There comes such a time when one truly needs to let go of the past in order to move on. Modern Girl Style has gone through as many transitions as my own life has over the course of the last five-something years. One of the things I outgrew was Typepad. It seemed to never make my life easy and I was constantly cursing all the updates they made to their platform. I tried again one last time and, ahem, I was still cursing. You'll see at the start of the Archives my vain attempt to make it work, but after two renewed months in 2011, it was really time to shut it down. This is your place to play in the Archives. Try a random search or click back through pages. I'd provide more navigation, but Typepad doesn't offer any... Continue reading

image via Design Darling Recently I have been obsessed with the color of fresh spring flowers and an Elie Saab dress from the Spring 2011 Collection. The truth is that spring isn't so far away and there are vital ways to draw inspiration to the the home, body, and heart. Let's see if you don't agree? image via Influence & Stardom Tufted Chairs in apple green velvet can leave a sweet impression. image via Desire to Inspire: Tuft Love Post These shoes at only $65 are going to be shortly arriving at my home. These are impossibly beautiful and take the simple black dress to fabulous in 30 seconds. Shoes available by Nina Electra at Zappos Of course, there are other ways to express your love. It doesn't have to always be red hearts! I love these handmade pillows by... Continue reading

image & plot summary via Fantasy Book Critic It was a random purchase when stuck shopping for groceries that I grabbed this book. To tell the truth, I love to pick up books in random places like grocery stores, airport snack shops, and hip boutiques. You can call it an impulsive buy, but the timing was perfect. I had just finished reading Michael Crichton's Next, which I throughly didn't enjoy, and I need something to reinspire my appetite. Impact has been an amazing book so far. I'm not quite done, but I wanted to share the joy that I'm having while reading this adventure. I'm hooked on the characters, the plot line, and the writing. I have acquired a new word list via this book that is somewhere around thirty new words! Yeah, I like to geek out. Review on... Continue reading

Take 20 minutes to watch Dr. Brene Brown's brilliant lecture at TED Houston this last June 2010. In her lecture you will be moved at the heart to show up in your life as you are, no lies, just being authenticate. Be seen. Be vulnerable. Have courage to be imperfect and discover the place of real love and connection. Continue reading

Once an 18th Century Hunting Pavillion, French Photographer Guy Hervais and his wife, Bibi Gex, restored this into a beautiful luxurious guest house and bed & breakfast that is open to all guests. The home is surrounded by cherry and olive orchards and panoramic views of the landscapes of Provence. The garden recently won the recognition from the French Ministry of Culture. Discovered via an amazing online blog and shooping resource, Remodelista: Sourcebook for the Considered Home, I'm in love with this place. The fantastic arrangement of local plants and fairly unstructured garden planning results in places to meditation on the beauty that life has to behold. The peace that can be found when we slow down and be still. The surrounding gardens are truly an escape, like a walk through heaven. The luxury guest house has a beautiful kitchen.... Continue reading

artwork via Steffan Johnson 2010 was a year that swooped by fast. I can't believe in the last year that so much in my life has changed. I moved this blog to Blogger and back to Typepad. My husband and I bought a beautiful loft in Toronto. I had my first photography show in TO. I was in an opera at The Royal Canadian Opera that performs at the Four Season's Theatre. I started a series of acrylic painting of dogs that sell at The Modern Art Co. I wrote 5 new short stories and I'm finishing up my novel that I've been working on for the the last three years. OH MY GOODNESS! What a year it has been! It isn't till the end of a year that you begin to discover all of the blessing! I rescued a... Continue reading

After much deliberation, Modern Girl Style is moving to Blogger. The new address is: http://moderngirlstyle.blogspot.com When arriving at the new address, I must confess that things are sparse, like moving into a new home. I have to hand transfer and copy all of the previous posts to blogger from Typepad. The reason for the move is because I haven't been happy at Typepad. It's not as easy to use as blogger and it doesn't have the google reader installed on the dashboard, which I totally love because I can keep updated on the blogs I love. Thanks for your patience and continued readership! On another good note, my husband and I are also moving into a new loft that we bought! Life is full of changes and I can't wait to share the process of moving with readers! See you... Continue reading

Everyone has a different idea of what one one of the most famous of SoCal's beach cities must look like, and every beach city in SoCal, in Los Angeles or Orange County, has a unique flare and style. Huntington Beach is no exception. I've always understood Huntington Beach to be home of good surf, beautiful bad boys, and commerical surf and skate gear. It's amazing how many people I've seen wearing t-shirts from American Eagle or any other mass commerical retail chain that boast of Huntington Beach. I think most people with those shirts who end up here might be dissappointed, unless you hit a surf bar and start to understand that the people in this community is what makes this place sparkle. Anyhow, t-shirts of places and reality tend to be two very distinctly different things. But, don't ask... Continue reading

