Glimpses of beauty and simplicity around the world.
I haven't mentioned last week's event here on the blog, but my heart goes out to Japan and all affected by this awful event. I'll be joining fellow bloggers (such as French by Design) who are participating in a blogging day of silence tomorrow, Friday, March 18.
For Japan with love (to donate)
See you soon.
So here's the thing. I'm going to show you some photos of a beautiful house…but you've got to visit The Marion House Book for the detailed house tour by the homeowners, Abigail and John, and the remainder of the photos. Emma (of the marion house book) is right…this is a house just like one you'd see in Living, etc (which happens to be my favorite magazine!).
All photographs by Kristin Sjaarda for The Marion House Book.
Wow. Beautiful photos by Jennifer Causey on her site The Makers. She photographed various artists in Brooklyn, and one of my favorite sets of photos is of Jewels of New York. Someday I'll post other favorite photos from the same project.
All photos via The Makers Project by photographer Jennifer Causey
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Lovely, cheerful spring colors via wood & wool stool.
It’s been quite the weekend – full of car drama. My car’s exhaust system decided to break while I was on the freeway – leaving me with a car that’s drivable but oh-so-loud! From that moment on, it felt like the weekend was orchestrated from above because I was able to catch my mechanic friend at home who knows my car inside and out… and after purchasing a new part-I-can’t-remember and a new catalytic converter, my aging honda civic is now running again.
I was able to find my friend at home, he had the time to repair the car with his son’s help, my mom just “happened” to be on her way to visit me for the weekend so she picked me up and took me home. We relaxed over dinner and card playing, went to church on Sunday, out for a leisurely brunch, and then the car was ready soon after.
I don’t live in a town with taxis or a public transit system, so I wouldn’t have been able to get home and to church easily without my mom there. The car drama happened while she was on her way for a spontaneous trip to visit me. *whew* so glad she did.
Best part is that the Check Engine light on my car is off for the first time in over a year.
Hope your weekend was drama free and pleasant. Was it?
photo via Nuevo Estillo on Style Files / found via Trendey
I'm drawn to this kitchen for so many reasons: the pink chair, the cute tea pot, the red container on the counter, the photo leaning against the wall, the shelf with the cute objects, the pretty light fixtures…. need I go on?
Seeing this kitchen and then keeping the following photos in mind, I may take a meandering trip to IKEA in the morning. I usually go with a friend or family member, but I may go alone this time. I'll take my time driving the 90+ miles, stopping for coffee, arriving at the store in time to peruse the various departments – looking for fabrics, candlesticks, a mirror, a basic clock for my bathroom or maybe some white semi-opaque bins to corral items into the closet.
photo via Made by Girl/photographer lorenza filati
I have my eye on the fabric above this bed. Would like to find something similar at IKEA. Or there's always this fabric:
I normally go for pinks but there's something about these colors that's got me determined to find a place for it at home.
The strip of fabric here really adds to the room. I'd like to put up some fabric on a wall at home – with something that is temporary. Fabric glue, perhaps? (or is that permanent?!)
I may not go to IKEA. There are enough projects at home calling out for my attention – along with a sewing machine my sister in law Maya loaned to me that I have yet to take out of the box. I also saw some pretty yellow prints on a pale fabric on lotta jansdotter's journal that I really want to recreate.
photo via lotta jansdotter
What will you do this weekend?
Must buy an orange lamp.
Must buy an orange lamp.
Must buy an orange lamp.
Momstory is a cute blog that features moms from around the world. The latest entry is of Jantine's home in the Netherlands, and her personal blog (April and May) is worth checking out!
Little note: I did get cable TV again with a DVR I can program from the cable company's website, but it hasn't sucked up all my time. It's been fun to get reacquainted with some shows I haven't seen in a year like The Middle, The Soup and American Idol.
Crisp, clean, colorful, organized rooms and shelves. That's why I continue to post images from the home of the good fairy. (dang! I keep wanting to type out "the tooth fairy" even though my family never believed in the tooth fairy….oops.. am I spoiling it for some of you?)
