my own 2010 holiday gift picks from the shelter general store





















I hope you have been enjoying your holiday shopping this season. There really are some fantastic gift ideas out there for every person in your life. When I was putting the ULTIMATE HOLIDAY 2010 GIFT GUIDE ROUND UP together the other week, I was able to pick out a few select gifts that I love and would love to share with my own friends and family. Curate through the Shelter General Store, consider these find gems for your holiday wishlist. Just click on the image and go shopping!

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12/12/2010 | Filed Under | 0 Comments

*NEW* holiday 2010 gift guide link round-up
a list of links for all small space dwellers




It's the beginning of December, Hanukkah has begun, Christmas trees are for sale, peppermint bark is widely available - holiday time is here.

There are so many amazing holiday guides out right now from talented bloggers and tastemakers - 
I've decided to start a list of my favorites so check 'em out!

Links to over 1000 thoughtfully curated gift ideas for every single person you know, including YOU!


:: happy shopping ::




{new to the list}
One of my daily reads is Poppytalk. I've been reading Jan's design resource for years now and it never fails to inspire. Of course I wanted to include her many gift guides in this list. Jan had her contributors curate and share there fab picks and all I can say is - yes! It's so full of ideas that you are sure to find some great gifts this season and all through 2011. 



This ultimate gift guide round-up wouldn't be complete without the ultimate online shopping resource - Etsy. With 1000s of talented and creative vendors (seriously, I can spend hours and hours of DESIGN TIME on here) you are absolutely sure to find your favorite gifts, many handmade yet chic, cool and stylin. Shop by style ("A Cozy Home" to "Personalized Gifts") or price point ("Under $25") or person ("For Her"), this huge gift guide has everything. 


It may not be at all the same - sitting in Oprah's Chicago audience, screaming your head off while you collect free favorite thing after free favorite thing - but at least you can purchase these gifts for your fave friends. Oprah & Team have curated a long list of goodies for the home, the body and the soul. Click here to enjoy the full list.



Forget just a list or two, the lovely ladies at my new fave e-mag, RUE, have created an entire issue dedicated to holiday shopping and gift giving - love love love this! Click through this 200+ page holiday-centric magazine for insane inspiration and 100s of gift ideas, including links to all the best stuff - yes!


This is such an in-depth gift guide - you are sure to find tons of gift ideas for 2010 and years to come! Featuring 10 categories from DIYer to Design Junkie to Animal Lover to Fashion Buff - dive in to find anything you could ever think of for your friends and family. Oh, and you too!


Los Angeles has such incredible neighborhoods {really, this city has *so* much to offer in every nook and cranny} and the team at the LA Times scouted over a dozen neighborhoods to find the best deals and gems for your home and garden this holiday season. I am *loving* the well-curated ideas 99 and counting. Click here to check it out yourself.  


This isn't just one guide but several guides wrapped up in one site. The editors at Real Simple definitely have pulled out all the stops by creating gift guides that cover "56 Creative Gifts for Under $50" and even how to "How To Create A Holiday Shopping List" Love it!


Grace's annual hit list of best gift giving ideas is pretty amazing this year. Categorized by style and price (Who doesn't love the Hi-5 mittens for $65??) that you can cover everyone you know and then some right here. Plus past years are featured as well so check back to see if something from, say, 2008 makes the cut.


I am *still* in shock from the amazing news I received a few weeks ago that loving. living. small. was picked as one of five home blogs as InStyle BEST OF THE WEB 2010 (11/2010 issue). I mean WOWZA! I checked out their gift guide for the holiday season and think I want all of the 160 well-curated items. I mean ALL of them. Pick from categories like "9 Most Stylish Ideas", "Great Stocking Stuffers" and "Gifts that Give Back" - love love love it!


