And a Happy New Year! A Merry Christmas from our family to yours, wishing you a joyous day filled with love and laughter!

Turkey day is always fun around the Fenimore house. We had everyone over for lunch today and are finally finished putting the last of the clean dishes away.  I wanted to share our Thanksgiving table just like I did last year. Now that I look back, I realize how sparse everything was so I wanted to add a few more pieces this year.

I decided to add more of the rustic detail that my husband loves, most of the containers are made out of birch and filled with succulents and other fun pieces. I called my favorite florist in town (Village Garden & Gallery) to help me bring in the containers, candle holders and a few other seasonal pieces to dress up the house.  They rocked it out!

They even dressed up our fireplace mantle in the living room. I am in love with the grapevine and fall leaf mix even though my husband say he is waiting for the covey of quail to fly out!  The fall leaves can be easily removed and replaced with Christmas holly and evergreen.

Wishing you all a fabulous Thanksgiving! Enjoy the football, your family and the leftovers!

Today I..We…celebrate my fourth year as a Fenimore!  Ahh Marriage, it has changed my life more than I could have imagined…and that is a good thing. The pumpkin carriage became the ATV at the ranch, the Barbie Dream house is now our Rustic Glam 1950′s ranch and the house full of kids is just the house filled with two bird dogs that think they are human.  To my husband Dru…Thank you for letting me be right when it matters, dragging me to the ranch when I would rather be shopping and for always cooking dinner around here! Happy Fourth!

I loved reading all of your comments on the cobalt blue post from yesterday and thought I would take the color to a whole new level. Well, I’m actually taking it back…to the 80′s!  My mother owned a tile distributorship in Arkansas at one point in her career and pretty much every surface in our house was covered in tile!  She loved cobalt blue so much that it was on our countertops in the kitchen…looking back I’m actually shocked at how awful it looked.  And those balloon shades are just…wow..and the lace trim…sorry mom but it was just….too much.  All I can say is WOWZA that was some kitchen!

Mom also had a room that sat in between the main living room and the master bedroom that she called “the Florida room”. Not sure  why she called it that but I do have to say that there are quite a few pieces in here that I would love to snag from her. She still has the cobalt blue lacquered dining chairs but not that fabulous white lacquered table.  The cornice boards around the windows are a nice touch considering that we had balloon shades throughout the house (notice them hanging on the doors to the master).  I’m wondering what happened to that stunning mirrored room screen in the corner though because it was fabulous!

The art was hung a bit high and I think that its odd considering my mom is about 5’4″ tall.  I think this room would have been killer with the right rug  or a fabulous wallpaper to tie it all together.  I was never a fan of the pink walls and seafoam green trim throughout the house at the time. But looking back, I’m fortunate to have had a mother that pushed the boundaries of design. I know her love of style and all of the effort she put into making our home fabulous is part of why I love being a designer today.

Day three and the last day of Kravet’s Blogfest 2011.  I’m feeling it and by now I am learning to call a cab with more confidence, use the subway (THANK YOU HOP STOP) and I’m ready to take on the last day of Blogfest. This was my favorite day of the three…but meeting Barbara Barry was actually the best moment!

We were able to visit Kravet & Lee Jofa’s design studio and it was ahhhhmazing. The walls were lined with the latest fabrics and stopping by each area of the studio to see how the world of Kravet/Lee Jofa worked was beyond informative.  With at least 18 months as the standard time frame to develop and launch new products, there were tons of sneak peeks around the studio. Sorry, no pics because everything has to be kept under wraps for now.   Color design, pattern development, designer collaborations, new rugs, showroom design and  sampling were just a few of the everyday events that we were able to get a closer look at.

My favorite part of the tour was being able to see the latest introductions from Kelly Wearstler. Tons of updates to her current best sellers and a few new additions too!

We capped off the day and the week with a Sweet Endings party at 1st dibs showroom located in the NYC Design Center after touring a few of our favorite showrooms!

I loved the view of this rooftop garden from the 1st dibs showroom too, very New York!

Sweet Treats at the 1st dibs party!!!

Beth Dotolo, Leslie Carothers & Me

Bryn Dunn, Beth Dotolo, Me & Traci Zeller

And finally, the special guest of the evening Thom Filicia started making the rounds. I was so excited to meet him after being a fan of his for so long.  What a chatter he is, such a pleasure to meet him in person!  THANK YOU BLOGFEST 2011!

