Etsy shop update

Happy sunny Tuesday afternoon!

I am hoping to get these fabulous organic cotton reusable bags into my Etsy shop by tomorrow morning. I love them and use them for all sorts of things - groceries, taking books/knitting to the coffee shop, carrying my books to my french class, among other things.  They are very sturdy with heavy handles and the organic cotton canvas is quite heavy.  They measure h- 15", w - 7", and l - 13".  I really can put any letter, number, or any of my prints on them, as well as various colored "keep calm" slogans.  

Come visit - I would love to see you~

xo

a very blustery day indeed

I love days like this.  Days where the wind rushes through the trees before daylight breaks, and I feel so safe and cozy in my home.  Days where I know I can get things done inside.  The perfect day for cleaning out some drawers and closets, getting photos taken and items listed in my etsy shop, have a friend over for tea, and do some baking perhaps.  #2 made the first cut for his school soccer team try-outs yesterday - no small feat when you are a 7th grader and only 3 7th graders made the first cut (the team is grades 7-9).  I think that having cupcakes ready when he comes home from the second day of try-outs is a great idea, seeing as they can be used for celebration (if he makes the second cut) or to bring cheer (if he doesn't).  

I love the word *blustery* as it reminds me of winnie the pooh, and of childhood~

Have a lovely day my friends,

xo

Yesterday was one of those Sundays that I absolutely live for~  Sunshine, crisp without being too cold.  A morning of antiques and meeting some really fabulous vendors, an afternoon with all my men around helping me with projects around the house and property.  Did I mention sunshine? And then there are spring flowers.  Maybe it is my desperation for anything feminine, pink, frilly, or pretty?  Regardless, as it seems my beautiful spring weather has hidden away today, I am thankful that I took photos of my beautiful tulips in the bright warm sunshine that streamed into all of our windows yesterday.

Sandpoint Antique Market

Really, there is nothing like getting up far too early on a Sunday and sneaking out before anyone else wakes.  It is especially sweet when I am heading out to do something girlie - times that are few and far between these days...  Thankfully, today was one such morning and I was especially excited as this month at the Sandpoint Antique Market the Queen of Tarte (she is ever more fabulous that I knew that she would be!) and the Barn House boys (if possible even cuter in person) were going to be here!  As I have always wanted to take a girls road trip to Portland to see them, after today, I will definitely be doing so this spring~

The Sandpoint Antique market takes place every other month and it really is worth the visit.  I always come home with at least a couple of treasures that I have discovered~

xo

The following were some of the fabulous vendors at the market and their blogs~  The photos above were from their booths.

The Queen of Tarte herself!

Barn House 

Bob and Deb Kennedy at Retreat

Dawn Oscar at Great Findz

Laurie Cinotto 

Deborah Burton of Ormolulu

Saturday afternoon Chez Taylor

Today was the first day we had hoped to forego naps for #4.  Don't get me wrong - when I am home alone all week, I *live* for nap time.  Seriously - two and a half hours of quiet, time to get things done without little fingers "helping" me along the way, a quiet cup of tea, some peaceful computer time.  Who would complain about that?  

Last night, young #4 decided that he had no intentions of going to bed.  Ever.  Whether it had anything to do being "too" rested, well, I have my doubts.  That being said, as we have had a few of those not-so-successful bedtimes as of late, I am willing to try anything at this point.  So today, being a Saturday, we thought we might try a no-nap day.  Unfortunately it turned out to be one of those rainy, cold, cozy days here on the farm.  Perfect for napping...  And although it might be time for him to give up his naps in order to create a smooth, peaceful bedtime, when a 2 year old falls asleep, there is no way I am going to try and keep him awake...

