Sweet July

Hello lovies.
I snapped the following photo of my favorite tree in the yard
as a backdrop for this quote created for instagram ...
it's the kind of tree that you remember from childhood,
the kind that provides luxurious shade from a hot summer for a picnic ...

Doesn't warm weather beg you to dream?
I think so.
I think it begs you to put your feet up and dream,
even if you're dressed for a summer party
in Louis Vuitton ...

As you know, there's a relaxed schedule here on the blog during the summer,

as I'm taking a little time to enjoy these precious warm days while they're here ...

but you know I can't stay away for long without stopping by to hear

what you all have been up to

and chat for a while!

It's been a super warm summer here (mid-90's to 100 degrees fahrenheit) ...

the kind of weather that whispers in your ear that you really should

pour an icy glass of sweet tea and take a good book to the front porch swing.

 Because of the warmth, I've spent some relaxing afternoons at the beach ...

this photo was snapped, in fact, as I lay on a blanket not far away from the water,

under an umbrella in the shade ...

When I'm not at the beach, I can often be found

decorating one of the rooms in the house (a glam beach house style).

(Do you get the feeling I have the beach on my mind? haha)

Actually, since the house is on the water, it seemed the perfect style to go with.

If you follow me here at the blog,

you know that this historic home (1877) was purchased last year

and it required lots of work such as taking up flooring and putting down new,

removing wallpaper and pickled panelling and painting the walls in pretty, beachy

paint colors like the pale, pale blue-green of the living room or the

taupey-grey that resembles driftwood of the library,

and the deeper grey of beach stones in the dining room.

I'm still working on the first floor and once the first floor's finished, 

I will move the decorating upstairs,

but that's still a long way off.

This winter the kitchen will be gutted down to the studs

and a new kitchen created.

When one of my lovely blogging friends

asked if I would put the following instagram photo

of a corner of my living room on Pinterest

(so honored, thank you Maria of One Style at a Time),

I decided to create a new Pinterest board for fun

and use it to house all of my iphone snaps that I take

as I decorate room by room and use it as sort of a

decorating scrapbook.

If you're interested, the board is called:

Decor: At Home with SANDY M

The board will contain snaps of decorating as it's done inside

and some snaps I've taken outside ... like these sparkles that show up

during the evenings on the water ...

When not on the beach or decorating,

I can be found working in the studio, of course, during weekdays ...

My days are always filled with a busy custom illustration schedule.
I recently completed two illustrations commissioned
by a new on-line luxury home magazine,
Adorno Magazine.
The first issue is coming soon and I can't wait!
Following is the first illustration that's been released,
used in an Adorno ad that premiered during the Fourth of July holiday.
Here is the illustration as I created it,
of a sophisticated woman celebrating in a city penthouse apartment.:


.. and here it is as it was used in the
Adorno Magazine advertisement in its
Fourth of July colors:

So exciting!
To sign up for e-mail notification
of the first issue when it launches (soon!)
you can sign up here.

Okay, your turn!
What have you been up to, friends?

OOH LA FROU FROU

is the blog of illustrator SANDY M

All photos in this post
were taken by SANDY M
and all illustration is by SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries,
contact Sandy at

artistsandym@gmail.com