From India Hicks, a beautifully illustrated guide to achieving her famously undone, gloriously bohemian decorating style. Born from British and design royalty, India Hicks has forged a design empire from her family’s enclave in the Bahamas. In India Hicks: Island Style, she invites readers into her world, offering never-before-seen imagery and irresistible behind-the-scenes stories. Beginning with an uproarious reflection on India’s own design odyssey, the heart of the book is an in-depth exploration of her style. Timeless and under-decorated, her rooms combine carefree Caribbean culture with British colonial form and formality. In ten chapters, India walks the reader through the basics of capturing the look: the subtle palette of island life; the miracle of tablescaping; the warm anarchy of a family kitchen; the pleasure of porches; the drama of entertaining; bedrooms as places of self-expression; the "more is more" style of living with collections; the importance of repurposing; and creating spaces of sanctuary. Witty, richly prescriptive, beautifully photographed, this book will enchant readers with a glimpse of decorating in paradise.

Alicia Rountree's debut book is a refreshing guide for achieving harmony and health in your life, showing readers how to create casual gatherings as well as daily rituals to enhance their well-being. Inspired by the colors and textures of her tropical roots, Alicia Rountree shares her carefree lifestyle in her paradisiacal home in Mauritius--from a picnic on a sandbank to a sunset dinner on the beach and quiet time at home sipping tisanes. Her refreshing entertaining style is shown at her family's beach retreat and colonial stone homes as well as on deserted beaches. Chic tabletops are dressed up with a mix of heirloom and contemporary tableware, palmiers are worked into table decor, and fresh herbs or flowers are tucked in napkin rings fashioned from twine. Throughout Alicia also offers advice to promote wellness in daily life, such as energizing recipes including a lemongrass tonic, avocado toast, and nourishing dal. Vases full of vibrant blooms, such as bird-of-paradise and palm fronds, are used to create a serene decor. For the style-conscious and health-minded, Alicia's outlook is uplifting.

With over 350 beautiful photographs and insightful commentary, Island Style reveals the lush, tropical architecture and interior design of Indonesia. A tropical island inspires thoughts of warm breezes, crystal clear water and white beaches stretching as far as the eye can see. But tropical islands are more than just gorgeous beaches, particularly in the vast archipelago of Indonesia, with its diverse peoples, cultures and traditions stretching from Java to Bali and beyond. In Island Style, the inspiration artists and designers have long found in Indonesia comes to life with a new generation of architects and designers as they discover this island paradise. Twenty-five stunning luxury homes inspired by the natural tropical settings of Indonesia are showcased in these pages, setting a new standard for tropical Asian architecture. From private beach bungalows to vacation villas to island hideaways, each of these dream houses expresses a different aspect of Indonesia's unique design heritage. Simple yet exotic, minimalist yet organic, cosmopolitan yet local and sustainable--the common denominator for all of these homes is that they are the stuff of island dreams. Be inspired by these tropical homes as the ultimate in outdoor living and sustainable architecture, fantastically decorated with modern Asian decor. Detailed descriptions of the materials used and design philosophy behind each house means you'll be able to find plenty of practical ideas for furnishing and building your own tropical island dream home anywhere in the world.

Casually refreshing island style has hit the decorating world. Sisal and bamboo carpeting, rattan furnishings, palettes of bright whites and tropical pastels all come accompanied by accents such as carved wooden bowls, netting, and cool motifs. If you want your home to look like a Caribbean or South Pacific haven, open these pages for sun-, sky-, and sea-blessed ideas. Any house will evoke warmer climes when it's dressed in natural earth tones and creamy white linens, with an evocative ceiling fan and a screen reminiscent of shutters.--From publisher description.

British West Indies Style is a lavish account of the interiors, architecture, and lifestyle of the English colonial great houses and historic town houses in the Caribbean - from the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Nevis, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, and others, to the less-traveled islands of Bequia, British Guyana, and Montserrat. Close to fifty private homes are featured, with unique collections of antique, indigenous, and colonial furniture.

The very idea of life on a tropical island appeals to popular fantasy: the sea, the sky, the sand, the tranquillity, the escape-from-it-all...Mental images abound at the mere mention: white linen and straw hats; hibiscus and palm trees; languid cocktails taken on the verandah; the intensity of colours and the sound of the sea. This fantasy is reality to India Hicks, David Flint Wood and their two children. Over the past five years, India and David have impeccably restored, built or redecorated three houses and one hotel on the island. Each interior reflects India's keen sense of colour and style, inherited in part from her father, David Hicks, and influenced by her travels with David Flint Wood to India and Africa, and from the wealth of Caribbean style that surrounds them. 'Island Life' celebrates India's unique style, which mixes classic European and Caribbean influences, and their houses and the island are beautifully portrayed by leading photographer David Loftus. Following a unique design influenced by the authors' meticulously made sketchbooks and journals, a mix of tracing paper (used innovatively to recreate some of India's designs), gloss and uncoated papers are combined to give the book a novel approach. This is the first book to reveal the secrets of India's style which have long been championed by style gurus such as Ralph Lauren, who shot his catalogue at their home, and Martha Stewart.

