[ keeping it cool ]

WHEN THE temperature is hot, all you can think of is how to stay cool. And nothing says cool like white interiors. Like me, I'm sure many of you have embraced white slipcovers and know the comfort, freshness and easy-care that they provide (yes, I said easy-care). I know I'll be injecting lots of white into our apartment when we move in. Are you keeping it cool with white this summer?

lisa

[coastal living; 2, 5 house beautiful; joanna maclennan; better homes and gardens; 

never enough thyme blog; skona hem; country homes & interiors; vogue; 

dreamy whites blog; sunset; thomas o'brien]

[ what I'm loving ]

HERE ARE a few things I'm really loving right now ...

tunics - perfect for hot days and lovely with linen pants and sandals for a put-together look

patterned plates from Zara Home - perfect to make even a simple snack look so pretty and special (or hang them on a wall!)

Boots fragrance free cleansing wipes - great to freshen up at any time of day on these sweaty days

realliving magazine from Australia - I hadn't seen this magazine prior to moving to Dubai and it has quickly become my favourite

dubizzle.com - Dubai's version of Craigslist, definitely a go-to for used furniture being sold by so many expats on the move

Passion Pasta sauce - my new favourite sauce in a jar from Australia is the closest thing to homemade I've ever tasted

espadrilles - when sneakers are too hot and you need a break from flip flops

What are you loving right now?

lisa

[ flashback ]

WHEN I stumbled upon this charming little corner, it brought back memories of childhood. Growing up, I had a bedspread just like that slipcover! And not only was it a bedspread, it became a picnic blanket in the backyard and a "tent" where I giggled inside with my girlfriends and our Barbies. ahh, good times!

lisa

[better homes and gardens]

[ happy weekend! ]

SO IT'S officially here - summer!! And it's the first weekend of it.. sigh. I'm longing for my bike - just to take it for a spin, explore somewhere I haven't been, feel the breeze. It's on a boat somewhere and will arrive eventually (it's too hot to bike right now anyway) and I can't wait. What have you got planned for this first weekend of summer?

lisa

[marie claire; better homes and gardens; unknown; tara donne; dandelion&grey]

[ I love fatboys ]

SINCE OUR new sofa is on order and it will still be weeks before it arrives (as well as our sea shipment on a slow boat somewhere), we needed to find a solution for seating for when we move in until we get our stuff! So we decided to look for something for the balcony that can be used temporarily in the living room. We don't want a table and chairs for outside, we want something to lounge on, read a book ipad on. Well, you would think that in a land of endless sunshine, great patio stuff would be easy to find. Not the case.

[no, not me!]

After what seems like a never-ending search all over the city, we've found our solution! Fatboy beanbags! I know, super retro. But the 'buggle-up' style with the big toggle straps on the sides is brilliant - it allows you to create more of a chair-like shape and with its durable indoor/outdoor fabric and polystyrene microbeads, it will be perfect for the balcony later (when things cool down out there!). We've ordered 2 in this sand colour and I think it will be the perfect thing to keep us comfy until our sofa arrives.

lisa

[ say hello to my little friend ]

OK, FIRST of all, remember the incredible expanding MacBook Pro battery saga? {read about it here} Well, I'm happy to report that Apple came through and replaced my hulking battery for free! woo hoo! By the time I got the new one, the old one had expanded so much that the metal cover popped right off!

Anyway, during that time of needing to be hardwired to use my laptop (I know, it's not that much of a hardship), my guy took pity on me and I'm now the proud owner of this sexy thang:

Isn't she a beaut? And with the cute little case I whipped up for her, those daisies have me smiling everytime I look at her. Now I can blog and read my online mags anywhere I want - ahhh... life is good.

lisa

[ some sweet news ]

DOESN'T THIS gelato look scrumptious? Perfect in blistering heat (although it melts really fast!)

So today I'm happy to report that:

1 my back is almost at 100% and I can easily tie my own shoes again :)
2 we got the apartment! Now we just wait until the wallpaper is removed, walls painted, and everything scrubbed before we can move in

So things are looking up! I guess I'll have to do a bit of shopping around for stuff we need (twist my arm!)

lisa

[ happy weekend! ]

SO WHAT have you got planned for the weekend? Maybe some gardening projects or a little DIY? I'm smitten by these cute patterned buckets - I think it would be fun to Mod Podge a few using some fabric remnants. They'd look cute to hold clothes pegs or dryer sheets in the laundry room, toiletries in the bathroom or office supplies on a desk. The possibilities are endless! {I wonder if I can find Mod Podge in Dubai?} Whatever you're up to, have a lovely, sunny, relaxing weekend!

lisa

[cameron sageghpour]

[ our new place...maybe? ]

IT'S BEEN a while since we arrived in Dubai and getting all the official permits and paperwork sorted has been a very long, drawn-out process. We are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and the hunt has officially begun to find our new place. You may remember that we toured around some neighbourhoods weighing out the pros and cons of a villa in the outskirts to a small apartment closer to the action. Well, we've decided on an apartment! And in the Dubai Marina area. We love the area, there are lots of shops and restaurants to walk to, the metro station is right there to take me to a long list of malls and the scenery is pretty.

We've narrowed down which cluster of buildings we want to be in and visited a few apartments to see what's available (not many since people apparently love them so the turn-over is slow). They are the original buildings built in the marina development and have an excellent reputation so it's understandable why people don't want to move out.

I wish I had taken photos while inside because you wouldn't believe the one that we have decided on - a decor nightmare! Every wall is covered in dark wallpaper - olive stripes in the living room, florals in the bedrooms and the bathroom and the spare bedroom is plastered in Barbie stickers! We've been assured that all the wallpaper will be removed and the walls patched/painted and everything scrubbed before we move in but it definitely took some effort to see past the ugliness of it.

But the floors are a lovely dark wood (instead of the typical beige ceramic tile so common here) so that's a nice feature. And we were immediately drawn to the view from the square balcony - one direction points to the marina, the other points to the lovely landscaped courtyard and pool area. Compared to the other places we saw, it was a no-brainer.

There are still details to work out before we know if it's ours (so much red tape). And of course lots of work to be done inside before it's ready for us to move in. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

lisa

[ over-the-top decor ]

SO YOU SAY you want a taste of over-the-top decor today? ok, how about this sofa I spotted in a Dubai boutique?

lisa

[ diy cutie pie flip flops ]

I CAME ACROSS the cutest tutorial for DIY flip flops and i just had to share! These come courtesy of The Mother Huddle blog and take about 30 minutes to complete.

All you need are some cheapo flip flops, about 1/4 yard of fabric, kitchen scissors or xacto knife and if you want to add hot glue you can (although it's not necessary).

Remove the straps by pushing them through the back a little and cut off the chunky ends using your scissors or knife. Cut your fabric into 4 strips measuring 4.5 x 24 inches and cut the tips into a point to make feeding through the hole a little easier.

Pull 2 fabric strips through the toe hole and tie into a tight double knot on the back. The knot will fit into the divet. Cut the ends off.

Flip the flop over and hold both strips together to tie a knot about an inch from the shoe (your toe will go here).

Then tie a tight second knot right above it. Next feed one strip into each back hole and put the flop on your foot and pull the strips so they are tight to the top of your foot. Remove from your foot and tie knots on the back. Try it on again and walk around making sure the fit is snug.

Make sure the knots are tight, cut off the ends and fit them into the divets. Cut off the ends. You can add a dot of hot glue into the hole if you like but it's not required.

All done! For more detailed pics and how-to, go to The Mother Huddle

lisa

[ blog love ]

HAVE YOU MET Janis over at Pinecone Camp? If not, you MUST go and check out her blog!

A photographer from Vancouver, Canada, Janis shoots interiors for magazines including Style At Home, Canadian House & Home, Chatelaine and more. Along with posting great pics of interiors and beautiful shots from around her city, Janis bakes every Monday and photographs her way through each recipe - it will having you drooling on your keyboard! Being the sweetest thing, she recently had a giveaway of her gorgeous recipe cards in a cute little cloth bag and I'm thrilled to say that I'm the lucky recipient (I can't wait to receive my first piece of mail in Dubai!)

..............

I'd also like to give a shout-out to Carol at The Design Pages for sending a lovely award my way! Carol is an interior designer from Vancouver and her blog is filled with lovely spaces and her fun diy projects. Thank you so much - you've really made my day!

I'm passing it along to 5 bloggers I love....

Janis at Pinecone Camp (I think you already know how much I adore her blog!)

and to 4 other bloggers who have lived the life of an expat just like I am:

Kathy at West Family Adventures - she's lived in Germany and has now moved back to the US
Robynne at Robynne's Nest - an Aussie who has relocated to the UK
Chania at Razmataz - an interior decorator who moved from the UK to Canada
Laura at Happy Homemaker UK - an American expat living near London, England


So drop everything and pop on over and say hi to these fellow globe-trotting bloggers! Have a great weekend everyone!

lisa

[ welcome to atlantis ]

IN HONOUR OF our anniversary, we spoiled ourselves with an incredible dinner at Atlantis, The Palm. What a place!

Atlantis is a six-star resort located at the tip of The Palm, the manmade island in the Arabian Gulf. With over 1500 rooms, a dolphin bay for guests to swim with the dolphins, gigantic aquarium, restaurants, shops, and Aquaventure water park (which appeared in The Amazing Race), it is definitely a place to see.

Just pulling up in the taxi was an exciting event since we had to take an underwater tunnel to reach it. And stepping inside was like setting foot inside a jewelry box. The floors are exquisite and the ceilings so intricate. I love the handblown glass sculptures and light fixtures.

The aquarium is absolutely enormous, with many of the guest rooms having an entire wall facing it.

There are pretty shops and boutiques, many of them out of my budget but fun to browse through...

And a familiar place to get a cool treat...

We chose Seafire Steakhouse for our romantic anniversary dinner and it didn't disappoint. The decor was warm and moody, the food incredible. What a perfect night with my sweetie.

lisa