.....or so the bolig liv site calls this apartment. I enjoyed the lightness and the use of color!
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January 2010
29 January 2010
artistic freedom
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Jorey of Hable Construction
Found this 2009 sneak peak by Design*Sponge of the home of Jorey of Hable Construction. Those containers shown above are delightful! The sneak peak has a ton more photos for your perusal!
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an inspirational space
From a beautiful blog, Inspirational Spaces come photos from photographer Elisabeth Hudson who graciously granted permission to me to use them here.
Happy Friday to you!!!
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28 January 2010
Cabas
beautiful bags up on the shelf...and clever (oh so clever!) boxes mounted onto the wall for storage.
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personalizing a rental
Jimmie Karlsson's lives in a rental home in London that he quickly personalized.
See all photos here.
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post has traveled to my other blog........
Post previously titled "puppies & prayer" has moved to my other blog.
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27 January 2010
retro wallpaper (pink!)
Wow. If I were to ever put up wallpaper, this is it. Alas, it was made in the 1970's with no reproduction. *sigh*
Pretty, though, isn't it?!
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colorful cushions
What pretty cushions! My couch is off-white and so I depend on colorful pillows and cushions to brighten up the living room.
Just got the latest IKEA catalog in the mail and this time will actually GO to IKEA with friends in February. Must get some more colorful fabrics to brighten up my white rental.
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25 January 2010
evan b. harris - home
Apartment Therapy posted a home tour of Evan B. Harris, and I became smitten with the kitchen and the attic. The bare surfaces, the pretty storage accessories.... quite beautiful to me.
The retreat I went on this weekend was amazing....a time to relax, slow down and actually think, read and pray. Listened to some great teaching and also participated in some discussions. I was in charge of the meals and they went well overall. Two people told me they'd expected retreat food to be peanut butter & jelly sandwiches but instead were treated to homemade chili, cornbread, fresh fruit and vegetables, juice, soda, bottled water, homemade desserts, breakfast casseroles, sloppy joes, and homemade soup. More than one person groaned over the pounds they were sure they gained this weekend.
Hope your weekend was a good one!
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22 January 2010
winter retreat
Leaving shortly for a winter retreat. Back in a couple days!
Hope you have a super great weekend!
~ s
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21 January 2010
yellow kitchen!
Definitely a pretty kitchen. Yellow is becoming more and more a new favorite color of mine. And how did Real Living Magazine know that I'm looking for an old school, big clock for my apartment?! Mind readers!
Need more time in the next few days. Today is only one day but it needs to hold nine hours at work, two hours of a dinner with a family friend in town + some card playing, packing for a retreat for tomorrow, gathering items to hold the food at the retreat so some of my personal style will be there in the kitchen and dining room of the retreat house (10+ bedrooms! 10+ bathrooms! not too shabby! and that's just the girls' house). Add to that packing for the gym tomorrow (5:45 AM class), working a morning, then gathering all items plus stopping to pick up containers of donated pasta e figioli soup to serve 35 people at lunch on Saturday. Did I mention that I also want to clean my apartment thoroughly so that I have a nice surprise waiting for me when I return home?! Yeah - that's not gonna happen.
Luckily for my packing time, the retreat items I need are comfy clothes, Bible, notebook, pen, "a good attitude" (according to the retreat organizer), toiletries and that's pretty much it. However, I don't travel lightly, so I consider my pillow, a small throw, and comfy socks to be "necessities". I'm sure the guys attending the retreat will spend three minutes tossing a toothbrush, toothpaste, underwear and the books they need into a small bag and calling it a day. Lucky!! (said in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice which I hear on my NP keychain)
All this to say, blogging from "morning's light" will be kinda light (hahahaha. ok not funny) the next few days but I will return with photos from the retreat (of people snoring during the sessions, of people stuffing their faces, and of pranks being pulled) and bits of the funniest moments. Because there will be some. I guarantee it.
Ooohhhhh...Amy did introduce me (and the bajillion other readers of her blog) to Aunty Cookie... a very fun and pretty Australian blog!
images: real living
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20 January 2010
lisa really does live there!
Fine Little Day had a four-part series on where Lisa lives.....lots of fun details, pretty colors, and it's definitely well-personalized!
There are, of course, many more photos at Fine Little Day!
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19 January 2010
18 January 2010
friends + family + mansion + concert = weekend
friends: Brenda is my mom's bestest of friends, and she was in town this weekend. It took my nephew Hudson hours and hours to warm up to Brenda, but just as he and his family were to leave, he ran up and hugged Brenda's legs and *poof* they are now buddies!
Bonus: Brenda is a nurse and she figured out from my symptoms what medicines I would need, and she was correct. I took her advice and have not had a coughing episode (for that is what they are) in 24 hours. Thanks, Brenda!
family: here's a photo series I'm calling "Tall Kids" as they each look extremely tall. Cute kids, wouldn't you say?! They are my nephews and niece: Caleb (age 12), Mimo (age 5) and Hudson (age 2 1/2). In May they'll be joined by a brother, Christian James (CJ for short).
