I can't stand it.

Danika over at Gorgeous Shiny Things is being ridiculous again. Ridiculous as in ridiculously talented. She painted this (probably took her one day) to mimic a DeGournay wallpaper.  Gorgeous.  I think she repaints this wall seasonally.  I'm rather inspired. Maybe something like this would work in my bathroom temporarily until I can do a full scale reno?

Follow the Woody

On various road trips and camping excursions I've often found myself cringing at the monstrosities that are American camper vans cruising down the road and dominating natural campsites.  My midwestern born and bred husband, on the other hand, touts the endless advantages to cross crountry road-tripping in said homes-on-wheels  So one day, perhaps in retirement, I imagine I will have to succumb to the idea of the open road with a bobble head hula dancer on the dash board and a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view-mirror. I'm hoping though, that at that point, we will have the lifestyle such that we can afford an Airstream or some other stylish version of the camper / trailer.

To add to my road-trip inspiration, Moore and Giles Leather recently introduced their Woody Wagon at the New York's Dining By Design. The Woody will be traveling across country (and hopefully stopping near you) this summer. I love how everything expands and how it stores so much. It's like a great chest of drawers, jewelry box or pair of pocketed cargo pants.  I know, it's a bit ridiculous that recreation of the alcoholic variety is given such an inordinate amount of space.  For true traveling you might need to do a little restructuring. But still, there is no doubt that with the Woody one is cruising in style - a bit of a nod to old school Martha's Vinyard nautical style perhaps.

Downstairs Progress

For those of you who have been following our rec room reno, this is what it looked like before we moved in - A long room with janky closet doors and horrible contractor tile floors. 

 To get ready for baby, we've put a wall splitting it into a family/TV room and guest room.  The wall is up, the new downlights are in, the tile was ripped up and concrete floors sealed, and the rooms have been painted.  Below is the same view now with the wall.

 

Looking into the guest room (yes, that is our old incinerator hatch). we are thinking about putting a scary diarama inside for when the guests take a peek.

 Guest room looking toward family room

 Yes the dungeon-like guest room is almost black. Don't worry though.  It will look dramatic (or perhaps are we trying to make sure our guests don't stay too long). 

 And a shade of blue for the family room.  Hmmmm... remarkably similar to the color of our bedroom in Brooklyn. Do the Davises have a palette?

 Stay tuned for more progress!

Tagalicious

How cool is this graffiti that I saw on the back of a building in Highland Park next to Sunbeam Vintage?

Weekend Treasures

With the hubby off visiting his side of the family, I took the weekend as an opportunity to do a little hunting for vintage treasures.

First stop on Saturday was Lawson-Fenning on Melrose. They have such beautiful stuff. I found this wonderful chaise / daybed.  I think a two-armed version of this would work perfectly in our living room. Too bad it's about four or five times what I'm willing to pay at this moment, so the hunt continues.  Great inspiration nonetheless.

Next up was a quick stop at the Grove for some unexpected clothing finds from Anthropologie and Forever 21.  Who ever said that you can only buy maternity clothes when your preggers?  Maybe a few pairs of pants, jeans and tanks from the maternity section, but otherwise I prefer buying flowy tops and dresses that I know I'll wear post-baby.

After the Grove was a stop at 45 Three Modern Vintage on Fairfax.  This is one of my favorite vintage-modern spots. Staci sources one-of-a-kind pieces that are so well priced. No wonder Secrets from a Stylist's Emily Henderson frequents this shop.  I didn't walk out with anything, but check out this great pendant I found for just $150. Very tempting (as well as that cool wood and brass etagere in the background)

Saturday night I spent some time perusing Craigslist and found out about this awesome mid-century furniture and accessory warehouse in Highland Park, Sunbeam Vintage.  The 3000 square foot space opened its doors last fall, and there are truly some amazing finds at bargain prices.  And it's right around the corner from our house so I think I'll be making regular stop-ins. 

I got this rad dresser (slash changing table) for the baby's room.  The IKEA one that I had on my original concept board ended up being really cheap looking and too low for comfortable baby changing. This is just the right height, and with dovetail joinery, it's a piece that we will keep for a long time.  And the white / wood combination is just what I was looking for.  Score!

I also found this fun hanging pendant lamp for the guest room perhaps.

New Yorker Unfinished Cover Contest

My very good friend Kalliopi Monoyios is a finalist in James Gurney's New Yorker Unfinished  Cover Contest.  You can check out her cover and VOTE for her here.  Votes need to come in today. 

Thanks!

Cori's Haute Wedding

So I meant to do a little photo editing to create some slick boards for this post, but I don't have photoshop at the moment, and I wanted to give you at least one post for this week.  Here are some of the florals I did (along with a fabulous team of helpers) for Cori's wedding.  Lauren Nygard did the beautiful photography.  The whole event was truly a collaborative effort and I think it turned out pretty fabulous.

Summer Harvest

Well, the beans didn't make it but the heirloom tomatoes are doing great thanks to the self-made compost I mixed in prior to planting.

Frents!

Our friends Ben and Melissa Oren just launched a new web series that they wrote called Frents. The concept is based on a group of friends that decides they can "rent" themselves out to those in need.  It's witty and clever AND they used our house for filming. Take a look.  Starting today, Fremantle will launch a new webisode every Tuesday for three consecutive weeks on their site, http://www.atomicwedgietv.com/.

Baby Shower

This past weekend I went up to Sonoma to host a baby shower for another pregnant friend (is it a coincidence that it's the year of the rabbit and everyone seems to multiplying as if they were rabbits?).  It was a great time. The weather cooperated.  The food was delicious.  The decor held up and everyone had a great time.  Here are some pics of the table settings I did.