Embrita Design

Consolidation

2009-09-24T14:21:00.000-05:00

Please redirect your subscriptions here:

Embrita Blogging

Perhaps I'll update in a more timely manner...perhaps.

What the eff? Pt. 2

2009-09-12T15:08:00.007-05:00

On the other side of the Apricot tree from the Amaryllis (thanks, guys!) is more dirt. Mostly shaded, but occasionally it gets some sun. Imagine my surprise when there was a lone spot of purple amidst the dirt (and renegade ivy.)

Some kind of purple trumpet flower. It's pretty, but completely rogue.

Close up:

So odd.

We've also got...um...walnuts?

Tree:

Fruit:

Fallen Fruit:

Nut?

Ok. So this is what it looked like after Husband had rinsed most of the rotten fruit off of it. We couldn't get it open, so I tried cracking it with a big ol' nail and out hammer. It's mocking me. We gave up.

If it helps, the nut smells burned, like smokey ash.

I would say that we'll just leave these for the raccoons for now, but they don't even seem to want them. Maybe it's not edible, after all?

What the eff?

2009-09-03T19:22:00.008-05:00

Back in the spring, while I was lying in bed wondering if my guts were going to remain inside my body, my wonderful husband decided to help out with my vision of a pumpkin patch. I had it all planned. The neighborhood kids would come and pick their own pumpkins...there would be pie and breads and decoration and seeds...it would be delightful.

This was all the growth we got:

And honestly, we're not even 100% sure that is a pumpkin plant I took a picture of. All I know is that it sprouted in the mound that husband filled with seeds.

Could be we planted too late. Could be the neighborhood cats did a number on it with all of their digging around. Could be the fact that we haven't seen a drop of rain since March is keeping it a dried up dirty wasteland... OR - all of the stupid ivy that was there before sucked all of the nutrients out of the soil. It does look rather dust-bowlish back there.

Which is why today, when I went to drop melon rinds in our slow compost pile, I was shocked to notice something:

On the left is the compost pile - thoughtfully created with a concrete barrier. In the foreground - debris that needs to be chucked. And a random succulent. Mostly what we notice is the big dust-bowl-like dirt wasteland in the center there...where a thriving pumpkin patch *should* be.

But do you see what I see?

No?

This:

Yeah. I didn't plant that. Nor have I bothered to water that patch of dirt since July. I keep hoping we'll turn the compost and find some great soil and then when (if) it (ever) cools down here we'll till it in and re-plant the patch. I'm not giving up.

And yet...pink flower:

I can't identify it. I know it was not there when the place was ivy-ridden. But there it is. A little pink-petaled stem of hope that maybe my thumb isn't entirely black after all. Maybe what my plants need is a little *more* neglect...?

PS - any tips on that pumpkin patch are welcome. Thanks!

PPS - My sister says they're lilies.
PPPS - other votes are for Amaryllis. I think that might be the win. Also - when Husband was digging the mounds for the pumpkin seeds he found a lot of old "onions" that were dead in the dirt. We now speculate that they were actually bulbs.

Dining Room --> Play Area

2009-08-24T12:55:00.011-05:00

So this weekend I finished some projects. It took a long time to get to this weekend and finishing. The superfluous table was taken away some time in July and our actual table was moved to the kitchen dining area. As were the bar and sideboard. (Before pictures can be seen here.)

Behold:

Which left a large empty space housing only a VERY dated (and completely not my style) light fixture:

I removed the glass pieces and Husband remarked that it looked better already:

I blame the drugs and the Lord of the Rings marathon for that opinion. (He had minor oral surgery Friday morning. Not to worry, all is well. He's healing nicely.)

Kipper helped:

A note about Crate and Barrel: they use a ridiculous amount of packaging. Which is handy for packing up things that you'd rather not have break.

So with that out of they way, and a plate in it's place, we suddenly had a nice open space through which a person can walk and not worry about loosing an eye/breaking a piece of glass with their forehead.

Into it went two Billy bookcases, the black chair from the guest room, the console table from the guest room, and a crash pad* - set up as adult floor seating and eventually to be used as a movement mat for Bunny.

Also - because I have serious aesthetic issues with molded plastic baby gear, we picked this bad boy up from IKEA:

The result - when books and a few animals are added to the bookcases - is a nice little area that will be able to grow with Bunny. I see a toddler craft area in its future with very little effort.

(The ottoman that matches the chair will find itself a more permanent home under the console table on the left, but right now it is still residing in the guest room to be used as a stand for the suitcase of upcoming visitors.)

Polly got in on the action, too. By sleeping:

* a note about this crash pad: it was purchased almost exactly a month before I found myself with child and unable to do anything that would result in actually using this particular new purchase (about which I was *very* excited.) I was having issues looking for a movement mat that I liked that I wouldn't feel like we would outgrow and have a hard time reusing or passing on to other new parents. Then I remembered this sitting sadly unused in the guest room and voila! Sometimes the perfect solutions are right under your nose.

Yesterday...

2009-08-16T17:16:00.008-05:00

Well. Let's start at the beginning, really. A few months ago I got rather unexpected news. That's right folks - at the beginning of the adoption process and in the midst of infertility testing...I find myself knocked up.
3 months later I emerge from bed (morning sickness is SO mis-named) and start doing things to prepare the house for our child, whom we refer to as Bunny.

Meet Bunny...3 months ago :-)

So the dining area in the previous post has been rearranged, the superfluous table is gone, and bookshelves have been assembled. As soon as we recover from all of that I'll get it cleaned up and cutified and get some serious "after" shots up. Because we all love a good before and after.

But to tide you over...remember that weird little room that I turned into a walk-in for Husband because he's a clotheshorse? It had a bookcase (totally on it's last legs) on which to store his folded clothes. He unmentionables and jeans were kept in a 3-drawer dresser next to my side of the bed. This dresser used to be mine and will be Bunny's - after I make it over. At any rate - it needed to be freed up so I can fill it with baby loot.

So last weekend we headed to IKEA and picked up two more Billy bookcases (for the dining area) and a Malm Dresser:

Note: these things are a piece of cake to put together once you get the rhythm down. We had all three pieces up and running in a matter of hours. And I'm knocked up.

So bye-bye old not very attractive bookcase, hello nice sleek dresser! And to top it off, I moved in an extra chair from our office. He sat in there a lot yesterday afternoon just surveying his goods. I'm trying not to be bitter.

The ugly carpet is still there, but we're renting. We put a towel on the countertop and then stacked clothes there while they were awaiting transition and the minute the terry cloth went down the cats commandeered it. Then they watched with fascination as we changed the house.

Just to give you an idea of how spacious and inviting his closet is now. (The hanging side is unchanged.)

The perfect seat for a clotheshorse like Steve to sit in while he drinks scotch and tries to decide which of his millions of clothes he's going to wear today...

One day, not only will I have a fabulous closet, but I'll have enough clothes to justify it. Maybe.

Before/During: Kitchen/Dining Part 1

2009-05-13T18:29:00.012-05:00

We have a dining table. Two of them actually.

This one we inherited from Husband's grandfather. I love it.

Look at these legs! Aren't they just divine. Eventually, I'm going to have a leaf made and the whole thing refinished and the chairs tightened and then it'll be superb.

This one is our landlord's:
Yeah, it's nice. But we don't need it. It's not ours. We don't want it. It's IN THE WAY. By July he's going to sell it. And when it's gone - and I get back from Dallas, our dining table will move into the kitchen area.

Before July, this is going to be emptied and moved out to the garage where it will be put to use storing things like Christmas ornaments and garden supplies. Or whatever.

These two items will get moved into the kitchen:

The dining room will become a play area for the baby. Before that, though, it will become a little loungey seating area. The light fixture will be replaced. It will be awesome.

So that's the plan. This weekend, I got fed up with the cabinets over the penisula in the kitchen. I've been meaning to open them up since we moved in, and fill this awkward spot with cookbooks, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. (Full disclosure, if we ever buy this place I will take untold amount of please in taking a sledgehammer to this particular set of uppers.)

Before:

After:

See that bit over by the wall? It's weird to get to and you can only get to it from the window-side of things. That's Where the cookbooks will go.

I did not straighten before I took any of these pictures because I'm lazy. And I just did the dishes. I promise it's not nearly as visually noisey as it appears here. I blame the camera. And also my laziness.

So since I have until July to get all of this prepped...and even longer before we actually become parents, I'm taking my sweet time. It doesn't help that I get distracted. Or that I'm also trying to finish a novel. Wish me luck!

Random Linkage

2009-05-05T11:52:00.006-05:00

I have a sticky that I c&p links to every now and again with the intent of referencing them in later blogs. Only now it's rainy and there are a LOT of them and I have no idea what my original intent was...much like most American and the Constitution. (Also I've been sucked into this whole New Justice thing and clearly it's eating my brain.)

So here we go:

(source)

I need one. I have googled "tiller" "seeder" "cultivator" and countless other random garden-related words. Everything I get is either big and scary or supremely dumb looking. Help? Please?

When I say "I want a house with a porch," I mean this:

(source)

If you're not visiting The Mogg Blogg, you're missing out on some fun design snark. They say what we're all thinking. And it's awesome.

(source)

Mary Ruffle posts three enchanting images a day. And on lucky days, she posts some over at her It's Pretty Good site, too. This one is just true.

Now I need to learn to quilt

2009-05-02T13:41:00.004-05:00

First it was the tie dress:

Now it's quilts made from old dress shirts with tie-inspired borders:

found at My Spinning Wheel via Inchmark.

Instead, and because I don't own a sewing machine - YET - I'll be hanging some framed posters and folding laundry and trying to figure out why my favorite time to take pictures of flowers is during a misty rain...

What are you doing this weekend?

Bad Blogger

2009-04-29T12:06:00.010-05:00

We had a little project this weekend and I was so worn out from it that it's taken me three days to get up the energy to write this blog.

Remember this?

One of my lovely readers (I have Fives of Tens of them, you know) suggested filling in with lava rock to discourage regrowth of what I now call the Ivy Scourge. Awesome idea, but Lava rock isn't free and guess what we had on hand already?

Brick. That's a pile of previously-applied brick in the corner back there. I didn't think to get a decent shot of the pile beforehand. Mostly because it had a metal washtub and a bunch of wood on top of the brick.

We also found brick here:

(we found a nest of garter snakes there, too)

and here:

Yeah. We dug those up. I've always wondered why our useless gardener uses the weed-whacker back here. At first I thought it was because of the randomly placed rosebushes, but now I know it's because once you remove a layer of overgrowth, you get equally randomly placed paths of brick.

Funny story about this area. See all that random, weedy growth behind the brick "Wall"? We started asking the Landlord to pull it out (since it's choking the fruit trees) when we moved in. In January. He came by last week and finally pulled out HALF OF IT. Not kidding:

(see that dirt half on the right? We have a useless gardener and a landlord who is perpetually half-assed about things. If it didn't hurt so much I'd bang my head against a wall.)

Now, I know that this whole "Gardening" thing is new to me (and exciting!) but even I know that the proper way to plant ivy (aside from Not Planting It At All) is NOT to put it in a planter and set it on the ground and forget about it. We unearthed, and then had to unearth, so many of these. Some salvageable, but mostly they'd been chewed to bits by the aggressive, invasive root system of The Scourge. I *hate* Ivy. And I don't hate a lot of things. But this is a plant that will grow INTO the stucco on the side of your house. It will choke out your fruit bearing plants. Its roots will ingest (I saw it) any little piece of whatever that they can't push out of the way.

After the apocalypse, it will be the cockroaches, spam, and Ivy.

Any, on more pleasant topics: the after pictures!

It's prettier from the front. And hey, we were working with salvaged brick. And also, I know that I need to prune that growth from the base of the pomegranate tree. That's technically the gardener's job. Unfortunately, he's a lazy bastard and the landlord is the one who hires/fires him...you see where my frustration lies.

Emily is about to take matters into her own tentacles....um, hands.

Birdies

2009-04-23T17:31:00.008-05:00

Ok, I'm going to go back through my posts and add tags so that searching will be more efficient for those who are inclined to search.

This one will be tagged "outside" because it deals with exactly that: my outside.

I was sitting at my desk earlier, and since the temperature is over 60, we've got the windows open. I hear this odd little chirping sound and look over my shoulder to see this:

In this picture you will see my cat, Kipper (sleeping on my husband's synthesizer, which he so graciously set up for optimum lounging + bird watching cat goodness,), (I never know where to put the comma there) exploding Calla Lilies, a sad little rosebush, the post for the patio, a picnic table that's going to be stripped and repainted (yay before/afters!), and a blossoming Pomegranate tree.

What you will not see is the hummingbird that was tormenting Kipper by hovering on the other side of the screen, first partaking in a little pomegranate juice - because who doesn't love that? - and then just hovering around tweeting and tormenting.

It looked like this:

This is not my image. I'm not even remotely this skilled, nor do I have the patience, equipment or technical knowledge to get this awesome shot. This shot is from HERE, which also has a little audio clip of what the bird sounds like.

So, to review, we now know that Hummingbirds like the following:

Orange Blossoms

Lemon Blossoms

and

Pomegranate Blossoms

Which are so cool you get two shots of them.

I'm not sure about the apple, peach, pear, apricot, and whatever else it is we've got floating around because those aren't in my line of site, generally. But I'll keep an eye out.

Bragging Rights

2009-04-23T15:45:00.001-05:00

Follow the hyperlink.

Would an Earth Day Post Just be White Noise at This Point?

