Paint it black...

I think I've decided to paint the wall behind the laundry black. It should add a bit of punch and make the 'nook' feel bigger than it is...

Hopefully I'll get it done tonight & will have pics up in the next 24 hours... but we'll see!

Christmas Decorations... like day and night

The plan of attack is complete! The home front is decorated and all glitzed out for Christmas!

and here are some bigger versions...

Merry Christmas! :D

Chin Up!

Added a few new paintings to the store- especially lovin' this little gal! Keep those pretty chins up! :P Meanwhile- I'm working on getting the Christmas decorations up- tomorrow we get the tree!

Laundry!

It's certainly nothing fancy, but I'm really loving our little laundry makeover. We moved the utility sink, re-arranged the bi-folding doors, installed some Ikea grundtal shelves, and of course- got the new machines! So far we love them- thank goodness for pre-black friday sales! They're also our anniversary present to ourselves (even though it isn't 'till Dec 22). 2nd anniversary is 'cotton,' so it seems appropriate to have a washer/dryer for this one lol...

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our kitchen to yours (@ 3am, woohoo)! :D

"...No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens..."

And as an ode to my mother's traditions, I invite you all to check out Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation (the above is an excerpt). It's a must read for today!

Christmas Decorations... The Plan of Attack

This is our first year with an actual house to decorate for Christmas. We want to keep it simple but still thought-out & decorated (and we wanted to avoid scaling the house). Here's my plan of attack:

-Attic: lighted star of some sort inside attic window

-Window Boxes: currently sport live mini Christmas trees; drape garland; cluster large, cheap ornaments in boxes (replace with decorative garland if no decent ornaments found)
-Lamp Post: wrap garland; red bow
-Front Door: white tinsel wreath
-Front Porch: spiral columns with garland & white C9 or C7s (no leds!); drape said garland from top of columns to porch light; add red bow
-Yard: line with staked white C9s or C7s- spiral/curl them in when they reach the top of stairs (not pictured)

I'm excited. Minimal lights. Easy to install (I think). Cute. Nothing inflatable or cheesy. My Grandma & Aunt are visiting us for Thanskgiving, so my Aunt Deb & I might go pick up some of this tomorrow after the washer/dryer are delivered (yay!). This year Christmas decorating really snuck up on me.... hope you guys are all gonna be decked out for the holidays! :P

How To... Fix Up a Critter Cage!

So, many of you probably know of our high-maintenance, adorable chinchilla Skitch. "The Boo" as we like to call him, is a very social fellow, and so he has a smaller cage in our gameroom/studio- that way he can hang out with us if we're down there. Remember the basement/studio? Where I just did all that painting and zig zagging? Well guess how great a cheesy plastic rodent cage looks amid my thought-out design....

Blerg. See? Even the boo is perturbed by it.

SO- here's a nifty trick to fix up any unsightly pet abodes you might have lying around. We call it "the boo box." Basically, we (and by we I mean my wonderful husband Jesse) built a simple wood box for the cage to sit in- covering the plastic base. Then, simply nail or tack down a cute fabric (you could just as easily paint a neat design- but I was too tired after those zig zags). Super simple- but a big visual improvement IMHO. :) Here's the after...

And here's the "noble fur" himself enjoying his stylish new quarters...

Have a mod, mod Christmas!

some new paintings in the shop for your very own mod, chic Christmas! Happy Shopping!

Laundry Love...

We're going bright & early tomorrow to Best Buy to snag a pair of LG front loaders that are gonna be 50% off. Out goes the broken dryer and the washer is off to one of the several craigslist interesteds...

Our laundry area is basically a 'nook' behind doors in the back of the basement. It's nothing fancy- simple, white, clean. It's a mess now though- Jesse has to move the utility sink over 7" for the new washer to fit. While I have no plans to 'design' our laundry area whatsoever, the current chaos has me drooling over these lovely, organized laundry rooms....

All via Apartment Therapy... all gorgeous (if a little too over-done) :)

Painting and Design*Sponge Feature!

Yay! My studio before & after is featured over on Design*Sponge today along with a couple amazing chair before/afters! Check it out!

Meanwhile- I'm working on a new crop of paintings- in said studio. Here's a sneak peak of a little commission I just finished! :)

Art Crush: Jeffrey Fulvimari

I decided to share some of my art crushes- artists that have inspired me and some who can add me to their string of blog stalkers. They're all (or mostly) going to be contemporary, living, working artists, and I'm going to focus more on images of their work than bios. I hope you'll like them as much as I do!

First up is long time fav Jeffrey Fulvimari. He was born in Ohio, but he's hugely popular in Japan. He illustrated Madonna's adorable children's book The English Roses, designs all sorts of cute purses, lounge wear, and accessories, and illustrates for major fashion and retailers. He's most famous for his cutesy, chic girls with big, dazzling eyes. I found his work way back in high school and have followed him here & there ever since- he was the first contemporary, commercial artist I adored. So fun! So whimsical!

Photo via his interview over at Sharpie Blog

Be sure to check out his website at http://www.jeffreyfulvimari.com!

A Leg Up...

Finally got legs on the chairs!! For quite a while 2 of these had wobbly bases & 2 didn't even have bases at all! Finally got 'em all up & functional!

