Privacy Setting: High!

one of the things we love most about our house is how it's entire persona lends itself to interaction with the neighborhood. this is a good thing, however you need a little something to call your own. so, while tyesha was visiting her mama for mama's day, i turned the backyard from public to private. here's a pic of the carport and the gaping hole for the whole world to see what we do in 'privacy'

hi neighbors, everybody & dog walkers galore!


i built out my first wall ever, then hung the corrugated steel.

here i am...reasoning.
...and this....this is the grand ultimate culmination of my carpentry skills.

now that i've done the dirty work, i'll leave the "nicing up" to my love, cause she's got that touch...
this summer, this carport will be rockin'!

I Woke Up This Mornin'

and went outta my head.

In front of my house someone painted tulips,

On an oil soaked tree that is dead.

Thank you!

Pickled Jalapenos

something about those pickled jalapenos in restaurants i just can't resist.
for me it's not far from sashimi, the way the flesh melts away as you bite into it.
my internal temperature rises, my vision blurs, my forehead, um, glistens.
so, of course, i'm going to try to make them at home.
They've been prepared and are pickling in the fridge.

blister the skins in a little oil.


pack them in a jar with a few carrots, garlic, salt & pepper.


half water, half vinegar; bring to boil and pour over to cover.
nothing left to do now but wait...
I'll let you know how they turn out.

DIY is alive around the world.

These shots are from a flea market in Santiago, Chile . I would love to take a series of trips focused on the new wave of handi-crafts. Going to have to start looking and planning:)

Check out the blog entry, I found it on NotCot.

Picnic Table

hi. it's hubby. how are you? well, where to begin...

it's a perfect 4 seater with plenty of head room for sure.
seems solid. safe. handles real easy, too
this picnic table is such a cinch to make you'll be cruising to comfort in your own yard in less than a day.

here's how it panned out for me...
$10.89 worth of reclaimed lumber from habitat for humanity restore.
$7.99 for a box of decking screws from my favorite hardware store in town.
$5 for sandpaper.

$23.88 for a picnic table? what a great deal! now, i could have spent $5 on petro co's wood sealer and kept the price under $30, but since getting by on the cheap,
i sprung for some of ms. nature's good stuff.

$31.99 for osmo's wood and concrete sealer from ecohaus. this blonde/red stain brushed on forgivingly (watch the drips) and one coat left a wonderful-to-touch surface that i'm looking forward to wearing down over the seasons to come.

not including the six pack, that's a $55.87 picnic table.
nice.

design from portland space's may/june 2008 issue.
somehow my copy survived dirt, mud, sawdust, beer, rain & snow...

cardboard coasters

Loving these recycled cardboard coasters from Delight.com. Particularly loving that they are actually made of mostly recycled cardboard and naturally derived glues and not just trying to appear eco. Like duct tape wallets....on first look they give you the feeling of reused but in the end you realize they are just another product using new materials, I can't imagine what it takes to make duct tape!

pretty.

If you like the duct tape wallet then you will really love the products that will be coming out of almost launched company MilkMunny. Eco and supports a good causes. That's fashion I can get behind.

poster one

playing around with some art ideas. how do you like this one?

From the sewing room.

Finally got a few gifts off to the family so I thought I would share.

I've got to come up with a name for this scarf design. It you have an idea let me know.

I really like the color combo of this one and I put little flowers on it, which I hope the girl I gave it too likes them.

I love this quilted fabric, the colors are so soothing and the design is so delicate. I have a little left so, I think I'll make a pillow for me.

The blanket came out nicely. It has a good amount of weight and is just the right size for sitting on the couch on a cold night. Hope you like it Ma Snow!

like.

via: thinkdesign

by:Glenn Jones aka Glennz

Msssssssssss Samantha Craine and the Midnight Shivers

We attended Pickathon just outside of Portland last summer and it was one of the best festival experiences I've had to date, save WOMAD first year (nothing comes close to that) Anyway, the festival was amazing and we left with some new favorites tucked neatly into our hearts. Many of the objects of our affection will be back this year and I gotta say, I'm completely overwhelmed with anticipation.

This is the first installment of, "Why you should go to Pickathon or at lease buy the albums of the artists that will be there" blog posts.

enjoy. let me know what you think.

Samantha Craine and the Midnight Shivers hail from Shawnee, OK and Perryville, MO, which my Okie friend Jason was beyond tickled to find fellow Oklahoman at the festival.

Last year they self released an EP and in just a few weeks their first full length "Songs in the Night" is coming out.