2009-04-22T15:56:00.005-05:00

I thought so. Also, I feel like I'd just be repeating myself. So here's a link to last Year on the Not Design Blog.

It's good to note that a lot of these things are becoming mainstream: carry your own bags, for instance. CFLs. Being conscious of gas and water usage. Recycling.

My mom bought (a year and a half ago when I told her that Husband and I were trying to start our family) this book:

(available here)

I've only skimmed it, but a lot of it is useful. We're lucky in San Jose to have a diaper service that composts the diapers for us. Which is an option. The other option is cloth, which is just *so* cute. At the very least, the compostable diapers will be good for travel since they'll function like disposables but break down rather than living forever in landfills.

We'll be using glass bottles (because friends don't let friends drink from plastic). Most clothing, bedding, etc, will be purchased second hand. In addition to be more "green", it's also ridiculous to spend a ton of money on clothes for a baby. They'll outgrow it in a week.

I'll probably compile a list and post it here and on the other blog, since it's adoption related. But it seems so far away at this point that it would all be speculation.

So remember:

(available here)

Nursery 1.0

2009-04-21T16:22:00.005-05:00

So this is my first official draft of what the nursery looks like.

I'm playing around with doing the boards - and this is less and inspiration board and more a planning board - completely digitally, a la Making It Lovely (which it always is.)

Although none of this is purchased, this is the plan. The backdrop is actually the room. Note the paneling. The fact that I like the paneling and couldn't paint it even if I didn't like it means that it stays and some art is hung. Given that we don't know the gender of the child, I haven't even planned it.

The fan is from Target. All of the furniture save the rocker, but including the pendant, is IKEA, as are the rugs. The fatboy ottoman is there as a placeholder. I will have a squishy ottoman, but will it be fatboy? It's hard to say. I'm also a fan of beanbags and at some point - when toddling happens, at least one bean bag will make its way into the room. The butterflies, purchased from Neimans and used in both my wedding and my sister's wedding will hang in the window - as part of science if it's a boy and part of pretty if it's a girl.

Like I said: incarnation one. I'm exploring the flor tiles, and while they're starting to be ubiquitous, I made love them anyway...

So that's what I've done today.

PS - In case you don't stalk me, Husband and I are adopting. We'll start the match process in the fall. To follow those exploits, go here and click on the adoption tag.

92 degrees plus no a/c = Fan Shopping

2009-04-20T18:06:00.012-05:00

We here in Northern Cali are having an anomalous heat wave. (I've been told it's anomalous. I'm starting to think I got the Bait and Switch with the bill of goods they sold me.)

It's 92 degrees. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "But Emily, you came from Texas where that's not uncommon - even in March! And you LOVE hot weather." And you'd be right. On both counts.

No residences in Northern California have central air. Almost no residences. And that includes us. And the only ceiling fan is in the dining area of the kitchen. AND the front windows on the house don't open...which means that even *if* there were a breeze, there would be no cross- flow because to open the front door allows in insects that will bite/sting my cats when they become kitty food.

Luckily, all of our lovely lovely trees are shading the house, which keeps it cool. So it's only 84 inside. And I've got two little desk fans that are going, and I'm in a sundress...it could be worse.

Nevertheless, I've been fan shopping.

And what have I found gentle readers? It's either Ugly or Out of Our Price Range.

But I'm not stingy. Here's what I like:

When we have our large plantation/craftsman house with a sleeping porch, this $8k fan might find a home. (After I sell Husband into white slavery, of course...oh wait, that's how we're paying for the house...)

This one (an almost reasonable $250) Is meant to be on a desktop or table top, it sucks air in from the top/bottom and blows it out the other side - without, they claim - disturbing your papers. It was used in banks...? I like it for the kitchen/dining area. Or even the living area where I do my crafty crafty time wasters.

This one hangs from the ceiling - I like that the blades are encased because we have low low ceilings and we are not short people.

This one also comes as a sconce, which I truly, truly dig.

I could put one of these in every room in my house, but right now the kitchen and bathrooms (did I mention NO A/C?) seems ideal.

This one doesn't blow my skirt up, but it's not bad for what it is. (Have I mentioned that I *hate* ceiling fans?)

This one also comes as a desktop.

And given that we don't own this place and will only be replacing one fixture due to its sheer ugliness/impractibility, we're likely to go with ones that don't require a knowledge of wiring.

So now I'm on a quest to find at least 2 floor fans that aren't hideous and won't impede the Saving of Money for the Purposes of Adoption.

Wish me luck!

Dishwashers are for Babies

2009-04-15T14:25:00.005-05:00

I am currently participating in this, the Apartment Therapy Spring Kitchen Cure.

They want my before pictures to go directly to them, but once it's wrapped I'll post them up here, along with all of the helpful tips I learned for keeping your kitchen clean and decluttered.

Unfortunately, I unwittingly jumped the gun a little here, but I'm ok with that. Because eventually my entire kitchen will be that organized.

Also, when we moved in I knew we didn't have a dishwasher. This didn't bother me. In fact, I actually scoffed "Dishwashers are for babies." And while I still have no desire to have a disposal (I could do an entire post on how bad *those* are for the sewer systems...they mostly encourage people to gum up the works) I have to say that I eat my words a little when I walk into the kitchen and see the remains of dinner...because we like to cook. A lot. From scratch. Almost. Every. Night.

Dishwashers are not for babies.
They're for people who like to spend some time outside of the kitchen during their day.

New Tree!

2009-04-13T19:05:00.005-05:00

I have no idea what it is, but it's pretty:

It starts with little red buds

That open into pink and white flowers.

It's hard to see here, but there are new leaves and little buds all over this spindly tree. I can't wait to see what matures!

One More thing...

2009-04-11T23:24:00.006-05:00

If we owned this place, I would do this:

To this:

And so would you. Those slats look out on our back garden and I feel that it would work better to be more open than what it is now...being haunted by the early 80s...

Some Pretties

2009-04-10T18:32:00.007-05:00

I went through my back issues and pulled some tear sheets for future reference:

I love doorknobs.

That little pink Ghost Chair at an art Table...swoon.

This + Book + Lemonade - flies = perfection

Happy Easter!

As promised: Air Bed Review

2009-04-08T18:49:00.004-05:00

You remember - it took up SO Much room.

It was awesome. A full week and no deflating. Our guest was comfortable and slept better than she does at home. Part of that is because we completely wore ourselves out and part of that is because she just prefers to live on the left coast.

So there you go. Buy it Here.

Here's a photo of us wearing ourselves out:

Ok, really that's just me. But it was taken by Jessica and we had to hike up a mountain to get to that lovely rock. Which I, of course, couldn't stay off of.

Gardening

2009-04-05T19:00:00.011-05:00

I know everyone likes a good before and after, but I've just got the before and during...the "after" is going to take some planning. And help. Lots of help. Maybe even from trained professionals:

Before - Lemon Tree covered in Ivy.

After: Lemon tree with ivy removed. All of those green shoots on the trunk are purple-blossomed Lemony Goodness.

This - where the brown/orange filled patches are - had lots of empty/dirt and dandelion filled planters. Some of them were cute and those are in the garage. Just in case. Some of them were plastic and cracked and they're in our garbage bin. I have no idea what to put here, and it appears that our landlord didn't either. He seems to be of the When In Doubt Plant Spider Ferns, Ivy, or Cacti variety. And with little-to-no planning about where they go. I actually found all three in a single pot. Not Kidding.

This is what my kitchen window looks out on. There's an orange tree immediately to the left, which is what is shading it. I think that's all clover, but don't hold me to that.

Those are rose bushes and a random cacti in a plastic pot. I like the tree stump. I think it adds characters. And the neighborhood cats play in it, which giggles me. Back in the corner (on the right by the blue shed thing) are: a fig tree that's producing figs. A tree that's producing some kind of red berry and might be a plum tree? A stand of random bamboo, and a pile of detritus. The pile of detritus will be removed by our (mostly useless) gardener this week.

This is the other side. It's got a lot of potential, except for the randomly placed rose bushes. In that corner where the fences meet is another pile of detritus, also to be removed this week.

This is just sad. It's behind the garage/summer kitchen. We removed a lot of the dirt and dandelion filled pots today and decided that at one point it was a nicely landscaped piece of dirt. Now it's just neglected. Gardener might just get in there and reduce it to dirt. But then what do I plant?

Luckily we have a nursery here that's fairly helpful, but I'm definitely going to have to learn more about what will grow and how to grow it and then do the planning.

Like I said, there might be professionals involved.

I will leave you with something pretty:

In our front yard.

Finally put my hammer to use

2009-04-03T13:32:00.009-05:00

Just call me Captain Hammer! (except I'm a girl and look nothing like Nathan Fillion.)

Remember this? Now it looks like this:

That's an antique stereoscope on the left (inherited) and my favorite mirror. Also I have not read those books, yet. Public Enemies is about to be a very promising movie.

But that's not all I did yesterday while our internet was down. I also hung this:

and this:

and this:

That one might be joined by another. I'm not sure yet. It's on the wall of the hallway - to the right is the guest room and to the left the master so I'll walk by it a LOT. Your thoughts?

And then this one:

Yes, that's a certificate for the Children of the Confederacy. It belonged to my great grandmother, Pauline. That is not her in the picture. Those are husband's grandparents. The only thing that might change here is that I'll move Pauline's picture to the table. And replace the lamp, which belongs to our landlord and which has remained strictly out of function.

(It amuses me the impact this might have on our homestudy..but I'm not moving it!)

Happy Friday!

ps - LOVE that I got to use Captain Hammer in this blog. Love.

Something's been eating my oranges

2009-04-03T13:25:00.005-05:00

It fell from the tree in the backyard at some point over the last day, and when I went out this morning all I found was an empty shell...and some exploded bits. Wonder what could be doing this?

Whatever it is has opposable thumbs, a deep love of overly ripe citrus, and was clearly not a girl scout. Good thing all I do is sweep the fallen oranges into the shrubs anyway and let them decompose. Natural fertilizer.

Infected

2009-04-02T12:47:00.003-05:00

So right now when I walk outside it smells like orange blossoms, lemon blossoms, and roses. It's heavenly.

Then I walk around to the front of the house and see this:

My peach tree leaves are turning red. So I get closer:

Peach Tree Leaf Curl is what it's called and this is not even the grossest picture. So I'm off to the Orchard Supply place to pick up something that will help this. Although it might be too late.

Our gardener is worthless. Unfortunately, it's totally worth $30/month for him to come twice and mow. For now.

Before/After: Kitchen part 1

2009-03-24T18:46:00.007-05:00

Before. This is actually WAY before. This is a midway-through-unpacking image of our lovely mid-70s kitchen.

After. I got sick of the doors. They were a hazard...and inconvenient. No bueno. (And yes, we are that anal. I didn't have to straighten up much for the shelves to look like that.)

But notice something odd about that image? If you look at the stile on the left hand side...about where the hinge would be...

You see it. When they stained our cabinets this *lovely* color, they stained the hinges. I had to chip through stain just to get to the screws.

This makes me stabby.

Deep even breaths and repeat after me:

"Not my house...
Not my house...
Not my house...."

Phenomenal Cosmic Power...

2009-03-24T16:59:00.005-05:00

Itty Bitty Living Space!

Yes, that's the guest room with a bed in it. I moved the ottoman under the console table so there would be room for it. The red/black/white color scheme is accidental. In fact, the original bed we wanted:

was going to be orange. And the black chair ended up in the guest room because we keep the door closed and I wanted to protect it from the cats. We chose red linens so that we would know which ones were for the guest room so they could always be cat-dander free. We have a lot of important guests who are allergic to cats. Such as the one who arrives in 4 hours!

Here's what the bed looks like without the linens:

Yes, it's a blow-up bed. I'll give you a review after it's been slept on for a week.

This room will be the nursery, which I've started planning. Because apparently once you get into the match process your match could happen while the mother is three or four months along or it could happen when she's three or four hours into labor. I'm not going to go crazy: one of the benefits of not carrying the child and going through labor is that you're not recovering after the baby comes home. So I can do a lot as the personality of our child develops. However, some things have to be waiting: car seat, bassinet, clothing, bottles, formula. Also I like to have a plan. I'll keep you posted.

And if you want to follow my insanity as we go through the process (and just my insanity in general) follow this link.

Fruit!

2009-03-19T14:29:00.005-05:00

It's hard to see, but I walked out this morning and the fig tree has kicked it into gear. Yummy. you know what's good? Fig spread, chevre, and pita/naan.

This is the same angle as this (the first image) and you can see the difference. Note the little red buds in there? I can't WAIT to see what those are going to be. Yay free (fresh) food!

Now I'm going to do something about some ivy. And spiders. Lots of spiders.

These Walls

2009-03-16T18:45:00.006-05:00

Before

After

Inspiration here. The good thing about this little setup is that I can add/replace/rearrange with little effort. And repaint, as soon as I get my head around what color I want it to be. Because I'm so very much Not and Oatmeal Person.

This is in the office. To my left is my desk, to my right is Husband's, and at my tooshie is his 88 Key Synthesizer setup. So I put all of our music-related images there. All 4 of them. He had more posters but I'm not sure where they are....On the left is a sketch of Rogue that he got at a comic convention when he was in Middle School (I think.) The artist passed away a year or so ago so I had it framed for him. I actually really like it.

Still to come:

And this has just come onto my rader:

Our mail slot. It was brought to my attention today that when the owner was rolling oatmeal onto the walls he didn't so much as pull out the nails...and as you can see from the chipping - he just rolled over the mail slot and then pried it open after the paint dried. I want the paint removed from it. Going to have to figure that one out. Any tips on getting paint off metal? Thanks.

