Book and Blog

Just listened to this book (yes - audiobook) which I recommend.   Mindy Kaling has a funny high voice and when she is talking to you, you feel like she is a good friend telling stories.  It is a light and quick read (or listen).  

Also - check out her blog about stuff she likes - very cute!  

http://theconcernsofmindykaling.com/

Nookie.

Inspiration for today?
Nooks.
I want to just curl up in either of these nooks, pull the curtain and/or shut the doors, and curl up with a good book.
Perfection.

[from: Elements of Style]

my mother's clothes

Have you seen or read this book?  

my mother's clothes by Jeannette Montgomery Barron

She is a SCAD grad so assuming so.

My sweet friend Julie gave it to me and it is beautiful.

[book cover  - my mother's clothes]

Summer Reading

Thank you to Scott for my awesome birthday gift - Yay Kindle!  This will be perfect for traveling and help with my obsessive book buying.  Yes, I will still prefer the actual paper version...but so far I am having fun downloading magazines and books - and excited not to haul around tons of reading materials on trips.

I plan to try out this "how-to" to make my own Kindle cover. 

[From Chica and Jo]

Summer reading - any suggestions?  So far I downloaded - Winter's Bone, a subscription to the New Yorker, and the third book in the Hunger Games series.  What are you reading?

Things That Make Me Happy...

I recently read a great article in a back issue of Real Simple all about taking time to appreciate things in your life. In a small side note caption in a much larger article, it mentions a woman who takes a week every year to capture the nitty-gritty of seven solid days of her life in order to celebrate the "everyday stuff." For some reason this resonated with me and I decided to take a week & photograph my favorite part of each day. It was a fun project...and helped me appreciate the little things that comprise a day and see them in new ways.
What things do you appreciate in your day?

Saturday: A snowy hike. My new favorite thing - this moss that grows on the trees that is the most amazing color of green. Apparently elk & deer snack on this throughout the winter for nutrients. It is by far my newest favorite discovery.

Sunday: Farm fresh eggs. Brown, white, blue. The colors are amazing & these eggs taste unreal.

Monday: Poetry. Read to me in bed. This particular book - a recent gift. I haven't read poetry since I had to in school for English class. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed poetry and I was surprised how much I actually remembered. Pick up a poetry book today - I promise you won't regret it.

Tuesday: Coffee. Well, this is an everyday favorite. Black. French Press. I cannot live without it.

Wednesday: A simple DIY. Seriously - it took mere minutes. A fun project. Sort of industrial bling. Dig.

Thursday: TAB Fashion Show. A huge annual event here in Telluride - all to benefit AIDS organizations doing great work around the world. The models are all locals who practice for months. The show is a huge production and is always a blast.

Friday: Gift wrapping. I don't know what I get a bigger kick out of...the wrapping or the gift inside. I love wrapping gifts - I always have such a great time. This gift...wrapped in newspaper with a grosgrain ribbon. The card...spray painted with chalkboard paint. Easy. Fun. Different.

I must admit - I had a little help in the photography department as I have come to realize that I am in desperate need of a new camera. So, this is a bonus photo - per request of my photographer. His favorite for the week - beer. Not only is this New Belgium beer his favorite, but he loves the graphic design and colors on the can.

To note: all photos treated by Rollip to give that "weathered" look.

Wow - just wow.

While on the topic of cursive font - check out this amazing book sculpture by Isaac Salazar.  

 

[image found on We are 1976]

Currently Loving...

Are you ready? It is almost the weekend! TGIF. In celebration of a week well done, a few of my favorites from the blogs this week. Have the bestest weekend everyone.


And it goes on and on. Open Shelving. I just can't get enough.
[via: It's Mary Ruffle]


My motto for 2011.
[via: Abbey Goes Design Scouting]


Loving this so very much. An Awesome Book of Thanks


Ready for spring already. I want to look this fabulous...minus the socks.
[from: J.Crew]


Future crafting project.
[via: Simple Lovely]


Loving a spotted sofa.
[via: I Suwannee]


I should probably own this. High fives people.
[from: EmersonMade]


This bathroom is boomsticks.
[from: Lonny Magazine]


This speaks to me. It just does.
[via: It's Mary Ruffle]

Pretty people

I picked up this book to read over the weekend.  Have you read or seen the movie yet?  

Looks pretty with lots of pretty people.

ABC in 3D

My sis got this pop up book for Xmas last year - so jealous.  
How great are E/F and Q/R pages? 

[ABC3D by Marion Bataille]

Book Club

I listened to this NPR story this morning.  Could be a good read for all of us and our home obsession.  

[At home by Bill Bryson]

A year in the life....

....of a book.  Did you see this already? Found on what possessed me.

I thought it was pretty...

The Diary of a Disappointed Book from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

I want...

