This new limited edition print from Matte Stephens.
Its so perfectly seattle, down to the color of the sky (October – June) and the traffic congestion, lol. But its also so perfectly green, and us.
It might even be more spot-on than the New Orleans Canal Street print I already own.
stumbled on at poppytalk
This week was a big one in the design community. Both the National Stationary Show AND the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) were held and the inspiration on design blogs was bursting at the seams. My weekly ritual is to sift through my google reader, re-reading posts i’ve starred and pinning the images I find most inspirational.
This week there were SO many, so instead of a variety of pins I decided to focus on my favorite design pieces showcased from ICFF (although the fair focuses on furniture there are also lighting and home decor items). All of these are from sub-studio design blog: Their coverage of the fair was so comprehensive but also fresh – go check it out! So much creativity from young designers, these images have already got my cogs turning for some lemon house DIY. Enjoy!
Otto Bookcase from Data Furniture
Ply Project's Flex Chair
Ply Project's Flex Chair
Aimee Wilder Wallpaper
Aimee Wilder Wallpaper
Molo Design Hobo Lantern
Abel Partner's Tea Diver [so cute!
Graypant's Slice Chair [plywood chair w/ zero waste
Today, the Seattle Times is claiming it will be 70 degreees here. It evidently has not hit 70 since last November 3rd.
The sun is shining, the sky is that beautiful spring blue.. it feels just glorious.
With this weather we are also getting closer and closer to Midsummer.. meaning that it is light out until at least 9 pm. The days feel so much longer when I get home from work in the sun and can enjoy a few moments in the yard.
We showed you our garden plan a few weeks ago. Since then, we have started to plant! I was telling B that I feel like we are so far ahead in the yard this year. To give ourselves some credit, in 2010 we were spending every weekend for a good 6 weeks digging and laying a giant patio. It just seemed to always feel like we were a bit behind last year. This year, the yard is still a ton of work, but it is a lot more maintenance. It’s nice that a considerable amount of the infostructure is in place. And that… that has given us a chance to focus more on veggie growing.
YES!
So, without further ado, some of our raised bed plantings from the past two weeks…
First we got out our potatoes and cut them so each piece had two eyes or more. Then we laid them out in the sun to dry.
We also soaked some onions. We got Walla Walla Sweet Onions!
Then, in order to plan out our beds and have everything be orderly, B an I whipped out a copy of our planting diagram. Then B used some twine to just mark out the plots. The idea is to get everything in place and then remove the twine.
Here is a baby savoy cabbage!
Some stuff, planted! We are also really doing companion and succession planting. The simple way of saying that is plants that like each other live in the same bed! Succession planting means that we are planting new lettuce (for example) seeds every two weeks so our harvests are regualr throughout the summer. Plus then we get salad all summer long instead of being stuffed full of greens for several weeks. In each bed, like the one above, some plants we got as starts and others have been planted as seeds (both outside and in!)
Mmmmm dirt!
Here are the first row of lettuce mix, before we thinned some of the sprouts.
BABY GARLICS!
Our strawberry plant did very well this winter and it now has flowers!
Hopefully with all this sun our plants will continue to grow and then produce yummy things! Our tomato plants are still inside under a grow light. And our inside seedlings of basil and cukes are growing well too.
Ah, garden.
Enjoy the weekend and the dirt under your fingernails!
A couple of years ago, while stalking craigslist for springtime estate sales, somehow we stumbled across a little shop having a “Vintage Button Sale”. So we though, eh, why not, right? We’re craft supply hoarders, a few vintage buttons thrown in the mix might be pretty fun. [In fact, I think it was this sale that first inspired our vintage button wreaths.]
Anyway, this sale, at a little textile design shop called Beppa is AMAZING. They hold it twice a year and the assortment of vintage buttons from all eras is downright incredible. Their 2011 spring sale was a few weeks ago and I decided to take some photos this year to show what its all about.
I didn’t buy these buttons, but they’re hand painted aluminum and to. die. for. The buttons below I did come home with, though. We have a pretty good stash of small and medium sized vintage buttons at home, but the larger ones are hard to come by so I stocked up on those. My favorite are for sure the silk covered japanese inspired buttons in the second image. Gorgeous
[side note - I bought the ones on the top left because I thought the middle button would be AWESOME on a halloween wreath. Spiderwebby? Anyone else see that?]
Ah ha, but lest you think this is just a room full of buttons, they have all sorts of other vintage glory. Linens including embroidery, lace, and remnants. . .
Wool felt squares (these aren’t vintage, but the price can’t be beat for wool felt in these vibrant colors).
AND an assortment of vintage baubles. I bought a porcelain beaded necklace (not captured in film yet) for $10!
This sale is the best for finding a HUGE variety of vintage adornments at great prices. If this is up your alley, definitely check out their fall sale. I mean seriously, you need it, its there. You could probably match buttons to any garmet every made, thats the kind of quantity and variety we’re talking about here. You can get on their mailing list by registering through the website I think and they send you a postcard when the sale is approaching.
As B previously mentioned, I did indeed fly to Jersey the weekend before last. It’s kind of crazy that it is already Monday again. This time last Monday, I was flying back to Washington. The Monday before that I was packing and cleaning and baking cookies in preparation. You know, all that pre trip prep it takes to get out of town – stuff to handle at work, wondering where my shirt is that I just have to wear, finishing up the last bit of a mother’s day gift, etc etc. Plus I even cleaned (ish) my room since a few college friends were coming to Seattle and staying at our place. I figured one of them might like to stay in my room and would appreciate being able to see the floor.
I flew to NJ on the Thursday before Mother’s Day. My parents didn’t know I was coming, and I was feeling quite clever about that. Their awesome neighbors picked me up from the airport even. {thank you!}
You see, Sunday was not only Mother’s Day… but also my dad’s 50th birthday. So Sunday seemed kind of like a day I should be on the other coast, ya know?
{note my dad’s party hat covering his usual Tulane cap… my mom singing in the background, how there were desserts everywhere….}
Plus, it was sunny all weekend. I ate a lot, weilded the cart at the garden store with my mom, saw the atlantic and walked on the boardwalk, planted whatever my mom wanted, chatted with fun guests at my dad’s birthday party, got my first mosquito bites of the season, hung with my sister…
It was relaxing even.
Plus there were these gigantic (no really like the size of your fist!) marshmallows which we grilled and then covered in chocolate.
Want to hear a pretty funny story though? It’s no secret my dad would eat only cookies all day if he could. Especially Oreos. So I had this brilliant idea about trying to bake an Oreo into a chocolate chip cookie.
I made the chocolate chip cookie dough even, and it was sitting in my fridge when I got the following picture text from my lil sister.
She apparently is equally brilliant.
Because she made the exact same thing. Except her cookies were already baked… and done…. and tested and perfect. Mine were still just dough.
So I told her she was just as brilliant as me, and then just baked my usual chocolate chips to bring.
I ate one of her cookies though…. and oh.goodness was it perfection. She had all kinds of tricks as to why the cookies were so perfect. Okay, so maybe more brilliant then me…..
Anyway, thanks to all who made this little surprise possible, thanks to my parents for sharing their celebration Sunday!
