Bella Vita: 2011

8.16.2011

Summer Lovin'

I can't believe this Summer is almost coming to an end! Where did the time go? It has been a great Summer...

Traveled literally around the world

Little broham got hitched and I gained a new sister-in-law!

Vacationed in fabulous La Jolla Beach, CA

Celebrated A LOT of babies soon to arrive in the next couple months!

Things to look forward to this fall...

Zara launching their e-commerce site for US on September 7th!!!

Babies babies babies being born!

30th Birthday!!! (yikes)

Looking forward to what's to come! xx

6.21.2011

Sorry all for taking a little break from the blog. I'm sure everyone has forgotten about me. I didn't know exactly where to start about my travels and I'm still trying to get my thoughts around India. Every city was extremely different - Delhi/Gurgaon, Hyderabad, and Mumbai and especially Agra. It was much more emotional then I had anticipated. This was supposed to be a work trip. Little did I know this would change my view of the world and myself completely. One word that could describe how I felt being there was "clueless". I had never seen so much poverty in my life. I couldn't wrap my mind or heart around it. I didn't understand. All I could do was pray. Pray for the people of India. Pray for the children and mothers holding their babies as they run next to your car looking to catch your eye and hoping you will stop and give them anything. Pray for their continued hope they have for good things to come. Pray that Christ will be known by all in that land. One thing that stood out the most is how optimistic everyone was about the future of India. There was growth and prosperity but it wasn't for all but really the slim few that believed in a life that would be better then what their parents had taught them. They are determined to break the cycle.

More thoughts to come...

Here are a few photos of my trip to the The Taj Mahal...words cannot begin to explain this place:

Here is also the link to all my photos if you care to look ahead: https://picasaweb.google.com/daniellelwilson/IndiaHongKong

So glad to me home!

5.27.2011

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I'm heading out in a few days for my India and Hong Kong adventures. I seriously never imagined I would ever get to Asia. It was always on the travel list but a bit further down on that list. I still had the rest of Europe and other places I wanted to see before taking a 15 hour flight on the other side of the world. So here we go...

First stop Delhi/Gurgaon

Flight is about 14 hours direct from Newark. Long! Thank goodness the perk of flying with work is that we do get to fly Business Class. Hallelujah!!

{Photo Credit: Continental}

We arrive in Delhi next day in the evening and take a car to Gurgaon. We are staying at the lovely Trident Gurgaon for 3 nights. We have several meetings with our team here in Gurgaon and hopefully some fun too!

On Saturday I head to the Agra to see Taj Mahal with a co-worker for the day.

Next stop is Hyderabad
The team I work with every day is based out of Hyderabad. I really looking forward to see them and getting a chance to meet the team in person. We are in Hyderabad for about 3 Nights staying at the Westin Mindspace.

3rd Stop is Mumbai
We arrive in Mumbai on Wednesday and spend 3 more nights at the legendary Taj Mahal Palace & Tower. We will be visiting with several other business partners while we are here and hopefully some down time to do some shopping!

Last Stop Hong Kong
I am most looking forward to visiting Hong Kong. It was a last minute add since we had a lot of work recently pick up in this area. We are looking forward to meeting with Business Leads in this area to showcase some of the work we are doing to date. Hopefully this will bring us some more work next year. We'll be staying at Conrad Hong Kong Hotel. This place sure isn't cheap!

I've been so looking forward to my visit to Hong Kong since I have a good friend Lauren who has been living here for almost 2 years now. The saddest part of this trip is that she won't be there when I'm there. She will actually be state side. Tear! She has given us so many great suggestions and places to check out while we are there that I'm sure will be a trip of a lifetime. Really looking forward to doing some shopping in the HK too!

I will try to blog while I'm there and get photos posted as quickly as I can. Stay tuned!

4.22.2011

Pretty Preppy

It's the summer of the "Prep" wouldn't you say? I've always loved the classic look but definitely don't want to look like a boarding school brat. So I try to "modernize" my look with a few fun statement pieces like a great necklaces, a shoe that stands out just a bit, or a pop of color. Here are some images that are really inspiring me for the Summer:

4.21.2011

{Happy Thursday}

4.11.2011

High Gloss II

One word. Obsessed. I love high fashion and amazing decor and this online magazine has it all!! Pages of pages if wonderful things I love...

...this Italian Brass "Bamboo" Barcart on page 9

{1stDibs}

Stunning Closets on page 17...

{Clos-ette too...}

My new favorite iPhone App on page 32...

And this dress on page 30...

{Lanvin}

The list goes on. Enjoy!

3.31.2011

I'm Here...

...I know I know...I haven't posted in a long long time. So here is a quick update on my life from the past month or so...

1) I was in NYC a couple weeks ago. I hope to get a NYC post out there in more detail since we had the best "foodie" experience while we were there. It was a fun/work trip. I went with some girlfriends for the weekend...saw Mamma Mia!, ate at AMAZING restaurants, made new friends, and rubbed elbow with "fancy" people. I also spent two days working out of our NYC office. I travel back there on Monday for work...hoping this project will turn into a regular visit for me in the future. I heart NYC!!!

2) I'm going to INDIA in June!! It has always been on my list of places to visit but it was definitely on the bottom of that list. When I got the opportunity to go for work I was all over it. Right now the dates are tentatively scheduled for June 1st. It will be HOT HOT HOT!!! I will probably spend about 10 days visiting about 3 cities; New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Very excited about this opportunity!

3) LASIK - Finally I've decided to take the plunge. I've had worn glasses/contacts since I was in the 3rd grade. It has become my life so I am very excited to be able to see without contacts or glasses. So here is the last photo of me in glasses.

4) Home Office Update: So some of you know I've had a flooring issue which has prevented me from installing hardwood floors in my home office. Good news HOA will be paying for the repairs (PTL!) so we had to go through several rounds of estimates from contractors. This is still moving forward and hopefully we can get these repairs started ASAP. In the mean time...here is a photo of the chairs I'm having recovered. I'm bummed I didn't take a picture of them before I painted them but you get the idea. The fabric laying there I had custom made at Spoonflower.com. Please check out my designer's page Domesticate. She has some great stuff and she was so great to work with. I'll update you all once I get those back.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

3.06.2011

Sewing Projects

My home office project has been put on hold until I get the floors finished until then I have decided to work on updating my bedroom. I bought new linens not too long ago from Restoration Hardware in a slate gray. Love!

{Restoration Hardware}

Since I was in no mood to change the paint color of the walls I decided to find a fabulous fabric to tie the green and silver together. I found this amazing Ikat fabric from Mary Jo's in Gastonia (That place is magical!).

I was just going to make a couple throw pillows but because I loved this fabric so much I decided to make drape panels too. So what do you think??? (Sorry these photos aren't that great but you get the idea)

2.17.2011

Fashion Overload

One item that is close to the top of this little lady's bucket list is to attend the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC. While we are at it, let's just make it VIP All-Access.

Here are some to-die-for pieces from some of my favorite designers this week...Enjoy!