lounge lizards live on

over the last several weeks we've traveled all over oregon and down the coast through california to san francisco. we've had many wonderful celebrations {birthdays, weddings, & many dinner parties just because}; and we've also gone through some unfortunate situations {long traffic jams, and a baby peach falling & getting a bruise on her sweet head}. so now that we're back in the calm days of summer in the willamette valley, it's time to catch-up on blogging.

i've been dying to share this fantastic find with you:

lounge lizard on south east hawthrone street in portland oregon.

if you like vintage furnishings, cool sales people and a treasure trove of unique housey items, you absolutely must check out this shop.

looking up, the ceilings are full of glowing treasures the walls are covered in art and artifacts, like a crazy quilt in 3-d:

what a fabulous place to find the time

all this vintage eye-candy can make a lady swoon of course the shop's new favorite model is pint-sized

i imagined purchasing dozens of things, but left without a one. but believe you me, as soon as i get my new place to call home i'll be driving a big van over to lounge lizard & loading it up!

more photos of a few of my favorite items can be seen on my flickr set.

strawberry tales

we've been picking a lot of strawberries around here ~ and eating them hand over fist! there are few better flavors in this world than a fresh picked organic strawberry.

alesia is now 9 months old and strawberries have become her favorite food. although seen here she's trying out a leaf, believe me she eats tons of the berries too.
this is about 14 pounds of strawberries ~ and we picked this many two different times. the first 14 went by way too fast so we just had to go back for more. now we've got yummy jams and bags full of whole berries in the freezer to remind us of early summer deliciousness when it's cold and grey.

alesia just loves being outside {she joins me in our gardens almost every day for sunshine playtimes} and she had a ball at the strawberry fields. as you can see, she's very fair skinned {just like her mama}. i try to keep hats on her, but now she pulls them off immediately, so i slather her head in sunscreen too. i must tell you i am a very lucky lady ~ alesia is one fantastic dream baby. she has a wonderful sense of humor and even though she's teething she is always an absolute pleasure to have around.

and the fruits of our labor ~ if you can even call it labor. we actually loved every minute of it. especially the snacking!
these wonderful strawberry adventures were had at the greengable gardens outside philomath oregon {right near mary's river grange}. their strawberry season is short and sweet. very sweet. so if you're in the area it's definitely worth the visit!

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}

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}

spreading joy, seeking inspiration

alesia's first grin captured on camera. . . . and my first christmas gift. so i just had to share the joy with y'all too. things have been busy over here with alesia learning to feed from a bottle, playing with new toys, and starting to explore the big world more & more. such an incredible thing to witness. here are a few images of her going's on:

{dreaming apple dumpling sweetness}

{so curious about the world all around}

i've been enjoying the holidays with my family and trying to get motivated to do something with my life other than being 100% focused on my bundle of joy. exploring the oregon coast & the oregon woods is always a blissful sensory experience and is filling me with inspiration for things to come......

{two photos i took of our table at thanksgiving, centerpiece made with found treasures from around my parent's property}

{two photos i took high atop cape perpetua on misty mystical day that rejuvenated like no other}

season's greetings from oregon

i hope you are having a magical holiday season with merriment, love, and good cheer!

{made in oregon sign ~ downtown portland}

{garden of lights ~ shore acres}
{tinsel tree on driftwood ~ waldport oregon beach}

uprooted

ever feel like this?
over exposed, displaced, bedraggled, bewildered. yep. it's been a rough week.
but it's friday & i can't wait to sleep in tomorrow morning & relax in my pj's til noon. this too shall pass.

btw ~ it's kind of hard to see it, but that's my favorite light house in the world in the background. heceta head lighthouse. ah october. i'll be there in october! yes.

have a wonderful weekend, lovelies.

one year, one love

my niece's 1st birthday was a few days ago, but i wasn't able to get online to announce it the day of.

so instead here's a little photo collage from the party & my favorite design shot from the day.

i bought a ton of asian-inspired decor items, party favors & treats in japan town before heading to oregon for the event. it was a joyous time, and words really can't express how grateful i am!

~ ~ ~

dearest ilia grace,

you've come a long way baby, and you've made such a huge difference in my life.

365 days of unconditional loving is the best thing that's ever happened to me.

love all ways, auntie anjie

yarn garden

while in portland oregon this past weekend i re-found the yarn garden. my mom & i bought yarn here years & years ago so i was very happy to see it's not only still there, but thriving with an expanded cafe called the sipperie. now it not only offers yarn and knitting supplies in a garden-like setting but you can sip earl grey tea or a hazlenut latte while you brouse the skeins. absolutely enchanting.

(this is their latest window display ~ knitted hats for premies all in a row. adorable!)