happy halloween!

Oh Lottie. You're such a good sport. You put up with all my crap as long as there's a cheese treat involved. Muahhhhahaha!


not loving the wig so much this year...

compared to last year...

five for friday

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Camilla Engman

One of the best things I've seen all week - thanks to Camilla Engman.
Look - more here!
And here!

Art & Copy

Last night I was in bed watching TV and stumbled across a documentary on PBS called Art & Copy.

You have probably seen this film about advertising and inspiration already. But in case you are late to the party like me... this film reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time - people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. It featured just about every great commercial and advertisement I can remember and some that I completely forgot existed. With footage of the 1960s Braniff Airlines ad and other vintage Doyle, Dane, Bernbach gems, it was worth staying up late. I enjoyed it.

stats

Do you check the stats on your blog?
I often take a look at my "audience" as it's called on the blogger stats page and obviously the majority of my readers are located in the USA. But to my surprise I have had readers in France, the Netherlands, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom, Hungary, Italy, and Canada. I know who a couple of you are. As for the others, I'm guessing you linked to me by mistake or found me through a comment I left on somebody eles's blog. Either way, I'm feeling a little international right now and am going to enjoy the moment.
So back to the question, are you looking at your blog's stats?


yes, you can buy that globe up there here

danish modern small cabinet

Vintage teak cabinet from Circa Midcentury




This would look so good in an entry way or work great as a storage piece in a small dining room. I have always liked smaller danish modern cabinets... if I only had a spot for this little beauty. I'm not opposed to TV in the bedroom and this could even be that perfect thing you've been looking for to put your little TV on and still be stylish.

This is the part where I would be telling you to go to the Circa Midcentury site and buy now... except this piece sold about an hour after I made this post. Congrats lucky new owner - you scored a great piece!

bottle beauty

I had such a great Sunday drinking mimosas, eating lots of good food, and talking about crafty design projects with BB while our men watched some football. This beautiful wine tote is one that BB made for the bottle she so kindly brought over. So luxuroius - made with linen, cashmere, and leather. I love it! And loved the wine too!




And thanks to the other BB for the very cool Mark Alor Powell book. When are you guys coming over again?

a good morning

I can spend a lot of time in the morning monkeying around with my bird photos. That's the only free time I've got Monday though Friday - the mornings. I'm pretty happy with today's bird photo turned into illustration even though it consumed so much of my morning that I had to skip showering and making the bed. I hope I feel this inspired on Saturday when I have the whole day to play.

five for friday

1. Mark's ghost peppers
2. Margaret Kilgallen
3. our magnolia
4. Lindsey Adelman
5. Matte Stephens

free flowers

There are still so many plants alive and blooming in the backyard. I decided to bring a bit of what's left on the outside indoors. This kind of floral arrangement is the best...oh and free!

fall

I don't think I've ever had a canna bloom this late in October but what a surprise! Got all my gourds last weekend and a couple of pumpkins. It is officially Fall. Yesterday was an extremely busy bird day in the backyard - so many sparrows, robins, finches, and woodpeckers. The sunlight yesterday morning was nice too.

Skinny laMinx

I cannot say enough good things about Skinny laMinx (aka Heather Moore). She's an illustrator, writer, and designer living in Cape Town, South Africa. I recently purchased some fabric from her etsy shop - a piece of her amazing bird pattern design called cloud birds. And I'm happy to say that I had some time today to turn it into a pillow (or cushion depending on where you live). This fabric showed up at my home so nicely wrapped and she even included a little red and white bird button which I immediately pinned onto my bag. So cute and thoughtful! Not only do I absolutely love the cloud birds pattern but I'm also very pleased with the quality of the fabric. To make my pillow, I used some grey boiled wool I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics and I love the way it looks with the cloud birds. Sadly I do have to lug the sewing machine out to the dining room table at the moment. IF we ever finish the basement I will get my permanent sewing area back up and running.

I have added Skinny laMinx to my list of favorite sites and blogs so be sure to take a look every now and then as she is always adding new patterns and designs to her shop and her blog is really inspiring too.


logo and top photo credit: Skinny laMinx

five for friday

1. ginormous spider at LBKs
2. sanna annukka
3. new chair sneak peek
4. bird of the day
5. pegboard modern

slightly similar... ever so slightly

Joel at Blue Ant Studio posted a photo today that led me to this photo on the Monument blog.

How odd... I just posted about my new finds... a metal bird sculpture and metal owl. Obviously mine is the poor man's $42 version (for both) compared to the ultra expensive C.Jere version at Monument. I might just have to try and recreate that entire display for under $100.

summer plants

I ate lunch today out on the patio with 15 minutes of bright sun on my face. It felt so good. Lots of my plants are still blooming and doing quite well despite it being October. It has been freakishly warm the last couple of weeks, especially today. This is the time of the year when I have to decide which 2 or 3 plants get to come inside for the winter and it's always hard to say goodbye to those that I just do not have room for. My goal is to have made that decision by Saturday and re-pot the lucky chosen few for their new indoor home. The curcuma (photo number 3) are definitely not coming in however they were by far my favorite flower of 2010.

10/10/10

10/10/10 proved to be quite a lucky day for me. I took a little road trip to Central Illinois to visit a friend I hadn't seen in way too long. Had such a great time hanging out with her and her family! (let's just say there wasn't a shortage of good beer) That would have been enough to make for a fantastic road trip and then she took me to the Furniture Lounge. Wow. What an amazing store run by super nice folks. This is what had to come home with me...
1. metal owl that opens up to hold a candle (gotta get a candle)
2. metal flying bird sculpture (I think they are ducks)
3. Dansk candlestick holder
4. orange lounge chair (needs a little love but not too much. will be in the living room soon)