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While there seems to be a dearth of curves on my T.V. thanks to the Olympics, I  have been noticing a lot of curves in interior design lately, namely sofas.

What's so great about curved sofas?

• they can define a space in a way that plain old straight sofas can't quite accomplish on their own
• they're good for unusual room shapes
• they are a great solution for large spaces that may have the potential to feel vast and stark
• they're also great for spaces that have architectural details that you wouldn't want to hide behind a sofa, such as wainscoting or other molding, large-scale wall art or maybe just the baddest-ass penthouse view through your floor-to-ceiling windows 

 Most of these sofas look custom-made and, thus, are looky-no-touchy for me.  But maybe you're in possession of a small fortune.  Or maybe you're a celebrity.  Or maybe not.

Irregardless. Riot On!

Project Runway Season 10 Recap- Episode 2

Episode 2: A Glue the Sh*t Out Of It Moment

All photos courtesy of Lifetime

Here we are for another week of Project Runway!  Last week we got to meet our 16 contestants and this week we're on to one of my most favorite PR episodes: the Unconventional Materials Challenge!

Beth and Jon's Wedding: Part II

Portraits

All photos by Heather Waraksa

Beth and Jon's Wedding: Part I

Getting Ready

All Photos by Heather Waraksa

HGTV Design Star Recap- THE FINALE!

It's HGTV Design Star Finale time!!!  After the most-talented-ever (while-purposefully-ignoring-the-possibility-of-a-recency-effect) season of designers, we find ourselves finally down to the final two: Britany Simon and Danielle Colding.

Frenemies

 ALL PHOTOS THANKS TO HGTV DESIGN STAR

Christmas in July

Sunglasses  / Bikini / Camera Strap / Camera / Brass Urchins / Purse / Notebook / Nailpolish / MacBook Pro

Season's Greetings!  Christmas is 5 months away, it's dog's breath hot outside and there's not an It-toy in sight, so what better time to break out the peppermint schnapps, crank up the Nat King Cole and make a Christmas list?

Here's what I'm asking Santa for- hopefully he'll be checking email:

• A hot new bathing suit and not-so-matching sunglasses


• An upgraded DSLR camera with an equally badass sequin camera strap so I can continue to improve my photography skillz while looking awesome


• Decorative brass urchins, duh


• A portable purse in a poppy color


• A travel notebook, because one of these days I'm totally going to keep a travel journal


• A little finger candy a la Essie in color Mojito Madness


• Last and most importantly: the new MacBook Pro.  I NEED THIS. Come on Santa baby. My blog readers need me to get a new computer so I can continue to provide nostalgic amusement through increasingly complex Adobe programs that are too large for my 5 year-old, plain, boring, just regular blah MacBook!

Tell me, what are YOU asking Santa, or the Hanukkah Armadillo, for on this (second) Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Tuesday Trend- Foo Dogs

Although I've been back home for about a week, my design mojo is still in Thailand.  

After last week's buddha trend, this week I'm on to... Foo Dogs!

Foos from Wat Pho, photos by me

These figures actually go by several names, though Foo or Fu Dog seems to stick here in Amurrica.  However, they're technically not dogs at all.  These statues originated in Chinese design as guardian lions, symbols of protection, that sat at the entrance to Buddhist temples and rich people's homes.  In Thailand, every single wat we visited had at least a couple of these bad boys, which are always presented in pairs as a representation of yin and yang.  Ahhh, deep.

At any rate, they're kinda funny lookin' so I love them.  From a design perspective, the renewed interest in Asian design and Chinoiserie means foos are all over the ever-pinning internet.  Check it out:

PostScript Brooklyn

So this weekend I finally began writing thank you notes for the wedding.  It took me forever to get the stationery in because I was an idiot and didn't order them along with the rest of my wedding invitations.  But they HAD TO MATCH so I placed another order after the wedding and patiently awaited their arrival.