Big (not design related) News

2009-03-16T00:29:00.002-05:00

Follow it here.

Jumping In

2009-03-10T16:25:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I read a book called The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. By A.J. Jacobs (my full review here) In the intro is this little story from Rabbi Andy Bachman, who heads up Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn. It's a Midrash (a story not in the bible but which deals with biblical events:

"We all think of the scene in The Ten Commandments movie with Charlton Heston, where Moses lifted up his rod and the waters rolled back. But this Midrash says that's not how it happened. Moses lifted up his rod and the sea did not part. The Egyptians were closing in and the sea wasn't moving. So a Hebrew named Nachson just walked into the water. He waded up to his ankles, then his knees, then his waist, then his shoulders. And right when the water was about to go up his nostrils, the sea parted.
The point is, sometimes miracles occur only when you jump in."

And to quote Jacobs: "So I did."

I've been researching freelance resources here for some articles. I've been trying to wade through the details of interstate business law to get Embrita Design transferred to California. I've also been working on my latest complete novel - gutting the b-plot and reworking details of the a-plot. Husband is supportive enough to realize that the combination of moving us across the country and the weak economy is the perfect situation for me to pursue my dream of being published 100%.

However, that won't pay the bills so I've set up an account on art.com to sell prints of my photography. I'm scanning negatives and giving my photoshop the biggest workout of its life to get up a good spread. As soon as they're approved there will, of course, be a link in case your room needs a poster.

In between that my goal this week is to put something up on our walls. I'm thinking some vignettes to give it character. And since Husband has also said that he doesn't want to move anytime soon I'm going to just commit. I think I was holding out to make sure that we're staying here longer than a few months. If, by August, he doesn't mind not having central air (apparently that's rare in this neck of the woods) I might even un-beige the walls. That would make me a happy, happy girl.

PS - Our "official" "Welcome to CA" photo was taken this weekend on a tour of the city with a good friend of Husbands:

Solved.

2009-03-05T16:23:00.004-06:00

Apricot. Identified here.

Dining Area Before/After

2009-03-02T14:09:00.008-06:00

I know what you're thinking. Last time we looked into the dining area it looked like this. And now the table is functional!?! That happened yesterday. I threw my hands in the air, gave up trying to find the perfect storage spot for the extra glassware, and stuck it in the guest room.

The glass bowls were a wedding gift - the table and chairs belong to our landlord. The far left (empty) bowl usually has lemons in it, but we used all of ours and the ones on the tree still look like limes.

The facing wall:

And then this inspiration...leads to...

Clearly a work in progress, since that shelf is empty. No idea what's going to go up there.

The wall behind the table, though, got some treatment:

(Those are green coffee bean bags.)

And there are the small things:

This chair was one of my first DIY projects, so that the paint is chipping off is no surprise. It sits there so that whoever is not cooking can chat with the cook.

And now my aprons hang there, in easy reach. (Anthropologie)

Sorry about the weird lighting in the photos. It's bright but overcast and the lights in the kitchen turn everything yellow. So the white balance completely freaked out.

And now for lunch. And then maybe more art hanging???

The good thing about all of this rain

2009-03-01T21:41:00.005-06:00

Is that it's making my trees explode...well, that's good and bad.

Good:

Plum? Cherry? In the front - loads of bright pink blooms. Also the twisted peach trees are starting to bloom, so that's one less potentially dead-tree that we have.

Cherry Plums? Apple? In the back. From three blossoms to three million practically overnight.

And the bad:

At one point it literally rained oranges.

We got a couple of porch chairs (yay Target!) that I'll take pictures of when the sun comes out. Husband celebrated by sitting out in the Wind and Orange Rain and smoking a cigar.

Also I think I'm going to be able to salvage one of the picnic table benches...assuming the weight of our cats doesn't do it in completely. The other one is toast. It will be offered up in a picnic table bench ceremony as soon as it stops raining on us. Which, according to the National Weather Service, is NEVER. (ok, Thursday. Maybe.)

While Stalking My House...

2009-02-28T18:36:00.003-06:00

And by "My House" I do not mean the one we live in. I mean this one:

View Larger Map

which I'm hoping to just acquire. I want the (apparently very happy) family which is living there to inherit Great Aunt Millie's pre-earthquake Victorian in San Francisco. On Russian Hill. So that they're in such a good mood that they notice me stalking their house and just offer me first refusal out of the goodness of their heart.

I would, of course, take it.

And then I would live in a fab house on the same street as this, the most awesome porch treatment ever:

Yes, it's shabby-chic, which usually makes me want to boot, but which in this application made me pull out my phone and snap a photo. Yes. It's a piano, a white wrought-iron garden chair and a freaking candelabra. It's so Great Gatsby it makes me want to pull out my pearls and drink champagne in the afternoon.

...sigh...

2009-02-27T19:34:00.003-06:00

I have no idea why this image is so small....but this is my plight: a large empty wall.
Lots of them, actually.

Rainy Days

2009-02-23T21:46:00.005-06:00

Still. Raining. And we're all slow and vaguely sick and so I mostly stayed in my pajamas and read all day. But at one point when the drizzle let up I went out to take pictures of more blossoms:

Peach

Apple

Peach? Plum?

Same tree - peach or plum

Cats who can't understand why I'm walking around in the chilly drizzle.

Fingers crossed for some motivation, soon!

Because it giggled me

2009-02-19T21:55:00.001-06:00

(here)

And in case you've been living under a rock...this is why it's funny.

Wishing for Spring...

2009-02-18T15:03:00.008-06:00

Well, warmer weather at least. I've got some buds:

And some green ground cover (clover?) from all the rain:

But mostly I've got an odd jumble and lots of negative space:

(The white wall back there is the garage/summer kitchen and the slatted wall to the right is an "open air rec room" which feels right now like wasted space.)

To the immediate left is the kitchen/back porch and what's in front of you is the (l-r) "rec room", summer kitchen, garage. Because of the way one of the tree trunks is growing we almost never put the car back here. The next picture is what was behind me as I was taking the above picture. If that makes sense.

That's the owner's table. It's fairly generic, but I see no point in replacing it. I'm in the market for some awesome folding chairs to add to it.

I like this one:

(here)

Not sure if I like the price, but I'm new at shopping for outdoor furniture. Suggestions?

I'm hoping that a broom and maybe a few coats of paint will help that back picnic table area look less neglected. And since I'm convinced that our gardener is worthless, I'm going to have to clean all that up myself. There's rain in the forecast for the weekend, but that will just give me more time to plan.

Wish me luck.

Home Again

2009-02-16T12:54:00.004-06:00

To find this!

It's cold and rainy today, but I hopped out during a break in the weather to take some photos of the little bush that's started flowering outside of my office window. When the weather is more reliable, I'll pull out my long lens and get some shots of the bird's nest in the orange tree. If that's not great design on the part of the birds, I don't know what is.

I have no idea what this is, but there are two in the backyard just like it - all with tiny white blossoms. I can't wait to see what all of the other dead-looking twisty trunks turn into!

...sigh...

2009-02-02T16:00:00.003-06:00

I have a sick husband. He's not a baby when he's sick, which is So Nice. But he is running a fever and trying to sleep. So I'm trying to be quiet...which means a lot of the house-related projects are on hold.

Also on hold: packing. Because my closet is in the bedroom where the sick husband is trying to sleep.

Not that I would have gotten a lot of packing done anyway. I'm in Dallas for 10 days. In February. If you're not familiar with Dallas let me explain why that is a packing conundrum. Lows will be in the low 40s- to upper 20s (I'm looking beyond the 7 day forecast and basing this on 25 years of living there.) The days that start out close to freezing will likely end up close to, if not higher than, 70 degrees. It could stay in the mid 60s the whole time (as it will be the first few days that I'm there) OR it could decide on Tuesday to drop a few inches of ice. If it does this it will be on a day that is also in the 70s.

I want to pack one suitcase. I don't want to pack sweaters. I've been jonesing for a heat wave since we got back from Switzerland so what I really want to pack is a bunch of sundresses. But I don't like being cold. AND I discovered upon purging to move here that I hate most of my clothes. So I got rid of them. Ok - mostly they didn't fit/were worn out...but that still leaves me with a half-empty closet.

Maybe none of my lunch dates will care if I just layer up the yoga clothes the whole time I'm there. At least I'll be comfy. Then I can pack flip flops and my uggs and move on.

Oh...speaking a clothes, and a big Thank You shout out to the posters below: the window in Husbands closet has a roman shade that is down most of the time - it was up for the photo. Add to that the giant Peony Tree and the fact that the window is on the North side of the house and there is almost never direct sunlight. But I did bring it up with Husband before the flu set in and he said "Oh yeah wow, I didn't think of that. Tell them thanks." And then he started coughing and said something about curtains. If he hadn't been getting sick I would have thought the cough was to protect his manhood...after all, what manly man brings up curtains to protect his clothes?

I have no new house pictures, so I'll post this picture:

This house is on Minnesota right by the Willow Glen library here in San Jose. I'm not sure if you can see it even when you blow up the image, but in the second floor window - the one facing you with the shade pulled up - is a mannequin...I think it's Mark Twain. Like I said, this house is by the library and also on the street I take to get to quite a few shops, so I pass by regularly. Mark Twain (I'm calling him that, I don't care) is always posed in a different window, in a different position. It's creepy and awesome. I promise to get a better shot one of these days. And find out the story.

This is their front gate. I love the roosters.

Randomness

2009-01-31T17:52:00.005-06:00

Remember the fab moleskin icons that I used to clean up my desktop? Yesterday the AT geniuses provided me with a link for Leica Icons...I've replaced my photo file icons with those. It's cute.

Also, I've been trying to figure out the best way to get organized now that I'm down to the nitty gritty of it.

Decorno (whom I stalk under my personal email alias) is using a binder for her kitchen renovation. My next big project will definitely involve one of those.

MSN (shockingly) had some good organization tips:

I like this one but don't know where I'd apply it, exactly.

This one more likely:

(here)

Especially since I have a nice large wall over our toaster oven.

And not design related at all, but I'm sharing anyway because I love the image.

Back to the Guest Room

2009-01-29T16:32:00.007-06:00

I know - I'm obsessed. It's the room we're going to use the least often, so why am I fixated? Because I gave my husband the walk in and the "big" bathroom and I need somewhere to store my books and stuff and I'm sick of tripping over things.

So the bookcase might be in its permanent spot, depending on the size of the guest bed (we now have our first confirmed visitors - in town for the 4th of July. Woot!) but the chair will have to move (maybe?).

Any way, to completely brag: look at how good this bookcase looks! (for now)

There at the top, one of those mag boxes is filled with the last 12 months of Domino (I cull the oldest one monthly so they don't overflow and file the tear sheets)...tear...

The paper-wrapped items in the first image are the gold-framed mirror and a plain unframed rectangular mirror. I have no idea where I'm going to hang them.

I have a thought to hold off on buying the vanity I want:

(available here)

And just purchasing a little tufted stool to slide under this table:

and hanging the gold mirror above it and using the table as a vanity.

Stools options haven't even been researched so who knows.

And just so you don't think I'm completely on top of everything all the time - I spent today burning 23 cds for my sister, instead of dealing with our kitchen table/dining area, which looks like this:

Partly because my brain hurts from all the alphabetizing, leveling, drilling, and hauling, but also because in those storage boxes are glasses like these:

(here)

And I'm secretly hoping that husband will say we can put our mismatched glasses away - donate or put them out in the summer kitchen and use these full time. Mostly I'm sick of having things to store.

Every day I get a little closer to having an actual garage sale. Maybe when I get back from Dallas and the weather is a bit warmer...

Weird room ----> Walk-In

2009-01-27T17:09:00.009-06:00

So remember the weird little room? And the changing plans...a little trip to Home Depot and roughly $40 later and voila! Husband has the best closet in the house. Probably in his life.

The curtains in the bathroom belong to the homeowner. It's on my redo list.

I switched the tall bookshelf (from target, will be replaced because it's not going to survive another move) with the short one so that there could be natural light and fresh air. The lamp was just there to help me see.

That's all I bought, excluding the shelf at the top. That's leftover from the loft. (tear)

I moved my vintage/formals and the wrapping paper to the now-empty guest room so the right side of built-in is exclusively suits. Husband's suits. My bags are up on that shelf because I just haven't moved them, yet. I know. Lazy me. The left side is still coats.

After.
I did not color coordinate his clothes. He even wears them in order as to ensure equal wear-and-tear. There will probably be a little bench/stool in there somewhere so he can sit and tie his shoes. Until then he'll have to walk 15' to his desk and sit there.

Now his clothes have room to breathe!

And the bonus is that the owner left his mirror so now Husband has one, too!

It's not the closet Big built for Carrie, but it's a good start.

I have too many girl parts!

2009-01-26T19:36:00.008-06:00

My big problem with older houses is one that is luckily easily rectified: shower heads. Old shower heads just suck. Really, that's all there is to it. Generally they were originally good, but decades of mineral deposits and lack of attention leave them with water spraying everywhere but where you want it. Ours is no exception:

Luckily, I have a nice gooseneck hanging around, so I unscrewed the existing shower head and prepared to install the new one. And then I made my discovery: both parts of my equation are female parts.

So I fiddled around a bit and discovered that not only is the ring permanently attached and *female* but even if I were to just push it back I couldn't screw the gooseneck to the pipe because the pipe has a weird bulby tip:

I know what you're thinking and stop it.

Luckily I have a plumbing guru on speed dial. Fingers crossed for a speedy resolution so I can have a decent shower!