On first listen you may think you have heard this before, as her voice has a quaility that seems to be spilling form many young ladies souls these days, but keep listening. The lyrics have a resonance that says with you and her confident and graceful delivery of the songs is hypnotizing. I also really love the drums, they keep a simple beat but catch my attention just at the right moments. Overall I think the band plays in a comfortable way that expresses their understanding of each other and this in turn puts the listener at ease.

Listen to Traipsing Through The Aisles here

and watch this

yes! a shirt for me.

a wonderful play on the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster, which i never really related to. I guess I'm just a person who doesn't need a lot of calming down. But I could use encouragement to keep at what i love, making things!

i love that the design can be worn by girls or boys too. there isn't enough cool stuff for boys.

i'm not buying it because i'm broke so this is officially added to my wish list!

available here: howies
found via: NOTCOT

baby dolls

“You are not the boss of me”

Ha. I love this photo blogged by miss abbey.

I particularly love it because i have been wanting to photograph my doll collection. this is inspiring. i think i will bring a couple to seattle with me this weekend and see what i come up with.

Little stools

Aren't these stools from Inhabitots wonderful. I especially love that you know they will ship in nice flat minimal packaging. Some may say I already have too many little chairs and stools but I just can't resist them!

laughing like a crazy person at my desk

like music? like smarty pants? how about laughing?

may i suggest you tune your dial here and listen to the SXSW preview show.

while you're at it listen to the end of year shows, excellent way to catch up on all the music you should have listened too this past year.



I am also enjoying @notatSXSW on twitter. ha.

yellow shoes

there is nothing to say....beautiful......yummy.

by elephant and chickpea
her blog

the second cutest dog in the world

I've been looking at pictures of this amazing little dog for sometime and i just had to share.

I hope Rudi isn't jealous. I should totally make a Flickr set of just him. Stay tuned for that.

To see more of little Wilfredo go here. His Mommy's art is pretty wonderful too.

Pandora Station #1

On the softer side, yet full of life.

Lyrics rule.
Mostly men with the soft accompaniment of the occasional woman's voice.
Current yet timeless.

Featured artists: Joshua Radin, Bright Eyes, The Weepies, Belle & Sebastian, The Acorn



What is it?

Station: Artist: Rocky Votolato

Living Rooms

if you're like me your home is a living, breathing, changing animal. i rearrange, move decoration, bring new items in, take old things out, constantly. i respond to my moods and what i totally believe is the mood of my home, and adjust, improve and mess up all of my previous carefully placed arrangements. i also have a house mate, my hubby and he has ideas from time to time so we move things around then too.

i like many of you are addicted to decorating and design porn (see link list to the right) but i always wonder how the rooms got that way and what they look like as the seasons change, when someone gets a bug at 10pm to rearrange the living room or they are just messy on a Tuesday night.


I came across these photos today from Ana Laura Perez via Daily Candy and I just love see a beautiful room in a couple different states.

I think I'm going to start a Flickr group for this. Yes!

Christmas in February

I was browsing though blog links that I haven't had time to peruse as of late and I had a chance to catch up with Somethings Hiding in There. These two are so inspiring. I love the team work and the sweetness. I really loved this photo of their Christmas Tree. I am so going to have to copy the stump idea (i hope that's ok) It brings that wonderful out in the woods feeling right inside of Christmas. I also am digging Stephen's wrapping job, Hubby love is also an amzing gift wrapper, I'll have to do a post about that soon.In other Christmas news, I still haven finished gifts for a certain side of our family but I am close and should have a package in the mail within a week. Once they get it I will be excited to share photos of the lovley handmadness.

Complicated Conversation

I have been neglecting my esty shop (although i think of it fondly and often) but yesterday Creashines Design included by scarf, "Complicated Conversation" in her Treasury and then this treasury was put on the front page!

I sold the scarf (thank you!) and now I am inspired to get back to my machine and sweaters. It's so funny how selling something can give you such a boost. It's the connection that I really enjoy, someone out there liked something I made. I feel a special connection with all of my Esty customers, gotta get busy and make more!

One of the little things I do with my shop is write fun little descriptions for my items. Here is the description for this scarf.


"Gray and Pink met at a club one night and spent the next 48 hours together. Their conversations touched on the the unexpected, and those topics to complicated for regular conversation. If I was to show you what it felt like, it would look like this."

is my model lovely?

it's the....

who knows why some things will cause you to update your blog after close to 2 months, but this video is it for me.




ha! if only i was so clever. i love responses to everyday life especially when the life is mine. i need to go to Trader Joes tonight. i shall be singing a long as i bop down the aisles.

p.s. it's the horseradish white chedder they don't have anymore.

Thanks for the link T.