I have such a creative girl crush!

I love the photos by this talented group of photographers who gathered in Marfa, TX for a creative convergence and have the photographic evidence to prove it!



(Photos by brooke schwab texas, millie holloman north carolina
sarah rhoads washington eliesa johnson minnesota kelly moore louisiana
carmen nauseff ohio melanie mauer kentucky cheryl muhr texas kristy behrs oregon lyndzee ellsworth california amy smith florida laura muehlendorf virginia shannon sewell washington jesse chamberlin georgia davina fear north carolina)

Why drive a Jag when you can drive a cupcake?

I love the idea of riding around my (imaginary) estate in a cupcake-shaped car! It is battery powered, tops out at 7 mph, and I'm not sure, but I think the hat comes with it.

(From the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, 2009)

Vintage oversized sunglasses. So cute!

I'm a huge fan of sun glasses. I love these vintage ladies and their specs!





(All from the LIFE archive. Photo #4: Carole Lombard from 1938 by Alfred Eisenstaedt)

My life would be so much better if I had endless amounts of money...

I was wheeling the baby through the Pearl District this afternoon and had to check out Anthropologie. Oh, that store makes me SWOON! It's like they've created all of the clothes that I believe I should wear and the home decor I believe I should own and then placed them in one gorgeous menagerie of a store to taunt me.

For instance this top:



I would be so much happier if I owned it.

(Flourishing Filigree Top, $68)

Isn't this the neatest?

"We Grew Together,"mixed-media illustration by Angela Stasio available here.

Instant art! "Stella and Sunburn"

I've been looking for just the art for our bathroom since we moved in. I wanted something that could go with the blue bell walls and giant yellow straw tote bag that sits atop to loo and is really the only other shot of color in the room.

Then I found an old picture featuring my sunburned legs and my dearly departed dog, Stella. We'd spent a summer day at Fire Island, NY without any sunscreen and I wanted to document my own stupidity, but then Stella got into the frame.

Anyway, I did some color correction and made it more yellow and then sent it to Snapfish to blow it up. I'll let you know how it looks in the bathroom...

In love with love

I'm in love with love. Ooey, gooey sweet and ridiculous love. Pass it on...









(Photos: #1-3, by me, #4 & 5 by I Love You Cards iloveyoucards.org, #6 by Chris Paynter)

More vintage phones!

I'm loving these British phones available at Sweet Bella!

(My pink Starlite phone is still for sale on Etsy!)

Decorating with dishes.

I have a *small* collection of cream-colored commemorative plates featuring pictures of churches. I know, kind of random, but they are so sweet that I can't resist them.

But, how to display a plate collection without making it look too granny or cluttered? Here's a great display that is both cozy and elegant:



(Via The Ten Cent Designer)

New Items in the store!

Here are two vintage pieces I listed today. Check them out! :)

My Margot Tenenbaum Dream

I'm finally parting with my lovely pink 1960s Starlite phone. (You can buy it here.)

I bought it at the height of my Margot Tenenbaum obsession, particularly the idea of taking to the bathtub for long soaks while chatting on my pink Princess phone and sneaking cigarettes.

In reality, vintage phones operate in a different era. This one had a four prong adapter that would have also connected it with the home's ringer. Thus, when I rewired it and used it in my apartment in NYC, I also connected another (less attractive) vintage phone that did have a ringer in another room, but I'd only answer the pink phone. Annoying, I agree.

Though I don't use it, I'll miss it. But maybe I'll miss Margot more.

p.s. You can win a free name plate! Check out my contest on Katydid and Kid!

Find: Bell'occhio in San Francisco, Je t'aime!

Here's a store that will inspire gasps and squeals of joy: Bell'occhio in San Francisco has so many European-favored items, you'll think you've died and come back as Amélie.

Anniversary luxury!

My very sweet husband made reservations at The Nines for our anniversary last weekend. It was great to finally see what everyone's been talking about since the hotel opened last year in the building that formerly housed Meier & Frank. (I have to admit, I was skeptical of the transition, I mean, Meier & Frank was THE place to shop downtown for decades. To replace M&F with Macy's with a hotel on top was just one more homegrown Portland landmark gone to the national chains.)

BUT, I loved it. The room had plenty of glamour, including chandeliers, a powder blue fainting couch, dark woods and a marble shower. Very fancy. (One quibble: No in-room coffee maker!)

If you are in Portland, I'd recommend a night at The Nines for some large living.

Craft is not a dirty word.

I found fiber artist Sonya Philip via the American Craft Council's site. She combines knitted and felted pieces with clay and other materials resulting in some gorgeous pieces that transcend the limited description of "craft."

Called "Spleens," these red clay faces are painted with oil paint and encaustic medium then stitched to hand knit bodies.

Her Etsy store holds delights such as this knitted lamp. It must give off a gorgeous glow.

Aprons: What do they mean?

I have an automatic response to aprons: They make me uncomfortable. It's not that I disapprove of their function, rather I bristle at their implication that I should be in the kitchen AND looking good! To me, they are better left in another era, one when my grandmothers toiled silently dressed in colorful aprons they stitched themselves.

And yet, these adorable aprons from Jessie Steele might make me change my mind:

Pattern Making

I have a sweet 1960s top that just doesn't fit right. (Have you ever noticed that the necklines in vintage clothes are tight?) Anyway, I can't part with the shirt because I love the print so much.

In an effort to save the shirt and the pattern, I've been trying to replicate the pattern to print on another fabric. Of course, this meant I had to learn how to create a repeating patter for a length of fabric which is like, really hard. ;)

First I scanned the shirt and came up with this:
Then, I used a tutorial by Julia Rothman I found on Design Sponge and created this pattern:

Only, I haven't exactly lined it up perfectly, so this is only a snapshot of the whole thing.

Now that I've learned how to create a repeat pattern, I'm obsessed with it. I'm thinking of patterns all day long. I curse the Internet!

Flashback Friday: A Family Affair

For today's Flashback Friday, I'm focusing on the family. Or, what family and family spaces looked like back in the 1970s.

First up, what looks to be a very fun family picnic:

And then on the next page (literally, you turn the page) and see this ad for a fridge repair service.
So, being a suburban housewife is like, so not fun. But here's a nursery that is all cheer (love the sunflower wallpaper!):

I love this sweet cover for a 1971 children's magazine from the makers of Golden Books:

This picture struck me: You just don't see kid buns in magazines anymore!


Have a happy Friday my lovely readers!

My Last Carmel Post: Gates and Doorways

For my last Carmel post, I wanted to share some of the town's gates and doorways. (I wish that the light had been better, it was so cloudy!)