After stopping by my absolute fabulous dentist in South Orange County, the next stop was a quick tour of The Shops of Mission Viejo (located in beautiful sunny California, which if you'd check out that sky is just another January day in the mid-eighties). Time to park the car and head inside....Here is what the interior design and space looks like, and I have to add that this is a mixed-income area, but mostly those shopping on a Thursday afternoon were wealthy ladies that lunch or happy OC moms with beautiful children. On the whole, not so many people at the mall. Orange County is in the midst of a serious economic recession. My hygentist at the dentist office was the first to tell me how scary this year was fiscally, but how tragic is it have seen so many... Continue reading

{image: Pacific Citrus} How are you going to make 2010 your year? What are all the dreams that you have and would like to accomplish? Let this be the start of renewal in your life. Don't let anything negative hold you back, look at the good that you have so far created, and keep your eye on the prize-like one day creating your dream home! {image: Mornings Light} Anything is possible when you have the vision and believe! Take time today to create a new vision of things that inspire you and post it in a visible area to keep your heart set on achieving your goals. {image: Mornings Light} Happy New Year's and thanks for reading Modern Girl Style!!! All the best to you!!!!! Now what channel is the Rose Parade on!! {Original Artwork by Jim Meshner of the... Continue reading

I have to be one lucky modern girl because right before the holidays hit, I got Speed Decorating by Jill Vegas in the mail to review. Jill Vegas is a pro-stager that has created a beautiful and practical guide to creating a new home in a week or less. Although, Jill is a pro-stager, this book isn't just a guide to flipping a home for sell. I've been using it to totally revamp my house for the new year. The book is divided by rooms, so if you happen to need help in one area, like the living room, then you can concentrate. Another aspect of this book that I really love is that she writes in a manner that helps you to reconsider your living space. It can be so hard after living three years in the same home... Continue reading

I love parades! So when I found this video with a 1:30 speed-up preview of tomorrow's parade, I had to share. This is also shot in a tilt-and-pan camera technique that makes everything appear like little ants in a model city. Have fun today & tomorrow-reconnect with your inner child!!!!!! Most importantly, cherish all the small things that life has to offer! Continue reading

Life has been beyond drama this month for me and I'm sorry that the posts have been few and far between. What's a modern girl to do? Ah...shop! I don't want to feel too guilty that I'm buying myself things before Christmas, but I at least bought things that were really inexpensive, but totally joyful. How to Keep the Joy during the Holidays {image via: martha stewart} The answer is to TREAT YOURSELF!!!!! Yes, I just said that! If you can't take care of yourself, then who can you take care of? Tip to Beat the Blues #1: Cook to Contentment {image: Nestled In} So, I had the worst case of the blues and I marched out to my local discount home goods store and indulged in cheap red tag sale shopping. I bought a inexpensive mandolin to spruce up... Continue reading

Vintage Girl with a Twist by moderngirlstyle featuring Roberto Cavalli My first Polyvore set! I thought I had an account, it turned out I didn't, why not throw together some amazing pieces for the life I'd love to have! I mean when is the last time I thought to wear anything like those crazy black boots. I need to learn to live a little!! LOL!! The Items in My Set Items in this set: Chloe Bow-detailed asymmetric silk blouse, $2,055 Roberto Cavalli Studded wool trench coat, $1,598 Black belted pencil skirt, 28 GBP Roberto Cavalli Leather thigh-high boots, $2,500 Roberto Cavalli Swarovski crystal-embellished sandals, 995 GBP Here are some other looks that I fell in love with today... Tagged by suchita s(Celebrity contest) featuring Marc by Marc Jacobs bags Items in this set: Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti Boned strapless satin... Continue reading

I'm getting back to my typical routine, post Thanksgiving, and bumbling around my favorite blogs when I happened to check out Little Brown Pen. She's got a beautiful picture of a delicate snow in Paris! After reading her blog, I clicked to her Etsy link and OMG!! WOW! This calendar is stunning! The photographs are images that Little Brown Pen captured around Paris. I love that this calendar can constantly be modified for every year. It's just so beautiful and the scale of the photographs are lovely. I think this would make a wonderful gift. It's so elegant, modern, and timeless (forgive the pun!). Check out more of her stuff at Etsy. Here is an awesome video about the making of this super beautiful calendar, too. Continue reading