my urban nest

having almost two months off work has given me a lot of time to think. i think it is good to be able to slow down sometimes and re organize your thoughts, your life, your days. i saw some things that needed to changed and am doing my best to work on those changes.

something i really want to do is to fall back in love with my house. HOME means everything to me. my home is my life. it is a direct representation of who i am and what i love. my family, music, colors, relaxation, laughter, blankets, painted wood, photographs. i want to connect to it again, and so this month especially, i have been nesting.

the top of my dresser has been a catch-all pretty much since the day we bought it, but now it is pretty. and i love waking up and falling asleep to it.

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the wood frames were found at various flea markets. black box is my jewelry box. the photo with the three girls is from the black apple. the next photo is from delong ceramics and the hot man is mine.

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i got this granny necklace thingamabob from urban outfitters and that gorgeous fun little necklace from mood swing. it is my favorite piece of jewelry.

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this delicate little lantern is what im most in love with currently of all the goodies on my dresser. i have been eyeballing these for months and had them on my christmas list. needless to say they werent under the tree. when i came home from target happy as a lark, thrusting my new lantern in jeffs face and rubbing it in that i got one anyway (and for $14.99)

he said, “see babe? THAT is exactly why i didnt buy them for you. i knew you would be MORE happy to find them yourself.”

and because he is such a smart ass, and makes me laugh even when i want to hit him, that is why i love waking up and seeing him, too.

the one that fits my hand the bestest

this morning i took my photo for the challenge on the overlooked blog. oh, here is the flickr group too.

the idea behind this challenge blog is to photograph, jot down, and possibly journal/scrapbook the little big things in our lives. right up my alley. the first challenge was your favorite coffee mug. i dont drink coffee very often, so mine is my hot tea with milk and sugar mug.

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and while i was in my kitchen this morning, i finally took photos of my kitchen cabinets with the new black paint and chalkboard paint insets. a few of you have commented/emailed that you’d love to see the results. here is a before photo:

(this is all i could find, a photo that is almost a year old-look at my four year old girl! she has changed so much this year. you can see the cabinets used to be typical oak.)

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and what they are now:

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to be honest, it was a fight to get this done. jeff did not want chalkboard at all. but i think he now secretly loves them. our friends and family leave us notes, (see j. lewis and associates? that is our friend who has his own law firm in riverside-he wanted some free advertising) the kids love to climb up and draw things, and they are AWESOME for me to jot something down so i dont forget. plus, they make the austere blackness of them a bit more playful and not so formal. i highly recommend. unless you are a neat freak. the chalk dust will settle on your countertops.

on another note, i was window shopping online last night and i stopped in at pottery barn. they have a new thing “whats your style” and one of the ones listed was “urban nest”. i LOVE that. here is the description: “a little modern. a lot of warmth. and enough personal detail to make you feel at home.” that is totally what my home is to me. what my style is. im kind of on a home kick right now actually……

so if you come over, you will be expected to get some chalk on your hands. please leave your mark.

rainbow sushi

ashley wren and i have had a pretty funny if i may say so myself back and forth email friendship for a few years.
when she asked me to be the guest designer for her collection at SIStv, even though scrapbooking is not my best friend right now, i agreed, because i dig her.

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i got my very own rainbow sushi collection last week and i will be digging into it tonight and tomorrow. i will show the fruits of my labors as soon as my cold, dry, chipping little fingers whip ’em out!

and if you are a SIStv member and have any questions or comments for me, go here!