i heart the flashdance

when some one says they are inspired by "rad style, timeless music, unique design and photography that captures the spirit of the subject", i am more than a little bit intrigued. and after i spent an hour or so playin around on the flashdance i was getting a pretty hard crush. i mean where else can you hope to find sam cooke & leonard cohen,a gangbanger pancacke brunch,
a whole lot of inventive love photography,

plus more coolness than antarticaall in one website??

the flashdance is where it's at, no doubt about it ~ and i'm so wanting to join their party, where ever & whenever they hook it up.
oh, maybe they need a design diva in the pac northwest to round out their team?? finger's crossed.....
until then, i'm gonna be soaking up their fabness from their blog and hoping some of it rubs off.

i wish . . . . .

. . . . i could swing on the tire swing in my grandma's backyard like i did as a child. . . . "my village" {closest group of friends i've ever had} lived right next to me still. . . . i could spend at least one year in italy with my daughter. . . . my newest design career dreams would come true {soon}
. . . . i could dance tango all night long. . . . there were fireflies on the west coast
. . . . it were possible to smell roses & freesia growing in my garden year round. . . . for alesia to always know the incredible beautiful gift she is to the world
. . . . to ride in a hot air balloon with my sister for an afternoon. . . . people would respect each other's differences and listen with their hearts more. . . . i could ride a ferris wheel in downtown san francisco. . . . bubbles could float around for hours without popping. . . . siestas were acceptable practice for anyone, any time. . . . everyone could love themselves more

thanks so much to relyn for this idea ~ her incredible wish list inspired me to make mine!



{tire swing by mmgoode. my village by jennib. siena landscape by ahsan. buddha stairs by ramona d'viola. ney and jen tango by houston tango festival. fireflies in park by goldring. roses and freesia by beakee . alesia photo by me. balloon ride by quasebart. circle of friends by lifetime. ferris wheel sunset by calzean. soap bubbles by floridapfe. group siesta by marek barczyk. jump for joy by krish tipirneni. }

color crushes

feeling the love for color, and in the mood for sharing:

august rush

it's the beginning of harvest time & many wonderful things have ripened around here, so we're scurrying to get them put by for future enjoyment. not to say we aren't enjoying them while they're fresh too. we've been gobbling-up peaches, berries, beans, peas, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, garlic, figs, pears, and corn....a serious bounty this year! this is the time when all our hard work in the gardens starts to pay off ~ and so far everything is delicious! but my heirloom tomatoes are by far my favorite treat out of my garden so far.
the figs were divine, and have become one of alesia's new favorite foods. especially with creamy chevre {goat cheese}!

one of my favorite breakfasts this time of year is fresh cut peaches, blueberries & cream:
our family likes garlic. a lot. so we grow quite a bit in our garden and tie it up for use all year round. here's our harvest of italian & elephant garlic this year.....time for some olive oil & pasta!

we turned these bartlet beauties into spiced pear deliciousness to use throughout the holiday season. yum!
ok, now i'm getting hungry again!

to fly in the middle is magic

this jaw-droppingly gorgeous photo is of the largest hot air balloon gathering in the world ~ the lorraine mondial air balloons rally in chambley, france. in the photographer's own delightful words "to be there is a gift but to fly in the middle is magic." gbatistini created this particular image by stitching together 6 panoramas. absolutely stunning!
but wait, there's more...
a time lapse video of the launch:


and an entire flickr group dedicated to the launch is here.
where i found another fantastic photo by leadenhall . he took this on a serendipitous train ride ~ as he was riding across france he looked out the window and saw that it was raining balloons. how lucky we are that he captured it on film to share!
bon weekend!

colors of summer

garden watered, baby fed, bicycle ridden, new sewing project started, and now it's time to pick some berries. . . . hope you're enjoying this glorious summertime day as much as i am!

look who's turning 10 {months that is}

nowadays my sweet little peach is standing up, starting to crawl, getting a little more hair, and trying to pop a tooth or two thru. there is more joy in this wee bundle of baby than i ever thought possible. thank heavens for such tiny surprises and momentous discoveries!

20x200 finds

{praia piquinia, by christian chaize}

{untitled thrift, by brian ulrich}

{nymphenburg, by greggory krum}

{arika, by dorthe alstrup}

all images are for sale at 20x200 ~ a place to find great art

these are the days

we've been traveling around and having lovely adventures....so blogging is way behind. will catch up when we're back home again! meanwhile, please check out these gorgeous photos from my birthday party, taken by mr. tom connard!

time travels

having few words worth sharing right now, i offer you a visual story to contemplate:

the dogwoods are in full bloom!

i happened to drive by this gorgeousness yesterday and my heart skipped a beat. so i immediately braked, u-turned, and jumped out of my car to snap a few shots. dogwoods are one of my favorite flowering trees. there's something so satisfying and comforting in the rounded, voluptuous, heart-shaped petals so perfectly encircling a little confetti ball of bliss.

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!

snow birds

not sure if you've heard that the pacific northwest has been turned into a winter wonderland, but let me tell you it's a snow queen's delight every where i look. i'm up here for the holidays with family and we are officially snowed in again today. it's beautiful and quiet ~ i love snow: the sounds, the sights, the smells of it. when i go out walking the last couple days i've found some really lovely images. one of which is of little tiny bird prints hopping around in the snow {i think it must be from the quails}. this got me inspired to share some nice bird items with you, as well as some of the photos i took.{our back door view}

{sea birds tea towel at green with glamour }

{birdy pillow made by jennyjen }

{bird floor lamps at fusion home}

{viva terra's glass bird vases}

{bird doorbell cover at flopping fish}

{wisteria's bird tealight holder}

{my personal favorite snow birdie, alesia}

as the sun sets on this lovely sight i hope you're all staying cozy & warm where ever you are!