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!

dennis king woodworking now on etsy!

my brother-in-law's etsy shop {dennis king woodworking} is open and ready for business! solid wood, eco-friendly children's furniture that's extremely well made with a nice mix of country & contemporary styling. it's actually a family effort with me designing and painting the items and dennis doing all the wood working. we've had a ball working together and are really excited about the results.the tables are big enough for all types of kid's projects and play things while sized just right for a child's perspective. they are designed with a center console for storing art supplies and other sundries. they come with painted bases or plain wood finish. the tops are made from blue pine ~ that's what gives them the lovely greyish striping. all are 100% solid wood with non-toxic finishes {no-voc paint, all natural citrus-based finishing oils} the chairs are multi-faceted and can serve as seating, step stool and storage. they can be sold individually or as modular groups for a fun and functional storage and seating solution in one. as with the tables they are 100% solid blue-pine wood and can come with painted interiors or plain wood finish. either way, they are non-toxic with no-voc paints and all natural citrus-based finishing oils.

please jump on over to etsy to check out dennis king woodworking ~ and maybe buy a few items for the creative kids in your life! everything is made to order and fully customizable to the sizes you need. . . . .

oh, and have a wonderful weekend while you're at it!

lucky elizabeth

in response to my last post, dear elizabeth in washington {of the working artist blog} sent me some photos of her creative work space. wow. what an incredible place to be creative in! she does pottery, painting and even hosts milongas there. not only is it a wonderful art space it's a completely separate building from her house, so she can really get away and focus on her art whenever she pleases. now that is taking the where-women-create concept to a whole new level!
elizabeth offered the wise advice to not wait for the perfect space to start doing good work. and boy do i know that well! i've been making wonderful things in very meager, make-shift work spaces all my life. so every once in a while i enjoy taking a moment to fantasize what it would be like to be creative in a perfectly well suited, beautiful space. lucky elizabeth has just that! thanks so much for sharing with us e!

where do you create?

over the weekend i found a fabulously inspiring magazine called "where women create".
from their homepage: whether it’s art, food, music, written works or choreographed dances, extraordinary women know that the process of creating is as important as what ultimately gets created.
amen. three cheers. holy yes.
after this fine discovery i decided to research some of these well-intentioned spaces that women had created for their great works to be envisioned and realized. i've been yearning for such a space of my very own and i find it entirely inspiring to see what others have done. little sparks fly in my brain at the very thought of being able to work in some of these incredible spaces. just see if you don't get some sparks too after seeing these:

{i'm ready to jump into this photo and start making something lovely right now! julochka is a lucky lady}

{this one gets a thumbs-up for packing in the most amount of creative supplies into the smallest space. it's like beatsfantastic said to herself, "i've got one tiny corner and i will have my creative workspace, damnit!" well done lady!}

{i like this one from chelstastic not only for the well-organized bookshelves but for the inclusion of baby goodies ~ the reality of being a mama is you've got tons of baby entertainment items everywhere mingled with your grown-up stuff.}

{this cheery little sewing corner is for my dear friend jenni ~ totally reminds me of you girl! alison rose, where ever you are, you should join our club!}

{what a fun studio the sweet sweet life has made for herself! i really like this carnival theme}

{and sometimes all you need is a glorious sunshiney morning, and some gorgeous green shutters, to get your creative juices flowing! lucotinha wins for the best creative makings room i've ever seen. by the way, there's a train that runs right outside this window.....somewhere in brazil. me, oh my!}

want more? check out these hot groups on flickr {thank the heavens for flickr!}
creative spaces
creative workspace
craft rooms
operation: sewing room organization
handmade spaces

and what about you? do you have such a space you'd like to share with me? it's still on my wish list to manifest the perfect creative space, so until i can make it happen i'll gladly live vicariously through you! please share fine ladies {& gents, too of course!}

{many thanks to jubella for the top 3 photos on the "where women create magazine"}

directionless bliss

i so needed to find this today. thanks wordboner, you rock.

