These are a few of my favorite things

I've had a headache for two days straight which is probably related to the massive amount of sludge that is coming out of my nose. I'm pretending it's not happening. I do not have a cold. To help pretend I'm not sick I thought I'd share a few things that are making me happy this week. 

First things first. The weather. While the rest of the country suffers through winter, we are enjoying 78 and sunny. And not just any kind of sunny. That crystal blue dreamy sunny that makes you happy to be alive kind of sunny. Sunday morning Jack and I got up early and drove to the beach, where we played in a monster, went for a stroll, watched helicopters zoom up and down the coast, tried to figure out how to build a sand castle with no buckets (thus the giant nipply breast made of sand in the foreground) and had an all around great valentines morning.

Next up: Cherry Pop! Sadie and I found this new color nail polish by Essie at Larchmont Beauty. It's just a tiny hint of blush on your nails. I'm kind of over my usual finger polish color which is "Sugar Daddy". As much as I like asking for it by name, I've decided it's boring, and makes me look like a mom. Ssshhh. 

How unbelievably cute is this little tray?! It's from IKEA, and it was $6. I know! I hate going to places like Ikea and Target with Nipper because he makes me feel so rushed, and is always asking stupid questions like "What do we need that for?". Ugh! I went to both places with him yesterday and it was like torture. 

I did manage to squeeze one more cute thing out of that visit. I found this perfect strawberry milkshake colored tumbler that I'm going to use for my morning latte. I think she and Francis are in love... Oh, and it was $2. 

Doesn't this look like Wes Anderson designed it?

I'm signed up for all these online sample sale websites. Hautelook, and DailyCandy, and TheMiniSocial. But my favorite one because it has an iphone app is Gilt Groupe. It's also my favorite because sometimes they have $18,000 Valentino gowns, and $7000 pearl necklaces that SELL OUT. It fills me with wonder that there are women out there who would buy something that expensive sight unseen from a "no returns" website. Who are these people? Why are they on this site? Do they brag to their friends the same way I do about my $2 ikea cup? "Oh yeah, well I saved $12,000 on a this season Alexander McQueen". Or do they hide it and pretend like they bought it at the showroom. Do they ever think or talk about money? The world may never know. Long story short, I bought this pretty tin of MarieBelle iced aztec hot chocolate for $12. It's usually $20. Maybe I'll lie to myself and pretend I paid full price for it. What a bargain. When I'm done with the cocoa, I'll use the tin to hold something pretty in my new office. 

I know it's kind of cheating, but I bought these for myself on February 13th at Trader Joe's. They smell SO good, and it feels like spring around here. The place was mobbed and I was trying to do our grocery shopping. Nipper and I don't really do anything for Valentines day. I don't think either one of us thinks of it as a real holiday. So this guy was behind me in line with some flowers that I wanted to tell him were NOT the ones his wife was hoping for, said he wished his wife would get her own flowers on Valentines day. I thought "after she sees those, she's going to wish the same." For the record, Nipper Knapp knows what kind of flowers I like, and has NEVER brought me a mixed bouquet with babies breath or other forbidden fillers. 

yes those ARE naked Barbie feet sticking out of my sewing box. 

This is making me VERY happy. At our sewing class a few weeks ago, Betty suggested these scissors. I had an old pair of sewing scissors, but I had used them to cut everything from paper to, wait for it, my lilac bush. So I figured it was time to invest in a pair that would be dedicated to only fabric. They are made by Gingher and they are dreamy, and have already made sewing so much easier! Before when I would cut the fabric out for a pattern it would be all jagged and messy. Now it's like I know what I'm doing. I also got this handy thread holder. Which brings me to the last thing that is making me happy this week. It's a combo dealie.

Some of my favorite fabrics finally all in one place where I can see them all

Candy jars from our wedding filled with all my buttons

The beginning stages of my first project in the pink man cave! Check out the vintage Heather Ross "Pool Party" fabric I unearthed when I got all my fabric together in one place! Treasure! In tiny letters in some of the pools it says "SHARK!". 

The pink man cave/my office is almost finished. I'm not posting pics yet, because I'm waiting for the rug to come from overstock.com (did you know they ship ANYTHING FOR $2.95?), the skylight to go in, my box of papers to be put away, oh and for Roberto to remove the second story WINDOW, and pull the 300lb sleeper sofa, (that we promised we'd sell with the house) through it, lower it down from the roof and bring it in here. No big deal. But it's done enough for me work on things, and I'm LOVING it. Finally, I have a place to put everything. All of my fabric is in one place. All of my thread, and yarn, and beads, and buttons, and embroidery floss, and patterns, and glue sticks. I kind of feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

ok, one teeny tiny sneaky peaky.... This is one part of the very unfinished room. Don't worry, that water heater is getting hidden behind something very very pretty...

