Category: Featured

we love: Feel Good Friday

This week we’re making room for freshness and joy in life. It’s going to be a snowy weekend where we live, so this week, we’re all about chilling out, and blissing out.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” — Joseph Campbell

We’re sharing links about humor, small indulgences and being festive. It’s about feeling good!

Care to start the weekend with a beautiful breakfast?

This is fun. A French cafe charges more for rudeness.

This chandelier is cool and unexpected. Stay tuned, because Apartment Therapy is giving away this and other designer home accoutrements all next week.

An instant pick-me-up, and a must for a ring finger manicure for the newly-engaged: glittery nail polish.

If you want someone to propose, forget engagement chicken, make these. Gluten free, but simple, but decadent. What more can you want in a peanut butter chocolate chunk cookie?

Eat it snuggled under here with someone special.

And watch Beyonce’s 17 music videos she released last night.

And finally, here’s something unique and amazing to dream about tonight. Our featured image—a custom marquise cut Tara Engagement Ring.

Have a spectacular weekend!

simplicity, sparkle & shine: the christmas gift guide

Happy holidays! Each year we do a little shopping, focusing on the witty, thoughtful and elegant things that we’d love to give and receive.

Of course the best things in life aren’t things at all, so we’ll begin with a link to our favorite charity, Cycle for Survival.

Secondly, can we agree to forget ugly Christmas sweaters? Instead let’s start a gorgeous holiday sweater trend.

Here’s one for him. One for her. For the girls. And for the boys. This proves once and for all that adorable and elegant can totally coexist.

We love gifts with a cause, so check out this stationery that benefits Sanctuary for Families.

Is someone you know getting engaged? This Kate Spade ring holder is perfect. We can imagine a hopeful boyfriend wrapping it up and when she opens it, he’s down on one knee with the ring to go with it! Lovely.

Got kids on your list? Nothing feels as special as a personalized gift. Make it easy on yourself, and go here.

Got a fashionable lady-who-has-everything? Light up the room with these message candles by Kate Spade. They’re the real deal: witty, sleek and soy!

Know any at-home mixologists? These cocktail napkins take it to a whole other level stylewise.

This is intriguing: it holds your technology on your dashboard, so it’s perfect for using your phone as a GPS. Very budget-friendly and who wouldn’t want one?

And lastly, there are a few more charity-based gifts that caught our eye. Kiva gives loans to women to develop businesses, and when they pay back, you get to invest in another woman entrepreneur. Amazing!

And World Bicycle Relief gives people wheels, who really need them. Very cool charity, don’t you think?

We love gifts that make the world a better place, don’t you? Keep spreading the joy and kindness everyone, it makes a difference!

Ask Jeff cooper: Engagement Season

Did you know that 33% of all proposals take place between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day?

December is the most popular month for engagements, and the term “engagement season” is suddenly in the media because of this hilarious web meme that’s going around. Guess somebody is experiencing “engagement fatigue.”

All kidding aside, this time of year can be perfect for a romantic proposal.

Do you love the idea of giving the season a little extra sparkle and fire? Here’s Mariah to get you in the mood for planning (or dreaming of) a beautiful holiday engagement.

Featured image via.

Stay warm and cozy, everyone!

we love: red anemones & the best holiday cocktails

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are over, leaving us with Christmas and New Year’s ahead. So mull some cider, grab a throw, and cozy up to some fun links that will (hopefully) inspire a glorious weekend!

The psychology of color! So much fun to ponder.

Use it to design your own Jonathan Adler. Fun!

Is your Christmas aesthetic ambitious? Or relaxed?

We’re in love with the Christmas-y pop of color in this wedding inspiration from 100 Layer Cake. It would be amazing for Valentine’s Day, too.

Need a breather from all the holiday bustle? These de-saturated photos of cloud forests are the perfect meditation.

Need more? Yuji Obata’s snowflakes will clear your mind if you look long enough. So lovely, refined and simple.

Cropped tops aren’t for everyone, but the rest of this holiday party uniform is so perfect, it works whether you’re 20 or 80. Worth an investment, we’d say.

The best holiday cocktails from NY Mag.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

And please donate to Cycle for Survival. Our David Cooper does it every year, to help win the battle against rare cancer.

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Leighton Meester & Adam Brody Engaged

When worlds collide! Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester and Adam Brody from The OC are engaged!

