happy living Design

one last post before 08

I'm so excited about my iHome dock that the boy got me for Christmas this year.  It will allow me to have music anywhere I want to be in the house with just one plug.  I have missed that since our only other stereo is tucked away in our living/tv room in the front of the house.

Holly made a good point the other day and like most everyone does I have been taking stock of my accomplishments both large and small this year and am very hopeful for 2008.

In 2008, I plan to continue to declutter my house, my lifestyle, my brain :: do one creative thing everyday :: love more and worry less :: be more compassionate :: do more service oriented work :: be more financially responsible ::  use my reusable shopping bags more often :: and be more in the moment instead of always skipping ahead.

Now, I go.  There are libations to be had.  All the best to all of you!

sundance

When we are in Park City next week we have one day off from skiing and I hope to get to visit the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah.  Ok, I admit that I do have a huge crush on Robert Redford, but I have also heard wonderful things about Sundance.  Redford bought Timphaven from the Stewart family in 1969 and instead of filling the canyon with a bunch of condos he instead saw it as an opportunity for environmental conservation (the 5000 acre Sundance Preserve) and a great place for celebration of art.  This is right from their website:

"People here come from all walks of life, but one belief is shared: our community should represent who we are and what we believe. Sundance is an arts community, a recreational community, a community of people who appreciate the beauty of nature and feel the responsibility to preserve it. We want to help you find those elements of the Sundance experience which will most meet your needs and your dreams. As you'll see, Sundance has many shapes, many moods, and many possibilities. Somewhere in our community awaits an experience which belongs to you and we are committed to helping you find it."

I can't wait and hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share with you.  Along with the beautiful mountains I hope to get to see the Sundance General Store, the inspiration for the Sundance Catalog.  I love the mixture of arts and crafts, rustic but refined furniture, lots of unique and beautiful pieces and of course great things to celebrate film.  I am not a jewelry person, but I go nuts for some of their necklaces.

There is definitely a universal appeal to these vintage cameras and film reels.

 

A recycled pickle barrel bed would be quite a conversation piece and I love these quilts.

and my inner biker-chick would love these boots.

helloooo in here...

I know, I can see the tumbleweeds blowing by.  I did not plan on being 'away' so long but need it.  Today is the first day that I have not been running around, visiting, celebrating, working, entertaining and making merry...a full day at home.  I finally got our shades hung in the bedroom and upstairs bathroom.  Can I say that it always amazes me how much a good window treatment can totally change the feeling of a room.  I got a few on clearance from JC Penny and am pretty pleased with them.  The holidays fly by so quickly and it is already time to think about the new year and new things to come.

Bethany had a great idea for the new year...to try to do one creative thing everyday.  My favorite paper store's tag line is "do something creative everyday".  I plan to try. And it must be something for myself independent of my day job's creative activities. That is one downside to working in a creative profession. Sometimes by the end of the day my brain is exhausted and just wants to turn off. But I know that when I make time for myself at night, even just a few minutes, it raises my spirits.

Over the next few days I will be working (of course), ringing in the new year with family and packing to go to Utah.  Yes, we are going away again.  For the third year in a row we will be taking a week to ski up in Park City, thanks to a moment of insanity when we purchased a Marriot timeshare while in SLC for a business trip.  We have fallen in love with both Salt Lake and Park City.  This history and culture of Salt Lake City intrigue me and the Wasatch mountains overwhelm me.  If you ever have a chance to visit I highly recommend it.  We'll have the laptop and our new little Canon elf so you will surely here from me.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. And no matter what your own hopes, dreams and goals are for the coming year, I wish you health and joy. And last but surely not least, a huge warm 'thank you' for making my first 11 months of blogging amazing and beyond what I could have imagined.

chalkboard wall

I would like a chalkboard wall in our kitchen.  These are fun.