Also the front loading washer that I always wanted before we owned a house is in here. I find it soothing to start a load of laundry before I start sewing, just to watch it wash, and listen to it suds. I call it the sin eater. What's that sound? Oh it's fine, you just heard my bra burning, war protesting, supreme court ruling mother, vomit, and then shake me like a baby. Love you!

Jack's new bed with curtains that I sewed with my own two hands, on the window behind

I MADE THOSE!!!!!!

I was actually able to make the curtains for Jack's new room (our old office) in ONE day. This is progress. As you know, it usually takes me 3-6 months to do anything. Oh, and Nipper put Jack's bed, that's been in a box in the garage for two months together. He's been sleeping in it for two nights just like a big boy. I thought the transition from crib to bed was going to be this big momentous thing. He just crawled right in and crashed. Even waited until his monkey alarm "Boo" woke up at 7, to shout for us. I'm not sure he understands that he can walk right out of his room yet. I'm sure that day is coming.

So there it is. My nose is still running, and I ran into the rain barrel pulling into the driveway this afternoon, and knocked the spigot off, sending a weeks worth of bath water gushing down the drive. Not my finest moment. Did I mention I need to make a 7 layer Minnie Mouse cake by Saturday? 

Merde Bucket and my pink man cave fiasco

The outside fabric I got at the Rosebowl flea market years ago

finally some place to put my caca clips!

The lining fabric is one of the napkins from Nipper's cousin's wedding last summer

Ok, so you guys know that I hate to brag. But I just made this! Just now tonight! Just sat down and did it! I used the instructions from The Stitchin Chicken. So simple to follow. I made it small with some scraps I had. I didn't make a pattern and didn't make handles because I was desperate to sew something. 


Things have gone off the rails with the pink man cave and I needed something to keep me from tearing every hair out of my head one by one. Last night, Nipper Knapp, our neighbor, and our handy man were on our roof in the dark trying to figure out how to lower a giant cabinet that had to be taken out via the window because the stairwell in our house is too narrow. The cabinet got down only slightly worse for wear, and my marriage is still intact so all in all a successful operation. But the other furniture was not so lucky. 

sure it looks dreamy in the CATALOG

When we got married, almost SIX years ago, we registered for the Bedford collection office furniture from Pottery Barn. We got the whole set, and were so excited to have big people grown up furniture. But it reminds me of this model I worked with once, who was hands down the worst human being I've ever encountered. SOOOOOO pretty, but a giant pain in the ass. One of the file cabinets arrived broken, so the drawers didn't work. Pottery Barn was very nice and sent out a brand new one right away, and even left the old broken one, which Nipper rigged up so that it sort of worked. The finish on the tops of the desks is impossible to clean and looked like hell almost immediately. But they were wedding gifts, and something we never could have afforded to buy ourselves, and I love them, because of that. 


Cut to last night after the roof fiasco, and Nipper text messages me from the garage that one of the drawers just completely fell apart. Sigh... So close, and yet... 


When I went out there to look not only were the cabinets all taken apart with tiny ball bearings all over the floor, but the floor was RUINED. I know I've been terrible and haven't posted any pictures of the room yet. But I had an idea of doing the big unveil, design sponge style. Of course at this rate, we'll all be getting fit for dentures by the time it's finished. I decided to paint the floor white because I'm a masochist. I thought, "I'll put rugs down" and "I won't let anyone wear shoes in there" and "how hard could it be to clean?" Uhm... Maybe I should have started with the first two thoughts DURING the moving in process. It's all chipped, and there are big shoe marks, and It's just all soiled and depressing. 


Tomorrow, I buy a rug, call Pottery Barn to see what they can do about the drawer, and maybe sew 100 tiny little boxes... 

paint chip-itis

Everyone has a drawer somewhere that is filled with these right? I'm wondering if the sheer number of them is a sign of an unwell mind. We are working on the finishing touches of our garage which is soon to be MY CRAFT ROOM...I mean our office. The electrical outlets were put in today. The drywall is finished. Now I have to pick a paint color. I want to do something fun, but then I also feel like I need to paint it something neutral in case I end up doing a lot of my photo work out there. Ugh! It's so hard to decide. Right now I'm kind of leaning towards a Laduree kind of color scheme. Cool jadite green with dark grey trim. Or maybe dove grey walls and fun apple trim. Pale pink door no matter what. Duh. 

I'm not sure if this is still a croquembouche when it's pink and green but it sure is pretty

Laduree Tokyo, don't you just want to put on a petticoat and soft pink shoes and twirl?

Sigh... I would like my cosmetics laid out in my powder room like this. I mean I know this is a sweet shop and not a bathroom. But I could make pretty in this room.

If I had only known this existed before we signed the lease on the new prius! 

I lifted this little collage off a blog called c+j.bond.ny. It's perfect and it pretty much summarizes my love of Paris

Batter bowl green, mercer green, tears of joy, vulcan grey,la fonda spanish dancer, herbal mist, pale tidepool, stingray, hobnail, nottingham, tin man, parkside dunes, anonymous, sparrow, palatial pink...