Holiday Gift Idea: Blurb Photo Books

It's been a while since I last visited Blurb and I was pleasantly surprised by the number and diversity of the templates Blurb added to their photo book creation platform.

(Images via Blurb)

You can create photo books directly from a picture folder on your Facebook or Instagram or blogs. It's as easy as signing into these accounts. Templates range from generic photo books to Portfolio to Facebook to Instagram to Blog books.

I will be ordering another photo book to document some reno/decor projects from this year. It's such a nice treat for moi during the holiday seasons. Blurb is offering AM Dolce Vita a 25% off promo code to be used before December 12th.

Promo code for 25% off: GIFTIDEA

Fine Print: * Offer valid through December 12, 2012 (11:59 p.m. local time). A 25% discount is applied toward your product total with a minimum order of 1 unit or more. Maximum discount is CAD $150off product total. Valid for printed books only. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.

 

 

 

Dining Room Chandelier

Last week zoomed by in the blink of an eye after a few out-of-town work trips. As a result, I didn't get around to working on any projects at home or doing a blog post. One thing on my mind though is the chandelier in the dining room. It started with a conversation with a buddy at work who is also a design fanatic. His comment was that the crystal chandelier I have now is disproportionate (too small) to the long dining table, and that it was hung too high up from the table. That really got me thinking: could that be the reason why I haven't been completely happy with our dining room?

Our dining table is from Anne-Quinn Furniture, a massive 8 ft long double-pedestal. The chandelier is only 25" in length, and about 45" from above the table. 

I haven't fully committed to a replacement yet, but here are the options I am considering:

1. The glam and timeless Meurice chandelier by Jonathan Adler. 

2. Pottery Barn's Clarissa Glass Drop Extra-Long Rectangular Chandelier, 30" in length.

3. A modern Chrome Crystal Chandelier. I'd probably go for organza sheer shade.

 4. Pottery Barn's Parsons Mirrored Chandelier, 32" in diameter.

5. Or how about a classic and elegant 6-light Maria Theresa crystal chandelier?

So which one is your favourite? Would you go for a different chandelier in my dining room?

New Kitchen Art

Hope you all had a great weekend. It was yet another busy one for us: we went to a birthday party on Saturday, and Sunday when Anthony was busy saving lives, I spent the afternoon at a day spa. And just like that, the weekend was gone. I didn't even get around to the One of a Kind Show, but I am definitely going this coming weekend.

On Saturday I also picked up the re-framed Alanna Cavanagh tea towel (I crashed it the first time around). With the vibrant colors and fun style, the framed tea towel is so versatile that it can really go anywhere in the house. I decided to keep it in the kitchen as first it's a natural fit, and second, my kitchen could really lighten up a bit.

So here's the newly framed Alanna Cavanagh limited edition tea towel. I pretty much copied Tim @ Design Maze's idea.

It now finds a perfect spot in my kitchen. I love how perky and light-hearted it looks which balances out my dark kitchen cabinets.

Speaking of dark kitchen cabinets, realizing almost every designer's kitchen now is based on white cabinetry, I am really tempted to make some change as well. Years ago when we picked the kitchen cabinets, we were talked into a darker stain and how it made solid maple cabinetry look more luxurious. So the bad news is that we've spent tons of dough on these babies so to have them painted seems a bit of a waste. In addition to the cabinetry, I could also think of a lot of improvements I'd like to make in this kitchen, such as a couple of built-in wall ovens (get to bake at different temperatures at the same time), pots and pans drawer, a bigger island, etc. If this was your kitchen, would you have the cabinets painted in white?

It's Official

Remember an Asian woman that awkwardly dived into her purse for her work business cards to give you at blogger gathering events? Well, that's-a me. I was truly embarrassed to have shown up so unprepared, so I've since added "getting business cards for my blog" to my to-do list, and almost a year later, I finally got around to it.

So it's official, AM Dolce Vita now has its well-deserved and long overdue business cards.

Back and Front

Initially I was going to try to design the template myself or hire a designer but then I found this Quartrefoil Teal Blue Pattern from Zazzle that shares similar aesthetics to my blog banner. Zazzle has hundreds of different pre-built design templates under "Interior Designer" and "Interior Decorator" categories, so they are great for those that are looking to start with something simple and small. It only took Zazzle just over a week to ship the finished products to me, and I am pretty happy with the paper and print quality.

I have a $10-off one-time-use promo code, so please email me if you are interested in ordering your business cards or any print products from Zazzle.

Our 2012 Christmas Tree

Well folks, here at AM Dolce Vita holiday spirit is officially in full swing. We set up our Christmas tree this past weekend. As usual, we've decided to keep the tree in our foyer with it being the highest traffic area (which means we get to see it more often).

Our 2012 Christmas Tree in the foyer, just over 7ft tall. 

Whether you've been decorating Christmas trees for years or you are a new home owner looking to put up your first-ever-official Christmas tree, I would highly recommend you turn to this November issue of Style At Home magazine. It has the most complete and creative ideas and tips on how to decorate a sensational Christmas tree.

Our 2012 Christmas Tree from the foyer mirror

Tree Topper: I started this year's gold-silver themed tree because of it.

 From another angle facing the front door.

So here's what I learnt from the Style At Home November issue but really, there's no rule when it comes to decorating your Christmas tree.

1. If your tree doesn't come prelit, the rule of thumb is 80-100 lights per foot.
2. From top to bottom: start by hanging ornaments from the top.
3. From big to small: hang the bigger ornaments first, evenly distribute them across all sections of the tree, then move on to medium then small-sized ornaments.
4. Hang ornaments with special meaning to you and your family (e.g. baby's picture, clay palm print, etc.) at the eye level section.
5. Evenly distribute shiny and matte objects.
6. Wrap the tree with bead chains, garlands and/or ribbons.

I prefer to decorate my tree in a certain color family. This year I went with a gold-silver theme because of the new tree topper and that it works better for my foyer. You can go as colorful and as sumptuous as you want -- there is no rule.