One of the booths I'm most looking forward to at next week's National Stationery Show is that of Mixed Co.:
Last year, some of the super-talented ladies who make up this collective shared a booth that was one of the best I saw at Javits. And I can't wait to see what they've come up with for this year's show!
I just received my delivery of Lara Cameron's "Rainy Day" fabric and Amy Butler's laptop cover pattern.
Please excuse my bad photography, but I wanted to share a bit of our newly wallpapered accent wall:
This was the first time Elizabeth or I had ever wallpapered anything and it was ... uh ... interesting. Much harder than I thought it would be — considering the wall is only 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide! But, as with a lot of older homes, nothing was straight. And there was a cut-out in the corner. And did I mention that neither of us had ever done this before?
Jon and I are contemplating a do-over, but a cabinet may end up covering most of the blemishes anyway.
(Pssst ... In the background, you can see the dining room chairs that we finally decided on.)
It ain't fiction, just a natural fact.
Case in point: At around 9:30am yesterday, Jon was just about to start his triathlon — which he has spent months training for (you know, eating right, exercising, etc.). At around the same time, a couple hundred miles away — back at home — I was pulling into the McDonald's drive-thru to pick up one of my favorite breakfasts. Two hash browns, a cinnamon melt and an orange juice.
I've been doing a lot of wallpaper research over the past few months, and just today, noticed that Hanna Werning has a link on her site that offers pics of the factory where her designs are produced.
One of her finished products:
The process:
See more photos here.
More roses from our yard:
I had forgotten how nice it is to have fresh flowers around the house — even nicer when you can pick them yourself!
It's no secret that I don't really cook or bake much. But one of the few things I like making in the kitchen is granola — specifically, Alton Brown's granola. (I have Kim-Anh to thank for bringing this recipe to my attention.) I usually omit the coconuts and substitute the raisins with dried cranberries. Delicious.
P.S. That's the Heath "Coupe" dessert bowl in Persimmon/French Grey. It's the perfect size for snacks, as well as desserts.
Today's H&G section of the SF Chronicle includes my article on the owners of Heath Ceramics, Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic. Their home is just as fantastic as their pottery and tiles, and they have one of the coolest kitchens I've ever stepped foot in:
New at the MoMA store: "Average Day at the Museum is a schematic illustration from 1940 depicting the everyday activity within The Museum of Modern Art's newly opened building on Fifty-third Street."
I think the packing tape is cute, too, but don't have much use for it.
I was at the car wash the other day and was immediately drawn to these two books (yes, my local car wash has a shop with lots of cool books!):
Flea Market Style was published a few years ago, and I actually wasn't sure if I already owned a copy. (I didn't, but will soon enough!) And Bazaar Style is photographed by the same person, Debi Treloar, and was just released this month. You can check out several shots from Bazaar Style in author Selina Lake's Flickr set, and below are a couple more images from Flea Market Style:
I convinced myself that I need a green handbag and picked up this Gryson for Target tote this weekend:
You can view the entire collection right here.
I've been meaning to paint the guest room nightstands for a while now, but the winter rains and various vacations left me with just a handful of weekends to work on the project this year. (Yes, this has been in the works since January.)
I think the white is much better in the room than the natural wood, but I feel like there's still plenty more to do in this space!
Other items seen in this photo:
Have you heard of this new line at Target? It's already available online and is supposed to hit stores this weekend. (Just search for "Whim" on the website.)
I like our kitchen a lot — I mean, as much as someone who doesn't enjoy cooking can — but it's always felt a little staid. Since we didn't want to add curtains to the window (I prefer leaving it fairly uncluttered), we decided to give the Strossel Design window films a try:
I think it's nice that the greenery is still in view; the films block part of the fence between our house and the neighbors' (who wants to see that anyway?). And, in case you're wondering, they are super easy to apply.
I'm in the middle of one of my quarterly magazine purges. Every time I go through my stack of publications, there's an issue in particular that I can't resist flipping through over and over: Sunset, April 2007. It includes features on:
And I also really liked the story about a Palo Alto Eichler. So much good stuff in one little issue!
How cute is this little guy? Brand-new at Jonathan Adler, the $110 price tag is a bit steep for a ring box that I probably wouldn't use much. But adorable nonetheless. He may be my favorite of the Adler menagerie.
Pssst ... If you are planning to check out this year's Decorator Showcase in San Francisco, do NOT miss the rooftop terrace. Here's just a snippet of the sweeping views of the Bay:
The month-long Showcase officially opens to the public on Saturday (unfortunately, I can't post more pics from my press visit). There are so many rooms in the 16,000-square-foot mansion — yes, SIXTEEN THOUSAND — that you are bound to find good design inspiration in at least a dozen of them. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
Saturday: I came across a vintage trolley at Anthropologie that would be the perfect replacement for an old Pier One bookcase in our dining area. But there were two problems: It was $1800. And it was already sold. (The sales associate said she could track one down from another location, but that didn't take care of Problem #1.)
Sunday: I found something similar in style to the Anthropologie trolley at Nest. The size was even better for the spot I had in mind! AND it was much, much cheaper! But there was one problem: I couldn't fit it in my car.
Tuesday: Jon had an appointment in San Francisco, so he stopped by to pick up the shelving unit. The most perfect thing about it? It's a shoe rack from the 1930s. A shoe rack! Given my deep love for shoes, I feel like it was so meant to be mine. I mean, ours. (Apparently, the store owners brought it back from one of their trips to France.)
Most of the shelves consist of dowels (not flat surfaces), so I went to Tap Plastics and had some sheets of Plexi cut to size.
The rosebushes are blooming!
My parents planted several rosebushes for us last year and they are going crazy this spring. I love that they are pretty much the first thing I see when I pull into the driveway every day.
Um. How is it that I've never heard of this site until today? (via Nestled In) RE-Found Objects is amazing! I'm not sure how much it cost to ship to the U.S., but I'm happy just browsing.
During our recent trip to London, I stepped foot in Liberty for the first time. While I was wandering around the home accessories floor, I kept wondering how/why I failed to visit this store on previous vacations. In addition to lots of other pretty things, they have an amazing selection of goods made with Josef Frank fabrics. Unfortunately, with the U.S. dollar being what it is now, they were a bit pricey. So I opted for only a couple of small items, including a placemat.
Singular? Just one placemat, you ask? Yes. Because I had a plan to turn that placemat into a pillow. And that's exactly what I did this weekend. Behold:
