meeeOW LA LA!

I absolutely *love* this commission I just finished! Too cute! I might have to start an animals on furniture series inspired by this & Desire to Inspire's Monday postings lol!

Lovely Le Creuset!

Want to know a secret? My birthday isn't until December, but I already know what Jesse is getting me! Mostly I know because I was there when we bought it! :P We stumbled upon this little dijon Le Creuset dutch oven at Marshalls for a HUGE discount! I don't get to use it 'till my birthday, but Jesse did allow a quick photo shoot... and I'm too excited about it not to share. Doesn't it look handsome on the stove?

Also, special thanks to OldSoulStyle who featured my "Skinny Stems" painting today on her blog today! It fits in perfectly with her Wacky Wednesday theme- check it out! :P

Little Brass Mouse...

Check out this vintage, little guy! Isn't he adorable? After a good polishing, he has found a new home on the side table next to the sofa.

What a Ham!

Today the Pepper Dog is featured on Desire to Inspire's Monday Pets on Furniture post!! Yay! Unfortunately, jealousy has broken out, and the Boo now requires photographing as well...

Check out the original post here!

Master Bedroom!

The master bedroom has been 99% done for some time now, but we finally got my little book shelf in place- meaning I can now feel like it's 'done.' I managed to paint and organize the closets (which was somewhat difficult because of the built-ins), but there's not much to see there. I had also toyed with painting the orangey wood, but that would be no easy task, and I'm quite pleased with how I was able to blend it in. So, without further delay- here it is! I hope you guys like it as much as we do! :)

The Mythical Season of Fall...

Growing up in Texas I always heard stories of the mythical season of "fall." We would all suffer through warm weather in long sleeves and sport scarves with t-shirts. Supposedly- according to urban legend- trees were supposed to change brilliantly into reds, yellows, and oranges while the leaves briskly fell to the ground in festive piles.

Well, now that I live up north, I finally find that it's true! The rumors are true! We drove out to Rogers, Ohio to a giant flea market today, and the fall color is just starting to turn in patches here & there. So pretty!

Yet another reason to love House...

Here's an image from this Monday's House M.D. premiere...

Notice anything? How about the 2 Eames armshells in the corner? This premiere (featuring House in a mental asylum) is chock FULL of Eames shells. One scene actually shows him standing in an empty room full of them- all in varying degrees of gorgeous green... it's almost enough to make you envious of those stuck inside! :)

The Birds and the Beans...

Isn't this fabric adorable?

It's called "The Birds & The Beans" and is a Japanese import available at ReproDepot. Too cute! I'm keeping it on my list of possible fabrics for future couch pillows.

Living Room Snippets...

While I wait for my little shelf to arrive (hopefully tomorrow), I thought I'd let you guys know what's going on elsewhere in the house. The bedroom is done (minus the shelf), and I'm really excited about it! We've started work on the new sofa for the living room and then halted work to go buy a table saw. We're going to proceed tonight, but we have the cushions & laid them out where they'll be going- I must say I love it a lot! Aside from the sofa, we'll also have some of those vintage posters coming (but that's in a week or two), and I expect that some of them will find their way into the living room as well. For now, here is the one part of the room I simply adore, just as it is...

Ok, and of course this part too...

New Vintage Posters!

Did you know the Library of Congress sells this adorable poster in a 24"x36" print for $8?...

Neither did I! But I bought it when I found it. :) I also stumbled upon a great artscow.com coupn code & a site called popartmachine.com, where I was able to get some decent resolution old WPA & WWII poster images. If you scan the subject index of popartmachine, you'll find links to all kind of images, photos, posters, drawings, etc. (many from the Library of Congress archives)- worth checking out for some great DIY projects! Now, I'm waiting on these beauties to arrive at my door (11"x14" each and less than $1 a piece!).

Now, I know I said I'd have pics of the bedroom, and it is in fact 99% done. However, my last finishing touch (a little shelf) happens to be out of stock at ikea, so I have to wait till next week. :( Expect pics as soon as I get it (the closet should be done by then too).

Black, White, and Grey All Over...

The bedroom painting is underway & I'm happy to say I'm very pleased so far! It'll be at least another day of painting though, as we realized we have to take the folding closet doors off to paint around the closet (ick). While I'm at that, I plan on emptying the closet and painting the whole interior behind the built-ins. A nice black, white, or grey will be MUCH more practical than the yellowy color currently framing our clothes. Can't wait to show you the full thing, but for now, here's a sneak peak of how little things are coming together...

Bedroom Update and Painting Featured!

Bedroom Update:
The paint has been bought! Unfortunately, that's about it lol. We went with classic silver and will use accents of Frost & Deep Space (all Behr). I'm excited to get painting hope to have it done & photographed in the next few days. :)

We didn't get painting yet because of 2 things. For one, we went shopping at some mid-mod and antique shops. We didn't buy anything but saw lots of iconic goodies! For two, I'm edging on starting another project before I finish this one. I'm not thrilled at all with our burgundy couch in the living room. It's comfy enough, and the color works with the room, but the style is totally not me & the cushions fall off every time you get up. It doesn't help it's right when you walk in- who wants their least favorite furniture to be featured at the front of the house (maybe I wouldn't mind it much if it was elsewhere in the house)? So after much angst, I had 3 options...

1: wait and spend a fortune on a gorgeous couch (except I loathe the idea of spending lots on furniture or making that kind of commitment)
2: buy 2nd hand cute retro couch (except that it'll need major cleaning or full reupholstering and might feature bedbugs, fleas, pee stains, smoke, etc- and it might not be that much cheaper)
3: make one.

I decided to make one (after rolling this around in my head for a long time). I ADORE Kim from Desire to Inspire's DIY sofa and how loungy and inviting it is. I've decided I'd prefer this look even in lieu of the gorgeous designer couches. Plus, we can do it ourselves, it's cheaper, & we can stain the wood to match the existing wood-work. I'm looking forward to getting going on it, but it might be a few weeks! :P

Also in the news this evening, my painting Kirsten's Cupcake was featured on the blog Creative (Cat)! Yay!

Ridiculous Critters!

Happy Friday! The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is having B1G1 free weekend, so we're venturing out this weekend to check it out. I'm quite confident we'll be getting our fill of ridiculousness there, but here are some ridiculous critters that I stumbled across for now...

1. Ice Ice Kitty (because cats are always cold)

2. Wind Up Penguins Salt & Pepper Set (can't you imagine these helicoptering around your dinner table?

3. Adopt a Pet Lamp in Tabby Cat (a lump with triangles!)

4. Wet Cats (because they aren't ridiculous enough as is!)

5. Lovely Little Labbit Rabbits (SO cute)

6. Disapproving Rabbits (how silly for something so ridiculous to be so disapproving!)

All are from www.ModCloth.com -which also sports some darling vintage duds! What a fun site to explore, although unfortunately most everything I like is sold out at the moment...

Sumptuous New Paintings!

Hooray! I've added a new batch of paintings to the shop that I'm really excited about! There are both some fun, spunky ones as well as some more traditional ones, so whatever your taste- check it out! Here's a sweet sneak peak...

My latest little series has been on cute, little cupcakes! It was inspired by Dana's wonderful idea of commissioning a cupcake for her new kitchen, and since you won't see it in the shop, here's "Dana's Cupcake..."

That was such a delight to paint! And now, I think I'll go make some real cupcakes!

The Bedroom is Next!

Next on my list of rooms to tackle is the bedroom (which narrowly beat out the basement). The room is currently a yellow that's very nice- but it just doesn't go with our furniture & colors in there. I was originally going to go with a black & white, but now I'm thinking a pearly, silvery grey would be very elegant as well... Once I decide though, I can get going on that!

For now, this one little vignette is looking nice with the yellow- I think it picks up nicely with my dad's old Sherlock Holmes books...

Yard Work!

Today was our first official 'yard work' day.

It went well, although we both slept in and so we only accomplished the backyard- we'll have to do the front tomorrow. We put down cedar mulch, a little green garden fence to keep in the pupster, and Jesse got his (very early) birthday present... a grill. Mulching of the front yard, installing new mailbox, mowing, weed wacking and the like come tomorrow, and the pansies are in so I'll be putting those in the planter window boxes soon! :P I must say, we both can't believe how good the mulch looks!!

The yard.

New mulch, landscape light, and flowering broccoli plant!

Pepper joined us outside sporting her (obvious) new favorite color.

This makes yard work more enjoyable- the view from the top of our backyard!

It a gril!

Upstairs Bath!

I finally have the upstairs bath done, and I absolutely love it! I love that it's bright, fresh, bold, and dynamic- but not too overwhelming. I've been using my bright green towels, but the fluffy bright white ones look great in here too! The white is Behr Frost and black is Behr Deep Space- both in flat enamel. The green was matched to Behr's chlorophyl in a Glidden eggshell sample. I also painted the inside of the medicine cabinet white with bright green shelves, but I'll spare you our mess of bottles and tubes. Enjoy...!

UPDATE: I was so excited, I almost forgot- here's the before & after...