A Tower of Talent

Kate Towers is a fabulously talented designer here in Portland, Oregon. Her aesthetic, full of frills and feminine details, influenced a whole generation of DIY designers who aspired to sell their designs in her store, Seaplane. I stumbled on her etsy store and then took a closer look at her portfolio online. Pretty amazing stuff.

Pondering the sun.

Bright sunshine art by Kate Banazi.

Flashback Friday: Q is for questions!

Happy Friday! (Photo via Wardomatic)

It's a beautiful life!

Don't you just love these photos? They are the work of the wonderfully talented Atlanta Bartlett. (Check out more of her stuff here.) Everything seems so casual and breezy and very feminine. Gorgeous!

I'm sensing a pattern...

I'm in love with Indian-inspired textiles and linens. How great would it be to open the linen closet to see a stack of crisp and colorful fabrics?





(Photos: Indus Decor, John Robshaw, Plover Organic, Roberta Roller Rabbit )

Wedding Wednesday: Pick a color, any color!

I'm a firm believer in picking a color scheme for a wedding and then sticking to it. Of course, the trick is to integrate your colors so seamlessly into the wedding tableau that no one even notices that the napkins match the candles which match the flowers, etc. One way to avoid being a slave to the scheme: Pick a general palette such as the citrus-hues of Mark & Allison's nups:

(Photos by Union Photo, via Once Wed)

Vintage Art Find

I found the sweetest little 25-cent ceramic dish while estate sale shopping this weekend. Here it is:

A little Google-ing told me about the artist, Bjørn Wiinblad (1919-2006), a Danish painter and print maker who also did a great deal of decoration for pottery. I just love the whimsical style. Here's some of his other work mostly from eBay and poster stores:

(Images via eBay, IHeartSisterBrandt)

Picnics In the Park

I'm in a picnic phase these days. Maybe it's the fact that the weather in Portland is foul for so much of the year that when the sun finally appears, I want to spend every second outdoors. (This, by the way, is the reason why Oregonians have such a high rate of skin cancer. But I digress.)

I think the easiest way to have a picnic is to grab a blanket, silverware, unbreakable plates then hit the deli counter at the grocery store for finger foods, salads, and cold drinks. Find a nice place to spread out at the park and enjoy yourself.

We have so many wonderful parks here in Portland: Waterfront, Washington, Peninsula, and Laurelhurst Parks are my favorites for dining al fresco. Do you have a special spot that's perfect for a picnic in your town?

(Photo: Blyton Vintage Picnic Basket $160 from PicnicFun.com)