Reupholstered Furniture by Homestead Seattle

I've always wanted to do a great re-upholerstering project. I have recovered old dining room chairs, but that only required a few staples. My dream is to find a vintage sofa or chair, strip it down to its wood, and remake the cushions. Of course this takes time that I severely lack, but one day, I hope I can make it happen.

I've been eyeballing the furniture and styling ideas by Michele and Ryan Tansey of Homestead Seattle. I love the idea of using vintage wool blankets instead of home decorator fabric. And the piping detail makes both of these pieces neat and finished. Isn't this bench amazing?

Hudson Bay Blanket Sofa Bench, $1250

Art Deco Meets Mid Century Blanket Chair, $1250

London Olympic Excitement!

Official logo and color variations designed by Wolff Olins

Anyone else as excited for the London Olympics as I am?? We've been watching the trials as much as we can -- with high hopes for Lolo Jones and Ashton Eaton. The opening ceremony is my favorite, scheduled for July 27th. Next week might be Independence Day, but I feel so much more patriotic during the Olympic season. 

I have vivid memories of the games in the late 90's, watching the gymnastics routines with my Aunt. We'd narrate along with the sportscasters, adding our own silly commentary, sound effects, and inner athlete monologues. Over the years, I've become enamored with the physical and mental strength of the Olympians, although I still like to judge the team uniforms. 

What do you all think of this year's logo? It has gotten a bit of hype recently, with people suggesting it looks childish, disjointed, and even reminiscent of a swastika! I don't love the design -- reminds me a little too much of the track suits I wore when I watched in the 90's. But the typeface of "London" is what really makes me cringe. At least it's colorful.

I gasped when I saw this book on the shelf of my local bookstore -- I'll share my findings and interesting tidbits as I read!

Mommy Calling Cards

I never really thought of myself as the type who would carry around a mommy calling card, but here I am looking at designs for mommy calling cards! What having kiddos will do to a person!?! I'll probably come up with something on my own, but do love these designs from Minted.

Real Simple

Funfetti

Pique Chic

Wild Flowers

Gifty Recap

Thanks for the lovely birthday wishes, friends! I wanted to share the stylish (and yummy!) goodies that were part of my day last week.

My cousin must have spent weeks making these silk yarn socks. The cable knit is just gorgeous -- almost too pretty to wear.

I was in desperate need of a new wallet -- I recently lost a credit card INSIDE of my purse. Oops. Andie chose the perfect one for me designed by Orla Kiely!

Orla Kiely square zip wallet, $47.50 (current sale)

Another treat to add to my purse was this hand cream by Love and Toast. All natural, never animal tested, and packaged with eco-friendly materials -- and it smells lovely!

Paper Flower handcreme by Love and Toast, $9

Remember my post Spring Time, on choosing a new watch? My sister got me this one -- yay!!!

Patent Color watch by ASOS, $45

The gifts and cards and messages continued through the day. I think the best part was surprise home made red velvet cupcakes from a dear friend, and then a loaf of Andie's dutch oven bread with rosemary and sea salt. What an amazing, delicious, thoughtful, love-filled way to celebrate 30 years.

Thank You Cookies: Classic Chocolate Chippers

This weekend was a whirlwind at the airport. I flew out to Colorado unexpectedly, and dropped the pup off with my parents as well, in anticipation for this week's honeymoon. I grabbed a ride from my parents' next door neighbor as they were unable to pick me up at the airport. Airport rides mean a lot to me actually. They are always so out of the way, and it's such an inconvenience for everyone involved trying to get there. So, we made him some of the old, classic Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies as a thank you. You cannot go wrong with this recipe and I had fun making it!

Thank You Cookies: Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chippers

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
½ cup granulated white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chip pieces



Cream butter, sugars egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture; blend well. Add chocolate chips.


Drop from teaspoon, two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in moderate oven at 375 degrees 10-12 minutes. Remove from sheet immediately and place on cooling rack. Makes 3 dozen — unless you’re me and make massive cookies. Then it will make about 1 dozen. ☺


It might actually be smart to make two dozen (note my two softening butters) as you will want to eat some. Trust me.

Friday Finds: Beauty in Airports & Hospitals

A preemptive, unexpected trip to Colorado on very little sleep has hindered my Friday Finds. However, I did manage to find a few gems along the way, in unexpected places. Below, a few quick snapshots of the beauty in the places that we least like to be.

