morning's light

my dream summer home

It's Friday evening. Munched on a salad for dinner while watching a  new episode of Psych - and laughing out loud - a lot.  The windows are open and the air conditioning is off. I can hear the crickets chirping and the neighbor's kids marching up and down the front walk singing "Here comes the bride!" and laughing.

Found out today that the roof repair guy will need attic access to all the units in my building (there are 16 condos/apartments in groups of four), and naturally the attic access is in each master bedroom's closet.  Who has a neat closet ready for the building owner and a repairman to walk through?  Not me.  Thus this weekend has turned into Project Closet - on hyperspeed.  As soon as I post here, the timer is being set for 15 minutes, and progress in the bedroom and closet will be made.   I have already taken "before" photos. I'll share them with you along with the after photos.

Meanwhile, enjoy these photos from Bliss - of a home I wish I could live in this summer!

 

  
 

images via bliss 

personalized, pretty apartment

 

Barb of HappySimple and her husband have decorated their apartment to suit their lifestyle and needs.  I love it!  It's easy to get overwhelmed by too many blogs, magazine photos and decorating shows and lose sight of what you really need (or...don't need) for your own living space.  Barb decorated for her needs and her guests love the decor!  I do too.

 

 images: happysimple

anna-malin's charming swedish home

Anna-Malin just went shopping. LOOK at those colors she mixed together.  I will be doing that this fall!  

She blogs mostly about her own home, which is something I keep intending to do.  Why re-hash photos that float around online when no one has photos of the little corners of my home?!  Will work on that.  

Meanwhile, what do you think of Anna's home?  The white with color, the rusticness of some of the furniture pieces, her great eye for design.  Oops..guess I'm swaying your reply.    Curious to know what you think of this home.

Oh..and I use google translate to read her blog.  I have Google Chrome as my browser instead of Internet Explorer, and then use a Chrome Extension that uses google translate to translate any webpage I visit that is not in English.  It will tell me the page is in ______ language...would you like it translated?  You can say yes or nope.

Back to Anna's home....

images via anna-malin photography     

 

kara haupt: bright white bedroom - in Elle Girl (Korea)

Congratulations Kara Haupt for getting your photos and writing in a magazine (Elle Girl Korea).  Your dresser is one of my favorite photos ever that have been posted to this blog.  It's such a personalized, whimsical addition to any bedroom or closet!  

  

inception + fun at the box office

So...I visit a small town theater last night to see the Leonardo di Caprio film "Inception".  I picked up a friend's daughter to go with me and we stopped for snacks to take into the theater, then we met up with a friend of mine.  

I had a voucher for a free ticket after purchasing some products at Walgreens recently. The ticket agent processed the ticket while I dug around in my wallet for my bank card to pay for another ticket and a soda. The agent had me sign for the $7 ticket (small town price at a small town theater) and the confusion began. I couldn't figure out why she charged my card for a ticket then wanted to charge me again for another ticket and the soda.  She couldn't figure out why I was challenging her.  sheesh.  we went 'round and 'round... and finally she shook her head to clear it, realized that the free ticket voucher had issued a receipt I'd signed and that I hadn't yet turned over my bank card to pay for the other items.

THAT made sense.  Not a good start to a night at a film that makes you think, and think, and think some more when you leave the theater and try to get a good night's sleep.

I also managed to declare loudly that my friend didn't need to pay me for the whole ticket since SHE BOUGHT THE CANDY.  I'm sure the ticket agent thought "ummm..you didn't buy any candy yet...... ma'am..please leave the premises!"  but she didn't say a word. 

Did YOU see inception?  What did you think?  You can email me your thoughts. I'd love to bounce some ideas off you about Inception.  I'll tell you this much: I will be seeing the film again in the near future.

mille's apartment

 

  

Mille owns the vintage clothing shop, Carmen, in Copenhagen.  Her home appeals to me because I live in an apartment that began bland.  I can't picture Mille's home starting out as anything but fascinating and moving on to intriguing.  The photo above is my favorite..but I have a fondness for the flower photo below as well. 

