[Piano Nobile and the...]

I can't put my finger on what it is about this T that I love so much...but love it I do. In fact, I think I can safely say that I'm positively into just about everything over at Piano Nobile.

*I also wanted to thank everyone that attended the Shop Live event. It was so cool! I've never been a part of something like that. Fast, frenzied and fun! Marichelle did a great job of pulling it all together (what an eye!) and it was wonderful to see such a turn out of both buyers and sellers. Thanks again all!

[New prints and a shop SALE!]

Today is such and exciting day! In honor of Marichelle's Shop Live event I am offering 20% off on your entire shop purchase! I have also added these two new prints, Emily and Emma, to the inventory, so there is more fun stuff to choose from!

I hope to see all of you tonight during the Shop Live event. There are some great sellers involved that you wouldn't want to miss!

*rules of how to apply the pre-sale discount can be found here.

[hand stitched...]

How sweet is this hand stitched love letter by Kathleen of Twig and Thistle? I absolutely adore the idea. A love letter that will stand the test of time. Brilliant.

[join Heart Handmade and Etsy for...]

Hello friends! I Hope you had a pleasantly long weekend (mine has been extra pleasant and long as I'm visiting family - a welcome break from the usual hustle and bustle). I wanted to pop in and tell you how thrilled I am to announce that I will be a part of Marichelle's (of Heart Handmade) Etsy Shop Live event this Thursday (or tomorrow)! I was delighted when I received an email from Marichelle asking me if I'd be interested in listing my custom couples portrait as part of the event. I really love the idea of this whole thing and will most assuredly be glued to the computer for those 30 minutes on Thursday. I have my eye on a few thing already!

For anyone interested I will also be offering an all day sale in my shop on Thursday in honor of the event so be sure to stop by. I hope to stock up the store a bit more before then. You can learn more about the event and other participating artisans on Heart Handmade. Hope you are able to make it!

[list making and...]

If you are anything like me you love making lists almost as much as you love saving a buck. And if you can do both at the same time...even better. Lately I've been really into making little notebooks out of paper goods that I already have lying around. I highly recommend this. It's free and your shopping lists never looked so good.

I made these books for my sister who is celebrating her birthday this weekend (hope she doesn't peek too soon :)).

I just made these ones up but you can learn how to make your own via Martha here.

[these makes me happy]

A week or so ago My aunt brought me these little flowers, freshly cut from her garden. I loved them so much that I had to preserve them in photo form. I'm so glad I did. I can now enjoy them for as long as need to. Thanks Aunt Cheryl!

[art fix]

Before having children I'd dream of taking my darling, quiet and adoring children to the library. There they would search the endless stacks of bound treasures with reverent wonder. Together we would select some of our favorite finds and travel off to imaginary places as I read to them in a quiet, tucked away nook.

Well...with my spirited, yet still darling, three year old, our library jaunts are anything but dream like. Little A has had an obsession with puzzles for some time now...and as most library's are outfitted with such novelties, we are immediately pulled to that corner with incredible magnetic force. When attempting to leave said corner to peruse, fits are had and red faced mom gives into defiant toddler (we've tried to discuss this issue prior to library outings many times...but that is another story for another mommy blog...).



Not wanting to leave triumphant little A by himself in the puzzle corner I'm stuck looking for books with authors at the end of the alphabet, particularly in the W's, which reside directly across from puzzle paradise. Most of the time I'm satisfied enough for bedtime stories but every once in a while I'll find a treasure. My most recent library adventure unearthed such a gem in the form of author/illustrator Brian Wildsmith. Wow. How did I not know about this guy? Needless to say, I gobbled up as many Wildsmith books my stroller could handle and left the library smiling, oblivious to all kicking and screaming protests.




Aren't his illustrations just beautiful? Little A (who loves the books once they are at home) enjoyed them thoroughly and wanted me to read Animal Shapes over and over again. He was so taken with the different ways in which Wildsmith portrays his animals. I personally am very much into his color palette and intoxicating use of shapes.





I'm so happy to have found his work. He certainly ranks high on my most inspiring illustrator list at the moment. And it's all thanks to Little A and his fixation with puzzles.

[shop update]

These are in progress (I want to add a splash of color) but I thought it would be fun to share, on this Tuesday morning, these little ladies who will soon be in the shop! Stay tuned.

[inspiration for a moody, mod summer...]

Ever since I found my yellow and black plates I've been having so much fun collecting inspiration for what I now dub my moody, mod summer tea party. It's looking like this will have to be pushed into June...a rather hot month here in California so it will most likely take place at dusk (a tea dinner party of sorts...so the black will work). So many ideas, so many things to do...I'm exploding with excitement and anticipation!

links: thrifted plates; Amy Atlas spread; Anthropologie mugs; chez sucre chez tea towel; city hall couple via Blah, Blah, Blahg; Love, Jenna table numbers; Vogue India, Oct. 07, photo; Mona and Holly ensembles; Paris Apartment balcony; I Love you Man wedding attire via The Bridal Closet; black mug via The Style Files; yellow flowers in hair, Anna Wolf photograph; black and white Bea Szenfeld dress; yellow chairs via Semigloss Chic; Love, Jenna caligraphy; Kelly Wearstler interior; black feather head piece; yellow striped skirt.

[drooling over this...]

Isn't this picnic tin from Toast just delightful? It would make any on-the-go meal that much more elegant.

[heading out for...]

(portrait of Kari)

I'm heading out for and early wedding weekend in Chicago. My dear friend Kari, who runs the marvelous fashion site Above the Fray, is getting married and I'm to be one of her bridesmaids. It will be so great to see her and many other friends. I must admit however that I am also a bit melancholy. I recently realized that I will be leaving my two little ones for the first time ever! Not only have I never left baby O's side, I've also never been away from little A (my three year old) for more than say...5 hours! Crazy, I know. It's time I guess.

It will be fun, and I know Jon will be great with the littles...sigh...and weddings are oh so delightful.

[magical...]

Is it bad that I want my children to attend Montessori schools just because their equipment is so darn cool!? No, but seriously, I'm really getting into the philosophy behind Montessori schooling (why must it cost so much?...sigh). It's just a nice perk that the activities are so aesthetically pleasing. I might be playing with them more than the littles...

Find these lovely and educational items here, here, here and here.

[shop update]

OK, so technically it's not morning anymore...but I'm going to try and devote Tuesday mornings to my Tuesday Mourning shop updates (at least the first Tuesday of the month if not every Tuesday) and share fun finds and crafty endeavors with you the rest of the week. Today I wanted to share with you my Peter Pan invites so that you too can have a magical Neverland party! Hop on over here and check it out!

[a weekend of...]

I love that little A is of the birthday party attending age. Over the weekend he was invited to his friend Emerald's birthday bug party. Aside from some uncharacteristic shyness on A's part, we had a blast.

I also had a lovely time making Emerald's gift. A few weeks ago I finished this Dauphine and Rabbit gouache painting (prints now up in my shop) for my niece's birthday and decided to create the little bunny as a softie to go along with a print for Emerald.

I think this little guy turned out so cute! I like him so much that I have decided to also offer the rabbit and print as a pair in my shop. I can just imagine them together on a shelf in Emerald's room. So sweet.

[for the grandmothers on...]

Last night we got crafty working on something for the grandmothers on mother's day. We had fun making custom stationary for Grandma Mary and Grandma Sylvia.

and custom artwork...

and custom clothes pins for the grandmas to hang artwork, letters, reminders, and more fun things!

Jon made his incredible chocolate chip cookies (which have changed our lives forever)...

and I special ordered this lovely and humorous book Hurry, Hurry, Mary Dear (sadly now out of print) which highlights all the the things mothers and grandmothers do for us. The story reminded us of Jon's Granny Vincent and knew that Grandma Mary, her daughter, had to have it. The funny twist ending seems to fit their sense of humor perfectly.

The illustrations are also charming. I love the Shaker style interiors and gorgeous color palette.

We sure hope the grandmother's enjoy our little gift! Because we sure are grateful for all that they do for us!

['cause I'm...]

And Cally loves me. No really, we did a swap and this is the lovely clutch she made for me. Thanks Cally. Love it!

[a Freebie and an attempt to...]

A couple of weeks ago I attended an organizing event where I was fortunate enough to meet and glean from LA's Apartment Therapy organizer extraordinaire, Beth Zeigler. Beth, who in addition to blogging is a professional organizer and founder of her own company Bneato, gave a fabulous mini boot camp that I found very inspiring. I was already a big fan of organizing, but after hearing some of Beth's tips I decided I could take it up a notch.

My craft/studio space needed some love...as did my laundry area (I say "area" because there is no laundry "room" in my house. The washer and dryer are outside on the back porch...one of the odd by charming quirks of old school Southern Cal) so I decided to start there. In an effort to make things more fun and visually appealing, and of course easier to organize, I created several assorted downloadable labels that I also wanted to share with you.

Click here and you can download all 22 labels. You can use these on jars, boxes, file folders, envelopes, gifts, journals, scrapbooks and really anything else you can think of!

My arts and craft supplies are now getting a good sorting and look so inviting. This makes me want to paint and create so much more! (Both a good a bad thing...you know, with all that "extra" time on my hands.)

In the laundry area I decided to do something different with my detergent. The lid to this jar broke while putting it away after the Neverland party - sadness - so I decided to repurpose it. Now I love scooping out detergent which makes doing the laundry that much more enjoyable (every little bit helps right?).

And of course, my favorite part of the organizing adventure...While I was busy sorting and photographing, my little 3 yr old decided he would do some un-sorting of his own in the button department...(It's a good thing he rather enjoyed re-sorting them by color while putting them back.)

[linen design studio]

I'm quite sure I'm in desperate need of this bag.

[chocolat chaud and...]

Ever since a family trip to to France two years ago, May has become a time of Parisian reflection and longing. Something in the air reminds me planning, packing, traveling, strolling, scouring, eating, adoring, sipping, shopping, lounging and loving all in the heart France. Alicia Bock's nostalgic photo, Paris Rooftops, is just the thing to accompany my May mood. Now to find some true Parisian chocolat chaud and I'm just about there.

[thanks!]

Amy of scoutie girl *, and the darling kids shop little alouette, asked me to do an interview. Hop on over here and check it out!
I also wanted to mention that I now offer custom portrait drawings such as this one done for Tom and Ruth's wedding anniversary (and shown in Amy's article). You can purchase it here in my shop and then email me with photos, etc. If you want something a little different, just email me and let me know.

Thanks again Amy!

[a work of art]

This delightful dress by Emily Ryan (originally found here) is little work of art. Darling.