. 

Bam Boo by Renee Loui, New Zealand

Spinoso Centurion by Lynn Christiansen/USA

For more information, visit worldofwearableart.com

Chinoiserie Theme Table Setting for Christmas Eve

Hosted a Christmas Eve dinner for Dan's sisters, Kerry, Dana and brother-in-law Steve.

My favorite part of entertaining is setting a table. This year's setting was an homage to Chinoiserie. The dishes are Gump's Imari "Kiku"(Chrysanthemum) pattern which inspired the table's theme.

In the spirit of the Christmas holiday, the red,(wine)gold(water) and green (champagne)colored crystal stemware was added.

To enhance the theme, I added a couple of  colorful Shiwan porcelain figurines,cobalt food dogs and an antique ming vase.

Finally, my favorite part of table decorating was the floral arrangement.   This year's arrangement included Hydrangeas,bougainvilleas,ranunculus,viburnums,alstroemeria,matthiola incana(stock) and orchids.

Tis the 2015 Season!!

Christmas 2015

Happy Holidays!!!

  It's been another crazy busy year around our home.  Our son Daniel, now 8 years old and in the 3rd grade, has really kept me busy between volunteering as a classroom assistant at his school, to his after school activities leaving me almost no time for design inspiration.  I haven't even had time to visit several of my favorite design blogs.

Christmas 2015

 However, a couple of  months ago I finally gave in and committed to putting our home in the neighborhood's 2016 annual home tour fundraiser in the Spring.  This has been a huge motivation for me to get back into the swing of things and polish up the home and take care of a few long overdue projects.  I look forward to sharing those projects with you in the coming months.  In the meantime, I wish you and your loved ones a very joyous holiday season.

Winter Holiday: Vienna, Austria

Grüße aus Wien, Österreich!! Sorry for the late follow up on our last trip to Europe.  As the little guy gets older, his schedule of activities increase, giving Daddy less time to blog.  Anyhow,
we arrived in Vienna on New Years Eve at 5:30pm local time.
 
We stayed at the beautiful Park Hyatt Vienna which, like SFO's Centurion Lounge, opened it's doors in June 2014.  

 The building began construction in 1913 and was originally the Lower Austrian Escompte Bank.  It remained a bank for many years before closing its doors in 2008.  

The luscious interiors is described as contemporary art nouveau inspired.  The rooms and public areas are beautifully appointed with all the amenities that hotel aficionados come to expect in a 5 star hotel.

We're off to explore the city.

Taking the ringstrasse (ring road) streetcar for a quick tour around the Innere Stadt (old city center).

The Austrian Parliament Building.

Rathaus(Town Hall)

Back at the hotel after a morning of sightseeing.  Looking through vault doors that lead into the buildings safe which is now the hotel's indoor pool.

Time for a late afternoon swim before dinner.

Our first dinner out was at the famous Zum Schwarzen Kameel which is about 3 doors down from the hotel.  Aside from the delicious menu, the restaurant/bar and delicatessen has  a rich history which dates back to 1618 when the original owner, Johan Baptist Cameel, acquired the building.

Daniel loved his first ever chicken schnitzel.   After dinner, we retired back to the hotel to catch up on our sleep and get ready for the next day's journey.  Gute Nacht.