Clarion Review JUVENILE FICTION Essie's Kids and the Rolling Calf---3 Luke Brown CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 978-1-4565-7696-7 Mystery stories for kids have changed dramatically in the last few decades. Characters like Encyclopedia Brown and The Boxcar Children have been replaced by wizards, vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Innocent sleuthing of creepy houses has been replaced by elaborate battles with powerful supernatural figures. That's what makes a ghost series like Essie's Kids & The Rolling Calf stand apart from other children's series. Husband and wife authors Luke Brown and Berthalicia Fonseca-Brown have created a collection of books that lets kids be ... well ... kids facing ghostly circumstances. In this, the third installment, Essie's children-Gena, Betty, Myrtle, Junior, Leonard, and Karl-are enjoying a wonderful vacation and making friends with neighboring kids in the countryside around Clear Mount, Jamaica. But behind the idyllic background, a ghost roams the land-something called a "rolling calf," an unnerving, clanking ghost with red eyes. Karl can't shake the feeling that the rolling calf is after him in particular. After a terrible nightmare, he knows nothing will change until he faces that ghost himself. Essie's Kids is refreshing in that it has a spooky premise, but feels more like The Hardy Boys than Harry Potter. Even while Karl knows he must face an unknown and possibly dangerous adversary, he is surrounded by a family that cares for him. This is a world where kids go five miles to the perfect place to swim or girls spend the day jumping rope. When the adventure does get going, the characters never lose the camaraderie of friends, the touchstone of solid parents, or the importance of a lesson learned. Karl's world is such a pleasant one that many readers may long to see more. While we read about squeaky floors as Karl walks and girls playing hopscotch on squares drawn in dirt roads, the Browns do not provide enough description of the setting. Essie's Kids has many opportunities to show us Jamaica from a child's eyes-the homey bungalow where the family stays, the green and rolling countryside, or the clear, sun-freckled waters of the nearby river. These opportunities to give readers vivid images are longingly missed. The lack of description may be by design. The text is laid out with no illustrations and includes an area at the back for children to cultivate their imagination by drawing their own images. It's a nice touch in a book that's written with a simplicity that will appeal to younger readers, but that has the length to attract older kids. Essie's Kids is personal and heartfelt, and each book in the series contains a moral. In this installment, Essie tells her kids to be positive in the face of adversity. This kind of message shows that it doesn't matter if you're facing down a rolling calf, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, or a bully in a school yard. Being positive is a universal lesson that can improve the lives of children-and maybe even that of some adults. Katerie Prior

"Invaluable for so many partners looking to reconnect and grow closer together." —Gwyneth Paltrow, founder and CEO of goop "Stan Tatkin can be entirely followed into the towering infernos of our most painful relationship challenges." —Alanis Morissette, artist, activist, and wholeness advocate The complete “insider’s guide” to understanding your partner’s brain, sparking lasting connection, and enjoying a romantic relationship built on love and trust—now with more than 170,000 copies sold. “What the heck is my partner thinking?” “Why do they always react like this?” “How can we get back that connection we had in the beginning?” If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, you aren’t alone, and it doesn’t mean that your relationship is doomed. Every person is wired for love differently—with different habits, needs, and reactions to conflict. The good news is that most people’s minds work in predictable ways and respond well to security, attachment, and routines, making it possible to neurologically prime the brain for greater love and connection and fewer conflicts. This go-to guide will show you how. Drawn from neuroscience, attachment theory, and emotion regulation, this highly anticipated second edition of Wired for Love presents cutting-edge research on how and why love lasts, and offers ten guiding principles that can improve any relationship. This fully revised and updated edition also includes new guidance on how to manage disagreements, as well as new exercises to help you create a sense of safety and security, establish healthy conflict ground rules, and deal with the threat of the third—any outside source which threatens the harmony in your relationship, including in-laws, alcohol, children, and affairs. You’ll find proven-effective strategies to help you strengthen your relationship by: Creating and maintaining a safe “couple bubble” Using morning and evening routines to stay connected Learning how to see your partner’s point of view Meeting each other halfway in a fight Becoming the expert on what makes your partner feel loved By using simple gestures and words, you’ll learn to put out emotional fires and help your partner feel appreciated and loved. You’ll also discover how to move past a “warring brain” mentality and toward a more cooperative “loving brain.” Most importantly, you’ll gain a better understanding of the complex dynamics at work behind love and trust in intimate relationships. While there’s no doubt that love is an inexact science, if you understand how you and your partner are wired differently, you can overcome your differences, and create a lasting intimate connection.