I really enjoy when new companies make your life easier.  I remember a few years ago I undertook a fun but time-consuming project. I wanted to line one of our hallways in the bedroom area with framed family photographs.  This entailed printing the photos at a local store, picking them up when they were ready and then going to the framer's to have each one framed.  A few short years later and this process seems long, absurd and obsolete.  These two photographs were printed and framed by Livestock Framing.  This was my first time trying them and I loved the experience.  You upload any photo, choose the size and frame and you are done!  The quality of the printing and framing is really great. Here are the two photos I printed. You will enjoy hearing about each photo as well-

I love fun surprises, and in a home a powder bathroom is the perfect place to have a little fun with your guests.  This is the powder bathroom near our kitchen and pool area.  I wanted to do something very simple and easy yet with high impact.  I fell in love with this color, Funky Yellow SW#6913.  And funky it is! My friend's mom, Ana Seyffert, who is an amazing interior designer  had this color or a very similar one in her previous home. It is smashing in person, bright and happy, yet elegant.  

I was waiting for the right artwork to hang in here. I wanted something with some blue and with water.  If you are a regular then you know I adore Minted and have been using them for my Christmas cards for years (and I mean years!). I was one of the few lucky ones to know it even existed back then.  It has been wonderful to see them grow and expand their offerings.  Last year I got some of their prints for the One Room Challenge (see here) and I was really happy with their design and scale.  And now, for the first time, I got a photograph from Minted's collection titled Seaside by Alexandra Nazari. I absolutely love it. And love having all the size options- from small to super large scale which is what is in vogue.

Minted's photography collection is pretty cool.  I'm also totally obsessing over this pineapple print.  Someone please get it! All these prints are from Minted's first photography-only competition hosted by the independent artist marketplace. "Through the Lens" was the 2nd largest challenge ever for Minted, with almost 5,000 submissions, 459 new pieces selected and 248 total artists represented. Now that is some tough competition.  Here are a few more shots of my bathroom-

[ photograph || top | skort | shoes | earrings | clutch | bracelet]

Powerful, dramatic, colorful....How much personality do they infuse in a room? A LOT!! The drama comes from the poses for sure, the color from their beautiful embroidered outfits, and the power from the act of fighting the bull.  But really all this is magnified by the size of the prints.  They work so well in this supersized format. I have no idea who the photographers are of these pieces, but I will investigate.  (I think the second image may not be a photo but an actual torero suit...but the drama effect is what I'm after...and that purple!!)

Inspired by these images by Gray Malin that make my heart beat faster and make me weak in the knees because they are so beautiful, I snapped a few shots of our beach trips.  Gray goes to different beaches around the world and takes photos from above. So, below I pulled for show some my better ones. The only thing they have in common with Gray's are that they have sand and water.  I'm not saying they are either similar or remotely alike....

I love this man's photography. If you love it, or you hate it, you must be intrigued by it.

The Lovely BDT