One of my favorite and daily sources of inspiration is Pinterest, the social bookmarking site where you can curate your own and other people's mood boards. The sweet guys at Pinterest teamed up with SFGirlByBay this season to encourage their loyal community to create a Pinterest Gift Guide and it's pretty amazing. See what your fellow design lovers have added to this every-minute-growing visual snapshot if holiday gift ideas. And click here to check out my own.


With a title like that, you are sure to find something for your friends, family and a special gift for yourself too! Sweet Cassie has teamed up with Mal Pearson and Judy from It's Judy Time to curate and present luxe goodies for the holiday season. Oh and you can enter to win stuff - yes! Also check out Cassie's *wish list* that is full of such pretty design and fashion items, you are surely bound to find more inspiring gift ideas here.


I absolutely love the guides that CasaSugar curates and churns out. Stretching to the working gal and cozy gifts for cabin owners (we can all dream, right?), CasaSugar's guides are fun, sweet and full of inspiration. Click here to check out a bunch of guides, including years past.


One of my fave sites full of tastemaker finds (seriously - these people are *on* the pulse - love it!) They have such great goodies for the home - they even have a pop-up shop in collaboration with the GAP - hello?! From tech gear to home design to foodie finds, these treasures are unique and stylin. Click here for the love.


One of my favorite design resources is ebay's The Inside Source {helmed by sweet friend, Meredith} This site is seriously on-the-pulse with the latest and greatest design style from house to fashion to culture - you name it! Their gift guide it tops with categories for the design lover in all of us and ranging from "Chic Skit Chalet" to "Artsy Minimalism" - fun!


Guess what? You are in store for a treat with Joy's fab gift guide ideas. Curated by herself and fellow blogger gals, Joy has selected some serious gift giving ideas. I. want. everything. Click here to check it out for yourself!


Oh la la, sweet mag, Lucky, has a city-specific gift guide loaded in their resourceful website. Love love love! Click here to find great ideas for all of your friends and their styles and welcome deals and steals - fun!


Design inspiring blog, Style/Swoon, has teamed up with her fab sponsors to create a gift guide for - you! Click here to enter and *win* goodies galore thoughout the month of December. Come on - you deserve some love too, right?


The lovely ladies of WhoWhatWear (on being my sweet friend, Hillary) have started their fab gift guide for fashion finds and gifts for the season. Categorized into style - like this *Working Girl's* gift guide, you are sure to find great items, textures and style. And I love adding fashion to decor - draping a scarf along a chair is a great small space idea to add color and style.


High Gloss magazine's 12 Days of High Gloss
On-the-horizon digital mag, High Gloss, is already creating style and buzz via their blog, Happenings. Offering a very cool 12 Days of High Gloss and *exceptional goodies*, you are sure to find some sweet gift opps and ideas. Click here to learn how to enter and win - fun!


Sure, stlying your home is key but looking good while you are doing it is also fab. Click here to check out the wide selection and picks via fashion site, ShopBop.


Although I reside in Los Angeles, my fave city is New York. I was so fortunate to have lived there for several years (and it inspired this very blog!) I still get my NY Mag subscription and love their holiday guide. Choose between local cookbooks, stocking stuffers, NY-centric love and more, this list offers not just goodies but good times - like fave window shopping and best restaurants for the holiday time.


Of course I wanted to include the link to the LA Times gift guide because it's fantastic and my sweet city. I love their categories of "giving gifts for a cause", "pop music gift ideas, or "23 gifts under $5" (yes!), this cooly curated guide is for local LA-ites and everyone inbetween.


As one of just a few magazines that I still subscribe too, I had to include the VF's 2010 Gift Guide because it rocks! I love their selections and their kitschy daily picks like a typewriter that will charge your ipad - how revolutionary?


I recently met the people behind Gilt Home and they definitely have their fingers on the pulse when it comes to curating elegant, cool and must-have items for your home. Their gift guide is the perfect place to find something special on a fab discounted deal for "the hostess with the most" or "the person who has everything" Click here to learn more about registering for this site.


