Input would be greatly appreciated!

Michael and I are eagerly awaiting our room set-up. I've mentioned in earlier posts that I feel like going with white walls would be the best with our limited light. I also want to do a stencil. I was considering making my own design but was introduced to an Etsy seller who makes reusable stencils. Now bear with me as I try to explain what I'm envisioning. I'm thinking of using a flat white (I know...) and then painting the stencil in a gloss white. I think that the reflection via the light from the window and our lamps will create a lush texture on the walls without being overbearing. I was thinking of a sumptuous damask but then found the argyle-like pattern which is pictured first.


Click image to enlarge.

Thoughts?

Now, with frosty bulbs!

Click image to enlarge.

I think we've decided on 'Mined Coal' from Behr for the wall color. It's a warmer grey.

Schoolhouse Electric

Thanks to Design*Sponge's 'under $100: pendant lamps' post, I am now acquainted with this delightful company.



Handcrafted in the USA. Read more. >>

Variegated Canna Pretoria

I have been a huge fan of this canna hybrid for years. They have so much sass!


Click image to enlarge.

Unfortunately, I didn't dig up any of the tubers before we left Atlanta. We figured they would be around every year in plentiful amounts. It was difficult to contain my excitement when thinking of planting some here at the new house. We've checked Lowe's, HomeDepot, and elsewhere on a few occasions since the move, but with no luck. Every employee I asked just shrugged their shoulders. I knew it was time to visit Hyams and check with them. We're now living a bit aways from them.:( I asked one of the employees about them and sure enough, she knew what was going on. Apparently, they have succumbed to a disease this year and many vendors are wary of carrying them. I was so upset that I wanted to cry on the spot. I know I can look to the wonderful Internet to order them, but shipping plants in this heat I'm not sure it's the safest thing to do.

I'm going to keep checking and maybe take my chance on ordering.

Progress.

I posted our awesome bamboo chandelier a while back and was considering painting it red. I knew better to wait and see it hanging in it's new location before making that decision. Well, we've decided to go with a charcoal grey above the wainscoting in the dining room, and I've decided not to push the issue. I want to leave it the original color. Our sconces will need a gold touch up.


Click image to enlarge.

We're off to pick out more paint samples and some frosty bulbs. I also found our mirrored switch plates during the move. I think they'll be divine in this room.

Ha!

OH DANG. My writing fail. Those are the ones that broke. You should be able to see the break on the corner.


Click image to enlarge.

End of an era.

I've been saying for years that I'm ready for new glasses. I finally used them as a face shield one too many times yesterday...



I have another pair of lovely vintage frames I purchased several years ago, at the Briluseum in Amsterdam.


{ Photo source }

Michael has epoxied my glasses. It beats the blue painters tape, which wasn't doing much of a decent job anyway. Fingers crossed pleased!

When no Cat Bus is available...

{ Photo credit: SUPERBOMBA! }

Bon Weekend.

We're being seriously stupid and trying to finish transplanting our plants today. We've read where it's been 5.5° hotter this June than in previous years. That explains A LOT! I'll leave you with a photo of some banana trees. Please stay cool!


{ Photo credit: Bonnie's Plants }

Custom machined, engraved, inlaid iPhone cases.

Source. >>

Totoro!

I've been a fan of My Neighbor Totoro for a long time. A group of friends even fantasized of doing a lift sized Cat Bus costume, long ago. Imagine my glee last night seeing a Totoro plushie while watching Toy Story 3.

This print was posted to Pinterest and I just had to snag it for the new studio. }:)



Purchased from Kannaya. Etsy Store

Stu-Stu-Studio

We've started the slow process of unpacking our belongings. We spend time in one room, then head to another, and so on. I have been itching to get my studio unpacked, as I need to get back to work. I have a design/website project on hold and I need to make/finish several new pieces. I took some before shots but won't share them until we've made more progress. Now, none of the upstairs rooms have ceiling fans. It baffles my mind how anyone could live here in the 'warm' months without them! I can agree with many that fans can be a bit of a challenge to live with, aesthetically speaking. On one hand they provide much needed relief in air movement and power bills, but on the other hand they can be quite an eye sore. Apartment Therapy and Design*Sponge both featured articles on ceiling fans recently. There are some absolutely gorgeous fans available. Some reach deep in the pockets and some are very reasonable. We hit Lowe's today and scored some lighting and circulation for my space today. We brought home four lights and had to order the fan. We decided to order a second for Michael's space. I think it will fit in perfectly.

