Brown Turtleneck Sweater

Green Office?

      

I'm seriously considering painting our new office green (House Beautiful, June '07).  I usually stick to warm neutrals, but I'm ready for a change.

Who decided to get married AND move in the same year - so much to do! What were we thinking??

Wanted: Inspiration

         

I've been feeling so uninspired lately (as evidenced by my lack of blog posts). But I need to gear up - I'm taking Friday and Monday off to do some serious wedding planning.  These birch bark tubes from Small Stump are everywhere, and I think they'd make great centerpieces.

     

I've been in LA for work this week. Not much time for the Internet, but I did stumble on Julia Rothman's new blog, Book By Its Cover (via Apartment Therapy - The Nursery). An illustrator and pattern designer, Rothman provides lots of graphic inspiration by featuring her favorite books in several categories, including: Design, Fine Art, Handmade, Children's, and Comics.

Natural Light

        

When Theo and I decided to give up high-rise living, we knew there were pros and cons: we'd miss our view of the lake, but we thought giving up giant condo assessments, 40 mile-an-hour winds, and massive quantities of dust* would more than make up for the (lack-of) view.  But now that we've started looking for a new place, I've had to add another con to the list: losing natural light.  We have tons of natural light in our current place, and it seems impossible to find in shorter three-flats. We looked at a place today, and every single window on the sides of the house looked out onto walls of cinder-blocks.  Wha??  Needless to say, the search continues.

* I don't know where it comes from!  I dust, and two seconds later there is another layer of the stuff covering everything.

Lots of natural light (above) via Country Home, September '06.

I smell a project!

    

I'm not very artistically inclined. And when I say not very, I mean not at all. Several classes and books later, I still can't paint, draw, or craft. This doesn't stop me, however, from looking longingly at art course lists or craft blogs or magazines.  So when the March Martha Stewart Living arrived in the mail last night, I braced myself against all those darling projects.  Imagine my joy: the above lampshade liner (on page 76) only requires double-sided tape and some craft paper!  I love the look of lined lampshades - they're everywhere - but I haven't found one with a pattern I could love.  Definitely going on the to-do list for this weekend.

P.S. The March Living also has tons of almost-Spring recipes (like Fava Bean and Parmesan Crostini- page 202) that have me dying for warm weather.  Martha! You tease!  Don't you know we're in the middle of a blizzard??

The Line of Perfect Happiness

                

The last few weeks have left something to be desired...crazy long work weeks, stolen wallet, flat tire.  However, I had the most restorative weekend, and I feel like myself again.  I read a book, made those whoopie pies (yum), had brunch with the sibs, and went shopping for used books with Theo and my sister Bridget.  I normally head straight for the cookbooks (and I did), but the true gem was discovered by Bridge - The Sybil Leek Book of Fortune Telling, circa 1969! It smelled deliciously musty. Of course, we immediately purchased it and set about reading our palms.

Salvaged Chest

     

I'm constantly fantasizing about salvaging fabulous well-loved pieces of furniture. Especially butchers blocks or other massive pieces I could use as a kitchen island.  I have no idea where I get these grand ideas... I have nothing salvaged in my home. I think I like the idea of the hunt, of saving something old.  And I'm always impressed with the people that can spot the gems from the junk. Living Etc, February '07.

2007!

            

Happy New Year!

I *heart* molding

Theo and I have started thinking about moving - to something a little bigger and a little closer to work.  I'd love it if we could find something that had some great character molding like this place. (From the Rooms I *heart* Flickr pool via Decor8).

Christmas and Culture

My family had our annual Christmas and Culture outing last night.  (Nearly every year around this time we have dinner together and hit a local art exhibit/play/musical etc.)  Last night we had dinner at del Toro (above) and we saw The Santaland Diaries.  The show was OK, dinner was superb.  As a special treat, Margaret's family joined us.  As always, we had a great time.