Happy New Year Everyone!!! I'm am so excited about 2014! I can't wait to share with you all the projects I've been working on!!! To start, let's talk about Raquel & her wonderful blog, Horses & Heels that has so many inspirational posts about everything equestrian! We met a month or so ago and I just loved everything she was creating. I had been thinking about offering a Free Desktop, iPhone, iPad wallpaper for each month in 2014 and (call it coincidence or not), Raquel had asked if I wanted to create one for her. With the launch of my New Equestrian Collection, Pantone's Color Of The Year Radiant Orchid, & 2014 being the Year Of The Horse, the timing couldn't have been any more perfect!
So head on over to Horses & Heels & enjoy these free graphics I designed just for Horses & Heels & YOU!!!
Here are the links to the graphics you may use on your own personal devices. These images are Not for resale. If you choose to share on your site please credit back to myself & Horses & Heels. Thank You & Happy New Year!
iphone 5 Black
iphone 5 Orchid
Smart Phone
ipad
Desktop
With all the parties happening this time of year I always make sure I'm stocked up on Hostess Gifts! When in doubt, you can always give flowers! Everyone loves to get flowers! This year I've been wrapping my flowers with my New Pineapple Party Tea Towels! We all know it wouldn't be a party without them, right? So let your host or hostess know their appreciated!
Pineapples mean "Welcome" & "Hospitality". They used to be quite rare, once only seen among royalty. Bloggers, at TwoChums have a super explanation of the history of the Pineapple in Home Decor. I'll be posting this week about all the fun things you can do with a Tea Towel! You can stock up on ours here.
This morning I'm catching up on some "Very Late" Birthday Thank You cards when I, once again, get distracted! My mother was so kind and generous this year (my father too) that she gave me her pearl necklace! It brings back so many happy memories of me thinking of how I had the most beautiful mom in the world. I would play with her jewelry and scraves and accessories for hours as a little girl pretending to be a movie star... hence the inspiration behing this Saturday morning sketch. xo
For all the men and women who have dedicated theirs lives and given so much to our county...THANK YOU!!! 
I'm super excited and honored to be asked to do a seminar on Interior Design and Color!!! I have sooooooo much great information to share with you! Please come join me Sunday, May 5th! It's a great show to make contact with all our local home professionals and get inspiration for your own home improvement projects!
It's just not Thanksgiving without Sparkling Cider and as I start to set my table for Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of all the yummy table settings that I wish I had. Take note hubby, these are on my Christmas wish list!
I hope you all have a very wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I have many things to be grateful for. Our year was full of ups and downs. We lost some great people this past year and will miss them deeply. So I don't take the holiday lightly. Everyday I give thanks. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by family and friends and wish you all the same.
1 Mini Chinoise Vase from Zinc Door 2 Chevron Navy Napkins from Zinc Door 3 Les Dessert Beaded Round Pedestal from Layla Grayce 4 Gold Banded Champagne Flutes from Williams Sonoma 5 Gorgeous Chinoiserie Ice Bucket from Layla Grayce 6 Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider from Costco
Call me old fashioned but I still love to send and receive a hand written note. I believe it's very important to show the people you love that you appreciate them and a hand written note is a simple and thoughtful way to do that. As the holidays approach, a set of note cards makes the perfect hostess gift too! You can find these here. Have a lovely weekend everyone! It's raining here so I'm headed to my studio to paint!
There are so many things to love about the Central Coast and last night was no exception to a good time. I took the girls to Farmer's Market in downtown, San Luis Obispo to go hunting for treasures. With three (almost) teenage daughters, it's impossible to not pay our respects to Urban Outifitters. It's always a bit odd for me because the building that is now Urban Outfitters was the old Copeland Sport's headquarters where I worked for almost ten years after graduating fom Cal Poly. So when I walk upstairs to what was my Advertising Office and see this, it's a bit of nostalgia for the old but interest for the new. Look what they did with these old silk screens. They created an entire room. Such a clever idea. How can you not Love that?
One in particular caught my eye with this terrfic patter. I can only image what textile it was used to ceate.
Of course, leave it to my daughters to find *anything* kitty oriented! I posted pics throughout the night from various locations on my new favorite passion, Instagram. Now you can Follow Me there too. Happy Friday everyone! Time to get ready for a big photo shoot of our new product!
