gems & news for friday

this awesome sign, right on the money in my opinion, was found on graphic-exchange {more on this entirely awesome place later} by holly at decor8. i was so taken with it i just had to get it up on my swellspring too! it has inspired me to start re-thinking a lot of my old stand-by design choices. i've got a very tight budget and a whole lot of interior designing to do in the coming weeks. let's call it design-on-a-dime, but with surprising & refreshing pizazz! ooo la la!
ever since i was born {in july in arkansas} i've been known as the sunshine girl, and so my adoration for almost anything with some sunshine in it. i say "almost" very intentionally since some sunshiney things can be a bit too cheesy or hippy for my taste. but even those do evoke a smile. i just wouldn't include them in my own decor. so when i found this sweet little sign made by freya art & design {also 1st seen on decor8 ~ had fun there today!} i got all excited as it seems like some perfectly wonderful inspiration for alesia's bedroom. the daughter of a sunshine girl! i think i'll include this in a little inspiration-board-collage very soon.
new art for alesia's room already on the way is this utterly fantastic print designed by robert david bretz. she has this thing for giraffes and i thought it was the perfect addition to her wall ~ but should it be the beside the crib wall or the beside the changing table wall? ah decisions, decisions!

oh yeah, and by the way, in case you've wondered what's kept me away from blogging for the past while. . . . .we've been moving in to a new home! so much excitement and change ~ it's been a fairly smooth transition and we're settling in very nicely in the new 'hood. but boy are there a ton of projects! daunting & exciting all at the same time.
this weekend ~ painting!
how about you??

color crushes

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

to my favorite little sprout

happy 11 month birthday, peach blossom, you have nourished my soul more than anything else i've ever known.
your strength, humor, and love are so impressive. your heart is so wide open and you just take everything in. you know what you want and you'll fight like mad to get it. you are a big flirt and captivate people every where you go. you are very proud of your 2 little teeth, and you're very good at speed crawling. you love to eat fresh fruits, sweet potatoes, crackers, cottage cheese and all types of beans. you adore being with your cousins and really like playing in water {bath time, kiddie pools, etc}. you always wake-up in the best mood & help to wake me up happy too.
p.s. i love it when you call out "mama, mama, mama" until i come get you. it's just the sweetest thing.

candyland in sf

which way to the gumdrop mountains?
well, go to north beach and head over the far side of telegraph hill....on lombard street, of course!
to celebrate candyland's 60th birthday yesterday, hasbro put on a fantastic show: a life sized game of candyland on san francisco's lombard street! best idea i've heard in a long-long time!
only children from uc san francisco children’s hospital and the nonprofit friends of the children were allowed to compete on the game, but 100's of other children watched on the side lines. so wish i was there too!
also, this incredible cake made by the uber-talented debbie does cakes got devoured after the game. what a treat!

photos and story found on sfist
thanks mr.hilarious blogasaurus for the tip!

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!

time for some retail therapy

check out these gorgeous handmade pieces by michael arras:


and these fabulous finds at working class studio :

{outdoor pillows}

{the kay collection melamine plates}

oh and these lovely little gems at viva terra: {misprint garden sign}

{pearl lotus chandelier}

{recycled bangle votive candle holders}

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!

fun in the shade

the heat wave here in the pacific northwest has me thinking about shade{s}. in celebration of summertime sun and the ever-evolving lamp-shade, here are some bright ideas to contemplate {preferrably while sipping iced-tea}:
my uber-talented friend, jordan ferney, just posted about this adorable & lovely way to create some extra shade at an outdoor party....clip-on umbrellas! as you know well by now, i adore all kinds of umbrellas, with a passion. so i'm extremely excited to learn about this new clipable kind. insta-addition to my wish list! you can buy them here, and you can see the rest of jordan's post here.



storage, display & lighting all in one ~ brilliant shades by pottery barn. even though you could buy them for about $99, it would be a fairly simple d.i.y. project too: just take almost any lampshade and hand-sew the cloths pins to it with an extra large needle using tight criss-cross stitches. what a bright idea!


if you've got a need for more shade for your patio or yard, for a construction project, then these awesome shade sails are for you! they can be stretched between trees, posts and buildings from the d-ring at each corner. the seamless extra wide fabric these are made from comes in seven colors. the same site also provides photos of residential installations, sample layouts and sells the installation hardware.


ok, these are kinda kitschy. but i think they could be a great smile-inducing addition to the right space....maybe in a pool-house bathroom, at a beach cafe or in a kids bedroom at a beach house? designed by toby sanders and found at his website: tobyhouse.

these beautiful copper shades are created in colorado by artist uriah beuller. found at parasoleil , they are made of pattern-cut copper in a 36”x 96” size, though custom panels can be made, too. and even better, the panels are green-certified with 90% recycled content... parasoleil has a choice of several patterns that can be cut into the panels, creating shadows and light in outdoor spaces. the copper material is low-maintenance for outdoors, as it will patina and last a lifetime without corroding.

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

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.

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!