As an avid Bravo watcher and a very-happy-that-Top-Chef-is-back-on gal, I wanted to include their gift guide in this list -a very well curated list of item.  I spotted some neat things that I hadn't seen before, like a very cool wine bottle-shaped cutting board. Who knew? Click here for the love.


Martha Stewart's 2010 Gift Guide
Come on, you know you love a little Martha in your life. Seriously - this round up of gift ideas is fantastic and filled to the brim with selections for everyone in your life. I love the thoughtful style that went into picking these items with goodies from artists, foodies, tech gurus and more. This guide has everything and will turn you on to new designers. Love it!



I'll be adding to this list as the month continues but for now - go shop and have fun!

Have a great gift guide or know of one?
Email me lovinglivingsmall@yahoo.com and I will add it here.


xo, Rebecca


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12/02/2010 | Filed Under | 5 Comments

fab bike storage for small spaces




When I got my sweet orange beach cruiser last year, I wasn't quite sure where to store it. Super fun to ride but kind of big and clunky for my small space. To be honest, I am still looking for a bike storage in the home idea (click here to see my bike just hanging out in the background in the main room) 

I've read a few ideas for bike storage but I've been looking for a more functional idea and think I may have found it. Loving this bike shelf by talented designer, Chris, of Knife & Saw. A super clever way to use your wall (go vertical, yes!) cool and stylin, I think this bike shelf could be a very cool addition to my small space. It's a bit pricey but looks well-made so more to come on this one. What do you think of this bike storage idea? Have a good one to share?

:: Images via Knife & Saw :: 

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11/29/2010 | Filed Under | 6 Comments

small space accents
stamped silver






I hope you all had an awesome holiday! I had a great time with my family and new puppy. While I was at my parents home, we made some time to do some window shopping - one of my favorite things. Yes, I enjoy purchasing home goodies but often enjoy the inspiration I get from walking around the shops and boutiques. One of the accents I spotted throughout the different stores were stamped silver pieces. Love these! Sophisticated, pretty with tons of style edge, stamped silver accents are a great idea for small spaces because of their sweet shine. Hey, a mirrored surface is a mirrored surface, right? :) You don't have to go crazy with mirrors but adding small accents here and there adds dimension to your square footage. 


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11/28/2010 | Filed Under | 0 Comments

design time
design sponge, d.i.y. or die, i want to be her, shopping is my cardio, pinterest, covet and the ruby press blog


If you are like me then, oh, well, you get completely sucked into design blog after design blog until you realize a few hours have passed and you now want to completely redecorate your home. hmm? Yes this happens to me. a lot. I call this living on DESIGN TIME. I find so many fantastic blogs that I want to talk about so I have decided to start a little series where I capture my *lost in time* moments.

My most recent DESIGN TIME was spent going to a few fashion, interior, lifestyle blogs. I am planning a trip to Portland soon so I went to design* to check out Grace's city guide. Love this resource - all of the cities listed are so full of places to shop, eat and visit that my travel list has grown quite substantially. I love that Grace has often asked local bloggers to review and profile the city. The designsponge city guide is the place to check out before traveling to one of these many cities listed.



Once there, I found Shopping is my Cardio (the cute blogger, Becki, that covered Portland shopping for the post) and spent tons of time checking out her picks for best shopping, dining and all around gems in Portland. She often shares local Portland artists on her site (like the painting below) as well as shopping deals and sales - like one on that very cool and shiny necklace.I love that she also consults with shops on their look and feel - great gig, right?





Next I found a link to Covet, a cool and chic shop in Portland that is full of classic and indie fashion designers. I love the look and feel of the site and the building that it's located in - don't you love a brick building? I definitely do - reminds my of New York. Plus their shop is gorgeous!




I was inspired by fashion after seeing their shop and clicked on my Pinterest page to see what gems my community that I follow had uploaded. Seriously, this is my daily inspiration place. Everyday. There is SO much style and design right here - I can definitely dedicate a design time post to this site alone. many of them, in fact. Part of my pinterest page is shown below - you definitely should go and check out all of the great pins. Fair warning - hours can be easily lost getting drawn into the beautiful imagery.