1. Stephanie's Chalkboard Wall, 2. chalkboard wall, 3. chalkboard_wall_detail_2, 4. chalkboard-wall.jpg, 5. to do, 6. S7301241, 7. Chalkboard wall, 8. Chalkboard Wall, 9. new chalkboard wall, 10. Chalkboard drawings, 11. Chalkboard Pantry, 12. Chalkboard Wall, 13. tours_203_284x426.jpg, 14. Chalkboard kitchen, 15. Kitchen chalkboard, 16. 10.jpg, 17. Looking out to the back door, 18. chalkboard, 19. chalkboard wall in effect, 20. Chalkboard, 21. blackboard drawing, 22. thomas obrian kitchen, 23. pantry wall, after, 24. thinking pictures, 25. to-do WALL

should my 200th post be something really profound...

...or should I just show you my closet that I am about to purge?

What I really miss about our other house are the closets.  We installed closet organizers in all the closets and it really helped maximize the space we had much better.  I am using this one closet you see above.  The boy is crammed into another horrible closet on the other side.  We need to share this one and use the other one for less frequently used things like dresses and heavy winter stuff.

More importantly, I want to just simply have less clothing and from now on make smarter shopping choices.  I have a lot pieces that I never wear.  I have also thankfully lost about 15 pounds over the last several months and have a few things that are too big.  I usually give my good cast-offs to the Salvation Army but I have quite a few things that I think I might try selling on ebay.  I could use the extra money. :)  So over Christmas and into the New Year this will be my project.

around here

The house is decorated for the most part.  I went with a more minimal approach this year instead of decking out the entire house.  I love what I call our vintage tree.  It's actually a tinsel tree I got at BJ's last year decorated with vintage glass ornaments my grandmother gave me and Pier 1 gift garland.

I splurged this year for two new stockings from Hable Construction and they are so worth it.

I made some soft trees from Stephanie Barnes' pattern.  I haven't sewn in quite awhile, so it was a great little project to try out on my great aunt's sewing machine that I so luckily inherited.  It is also a great project if you have never sewn and want to try.

And I tried two recipes by Shauna James Ahern (the Gluten-Free Girl).  Both the Lemon Olive Oil Cookies and the Spicy Ginger Cookies are delicious.  I want to try the Holiday Fruit and Nut Balls but my food processor conked out on me.  I have asked Santa for this, but I think I am maxed out on my wishlist.

rediscovering carrots

I have always been pretty much indifferent when it comes to carrots.  I think I just never liked how they were prepared.  But we had a bunch of them leftover from Thanksgiving and wanted to use them up the other night.  I used a frying pan that the boy had just cooked some bacon in, added some olive oil and sauteed a few cloves of fresh garlic (a staple in our house).  I cooked the carrots with some broccoli and added salt, pepper and fresh rosemary (ok maybe not so fresh, a couple of weeks old).  I think it was the rosemary that won me over.  Or it could have been the sweet carrots contrasted with the spicy chunks of garlic.  I think I love carrots now. 

I am not a gourmet chef.  I'm just a girl in a kitchen with a crooked stove but it felt great to be in the kitchen discovering something for myself.  I think I am just now (as a quasi-adult) starting to develop and embrace my own cooking style.  I also think it is very closely related to developing a decorating style.  It is something that you discover at some age (that age is different for all of us) and hopefully develop over a long period of time.  Some things are left by the wayside but some things are tried and true and stick with you.

photo by flickr member EnchantedDandelions

Enchanted Dandelions etsy store

matchbook photo albums

I love these new matchbook photo albums from Kolo.  What a great gift they would make either empty or filled with photos of grandkids, friends...I guess they could also be used to organize photos into separate events, but you would probably need A LOT of them for something like a wedding.  I think they will accommodate 20 photos.

Bruges Home is one of my favorite Philly home stores so if you are in the area why not do some shopping for a good cause.

I am adding these to my wishlist

Venus glass collection from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, hand-blown glass, silver-lined interior, mirrored finish.  I don't know how much they are.  Probably a lot.