Dear Dryer...

Dear Dryer,

You are a part of this family. Everyone in this family has a job. The boo is precious and graces us with his beautiful fur. The pup is adorable and follows around the Tess being affectionate. The dishwasher cleans the dishes. You are supposed to dry clothes, so why are you not doing your job? I don't care if you are 17 years old, it should not take 1 hr and 30 minutes to dry a small load of whites. Shape up or you will be replaced with a cheaper-to-run gas dryer. Stop giving me grief and just dry my clothes consistently.

Love,

Tess

The Basement...

The basement houses both the family room and my studio- it works out well because I usually have old movies on when I paint & if the studio gets messy it's not in the center of things. I'm really happy with what I've done with it so far- although, this room more than others is more of a work in progress. I already have some little projects in mind for the future down here, but for now, it's done & I'm a happy camper!

One more room to go! But for now, I'm enjoying the fun, colorful basement! :D

Meringue Rings!

In honor of Aggie Ring Day (for all you Texas folk & friends), I wanted to share a most adorable, most ridiculous ring I found.... Meringue Rings by Tanja Hartmann made out of industrial grade silicone. Saw them over on Poppytalk, and boy are they so cute!! So clever!! I'm not usually an accessory freak, but these combine accessories with something near & dear to my heart... dessert. :D

Studio: Zig Zag Wall Treatment...

I love it!! The studio is done! The wall treatment took quite a while & was not for the impatient, but it was so worth it! I didn't want wallpaper, so I measured and taped out the zig zags with painters tape. Having an uneven floor/ceiling/wall combo made it more forgiving- I had to fudge the angles here & there to make it work without looking totally off. It feels so much more cheerful! The dehumidifier is a necessary eyesore- the chinchilla cage is as well (not pictured here), but I have an idea in the works to fix that! More pictures of the basement to come.... :D

New Books!

What a treat was waiting for me on my front porch today! 2 boxes full of old books from my parents' library!! My dad has slowly been converting his library to digital e-books & after giving Nell some picks, shipped some off to me! :P This comes at a perfect time since I literally just finished the last of the Sherlock Holmes stories.... Just look at that old vintage cover art! Love it!! :D

Snooze...

Photo via suz1212's photostream

Wow... I just finished painting the zig zags.... after 2 all-nighters (day sleeping and naps in between). Went faster than expected but more frustrating than I thought. They certainly aren't perfect- but the uneven & wonky walls, floor, and ceiling made that a sure bet. Either way, I'm thrilled with how it turned out!! Jesse says it looks too good- he thinks I need to do something so people don't assume it's wallpaper and realize the work that went into it. I said I'd have used wallpaper if it wasn't such a pain to take down...

Anyways, no photos since I haven't finished organizing the basement yet (but soon I promise)! I have several little projects to photograph soon as well as some paintings I'm working on, so more to come!

Meanwhile... I'll be channeling this old gal and snoozing the afternoon away until Jesse gets home!

Love for the Beasties!!

Today, Apartment Therapy covered Kim from Desire to Inspire's Pets on Furniture postings. If you remember, both the pup dog and boo have been featured before, and I'm happy to say both made the cut on Apartment Therapy's post too! They both also received lots of love in the comments section! :P

Check it out for their more glamorous photos... but here's some of their more natural, pesky states!

Ziggity Zaggity!

The basement painting appears deceivingly close to being done (no comment on organizing...). However, I decided to paint a pattern on the 'nook' where my studio is. I'd like something bold & playful that distinguishes the space from the rest of the room, and after adventures in stripping wallpaper, paint or stencils it must be!

After much musing and considering, I decided on some bright yellow zig zags! I was inspired (mostly) by the gorgeous Madeline Weinrib rug...

and by these images as well (all plucked from Apartment Therapy)!

I'm quite sure (after rolling it over in my head) that I'm going to love it, but I'm also quite sure that it's going to take FOREVER to tape out a wall of zig zags!!

Basement Update and Dinner Party...

I've been putting in quite a few hours on the basement (our gameroom & my studio), and it's really starting to come together! Here's a sneak peak, but I fear it'll be at least another week before it's done- more on that later....

This weekend was light on posting because Jesse & I hosted a little dinner party for some friends from church this Friday! There was much crazy cleaning and even more cooking & baking, and all went very well!

Saucy!

A couple of years ago, Jesse and I registered for our wedding. We chose Crate & Barrel's Margot dinnerware and Ralph Lauren's Silk Ribbon Pearl china. Adore them both- no regrets!

However, had it not been for the systematical, engineer mind of my husband, I might have had only one set... the Classic Century dinnerware from C&B designed by Eva Zeisel ("the plate isn't a circle! that's too weird! they look deformed!"). Alas, we must all make compromises.

Regardless, I still have my sights set on the sauce boat from the collection- which I think would make a charming server, bowl, or decoration anywhere! The whole set is lovely, but I particularly love the lines of the little boat- I could just see it happily perched on display above the fireplace!

It makes me wonder why cheap things can't have stunning design too. While the porcelain is beautiful, it's the graceful shape here that is so perfect! Why can't they make Corelle look like this?? Why doesn't Target carry more things like this (although they're getting there!).