Reader suggestion: Walk in Closet...

2009-01-25T18:11:00.012-06:00

An idea we hadn't even considered for the Tiny Weird Room. A Walk-in closet. And since it would be husband's walk in closet it wouldn't be too weird...

Trust me. Check out his clothing situation as it is now:

View of shirts from the floor.

View of slacks, sport coats, and suits from the floor.

Not pictured: t-shirts and sweaters, which are on a shelf above this stuff.

Shoes, belts, sundries - ON THE FLOOR. (ick)

This is the right side of the built in that exists in the weird tiny room. The plastic-wrapped clothes are suits that needs tailoring. The rest is my vintage and the gift wrap organizer.

He's got a 3 drawer dresser as well, but it's currently in use as my bedside table so it will probably continue to reside there.

My plan? Inspired by the commenter on the previous post and Jane from Sea Of Shoes: a Walk In Closet.

My thoughts are to put tension rods in at the spot to the left of the built in closets, like so:

(image)

And then this to the left where the door to the furnace is, since that needs to be accessible:

(image)

And for his shoes:

(image)

Although if it were my shoes, then I would completely copy Jane:

(image)

As it is, I'll just have to be patient...

And hey, maybe we'll put some temporary wallpaper up so the place isn't *so* dreary...

Library? Craft Room? Weird Little Space we Stick Boxes in and Otherwise Ignore?

2009-01-22T12:32:00.006-06:00

We have a weird space:

From wall to wall it's 8' wide and 11'3" deep. That's the entry on the right of the diagram - the door at the top is to a very slender bathroom. The built in cupboard (top left) is 2' deep and 4'2" wide. The water heater/furnace housing is 2'3" by 5'1". It's one of the rooms the owner doesn't want me to paint, which is a shame since the only window is too small to fit a Jockey through and the walls are paneled. And not the cool panel that reminds me of the quickly-becoming-ubiquitous tree wallpaper, either.

I'm not even talking about that carpet. Luckily it exists in this tiny weird little room and the "rec room" that's attached to the summer kitchen. Those built-ins are already full, by the way. The left side is coats and wrapping paper and the right side is husband's overflow and my vintage. Have I mentioned our tiny closet situation?

So this is what I'm brainstorming today as I continue to organize the inside kitchen. I'm putting off the summer kitchen, garage, and rec room until it's reliably in the 70s...so March, I think.

I did pick up these for the inside kitchen:

Oh, and I did a flickr search and found some "Craft room" sets that I find inspiring. If only I could PAINT!

This one has a bedazzled phone, among other goodies. It's much more intense than what I need. I basically need gift wrap and scrapbook storage. Which even feels like over-statement because all of my scrapbook gear fits into a specialty bag that is lighter than what I carried daily to college. Her craft room also has that Keep Calm and Carry On poster, which is starting to feel contrived to me.

I would like to have a sewing machine and dress form one day, and that room would actually be good for that. But I don't own either of those items, yet.

This one has an Anthropologie Window display that I enjoy.

I love the wall color in this one.

And I just like the personality in this little corner shot.

We'll see what I can come up with for my corner space.

A bar...and cookies

2009-01-21T15:46:00.004-06:00

Little by little things are getting organized...which makes me happy... Behold!

This used to hold various kitchen implements, and we had an old coffee table top on it and we used it as a breakfast bar. Great in the loft, but not practical in our new place. Our old bar was actually a bookcase purchased at Target for the grand price of $20. It can all be seen here.

This one has always held platters and cake stands and it still does. As well as vases.

This idea I got from The Greatest Show of Our Time. Season one. The sleepover episode. You can see it as a butler walks through the scene about 15 seconds in:

You know you love me
XOXO

Finally! Something complete enough that I can walk away from it

2009-01-19T16:28:00.004-06:00

Check it out:

Bookcases: you know them as the ubiquitous and amazing Billy Bookcases from IKEA.

Ok - so what's temporary about this is the empty shelf on the bottom left. It's empty because it's sitting over a (closed) heating vent. And while we never turn the heat up to anything truly balmy, I didn't want to risk warping anything by having it directly over the vent.

Also temporary is the rug by the front door. We needed something and it's roughly the right size.

Finally - my Wall of Shame was dismantled prior to the move and the hallway is too tiny for such a gallery so the photos have been spread out over the flat surfaces, which I don't always like but am going to live with until I get it organized and hung.

The rest of the house still makes me cringe upon entering.
So that's where I'm at. Yippie!

Once Begun, Half Done

2009-01-16T19:11:00.007-06:00

Mary Poppins was cracked. I began well over a week ago and let me tell you that I was not instantly "half-done." Not even remotely. In fact, it wasn't until Tuesdayish that I considered myself half done. I barely consider myself Half Done now.

What is half-done, you ask? Simple- the Guest Room.

It's the empty square at the top of the floor plan. (Our room is in the front of the house, which I normally don't like, but it's bigger.)

You might remember it looking something like this:

And as of Wednesday, it looks like this:

(those boxes contain items which belong in the Garage...where they will be placed this weekend. Another project altogether.)

And:

The cats have since been locked out of the room in order to protect it for future guests who might be allergic (dear friends and my Mother-In-Law) also to protect our chair from their claws.

The chair used to be covered in this completely destroyed avocado green polyester itchy grody upholstery. My sister inherited it from my father who got it from a friend who built it during while he was pursuing his architecture degree. Structurally, that chair might survive nuclear holocaust. She hated it, so I took it. Because it's a nice scale and it's cozy.

I had it recovered in Soho Serenade in Noir (cut velvet, Robert Allen, to the trade) and now she loves it. She's got too much pride to say she wants it back, but I can see it in her eyes. And the fact that before we moved, she always lounged in it.

The console table was a present from Husband from Room and Board. I'd like you to the table, but I can't find it on their site.

The bookcase is second hand and originally Storehouse. I think it might survive nuclear holocaust as well. I'm still trying to decide what other books are going on it. Suggestions?

We're getting this daybed, as inspired by this blog. If you don't read her blog, you should. She's actually in the process of converting the guest room to a nursery and it's so inspiring.

I promise to post pictures.

P.S. Don't you just love the flying saucer light fixture? It's like something out of an Ed Wood movie. And don't you love that there's nothing I can do about it because we're renting and we'll likely only be here for a year before I (probably) go insane and must leave the suburbs?

More pictures forthcoming. We're going to IKEA this weekend. Woohoo!

AWOL

2009-01-14T18:39:00.011-06:00

Sheesh. I have no words. So here's an explanation. In photos:

My husband's car. A 1997 Saturn SL2. It has less than 100k miles on it. This is what happens when the hydrolics go out on the ramp of the car carrier. This damage (plus whatever might have happened to the shocks/motor mounts) totaled it. Luckily we have good insurance and no real need for a second car. And Husband is going to use the insurance money for a scooter and/or a new bicycle. Something carbon that doesn't come with pedals.

I just like the labeling here.

Kitchen/Dining

Guest Room

Our Home Depot looks like George Jetson designed it.

The living room about halfway through Sunday. (Boxes and furniture were moved in on Friday)

I took halfway through photos last night, but to add them now will make for a really long blog. So I'll leave you with just one. Remember the cat beds? Well, one of them always had toys. We decided that maybe it was time to remove the cat toys from it and put it to use as a planter...since that's how it was designed.

This is not its final spot, but as of right now we're not tripping over it and the cats can access their wheat grass. Which they love. There are dirt paw prints all over the place now. If there weren't also empty boxes, packing paper, and general detritus all over the place I'd be bothered.

P.S. While I was scrolling through trying to find the cat bed photo I saw all of those pictures of our old loft. I miss that place. I miss Dallas. Part of me is glad that we decided to try a completely different lifestyle in our new town so that we could have this experience. But it's still so new that mostly I just miss my old place. Maybe that will change by the time I stop tripping over boxes.

TTFN!

2008-12-21T09:29:00.003-06:00

Today we are packing our suitcases, taking the cats over to my sister's house, and disconnecting the computers. Which means no blog updates until the week of the 5th.

Note the lack of a concrete blog-update-date? Let's just say I'd rather not accidentally lie to you.

The next few weeks will be split between Switzerland, Grapevine, and San Jose.

Merry Christmas!
Happy Hannukah (which I believe starts tonight? Or last night?)

Happy New Year!

Summer Kitchen

2008-12-19T12:42:00.004-06:00

Our new digs in the South Bay have all the modern comforts (minus a coat-closet)...including a Summer Kitchen. In case you, like my husband and our landlord, have no idea what that is, it's a kitchen on the property, but separate from the main house. In our case, added onto the one-car garage. The purpose of this is to be able to bake and cook to your heart's delight without baking and cooking your housemates in the August heat - they're leftover from the pre-central-air days. Farmhouses generally have them. A genius invention, actually.

Unfortunately, ours shares space with the laundry machines and was clearly last decorated in what I like to call the Harvest Gold Heyday. I'm not to be deterred, though. I plan to hang some posters, install a 1950's era card table and a couple of chairs and create a nice place to store off-season cookbooks and excess freezer goods.

Here's the before image:

I love that there's storage out here. It makes me almost giddy. There might be more storage in this room than in our entire life.

The bed is going to Salvation Army and being replaced with a card table and chairs. On the right you'll note up by the door there's a washing machine and them directly next to that is a hand-washing machine. I have no idea how to use it and I had to ask what it was. Tips?

Stay Tuned for the after. And try to reign in your jealousy.

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-15T18:54:00.005-06:00

Found this while I was going through some Christmas stuff a year or so ago. Scanned it and forgot about it and then found it again. Feel free to save it and use it for your own placecards, gift tags, whatever your little Photoshopping Heart Desires:

Happy Holidays!

PS - in the interest of keeping artisans in business, please follow this link. Seriously. Save Our Toys.

PPS - notice to the right under my list of blogs I've got a list of What The Cool Kids Are Posting. Those are items that pop up on my RSS aggregator that I like enough to share. Feel free to browse away. There's great stuff in there!

If Only I Had a Green Thumb...

2008-12-09T14:07:00.009-06:00

Please believe me when I tell you that I have killed mint. Yes, Mint. An invasive weed. And I killed it. But DEAD.

And, like all people who fail miserably at something, I have longed to be successful. I watched jealously as my sister brings ailing plants back from the brink, and I lust after well-planned and executed gardens in magazines.

What I need is something hearty. Something resilient. Something that my husband won't mind looking after so as to ensure it's long and healthy life.

I also need something my cats won't readily eat. Imagine my delight, then, when I found this little how-to on the Domino Site.

A day or two later, while cleaning out my backed-up tear sheets I ran across this in the new-defunct Home and Garden:

Ok, so it's not entirely cat-proof, but it does look hardy and pretty. And then I turned the page and discovered this:

Still not entirely cat-proof, but the little mushrooms kill me. One more page in the spread and voila! Cat-proofness.

And look at those succulents! Surely Husband can keep those alive for me...right? Wouldn't they make great centerpieces?

House and Garden even had a nice little information box for indoor plants:

As did The Nest Magazine:

Then a few months later, Dwell did a spread on what they termed Terradomes. Domes- cat proof.

These remind me of the lovely Saarinen Tulip Table (which I feel is the perfect patio table.) They're also vaguely Jetson-y, which makes me want to put them in a little boys space-age bedroom.

Tulip Table
(with the Carerra White top, which I'm not sure I like. But then again, I promise not to be too picky when the opportunity to place one on my patio presents itself.)

For a bit of nostalgia: (and also to get the full effect)

Emotional Architecture

2008-12-03T15:48:00.008-06:00

But first, has Danny Seo (of Daily Danny) given me an idea for utilizing my card catalogue? He had a party and used an old apothecary chest for tea-service...so clever.

Now, Emotional Architecture...questions via this article in Apartment Therapy. I'm going to use this bad boy to help out with the place (that we have yet to find) in California. Let's see if it helps.

What feelings do I want to inspire in the various parts of my house? And how can I achieve those feelings?
Where have I been happiest and what elements can I bring from that place?
What elements will be pleasing to me, my spouse, my children and any other occupants? How can we integrate all of our needs and wants and, most of all, our personalities into our home?
Am I creating the type of environment that will welcome me home after a hard day's work? If not, how can I make it a more comforting place?
How do specific colors make me feel? How can I use (or not use) those colors as an additional way to evoke emotion?

By the way, these are hard questions...best to take your time with. Right now I've only got one partial answer:

Where I've been happiest:

Peach Tree, North Carolina

and

Anywhere I've been hanging out with the husband...the place where we were the happiest is a bit cliched. Our honeymoon, which took place here:

And that actually helps...one day I'll have a kitchen with walls the blue of the ocean. And I'll hang prints of the photos I took...none of which are on my computer. I really should reconsider keeping my iphoto library to a minimum...but I hate sifting through zillions of images for the one I want. Surely there's a better way...?

Ok...enough procrastinating. Back to the packing!

P.S...

2008-12-01T20:44:00.002-06:00

Got home after spending the afternoon running errands with a friend to find this:

He's been bad all day, but apparently sees the Moose on the tv as a challenge of some sort. Poor moose had wet antlers. Kipper (the cat) is now sitting on the cedar chest grooming himself and attempting to look innocent.

In my mailbox, the new issue of Domino - Woot!

While out, I also picked up these, from Williams-Sonoma. So they'll go on the dining table.

Happy Monday!

Any Other Year...

