Legacy of Pearl

Giving is always in fashion

LegacyOfPearl — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:47:38 PST

It's that time of the year to think about giving and making others happy. As a matter of fact, it is also on my mind...

Giving doesn't always have to be material things and it could be exercised all year. In fact, the gift of time and love is the ultimate need in this world in my opinion. You can give away something you received and don't need, cook food or clean forsomeone in need, Take care of your environment, give a smile to a stranger, encourage someone to start a new task, show someone somewhere new, read to kids and elderly, pot a flower and bring it to your colleague, ... there are many things other than money that matters.

I like giving to charities when it comes to materials. There are so many of them that it is for sure you'll find one that matters to you. For me, it is the cancer society and a fund in Turkey to send the girls to school.

Where and why do you give? Do you have a favorite charity? What do you like giving the most?

Enjoy Life's Little Pleasures on Thanksgiving!

LegacyOfPearl — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:22:48 PST

Give yourself a break this Thanksgiving to spend time with family and friends!

There is so much to enjoy in our lives. This Thanksgiving, I will:

Smile at someone I don't know
See a holiday movie with my husband
Bake cookies with my son (born on Thanksgiving!)
Connect with a few friends I haven't seen for a while
Read a good book
Eat, relax and get some exercise :)

If you're planning to start your holiday shopping, here are some of my favorites.

How to make Italian Sodas?

LegacyOfPearl — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:55:00 PST

If you're looking for a gift for a couple this Holiday Season, consider one of the many Italian Soda makers. These two are my favorite: (on top left) the bottles are a great way to store more than one type of soda. (on bottom right) the non-gass option is hard to come around and makes it more versatile with kids in tow.

They are easy to make. Just mix carbonated water or club soda with flavoring, fruitjuice or even coffee. Add some ice. You're good to go. I give a step by step recipe below, but there's really not much to it.

How to make an Italian Soda:

Put ice in a tall narrow cup.
Add about an inch one of the many flavoring syrup option or fruit juice to cover half the glass.
Pour in carbonated water or club soda.
Add cream as an option. (Not my favorite.)
Add a cocktail mixer or simply a straw.

Italian sodas are a great homemade refreshement option. There are many perks to switching to italian sodas in addition to saving money on the drinks.

Kids of all ages love it and they could be very healthy when mixed with fruit juice.
They are a great contribution to bring for potlucks especially when youre running out of town.
You can have your guests choose their flavoring and have a big variety of drinks when you're entertaining.
They are a great icebraker in parties.
Making them is fun!

Envirosax bags: A cheerful and green option

LegacyOfPearl — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:30:18 PDT

Amazon.com has a great variety of colors and prints in this brand. I highly recommend checking it out! It's hard to get back to silly plastic bags once you try such an option.

Envirosax Shopper Bags - $9 - Target

I recently discovered that my favorite resuable shopping bag brand, Envirosax, is now sold at Target. Not my favorite patterns as I like the retro the best, but it is still nice to see them available there. I suggest having a pack of 5 and using them in your car, in your handbag and everywhere you need you need a plastic bag. Too many plastic bags are being used everyday and many animals, especially marine life, is dying because of these plastic wastes. Go green this Spring!

Happy Queen's Day!

LegacyOfPearl — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:22:57 PDT

It's Queen's Day in The Netherlands and the whole country is celebrating with orange clothes on. A wonderful display of affection to their Queen and their country. It's a must see!

Queen's night the night before is full of fun, loud and sometimes crazy parties everywhere on the streets and on the canals. It's like a carnival. On the day, the streets get flooded by garage sale and of course more partying goes on... :)

How to best care for fresh cut flowers?

LegacyOfPearl — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:18:06 PDT

Cut their stems and turn the direction of the flowers180 degrees: This is especially needed for tulips and other long stemmed flowers that grow and turn to the light.
Display them in a cool location without breeze or constant direct sunlight.