In All the World I Dream in Paper

A lovely video for your Thursday afternoon. And more of Petra Storr's gorgeousness here. Enjoy!

Summer Favs / Home & Fashion

Hey! Isn't today the first day of summer? Woo wee. Here are some favs that I'll be jivin' with this summer -

On the home front

Mrs. Meyers Rhubarb Hand Soap - Really smells like Rhubarb. Not too sweet and tart. Nice to have in my kitchen.

West Elm Hand Towels - These are just light and lovely. I purchased mine with the letter of my last name screen-printed over those chunky fun stripes.

On the fashion front

Waverly Chino from J. Crew - Probably not the right fit for everyone, but I love this blue. SO many things out right now in this shade of blue. Super fun pop of culla for summa!

Sperry Top-Sider Boat Shoe in Rose Gold (these go with almost everything) - These were a Nordstrom Rack find for me late last summer, and I debated whether or not the color was going to be a quickly passing trend. Well, I love them and don't care!!!

End of a Decade for Emily

I always was a little silly...

I turn 30 tomorrow. I am treating the occasion like New Years ((no pants and wearing party glasses?!)) with a set of intentions and a drive to be a more resolved me. This starts by laughing at a few of the decisions I made in my early 20s and taking pride in the those that followed.  The last ten years looked a bit like this:

-- College. Complete with dreadlocks and a tongue piercing. If you know me now, your jaw has dropped to the floor.
-- European semester abroad. I never felt more invigorated about the beauty in the world.
-- Art school. This is where I realized how fortunate my childhood had been.
-- Master's degree. Getting an MA in Art History proved I was much smarter than I gave myself credit for.
-- Wedding my high school sweetheart. I never knew how special this was until recently, to have married my first and only love.
-- Move to Seattle. Best decision I have made as an adult -- to begin a life in a new city, away from my family and the only home I'd ever known.
-- Owning a business. Seeing this dream realized is the greatest gift I could have ever imagined.
-- Buying a house. Not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.
-- Having a baby. Much scarier than I thought it would be.

That's quite a bit of action before 30. I'm not at all implying that 30 is the end of change, but I want now to be about enjoying what I've already accomplished. So here are some of my goals for the next ten years:

-- Learn to say "No" and NOT feel guilty about it (this might actually take the full decade.)
-- Wear lipstick more regularly
-- Read more
-- Get my house looking the way I imagine...filled with stuff like this.
-- Take a vacation, without kids, that is not visiting family for a holiday
-- Master the art of pretty hair
-- Complete my family with a few more kiddos

CHEERS, to me.

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for everything.

Good Monday to You

As I was getting ready to put up a post about Summer Crackers, I was kindly reminded on Instagram that "YOU ALREADY WROTE ABOUT SUMMER CRACKERS." Well, yes, I did: last summer. So, let's take this as proof that they really are as good as I am telling you, because I want to keep sharing them. I think we should change the name to Summer Crack, actually.

Ingredients (check out original process for details. Also, I recommend 1/2 teaspoon of each spice):



What else is new for summer? I'm getting ready for my honeymoon whilst wearing a scarf and sweater in Seattle. I can't wait. Recommendations?



**Also, for all you gals who went on a trip after your wedding, did you all also have a nightmare with the airline trying to fly with a new name? My tickets were accidentally made under a married name that I don't actually have yet and all of my documentation says my maiden name. The airline refuses to help or change the name and just told us to show up with "lots of paperwork to see if we can get on." Anyone had experience with this problem? I'd love your advice.

Friday Finds: My Favorite iPad Apps

Do you have an iPad? If you do, you know how hard it is to navigate the silly apps that look intriguing but then end up being terrible. My iPad is my "fun tool." I don't really use it for work, but more for life, reading, etc. Here are some of my faves, and please tell me yours as well!

Clockwise, from top left.

1. Martha Stewart Living: The app itself is free, but then you pay for either single issues (even back issues!) or a subscription that notifies you of each new issue. I love this app, and it's totally worth it to not get the paper copy. Little videos, animations and graphics make the reading experience super special, and I get all giddy every time a new issue is available.