 

 

 
 

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a home in copenhagen

 

 

This Copenhagen apartment in an 18th century building is decorated in a way that has a tangible mood - with the grays, the mix of older and newer items as decoration....it all works to create a definite statement. I'm diggin' it.

 

  

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summer living room

Jane Foster shared some of her summer living room photos.  
I love the airiness, lightness, and tidiness of the room!  
 

   

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beautiful entryway!

cute lamps shown by Vintage. 

Happy Friday to you!  What are your plans?

 I'm in a wedding tomorrow which means between now and Saturday night will be: decorating, rehearsing, eating, sleeping, hair styling, makeup-ing (rhymes with hiccuping), dressing, posing, standing (in the wedding party), partying, farewelling (ha! made that up) and finally...collapsing!

Sunday will be a relaxing day for church, a nap, then some household chores.  

white organizational containers

 

Am still in the middle of the Closet - nah - whole Apartment Purge and these items from the IKEA 2011 sneak peek may be just the thing to corral the items that need storage.

Apartment Therapy posted these photos today after they had a big ol' sneak peek at IKEA's new products.

 

images: apartment therapy

 

 

Was at a golf outing for work all day today. Am relaxed (thanks to the many mikes hard lemonades I consumed), sunburned ("What do you mean I'll be OUTSIDE at a golf outing?!"), and tired. Am going to read Dietgirl's book until I fall asleep. Meanwhile, here's an adorable photo posted by haeshu.

 

click the image to visit haeshu's flickr page

malin elmlid at home

Malin Elmlid (head of sales at Wood Wood) was interviewed for the website of Freunde von Freunden.  She's from Sweden, lived in the States, but now lives in Berlin.  I love her house and especially her kitchen.  It is a well-used, utilitarian but pretty kitchen! 

  

 

 
 

images: freunde von freunden

colorful eye candy

 

some colorful eye candy just for you!  I'm so sorry. I don't know where the above photos came from, but the following photos are from "Where We Blog From".

   

lemonade stand

 

Was with family this weekend "up north" (Wisconsin code for "north of anywhere you are now"). The fam had a lemonade stand to raise money for a child they sponsor who lives on the Gaza Strip.

    

images:  sunnygirlsf

trendey: a new-to-me blog

 

Happy, happy Friday to you!!  
To celebrate the start of the weekend, here are some pretty rooms for you from the blog Trendey.

 

 

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decluttered shelf!

"after" - linen closet shelf, originally uploaded by sunnygirlwi.

Decluttered, sorted and organized the contents of two shelves in my linen closet*. There's more to organize - and I"ll post photos as things progress.

Meanwhile, I sorted objects, put like with like and then pulled from a "box o' pretty" that held empty, available IKEA containers and baskets. Arranged them and voila! A new shelf that's fun to use and easy on the eyes.

Left to right:  basket (q-tips & cotton squares), bag (hair products), orange tin (nail polishes), silver tin 1 (eyeglasses from zenni optical - $24 for two pair includes shipping - can you believe it?! Am wearing the magenta/purple ones today), silver tin 2 (nail products), and yellow tin (medicines, peroxide, band-aids, and the like). 

*At the top are baskets that do not belong in the linen closet. Those will be moved or repurposed as the closet re-do continues.

 

BEFORE: The items from two shelves were dumped onto the coffee table to be sorted.

drop hooks

Loving this photo.  Gorgeous hooks!

Dropping in for a few minutes in this heat.  Trying to stay cool.  Also going for a streamlined summer look with a simple orange dress, hair pulled back in a braid, a slick of lip gloss, sunglasses and a smile.

How are you doing if you're in the midst of a heat wave also?

image via hello tiger!

prettiest, most organized desk

These photos are most likely zipping around Blogland even as I type this out....but I had to post them as well!  Benita of Chez Larsson and her family have redone the desk that she is famous for into something even more beautiful.  