Pétala Flower Pots $20 - Napa Style

I love these hanging vases from Bolla on the left. What a creative idea! And growing your own flowers in a pot is for sure the best option in cute pots.

Bolla Glass Hanging Vases $20 - Napa Style

As I've posted yesterday, Spring is a time of wonderfully colorful and scentful flowers. It's great to have a vase of flowers in your home. To get the best mileage out of your fresh cut flowers and enjoy them even more, a few simple tricks help.

Check your flowers daily and remove the dry ones along with adding fresh water into the vase every day.
If the water is not clear, change it completely and add new additional flower solution (mostly powder that comes with the bunch)

It's tulip time!

LegacyOfPearl — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:51:07 PDT

Daum Ultraviolet Tulip Vase - Neiman Marcus

Pastel Tulip Menorah - Bed Bath & Beyond

Tulip Lilac Cocktail Napkins - Crate & Barrel

in our house. What a better way to bring Spring to your home!

How about you? What is your favorite flower? Do you have any Spring routines?

Of course the best way to have tulips in your home are the real ones in a vase or better in a pot. Tulips were everywhere in our last visit to Istanbul a few weeks ago and they are the highlight of the season here in The Netherlands. We make sure we have plenty of joy from the abundance of this wonderful flower around us and have tulips of all colors

Alessi -tulip espresso and coffee cups by dezso ekler for alessi

Poppy Bowl and Tulip Servers Enamel by Michael Aram

Flowers are the messengers of the awakening of nature for Spring. Tulips are the most precious of them all for our family of Turkish and Dutch. We have tulip-inspired decorable pieces in our home and love to honor our heritage this way.

Accesorize Yourself and Your Home with Evil Eyes

LegacyOfPearl — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:37:27 PDT

crystals. They have this new design in a lot of different jewelry variations. I ended up purchasing the earrings on the left with great excitement and hope to wear it often.

I'm happy to discover that even out of Turkey and Greece, there are so many designers who use the symbol in great new ways.

The Evil Eye Scarf *3 Colors* - Kitson

Berti Knives -love knife 9.3" buffalo horn pocket knife by berti of italy - Unica Home

Eye 2 Eye Crystal Minaudière by Sylvia Toledano - Vivre

Thea Grant Isadora Evil Eye Necklace - Barneys New York

Ileana Makri Evil Eye Earrings - Barneys New York

Otrera Evil Eye Scarf in Turquoise - Intuition

Sydney Evan Large Evil Eye Pendant on Chain - Ylang 23

Sydney Evan Small Evil Eye Bracelet - Chickdowntown.com

Nazar boncugu or the infamous "evil eye" is one of the most prominent sights in Turkey. You'll find one wherever you look at. It is believed to protect from the evil eye and bring luck. I love finding art forms of this wonderful symbol and have a number of unique pieces that sport the theme in my home. I find little glass beads great to attach on the wrapping of birthday gifts, etc.

I visited Turkey over the weekend and discovered a brand new form of it in fine jewelry shops on gold with Swarowski

Happy Friday!

LegacyOfPearl — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:41:18 PDT

Make sure you get a healthier fix the following day!

Have a great Friday evening!

Unique Fornasetti Pieces for Home or Office

LegacyOfPearl — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:59:35 PDT

There are more than 350 different faces... #130 top-right is my favorite!

“What inspired me to create more than 500 variations on the face of a woman?” asks Italian designer, Piero Fornasetti of himself. “I don’t know,” he admits, “I began to make them and I never stopped.”

Piero Fornasetti is an Italian designer famous for his creations displaying variations of the face of a woman, namely, opera soprano Lina Cavalieri.

I love the plates with the variations of the face and would love to have a wall of Fornasetti Plates one day. Although he manly designed decorative pieces, there are also fashion items like men's ties and throws in the current line. I just love the concept of this signature design that became a signature tradition for the brand... it amazes me that one beautiful face can look so unique in each and every piece!