2008-12-01T12:46:00.008-06:00

I'd have put the tree up yesterday and would be showing you pictures of that. However, we're spending Christmas in Switzerland this year so we decided in June to forgo the tree. I still planned on doing the full decorating...granted that's not a lot because the tree is generally the centerpiece of the loft. Then we received the timeline for our move...and that went out the window. The day we fly to Switzerland, the movers are coming. Unpacking all of the decorations just to repack them feels wrong.

On the other hand, I love Christmastime. So I compromised.

The moose is part of a gift I got years ago and it has pride of place on the tv. On the shelf behind the moose is the stack of Christmas movies I own and will watch pretty consistently until they get packed.

On the same table that housed the Halloween decor, I switched out a few items and voila! Christmas has come to Chez Moi. I have no idea where I picked up any of that with the exception of the ash tray on the right (candlewick, mother-in-law) and the rubber ducky (shower favor.) Oh, and the table cloth is the underside of the ones we used for the centerpieces at our wedding.

Sorry for the radio silence last week. I was in Florida with family for the holiday and completely forgot the wire to attach my camera to the computer...lets just say that in addition to not blogging I also didn't pack make up and I let a lot slide. I did, however, get my cards addressed and sealed during the Thanksgiving Day Parade...which is a tradition of mine.

And now I'm going to go watch (as Tavi called it) Buddytheelfwhat'syourfavoritecolor! You know you're jealous.

The Most Wonderful Time of The Year...

2008-11-17T08:18:00.014-06:00

That's right folks...time for the Neiman Marcus Christmas Tree. I live about two blocks away and every year make a point of wandering over and oogling their Holiday Windows. This year, although early (recession, anyone?) they're nonetheless still fabulous.

Every year their trees have a purpose. Generally there is some benefit to local charities - Scottish Rite Children's Hospital seems to be a constant. This year - no exception. The main tree is carbon neutral and made from reclaimed/recycled materials, and the other trees were designed by school children.

You can vote for your favorite and if you live in the area, you can even bid in an auction to own one.

Better photos, and to VOTE for your favorite tree...click here.

And around the corner...

Her dress and the wallpaper are all made entirely out of old Holiday cards.

Happy Holidays!

Moving: Step One: Discovering a New Love

2008-11-10T16:42:00.020-06:00

Step one is purge. Seriously. We have collected so much stuff in our 1100 square feet that it's embarrassing. Luckily, when Sister-In-Law and Family took of for Switzerland and SHE had to purge and pack it was incentive for me to get a move-on.

So we're at the point where we're looking at our DVDs and saying "Mission Impossible? Really?" And culling that down and heading to the Movie Trading Company.

I spent yesterday doing two things: wrapping Christmas presents that will stay with our family here (no sense moving and then shipping them back when they're already purchased) and culling (there's that word again) my tear-sheets. Years and years worth of tear-sheets.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I subscribe to Domino, Elle Decor, and Dwell. I pick up off the newsstand the occasional Metropolitan Home, InStyle Home, Town and Country...whatever strikes my fancy, really. So you can imagine my stack of needing to be organized tear sheets.

Step One B: discover that you have a thing for staircases. Who knew? Is it because I've never lived in a home with a staircase? Or is it because the following are so very clever?

First - this is the latest. I love love love it. From the wise folks at Apartment Therapy: The Mirrored Stair.

And now, my ten favorites:

I love the risers, here. Such an unexpected, decadent touch.

This one has a vacation feel to it. Perhaps it's because we honeymooned in Corsica and the mountains did, in fact, go down to the sea.

This is Gwenyth Paltrow's staircase. I like the striking contrast between the white of the stairs and rails and the dark banister. I also like that it's a sqaure-spiral. Perhaps I've seen too many movies where cool things happen to fall down the air-shaft created by the stairs.

This bad boy was custom made by a company that fabricates ship ladders. I love that.

This is another vacation-house photo. Not sure if it's actually their vacation house, but it feels like it should be. I like the reverse of the dark (seafoam) risers and the glossy white treads. I imagine the stair case feels more open and airy because of it.

Glass. Stairs.

It took me a minute to figure out that the bottom of the stairs is the same material as the hearth. A nice touch, I think.

These are clearly Back Stairs. For Servants, I presume. Well, at a time when a house with Back Stairs also had Live In Help. Rather Gosford Park, don't you think? I like the little door off to the right. I wonder if it's storage or a dumbwaiter...or maybe it leads to Narnia....

Split Treads. Genius.

My Favorite. I have no idea which magazine this is from, but I love this. It goes up to the second floor of what I assume is an impressive library. I would just sit on these steps and read.

Step Two, by the way, isn't to pack. It's to figure out where to live...and that will be a neat trick, indeed.

Wishful Thinking

2008-11-05T14:42:00.005-06:00

First things first: we are definitely moving. Leaving our mid-size loft for something...else. I'm hopeful that it will have one of these:

(Image via Valentini's)

Of course, I know our tax bracket, so we'll likely end up with something closer to this: (oh wait, we have this...)

(It's Cuisinart...and no, I don't store bread and cheese next to it.)

I have, in that past, installed wine rooms in many a home. Commercially, as well, but that is generally an under-counter refrigeration unit similar to the one above. In-home wine cellars allow for a lot of creativity: everything from basic storage to - in one case - cored holes in the walls of a basement. I wish I had photos of that, but it's never light enough to get a good one.

Anyway, that's my wishing for the day. A very large room to hold a very large quantity of wine.

Photo Christmas Cards: a How-To

2008-11-03T07:36:00.009-06:00

So it's November and that means that it's the start of the Holiday Season. (It's also Basketball Season!) The first thing I do every holiday season is make my Christmas Cards. In fact - I fill them out and address them during the Thanksgiving Day Parade every year.

Don't worry - I don't ignore Thanksgiving, but we're never home for it so we don't decorate. I do, however, bake. And Bake. And then I bake some more. It's delicious.

Anyway - back to the cards. It's not hard. It's more personal than uploading an image to a website, having the computer print up everything including the addresses and - I imagine - having that website mail it for you. Every year more and more people are outsourcing their Christmas cards, which is a sad, sad state of affairs to me. Does everyone need to channel their inner Domestic Goddess and make home-made cards and goodies every year? No. But in the spirit of the holidays - you can at least pick up a pen and sign your own name.

This is a how-to blog. So I should stop ranting. I've been ranty a lot lately. I blame the Stress Of Limbo. I'll try and curb the rants. I can control that, even if I can't control limbo.

So here you go.

Step one. Supplies. To make any card you will need blank cards, and items with which to decorate. I headed over to Good Ole' Target and picked up a package of 50 blank 3 1/2" x 5" white note cards and envelopes. I've also got packages of these delightful photo corners laying around from a project I did several years ago. In overbuying, I managed to supply myself for Christmas cards for a few more years. Shimmery cranberry paper (I picked it up second-hand, but I'll pimp Paper-Source because I love them and their paper collection never fails to satisfy.) And either craft glue or double sided tape. As with the gift-wrap how-to, my craft glue is glued SHUT so I opted for double-sided tape. And of course - you'll need a photo, since this is a photo card how-to.

I start by trimming the paper to the size I want - here I opted for a wide band, but in the past I've done thinner and played with positions. This is something that is completely left to your taste, but keep the Rule of 3rds in mind. You can never go wrong with that. I secured the paper to the inside of the front flap at the edge of the fold. It's important not to go into the fold or your card might not shut, which is irritating for the recipient.

Next I wrap it all the way around the the back of the back flap. I chose not to wrap it inside because I'm not sure how much I'll want to write and I didn't want the card to get too thick that it won't slide into the envelope easily. Note the bit of looseness in the red paper? This will pull tight when it's closed. If you make the paper too tight, it won't close -- and again there's irritation and potentially tearing, which would negate all of your hard work.

Next step - attach photo. I find it easiest to get the corners onto the photo first and then attach the whole thing to the paper - I pulled out the photo so you could see just the corners. But if you're a measure twice type of person and you want to go another way, more power to you. I like to eyeball and if it's off a little bit, well...as my mom (and her mom before her) says: "Your friends aren't gonna care. And if they do care, then they're not your friends." Which is true for almost anything.

Step The Second to Last: photo. I blurred it out. I'd hate to ruin the surprise. It's not a recent photo, but it's a fabulous one.

Then you just write a cute little phrase, sign it, stick it in the envelope, address, stamp, and mail. And voila! You're spreading Holiday Cheer.

After you get the groove down with the babies you can just churn right through them. I find doing it with a cocktail and one of those movies I love and never tire of has many positive effects: I don't feel like a slug for lying on the couch staring at a movie, and I'm not feeling like it's a chore to do Christmas cards. And the booze doesn't hurt things, either.

Happy Holidays!

Odd Week...

2008-10-30T08:40:00.003-05:00

So I know that I usually post on Wednesdays, but this week is a little crazy. Some things on the home-front are up in the air (potentially a move in my future) and there's a party that I'm unexpectedly helping to host on Friday.

But just so that you're not left high and dry, here's a bit of inspiration. Not home-design, or even party - but life design, which isn't too far from everything else.

Life Design = organizing and creating your life to bring inspiration to yourself and those around you...even if it's just an inspiring gigglesnort. (Which, btw, is one of my favorite made-up words.)

I took this lady's lovely advice - everything is more fun in a tutu - and made one. It's part of my halloween costume and then it will become what I wear to make dull things more fun.

And the photo of the post...my in-process cookies:

Inspired By Domino

2008-10-28T15:24:00.008-05:00

While flipping through the new issue of Domino, I spied this:

and I thought, "Now there is something easy and fun I could do with that old mirror that's hanging in our entry hall."

"That old mirror" is actually this old mirror, inherited from my great-grandmother (mother's father's mother) and dearly loved.

I also have an over-abundance of loose photos and postcards that I've just stuck into the edges of frames on my Wall Of Shame:

So I just pulled them out and compiled them into the mirror:

And my Wall of Shame is back to being as neat as a Wall of Random Stuff can be:

Voila! A freshened entry hall in less than 10 minutes (including time for photos.)

P.S. The Gentleman who owns the mirror has also decoupaged his kitchen appliances. I want to be his new best friend.

A Yoga Space

2008-10-22T09:17:00.006-05:00

I see a lot of "Designated Yoga Spaces" in Yoga magazines and Design magazines and the one complaint that I've had - and the I've seen in reader-response letters (yes, I read those sometimes) is that they're all for people with loads of space - sometimes even an extra room or an extra house on their property.

Given that I have none of those things (we have 1190 sq. feet and you've seen our office) I thought I'd share my space with you. It would be really easy for you to duplicate. I've measured it and it requires floor space of 6 sq. feet - or an open yoga mat with space to extend your arms.

I double-mat because concrete is so unforgiving on the palms of your hands. Spend 5 deep breaths in downward dog and you'll understand. Sequences, pulled from issues of Yoga Journal, are mounted and taped on the inside of the office door, so that they're readily available when I need inspiration. They rotate out, except for the Sun-Salutes on the top left, which should be performed daily. To the left, off of the picture is our office and to the right is the open loft area, namely the couch. Directly in front is our reading (scotch/cigar) corner and the beginnings of Christmas shopping.

I have a view of both my monitor and my television, which is nice when I using a video because I don't have to adjust my space. I have a couple of DVDs, but I get the most motivation and variety from an online course at Yoga Today. They're free (and not paying me to gush) and so informative. The instructors can tell you where your focus should be, what your body placement should be, and what you can expect to feel from your muscles as you go through their sequences.

The space needs two things - a sense of serenity (which you can get either from meditation or the ambience of the room), and something to focus on when you're doing balance moves. I focus on the finial of the floor lamp by the card catalogue:

So ultimately, you don't need an entire room (or structure) you just need a clear patch of floor. And some uninterrupted time to find your breath. Namaste.

Blog Action Day: Poverty

2008-10-15T13:33:00.003-05:00

Every now and then I have a hard time reconciling my sense of responsibility with my job. I spend my days surrounded by the Old Dusty Moneyed debating the merits of tapestry vs. embroidered silk. I can smooth it over with myself by saying that it's helping in a small but important way - by making a home a more pleasant place to be people are less likely to spend their off-hours stressed and surely that's good for something, karmically speaking.

When I measure myself using the best yardstick I know (my family) I come up drastically short.

My mother runs a university library. The skills she helps the students learn enrich their lives much more than wool carpet ever will.

My sister teaches in bilingual 1st grade classrooms - students enter her room in the fall often coming straight from the fields in Mexico. It's not uncommon for them to have never seen a printed word in their lives and when they leave they speak both Spanish and English (are well on their way to being fluent, given the capacity for retention at their young age) and can read and write well enough to move into 2nd grade. These families have stories that bring tears to even my charred, blackened heart and it's entirely possible that one of the desks in my sister's classroom was filled by a future president, rocket scientist, doctor...and I've seen her teach. If she had been my 1st grade teacher I would have been so motivated to learn.

Then I move to the cousins - one works for a city planning company in California. Clearly - doing good works there. I can't even imagine the chaos that could ensue if people in her position suddenly disappeared. I have another cousin who works at a mortuary. She's the first face grieving families see when they start that gut-wrenching process - having grown up with her I KNOW that she helps relax them and ease - if not their outright pain - then their stress at the process. On the east coast I have a cousin who is a massage therapist. Having been in need of one of those myself I can say with certainty that she is on-par with medical doctors. She improves the quality of life for her clients in ways that you and I can't understand. Her brother, currently at Princeton Law, has spent his entire life traveling the world to understand how it works and to make it better.

So you can see where my crisis of conscience happens. Pity-party, table of one?

