My secret hideway...lives

Photo via Apartment Therapy.

So all that stuff I mentioned yesterday? Yeah, it would live happily ever after in this little bungalows. I feel like all of my creative dreams could come true in this hideaway. Whip up a sundress for my daughter's first tea party? In a jiffy. Sand and paint that old picnic table? Sure thing. Dance alone on a caffeine high to Edie Brickell? Every morning. And... sip champagne by moonlight with my husband? Yes, please. It's the perfect combination of rustic and charm and romance and whimsy.

I think I'll be buying Debra Pinzing's book today. Let the daydreaming continue.

Secret Hideaway

Do you ever dream of a little space to daydream? A place that is all your own, private and a complete reflection of you?

My bedroom is a peaceful place to rest and I do love spending time there, but it's not totally me. That probably has something to do with the fact that I share it with my husband and I'm not 13. If I were, it would be filled with photos of Corey Haim and Molly Ringwald movie posters. The floor would be covered with clothes and the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing would be playing continuously on my Casio tape player. And nothing about that scenario sounds restful or inspiring today.

If I had a little personal space, say a studio/meditation retreat/secret fort to call my own, it would be filled with the following little lovelies from Anthropologie's sale.

This rug would sit in the middle of the room.

This chandelier would hang above.


And this little table would hold all sorts of treasures.

Someday I hope to have a room like this to relax, create and dream. What would your secret hideaway look like?

Sunday Cup: 17 of 52

I will argue that there could be nothing better than sipping coffee and munching chocolate croissant with two of your loveliest friends. I'll be pinching myself all week and probably crying in my cup next week when two of my girls leave for their respective homes in New Zealand and Brooklyn. For now, I will soak up every indulgent moment with my dear friends.

This cup is one of a set of two from Crate and Barrel that I gave to Melanie several years ago for her birthday. This was the first time she had served me coffee in it and I felt quite special drinking from it.

Sleep at what cost?

Sometimes I have to look at photos like this as proof that my child is actually, indeed, capable of sleep. I have taken many such photos since her birth. Even took several on my phone yesterday in the car. Because, hah! She was sleeping. In her car seat. And that visual just never gets old. 

I have a slightly obsessive fear that I may have produced a human who will grow up to be incapable of getting herself to a peaceful state of slumber. Without the aid of a rocking chair, swing, white noise or special blanket. This is probably in part due to the fact that my husband's first born still struggles with the sleep. He is 17 and we find him wide awake at all hours of the night. I know. You'll tell me that he's a teenager and keeping odd hours is simply one of many charming adolescent characteristics. And then I will tell you that he's been doing this his entire life. 

So when Emerson was going on 90 minutes of crying and rolling around in frustration and my husband called from the airport to remind me that it's important for her to learn this valuable skill because, think of Sam. He never learned how to get to sleep and look at him now...I hung up, finished my glass of wine and marched upstairs to try one more time. I rocked. I hummed. I shhhhed. And she finally gave up the ghost. And if her crib would support my weight I would have crawled in to spoon her to sleep. Guaranteeing she would have something interesting to discuss with her therapist in 20 years. 

Sunday Cup: 16 of 52

This little cup is not from my bridal shower collection. Technically, I'm just taking care of it until Emerson is old enough to handle delicate things. Her penchant for hurling large objects across the room pretty much guarantees she won't be touching this one for a long while.

My father had her name painted on it by a friend who makes these by hand in the south of France. He delivered it to his first and only grandchild while visiting last summer. He also brought her a beautifully painted and hand cut wooden puzzle that she won't see for a number of years. 

I love that his gifts are always made by him or his artists friends. They are not plastic and do not require batteries and probably won't be truly appreciated by her for many years, but they will surely be lifelong treasures - reminders of her quite complex heritage. 

Oh yeah, I had a cup of organic green tea from Trader Joe's at the end of a long and tiring weekend. That and a bowl of popcorn is what I ended up calling dinner.

Choices

Even with a lovely home full of fresh water, this little guy is determined to leap off the edge. No amount of rationalizing from the old and wise Walrus and Polar Bear can convince him that life is not really all that great on dry land. It's actually quite...dry. And a little lonely for a water-loving Penguin.

Watching as the people we love make choices - decisions about how they will live their life, treat people and generally behave is not always easy. 

Today I sit anxiously on the sidelines with the Walrus and Polar Bear, while just a short time ago or maybe a lifetime ago, I teetered at the edge, ready to jump because the unknown had to be better than the home I knew. 

Sunday Cup: 15 of 52

This is another cup my husband brought home from his recent trip to New York City. He pictured it filled with mint tea as it has sort of a Moroccan feel to it.

I sat out back with the new Buddha we bought this afternoon. He's holding a baby, which I'm hoping will remind me of my most peaceful moments in life. Holding Emerson as she sleeps. Sometimes I'm amazed that I waited 34 years to experience this kind of immediacy. The total body stillness and utter relief that comes from feeling another human being relax in your arms, into sleep. Watching her dream always feels like a gift from the universe.