hope you have a joyfully directionless weekend!

summer readin' happenned so fast

sometimes books come along that are so great you must pass them along to friends....so i hope you'll enjoy some of these suggestions along with me this summer!

first up, my dear friend scott brizel's book is almost out on the shelves: audrey hepburn, international cover girl. he has an amazing collection of vintage audrey memorabilia and he is a live-encycolpedia of audrey info, so i'm thrilled to announce his accomplishment is ready to buy. go here to pre-order! mine is already on the way. yes!

next up, are 3 incredible design lover's must-haves:
villa by the extraordinary john saladino, interior design hall of fame member. saladino came across the ruins of a 1920's italianate stone villa overlooking the pacific in santa barbara, california. divided into four sections {architecture, interiors, landscape, and entertaining ~ this last part including dinner menus and recipes} the book is beautifully illustrated. i so want to visit here!a dream of mine is to buy rundown property and turn it into fabulous living space that uplifts the new owners and the neighborhood. robert & cortney novogratz have not only done this with amazing style but they've written a book about it to share their best ideas. downtown chic is one of my newest faves ~ from wreck to ravishing? hell yeah! it doesn't get much more inspiring than that.
and then there's green design which brings a new perspective on showing how the design world is coping with the environmental challenges of the 21st-century. written by london-based marcus fairs, a lecturer, entrepreneur, curator and award-winning journalist, formerly founding editor of icon magazine, is now editor of online design magazine dezeen.
last but not least, my former employer's book is out on the shelves as of last month and although i haven't purchased it yet, i plan to with my next gov't bonus check. ;o) orlando diaz-azcuy as seen through the words of that knower of all things design, diane dorrans saeks. i think it's a MUST!

whats new at new ravenna?

many very nice tiles are coming out of new ravenna these days. . . . actually that's how it's always been, but i just wanted to bring them to your attention now that the greys and whites are kicking it up a notch. if only i had a bathroom to redesign right now i'd be jumping all over these beauties!

oh yes, and also: new ravenna's lead design maven, sara baldwin, has started blogging right here:

more gorgeous tiles and info abounding!

time to move

{thanks jendita for the intro!}

time travels

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

sf decorator's showcase house 2009

this year is the first since moving to san francisco that i won't be going to the decorator's showcase house. boo! not only is this showcase a fabulous way to see what some local designers can do when put to the test, but it's also one of the only ways to see some incredible old-school san francisco residential architecture. so i have always enjoyed seeing these homes from the inside as much as seeing what the designers do within each of their choosen rooms. this year the house is 2830 pacific avenue ~ built in 1910 by architect nathaniel baisdell, it is a four-story 10,000 square foot mansion in pacific heights with gorgeous views and beautiful georgian-style brick exterior architecture.
alas, instead of forming my own opinions through my own eyes, i've had to dive into the blogs of others to get a sneak peak through some one else's lense. even still, there are some interesting and inspiring interiors worth sharing with you:

first up is the entry foyer by nicole hollis


obviously "collections" is a theme nicole chose, shown on the stairwell above and in the unfortunate taxidermy case below:


orlando diaz-azcuy designed the formal dining room {yes, he's my former employer}. i really like the color palette but wouldn't feel comfortable dining underneath a bladed fixture like that and it could be awkward to speak to the person sitting directly across from you with all those vases blocking your view:


the breakfast nook and family room were designed by matthew leverone. i love his choices for both spaces ~ fresh, chic, surprising and yet simple enough to be very liveable and enjoyable for every day use.




the teenager's bedroom by palmer weiss ~ the perfect blend of hip and traditional with a young-at-heart theme:

the master suite by cecil starin ~ masculine and soothing with a neutral palette:

"her study" was designed by benjamin dhong ~ gorgeous & very creative:

if you'd like to attend, the decorator's showcase house is open until may 25th. please let me know if you visit it and what you think!

if you're unable to attend here's a link to the video tour on the california home + design website. enjoy!

{thanks to anh minh , the sunset blog and california home + design for the photos!}