I have always found that Mexico is a place about which everyone has a pretty strong opinion. Much like Cilantro, you either love it or hate it. I for one, adore its rich culture filled with music, vibrant colors and energy. It is why I find myself returning again and again always longing to revisit its addictive scents, sounds and skies. I cannot wait to get off the plane and inhale the air, permeated with salt water and agave.

Each time I visit Mexico I am reminded that my wardrobe is not nearly colorful enough!  That my couch needs more pillows and my bed and walls should be adorned with more fabric. Knowing I would be coming back to Mexico- to those vibrant colors and ornate patterns -Tina and I were inspired to design a new  reversible boat tote we decided to name the “Palmilla” after one of my favorite hotels. It was at the Palmilla where I first fell in love with Otomi textiles and how they were used to upholster the stunning wooden headboards in each guest room. The animal and botanical prints found in shades of mango, lime and hot pink make any room come alive.

The first day I immediately ran into the Sea of Cortez, which also has a rough and lively spirit. Each night my husband and I would keep our doors open and fall asleep to the sound of its crashing waves and scent of jasmine and lime blossoms outside our windows. The lifeguards immediately motioned for me to get out of the water as they assumed little me couldn’t possibly handle the sea’s spirited nature.

My reversible Palmilla tote came with me everywhere on my trip and could not have made a more perfect or STYLISH traveling companion. Soon it will be available for sale in the boutique at its beautiful namesake hotel.

Speaking of  a lively spirit I decided to be more open to the craziness of Cabo on this trip and finally take a visit to the famous restaurant, The Office. The food was fantastic and the colors and energy were as vibrant as one would expect. Dining on the sand and watching swarms of people pass by, wet t- shirt contests and jet-skis buzzing had a certain charm. You just have to embrace it, kick back and have a Margarita.  I thought I should end this post with The Office’s very own “Rambo”. I think this photo pretty much sums up the “spirit” of Mexico!

Hasta Luego Mi Amor

xo Alexis

In honor of our blog relaunch we are offering a giveaway of a $100 credit to use on your next BLUEBLOOD purchase! To qualify for this giveaway, write a comment on this post about your own Mexico/an experience (whether you have been there or not). Winner will be notified and posted on our blog on Friday, MAY 18th!

]]> http://www.bluebloodliving.com/blog/2012/05/10/my-trip-to-baha-mexico/feed/ 13 http://www.bluebloodliving.com/blog/2012/05/08/photo-archive/ http://www.bluebloodliving.com/blog/2012/05/08/photo-archive/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 14:39:16 +0000 admin http://www.bluebloodliving.com/blog/?p=304

Found this photo in our archives dating back to 2007.  Our lovely friend, Amy, who at the time was on her way to being a first time mom, was gracious enough to allow us some photos of her and her first baby, Georgia, for BLUEBLOOD’s very first photoshoot.  Happy Mother’s Day to Amy and to all of the amazing Mothers in my life!

The sun was out and the water was refreshing!  I had such a great time swimming in the Bay, retrieving a stick and digging in the sand that I almost forgot how afraid I was of Gretel.  I know she just looks like a droopy, sweet, Basset Hound, but I am telling you DON’T get on her bad side. Ever since she snapped at me, I get really nervous when she’s around . It was scary. All I wanted to do was mount her for a few minutes. Gosh, what’s the big deal?! Her owner always reassures me that Gretel really likes me, but I’m not so sure. Maybe that’s how some girls are, but I don’t get it.

Anyway, I still had the BEST birthday ever!  After all, I live the best dog city, my mom spoils me rotten, AND I get to swim and play almost every day. Not only that, BLUEBLOOD even named a leash and collar “The Redmond” after me!  Of course,  it was so popular that it sold out, but I am hoping they name something else after me really soon! WOOF.

Wishing you a very happy birthday REDMOND!

We’ve been in Heidelberg now for 2.5 weeks, and while it feels a bit like we’re on an extended vacation, I’m starting to feel homesick for all the comforts of having my own place and things.

Downstairs from our flat is an adorable shop which I’ve window shopped for the last 2 weeks, having always missed their open hours.  Today, I finally found it to be open, and wandered in.  What a great array of beautiful things — it reminds me of a mini version of one of my favorite shops in San Francisco — and I picked up a few things that I always have in my house back in the States, so it made me feel at home.

I’m normally a coffee drinker, but we always have a variety of tea in the pantry.  My favorites, of course, are from the famous French tea house, Mariage Freres.  While my normal selections are The sur le Nil, Rose d’Himalaya and their English Earl Grey, I couldn’t resist the burnt caramel and chocolate flavors in Wedding Imperial and the sweet spring bouquet in Bouddha Bleu.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see the shop carry Cire Trudon, one of my all time favorite candle companies.  Cire Trudon claims to be the oldest candle-maker still in existence today, dating back to 1643 and served as the royal candle maker during the 18th century.  Their candles are uniquely scented and the beautiful dark green glass hand crafted by artisans.  Normally I lean towards sweeter candles, but Abd el Kader swept me away with its green notes and reminded me immediately of San Francisco in the spring after a drizzle of rain.

Happy weekend!

Much like in Germany where dogs (well-behaved, of course) are welcomed in 95% of shops, restaurants and stores, we saw pampered pooches all over Strasbourg:

There were dogs everywhere, even in signage for stores that didn’t carry doggie accoutrements:

And of course, at the cafes:

I’m looking forward to sharing more of our European adventure, and to bringing Blueblood goods to new European cities!

There is something about the color yellow that evokes a fun, positive mood.  It feels both vintage and modern at the same time and I myself love mixing the two! Now that it’s mid March and we’re a few months into the dark days of winter, I find myself craving bright sunshine, flowers and happy sundresses.  Shades of pale yellow, saffron and Dijon mustard can add the perfect accent to a room or take an outfit from snoozy to down right sassy!

As Tina and I work on our upcoming designs for beds, leads, collars and totes, we always explore what’s happening in fashion and what inspires us. Lately I have been in redecorating mode and I am working on several projects at home. Last night my husband and I finally sanded my trestle dining table. The dark finish was stripped off to reveal a beautiful light wood. The transformed piece will look striking against my grandmother’s Queen Anne dining chairs, which I am painting a brown/black high gloss lacquer. Tell me an arrangement of bright daffodils won’t look perfect with our new dining set up!?

Another project in progress is repainting our small room adjacent to our kitchen (which,you guessed it, has yellow tiles on the wall). I chose Coventry Grey  for the walls as I just love that yellow and grey combination. I have been searching for the “perfect” grey and I believe that Benjamin Moore’s Coventry Grey is just it.

So my blog post begs the question…Do you and your pooch love yellow as much as I do? I think you just might. Stayed tuned and I have a hunch you’ll see some sunny styles soon enough : ).

xo Alexis

We definitely found a handful of favorite brands: Russell + Hazel, stunning, streamlined desk accessories and leather goods, Lostine, furniture and home accessories that are a perfect blend of  rustic yet clean, farmhouse modern. Alicia Adams a family run business in Hudson Valley, New York, making gorgeous alpaca hand knits, with a color palette is unique and exquisite. Others we love are Europe2You, J.Schatz, and Rifle Paper Co. to name a few.

In addition to walking the show, the primary focus of our trip was to accompany our fabulous publicist, Celeste Niebergall to editor desk sides. The three of us spent most of our days buzzing from one appointment to the next, meeting with editors at: Lucky, InStyle, More, Redbook and Town and Country magazines. The editors seemed nothing less than enthusiastic when presented with our colorful array of leads, collars, beds and totes in fun, fashionable patterns. They adored the illustrated totes which always makes me extra happy.  Yet inevitably each conversation would lead to our dogs. As we swapped iPhone photos and compared our pooches latest escapades we laughed about our four legged children and their idiosyncrasies.

Once a New Yorker myself, I always feel at home when I return. The pulse and energy in the air is like a dependable old friend. Speaking of friends, what would I have done without sweet Lisa, who put me up in her chic little studio adjacent to Union Square? Sharing her small space could not have been more fun or inviting and how I will miss our morning visits to 71 Irving Place where they DO make the best lattes on earth! As busy as the week was, I managed to get in my usual visit to MOMA where I never leave without new inspiration for my next design project. A trip to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, drinks at the old, charming pub, The Ear Inn, and delicious dinner at Maialino, at the Grammercy Park Hotel were definite highlights.