2. My Fitness Pal: I'm not a large person to begin with, but this app helped me get the shape I wanted for my wedding, and I ended up losing seven pounds! The thing that I love the most about this particular fitness app is that it helps you reshape the way that you think about food. Drinking a glass of wine or putting an extra teaspoon of butter on your toast is no longer an afterthought. You begin to think about calories and exercise in a very systematic and life changing way. Did you know that you would need to run for thirty minutes straight at a nine minute mile in order to burn off nine Hershey's kisses? Beginning to think about food as fuel, and trading unneeded calories for needed (or wanted) ones is the first step to lifestyle change and this app is super helpful. Plus, they have Trader Joe's foods installed into the food diary, which I haven't been able to find on any other app. You can also sign up on the website, if you don't have an iPad. Free.

3. Little Things: I'm not really into playing games, especially computer games, but this one is so relaxing and exercises your brain at the same time! Teeny, tiny, adorable pictures are scattered all over the screen, and the object of the game is to find particular ones. Kind of a "Where's Waldo?" for design-types. Love it! $2.99

4. Pandora Radio: This one is an absolute necessity for anyone who has internet in general. Pandora allows you to choose artists you like, for example, Billie Holiday, and it automatically creates an ongoing playlist of similar artists. It is sort of like a customizable XM Radio. Hit the thumbs down button on songs you don't like, and it will avoid ones like it in the future. I like to bake with Pandora on! Free.

5. Awesome Note: There are lots of things that you can do with this note-taking app, but I like to use the calendars exclusively as recording devices. My calendars include: running, cleaning, Grady (my dog), and work notifications. I like to keep track of my workouts, and by clicking the running calendar, I'm able to see how many times I have gone that month. Hit another selection and all of the calendars are blended into one. It will remind you when things are due, etc. Great for organization! $3.99

6. LetterMpress: Wish you could play with a letterpress printing machine but don't have access to one? This app is a fun way to experiment. With the help of Kickstarter, this app was created as a digital environment that allows you to design "beautiful compositions with vintage wood type and art cuts on a virtual hand-driven printing press." Fun and creative, but a bit on the more expensive side: $5.99

Pretty Hair

I have a serious case of hair envy. It seems that everyone else can do the most gorgeous things with their locks, but when I try it, it looks ridiculous. When my dreams of long mermaid hair turn into flat-on-top and frizzy-on-the-bottom, then I go for the modern bob, which turns into triangle mom hair. Rinse and repeat. I think all women obsess over their hair in some way, though. These days, my shoulder-length hair routine is as follows: wash and condition every other day, blow out with a round brush and a dollop of smoothing creme, twist into a low bun, and hope it doesn't rain. There are some great hair tutorials online, for those of us that need a little inspiration.

The braided crown is the one I'd most like to do -- I think it suits my personality and my hair tendencies, if only it were a bit longer. Joanna Goddard's Cup of Jo has a great step-by-step guide for this and tons of other dos.

Braided crown tutorial at Cup of Jo

Three twisted buns tutorial at Cup of Jo

I also love Kate of The Small Things blog. She has super cute style, beauty and hair advice. Her videos make everything look so easy!

French braid tutorial at The Small Things

Meet Mini Eco

Mini Eco is a craft blog for kids cultivated by full time mom, Kate Lilley. The blog is filled with colorful craft projects ranging from butterfly sun-catchers (see above) to one of my favorites, paper beads (also shown above). A must visit! Kate Lilley has a great eye for design and it's such an inspiration to browse her blog, and if you have time, whip up a craft project or two.

Photos from Mini Eco blog

Would You Ever? // Cardboard Furniture

Animal "trophies" by Cardboard Safari, $30

Would you ever use cardboard as furniture or decor in your home? My first inclination is, "Nope." How would you clean something like that?? I can't keep coffee rings and water marks off of my wooden table, so something tells me I'd soak through a cardboard surface pretty quickly. But the casual, minimal room below looks kinda' fun!

Ecologic Shelving Unit from Nube Green, $62.50 (sale)

Ecologic Armchair from Nube Green, $55 (sale)

My other concern is that Henry might take tiny little nibbles off of the corners! But as long as the material is non-toxic, it could be great for a kid's play room -- relatively inexpensive and easy to recycle when they are outgrown.  My aerospace engineer husband would love to assemble all of the pieces, and would probably have more fun with the rocket than the kiddo!

