Summer fun!

The Fourth of July is almost here, and I'm so excited...for me it's the true start of summer. It's sandbars, and corn on the cob, and Coppertone suntan lotion, and many soft chocolate cones w/ chocolate sprinkles. Doesn't this lovely painting by artist Elizabeth Floyd convey the long lazy, hazy (sometimes crazy) days of summer?


Visit Elizabeth's Etsy store to see more of her lovely paintings!

Image © Elizabeth Floyd.

Against all odds...

It seems as though I may actually have a garden this year. I was a little late in planting, and decided to make a fun afternoon of it with Jake. We went to the nursery and bought lots of pink plants (his favorite color), and came home and started planting (every two-year-old needs his own gardening gloves!). The activity lasted about 15 minutes before Jake got tired of it, and a little jealous that mommy was spending more time planting the flowers than playing with him. So, after stomping on a few of the poor buds, he announced, "my have idea!" and trundled off. I thought (hoped) that he would have fun washing his little fire truck (a new favorite activity), but he came back with his plastic tennis racket which he proceeded to whack the flowers with.

So, that was the end of that activity. I then worked around his need-for-mommy time, and planted before he woke up, and after he went to bed. If everything spreads in a bit, I think we will have a very lovely garden...despite the odds!

This year, I planted mostly flowers. I've been a little too ambitious in the two previous summers we've been in this house, and think that the care it takes to produce veggies will happen a couple years from now. For the moment, I'll just have pretty please!

Happy + Chic Jonathan Adler

This weekend, I visited my first Jonathan Adler store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I've been a fan of his for awhile, and love his quirky, fun, sense of style (I think we would be friends!). It was such a treat to see all of his merchandise put together in such a whimsical way in his store. I loved seeing what he paired with his funky, classic rugs and his unique furniture, and decorative vases and the sheer style of it all. It made me wonder...just how "happy and chic" would you go in your own home? Would you buy Chippendale chairs in funky colors? And pair them with a different colored geometric rug? Would you glam in up with some metallic wallpaper?

Personally, (being a somewhat new homeowner), I tend to fall on the conservative side...not wanting to make any decisions which I'll be sick of after a few months. But, if I had the time, and money, I'd love to just go to town and see what happens. As it is, I'll be lucky to have an office rug that I can live with by the time the holidays roll around!

Here are a few interior shots from the Jonathan Adler website that I particularly liked.

I also really like his pairing of chair and pendant lamp fabrics. I find both these spaces so cheery!

And, the next time I'm in Palm Springs (which will also be my first time there), I'd love to stay at the Parker. Would you like to come with me?

And, if you'd like to read a fun timeline/bio of Jonathan (we're on a first name basis...you know...since we're going to be friends!) click here . I always like to read about people who are just so crazy creative, that they simply can do nothing else but fly in that direction. I wish I knew at least 50 people like that in real life!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Will you be in Maine?

If you're in Maine over July 4th weekend, be sure to stop at one of my sister's author signing events! Here's her busy schedule!

Sat.  July 3 12:00-4:00 Poofberries Kennebunk 
Sun. July 4 11:00-3:00 LL Bean Freeport 
Mon. July 5 10:00-1:00 P’tland Head Light Cape Elizabeth 
Mon. July 5 2:00-5:00 Kittery Trading Post Kittery
       

Happy Da's Day!

Because of Father's Day, I was getting nostalgic, and looking through the thousands of photos I've taken in the last several years. One of the best things about seeing my husband become a father has been seeing the sheer joy that Jake brings him. I love to overhear them playing and chatting together, and when I do, I just get this overwhelming feeling that THIS was meant to be! I love to capture my husband and Jake playing together...it's the moments, you know?

I was THIS close...

To finally choosing a rug for my office! Remember this one from Company C ?

I loved it. Cheery happy colors, really comfy, BUT I had to admit, too small for the space. It was just floating in the middle of the "room" which is connected to our kitchen, and surrounded by semi-functional cabinets and shelves (the problem is they're all not deep enough, but as they are built in, they're not going anytime soon!). Other than a desk and filing cabinet, there's not much else in the space, so the rug looked odd. Also, I have a rolling chair at my desk, so a thinker rug is a little more difficult. I decided to look for a cotton, or dhurrie rug which would be thinner.

I went to ABC Carpet and Home last week to check out the Madeline Weinrib Atelier for cotton rugs. I found a couple on-line that I thought might work, so I was CONVINCED I would be driving home with my new rug. I was on a mission...

This was not to be. First of all, the salesman was a snot. Excuse the childish comment, but he was. They didn't have any of the rugs in the color or size that I wanted, and he impatiently tried to get me to take red, or orange, or whatever. Hello? I thought I was looking for something in blue please! And, these rugs are nice, BUT they are really thin...almost like a floor mat, and definitely not cheap for the price. If your budget would allow, I would much more recommend the wool rugs which are beautiful.

I was then sent across the street to the carpet section where they were more helpful, but it got overwhelming, and entirely "too much". I almost bought one in yellow (I thought I was looking for blue?) just to get it over with, but smartly walked away. Well, truthfully, that was more my husband's idea since he hates it when I return things!

SO, then I found this lovely rug on-line at William Sonoma Home which is now on sale.