It's 5:00 somewhere I'm sure! On my agenda for this Friday evening, Watermelon Blackberry Martini! Recipe courtesy of Watermelon.org.
We have so many berries taking off in our garden right now and watermelon is a staple in our house during summer, so why not add a little vodka and have a summer soiree?
Have a super weekend everyone!
Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces of watermelon juice
1 ounce of vodka (well maybe a spash bit more)
1 serving blackberry
1 serving raspberry
1 wedge of lemon
Instructions
Muddle berries and add to martini glass. Mix the other ingredients, shake with ice and pour over muddled berries. I also like to make an infused vodka, if you prefer not to muddle the berries in your glass.
Cheers!
PS I took this photo with Instagram. I am having so much fun with it! If you're on Instagram, let me know!!
Just for today I decided to take a break from Monday’s Mood Boards and post something a little different, Mother’s Day!
This past weekend was so much fun. It kicked of with my daughter’s last soccer game of spring league. They won 3-0 and I’m happy to say my Raquel (Rocky) scored in every game of the season, which never looses its excitement for me. Then it was off to my friend’s hair salon, The Bladerunner in San Luis Obispo, so Serena and her friend could get their hair done for Prom!! Back to the house to cook and get ready for a fun Prom Party! We had lots of friends and family visiting along with my other daughter’s little friends spending the night. I just love it when my house is full of life and laughter. I went to sleep one proud momma. But the joy kept coming when I woke up to many really lovely Mother’s Day treats!!!
If you’ve followed my blog you would know that we built a second house on our property for my parents almost five years ago. It has been one of the greatest decisions we ever made. Amongst all the terrific benefits, is the fact that my mother has the magic touch in our garden. Our roses look amazing! So in honor of the beautiful garden she has created and her love for the greatest Mother of all, The Blessed Mary…I painted this for her. And so sweet, my youngest daughter made a crown for Mary to honor her on Mother’s Day too.
It was a beautiful weekend. I couldn’t have asked for more. I hope you all had a lovely weekend as well!
Just on a little side note. This was on our porch the other night for my daughter. Boys are so sweet these days! And...of course, she said Yes! Happy Cinco de Mayo! Cheers!
It all started with a quick shopping trip with my oldest daughter, Serena. I was looking for red nail polish and she wanted to get a mint colored one. At first I said, "No way. That's so unattractive." As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I was wrong. You see, Serena has been trend spotting her entire life and I know by now not to ever question her on that.
Of course, the following week it seemed everywhere I looked I was seeing "Mint"! I came across this beautiful necklace on Kelly Market and in my mind I instantly saw a picture of a young girl with red hair wearing it. So for a change of pace I painted the girl in my mind for this Monday's Mood Board. I gave her a sweet head band I found over at ThreeBirdNest's fairly new ETSY shop. The rest of Monday's Mood Board consists of more Mint Love that I adore.
I'm pretty sure we will all be seeing a lot more of this color this Spring and Summer! Have a great week everyone!
1 Oliphant Design Sea Green Bauble Necklace 2 Revlon Minted Nail Polish 3 Calvin Klein Dress 4 Mint Nail Polish Inspiration 5 Arteriors Chandelier From LaylaGrayce 6 Mint Kate Spade Clutch
Being a busy mom of three young girls, running an Interior Design business, and developing product for the home décor industry, keeps me one very busy gal. I have fantasies of more sleep, more time to work out, and the ultimate relaxation….reading a good book! I have lists and lists of books I want to read and here are some at the top of my wish list! I have to start with one that is very special to my heart, “Desire To Inspire” is written by a dear friend of mine, Christine Mason Miller. I’ve known Christine for many years and I have watched her blossom into an incredible force in the world of Creative Leaders. Her latest book is filled with inspirational stories, not only about her own journey, but also from several other incredible artists. On a ranking of 5 stars I give it a 10 Star Rating!
In life’s other available moments, I hope to read each of these other books cover to cover before the end of the year! All written by leading designers and bloggers who I admire greatly.