I grabbed this photo of #3 and #4 after #3 put #4 down for a nap on the couch and snuggled him up with his blankie.  My two sweet younger loves~

Earth Hour

Take care of our planet 

~ Extend The Life of Our Earth

Earth Hour  3/28/2009 ~ 8:30 pm

Click here for more information

photographer love - yvette inufio

I love photography.  I love my camera, francis, and spend as much time as I can just wandering around looking for things to shoot.  However, this time of year here in Seattle, there really isn't a lot that is inspiring out there.  At times such as these, I tend to turn towards my online inspirations.  When it comes to photography, Yvette Inufio is one of my very very favorites! She has an incredible eye for finding beauty in often mundane items.  Her colors are so soft, and I often feel like I am looking at her photographs through rose colored glasses.  Maybe it is the fact that my life is surrounded by male family members, which leaves very little room for {pink}.  Thankfully, Yvette provides me with all of the soft pink that I need.  Speaking of need, I think that I might need that pink suitcase...

Check out her flickr site, and definitely meander over to her etsy shop - she has some of her marvelous photographs that you make your very own!

Enjoy~

xo

and a happy friday to you~

wishing you all a very happy weekend.  may your days be filled with much leisure time and lots of fun-filled moments~

xo

The white master bath

It is a good thing my husband doesn't regularly read this blog - this project is supposed to be a surprise for him when he returns home from a business trip tomorrow night...

So four days, three cans of paint, a few old pieces of furniture, and some old wall sconces later, it is (nearly) done.  There are always little finishing touches that must be done - a couple of things to be hung, paint touch up, etc.  That being said, after the awfully bright red, I am already finding this glorious white space so incredibly peaceful.  That and all for under $50!

xo

So, before:

And, after~

renovation bleed...

I love the beginning of a project.  I love the planning, the organizing, the idea of purging a space, getting rid of all sorts of things we don't need, and giving something a clean, new look.  The beginning, now that is fun.

Sadly, when there is a beginning, there must also be a middle, and an end.  The middle, for me, tends to drag.  on.  and on.  and on.  and on.  Part of the problem in an old house is that there are *always* unexpected "surprises" along the way, especially when it comes to renovations of any sort.  Okay, so I have learned to deal with surprises, and now have come to expect them. Bring 'em on~

But the one thing I haven't gotten used to seems to be the "renovation bleed" that always comes, for me anyway.  You know, the bleed.  The seeping out of a nicely confined renovation plan.  The "let's paint the master suite" plan that becomes the "should we also paint the cabinets, while we are here anyway?" plan.  This inevitably leads to the "wow, those fixtures really don't work anymore, do they?" plan, which carries over to the "what are we going to do for window coverings as these look awful!" plan.  And lord, don't even get me started on the "were those electrical outlets and light switches always that dirty off-white?" realization...

So somehow, my day and a half fun little reno project while my husband is away has become a "wow, I should get a job as an electrician/ who knew I could paint pretty much everything and make it look better/ did you know how much crap accumulates in the back of your bathroom cabinets" enlightenment session.  

Thankfully, for me, renovation pain such as this disappears much like labor pain.  I am quite certain that the next time my darling husband goes on a business trip (which is only a few weeks away...) I will have completely forgotten the trauma that this one has created.

Painted Floors

When we renovated our main floor two years ago, we stained our hardwoods a dark espresso mixed stain.  I absolutely love our floors.  I wouldn't change a thing on that floor.

Our master suite is on the top floor of the house, were we have these fabulous reclaimed wood floors that came from an old grain elevator in Texas.  I absolutely *adore* them.  That being said...  The color of said fabulous floors is a bit of an orange stain - not a pretty orange (is there a pretty orange?) stain.  Not pretty at all.

Lately, I have seen some really marvelous painted floors and I am finding it inspiring.  Paint is so much less expensive than having your floors stripped, re-stained, and re-finished.  Not to mention I love the white Scandinavian look these days.  Love.  

So, what do you think of these floors?  Aren't they lovely?

{shoot factory}

My dear friend Ana has these fabulous floors, which you have seen before in one of my gushing posts...

Door Sixteen did a fabulous post on white floors~  two actually!

(she sounds as nervous as I feel about committing to painting her floors!)

I like how fun these floors are from one of my favorite *white* sites, vita tankar

I found this fabulous post on the Just Beachy blog~

Homebug also had a great post on white floors~

And of course, Domino has their share of beautiful white floors~

Now if only the feeling would return to my arms so I could so even more painting...

xo