Palihouse

For the last few days we've had the pleasure of escaping to Palihouse Santa Monica.  If you are planning a stay in Southern California or live in California and want a mini vacay I would urge you to consider this hotel.  This isn't a sponsored or paid post btw. I just fell in love and want to share it.

Palihouse has been in operation since 1927, first as the Embassy Apartments and now as a hotel.  It is an excellent example of Moorish influenced Mediterranean Revival architecture. Situated in the middle of a beautiful Santa Monica neighborhood, which gives the traveler a peek into the everyday lives of locals, it is dripping with original details that are preserved to perfection. Just a couple of short blocks to world famous Santa Monica's Ocean Avenue, the Santa Monica Pier, world class shopping on the Promenade and pristine beaches.

I was mesmerized from the moment I walked into the beautiful front courtyard.  It is a design loving woman's dream come true. The gardens...I die.  The interior...I die again and again at every single turn.  It was like walking through a luxurious magazine layout.  You are immediately wrapped in a moody elegance and trapped somewhere between the past and present. There are a lot of images in this post but trust me when I say there could be dozens more.  It's impossible to take a bad photo of the place because it is just so chic. If you love old architecture, antiques, jaw dropping paint schemes and wallpaper that will leave you breathless then you will be right at home here. Enjoy.

I've already got a side savings account dedicated to my next visit. I love staying in small hotels like this because it reminds me that no matter the size of your house, you can live beautifully, it's all in the chic little touches.  Remind me to never leave out the period when I monogram anything! Plus those deep blues mixed with greens is so intoxicating.  So what do you think?  Is this your cup of tea?  What are your favorite details?    xo

Here are some ways to get the Palihouse look in your home...

21

getaway fashion

This past weekend we had the opportunity to zip off to Las Vegas for an extended weekend.  Mostly I was there for the Las Vegas Spa and Esthetician show, which was so good btw, but once that was a wrap we were free to do as we pleased. We decided to hop over to the Grand Canyon, as neither of us had seen it since we were children. What a spectacular place. We went to Grand Canyon West, just 2 hours from Vegas, to experience Eagle Point and the Skywalk. With a background of ancient Indian music playing, you take off your shoes and step out onto a glass overhang that I'm not ashamed to admit, scared me to death!  I'm not a fan of heights at all so you can imagine what it's like to look straight down 4000 ft while walking on glass. No cameras are allowed on the skywalk but they have photographers out there that will take a pic if you want.  Take a minute to look at the website and view the short clip for yourself right here.  It is breathtaking.

I chose to wear my Emerson Fry butterfly caftan and it was a good choice.  We were there early but it was still quite hot.  The lightweight cotton caftan kept me cool as a cucumber.

Our first night out I chose to wear this vintage Tori Richard for I. Magnin maxi dress.  Some of you may remember that I bought it back in 2013  at Miss Doris' estate sale.  All night I imagined her wearing it out to dinner with her husband sometime in the 1960's.

The next night I chose this 100% silk maxi dress from the 1960's.  It was made by Gino Charles for Bloomingdale's.  Again, some may remember it from the Palm Springs estate sale in 2014.  It was perfect for dinner with friends - I felt like princess wearing it. :)

Larry snapped this on our way back upstairs to our room.  For anyone interested The Delano used to be TheHotel at Mandalay Bay.  They've updated the interiors with lots of white.  It's drop dead gorgeous and if you plan far enough ahead you can get super reasonable rates.

All good things must come to an end and I wore the caftan home.  Even though Las Vegas is over-crowded, hotter than hell with traffic to match we still had such a great time.  Just the little mini break we needed.  xo

28

fall color

Hello and happy Friday to you.  As promised here are some pictures of the gorgeous fall color going on right now. Yesterday we had snow and were worried that it'd knock down all the leaves but they hung on for dear life.  We have hiked the bejeezus out of these hills. By the time I go home I will have logged close to 600 miles hiking and most of it has been up steep ski runs.  Larry will have over 1000 hiking miles clocked.  We will be heading home soon and while I cannot wait to get home I will miss the fresh air and these daily spectacular hikes.  I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I've enjoyed taking them.

brrrr - yesterday



x

36