Not really. Because at some point in my voracious reading I came across a term that resonated: Noblesse Oblige. It basically means this: Those who have the means are obliged to do good with them.

Am I a noble? Not technically. Although this is America, so the barriers-to-entry of Nobility are less stringent than other countries. Here's my yardstick for that: the Global Rich List. According to this, my husband and I are the 45,439,321 richest person in the world. That might not seem like it's very near the top until you percentagize it: the TOP 0.75%

That's right. We fall into the top 3/4ths of the top 1% of the world's population.

The site further breaks it down thusly:

$8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in Honduras to grow and sell fruit at their local market.

$30 could buy you an ER DVD Boxset OR a First Aid kit for a village in Haiti.

$73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda.

$2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village.

That's all well and good, you say, but what does that have to do with design?

It shows that for - as the informercials say - pennies a day, even those of us with the most frivolous jobs can make a difference by giving of our time and our money.

I have three favorite organizations:

1st - most closely to my heart: Habitat For Humanity. With the economy in its current state I haven't been able to give as much as I'd like, but I do give. The best part is that these guys don't just want you money. If you have usable salvage from demo sites, they'll take that too. What they don't use on their sites goes into retail shops where anyone can go and pick up anything from furniture to tile. At the risk of sounding trite: sometimes the biggest difference in a person's life can be made by the smallest thing...like a house key.

A Little video to show you more:

2nd: The Make It Right Foundation. Where our social services failed (and right at this moment I am even more outraged at the $7000b bailout. Bush can't re-build homes of those displaced by natural disasters - not just in NOLA but all over the country - and yet he's willing to shell out my money to corporations whose CEOs made more last quarter than most people will see in their lifetimes? OUTRAGE.) Re-starting that sentence: Where our social services failed, our Nobles stepped in. They built - and will build more - houses that managed to withstand this past hurricane season. They brought not just shelter, but hope and inspiration to everyone...at the risk of repeating myself - even my charred and blackened heart is touched. (Not to mention, THIS poster is ah-maze-ing. I've purchased it to add to my Wall Of Shame.) I'm hopeful that when their current goal is met they will expand their efforts.

This is an older video, but it's Brad Pitt explaining what they're doing.

3rd, and not design related, but still SUCH a great organization: Heifer International. If the old saying is right: Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for life - then this is the Teach Him To Fish Organization. Again, it's about the small things. A single cow provides milk, which makes cheese and yogurt - all three of which are saleable commodities in demand in the 3rd world. Also, it's fun to put the "flock of chickens" card in someone's stocking at Christmas. Imagine, if you will:

Recipient: "What's this envelope with the fancy bow...?" Untie-ing and opening..."Oh...it's a Flock. Of. Chickens...."
You: "Yeah, through Heifer International. You gave a family in the 3rd world a flock of chickens for Christmas! So now, instead of the entire family - even the children - working so hard to get food, they have eggs and chicken, which they can eat themselves and sell so that they can buy what they need. The kids don't have to work as hard and can afford uniforms so they can go to school and learn and lead productive lives to help pull their family out of poverty. All because of one flock of chickens."
Cue tears all around. (Probably best to have the box of tissues ready.)

Diane Lane talks about it here. (Best to have the tissues ready - she talks about Nights at Rodanthe first, but trust me. It's worth watching.)

Another video, totally kid-friendly and will likely make you chuckle: (and as he says - count your blessings and spread them around. Even those of us whose lives revolve around pillows and sofas can make a difference.)

How To Wrap A "Soap-Opera" Present

2008-10-13T20:34:00.012-05:00

I like to wrap gifts in boxes so that you untie the ribbon, and pull off the box. No wasted paper, and the box can be re-used for another gift. A friend who received a gift in this manner told me that she and her sister call that "Soap-Opera wrapping."

I originally thought that I would have to wait until Christmas to give you a step-by-step but the opportunity arose, so I grabbed it.

Funny story: one of my husband's co-workers has spent the better part of this year and last in and out of the doctor with his wife. When this started, I was also spending the better part of my time in and out of the doctor, so they commiserated about waiting rooms, etc. Not wanting to pry, my husband never asked the nature of her illness, but he assumed it was chronic because her doctor trips continued after mine had tapered off. Then, mid-summer, Husband comes home and says "You know, I think it might be something degenerative, because Co-Worker bought his wife a tricked-out minivan so that she could get around easier." Fast forward to last week and husband comes home and says: "You remember how Co-Worker's wife was at the doctor a lot? She's having twin girls. In November." Right. Chronic and degenerative. Something like that.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled for them. I purchased appropriate gifts and wrapping (Paper-Source) and got to work:

Step one, cut a piece of paper large enough to wrap inside the box top/bottom.

Using craft glue (or double sided tape if your glue bin has been glued shut) fix the top/bottom to the paper - this will keep it from sliding around while you secure the sides. I ran tape around the perimeter to prevent odd lines or bubbling.

You want the edges of the paper to be as smooth as possible so I run the tape up against the edges and corners. Also - when you find that it's time to wrap inside the lip, I cut two diagonal slits so that there's as little folding as possible.

Because it's a gift, and we're not all Martha Stewart, I do have some folding on two sides - much the way a traditional wrapped package is folded.

Secure any loose ends with tape and proceed to the other part of the box. Repeat all steps.

Then you pack the box, and tie a ribbon. (Can you tell I was losing my natural light by now?)

Et Voila! A sweet, pretty gift that can be re-used. Also nice about this - when you go to a shower or any event with a large amount of gifts, yours will stand out for it's simple chic-ness. It's a skill I've honed and I always feel so proud for putting in the extra time to wrap my gifts when I set it on the table amongst all of the generic bags and tissue. In fact, I'd venture to say that if you can't spare the time to wrap a gift properly, it's well worth your money to pay someone to do it for you. Any story offers that option.

Because it's hard to tie a ribbon and take photos of the stages, one of these days I'll recruit my husband to take video. But that's another post for another day.

Score!

2008-10-12T10:47:00.008-05:00

Thursday I wandered out to Cedar Hill to visit the campus of my Alma Mater (does that apply to University?) where I'm sitting on the panel of faculty, students, and alumni who are helping the school apply for the pre-curser of the Baldridge Award. Full Disclosure: my mother runs the library.

After the meeting, my mother, a baseball player, and myself wrangled a circa 1950s solid-wood card catalogue into the back of my Magical Honda Fit. (That's right. There was even room to spare. Aforementioned Baseball Player was SHOCKED.) It sat in my trunk overnight. It must weigh close to 200 lbs. I'm not even exaggerating.

The next morning, with all but the drawers still taking up space in my trunk, I hop in my car and head up to the wine shop whose tasting area we're designing. As I'm driving past construction in Highland Park I notice the distinct smell of lacquer and note with dismay that it's detrimental to the otherwise nice fall-ish smell in the air. (You know that smell...molding leaves, ragweed, freshly cut 2x4s) Well past the construction and I'm still smelling lacquer. Completely wish the smell would go away because I'm starting to get a bit light headed. Then I pull to a stop light and there's a moment of silence on my ipod. A moment of silence except for the small hissing sound coming from my trunk. And then it hits me: spray paint. I have two cans of orange spray paint in my trunk - from Sunset Lounge. Two cans of potentially crushed spray paint. And I'm definitely getting high. I get to the wine shop, have the electrician lift up the hulking bit of furniture and pull out only one crushed - and spraying - can. The other can was saved and is now completely out of harms way. Luckily for all involved the paint is restricted to the back of the card catalogue and the rubber mat that protects my floor.

So I come home (still high), have some lunch, and get the super to help me haul it upstairs, where it slides under the window in between our tufted suede armchairs:

I - of course- have been flashing this photo around to anyone who'll look at it. I've heard everything from "that's So Harvard Library" to "Is that your new scotch and cigar corner?" It does make a nice little reading corner. I need to clean out the flostum that's collected behind the chairs.

The cats, of course, love having a new "hiding" place:

Actually, I was cleaning out one random bag and discovered baby spoons which belonged to myself and my sister. From what I can tell they were made in the 50s, which means they might have been my moms, first. But in my family it's hard to tell. (Mine is on the right.)

I've decided that when I start preparing for our children I'm going to splurge for a full set of these little spoons - in the interest of creating heirlooms. Also because I'm a firm believer that everything you use every day should be exquisite. All of the banal items used to make it through life should be instruments that make you smile.

Next up on my list...something MUST be done about my desk. But a hack? An entirely new desk? Here's the story: desk is from Container Store circa the 1990s and the most heavily used section (first by my husband in his college days and then by me) is wearing and vaguely splintering.

Idea #1 - and least expensive: sand and spray. But what color?
Idea #2 - take an idea from AT (exact entry) and decoupage "posters" to the cover. Inspirational ones such as this:

Idea #3 - new desk entirely. Either this one from West Elm or a custom one involving a trip to IKEA. Time will have to decide this one...

Voila!

2008-10-06T17:09:00.003-05:00

Finished the table! My brother in law gave me some instructions for fixing the leg but it sounds like they require a garage...and not the communal kind I have. And since the structure of the table isn't precarious without the repair, I'm going to put it on hold for now. The table rarely sees more action then a glass while I read so I think I'm safe.

So here is the after:

The color is a blend of the wall paint from our bedroom (BM Almost Black) and a rejected sample quart from a client's house (Parlor Tan by Manor Hall). I rather like it.

Pretty Little Things...

2008-10-06T15:27:00.005-05:00

I've put the first coat of dove-grey on the table. And it's drying, so I thought I'd post up a couple of ads that I ran across that I love:

Maybe it's the time of year. Maybe it's the simplicity. Maybe it's just fabulous. I keep running across this Coach ad and every time I see it I think of how much I love it. If I didn't already own black mary-janes, that ad would be enough for me to go and at least try them on...

This one showed up in a Barney's catalogue in my mailbox. Again - perhaps it's the time of year. Or maybe I'm finding myself moved by Black and White recently? At any rate, if $1600 boots were in my budget, these would be in my closet.

Finally - I know it's not an ad, but I have a girl crush on Zooey Deshcanel and I love the font in which her name is printed. Any suggestions as to where to find it? (I'll likely contact Nylon directly if I can't find it on my own.)

A Little Conundrum

2008-10-05T17:17:00.009-05:00

I'm tackling the things on my to-do list today. Namely, the table. I started by sanding:

I'm not interested in getting it perfectly clean. Mostly because I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. (Glossy paint?) I did want to get any rings, staining, and minor scarring off. So then I did a light sand on the legs:

And then I flipped it over so I could tighten said legs and perhaps put an end to the wobbliness. No such luck. What I found was that the bottom shelf of the table had split (the majority of the piece is solid, but the bottom is three layers of wood pressed together.) I have no idea how to fix this without completely re-making the shelf, which I'd rather not do.

What the broken leg looks like:

What it should look like:

Suggestions, please?

Wrapping...and a little Desk Hack

2008-09-25T21:37:00.007-05:00

Chances are you know someone with a birthday next month. If you're in my family, you know close to a dozen people with birthdays next month. So I've been spending a bit of time wrapping gifts the past few days.

Every time I present a gift to someone there is always a comment about how nice the package looks, so I thought I'd share a few tips.

First: go with simple paper and a fabric ribbon. Trust me. Even something simple like grosgrain will up the ante on any gift.

I do take the age and gender of the recipient into account, which is key. Observe:

The two gifts in the background are for my brother-in-law, who will be turning 33 in a few weeks. The paper is from IKEA and I think I grabbed the ribbon from the $.99 bin at Michaels. What keeps his gift from being too precious is the lack of a bow. I simply wrapped the ribbon around and snipped it where the ends come together. Some double-stick tape holds it in place and then I plopped a label over the (not pretty) joint. My sister, a few days younger than her husband, will be getting a present wrapped in craft paper and tied with another length of $.99 ribbon. She gets a bow (your basic square-knot - just pull loops and not the full ends. Don't be afraid to re-tie once or twice) as well as a label. Do I always use such conservative wrap for these two? No. But it appealed to me for the season in which their birthdays fall.

Another birthday falls next week, and the recipient (who will be ten) is getting this:

The paper is from Paper-Source and the ribbon is from Costco. I picked up the paper because it reminds me of Dorothy's slippers and the recipient has recently discovered and fallen in love with The Wizard of Oz. Her gift is saved from preciousness by the black and white ribbons. I like to add tie-ons ocassionally, this is a bottle of "Birthday" bubbles from Sephora. Adults generally get wine-stoppers or ornaments...but anything from keychains to slinkies can be tied onto a gift. If your tie-on, like mine, isn't being cooperative, get creative with the ribbon and secure it with double-stick tape.

That's my secret weapon - double stick tape. You'd be amazed what removing the strips of tape from a gift will do.

When I start wrapping the gifts I'm taking to Switzerland for Christmas, I'll do a step-by-step of what a friend of mine dubbed "Soap-Opera Wrapping." In the interest of full-disclosure, I learned how to do it from Martha Stewart.

And on a completely unrelated note - I raised my screen today. I realized that while my chair and desk are at a good height for my legs and arms, the center of my screen sat a good 3 inches below my line of sight, which was leading me to slouch...and likely undoing all of the good posture that Yoga gives me.

Forgive me, I just have after pictures:

Believe it or not, my screen surround is usually covered with about ten times as many sticky notes. It's a testament that I've been able to remove so many this week. Mercury is in retrograde.

I used an in/out box from Target as my stand. Now if I can just keep it from getting clogged with detritus...

Checking Off the List

2008-09-22T14:35:00.008-05:00

Stained the cedar chest - woot! A couple of coats of polycoat - clear - was all it took for the base and top to take on the sheen of the body of the chest. Granted, the patina of age will come with well, age, but I don't feel the need to rush it. I like my aging to be authentic.