Day two at Blogfest 2011 started with a trip to the Javits Center for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).  It was a quick run through but with more than 25,000 interior designers, architects, retailers, designers & manufacturers its product overload.  The floor was full of contemporary furniture, seating, carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, materials, wall coverings, accessories, textiles, and kitchen and bath for residential and commercial interiors.  I snapped a few shots of my top three booths and am still going through all of the literature I picked up from the show.

Tracy Glover Studio:  The glassblowing process has always fascinated me and I was instantly smitten with Tracy’s booth.  Table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers and decorative accessories make this line one of my favorites by far! Images Via: Tracy Glover & Studio Ten 25

Tucker Robbins:  I was instantly drawn to the colorful headdresses in the booth but once I began to take a better look at the details of  each piece, this line became one of my favorites at the show.  Each piece is handmade and the options of unique hardwoods are absolutely gorgeous.  Images Via: Tucker Robbins & Studio Ten 25

Emerald Faerie: Wow…there really are no words.  Fiona’s stunning line of unique lighting using steel, copper wire, brass chains and antique cutlery were displayed in front of a simple black background and glistened so beautifully.  Images Via: Emerald Faerie & Studio Ten 25

After a quick trip through the ICFF, we headed off to meet Designer Barbara Barry for the introduction of her new line from Kravet called Indochine.  She shared several personal snapshots from her trip to Asia and discussed how the small details inspired the Indochine line.  She also introduced the addition of her Citrine blend tea!   She was so gracious and took the time to meet everyone. When I made it to the front of the line, I gave her a sneak peek of one of my current projects using her fabric! I think she liked it because she gave me a high five!  Images Via: Pretty Pink Tulips & Studio Ten 25

After meeting Barbara Barry everyone headed out to Long Island City where Traditional Home presented the Lee Jofa Heritage Collection at Mayo Studios.  We were handed Inspired Styles, a fabulous book featuring the work and inspirations of designers who are collaborating with Kravet and Lee Jofa’s fabric lines.  Six of the designers were on hand to sign the book and each of them had a full scale set designed using the fabrics!

Eric Cohler, Diamond Baratta, Suzanne Rheinstein, David Easton, Suzanne Kasler & Thomas  O’Brien were all available to sign our books and chit chat about their upcoming launches.  I was super excited to meet Thomas O’Brien, he even discussed the latest additions to his Target line that will launch soon!

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will cover the last day at Blogfest2011. Our visit to Kravet & Lee Jofa’s design studio and the New York Design Center were full of sneak peeks and our Sweet Endings Party with Thom Filicia!

As most of you know I was in New York City last week for Kravet’s BlogFest2011.  The weather in the city was a bit chilly and rainy but the locations and events that Kravet had set up were spectacular.  I spent most of the week going from event to event with Beth Dotolo from Pulp Designs here in Dallas, you may also know Beth from her other blog Hello Splendor!  She was my taxi, subway and coffee buddy! Meeting all of the other bloggers from around the country and Canada was more than I expected and it was wonderful to finally meet a few of my favorites in person.

Beth & Me

Me, Sue (The Zush),  Carolyn (The Buzz) & Beth (Pulp & Hello Splendor)

Kravet knocked our socks off for three design filled days!  All of the major design magazines ( House Beautiful, Veranda, Town & Country, Traditional Home, Architectural Digest and New York Spaces) took the time to discuss their vision for the future of shelter magazines as well as the impact that bloggers have had on information getting out into the design world.  The magazines hosted breakfasts, lunches, champagne receptions and the swag bags were beyond fabulous.

Me, Beth (Pulp & Hello Splendor) and Elizabeth (Pretty pink tulips)

Day one was full of introductions, insightful information from the magazine editors and a soon to be announced sneak peak from the team at House Beautiful!!!  I promise to share the details on the blog as soon as the news is official.  You are going to LOVE it and if you are a designer or just a  lover of design, it will change the way you look at color!

The Ace Hotel in was the host hotel and I loved the “hipster” vibe from the bumpin’ lobby to the loft style rooms. This was my room…no really this was the exact room I stayed in!

The lobby was always packed and Beth and I had a change to grab a quick bite at the Breslin restaurant that was attached to the hotel.

