THE FLOOD...

This weekend was one for the record books. While battling the cold that everyone in NYC seems to have at the moment, I came home on Sat night to find a leak in my bathroom. Within a half an hour, the small leak turned to a huge problem when the bathroom ceiling caved in from a burst pipe. Yikes!!

I've been staying with friends for the last two nights and living at Starbucks during the day (thank god for free wifi), while waiting for my water to be restored and have the plaster removed from the tub.

My bedroom and living room are a mess too.  I had to take down all my pics and move everything into the center of the room to make sure they didn't get wet. This is one case where the before shot looks better than the after!

BEFORE

 AFTER

Living Room AFTER

While this is a huge pain, I'm trying to keep everything in perspective and look at this a an opportunity to get rid of some unused items and rearrange my furniture for a fresh take on things for the New Year. (I may even paint!)

More to come as I get things back in order...

Has something like this ever happened to you in a rental or apartment?

A SPOT OF COLOR

It's a gray, snowy day in NYC. I can't wait to curl up on the couch tonight and watch movies.

To fight the winter dreariness, here are a few of my favorite color filled images. Have a great weekend! 

(Image found via Pinterest, originally from Oncewed)

(Image found via Pinterest, originally from Apartment Therapy)

 (found via Pinterest)

(found via Pinterest)

(Found via Darling Dexter)

 Print Row Boat Press

Image found via Pinterest, originally from ffffound

How Sunny It Is

 Image courtesy of Lonny and artist Caitlin McGauley

I always love Watercolor Wednesday's over at Lonny. Artist Caitlin McGauley creates such fantastic prints each week. This week's sunshine yellow post struck a particular cord with me. After a few days in sunny Belize, I've been looking for ways to bring a little sunshine back to NYC. Good thing I picked up this gorgeous yellow lamp and fantastic yellow ice bucket before leaving. Both are coming to Octavia & Brown soon...

NEW YEAR, NEW ME...

2010 was an incredible year! I crossed quite a few things off my life to-do list and was thrilled with the growth and support for Octavia & Brown.

Sitting down to write my resolutions for 2011, I found I was wavering between generic resolutions like getting more sleep and eatting healthier to more creative ones like finally tackling reupholstering my side chairs and traveling out of the country more. One friend suggested making this task easier by grouping resolutions by category: professional, personal, hobbies, etc. Here's what I came up with...

What's on your list for 2011?

UNBELIZABLE

It's good to be back...

Last Wednesday, my friend and I made it out of the New York snow (a miracle), faced major delays in Houston, but somehow still made our puddle jumper flight over to Ambergris Caye, a small beachy island in Belize, only 25 miles long.

While supped up golf carts are the main form of transportation on the island, we preferred to travel like locals and rented bikes to pedal around.

Having just five days on the island, we jumped water immediately to snorkel and dive the beautiful natural reefs. A highlight was renting a small motor boat from Fido's (pronounced Fee-Doughs) and battling the huge waves over to a great secluded reef. I nearly capsized our boat twice crashing through the waves.

\

On the way back we stopped at the Palapa Bar, a locals only thatch roof bar out on the water, for some tasty beverages.

I made a friend...

There is a tradition at Palapa bar to sign your name somewhere in the bar. This includes and is not limited to chairs, stools, rafters, signs, etc. The higher the better...

While there were some many great moments on the island, a few of the other highlights for me included stopping by Estel's for breakfast on the beach, Ms. Evi's for some delicious fried chicken, grabbing papusas at Waraguma's, a hole-in-the-wall that serves them for $1.25 after 5pm and sitting on the dock drinking a cold Belize brewed Lighthouse Lager after a day on the water. (Can you tell my vacations are centered around eating?)

In all, Belize was unbelizable (excuse the pun) and I can't wait to go back.

What did you do for New Year's?

OUT OF THE SNOW AND INTO THE SUN...

 (Image: AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Like most New Yorkers, I've been digging myself out of the snow since Sunday. While things are finally starting to get back to normal in the city, I'm taking the rest of the week off to escape the snow and enjoy a little sun in Belize.

I'll be back on 1/4/11 with a ton of new vintage items over at Octavia & Brown and some exciting new changes here.

Stayed tuned and I'll see you in the new year! (Have a happy and healthy New Year's Eve!)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

 (Image courtesy of Max Wanger)

I'm finally done my Christmas shopping (phew!) After a little christmas wrapping, a delicious dinner prepared by my brother, I'm looking forward to sitting by the fireplace tonight with a glass of wine and a little Frank Sinatra.

 

Warm holiday wishes to you and yours from Octavia & Brown. Here's hoping for an exciting and wonderful new year!