(Caleb was watching a show, and Hudson wants to be just like his older brother, so he found a pillow and plopped down as close as possible to Big Brother. I found it adorable.)
mansion: Toured Milwaukee's Pabst Mansion with Brenda. Seven of us took the tour and included five of us who were vocal ["Ooohhh....ahhhh....look at that tapestry! the woodwork! the storage!!!"] and a couple who were silent [*crickets chirping*]. Beautiful home with two of the first three stories restored.
concert: Battle of the Bands took place at church this weekend, with one of my junior high small group girls, Alysia, performing her own songs. She did amazing and had such a strong stage presence! She even had fans who made signs!
That was the weekend + a little baking + a little cooking + a little cleaning. Just right.
photos by sunnygirlsf. click on photos for larger versions.
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Swedish Townhouse
A pretty Swedish townhouse. Makes me love orange even more. My most favorite room is the bedroom with the white + pops of color and lots of storage - because I'm trying to plan a more peaceful bedroom in my home.
My next favorite room is the office.
And there's more, of course!
Designed by Swedish Architect firm Elding Oscarson.
Photographed by Åke E: its Lindman.
via See Saw Designs
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15 January 2010
bottles n' baskets
On a new-to-me blog, the homely place, was a kitchen photo that's adorable and reminded me of a crush I have on kitchens that have bottles of mineral water lined up on a shelf. I also have crushes on kitchens with baskets on shelves or counters. Voila! For you today, photos of bottles and baskets!
It's Friday! I'm so happy that it's Friday I could do a little dance. Actually just did one that you didn't see. I have a free evening which means I'll be making dinner and catching up on shows from the week. Tomorrow will be a workout followed by a breakfast of swedish pancakes (crepes) at my mom's house with family and friends. Then I get to hear one of my junior high girls sing songs she's written and performing them from the piano - at a concert Saturday night.
Sunday will be church and then a free afternoon - which usually ends up being a Sunday nap followed by playing cards at a cute coffee house.
Do you have something fun planned this weekend??
(no baskets or mineral water here..just a cute kitchen!)
image: the homely place
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14 January 2010
swedish influence
Glimpses of a Swedish-inspired house in Canada via an Apartment Therapy House Tour. Clicking the link takes you to all the photos, but I'm including the two rooms that were my favorite: the kitchen/dining area and the bedroom.
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How not to do youth ministry.
"How Not to Do Youth Ministry"
by Sunny
When volunteering with a youth group at church and leading a small group of eighth grade girls, do not assume a girl is going to ask an irrelevant question when she raises her hand - even if history tells you that the question could be about ice cream or a pet dog.
Your girls may surprise you. One of them may have a question for you and the proper response is not to say, "What is your question about? Is it about shoelaces???" Because you will then find out that her question is about the Bible verse you just mentioned and what the reference is because she wants to look it up later.
Oh. I'm so sorry! It's Romans 8:26. Glad you're looking it up later!
My co-leader Anna and I have a great group of eighth grade girls. They have a lot of energy, they care for each other, pray for each other, and are there on Wednesday nights to have deep discussions. And have fun as well. One of the girls has a mom recently diagnosed with cancer. Another girl has ongoing medical problems. More than one has a troubled family background yet each one shows up cheerful, energetic and willing to dive in to answer discussion questions and share prayer requests. They're such an encouragement to me each week. I've not been there 100% the past few weeks - being sick and then having a whirling mind due to too much cough medicine in my system.... and they welcomed me back with open arms last night!
This Saturday is a battle of the bands and A, in the lower right corner of the photo above, will be featured at the piano while singing songs she's written. I cannot wait to hear her sing!
So now you know how I spend my Wednesday nights! I work with a great team of junior high leaders. Our preparation meetings are filled with laughter and with planning. Then we pile out of the classroom and into the gym where we play basketball, mingle with those who hang out on the side of the gym, then play one big group game - which changes every week. Gotta say those nights are the highlight of my week!
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13 January 2010
House for Sale
House for Sale, originally uploaded by The 10 cent designer.
Hello, Beautiful Home!
I wish I could buy you. I love the kitchen, the accessories your owners selected, the light streaming in the rooms, the adorable front door and stoop.
Signed,
A Renter Who Wishes She Lived in the House for Sale
To see larger versions of the photos, click the photo to go to the flickr page, then select "all sizes" and view the original size.
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12 January 2010
raina's house...white with pops of color
Raina Kattelson's house was a sneak peak on Design*Sponge, and I was captivated by the first photo of the brightly colored walls and was only drawn in further by the remaining photos. This is definitely a "May I please live here?" kind of a home. I have a little crush on the red "jack" piece on the table. (That's what it is, right? a big ol' jack like kids play with but way bigger?!) Am also quite fond of the tall wooden cupboard.
