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Hope everyone is enjoying their “end of summer” weekend and had a great summer! I can’t believe it’s already September! I spent the month of August on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, CA where my family lives and my dad keeps his boat. I actually lived on the boat for the month and it was a really nice change of pace.  Thought I would share some highlights from my summer vacation!

The boat is docked quite literally just steps from the beach, as seen here from the aft of the boat. These homes are on the Beacon Bay waterfront side of Balboa Island.

How cute is my nephew Eli hanging out on the boat!

Paddling on the bay is very popular, many canoes, paddlers would go by daily…

…some with their dog too!

But I actually spent my summer days working…

…and here too.

But the reality is, most days were actually spent hard at work here.

But EVERY day at the *office* was finished with an amazing sunset like this one!

Or this one!

Mornings started early, where the water was like glass and it was peacefully quiet.

My sleeping quarters were not the “captain’s quarters,” instead I opted for a modest “cabin.”

And the most compact bathroom I ever got ready in each and every day. (Although it’s not every day you see a seal swim by from the “head!”)

The galley style kitchen located on the lowest level of the boat.

When I did venture off the boat, my favorite thing to do was take the Ferry from Balboa Island across the harbor to the Balboa Peninsula side.  The Ferry is just $1 per person each way, it crosses the bay continuously from early morning until late at night and carries both cars and passengers.

Passing by one ferry from another (there are two that go back and forth).

My favorite place to go is Newport Landing Restaurant, they have the best happy hour!

The view from the second story patio at Newport Landing.

Coming back on the ferry at night, a view of the Fun Zone and Balboa Pavilion.

Our boat is docked just steps away from Marine Avenue on Balboa Island, the one main street lined with shops and restaurants. I walked it daily but unfortunately didn’t have time to explore some of the home decor shops, like this one (and others that I’d like to eventually feature on the blog).

I mostly walked through town to get to Little Balboa Island (where our house is) passing by the homes on the canal side…

…and over a bridge.

I’ve since said goodbye to my “summer office” – and am now back home!

Until next summer!

(All photos by Jill Seidner)

This past week, my friend Brooke invited me to dinner for my birthday at Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, CA. Terranea is a destination that sits right on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The resort evokes the feeling of being somewhere else (such as Hawaii) and not just twenty minutes from the bustling LA streets.  As a native South Bay/Palos Verdes resident, Brooke has been frequenting the resort for dinners and drinks and kept telling me I had to check it out. As it turned out, it worked perfectly for last week and I think now it’s going to be on my frequent destination list!

The entrance to Terranea: as you walk in you feel as if you’ve been transplanted to Hawaii, yet this is a local Southern California resort.

The main lobby has a tropical, beachy vibe.

Straight through the main lobby are doors that lead to a terrace with a dramatic back drop of the Pacific Ocean (and in the distance, Catalina Island). Unfortunately, we have been experiencing a bit of our typical “June Gloom” weather but even so, the views were amazing and I am looking forward to returning on a warm summer evening.

The outdoor terrace (which overlooks the view above) and it’s outdoor fireplace, Spanish tile floors, and oversize potted plants.

We had dinner at Catalina Kitchen (it was SO good!) AND if you go on your birthday, they offer a complimentary surf & turf dinner (can’t pass that up!).

The interior side of the restaurant at Catalina Kitchen.

We dined outside under the outdoor heaters, with this view from our table.

This picture is a little blurry but I loved these hanging lanterns, a blended mix of colors which looked so pretty as they glowed when it got dark.

View of the cliffside resort with the lower pool and pool bar overlooking the beach (above photo by Brooke).

And if you come and stay for a weekend – there are more than a few pools to lounge by!

I recently discovered Pinterest after hearing other bloggers talk about it – and I am loving it! It’s social media and virtual eye candy all rolled into one! In the past, I have blogged about how much I love inspiration and concept boards. I like Pinterest for it’s simple layout and individual pin boards of images. At the moment, I am completely new at it and have yet to really add much. However,  I am looking forward to using it as source for inspiration in addition to featuring inspiration boards of my own.  In the meantime, I have posted a bunch of my own concept boards and look forward to expanding beyond my own work and sharing images and ideas from my blog posts and Material Girls, too!

The first board I put up are images of concept boards I have put together for client projects.

If you have joined or requested an invite to join Pinterest, you can follow me here.

And there’s an app coming, too – looking forward to that!

MyVibeMyLife – that’s the name of Kelly Wearstler’s new blog!

Kelly Wearstler has joined the ranks of bloggers – with her new blog (which can also be found on her website). Raina, who does marketing for Kelly, was nice enough to send me an email last week with the announcement.  I was eager and excited to check it out for myself!

Her first blog post shows her gathering and pulling together inspiration for a project.

The interiors of her design studio, where she uses large trays to organize each project.

To see more of the trays, check out the blog!

Looking forward to future blog posts and the insights into Kelly’s projects and design process!

Shaw Floors has teamed up with the Save The Tiger Fund for the release of their latest product, Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet.  For all Tigressa sales from now until August 20, 2010 they will donate a portion of the proceeds to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation’s Save the Tiger Fund (STF). STF sponsors effective efforts to stop the killing of wild tigers, enabling them to recover and flourish. Tigers are on the brink of extinction. It’s estimated that there are now less than 4,000 wild tigers in Asia.  (And for each Tweet you make using the #Tigressa mark in your tweet, they’ll donate $1 to the campaign as well.)

You can also enter to win the Tigressa Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to India to see the tigers!