After reading the post, I created a "note to self":

• Buy some wrapping paper in pretty colors like orange + yellow.
• Use the drawers I have that are like Benita's MUJI drawers.
• Purchase some more drawers like Benita's MUJI drawers.
• Use the Orla Kiely tray I purchased at Target 12+ months ago as a holder for current projects.
• Position desk so I face the office window instead of having my back to it.
• Stare at the post containing Benita's office makeover - for 87.5 hours in case staring at the photos helps me absorb the organizing skills at which Benita is a master. 
• Purge, purge, purge.  
• Donate, donate, donate.
• Organize, organize, organize.

   

images: chez larsson

dining room [love & lace]

What a pretty dining room from love & lace!  

Hard to believe it's Monday. The weekend was full! A quick trip to Chicago via train. Feels luxurious to relax for 90 minutes on the train to downtown Chicago instead of battling traffic on a Saturday in a non-air-conditioned car! Met up with friends whose only agenda was going to sleep late that night! We had a leisurely lunch in an Irish pub, enjoyed the views on the beach [will post photos soon] and reconnected as we'd all worked together in California years ago but were just getting connected again now.

Sunday held a surprise birthday party for a friend who was only partially surprised but definitely pleased with the party! How was your weekend?

images: http://stephanieisgettingmarried.blogspot.com/2010/07/cb2s-reed-chair-in-action.html

bright + organized office corner

Loving this office that carolion put together!  It's white, bright, colorful and extremely organized.  What's not to like?!  She did a great job!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Do you have any grand plans for the next few days?

I'm off to Chicago to visit my college campus, visit Europa Books to pick up some French magazines and other international magazines as well, then meet some West Coast - now East Coast friends who are in Chicago for the weekend. 

images via flickr   

do you blog?

So...I've been wondering.  Do you have a blog?*

I would so love to read it!  

(if you've seen this "can I have your number?" sketch, picture me asking the question in that tone.)

images:       one          two            three

simple entryway

simple entryway, originally uploaded by sunnygirlwi.

The bloggers at Hindsvik completed their entryway which I think is simply perfect. They built a simple shoe holder out of plywood and added a simple rug. Lovely.

shimelle's pink studio

 

What a beautiful glimpse into the studio of shimelle!  I love the chandelier and all the organized craft storage!  She has many more photos posted here.

 

 

 

green + blue kitchen

 

Some favorite kitchen photos.  

Happy it's midweek.  Going with friends tonight to see Toy Story 3.  
Did you see "Last Comic Standing" this week?  My favorite was Tommy Johnagin who talked about making people/building sheds.  

images above via here via bolig magasinet

   

sneak peek at the weekend

Not sure of the drama behind the grill. Wondering what the story is there. Check out the backyard though:  trees and then a big drop down through even more trees to a public park - with a bike/walking path. Little sense you're in a city. Very cool.

Hellooooo!  The holiday weekend took forever to arrive and sped by so quickly my head is spinning.  Add to that a crazy busy day today, and maybe I'll get a chance to breathe and relax sometime tonight!  Here are some photos from a weekend with family - which you know had to include a cookout, children and (illegal? fun?) fireworks after dark.   

My brother and his family (including my mom) live on an adorable little court of the most gorgeous homes imaginable where everyone knows everyone, the daily paper is passed from house to house to share, and I'm now an "approved" adult who has been seen there most weekends for the past few months, so now I (as J's Sister) have been welcomed to their little community.  If only I could afford to buy a house there as well!  But that's for another time.  Let's look at the photos, shall we?

My nephew wanted you to see his boat so he gently put it down on the deck and stepped back for the photo taking to occur. 

Two cute little boys playing. (My nephew on the left and a guest on the right.  He has rock star hair.  Let's see if we can get a closer look at that hair!)

methinks his hair got wilder as the night went on (it's tame here).... party boy.

 It was really dark..but my flash makes it look daytime.  Ah well.  Neighbors are gathering to shoot off a collection of fireworks. 

...switched camera to "night portrait" mode..but the "ghost people" must have moved while the flash was going off.  oooohhhh spooky!

 
success!!! fireworks!  neighbor ladies were all about the round of applause after every firework was set off.

How was your weekend?  

rugged storage options

These lovely photos are from a new-to-me blog called Hindsvik. It's so worth checking out if these storage options appeal to you.  

 

 

 
 
  images: via hindsvik