Santa Monica, Here We Come (Back)!

(via)

We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die

The hubby-to-be and I have juuust decided to make Santa Monica our permanent residence.  Ooooh how excited am I to have him in my home by the sea?!  Though this DOES mean giving up – for now – our beloved San Diego, which he’s called home for the past six years and has been mine since last year.

But with change comes new beginnings.  In our case it’s a new job for HTB and for moi, a new pad to decorate – GIDDY UP!  Think beachy, clean, comfy.  A place for our friends to hang in the summertime and drink cold drinks on our balcony after sessions at the beach.

And might I provide a peak at my inspiration for said apartment to be?

Drink it in: The linen couch, the gorgeous beachy print, the blankie. And that tile! Don’t you just look at this and feel you’re already living near water somewhere? Via Coco+Kelly by way of Mi Casa Revista.

Clockwise from top left: (1) Now that super sunshine-y kitchen just makes me want to sit at the kitchen table and eat a grapefruit with my mom Tina.  And I don’t even like grapefruit. (2) Notice the gorgeous, slightly orange/amber accents throughout this section of the kitchen?: The white back tile and buttery paint on top, combined with the amber-y teacups and gorgeous glasses and smattering of recipe books. Yum.  Via House Beautiful, March ’08. (3) I definitely wanna get a purdy, leafy plant like the one in this pic.  Is this a money tree?  Via one of my faaavorite bloggers, Nest Egg.

Left: This happy bedroom incorporates the color of the sea in a room that’s both serene and chic.  And those bamboo blinds bring an element of nature into the feng shui of the room.  Oh, and PS: Those curtains?  I die.  Via The Estate of Things. Right: I’m going to need some slick shelving for all our beauty products, like Tim’s La Mer cream. These take up little room, and check out that wallpaper.  Via Hello Gorgeous.

Rustic farmhouse with a lot of texture.  Minimalist, yet totally homey, homies.  Via Jill Brinson by way of House Beautiful.

And, most importantly, our little pad will hopefully be the kinda place you can come into and just curl up.  Via Desire To Inspire.  Happy weekend, everyone!

xoxo,