How Exciting! The Stylish Blogger Award

Maureen from Eclectic Revisited Blog paid me a very nice compliment yesterday - she awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award!  I am so excited and honored! Please check out her blog right away if you haven't already. She has been sooo helpful in supporting my blogging pursuits, in addition to writing a fantastic blog. 

Maureen, thank you so much!

To accept the award, I am supposed to reveal seven things about myself, so here goes...


1.  I have been living in Munich, Germany for the last four years.  On a clear day in Munich (which is often) we can see the Alps sweeping all the way across the southern horizon.  It still takes my breath away!

The Munich Skyline, showing a few of its most famous churches.

2.  I have a weakness for cookies from Verona, Italy and pastries from Lisbon, Portugal.  (As an aside:  we are driving to Tuscany in June and I have already planned a stop in Verona to stock up on my favorites - Romeo and Juliet cookies!  I'm excited!)

Baco di Romeo - the chocolate (Romeo) version of my faves

A variety of Portuguese Pastries

  
3.  I also have a weakness for Dr. Pepper, so don't think I am a complete food snob. :)

source

4.  I dropped out of college to work on Ski Patrol in Sun Valley, Idaho for a winter (it was actually my Dad's idea if you can believe it.  He thought it would be fun, and he was right!)  In case you're wondering...yes, I went back to school.  :)  I finished with a degree in IT and International Management.

This was my view every morning when I showed up for "work". 
Now that I look back on this, it's kind of amazing I went back to college!

5.  I am very proud to be an Oregonian, and now, a little bit Bavarian too.

Oregon's Willamette Valley where I grew up - the "New Napa".

The Bavaria Statue, which overlooks the Oktoberfest grounds.

6.  I have traveled to almost 40 countries for work and play in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and North America.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced so many cultures.  It has really enhanced my love of design and heavily influenced my preferences.  Alas...my wanderlust continues!  Besides all the fun we are having in Europe, Cambodia is tops on my travel list right now.  How could a travel addict like me resist an adventure like this?!?!?

Angkor Wat near Siem Reap

7.  After 11 rewarding years working in high tech, I have happily been a full time Mom for the last seven years.  Now that my kids are getting a bit bigger, I am finally exploring my long running passion for interior design. I am so thankful to my husband for encouraging me to take this leap into blogging - it has been great so far! 

As part of this award, I also have the honor of identifying 10 bloggers that you may not know about already.  Here are my latest finds that I think are wonderful!  Hopefully this will provide some new discoveries for you.  Please stop by their blogs to take a look:

1. Velvet Moss
2. Driftwood Interiors
3. Design Elements
4. Urban Style Vibes*
5. My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
6. Uruguay White Life
7. The Lennox
8. Providence, Ltd.
9. Marcus Design
10. Desde my Ventana

Have a great day!

Doorways

As we have traveled through Europe over the last few years I have been drawn more and more often to the architecture of each place.  I started taking pictures of doors in particular and have accumulated quite a collection!  I love the mystery of what might lie behind a door - especially those that are as old as these are!  Who has gathered there? What are their stories?  What brought them joy and sorrow?  What were their dreams?   Perhaps these will provide some exterior inspiration for some of you...

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Arles, France last June and had fresh croissants for breakfast in their sublime courtyard.  I saw this door with hydrangeas blooming next to it and snapped a picture to remember the experience.  My husband and I still reminisce about that breakfast!

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Barcelona, Spain September 2009.  Notice that there is a smaller door opening for people and a larger one - big enough for carriages.  The doors lead to an inner courtyard for green space.  This is a common design in Spain and a great one for city living.

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

I love this picture from Berlin (2009) because I feel like it
sums up the city well with all of its edginess and energy. 

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Eze, France June 2010...a small hill town overlooking the coast of southern France.

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Corfu, Greece from Summer 2010.

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Hall, Austria 2008 - a small town outside of Innsbruck. 

I think this is where the door infatuation began...

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

London, England April 2010.  This is pretty much London in a nutshell, right?

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Mallorca, Spain March 2008.  These doors inspired my Dream House front door!

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Lisbon, Portugal June 2009.  I could go on and on about Lisbon.  More posts on that soon!

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Venice, Italy July 2010.  Notice the steps leading right into the water...

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

 Revaz, Switzerland June 2010 - a picturesque wine growing town
on the edge of Lake Geneva.

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

Kotor, Montenegro August 2010.  This town, and the 

stunning fjord surrounding it, really surprised us with its beauty and charm!

Does anyone else out there share my love of doors?  My husband thinks I'm crazy, but he stops every time we pass a door when traveling and asks if I want to take a picture. :)  Does anyone out there have any great ideas for how to showcase these great shots and the memories that go along with them?

Loving Portuguese Soaps

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler

In 2009 we traveled to several spots in Portugal and my favorite stop was Lisbon.  I'm a city girl anyway, but this city really has something special.  I found it to be authentic, quaint and fascinating.  While there I fell in love with their soaps.  Apparently the Portuguese used to provide French royalty with their soap so they know what they are doing!  I found a few products with such great scents and to-die-for packaging that I thought I'd share them with you. 

These are my all time favorites - from Claus Porto.  I bought some for myself and several for friends at my favorite shop in Lisbon called A Vida Portugesa.  This shop had the same feel of Anthropologie although more authentic since it is a one of a kind.  I am a sucker for packaging and I loved the combination of a beautiful pattern and art deco designs. 

I also discovered Castelbel soaps and candles in Lisbon.  They were heavenly.  Period.  I spent a lot of time in a florist sniffing the selection and trying to decide.  I remember the florist had the most stunning black wall paper with birds and branches all over it - it created such a sultry mood in her shop.  I have been trying to figure out a way to work it into one of my design ideas ever since.  Anyway, here is an example of what they have to offer:

Who knew Portugal had such a great soap selection, among other things??  What are your thoughts?  Do you prefer the looks of these over the more well known Provence style soaps?

As an aside, how beautiful is this entry from a house we passed by in Lisbon?  Very unique, I thought...

Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler