My husband Michael and I recently returned from Siesta Key, Florida.
The Good Life.
My bounty: 
Angel Wing 
Gift 
This shell is the size of a baby's fingernail.
I am as inspired by these: 
As I am by this: 
Florida flora and fauna: 
Myakka River State Park. Do you see all the logs in the water?
They are these: 
Good trip.
Sharon
I was recently tagged by my good friend Tyler of periwinklebloom to "share an interior that best represents me." I'm not sure these best represent me, but I found something appealing in all of them.
First, I loved Molly Sims' New York apartment from the moment I saw it in InStyle magazine:
The entire apartment is done in shades of gray ranging from platinum to dove gray to charcoal. I also love the "Cabinet of Curiosities" items she has throughout the apartment, like the huge bug print, above. The overall look is probably a little more glam than me (I don't have a single chandelier in my house), but still, I think it's beautiful.
I like the clean lines and dark colors in this serene bedroom:
My husband likes a more modern style than me and our home has the mix of old and new reflected here. (Suite in the Legado Mitico hotel in Buenos Aires from La Dolce Vita blog.)
I have always wanted built-in black bookshelves:
Regrettably, I don't remember where I got the above photo, but I think it originally came from Traditional Home magazine.)
Finally, what better represents me than rooms in my own home:
Corner of my dining room with Donald Bachelor print
Corner of my living room. "Roots" drawing by Chris Vodicka
Powder room vignette. White tea and ginger soap from The Bath Hour.
Main bath vignette. Bird prints from Pom Pom
I tag Elizabeth, Lotta and Julie...
Sharon
Here is another wonderful bookstore I found in NYC:
The Argosy Book Store at 116 East 59th Street.
Michael and I had an incredibly good meal at Pane e Vino on Lexington Avenue:
I gave our waiter, Davide, the vague order of "a fruity cocktail, maybe something with orange in it." He brought this. I have no idea what it was, but it was delicious.
This was our appetizer. Charbroiled shrimp with mussels in a white wine, lemon and butter sauce. It was mouthwateringly good.
We each had a rigatoni dish for dinner. I had mine with bolognese sauce and he ordered it with eggplant and tomatoes at the suggestion of our waiter. It was so tasty, I forgot to take a picture of it.
After asking if we wanted to order dessert (we didn't), our wonderful waiter brought us dessert wines and homemade biscotti, on the house: 
Romantic candlelit atmosphere, fabulous food, exceptional service...it really was an impeccable dining experience.
Sharon
Early evening in the City.
Some beautiful wrought ironwork on the Upper East Side,
near where we stayed:
I had no idea New York was such a European-style city:
This looks like it could be in Amsterdam or Paris.
Gracie's Marketplace on the Upper East Side: 
Michael and I just returned from New York.
I found this wonderful little bookstore right on Rockefeller Plaza:
I had read about it online, so it was a treat stumbling across it.
Sadly, after 73 years in business it is closing. Opened in 1935, it was the first retail tenant in Rockefeller Plaza. Their lease is up and the new rent will be upwards of $1,000 per square foot, so they are closing their doors.
It was full of beautiful old French and Spanish books.
Beautiful Deco light fixture on a beautiful Deco building, Midtown.
This is Tender Buttons, one of my favorite places in NYC: 
This narrow basement shop is nothing but buttons, floor to ceiling and end to end. 
Along the opposite wall, they display rare and unusual buttons in frames. These are my favorites.
More later...
Sharon