Thank God for the Sumptown Coffee Shop that was attached, it helped me shake off the cold cloudy mornings and the foam always had a sweet design!

Tomorrow I’ll be talking about the ICFF, Kravet’s Design Studio and Meeting some of the industries best designers!

Earlier this week I attended a charity art auction that benefited Open Arms, a humanitarian relief organization. Dallas Cowboy Martellus Bennett hosted the event and he had his art up for auction along with up and coming artist Dylon Goodman.  The even was held in an updated industrial office building in Dallas’ artsy Deep Elm area. The plan was to raise money for the Open Arms International foundation and I believe the night was a success!

Dru Fenimore, Abbe Fenimore, Martellus Bennett & Siggi Walker

Amarie Young, Dylan Goodman & Abbe Fenimore

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the show. Martellus’ art is fun, full of color and they show off his personality 100%. Martellus is a kind at heart and the pieces he had up at the auction were completely unique. I love his use of texture and color and if you sit down and ask him what he was thinking…you will get a hilarious story with each piece!

Dylan’s pieces are stunning! She is currently an art student here in Texas and so stinkin’ cute, full of life and beyond creative. I can’t wait to see what she ends up doing after college. I think this one is my favorite!

I stayed glued to the T.V. last night until the wee hours not knowing exactly how I felt about the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. It was somewhat unreal, exciting yet scary all at the same time.   The military men and women who have served and are still serving our country must have been elated. Both of my grandfathers and my father have served our country and the US military has always been a large presence in our family.

I wanted to step back from the world of Interior Design today to say THANK YOU to my  family(images below) and our US Military for laying the groundwork and continuing to fight for our freedom.

Charles C. Cooksey

William A. Stanton

And especially to my father:

Colonel William E. Stanton

This past weekend I attended the Trunk Show for the Texas’ Next Top Designer competition. The top 20 contestants had all of their fabulous pieces on display and even shown off by stunning models in mini-fashion shows.  My friend Darian Thomas is once again a top 20 finalist so I had to stop by to take a peek at her new 2010 collection!

The Search for Texas’ Next Top Designer competition includes fashion designers throughout Texas. A group of 20 finalists are then selected for the final evaluation.  Since that first award, the organization has been proud to review the work of some of Texas’ most talented designers, including this year’s top 20:

• Ann Hoang - Ann Hoang by Ann Hoang
• Darian Thomas - HAUTE DJ -www.darianthomas.com
• Jessica Sharp - HAUTE DJ -www.jessicasharp.com
• James Martinez - BARRON & J
• Ashley Burghardt - ASHARD RICHLEY
• Johnna Sheppard - Blest
• Blanquita Sullivan & Tara Pettinato – Bonjour Biqui
• Jeannie Vianney - By Jeannie Jewelry
• Carissa - Carissa Rose
• Charmaine Marshall - Charmaine Marshall
• Lauren Polt - chicka-d
• Leesie Pool - Hex Chromosome
• Anthony Muelle - Hueso Outlaw
• Julie Michel - Julie Michel Designs
• Dorris Bogus - KaMIT Sport
• La’Daska Powell - LADASKA MECHELLE
• Jessica and Jason - LilahGabriel
• Marie Bruns - Marie Bruns
• Gladys Bowie-Young - Miss Jane Originals
• Sarah - STATUS
• Ashlee Patton & Isabel Varela - VARELA+BROOKS

Darian (Right)  and her friend Jessica Sharp (Left)  recently teamed up to create Haute DJ, a combination of Darian’s clothing & Jessica’s jewelry.

Darian & I had a great time chatting with other designers, showing off her pieces to guests and bustin’ a move while the DJ kept the party going.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Santa Monica top that Darian is wearing from her Spring/Summer 2011 Aquatica Collection.

Here she is getting the models ready…adding jewelry from Haute DJ was the final step.

Take a peek at a few of the colorful pieces in the collections….I am loving the coral beads with the gold kale accent.

The courtyard was beautiful and the weather could not have been more perfect for a fashion show outdoors.  This Del Mar dress from the Spring/Summer 2011 Collection is also on my list…but maybe another 10″ or so on the hemline for this 30 something girl!

Sour Grapes created a graffiti wall that was auctioned off…