Today I'm loving...

This foyer!   I love how light-filled it is, the touches of turquoise, and the geometric wallpaper is so fantastic!   I love how the use of interesting modern pieces and patterns update the traditional architecture.  Notice the legs on the smaller bench?  That's based on Egyptian furniture design!  Unlike westerners who placed claw feet facing outward for symmetry, the Egyptians had all 4 feet pointing the same direction like a real animal would have.  Just a fun fact for ya!       {photo via  Bear Hill Interiors}

Featured Etsy Artist: Stephanie Briones

Keep an eye on this one!  Stephanie Briones of Briones and Co. is one talented young woman!  Her paper goods are not only lovely to look at but extremely useful too.  Products include note pads, meal planners, recipe cards, and more.  She also sells the cutest little twig pencil sets, which I might have to buy.  What strikes me the most is how perfectly she styled & photographed her work, so light and bright, showing that small simple things can add real beauty to your everyday life.  You can shop Stephanie's great designs here.

 

Happy Monday!

Good morning all!  It's a beautiful autumn morning here in Minneapolis but best of all my kitty Groucho is walking about a bit & has regained his appetite after his car accident.  I'm on top of the world!

I am just loving this autumn weather!   But it's made me realise that I got ride of just about all my fall/winter wardrobe when I was clearing things out before our move.  Oh, darn!  I guess I'll have to go shopping!   I've already gotten a couple pretty all-purpose sweaters which are kinda staples in ones wardrobe but my real prize has been this amazing pair of vintage Laredo cowboy boots I got for a steal!  I can't wait to wear them! 

Other things I'm loving right now are wool skirts, delicate textured knits, pretty much anything plaid and trench coats.  Coats of any kind actually!  They are one of my favourite things to shop for and the last thing I need more of so I have to resist the erg to splurge. 

my new boots!

classic wool skirt {image via dress, design, decor}

{image via dress, design, decor}

pretty little knits {image via dress, design, decor}

1938 photo of a woman in a block plaid coat.  Classic fashion! {image via Time & Life Pictures}

Office Envy

As most of you know almost 1 month ago we moved into a fantastic new place which finally provided me with my own unshared and quite spacious work space.  I was lucky that our move took place during a lull in business activity but ever since then I have been kept extremely busy, swamped even!   My workroom/office is set up enough to be functional but I've had no time at all to give it personality or even improve the lighting (which is really starting to bug me!)  The window & walls are bare and things are organized only enough to to get by without going totally nuts.  So now more than ever when I see great offices and work studios I get super envious!  Be low is a sampling of my current office crushes.

The Bachelorette Party

Oh, I could go on and on about this subject but I don't have the time or energy this morning.  One of my dear friends is getting married next weekend and this Saturday is her bachelorette party.  I didn't think I was going to go because it's an hour and a half drive and I'm still playing catch up big time after the move!  But I've been working my butt off this week to try to get back on track, work-wise, and if things go well today and tomorrow, I just might make it!  I have no idea what's in store at this party.  I was surprised to learn that her fiancé is going to be serving us hors d'oeuvres, and apparently not going to be at his own bachelor party!  Bachelorette parties can really vary a lot in levels of classiness (or not!). When planning one you're always looking for something unique to do.  I've attended both the ritzy manicure-and-martini type as well as the raunchiest, penis-theme, bar-hopping, strip-club type.   And lets face it, I had fun at all of them!   What was my own bachelorette party like?  It was something in between with both classy and sleazy elements... they hired me an Abraham Lincoln stripper.  "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation of FUNK!"   Don't ask.  

What I'm Working on Now

We are moving this month, actually in no less than 2 weeks, so I'm working on that!