I HEART you, NY. See you soon old friend!

xo Alexis

For those of you who weren’t able to make it to Banana Republic’s SFMade pop up shop event in San Francisco, you missed out on a fun evening!  Our friends, families and fans gathered to support Blueblood as well as our fellow SFMade vendors:  Etta+Billie, Hillside Bags, Poco Dolce, {cocoa} collection, Heliotrope, Hello!Lucky, Lila B., Dependable Press and gorgeous flowers by Madeline Trait.  We even had some family members who flew in from out of town just to cheer us on (Thanks, A & K — your presence meant the world to us) and Alexis and I definitely felt loved.

The real star of the evening almost didn’t arrive on time!  I’ve mentioned before that we were super excited to co-brand a product with Banana Republic and it truly came down to the very last minute.  Little did we know when we began the process a few weeks ago how complicated a co-branded product could be!  Aside from various approvals from corporate head honchos, the tote and inks also had to be independently tested for verification and to make sure it met BR’s strict corporate standards.  Since items are sent to a 3rd party for testing, we were completely unsure of how long it would take to receive results.  Results came in yesterday morning and the tote passed with flying colors.  But even then, we weren’t positive that we would be able to turn the product around for last evening’s events.  When I arrived at the printers at 3pm, they were still testing inks:

I had the chance to see the very first one tote roll out of the dryer:

With an hour to spare, we drove a batch of totes to the flagship store.  When they arrived, the bags were still warm!

The pop up shop was jam packed and the totes sold out so quickly that we are already working on the next batch, to be delivered on Monday! (Don’t worry — you can still get your very own Banana Republic by Blueblood tote, even if you don’t live in San Francisco.  The tote will be available on bananarepublic.com beginning on March 2nd).

Thanks to everyone who helped make the event a huge success.  We would not be able to do this without your love, support and of course, continued purchases of Blueblood goods!

We are super excited to announce that Blueblood will be a part of Banana Republic’s SFMade Pop Up Shop! The shop will be located in the flagship Banana Republic store in San Francisco (256 Grant Ave) and will run from February 9th through Mother’s Day.  Additionally, our goods will appear on bananarepublic.com during the same period of time.  Most exciting, Banana Republic will be selling a Banana Republic by Blueblood co-branded grocery tote featuring original artwork that Alexis custom illustrated for Banana Republic.

From Blueblood’s inception, we have been committed to manufacturing in San Francisco in an effort to support our local economy and also to ensure the highest quality control.  When SFMade was founded in 2010 by Mark Dwight (founder & owner of Rickshaw Bagworks and former CEO of Timbuk2 Designs), we were thrilled to become a member.  We are equally delighted to discover Gap Inc/Banana Republic, a company with a San Francisco heritage, is committed to supporting local companies who are still making products in San Francisco.

The last 2 weeks have been incredibly busy for us between trying to contain our excitement at being selected to partner with BR and a whirlwind press trip to NYC (more to come on that and our inspirations from the Gift Show). But for the last few days, Lex and I have been running around busying packing product for the BR pop up.

Most of our work was to inspect all Blueblood goods and to ensure that items are free of defects and tagged and properly labelled.  Our wonderful manufacturer M has been a huge Blueblood supporter from the day we met her.  M has been in the sewing/manufacturing business for the last 20 years in SF and she is continually helping us with ways to be more efficient and effective in our production and construction process.  We really can’t ask for more!

During our lunch break, Lex and I grabbed a quick bite in a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant and walked out with these fortunes, which really summed up our week well:

This afternoon, I went by the BR store to drop off a few last minute items, and while the build out is still happening in the space, here is a glimpse of  the Blueblood portion of the pop up shop:

What an amazing feeling to see our goods so prominently displayed in such a household name retail store!  We’re so looking forward to the Grand Opening event on Thursday, February 9th from 5 pm – 8 pm and hope that our Bay Area friends will join us!  Hope to see you there!