“What can I say, I completely melt for this face…”

What is the most sentimental piece in your home?
I have a few sentimental pieces.  Though they’re fairly new, the framed maps above our bed feel extremely personal since they reflect the places where both my boyfriend Evan (now fiancé) and I have lived over the years.  We worked with Etsy seller Jenna Sue to create a custom color palette, and picked cities to get exactly the look we wanted.  A bit older and more nostalgic, I keep a steuben glass paperweight on my nightstand always.  My parents gave it to me almost ten years ago and it’s been precious to me ever since.  It’s a simple glass cube with letters etched on each side — turn it in one direction and it says peace, and in the other it says love.

“We really wanted something that felt personal above our bed, so we worked with Etsy seller Jenna Sue to create custom maps of cities we’ve lived in.  The mirrored frames are from ZGallerie.”

“Our bedding is from West Elm and the cashmere throw at the end of the bed is Magaschoni.  The dream catcher in the corner is from a store in our old neighborhood in NYC called “Love, Adorned” and it’s so unique.  Here I’m reading my iPad, which is outfitted in a gold Jess LC cover and sporting Skull Candy headphones.”

“My vanity. Messy hair is kind of my mantra these days now that we live at the beach.  I felt like this print from Funnelcloud on Etsy was quite fitting.  The nail polishes are Chanel and Deborah Lippmann (my two faves).”

You just moved to Miami. How has that influenced your style (clothing & home decor)?
As a born and bred New Yorker, my style has changed quite a bit in the past few months.  I used to be a fall girl through and through — think chunky knits and riding boots. I also loved my winter coats and accessories!  I’ve had to really embrace sundresses (it only rarely gets cold enough to wear a sweater coat here, but I break one out whenever I get the chance!).  Along with sundresses, I’ve tried to inject a bit more energy and color into my wardrobe for our stint in Miami.  Instead of relying on my tried and true blue jean jacket, I invested in an orangey-red one this year.

In terms of our home, moving to Miami Beach only further validated my longing for a beach-ified home!  Whereas it never felt quite fitting for our apartment in NYC, here with our balcony looking out over Biscayne Bay, all of the light and airy textures I’ve incorporated just feel right.

“There’s nothing I love more than fresh flowers — I think they can completely transform the look of a space.  The bookends are Jonathan Adler owls, and the console table was an amazing floor sample find at ABC Home & Carpet. Dress from Calypso, Geode/Diamond earrings from Aroc Urtu.”

“I love beautiful shoes but most especially flats.  I do force myself to wear heels for special occasions, but I always prefer to wear a chic flat. These are some favorites from my collection.”  Top left: Chanel. Top right: Rag & Bone. Bottom left and right: Giuseppe Zanotti

“My best bud, our goldendoodle Ziggy! Some people may frown upon letting him on our bed, but we let him roam on the furniture freely — we love him to pieces!  Red denim jacket from Current Eliot, skinny ankle pants Rag & Bone for Intermix, and Charlotte Olympia leopard kitten flats (I scored the last pair on deep discount at Bergdorfs this past winter — major coup!)”

Have you ever found any gems in unlikely places?
I think the biggest gem I found was our apartment!  When I started looking, all I was seeing were vacuous white marble spaces reminiscent of the movie Scarface.  When I finally came across our apartment, it instantly felt like home.  The owner had completely renovated the place to capture the feel of a New York style apartment in the heart of South Beach.  Since Miami isn’t the last stop on the train for us, I didn’t want to spend too much on decor.  Luckily, the place already had amazing character (from the wood floors to the brick wall and exposed wood planks over the dining area), so it didn’t take much to make it feel warm and homey.

How do you add sparkle to your life and to your home?
About a year and a half ago, my Aunt and I launched our jewelry line Aroc Urtu.  Every day since then, it has been all about the sparkle!  It excites me to wake up everyday and get to play with handfuls of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds while brainstorming ideas for our new collections. We’ve been lucky enough to get some great press since we launched, so it’s been quite an exciting journey.  I also love that I get to work from home with my best bud and partner in crime, Ziggy (our goldendoodle), who lights up each time I walk in the door!

Transitioning into the jewelry world has definitely also influenced my home decor.  I find myself decorating with more minerals (like chunks of quartz and geode slabs), and I even used necklaces in place of napkin rings at a little dinner party we threw recently.  What can I say, I’ve got jewelry on the brain!

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