Riki Watanabe children's furniture, $150

 

Astro rockets by Cardboard Safari, $15 and up

Firefly Project

I realized about a year ago (yes, it took me that long) that Seattle doesn't have fireflies (or lightning bugs as they call them in the South)! That means that my husband, or any other native Pacific Northwesterner, has probably not ever seen the glorious show they put on during midsummer evenings. They are such a vivid memory I have of my childhood that it's hard to imagine having never seen them sweetly blink in unison.


If you happen to live in a place that also doesn't have fireflies, here's a fun project to cheer you up:

Glowing Jar Project from From [Panka] With Love

Translation from Hungarian (see original post for photos):

"Ingredients:
Mason jar
Glowing paint (get it from here or here)
Paintbrush
Water


1. Wash your jar(s), and mix the paint with your brush to have the glowing particles evenly dissolved.
2. Make tiny dots in the inside of the jar. The more dots you make, the prettier the jar will look.
3. You're done. It's this easy. In daylight your jar won't look that fancy, but at night... it will make your room beautiful and cozy. Charge it with a lamp or with daylight and take it to a dark place!"

I wonder what else you could do with this glow paint...make your own Glassybaby?

Friday Finds: Slide Sideways Screenprinted Totes

Hey all! Remember our super, sweet show with Slide Sideways last September? Well they are at it again! New in stock at Assemble, pretty, screenprinted tote bags! The totes are $64 and we have four styles in stock (colors range from cream to mustard to coral or green). Come see!!



Also tonight, make sure to stop by between 6 and 9pm for a brand new show by local artist, Janelle Lile, entitled Modified. Inspired by family history, Janelle uses inherited objects to guide her creative direction. Her grandmother’s knitting needles and hand-written patterns along with her grandfather’s collection of 20th century Montana railroad books are incorporated into layered mixed-media drawings that explore memory and connection to the creativity of women. Modified will be showing through August 8th, 2012.

Also showing, the lovely collage works of love that our Girl Crush participants created after the day-long workshop. Come see what the day inspired! Works are not for sale (but maybe if you really love one, you can haggle with the artist!)

Father's Day Gifts for the New, *Hip* Dad

I did this post for Apartment Therapy today, and I thought you would all enjoy it as well (maybe even more than those snarky readers). Enjoy! Click here for the full post.



1. For long rides in the car and nights where his eyes are too tired to read: Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon on audio CD. $14 from Amazon.

2. For all of the photos he will be taking, so as not to lose the camera! A chic Border Stripe Canvas Camera Strap by Roberu from Union Los Angeles, $168.

3. Every father has to teach their kids how to start a fire in the woods. Check out this firestarter kit from Jen Pearson Designs. See website for stockists.

4. With a baby in tow, it will be harder for him to be on time. Get him a watch that he'll want to wear, like this Mougin & Piquard Seconde watch in black from J. Crew, $425.

5. Stock his iPod with funny podcast episodes of Minivan Men by comedians Chris Spencer, Al Madrigal and Maz Jobrani. Free on iTunes!

6. It's time to carry a bag, new Dad. It's impossible not to! Get him a stylish Baggu Duck Bag from the Curiosity Shoppe in place of a hokey diaper bag. $23.

7. He had better start practicing now if he wants to impress those kids! A bright red yoyo from Restoration Hardware, $10.

8. With a baby around, nice things suddenly become not so nice. Get him a padded, stylish iPad Holder from West Elm to keep everything safe and spill-proof. $12.

9. Everybody needs a break sometimes. Send him out to "work on the yard" with a few of these. Awesomely vintage-looking Church Key Can beer from a local Seattle company, Church Key Can Co. Check website for stockists.

(Images: as credited above)

Noli Noli Wooden Toys

I love wooden toys for kids -- blocks, rattles, cars -- almost anything looks better than plastic. These handmade pieces by Noli Noli are cute and whimsical and unlike anything else I've come across yet.

Car with robot driver, $36 - $62

Whale Pen Holder, $48

Bathtub Boat, $50

Robot series, $36 each

Everyday Dinner Place Setting

With the new baby here I've had a lot of help around the house from my husband, friends and family. So many different people setting the table for dinner, and I learned that few knew how to place the silverware. Additionally, my husband was setting the table with the salad fork instead of the dinner fork. Drove me nuts, so I decided to draw a diagram. Nothing fancy. It's just your everyday casual dinner with your family. Napkin, dinner fork (that's the bigger one!!), dinner plate, knife and glass. If you needed a spoon, that would sit to the right of the knife. Voila!