Michael is definitely going for a vintage lab/science room look for his space, and I eventually want to bring in more vintage elements into mine. I think I'm off to a good start.

Garden Goddesses

Whimsical, yet powerful focal points for your garden by Colorado artist Arabella Tattershall.



"I am enamored with leaves. They keep falling into my pieces, as they would from a tree, and I accept their gifts of seasonal engagement in the guises of frailty, tenacity, color and shape."

San Marzano Tomotoes - Saucy!

I used to consider myself a 'foodie', but when my mother asked us if we'd heard of San Marzano tomatoes before, we were stumped. How had we missed the boat? We began to research them and were completely fascinated. They are considered by many chefs to be the best sauce tomatoes in the world. Nestled at the base of Mount Vesuvius, the sun-drenched volcanic soil of San Marzano is believed to act as a filter for water impurities. They are very similar to Roma tomatoes, but are pointier in shaper, have thicker skin, and fewer seeds. We decided to make a simple sauce to go over linguine last night for Father's Day. Wow! They are delightfully sweet and it is said that some describe the flavor as bittersweet, along the lines of high-quality chocolate. I concur and I don't know if we'll make sauce with another type of tomato!


{ Photo Credit: Local Flavour }

We're still looking for our camera and my phone just wouldn't take a good photo last night so I borrowed this image.

We used the Cento brand tomatoes. Many products out there are made from tomatoes that are either grown in Italy outside the San Marzano region, or domestically from seeds. It's the volcanic ash that makes these particular babies so wonderful. Be sure to look for the DOP (Denominazione d' Origine Protetta) label. These labels are within the Protected Geographical Status (PGS) framework, defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. They may be a tad pricier, but are so worth the cost in terms of taste.

Bon Weekend

We don't have any photos of the new house to share just yet. We had a crazy storm move through here this afternoon, so I thought I'd 'lightning' things up with a shot from Michael's old lab.



Bon weekend!

I'm baaaaack!

Finally! We're meeting our landlord tomorrow morning for the final walk through and then I'm going out for 'three martini lunch'. I'll start back to my regular posting silliness in the next couple of days.

I've missed the intarwebs.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo,
E.

Flocked Skull & Crossbones Wallpaper

Posted at Pinterest by Victoria, aka sfgirlbybay.



For the sauve pirate or dark alchemist!
Source >>

Homesteading

Whoops! The movers came Tuesday to pick up the 'big' stuff. We brought several loads over here to the new house, but have been working everyday to finish. I don't think we'll finish till the weekend, however. We'll have the last bits out tomorrow and will spend the next couple of days cleaning and touching up paint and such. We promised the owner that we'd have it looking nice. We want our deposit back. You would think that this being the third MAJOR move in 2.5 years, I would have this down by now. Nope.

We have intermittent internet access here. We're out of the 3G network -good grief - so our mobile technology is crawling on the EDGE network. Thankfully, Comcast will be here on Tuesday. We're so excited to have access to real broadband again. Let's just say that what we had at the old house was a bit crunked.

Oh, and while I'm here for a moment, I wanted to give a big shout out to my friend Lindsey, of Lost and Fawned, whose absolutely gorgeous wedding was feature in the June magazine edition of Portland Bride and Groom. Congrats lady, you are an inspiration to so many! Please stop by her blog to see some of her photos. She's posting them as different sections of the day. A real feast for the eyes. You can also see the magazine's online feature here.

Simply Awesome

I got to know Rachel through the OBT (Offbeat Bride Tribe) while we were both planning our weddings. She and her husband Tom are pretty badass. Our wedding was on Beltane and theirs was the following Halloween. Well, today I read that they're featured today on Offbeat Bride.