Today is an important day for my family: my mom is retiring from her job of 28 years with the State of Wisconsin. I'll be attending her official retirement dinner tonight. Supposedly she's not too sad to be leaving, but is in fact looking forward to soon moving an hour away to live closer to four (3 + 1 on the way) of her grandchildren! She gets to move into an adorable studio apartment that has bamboo flooring, a murphy bed, stunning views of a ravine in a park, and close access to grandchildren - steps away! Luckily she'll be there to help with the birth of the fourth child, Christian James a/k/a CJ, who is due in May.
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11 January 2010
Shelf Love
If every shelf in my apartment could look this beautiful, I'd be in heaven.
It's Monday! Again! The weekend flew by but seemed to be a mix of friends and alone time. LOVED it. Am now immersed in planning the menu for a retreat - and listing what items each participant will be bringing. Maybe I can sneak in some shelf-prettying in there somewhere!
How was your weekend?
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09 January 2010
It's the Freckled Nest!
Clicking around online to find new worlds is quite fun, and it's how I found Freckled Nest! Leigh-Ann (I'm partial to her name myself) selected her blog name intentionally. Freckled = "I looooove when people have freckles; they're like human polka dots!" & Nest = "Nests totally feel like the way I create my art; I take found pieces from around my community, work them together and let my stories live there."
Leigh-Ann recently prettied up and organized her workshop, and the result is happy indeed!
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08 January 2010
the prettiest of packaging
In catching up on blog reading, I've been reading posts at Oh, Hello Friend and discovered a post showing the packaging for many participants in a "lovely package exchange" which happened Fall 2009.
(www.ohhellofriend.blogspot.com)
I mention this because Danni of Oh, Hello Friend is planning another swap in 2010. Will post details here when that happens.
Meanwhile, I have some items to mail out, and the pretty parcel pictures have inspired me to spiffy up what I send out - just to make the recipient's day!
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06 January 2010
a heart on an orange wall
The husband/wife photography duo behind The Image Is Found is hilarious, creative and quite talented. While I wholly admire their work, I adore their home. It's light, airy, colorful and so very personalized. Adoring the orange walls. (The description of the heart-process is here.)
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pretty garland in a white kitchen
What becomes clear here around these blog parts is that I fall in love with a photo pretty much every day, and each time declare, "I love this one the most!" Please gaze at what my heart is pitter-pattering over today! Loving all the items on the table that match the garland.....the light from the unadorned windows, the white table and chairs.
image: the purl bee
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05 January 2010
Organic Bikes - Bicycle Giveaway Contest!
Organic Bikes is giving away a complete Organic Bikes Dylan Single Speed Bamboo Bicycle. No kidding! (okay - I'm related to the creators of this bike and don't think I can win....but YOU can.)
Here's the contest page with the details.
My fingers are crossed that you win!!
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04 January 2010
inspirational spaces
Elisabeth of Inspirational Spaces has graciously allowed me to post photos she's taken and displays on her blog. I adore the pins on the bedding, the pretty reading corner (note to self: imitate this reading corner), and the overall look of the homes.
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cozy + color
[This is going to sound like an award acceptance speech but....]
I'd like to thank Amy of Sweet, Sweet Life for introducing me to Lucy of Attic 24 and all the glorious color and coziness that abounds there. The photo above reflects just how I spent my Sunday afternoon and evening: reading and relaxing with warm beverages. Today it's back to the Real World.
How's your venture into the Real World going today?
images: Attic 24
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02 January 2010
getting one's hair "done"
new years weekend has been low key - and pretty much sums up all of my December. Caught a cold last weekend and it turned into an awful cough within a few days. after throwing up every hour all night Wednesday night and at times hardly able to breathe, i dragged myself to work and then to the urgent care clinic to see a doctor. she diagnosed "bronchitis with a touch of pneumonia" and promptly prescribed a sixty dollar cough syrup. that's not really in my budget..so she broke down what was in the cough syrup, realized it was essentially vicodin + an antihistimine to help one sleep....so she prescribed a handful of vicodin pills and made me promise I'd use them only with a cheap cough syrup. am also on antibiotics. that regimine has me sleeping solidly through the night and feeling much better. if only the daytime coughing episodes would lessen. hopefully soon.
today I used the Christmas gift my mom gave me to get my hair done. "done" - not in a "set in curlers and my hair is done for the week" kind of way (that's what I pictured) but more like got my hair highlighted in the darker blonde sections, lowlighted where the hair is all white in front, and then a third color mixed in where the dark and light sections met. complicated? yeah. it is to me too. my stylist holds the secret to the hair color solution!
all that sitting in a chair and having two stylists dry and straighten my hair while I read magazines was exhausting. (such a rough life, I know!) so i went home, napped sitting up (never the most comfortable napping position) and then dashed out to meet a friend who was in town for the day.
tomorrow's Big Event will be going to church and then hanging out at starbucks with one of the teens from church. then it'll be home to cozy up to the couch and do some reading and watching of movies. I rented "21" and "My Life in Ruins".
are you having a good weekend?
images: irina graewe via aqui pelo campo
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