I am a sucker for craft/sewing/knitting books.   They are all so pretty.  I saw this one at a bookstore in Edinburgh.  If only I had time to actually do the projects in the book. 

[Making Stuff- An Alternative Craft Book]

Summer Reading

[image found on NPR.org]

Summer is slowing slipping away.  I was sad to hear on the local news this morning that many Tucson public schools started...today!  A huge part of summer for me is reading.  I used to lay in the hammock of my backyard when I was young and bring a stack of books (or Archie comics) and commit to hours of reading.  This summer I have had some great reading time while traveling or enjoying a lazy Sunday morning.  

Here are a few books I read this summer and recommend to you.  As you can tell - lots of easy (and somewhat fluffy) reads.  

 [Commencement by Courtney Sullivan]

[Lit by Mary Karr (she also wrote Liar's Club and Cherry - both great]

[On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan]

[Love this cover design too - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson]

This is...M.Sasek

I am sure you have seen these beautiful children's books by M. Sasek from the early 1960's.  

I cannot wait to add these to my library to remind me of 2 great cities we visited - 

Paris and Edinburgh.

Book Club...

I just bought this book solely because of the title (oh yes,  and the cover is cute).  It could be a good summer read/DWR book club choice...

Read excerpt here

Geek Love

For all you geeks out there...here are some summer recommendations! 

Watch this - Battlestar Galactica (the newer version). Amazing. Can't get enough. 

 Read This - Geek Love - Involves circus freaks - love it. 

Make this- from Fashion Geek by Diana Eng of Project Runway. Fun and nerdy projects with great how-to photos!

DIY: Bookshelves

So, I came across this bookshelf while scouring the intraweb this morning. Yes, it is a nice bookcase using very nice materials. I get it. I can even get the $300 price tag. I know a lot of craftsmanship went into building this - yadda yadda yadda.

For a mere fraction of the price, you can build something similar to this and have it custom fit your spatial needs. In our 10 years together, Justin and I have lived in 3 different homes - Tucson, Savannah, and Telluride. We each own (& love) books - so we therefore have many. In each place we have lived, Justin builds us a custom bookshelf - each unique to the home we live. Super easy, super cheap, and totally custom.

Wherever we are, we hit up our local home improvement store. We purchase as many sheets of your basic pine board as needed and have someone there cut them to our specifications. Justin picks out some all-thread, washers, and nuts. I go on the hunt for stain (usually some shade of walnut). Once home, I stain the boards & Justin drills the holes for the all-thread. Throw on a couple of the washers & nuts and voila!

I tried to find some photos of the shelves we have had in previous homes, but the photos sucked. We have built them up to the ceiling in other places - the ones here are pretty low and fit just under our sprial staircase. Industrial, cheap, and custom - pretty cool.

A Peek Into My Weekend...

I finally did it - I took the time to snap a few photos from my weekend. Though not terribly exciting, here is a glimpse of my quiet weekend in Telluride.

Skiing on Saturday with friends. Though this is a ridiculously easy run,
this is one of my favorites because of the uh-mazing views -
though almost every run has pretty spectacular views I must admit.

Justin got ambitious & decided it was finally time to clean out our overflowing bookshelves. All the ones we discarded are being donated to our local Telluride library for their book sale. We also cleaned the house & organized our "home office." Not my idea of a thrilling Sunday, but needed to get done.

I also did some cooking & baking. Made this great Shrimp & Sausage with Saffron Rice recipe - super easy one pot dish. And, made this Banana Bread recipe - so much better than my old recipe (may have something to do with the unreal amount of butter).
I also watched Emma on PBS because it is awesome.
Hope you all had great weekends too!

The Loot

I didn't realize that I was SUCH a good girl this year. I totally raked it in this Christmas. I am such a lucky lucky girl. I hope you all had amazing holidays too!

Mechanic's Beacon Light from Anthropologie

NYC in a Bag from MoMA Store


Frye Campus Boots


Paris: Made By Hand Book


Happy Tape

Nesting Bowls from The Conran Shop


Pig Plate by Rae Dunn


Two framed prints by Ben Knight (from Ben Knight) - a total surprise & totally awesome. They are like the one above, but much much better. Sa-weet.


Smartwool Socks (of course - this is a Christmas staple - Justin got some too)


In - Motion Clock from Anthropologie


Patagonia Vest in Bitter Chocolate


Salt Bowl (brown) from Rae Dunn


This was actually a gift I bought Justin, but I am also a beneficiary.
This cozy is amazing & keeps our coffee warm while steeping.
We got rid of our other coffee maker because of this (image 3).


I am proud to admit I am a "Glee-k."
Justin got sick of Christmas music, so I got to download this.


And - a Dyson Vacuum. Let's hope this picks up pet hair like a charm.