Hope she's still up for in 12 years. Because I'm not sure my cup will ever be full from holding her.

Work with me, San Jose

Andy Warhol Flower, 1964 Single Edition Print, 1/300 Offset lithograph on paper.


I have been working very hard these past couple of years to not hate where I live. Growing up 15 minutes away from the city I currently live in can, on occasion, make for a suffocating existence. My husband and I long for a life in a new city, on a different side of the States or even a different side of the hemisphere. The grass is, indeed, greener for us on many days. Someday we'll address that and move on. In the meantime, I practice the skill of being happy with what I have and where I am, rather than always wishing for something out of my reach.

With nothing to do on a recent Saturday I packed up Emerson and headed downtown to the San Jose Museum of Art to catch an exhibit of Andy Warhol prints. We saw the print above along with many other iconic images. I would like to think that the bold images and colors made some sort of imprint on Emerson's young memory.

After walking through the museum twice (it's not that big) we headed over to a new French patisserie for a sandwich and gelato. It was a delightful afternoon and my judgey attitude toward this city that I have always found to be a bit lacking in sophistication was beginning to soften. Until I got to the car and spotted a $31 parking ticket for positioning my front tire one inch over the line.

Geez, San Jose. Sometimes you really know how to suck.

Jealousy in many shades

Sunrise on Rarotonga, compliments of my lovely friend, Megan. Can you imagine waking up to this little slice of heaven? Meg is a kiwi by way of marriage. She's raising farm animals, teaching yoga and basically living the good life in New Zealand with her hubby and baby girl, Rita.

Those of use left behind in the States live vicariously through her photos and emails from a land and a life that is completely imaginary to us. If she ever has access to 21st century technology she has promised to start her own blog chronicling her many adventures - sort of a modern day Green Acres. Until then, I give you this beautiful glimpse into her recent family vacation.

Sunday Cup: 14 of 52

This cup and saucer would be perfect for an English garden party. It's quite traditional. It's from Royal Vale and was made in England. I had a cup of orange ginger mint tea from the Republic of Tea.

I'm pretty sure I've said this before but I am frequently surprised at the healing quality of a hot cup of tea. I was feeling exhausting, run down and worn out yesterday evening. After a 10 minute break in the backyard with this cup I felt calm and quite comforted. Why is it so easy to forget about the transformative power of treating yourself well?

Transformations

I'm obsessed with before and after makeovers. Mostly of the furniture renovation/room design and landscaping variety. It's such cheap satisfaction to look at something that once was run down, discarded or forgotten and compare it to a new shiny version of itself. Design Sponge is always good for a glimpse at another person's vision and elbow grease.

For months, I've been itching to transform something. I'm working on the backyard but it's still a bit premature to report on that. I'm also working on the master closet. I purge and re-hang and sort and toss and sigh heavily at the end of each attempt to make it the zen-like refuge I long for in my bedroom. Currently, I await a flash of inspiration to finish the project. More to come.

What I really want to do is paint something. Many afternoons I've stopped myself from going to the natural wood store and buying something silly to paint. I really don't want to acquire another "thing" for the house at this point. I literally searched my house for an obvious scrap to play with and a once beloved picnic table from our former back yard practically fell in my path from the side fence. It's been decaying on the side of our house and long destined for the dump. I'm ashamed. This was once a beautiful table that hosted many meals and many more late night bottles of wine and cigars (for my husband) and deep conversations of love and loss and heartache and celebration and anticipation of experiences yet to come. I hate that we abandoned this perfectly good piece of furniture. But it did not fit into the daily use of our new and tiny backyard.

Now I'm determined to bring it new life. I think I want to paint it and use it for outdoor craft projects and hopefully a tea party with my girlfriends. Maybe if the table is set the party will take place in some other location aside from my wandering mind?

I will not to do this until I have a bit of a design plan. I really don't want to regret this...I seem to always regret this sort of thing. So I'm thinking a lot about turquoise as the main color and red and coral as some sort of accent. What do you think? I love the combination used below in this Paris apartment.



I think the cool blue and warm reds contrast nicely against the natural green tones of those outdoor trees.


Photos via Design Sponge.

Blue hue

You know when you learn a new word and you can't believe it was never a part of your vocabulary and for weeks the word just pops up every where around you? Well, I'm having that experience, only with a color, not a word.

I bought this Hydrangea last month because I thought it was hot pink. I love bright, warm colors and I try to surround myself with as much red and pink and orange as possible. Imagine my surprise when this little lovely bloomed blue? And now it seems that everywhere I turn, I am struck by the cool and calm beauty of its many shades.

My lace Hydrangea.

Emerson's eyes.

A sweet little ribbon.

Great grandma Elsie's costume broach.

Spread a little love

Photo by Katie Sokoler via Color Me Katie.

It's too easy to get caught up with the very big and small things that are wrong in the world on a Monday morning. I love that there are people who just want to sprinkle little pink hearts in the greyest parts of Brooklyn so that you might stumble upon a bit of light in your day. If I lived in New York I would be searching for these treasures today.