If you visit the good fairy's blog, she has some recent posts showing purple accessories for the home which make me want to add way more purple to my apartment's color scheme!
IT'S FRIDAY. yippee! I am getting cable TV again after going without it for one year. Was called by the cable company to add cable TV again for a pretty low price that's guaranteed for a year. What sold me on it (apart from the low price that will be added to my cable interent price) was that I will be able to program my DVR from a website. To get why I'm so excited about this, let's walk through how I recorded programs from 2002-2005: (see way below - under the photos)
+ I had a small tv, a vcr and a stack of VHS videotapes labeled Monday – Sunday.
+ I would then go into the programming mode with my VCR remote and up would pop a blue screen with white text that had columns for the date of the program to be recorded, the start time (you set it yourself) and the end time (you set that yourself as well), and the exact channel number to record it on. (If you recorded two shows and they overlapped by even one minute, no error message popped up to show you the discrepancy and help you resolve it!)
+So after every program (Oprah's show, a few shows each weeknight, movies on weekend) was meticulously programmed into the VCR, I had to pray that no storm would cause havoc by shutting off our electricity at home for even one minute. If so, the VCR programming would be erased and it would be back to square one – a blank screen with a cursor blinking at you as if to say "HA! go ahead, I dare you, just try to remember exactly all the shows you meant to record and make no mistakes!"
+When the electricity would go out when I was away from home, my poor (angel of a…) roommate Karla would stay on the phone with me while I walked her through what should record that very day (until I could go home between work and going out) – so she then had to tackle The Blue Screen for me.
+When watching a show, I might start the videotape and FAST FORWARD (while hearing a whirring sound) to the show I want to watch and if the wrong channel was chosen or if there was a delay in programming due to urgent news, the President's speech, etc. then I was out of luck and would end up with a recording I didn't want or need.
Let's sum up, shall we? VCR + TV + meticulous programming = temporary peace of mind.
Is it a wonder I wanted to leap for joy when I heard I could get a DVR again and program it remotely?! hallelujah!! No more watching shows online on a desktop computer while sitting in a hard, wodden chair at a desk – within arm's reach of the mouse to jiggle it to keep the screensaver from popping up. No more having to be home at the exact time the show is on (hello 1950s to 1980s to see my favorite shows.
If you're looking for me in the next week, just look on the couch. I'll be watching TV again with a blissful smile on my face for about a week or two. TV, I've missed you!
Have a groovy weekend! Be good!
swap photos from shimandsons (original blog)
One of my favorite bloggers has begun a new blog!!
Yeah – I'm a bit excited. Sally Shim of shimandsons has begun a new, daily blog called Sally J Shim. Her work is amazing (stunning, really, in its simplicity and beauty) but the new one will be more about her family and daily life.
Just this week I forwarded her swap package content photos to many friends so they could "ooh" and "aah" over the plethora of cuteness! Loving that she repackaged the straws and the candy – so much cuter now!
I have blogged about Sally before….pretty tags & aprons, what's in YOUR bag?, and friday faves: blogs.
Enough talking. Time to drool. Or smile. Or both.
a tee modified by sally
These cozy images from shine design fit the mood of the morning perfectly. I have been up since 4:15 AM and have done tasks around the home that would make flylady proud: got up, showered, dressed to shoes, put makeup on, unloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the kitchen counters, made a smoothie for breakfast, folded laundry from the dryer and put another load into the dryer, and finally sat down with a smoothie to peruse blogs. And it's only 5:30. Yeah…. in the morning.
Work has been a bit intense for the past two weeks – so I've had little time or energy when at home to catch up on blog reading much less make a dent in the books stacked up everywhere….which is why it feels so luxurious this very moment to sip a smoothie and read blogs. Feels like I've been away from friends/bloggers way too long!
How have you been?
What's new and exciting in your life?
Morning's Light 