The newly engaged couple has been friends for several years and has worked together on the 2011 film “The Oranges.” Adam recently proposed after a year of dating.

Leighton is a bit of a fashionista, but we think she looks incredible in classic looks like the little black dress in our featured photo, so we’d love to see her in a movie-star-worthy design like our Ava Engagement Ring.

Leighton and Adam are absolutely adorable together, and we wish them all the best in the future!

ask jeff cooper: holiday proposal ideas

December is the most popular month for engagements, so what are you waiting for?

If you decide to get engaged for the holidays, congratulations! Here are a few ideas to inspire you.

The Knot has a list of cute proposal ideas here. And right here are 50 more. Still not sure how to go about it?

The most important part of a great proposal is finding a way to make it special and exciting, whatever that means to you and your love.

You don’t need a gimmick, but you’ll tell the story again and again, so think it over before you pop the question. You’ll know you have the right idea when it’s completely personal and unique to you and your partner.

Prince William popped the question on African Safari. Kanye West rented out a stadium. You might return to the place where you first met, or do what one of our customers did, and attach the ring to a beloved pet.

Whatever you decide, have a ring picked out, wait for the right moment, and feel free to be as over the top romantic as you want.

Good luck! And don’t forget to share your proposals with us, we love them!

Featured image is the Anneliese Engagement Ring, from our Arabesque Collection.

 

Black & White wedding dresses and holiday windows

“Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second.” ―  Mattie Stepanek

This week, we’ve been browsing the internet with a designer’s eye. There’s been so much interesting color and contrast to love, we collected it here to share with you!

Like amazing black and white wedding dresses. These are done so very well.

Holiday displays! We love them so.

Hidden treasures of MOMA, according to art critic Jerry Saltz.

Why are blue velvet couches so great?

How do you organize your books? May not be the most practical, but arranging by color is the prettiest.

How pretty is this little eye shadow collection? It’s so shimmering and jewel-like.

And of course, there’s this.

Our featured image is Macy’s holiday window.

Have a colorful and creative weekend, everyone!

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Hanukkah meets Thanksgiving aka Thanksukkah

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Since they fall on the same day this year, some people are being really cute about it.

So, here are our favorite Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Thanksukkah links. Enjoy them, and each other, to the fullest!

The New York times know how to do Thanksgiving.

And Hanukkah.

Thanksukkah by the stylish Mrs. Lilien.

An adorable play menorah! If it’s wrong to be an adult and still want one, we don’t want to be right.

Thanksgiving tips by Bon Appetit.

Gluten free Thanksgiving recipes. And gluten-abundant dinner rolls for the rest of us.

And some fun Thanksgiving wine ideas.

The featured image is from our Joy Collection. Have a great holiday, everyone!

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Whitney Port Engaged

‘The Hills” & “The City” reality TV star Whitney Port is now engaged to her TV producer boyfriend Tim Rosenman.

Tim is said to have proposed in Australia with a rose gold engagement ring. And you know we love the delicate romance of rose gold!

There are no great pictures yet, but that is a high profile center stone! It suits Whitney’s hand very well, we think.

Our warmest congratulations go out to the cute couple, who met on the set of Whitney’s reality show.

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Montana Honeymoon & Homemade Wreaths

“Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.” ― H. Jackson Browne, Jr.

As we all prepare for the holidays, we’re trying to focus on the big picture, while giving thanks for how fortunate we are.

This weekend, we’re dreaming big, and appreciating all the little things that add up to a beautiful life.

This week we watched Angelina Jolie’s big speech honoring her late mother. Extraordinary.

We loved this little picture of cozy love.

We’re dreaming of big sky country. Not everyone goes to the beach or leaves the country for their honeymoon. And when we stumbled upon this article (where we got that epic featured image above), we began thinking that honeymooning in Montana would be so amazingly romantic. Bison in the wild. Glamping. Skiing and hot springs. What is not to love?

A little style inspiration from a chic lady.

Big parties ahead! We enjoyed this, and just in time for the holidays. NY fashion designer and consummate hostess Lela Rose shares her entertaining tips.

Incorporating a little color for beginners, and how to do it well.

And some big pops of color worthy of a major celebration.

Big day hairstyles. And big deal hairstyles on a little girl.

Big hearts.

And a little housewarming gesture we love.

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