{ Photo credit: Tinywater Photography }

Congrats you guys!

Lowcountry Artist Market

Yesterday's show was a lot of fun but I missed having my posse around. It's the first time I've done a show by myself, in like forever. Kristen did a great job organizing the event and I'm already excited for the next one, which will most likely be in the fall. I met a couple of very cool people and had great response from vendors and people attending the event. I had a nice dose of 'we've heard about you' in a very positive tone and that really blew me away! I sold a few shoe clip and wristbands. I'm so happy I had them and am motivated to keep making them. I had some nibbles on necklaces and hopefully someone who grabbed a card will visit my Etsy shop.


{ Photo credit: Kristen Thompson Gastaldo }

As usual, I was last minute getting some of these finished and didn't get photos of the new stuff that sold. I will snap photos of what is left of the new inventory later in the week so I can upload them to Etsy. We dropped all of the booth goods at the new house after we left the Farm.

I'm also working ideas on a better table display. I had my standard dress form and a smaller decorative table version, as well has using my small velvet jewelry busts for the ribbon chokers. We started on papier mache bust but just couldn't get it finished in time. Michael also brainstormed the stand for them.

More photos on the Music Farm FB. >>

Electric Mavis pedant lights by Melbourne designer Gregory Bonasera and others.

Oh, looks like I'm not the only one who fancied having their love of tea cups illuminated.



More photos and artists. >>

Bon Weekend

We're closing on the new house as this post goes live! It's going to be a crazy weekend ahead with tomorrow's Lowcountry Artist Market and then moving all day Sunday, Monday, and the movers coming on Tuesday.

I'll leave you with a photo of our summer table setting from last year to help soothe the very hot and humid weather we're having.


{Click image to enlarge }

Daily Dose

We happened by Daily Dose about two years ago on our way home from Hyams. We'd passed by it on a few occasions and decided to investigate. Oh my, we weren't disappointed. Great heaping wraps of goodness! Michael and I decided to share a 'Muthaship' which is billed to be enough for two. The wraps are mostly vegetarian/vegan and they make some with seafood/turkey if you just can't handle the alternative TVP.

It's counter service ordering with table delivery of your meal. Be prepared to wait for your food on some days, however. It's never been a problem for us as we've never been in a hurry when we've gone, but the one time we were we called ahead. My favorite is the Hot Chick, which is made with fake chicken (aka TVP). There have been a couple occasions when they've been out and I just ask them to make me a 'mystery wrap', as long as it doesn't have meat. I have NEVER been disappointed with that option. We've even suggested they add that to the menu, allowing something fresh and new to their repertoire.

It's no joke calling it 'Good Mood Food'. We're always in a unbelievably good mood when we leave. So if you're in Charleston, please do yourself a favor and stop by for a dose!

1622 Highland Avenue
Charleston, SC 29412-3443
(843) 225-3367

Domestic Bliss - Dreamy Interiors

I realized last night that I hadn't kept up with my 'domestic bliss' posts during the craziness of the impeding move and show. I'll share an amazing photo I found via a pin on Pinterest. I went back to the original post on Desire to Inspire to share more of the images.



More of Manny Rodrigues' photos. >>

Pinterest

Pinterest is like a virtual inspiration board where you pin things to a 'board' on your page. instead of pinning things to your wall. Your pins can be viewed by and shared with others. You can pin images from anywhere on the web, add your own notes about the image, and the bookmarklet credits and links back to the original image.

Currently, Victoria from sfgirlbybay and the folks from Pinterest are running 'Pin It Forward', where various bloggers create boards of 'What Home Means to Me'. I missed the sign-up for this series but I've decided to play along and work on my visual interpretation of home. I'm far from finished. Here is the board Lindsey has created thus far.

I have been blissfully running amok creating other boards, such as outdoor living ideas. It makes sense with the kick I've been on lately. I gathered some of the images posted here and elsewhere, and some via other members. After all, that's the intent of the site. Here is what I've gathered for our 'Outdoor Living' board..