a little dose of tango inspiration

i am so excited by this incredible adorable fantastic male-duo tango performance that i had to share it with you right away . . . . click it, you won't be disappointed. i promise!




{thanks to ms.heartbreak-tango for the head's up}

i saw god today

witnessing the birth of a brand new being into this world is pretty much the most incredible thing a person can experience. i experienced it for the first time myself when i had my daughter, and less than a year later i have now gotten to experience it again with being at my new niece's birth. i am truly awe-struck at this moment of the divine meeting the human, of the transformation from entirely internal and mysterious into the external and curious. my new niece {she doesn't have a name just yet}, born on april 27th at 10:23am, after a very intense 12 hours of labor, weighed in at 7 lbs-11 oz and was 21-1/2" long. no doubt she'll be tall thin & beautiful just like her parents and her older sister.now alesia isn't the smallest one in the room anymore. . . . and she's very excited to have a new playmate!
boy, howdy, aren't we all.
welcome to the world, sweet baby-girl king. the world is such a better place now that you're in it!

tinkering

please excuse the mess/confusion around my little swellspring ~ i'm making some layout changes and it's taking more time than it might otherwise. . . .what with the sweetest-pea ever beckoning my attention, are you surprised?
{image by *louise*}

find your great work

i've found a nice little boost ~ and so i must share it in hopes it'll give you a boost too! i don't know about you, but i have about 1000 creative/entrepreneurial ideas i explore partially, but rarely do they amount to a hill of beans. sometimes i get bogged down by the procrastination bug, sometimes i get too busy doing other things to follow through {i.e. raising a baby girl}, sometimes things just fizzle for no apparent reason. however, when i do complete some creative project or endeavor i get a big rush of "hell-yes, i did it!" and suddenly wonder why i don't just do it all the time. well now i've found a new source of motivation ~ the great work blog.ok, so some parts might be a bit to corporate cheerleader to apply, but still, it's nice to have another source for inspiration to keep my chin-up, my thinking cap on, and my hands busy with my next great thing. besides, that top poster is pretty much awesome for any creative diva wouldn't you say? here's to finding your great work!

{images courtesy of michael bungay stanier; first found on paris parfait}

about that vampire house in twilight

unlike just about everybody these days, i didn't read the twilight books. but i did have a lovely afternoon with my best diva friend watching the movie {dvd}, in pj's and chillaxin'. although i thought it was a mediocre film {gasp! how could i say such a thing & risk the sneers of teen vampire admirers everywhere??}, the main thing that stood-out as fantastic to me was the cullen house ~ the house where the vampire family lived, supposedly in the woods near forks, washington. this house is a beautiful architectural and design marvel of modern styling made to fit elegantly well in the woods; and i'm ready to move in! it's been a nice little quest to figure out where this house is truly located and who designed it. how can i live in it if i don't even know where it is??
low and behold, this beauty is actually located near portland, oregon and was designed by a star-studded pacific northwest team: skylab architecture. originally set as a spec home it was quickly purchased up by one of the owners of nike. darn! i'll keep my eyes out for it to go on the market again. ;o)
in real life it's called the hoke house and the genius behind it is named jeff kovel. this guy pretty much rocks every project he's ever done. . . . maybe he's looking for a design assistant? i am so impressed with his vision and style, and this hoke house is one great example of just what jeff can do. to learn more about jeff and his portfolio, and more about the hoke/cullen house, check out this fabulous interview on design tavern.

and to continue with the house tour, do ya wanna peek inside?? ah, yeah, of course you do:gorgeous, gorgeous, and more gorgeous!
it occurred to me after doing the research for this post that maybe it's already been blogged to death? i have been so out of the blog-loop the last several months. . . .so my apologies if this is so yesterday. i am truly inspired by skylab's incredible work in this house and the photos all make me smile, so i'm blogging it no matter how many others have done so before me. ;o)
{photos found on skylab's website & on design-tavern}

to cheer you

i know some one who could use some cheering-up,
so i made a little photo montage to brighten your day and lighten your thoughts.
onward and upward!

sew satisfied

i recently completed a nice little sewing project, using the fabric stacked above, for a teen-inspired entertainment room i redesigned. everything turned out so well, that i'm hoping to make a habit of sewing custom pieces for clients going forward. it's a great way to add a unique touch to an interiors project and really make it my own. plus, it often costs less for me to make pillows and window treatments than it is to buy them at a shop, so it's a win-win for my clients! i chose the fabrics and created the pattern for all six pillows and three window valances ~ all of which are made with washable, fade-resistant fabrics. . . . . simple and contemporary with a bit of whimsy for the teen sensibility, don't you think? hopefully soon i'll have some photos of these beauties in the new room to share too!

dance up close in mill valley

oh i'm excited about this one! there's a very special dance performance coming soon that'll give you a rare opportunity to be up close & personal with some very incredible dancers. {printz dance project plus some other powerhouse performers!}
tickets are really affordable {sliding scale $5-$15} and the location is adorable....
just across the golden gate at roco dance & fitness in mill valley
may 8th at 8:30pm & may 9th at both 6:30pm & 8:30pm

what a good day.....

.....to start blogging again!
as you might have presumed by now, i have been extremely distracted with all the changes in my life and i just couldn't keep-up with blogging. but, as you can see from the lovely little flower fairy above, i have good reason. with the new season of spring upon us and easter being only a couple days away, i just wanted to pop on here with an update and some spring cheer to share!

first off, is the subject of seating:
here is a lovely little toddler bench i designed & had built with my father. yes, i had it built locally in my dad's woodshop. see i'm a very lucky designer, because i have a very talented carpenter father who can make anything out of wood. any thing. he is an elite member of a rare breed of woodworker ~ he is a true craftsman. i have been reeling with ideas of furniture for him to make {and hopefully someday to sell}! here is the first of our father-daughter projects together ~ i think it turned out really well.it's a solid oak bench/step-stool, sized just right for a toddler. being solid wood, it's not super light-weight, but i think that is a very good thing so it won't go tumbling over when a toddler climbs all over it. it has a handle space in the back for easy mobility and it has an open space beneath the seat for putting special things that need their very own place. it's a clean & simple design, and would fit well in many styles of home decor. know anyone who might want one?

also on the subject of seating, i have been loving going to flea markets lately. here is one of my fabulous finds, or should i say two:
i don't know what it is about this fresh & funky vinyl, but i love it! i mean, really, how could you not be cheered up in the morning sipping coffee & fresh squeezed juice while you're sitting on one of these happy chairs?!?!


second subject, is the subject of home. for those of you who haven't heard, i'm doing a fun little dance between two very wonderful, but very different, places..... san francisco and corvallis. i won't dive into the details of my west coast bounce, but suffice it to say i am loving both places very much. what can i say, i am a true town & country girl.

{at coit tower on top of telegraph hill, a couple weeks ago}

{walking at bald hill outside corvallis two days ago}

we love the sunshine and all this springtime splendor, and we hope you're enjoying all the rejuvenation and fresh sweetness of the season!

{photo of a & a taken by the incredible jeff zender}