In case you couldn't already tell, I go ape-shit crazy over stationery.  If you have ever gotten a letter/note/birthday card from me rest assured I spend the better half of a day AT LEAST picking it out.  I'm seriously the person who reads every single card in the card store.  And I buy the $7 laser-cut, hand sewn, bejazzled cards.  But not the ones that play music, those are just ridiculous.

Naturally, picking out my wedding stationery was a task in and of itself.  I came across PostScript Brooklyn and loved their stuff- all done by local Brooklyn artists.  They'll do letterpress or digital and will totally work with you to customize something.  My favorite designs were their Cityscapes collections of various NYC landmarks cause I'm obsessed with NYC.  But they do other stuff too.  And if they can draw the Chrysler building I'm sure they could totally draw the St. Louis arch, or that dumb LOVE sign from Philly.  

And they totally didn't pay me to say any of this so don't worry, this isn't one of those BS sponsored posts you see on other blogs.  I would never do that (unless you want to pay me to do that, then I would totally consider it).

Third Street

Bedford

Seaport

Grand Central Station

Spring Street

San Remo

Photo by Heather Waraksa

Photo by Heather Waraksa

And here's my invitation suite- which I used elements of the San Remo collection but did a custom illustration for the invite card.  I'm a little crazy too cause I went on Ebay for weeks to buy vintage stamps of the Brooklyn Bridge and flowers.  But I'm not crazy enough to post our real address.  SUCKERS!

Hope you all had a stalkerific weekend!

Project Runway Season 10 Recap- Episode 1

Season 10 Project Runway is Here!!!

Oh how I've missed you, regular Project Runway!  Cause let's face it, Project Runway All-Stars wasn't the same.  It reminded us why none of those people won Project Runway to begin with.  And the femme-bot with gams they had hosting it didn't even say "auf wiedersehen."  And Isaac Mizrahi ain't no Michael Kors.  No one can tell someone they look like Joan Crawford at a St. Patrick's Day party like MK.

Congratulations Late Night with Jimmy Fallon!

So I don't normally talk about work on this blog, but today I can't help it.  The 2012 Emmy nominations are in and our show has been nominated for the category of Outstanding Variety Series!

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate my colleagues and friends who work on this show- I am constantly amazed at how much talent we have on our staff.  Out of all the craptastic TV shows out there, I'm so lucky to get to work for a GOOD, GREAT, AWESOME SHOW!!!

All Photos Lloyd Bishop/NBC via

I worked on this fake movie poster for the show.  I even shot the photo that is used in the background- it's from Greenpoint.  Just so you know, I totally work on this show. 

Oh yeah, and if you don't already know, my husband works for another show nominated in the same category that has won 8 times in a row.  So yeah, blah, congrats Daily Show for yet another Emmy nomination.  Booooring.

HGTV Design Star Recap Episode 8- The Truth Yurts

The Truth Yurts

Episode 8 finds us down to the final 3: Danielle, Britany and Hilari.  This week's challenge was to design a bedroom suite in a yurt.  What the eff is a yurt you ask?  Well, it is defined as a portable structure from Central Asia that is round and built on a lattice form.  Easy Japanese-y.  Literally.

All photos via

Tuesday Trend- Buddhas

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I have buddhas on the brain after visiting Thailand.  As a country that is over 90% Buddhist, the image of the buddha is sacred and, literally, everywhere.

Riding the wave of Asian-influence in contemporary design, it's no surprise that Buddha has become a decor trend.  I admit, I had to jump on board and bought a pair of white stone buddha wall hangings.  He's just such a peaceful dude, I like his style.

As you're viewing these rooms keep in mind, it's not the size of your buddha but the fine in your design that really matters.  Riot on:

Back from Thailand!

I'm back from Thailand!!!

The view from our Bangkok hotel room... crazy Vegas

After an amazing 2 week honeymoon I am completely exhausted and overwhelmed by what we saw and experienced, but also happy to be home again.  I'm also feeling very zen today, so sorry in advance if this post seems uncharacteristically nice...