Behold, after:

Now I'm debating about the end table (in previous post with the before pictures)...suggestions? Glossy black? Glossy white? Ebony? It's solid wood...no idea what kind, though.

Unrelated, I snagged this bowl from my mother-in-law and it is temporarily filled with apples. I say temporarily because the apples will soon be in pie. But I love this bowl and feel like after the apples are gone it will remain on the table, all nubby and inviting...

Even more unrelated - on the not-design blog I have an entire post dedicated to Pomegranates, which I love. And one for fashion. I updated my weardrobe account this weekend, too. Perhaps in the quest for an organized wardrobe I am finally making strides...? Right now my best tip is to start cataloguing so you know what you've got. And weardrobe is a great source to help keep it all organized. Happy shopping!

EDIT: I've fixed the broken link to weardrobe.com. Sorry about that!

My To-Do List

2008-09-18T07:31:00.008-05:00

Before I forget, if you liked the paper crafts below, here's a link to even more...and not just animals. I still think these would add such a fun, whimsical touch to a child's room. And if your children are a little older and/or have the fine motor skills for it, it would make a great afternoon project.

And speaking of projects, I've got a nice little list to do around here myself.

First, finish the bedroom. So far it's painted:

The walls and ceiling are Benjamin Moore's Almost Black in eggshell and glossy, respectively. The molding is an acidy-yellow-green that I mixed from leftover paint I had laying around. Notice that I cut my bed out of the shot? That's because the spread is tan. I plan on hitting an India import store that I know of and picking up something colorful to hang in the windows and cover the bed.

Note: the dark paint does, in fact, make the room cave-like at night. If it weren't for the 15' windows it would be cave-like all the time. I sleep so well now.

Next on the list is this cedar chest:

It survived my childhood and came out slightly scarred. I actually think my mom bought it at a yard sale for $25 back in the 70s. It's solid cedar. I'm going to sand down the top and put a clear coat sealant on it. (The base is a new base my brother-in-law made to replace the one which had broken during a move. It also will be sealed.) Then I'll have a cushion made and it will be a nice window seat.

Finally, this table, also inherited from my mother.

Her Grandmother bought it for her at a yard-sale, and I love the shape but not color. So it will be sanded down and restained...this weekend? Maybe ebony?

This is the top of the table (arms of sofa and chair) and the beginnings of my halloween decoration (note the candy). The candle in front is sitting in a candlewick ashtray - the perfect size for candles. The orange candlesticks are from Anthropolgie a few years ago and I love them but I can never get the candles to stay vertical. Any suggestions?

To leave you on a completely unrelated note (and with baited breath to see the "after" shots)...

Happy Birthday, Lance Armstrong!

A Good, Green Clean

2008-09-10T13:25:00.005-05:00

Back in April, on my other blog, I posted some tips for living a cleaner, more toxic-free life. (I also Saved The World...)

And while all of that is still relevant, I'm going to focus today and getting the best clean you can with as few toxins as possible. I said it before, and I'll say it again: you might not be drinking the Lysol, but you're cleaning with it and then your pets/babies walk over it and then lick their paws/put their hands/feet in the mouths...you see where this is going. Best to avoid accidental ingestion of poison.

So, step the first: clear the clutter! Victorian houses might have been full of character, but they were also full of DUST. If you have collections, keep them centralized and in an easy-to-clean area. If you've got items that are just hanging on...well, determine what good they're doing you and if the answer is "none" then donate. Your trash is someone else's treasure. Why deny them?

And now that you've got a clutter-free environment, let's move on to the actual product usage.

A) I like Rags. Barmops. Old t-shirts when you need to be lint-free. re-usable, washable, and not very expensive. Target, IKEA, your husbands closet...all good sources for rags. Leave the paper towels for that which is truly gross: cat barf.

B) If it has chlorine, it will kill you. Ok, at worst it'll kill you. At best you'll have asthma-like symptoms. And you've got a fully-formed respiratory system. Birds, poor things, breathe everything twice. If you need bleach, pick a chlorine-free option. Seventh Generation has one.

i) while we're on the subject of respiratory inflammation: synthetic fragrances will do the same thing. Avoid those.

C) But what about bacteria? You ask. I'm glad you did.

White Vinegar. (photo courtesy of ivillage)

To quote a pro:

"Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—thekind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can’t claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show “48 Hours” had a special years ago with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this. "

(for more on this see here)

D) Lemon Juice. Nature's whiter, brighter, smell-nicier alternative to B. Disposal smelling like things are decomposing? Grind half a lemon in it. Towels smelling musty even after a decent washing? Next time, add 1/2 cup to your laundry and smell the freshness (line-drying in the sun will also help.) It goes on and on.

But what if you're not up to mixing your own cleaner? What if you need a few more tips?

E) My Three Favorite lines:

Method

Available most easily, they designed their products with the full product-life in mind. Non-toxic, recyclable, fragrance-free.

Ecover

I use their eco-scrub the most. It works wonders on the tub and I don't worry about my cats drinking the potential residue in the bath water. Which they do.

Seventh Generation

Most of my home-cleansers come from these guys. Their carpet cleaner is such a miracle worker that I have been known to give away bottles to people just so they, too, can know the awesomeness. Cat barf, doggy accidents, and latex paint (still wet): all disappear As I'm Squirting. The consistent ingredient is hydrogen peroxide, which is a disinfectant...and if you can pour it on cuts, you can pour it on carpet. Trust.

And for those of you who need to have the good-ol' Antibacterial Stamp...let me direct you to a slew of hits when the phrase "too much antibacterial" is googled.

A Helpful Little Time Killer...

2008-09-03T10:57:00.004-05:00

I discovered this little quiz via OhDeeDoh a few days ago and immediately took it. Unlike other "what's your style" quizzes, this one has 14 options (in the form of tiled images) and one gray tile which I took to mean "other." I ignored the "other" option the first few times I took it (I like to retake these things to check for accuracy) and every time I got the following:

"HOME QUEEN: Bringing up baby hasn't in the least bit cramped your sense of style. You have an almost theatrical approach to interior design, dressing up rooms just as you yourself would for a glamorous night out (or in). The look is opulent and luxurious, but can be equally sexy and sophisticated - just like you!"

And before you get all excited, NO, there's no baby in the house. Yet. There's not really one on the way either, but since we plan to be parents sooner rather than later, I chose as though I were already preparing.

You can then choose to read a more in-depth accounting of each room...for FREE. I found it fairly spot-on.

A minute ago, just to see what it would say, I hit the "other" option at every chance and received this answer:

"Ooops! Now you've done it! Actually this doesn't work and it's probably our fault..."

So probably your best bet is to actually chose from the images.

And, because I like to have some images, I'm going to post one I found this morning on InStyle.com. I actually like the sign behind his head and am considering making one for our office. Of course, instead of LA, it'll say Dallas. (yes, that's Josh Groban)

PS - I'm updating the links on the right so you can keep up with the cool kids, too.

Ahhh....to have land....

2008-08-28T13:22:00.005-05:00

Growing up, we used to spend our summers in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. It was idyllic, to say the least. It wasn't perfect, but it was as close to Halcyion as you can get, if you ask me.

So imagine my delight when I'm flipping through the latest Domino and see a little article on a company that makes tents which inspire - in me - that same carefree feeling.

They've got plenty of styles to meet your every need. I can just imagine the parties...and all of the lovely images that involve tents like these: The last day of the Raj...The Great Gatsby... the Little Princess. Delightful.

Another Thing I Want

2008-08-25T21:11:00.002-05:00

From the September 08 Elle Decor. Take a moment, because you might need it to fully appreciate what you're looking at. The pine floors, the window panel, the funky door, the darling little vintage occasional table, the lovely Waterworks Tub...and what is that? It's a seashell-encrusted tub filler. It's from Fisher Weisman.

I, like Sylvia Plath in the Bell Jar, feel that there is nothing that can't be solved by a good soak in the tub. Having a tub filler (maybe not seashell encrusted) would only heighten that experience.

I have the new Domino, as well. I'm thinking that once a month I might just do a "Design Magazine Roundup" and feature a few of my favorite images from the magazines to which I subscribe.

My schedule changes next week, so here's hoping I'm able to blog a bit more regularly.

A Little Project

2008-08-21T12:53:00.000-05:00

Years ago, when I worked at Macy's I picked up a magnetic knife strip on crazy sale. (You know those sales, it's 50% plus 25% plus employee discount = practically free.) Sometime around Christmas we outgrew it:

For the super curious - here's half of the kitchen setup:

So, a trip to IKEA provided me with this:

A little switcheroo and voila!

And because I'm not one to waste perfectly good items:

Bulletin Board

2008-08-19T07:50:00.000-05:00

I'm in the midst of the very slow re-organizing/decorating of the home office. It started months ago when we smashed our desks together to make a partner's desk - which only works if you're not BOTH working from home.

I just noticed that I didn't take the picture right after it was set up and still all neat so I just took this one. You get the point, though. The far desk belongs to my husband - his setup is specifically for the purposes of composing straight to Garage Band, so that will likely always stay. But the shelves will be moved and replaced with art/diplomas/posters/etc. Also that's the least convenient place to store a bicycle. Still trying to figure that one out.

In the last setup (which I also don't have photos of) I had a bulletin board and a white board above my desk. The bulletin board is roughly 4,000,000,000 years old and badly in need of a facelift. Behold:

It actually looks better in this imafe than it did in real life. So I painted it bronze and trimmed it out with some pink and white ribbon. Then I took a package of clear push-pins, dipped their tips in glue and then in glitter, and poked them into the cork to dry.

And voila! A fresh, new, bulletin board:

Now if I can just get motivated enough to do the rest of the office...

A Nursery Idea and advice from Jonathan Adler

2008-08-07T11:35:00.000-05:00

First, I was reading this morning (in the Huffington Post) that Mr. Adler has "a saying in my company: The wife is always right unless the husband is gay. This is an excellent saying and questioning your husband's sexuality is a great way to get him to shut up. Assuming that this is not the case and your husband is straight (is he?), you simply have no recourse other than to eliminate him from the process. Take into account some of his functional needs, and then ignore everything else."

This is how I managed to get a pink bathroom.

Next, I ran across these little cuties and immediately thought "these would be so cute in a nursery!"

That's a coelacanth, thought extinct for millenia until a live one was discovered off the coast of Cape Town. It's made of paper and available here, along with these other charming creatures and many, many more:

Giant Panda (did you hear about the Panda Baby Boom?)

A little Spotted Kiwi.

A Giant Armadillo.

And a Juan Fernandez Fur Seal.

They are available for download from Yamaha's Site as paper crafts. It would make a fun rainy day activity for the kids (or kids at heart) and, as my sister pointed out: would be great to do during the forest curriculum with 1st graders! Edutainment, as my husband calls it.

Enjoy!

Website is up!

2008-08-03T18:11:00.001-05:00

Just a small announcement. The Embrita Design website is officially up and running!

Cleaning up the Desktop

2008-07-29T15:57:00.001-05:00

And by desktop I mean my computer screen, not my actual Covered-in-post-its desktop. And yes, I use the Stickies application for a lot of my to-do lists so add 1 ever-changing post-it to the myriad that paper my desk.

While blog-surfing I ran across this link for moleskin icons. Since I've always found the manila/blue folder to be a bit generic and not at all inspirational, I downloaded and applied. Behold the screen-shot:

And the cropped to the important bit:

No, the chick Bouldering is not me. But see how colorful and clean everything is? I color-coded them to further the organization: purple for random files, yellow for fiction, blue for design, green for gifts, and red for current invoices.

You'll also notice that off to the side I've added some links for your perusing pleasure: My Fiction Blog is the young-adult fiction piece that I'm working on. It's (obviously) written blog-style and will eventually be pulled offline, the in-between posts will be filled in with exposition, and I'll seek physical publication. Posting it live such as I am forces me to keep the time line realistic. My Not Design Related Blog is exactly that - every now and again I like to ramble. It also has photos from events. Lynn Michelle is - in the interest of full disclosure - a friend of mine. She and my husband went to college together and on occasion we all get together and get giggly. She's also the first person I recommend when someone in the area needs a photographer. Apartment Therapy has many sections, all of which are updated multiple times a day and all of which are inspiring.

In order to keep up with the deluge of information, I highly recommend signing up for the Google Reader. It'll let you know when your favorite blogs are updated. Trust me on this.

Now go forth and be a little more organized!

Where have all the Porches Gone?

2008-07-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

Or: Why McMansions just don't do it for me.

So my dream house, in the interest of full disclosure, looks something like this:

Yes, it's the house from Practical Magic, but you could substitute almost any house built before 1930. I chose this one because it is so recognizable. Here's what I like about it.

1) The porch. It's inviting and there's the idea of a sleeping porch around back, for napping on pleasant afternoons. This is the place where you can pull up a swing and some tea and chat with the neighbors.

2) If you look to the left of the photo you'll see a little door going into a solarium. This is a place where things grow. It leads out into the garden. In my head (which is vastly different from reality) I can grow things. I grow the things we eat. In reality we buy most of our grown-foods from the farmers market. I killed mint. So you can see where the fantasy comes in.

3) Structurally - this house is sound. It's solid. It's floors are sturdy and wooden and have the patina of love and age. The joists are sound, the walls are lathed and plastered. The windows are double-hung, which means that on a mild breezy day you lift the lower and drop the upper and you get a cross-breeze which cleans the air and brings harmony. And because it was designed and built in an age where every inch of space was needed - before luxuries like dishwashers and indoor plumbing - every inch of space is efficient (both for ease of movement and energy usage) purposeful, intentional, and useful.