One last recognition has to go to an incredible pottery artist, Jill Rosenwald, whom I’ve just discovered…I know I must have had my head buried in the sand, but none the less, I’ve discovered her work now and absolutely adore her aesthetic for color and design.
1 Desire To Inspire by Christine Mason Miller 2 Plimpton MS. Jones Vase by Jill Rosenwald 3 Apartment Therapy Eight Step Home Cure by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan 4 Design Sponge Home by Grace Bonney 5 Domino The Book Of Decorating by Deborah Needleman, Sara Ruffin Costello, & Dara Caponigro 5 Mary McDonald Interiors, Allure Style by Mary McDonald 7 The Nest Home Design by Carley Roney
I'm leaving in a little bit to be a judge for the California Mid State Fair Pageant today and I'm really excited to meet all the talented ladies as well as hang out with two of my dear friends who are also judges. As if today wasn't going to be fun enough, I just found out I've been featured on one of my absolute most favorite entertaining sites, Pizzazzerie! This is a sneak peak of a little of what I've been up to with a big launch coming this fall and some even bigger projects along theses lines, in the works...so I'm feeling really excited and blessed right now. Please hop over to Courtney's blog and check it but, plan on being there a while because she has so much inspiration and entertaining tips to share with you!! Have a great Tuesday everyone!
Look for an all new Table Top Collection in my shop this Fall!
Why am I doing this? Procrastination!!! I have a huge deadline and so far today I watched the Women's World Cup, made french toast for the family, went to farmer's market and now I just had to post this... On our way back from farmers market we kept passing these adorable, hand made wedding signs. I just thought it was so clever..this one was at the end of our street...I wonder if they would sell it to us since my husband's name is Bill??
Wow….this is the longest blogging break I’ve taken in a long time, ever, actually…with due reason. All kinds of things have been happening at the Robeson household….Sweet 16 Birthdays, summer time schedules, graduations, mini vacations, and design, design, design…I’ve been working on a new restaurant, several homes, and refining the details on my new textiles, all sandwiched in between weekends of soccer tournaments….so to say the least…it’s been a bit crazy here!!!
But hey, through it all, we still have to eat right? I was on Twitter (you can follow me @MariRDesign) when I got the idea from the Oh So Inspirational Bellalimento to make some lightly fried and stuffed squash blossoms for Father’s Day. Since my volunteer pumpkins have decided to take over my garden, what better idea but to pinch off the blossoms and cook them up with some delicious homemade marinara sauce.
Well, I could barely take a picture! As fast as I was plating them they were gobbled up. So this isn’t any beautiful photo, it’s the real plate 2 seconds before it disappeared! I stuffed mine with a mix of ricotta and marinara cheese, add a few Italian herbs, and mmmmmmmmmm……. Yummmmmmmmy!!!!
Oh happy Wednesday! I'm finishing details on new paintings, new fabric designs have shipped, & soon all new and exciting "green" table top designs!!! I've been having so much fun designing some printables to coordinate with my collections, that I think I have the formula down. I've also been obsessing over cupcakes lately and have been playing with all kinds of new recipes. Yesterday I was asked to be a last minute sub for my neighbors Bunco group (a lovely group of ladies!) so I whipped up these cupcakes and toppers to try them out. Since they were all gobbled up, I'd suppose I could say they were a success?!?!
It’s true…I have taken quite some time off. I literally have been going non-stop for over a month now, designing new product lines….so excited to share about this soon…and working on some large Interior Design projects. Couple that, with the fact that my two younger daughters have had soccer tournaments every weekend…they are in the top 4 finals for State Cup!!!…which means I haven’t even had one day to catch up on laundry or cleaning and my poor gardens are all over grown! Did I mention that I also started to teach a new Dance Class that I'm in love with…Dance Boot Camp! Oh Ya! At least, I’m still working out!
In the tiny moments in between…in moments of procrastination…I have, however, indulged in some guilty pleasures. It’s these beautiful on-line magazines that are popping up left and right. (These images are from High Gloss Magazine) My latest guilty pleasure is High Gloss Magazine….purrrrrrrrr! Of course I love Lonny Magazine, Nesting Newbies, and I just stumbled upon Matchbook Magazine. A lovely way to enjoy a cup of coffee and some design inspiration!