The colors worked, seems perfect. I ordered it and it arrived yesterday...yay! I put it down, it looked great BUT...it's a "crewel" stitched rug and it is very soft...so soft that it might as well be a knitted sweater. It won't wear well, and we practically slid across the floor on it. Even my husband wanted to return it, so it's going back.

My hunt continues. I think I've looked up just about every cotton rug on the planet by this point, and I've now become so picky that I hate them all. Or, maybe I'm just tired of looking.

Back to the quick trip to the city...on a more cheerful note, I wandered into a great paper store on 18th St. between 5th and 6th. I canNOT for the life of me remember the name of it, but it's big, and it's great, and if you're in the area, you should definitely go. Right up front was a nice display of notecards I've designed and/or art directed. So, that was a happy sight!

And for friends and family who really just read my blog for chance photos of Jake...here he is with Dora and the Bronx Zoo. Fun 4-D movie with special glasses. Lots of fun! Now, off to bed so I can keep up with him tomorrow! He's a busy boy!

We have a new pet!

Last week was a baaaaad week for cars! One of ours decided basically to call it quits, AND, a good friend of mine from Boston broke down in her car while driving from Washington DC back to Boston. The upside for me was a fun, unexpected visit. It was a little hectic due to our own car chaos, but great to see her.

As a thank you surprise, she sent Jake this awesome beaver puppet . The truth is, we've been searching all over for a "beva puppet" as Jake calls it because his music teacher has one, and he has decided that most retailers must SURELY sell "beva puppets". We've searched Home Depot, Stop & Shop, Target, and any other store we happen to find ourselves in (note...most of the stores I mention provide CARTS to contain small child! Notice the shopping trend? I'll have to suggest adding carts to Anthropologie. I guarantee their business would increase!)

I surprised Jake when he came home tonight by using the box the puppet came in as a sort of stage. I had my hand in the puppet underneath the box, and had him open the box. He was scared at first, but then thought it was the funniest thing ever! He's now upstairs sleeping with our new pet.

Thanks Alisa!

Merry Christmas to Me

Last Christmas, I gave my sister these ugly Uggs for Christmas. Her daughters have them, so I thought she could have mother/daughter boots. She gave them back because her husband had given her some similar boots, so I kept them. I'm a little late on the UGG train...as I've always thought they were hideous looking, but I am 100% converted now. The fact that it's about 86 degrees out does not stop me from wearing my Uggs every chance I get. After a miserable night of stressful car shopping last night, I whined to my husband that I needed my Uggs. When I put them on, I discovered that Jake had left me an old waffle in the toe. I guess he didn't eat his breakfast yesterday!

Jake's room in my other life

I love the way Jake's room came out when we decorated it. It was the first room we actually "finished" in the house...mostly because of my pregnancy nesting desperation. But, every now and then I come across bedding, or prints, or SOMETHING that makes me wonder what his room would have turned out if we had found other things at the time of decorating, or if we were living in a different place.

I was scrolling around a fun art site tonight called 20 x 200 . Maybe I'm late on the game, but this site is filled with really great/different art from many different artists. Here's what they have to say, "As we see it, there are a lot of people out there who want to sell their art and a lot of people who'd like to buy it. They just have a hard time finding each other." It's a belief I've always shared. They offer limited edition prints in many different sizes...so that anyone can afford a piece they love. The prices range from $20 for a smaller print to much larger prints over $2000. Prints are delivered with a certificate of authenticity, and are signed by the artist.

So, I can imagine living in an amazing double storied loft with super high windows just on the outskirts of SoHo. We're cooler than the Novogratz family (just picture it), and Jake and I meet our friends at Moomah everyday to do fun art projects. He rides his scooter along the Hudson River (and I don't worry he's going to fall off, because I'm just THAT cool). In his room, I've hung a gigantic print of this giraffe:

(Baby Giraffe No. 5 by Sharon Montrose) 

In my next scenario, my husband and I are writers (he's writing screenplays, and I'm writing chick lit...something I've always secretly thought would be fun) on Cape Cod. We have a really neat restored farmhouse that's very Cape Cod-ish and weathered on the outside, but upgraded on the inside with lots of repurposed materials and tall, beamed ceilings. Jake meets two of his favorite people (my nieces) at the beach and/or playground everyday in the summer and they would get him to do all sorts of crazy things. His nursery is white washed and has this cool and calm print on the wall. I've had the artist enlarge it to fill the entire wall so it's almost larger than real life (even if the artist would actually do this...this is just a fantasy, remember!):

(Image by JPGreenwood) 

Or, we're living in the South End in Boston. We have a quaint, restored townhouse with a garden in the back (which we can actually manage to take care of by ourselves). I have many arty friends who Jake and I meet for morning snacks, and in my spare time, I decorate apartments and boutique hotels. In our townhouse, Jake's room isn't huge, but it's very Red Sox red, white and blue. The artist has kindly enlarged this fun bicycle print to hang over Jake's crib:

(Image by Serimony) 

In reality, I've left work early today, and have been tending to my adorable, hyperactive child who has managed to get about 8,000 bug bites (because he's just THAT yummy) in the last several days (because his mother cringes at the thought of spraying chemical ridden bug spray on him that I will find out does horrible things to him in 5 years) and who also hasn't napped in 3 days. Did I mention I'm a little delirious?