We just got the keys yesterday and brought over a few items including the new porch swing cushion and pillows I made!  We ordered a pizza, measured all the rooms, argued about where to put to the TV (as of yet still unresolved) and explored the cobwebby basement.  When our pizza arrived we sat on the porch and enjoyed listening to... nothing!  In contrast to our current apartment there's virtually no traffic and certainly no bar noise at this house.  As it got dark we unpacked a pint glass and found a votive candle for a make-shift porch lantern.  We were very tired but also very excited to be finally eating dinner on our new porch.  Today I'm dedicating the entire day to packing and cleaning.  Blog posts might be a little light in the next week or so but I'll try to keep on posting!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!   There's a huge overly commercialized "art" festival invading our neighborhood this weekend so we are hitting the road and getting out of the city!  We'll be kayaking in northern Iowa, soaking up the sun and dipping our toes in the cool water as we drift down the river.  Hope you're all doing something equally nice!

We're Moving!!!

Some of you may know from previous posts that we've been looking for the perfect next apartment for quite awhile now.   Well we found it!!!  It's the 1st floor of a great Victorian era duplex with a porch, yard, and even a garage for the Comet!    I don't want to reveal too much before we've moved in and decorated but I will say that I'm going to be happy to have a very large separate office and not to be working out of what's supposed to be a dining room!   Sneak peak of the house below, and also the fabric I just bought for the porch swing & porch furniture cushions! 

A Beach Vacation in the No-Coast State

Sorry for the laps in blog posts recently! The hubby and I took the weekend for a short vacation and then I took Monday to recover from said vacation! We went camping on the beach on Lake Superior. We were there only a short time but it was a very exciting 16 hours! Our little strip of beach was an unofficial camping hot-spot, known mostly just to the locals. We met a few of them when we first arrived in the afternoon but by dusk, we had the place to ourselves. We spent the afternoon reading, cooking over a bon fire, collecting interesting stones, splashing in the cool water of the Great Lake. Our tent faced the glittering Duluth skyline, we had a nice fire of driftwood burning, and weather was fine... that is until, nightfall!

We knew a clouds were rolling our way but we'd hoped for a drizzle. We hoped wrong. We hunkered down in our trusty tent and watched out the wind as the tide came in closer and closer. A lull in the storm gave us enough time to get out and move the tent to higher ground as well as stoke the fire a bit. The remainder of the night we counted the thunder & lightening trying to decide if we should make a mad dash for the car and head to a motel! I was terrified & didn't sleep a wink. My husband snored away next to me. Dawn finally came and soon the rain stopped. We packed up our wet sandy gear into the car and headed off, but before we left we heard the beautiful call of Minnesota's state bird, the loon. Three of them had floated by to say "Good morning! Quite a night we had, wasn't it!"

I want a new apartment!

As some of you might know from an earlier post the hubby and I are keeping our eyes pealed for a new apartment.  We've decided that when "the right place" comes along, we're going to break our lease (bite the bullet & pay the fee) and go for it!  We recently viewed what could have been out perfect new apartment but due to stiff competition it was given to an applicant who beat us to the punch.  I'm still a little bummed knowing that my chances of finding another place with a bathroom skylight is slim to none, but there was one good thing to come out of the experience.  I said my emotional goodbyes to our current home.  It was the first time in all the browsing that we would've actually moved and it forced me to confront my mixed feelings about leaving what has been a wonderful place for us for the past 2 and a half years.  But despite all the good vibes one thing trumps it all: I crave more space!!!   I'm beginning to feel slightly claustrophobic in our 1BR place and the fact that two people in the kitchen is one person too many is getting on my nerves.   And most of all, I want an office!  I've been working from home full-time for over a year now and the better business is, the more my works seems to spread into the rest of the apartment.  I've begun collecting images of my fantasy apartment. Completely unrealistic but hey, that's why it's a fantasy.  I know, I know.  I'm such a nerd.

Style Alert!

By now most of us have heard of and in some cases become fans of online magazines. While I mourn the lost of many print magazines, I do love online magazines (particularly because they're free!). The interior design community real felt the loss of Domino but their online spin-off, Lonny, has helped fill the gap. Now there is a new online lifestyle magazine called Nesting Newbies that might just be perfect for newly-weds who are having to combine their possessions into one cohesive home! The magazine has lots of great interior design, cooking articles, a few beauty tips, interviews with popular bloggers, etc. The photographs are great, all in all a very inspiring first three issue! Check out the latest issue here.