[ abstract minded ]

I HAPPENED to be lurking on Etsy and I came across the happiest art by Melanie Mikecz of TWOEMS...

Aren't they great? I love her choice of colours and can imagine them in really any room of the house ~ great if you've got a spot just crying out for a bit of graphic pattern and personality. To see the other great pieces by TWOEMS, click here.

Speaking of happy, it's Happy Weekend time again! And mine has already kicked off with a happy coffee date with a fellow blogger who has just moved to Dubai. Gotta love how blogging brings people together! Have a great weekend everyone!

lisa

[ at the top ~ burj khalifa ]

I FINALLY went up the world's tallest building! After living here for almost a year and a half, it was about time.

At over 2716 feet (828 metres) and 160 stories, the Burj Khalifa is quite the structure. It was a collaboration of 30 on-site contractors from all over the world.

Construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2009, officially opened in January 2010. Total cost: about $1.5 billion.

{what's inside}

37 office floors on the highest levels

observation deck on level 124

fine dining restaurant on level 122

900 residences on levels 19 to 108

Armani Hotel and Residences on lowest levels

57 elevators

Its Y-shaped footprint which maximizes views, is organically inspired by the regional desert flower, the hymenocallis with its petals extending from a central stem...

riding up the high-speed elevator {59ft/second}, ears popping...

the At the Top observation deck on level 124 is part open, part enclosed...

if any of you have ever wondered what an aerial view of Dubai looks like, here's a peek...

Every day there are fountain shows choreographed to music, similar to what you see at the Bellagio in Las Vegas...

It would have been cool to be able to see more of the inside of the tower but high security only allows access directly up to the observation deck. Surprisingly, I didn't feel nearly as queasy as I thought I might at that height. Definitely something you need to do while in Dubai.

lisa

[all pics with my iPhone; hymenocallis via wikipedia]

[ smitten with spots ]

SO MY favourite store has now arrived here in Dubai ~ Kate Spade! I've been a fan for a long time but haven't had access to a shop to visit regularly {the first one I stepped into was in SOHO, NYC}.

On my recent visit, I couldn't help but SPOT all the spots...

Cute huh? I love polka dots ~ they're so happy and timeless ~ have they ever been out of style? Are you as smitten with spots as I am?

lisa

[kate spade]

[ fab find ]

POTTERY BARN in Dubai is run by a local company {unlike the corporate stores in North America}. And while they may not carry everything that Pottery Barn offers elsewhere, the one thing I love is that when they have a sale, it's a BLOWOUT sale!

I've recently had my eye on these...

...vintage oversized wine bottles from the early 1900s from Europe. Available in a few sizes, the medium size has been retailing for $149 {way out of my price range}. 

Imagine how excited I was to snag one this weekend at... hold onto your hats....$25!

And a rare turquoise glass one at that! With such delicious old grungy patina...

I think it's a pretty addition to my vintage bottle collection...

Have you snagged any fab finds lately?

lisa

[ lottery home ]

FOR THE past 6 years, Lynda Reeves and her team at Canadian House and Home have designed the showhouse for the Princess Margaret Hospital Fall Lottery in Toronto. I've been lucky enough to tour many of them in Oakville, Ontario when the tickets have gone on sale, though this year I'll have to dream through the pages of the magazine. Sadly I've never won, but it's always nice to buy a ticket and have the money go to a worthy cause.

This year's home is based on the idea of a stone farmhouse, mixed with modern touches for family living...

Even though it's described as modern, I find it has just the right mix to make it really warm and inviting. The colour palette is so welcoming and I love the contrast of the black doors, windows and cabinetry used with all the white and natural elements.

I'd be thrilled to be holding the winning ticket on this one! What about you?

lisa

[house and home]

[ kitchen lust ]

EVERY SO often I come across a space that makes me pause while I soak in all of its goodness. Today it's this kitchen...

Isn't that floor fantastic? Like something out of a bistro in Paris. I love the long narrow island, the 2 colours for the cabinetry and of course the marble. While I'm usually a white kitchen kind of gal, this one could convert me!

lisa

[via fleaingfrance.tumblr]

[ happy weekend! ]

FIRST, have I told you lately how awesome you all are? Your sweet comments on my Penguin painting really made my week! After the bumps I kept hitting along the way, it's nice to know that it was all worth it in the end. Thanks so much! :)

Can you believe the weekend is upon us again? Is it just me or do all the days seem to be flying by quicker and quicker nowadays? Well, no real plans here ~ just hanging out with my guy...

Here's hoping yours is filled with good times!

lisa

[gayana danilova]

[ my penguin DIY ]

I'VE ALWAYS been fond of Penguin Books and I've been seeing some great examples of covers used as art ~ like these orange prints by Alanna Cavanagh or the creative interpretations by Harland Miller...

I've had a canvas kicking around for a couple of years just waiting to be painted so I decided to make my own Penguin art! 

I started by Googling the Penguin Classics catalogue to choose a title and I couldn't have found a more perfect one for our seaside-style home: The Beach by Alex Garland. I found a pic of some old Penguin covers and decided to choose a colour from there ~ a pretty turquoise green...

Here's what I did. 

Let me start by saying that I decided to use my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters out of vinyl to use as a stencil. This is the first time I've done this and a word of warning... the vinyl does not stick to painted canvas. I wish I had known this before I had already cut everything out. You'd be better off using the carbon paper tracing method like I did for my other canvas painting DIY here since all of the letters will need touching up with a fine brush anyway.

I marked off the areas with masking tape and painted the coloured bands on the canvas. Once dry, I used a rag dipped into watery grey paint to get a muddier tone since my paint was too bright. While this dried, I planned my layout and cut everything out of vinyl with my Silhouette...

Next I printed out the penguin and logo on paper and used carbon paper to roughly trace the shapes I would paint cream. Once dry, I applied {or tried to apply} my vinyl. The transfer paper was much stickier than the vinyl so I had a hard time removing it. Eventually I got it off and even though the vinyl wasn't sticking to the canvas, I pounced my paint on anyway with a stencil brush and hoped for the best. I removed the vinyl and smoothed around all of the text with a fine brush and black paint...

Once I had all the text painted on {don't drink too much coffee while you do this!}, I used some cream paint to make the edges slightly irregular and rubbed on some watery brown paint around the edges to dirty it up slightly {I didn't want it to look too rough}...

Done!

Despite the difficulties I had with the vinyl stencil plan, I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I think it provides a lovely splash of colour to our living room...

Do you love Penguins as much as I do?

lisa

[via shannonsoutlook.com; Elle Decor; Covet Garden; via gatherlove.tumblr]

linking to:

The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursday

Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday

Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

DIY by Design

Jennifer Rizzo Friday Linky Party

[ happy labour day! ]

I HOPED to have my DIY project ready to reveal today, but I encountered a few glitches along the way. Needless to say, there was a lot of cursing going on and the fun factor was dwindling {don't you hate that?}.

Anyway, thought I'd post a thought for the day instead...

Hope you're having a lovely long weekend! I'll try to make some progress on my project!

lisa

[Sarah SaturDIY]