4) There is attention to detail here. Every little thing in the house was planned and procured for it's visual appeal as well as it's usefulness. In fact - oftentimes it had to be both beautiful and useful. Doorknobs are glass, moldings were both decorative and served as an anchor from which to hang art and photos. Air vents were laser-cut (though by hand at the time) so that they were more than just a bar-code on the wall or floor ventilating the rooms. Every detail executed with loving precision so that the home reflected both the creator and the inhabitant.

5) It's likely got a dumbwaiter, which fascinates me.

6) I can do without the Widow's Walk, except that it's quirky. I do like the picket fence - this also allows you to meet your neighbors.

This is the type of house being built in Dallas:

Behold: The McMansion. Do a Google Image search and this is what you'll find. Compared to the house above and you'll find:

1) No porch. Barely a stoop. Certainly not a place where neighbors out strolling with their dogs can pause and discuss the day. Granted- a lot of very popular and attractive houses styles don't have porches. You are correct. I would go so far as to say that most don't. But that's a travesty in my opinion.

2) No solarium. No growing in a climate controlled environment unless you build a greenhouse.

3) Lots and lots of wasted space. The McMansion often has a full-height entryway - a room measuring roughly 5x5 in area but which goes straight up to the ceiling. Occasionally the stairs can be found here but often it just opens into what they call a "Great Room" whose ceiling will also be double-height - perfect for the central heat to congregate yards above where the cold people are in the winter. And - this is from experience - rarely is a brand-new home perfect. Banisters wobble, doors don't close smoothly, floors and walls are rarely at 90 degree angles.

4) Very little reflection of creator and builder. Very little attention to detail. These homes are churned out assembly-line style, without the forethought that goes into actual pre-fabs.

5) No dumbwaiter. I don't know when they stopped putting them in, but I want to bring back the dumbwaiters!

6) No widows walk, which is ok, because we're in Dallas and what are they going to look at? 75? Also - a privacy fence. And while this is good for skinny dipping, it's not so good for chatting with your neighbors.

The McMansion starts off as a great idea - and if you added the welcoming porch and gave it some character so it doesn't look like every other house on the street -- or heck, some landscaping - it probably wouldn't be quite so odious to me. Probably, if we were to wait 50 years it, too, will have the charm and character and nostalgia sparked by the Victorians that I'm watching be demolished (so that McMansions can be built).

And I know what you're thinking: Emily, you live in a loft. Why are you even talking about houses? Well, I read recently about a show at the Museum of Modern Art called "Home Delivery" and it's about prefabs, which I like the idea of. And when the time comes for a yard and a single-family dwelling, pre-fabs will be considered over going with any local builder.

Of course - this is my kind of pre-fab...just fill it with mid-century furniture and we're off to the races! (Particularly with the price tag...do you think the wind-turbine comes with it? Because I'm all about a $1600 house with wind-power.)

Giving up the Cat Perches

2008-07-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

So a few weeks ago, I did this. Well, the cats HATED it. Refused to even consider lounging about on what I made for them. So Before I killed myself adjusting it in the hopes that they would like it, I observed them for a while and then I realized something: I have ground-level cats. They prefer to be under, hidden, and only occasionally do they even get in the window sill -- and that's only when there's something compelling, like a bird. Or a cactus.

Pair that with my need to organize, organize, organize, and you get this:

I simply moved the bottom shelf to hang above the right-hand door and voila! A handy storage spot for you board games. I'm quite sure that other things will be stored up there as well, but right now it's easy to see what we have and be inspired to use it.

Also - don't be intimidated by my bookcase. I know it looks all organized but that's because I was on a tear trying to find something I'd misplaced and over-zealously attacked the books. My mom just got back from the ALA conference (Annaheim this year) and brought a stack of books. They'll have to find a home on that shelf as well....

An Ode To Jonathan Adler

2008-06-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

It started with this table lamp and has blossomed into something akin to hero worship. I picked up his book a year or so ago and it inspired me to do the crazy things that brighten up our apartment.

For example:

Inspired this:

And then I took black porcelain planters and lined them in the hallway. A bit of padding and they grew cats:

If you're unfamiliar, you really should go to his site for inspiration.

Point Click Home recently published his 15 Fabulous Design Tips. These are my favorites:

3. Don’t fit in. Scale is the most under-considered piece of the decorating puzzle. Put a Gothic throne in a studio apartment.

** I don't have a Gothic Throne, nor is my apartment studio sized, but I like the whimsy this suggests. Decor is not to be taken seriously -- even that centuries-old setee that you grudgingly inherited can be brought back to life with new springs, stuffing, and fabric. Just don't refinish it -- you want to revive it, not turn it into something you could have picked up at Brocade Home last week. (This is without insult to Brocade Home, which I adore.)

4. Paint your floors white. You’ll feel carefree.

** This week my entry and hallway carpeting is being ripped up. I'm waffling between glossy white and glossy black. Both have a decadent feel and I admit that my decision will probably be based purely on maintainance. With black kitty hair I'd be broom-vac-ing that floor multiple times a day. I do think if you've got a great Southern Porch, that white-washing the boards will keep it cool in the summer. This would probably work on a poured-concrete deck, as well.

8. Chocolate brown and baby blue are perfect together. They’re uptown, they’re downtown, they’re classic and fashion forward.

** These are my favorite colors. They are in my closet, they are in my basic designs, they were my wedding colors. Chocolate Brown is a highly underrated neutral.

10. Put regal furniture in your bathroom.

** Again with the whimsy and I can't resist. I don't have room in the bathroom for anything that might be considered regal (while not a studio, it is still a loft) but I do have a stool that I'm going to refinish ebony and recover with some extra black shantung silk I've had laying around for months. Not regal, but a step up, I think. My bathroom is also pink and black and white. I try to channel Coco Chanel when I'm in there. Some mornings it works and I emerge ready for the day all kinds of prettified. Sometimes it makes me tired. I'm hoping the new stool will tilt the scale toward prettification.

15. Make your own – Personal style means having a space that’s comfy but filled with stuff that has meaning to you. It should hold things created and inspired by passionate people. Personal style should make you happy and happiness is chic.

** It's a cliche because....it's true. Your mother-in-law thinks that only bordellos have pink bathrooms? (Mine doesn't, or hasn't vocalized it if she does.) So what. She doesn't live there. You've always wanted a Warhol-esque shrine to yourself hanging in the entryway to remind you how fabulous you are every time you enter your home? Do it! You live here. It should be your sanctuary, your shelter from the rest of the world. Do whatever you want to make it sing to you every day. Because when your house sings...you sing.

And I'll leave you with that note of cheesiness. I do agree with his other Fabulous tips (except maybe hanging art off the bookcases, mine are used to often to have that kind of barrier). Follow the link above to be inspired!

Things No One "Needs"

2008-06-24T20:44:00.000-05:00

For starters:

A cupcake stand. Not inexpensive, given what it is -- Fred Flare provides them -- but imagine a birthday party with one of these at each place setting.

An alternative is a small cake plate, like these at Crate and Barrel. Even more personal but still smaller (perhaps for petite fours?) are individual butter dishes (also Crate and Barrel.) A quick romp through ebay or your favorite vintage site will unearth decorate butter servers in an array of colors and designs. Use them for actual butter during a dinner party or put small desserts - cupcakes, tarts, petite fours, etc - at each setting for a pretty and yummy surprise.

The other thing no one needs?

A good old fashioned bar. Due to copyright restrictions I can't post an image of the one I lust after, but I can post a link. In lieu of the space/finance restricted Ostrich Bar, I'll be picking up and hacking this:

Yes. It's a changing table. It's the Hemnes Changing Table from Ikea, actually. A light sand on the finish, some putty in the screw holes, a coat of paint or stain and a funky application to the interior of the tray and visible back wall of the top shelf, and it will be a nicely weighted bar to replace the $25 not-very-sturdy bookshelf that is currently the home to our liquor. Why not get something fancy with cubbies for wine bottles, you ask? Because ideally, white wine is kept in a chiller and red wine is kept in a closet/chiller at a slightly warmer temperature. Over the fridge, in a bookshelf that is exposed to temperature variations, or anywhere else that might expose the wine to the elements is a Bad Idea unless said wine is going to be served a few days after being placed in one of those places. Also, they're not cute, they restrict organization to less-than-efficient configurations, and they're generally over-priced.

I'm going to steer clear of any kind of tile-mosaic for the tray, too. Nothing shows spills like lines of grout. The bottom will be lined with a nice brushed stainless. Perhaps these, available at interior51:

Alright... time to get my bar in order so I can throw a dinner party and serve mini-cupcakes in vintage butter dishes!

PS - embritadesign.com has been reserved and is coming soon.

100 Thing Challenge, or: how to pare it all down

2008-06-11T21:35:00.001-05:00

If anyone has been around me enough, they'll know that I'm constantly in a state of "decluttering" my life. Example: when it was time to put away the fall decorations and pull out the Christmas decorations last year, I took the opportunity to purge our tiny hall closet of the crap we were just hanging on to. It resulted in our being able to donate one full plastic bin and one full paper box. (It also inspired me to purge my closet, so there was another two full plastic bins with that. All pre-holidays.) How did I do this? I used the same rule I apply everywhere else: has this been used in the last year when there is opportunity to use it? There are three answers to this: 1) Yes. 2) No. 3) There has been no opportunity. The third usually applies to formal wear or extreme weather wear. In Dallas you rarely have the opportunity to pull out the vintage fur. This meant that half of the tchochkie decorations haven't been used in years - they went. I also opted for a tree that was minimally decorated rather than hang generic multi-colored balls up to fill space. This is ok with a lot of people, but it's not the tree I want in my living room.

You get the point.

Anyway, I'm reading this week's Time Magazine and they talk about a gentleman named David Bruno who's set the challenge for himself to pare his personal belongings down to the 100 things by November of this year. I'm not fan of setting goals like that - I like my method better, but his blog is interesting and the very idea of de-cluttering and re-organizing speaks to the root of my design philosophy.

If you need help in that category, I'm your girl. Your closet, your pantry, laundry room, kitchen, office. You name it and I'll help you clean it out and make it a healthier space. (I'm all about removing toxins from every day life.) I can be pretty harsh, too. Just because that over-sized moth-eaten flannel shirt was good to you when Ten was getting heavy rotation, doesn't mean that you need to have it in your every-day wardrobe arsenal now.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I promise I'll post pretty pictures soon.

A Little Work Around the House

2008-06-09T16:36:00.001-05:00

I saw a video this hack here and was inspired to do this myself. Between us, the husband and I have 3 phones, a DS, and a digital camera...all of which were constantly falling off the filing cabinet we use for charging.

She uses a ribbon box, but I just used a sturdy Christmas gift box that I had shoved into my wrapping station:

I used my trusty craft blade to slice the "exit channel" for all of the wires. Then I covered the box in some lovely paper that came wrapped around sweaters I ordered from Ralph Lauren a few weeks ago (they're on sale and they'll never go out of style). While I cut a 2cm-wide length down the box, I only slit the paper. I think it gives it a cleaner view should anyone catch site of the rear of the box:

I cut holes in the upturned lid for the business end of the plugs and then layered white craft paper over the floor so that you wouldn't see the gold all the time. I used fun packing tape for the hinges:

And Voila! Charging station:

I was also inspired by this blog to do a bit of re-arranging in our pathetic loft-sized refrigerator. Luckily, husband went to the farmers market on Saturday afternoon so the fruit and veg drawers aren't empty.

I promise this isn't product placement. I actually try to keep all the labels facing forward so that things are easier for me to find. Particularly since I like pickles in their whole and chip form and husband likes spears...

Note the bottles on the left - these are actually this vase from ikea that I've just filled with water and capped with wine stoppers. On any given day I will drink through all three and the two voss bottles that share the shelf.

Fruit drawer. From left: lemon/lime, peaches, plums (local and little but so full of flavor), cherries (to be pitted and put in turnovers), and blackberries.

Fruit/Veg drawer from left: corn, cucumbers, funky shaped zucchini, and tomatoes.

I'm making some cards tonight, so I'll post pictures of those. Contemplating making them - on a small scale - and selling them to interested parties. I'm also in the midst of redecorating our master. There's a trip to an India import store for some sari fabric and some paint cans in the future, but when it's finished I'll post images of that.

Showers!

2008-05-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

A few images from the showers I've planned/help plan.

First, a Bridal shower...photos by lynnmichelle:

Invitations designed by me.

Favors bags have champagne splits and glasses, along with mixed candy. Tied to the outside of the bag are ring pops.

Snack table - all serving platters are glass. The chocolate fountain we used to make s'mores.

Coke floats - perfect refreshment on a July afternoon.

And two Baby Showers: (first shower photos by lynn-michelle)

I designed this bag (sunflowers, like the nursery) for the mom-to-be to use to take home her customized onsies.

This particular station was a hit!

Thank you cards created by me, provided for the mom-to-be in pre-addressed envelopes.

This last baby shower was a winter shower I hosted for my sister-in-law. I took these photos.

Drinks (sparkling water with pomegranate juice or champagne) were served in old-school glass baby bottles.

Post One

2008-02-13T13:10:00.000-06:00

I'm just getting this one up and running. Unlike emily-m-b.blogspot.com, it will be focused on the design work that I'm doing both at home and for clients. I'll post pictures and how-to's when appropriate.

Exciting times ahead!