I found a great Lonny image that then led me to Melissa of Ruby Press PR's blog. I had met Melissa this past summer at the Nesting Newbies shoot. She is *very* sweet and her PR company rocks. While I was spending, oh, an hour or so going through her lovely blog, I discovered a very cool and new blog called I Want To Be Her!





I want to be her! is the brainchild of Lucky magazine contributor, Andrea Linnet (ya know, the page she edited of her fave finds and an illustration of her?) She now has a new blog that takes this idea further, showcasing stylish ladies. And, yes, I want to be many of them :)




From there I linked back to Pinterest and checked out their blog. Like my a small chat interview series, they have one called Pinterviews, showcasing members of the community. There I discovered Tiger, a design blogger covering all things Scandanvia. Of course, I was hooked and more design time spent later, I found her blog for Elle Interiors called D.I.Y. or DIE (clever, right?!) Such great ideas in here - *love* this one where you color the inside of a glass.





Then I looked at the clock and - wowza - had time gone by. I am excited to share these mini blogging adventures with you guys and I'd love to hear about yours. Check back soon for my next DESIGN TIME, I am sure it won't be long until I get sucked back in. :)


:: All images via the blog owner, hyperlinked in this post ::



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11/24/2010 | Filed Under | 2 Comments

best small space accent
wallpaper touches





I absolutely love wallpaper touches and think they add such style and design love in a small space. Best use - wallpapering the back of a bookcase or a wall of shelves. Great dimension that makes a space feel bigger, wallpapering a little bit of your small space is a best small space accent. I spotted this pretty look at the Viceroy in Palm Springs and wanted to share it with you. Another great look, Viv of Ish and Chi's home - love her kitchen cabinets. And this look is affordable and a great small space d.i.y. - fun!

Check out more BEST SMALL SPACE ACCENTS:


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11/21/2010 | Filed Under | 0 Comments

Design spotting recap

11/20/2010 | Filed Under | 0 Comments

design spotting | palm springs
part 5. affordable & personal terraiums







design spotting | palm springs | terraiums

I am wrapping up my week of design spotting in Palm Springs and enjoyed sharing some of the cool designs that I spotted during my night away. I am loving my last post and was happy to find tons and tons of sweet terraium displays. I have a soft place in my heart for these little guys since I grew up with one in my house in Maryland. I love the mix and match style of the glass with the rocks, stones and style. And the cool thing is these displays are super easy and super affordable to make as a small space d.i.y. - yes! Grab your favorite glass piece and fill it with your fave finds. And you can be creative, I am loving this very modern terrarium. 

Check out this week's design spotting in Palm Springs
:: All photos by me ::


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11/19/2010 | Filed Under | 0 Comments

design spotting | palm springs
part 4. stripes in small spots














design spotting | palm springs | stripes

It's been fun sharing some of my fave design finds from my little mini-trip to Palm Springs last week. We are doing a big 180 today from my post yesterday about navajo style. I spotted tons and tons of stripes in Palm Springs and, why not?? They are fun, whimsical and provide retro design style to modern layouts.

I personally love love love stripes (see here and here) and think they add texture and style. Go more bold with orange and yellow or keep it as a neutral chic palette in gray, let's say? When we stopped off at the Blue Pear for lunch (that margarita was divine :) , I enjoyed seeing the black and white striped decor, a nice element against the desert landscape. I spotted their fun bathroom and wanted to share it with you. This is a great example of going BIG in small spaces - like a bathroom or closet. The entire room was striped and worked. It did not feel overwhelming but rather cohesive.

What do you think about stripes? Have you tried using this design element in your small space?


Check out this week's design spotting in Palm Springs
*AFFORDABLE and PERSONAL TERRARIUMS

:: All photos by me ::

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11/18/2010 | Filed Under | 2 Comments