Brittany's Diptych :: Before + After

Diptych and refinishing project by: Brittany O

Turns out I'm a big flake and in the chaos of my day job and my side photo projects, I totally forgot about my weekly date with Brittany.  Fortunately she has come through with her own diptych, showcasing her talent for refinishing furniture!  She has shared her flair for this kind of thing a few other times on her blog, like when she spiffed up Betty.  Check it out!

Hope you all have a fun weekend. 

A happy home

We had a fun little house-warming/birthday party on Saturday.  These are a few photos from the event.  It was a Potluck, which basically meant I ate too much of an assortment of really good dishes.  To name off a few: stuffed mushrooms and tomatoes, smoked salmon chowder, quinoa salad, cheesy potatoes,   homemade hummus & dill dip with fresh market veggies, bbq'd oysters and sooo much more! Yum, I'm getting hungry just writing about it.

Brittany brought a beautifully wrapped box which housed the cutest little owl pitcher which I promptly displayed on our mantle.  Rachy gave us 4 gorgeous little champagne saucers that had belonged to her grandmother.  So naturally, we sipped champagne like the dainty women we are out of the etched glass saucers the rest of the night!   I also love the radio my mom & I purchased for Peter.  It looks vintage but you can plug your i-pod into it! 

It was a fun night, although I wish I could have stayed up a bit later instead of going to bed before my guests!!  I woke up the next morning and Brittany, Tanner & Luke had cleaned my entire kitchen/dining room!  Sheeesh!  Talk about good friends!

{Photo of Brittany & I taken by Luke Markus}

Chalkboard Art

I've wanted to find something a bit classier than a dry erase board for grocery lists and reminders.  Pete and I both thought a chalkboard of some sort would be perfect.  I love the magnetic chalkboard up top.  It's also a great way for kids to draw on the wall and not drive their parents crazy! 

I don't think an entire chalkboard wall would work well in our house, but I do love the Rococo Chalkboard Wall Decal from Seltzer Studios.  I can already picture it or something very similar in our kitchen.

{Image 1 found via Frugal Home Design & Image 2 found via Seltzer Studios}

Branching out

{Ted Muehling Branch Candlesticks via Remodelista}

I was flipping through an old copy of Smithsonian Magazine and came across these gorgeous candlesticks that come with a not so gorgeous price tag...$1,298.00!  Ted Muehling originally created the pieces in 2003 and they were included in the exhibit "Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008" at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York.  I sighed when I saw these candlesticks they are so lovely.  

The pieces, made at a Munich porcelain factory that has been in operation since 1747, were cast from wind-twisted cedar sticks.

I would love to have a set similar to this flanking each side of our fireplace mantle with my favorite framed photograph by my friend Christine Tran right in the middle!  I can see it already.

Unfortunately I have searched online for something similar, and nothing is quite as stunning or breathtaking as Ted Meuhling's work.

Here are a few of the others I found:

{via ivillage}

$19-$29

{via casa sugar}

$89

{via home decor}

$19.95

What do you think?

Stairway to anywhere

I love this stairway!  I'd have to start using the library a bit less and perusing the used books stores a bit more if I were ever to attempt something like this, but if I did I swear I'd clear a small space, grab a few throw pillows and nap on these stairs! 

There was a period of time as a child where I had to wear an eye patch (due to a mole behind my eyeball...weird huh!?).  I remember taking my favorite blanket and napping on the stairs, pretending it was my bunk on a pirate ship.  That memory came flying back when I first saw these photos over at post grad hair cut.  They are the creation of Levitate Architecture out of London. 

Redheads, chandeliers & redheaded chandeliers

While listening to my last fm radio station yesterday a song by Florence + The Machine came on and one of the images they displayed of this lovely lady was the one above where she seductively sits next to an ice-like chandelier.  I found myself daydreaming about how I want to decorate our first home.  My husband and I are in the process of house hunting and have looked at some very promising places.  Although for our starter homes none of these chandeliers would really fit in with the style we are looking at, let alone our budget I still like dreaming about them. 

Expect to see more home decor posts in the future as we get closer to finding a house to call home.

♥Florence + The Machine * Kiss With A Fist♥

{Images found via 1 - 2 - 3}

Sea inspired ceramics

Staying out near the ocean this past weekend had me thinking about all the awesome animals living in the ocean, and it reminded me of these playful ceramic pieces I saw at a shop in Seattle recently. The water pitcher and butter dish would be perfect in any whale watcher's kitchen. You can find them here at Jonathan Adler's website.

This little house

We spent the night before Christmas Eve with our good friends Annie and Blain in Seattle.  They live in a cute little house built in the 30's and located in Georgetown (Seattle's oldest continually settled neighborhood).  Much of Georgetown today is warehouses, but there are a few homes squeezed in between, along with some pretty great little 'watering holes'.  

We went to dinner downtown at 'Serious Pie', and it was seriously delicious.  We all chose different personal pizzas; and to be perfectly honest between my delicatta squash, roasted garlic, gorgonzola lucifero and Annie's guanciale, soft egg, and dandelion greens it was a close tie!

Annie & Blain's house has the most adorable collection of vintage items spread throughout.  I sometimes feel like I'm in a museum as I walk from room to room peeking at all of their treasures. My favorite item would have to be the Travellers opera glasses.They even have chickens in the back yard and we are often sent home with a bowl of pastel colored eggs. 

I think I have house envy!