pixelimpress

if steve were smart...

2012-02-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

he would put a block on pinterest on our computers. because as i pin more, his honey-do list grows. so far i've got him down for wallpapering our hallway in something like this,
installing butcher block from ikea in our laundry room,
building out our niche into a "mudroom",
and installing judges' panelling in the powder room.
gosh, he's gonna be busy.

all images are from my pinterest boards here. come follow my boards!

sources here, here, here and here.

to tweet or not to tweet

2012-02-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

do you tweet? do you follow others? do you only follow other tweeters on a regular basis?

i ask because i'm debating if i should tweet or not. i actually have a twitter account set up but haven't used it yet. i pop onto others' twitter sites occasionally and read what they're up to.

i think the biggest pro to tweeting is growing my business. the more connections i make, the better. the biggest drawback to tweeting (for me) is the distraction it could provide. i get distracted. a lot. one night i said to my husband... i think i have add. his reply with no hesitation... oh, i KNOW you do. seriously, honey?? yes, i do have to make major efforts to stay on task during my work day. working alone at home does not help. one more social media site is not going to help this.

what do you think?? are you fond of twitter? addicted? or could you care less...

(the little birdie above came home with me on my last trip to maui. for some reason, every time i look at him i think, should i tweet?)

the highlight of my weekend...

2012-02-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

was getting this. my new bike! i'm so excited to be a bike owner again. it's been about 20 years since i owned my own bike. sad, huh?

steve's coworker and friend has been generous enough to let steve borrow his extra bike for the last few months. steve's been taking off on bike rides on mild texan winter days and leaving me (and pixel) behind.

so....steve and i visited a bike shop saturday and found this. a fuji crosstown bike. and helmet. safety first. some of my fondest memories of a child are summer bike riding. to the swimming pool. to the tennis courts. (and we never wore helmets when i was growing up... how about you?)
my favorite feature of the new bike is the padded seat with shock absorber.
it has a bike rack!
and a bell!

now we just need to get one of thosefor pixel.

how was your weekend?

this has to be....

2012-02-01T07:22:00.001-08:00

the funniest thing i've seen in a long time. erin at elements of style posted it yesterday, so thank you, erin, for sharing. it's hysterical.

i have to say, it's given me a new respect for sloths. here's the sloth at the dallas world aquarium where steve and i went with his parents a few weeks ago. i was terrified of him.
to see somebody SOOOOOO excited about a sloth, has kinda (only kinda) changed my opinion of sloths.

isn't she funny... kristen bell that is....

your assigned reading...

2012-01-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

janell beals and her team have done it again, another beautiful issue. do yourself a favor and read it here. in additional to tons of colorful rooms, there's a great article offering up organizing tips, which we can all use, and another article on how small businesses can utilize facebook for marketing.

we're having issues.

2012-01-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

big issues. we need a new coffee maker.

***

our coffee pot overflows sometimes. sometimes is now almost daily. if you don't seat the filter in the ideal spot, you find coffee all over your countertop. i hate cleaning up spilled coffee before i've had my coffee. our current coffee maker is from cuisinart. i like cuisinart products. except their coffee makers. this is the 2nd one that's had this problem.

help us. do you love your coffee maker? what brand is it?

*** via

author robert leleux

2012-01-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

sometime last year (or the year before, i lose track of time) robert leleux ordered calling cards from pixelimpress. shortly thereafter i was browsing thru lonny and i see a familiar name. i email robert and ask if my customer is the one and the same features editor of lonny mag. YES! it's him. a few months later, i see this in the nov/dec 2011 issue of lonny. robert and his husband michael's apartment. omg. it's gorgeous. as in, drop dead. do yourself a favor and head over there and check it out. there's more photos of his gorgeous home.
it's the type of home where you know the owners have a story to tell about EVERYTHING there. and you know you can sit for hours listening to them share those stores. i love that.

in that same article, it mentions that robert has a book coming out in a few months. well, that book is out. and i caught up with robert on one of his stops on his book tour, right by my house. here's robert and i a few nights ago.
it was a pleasure meeting robert! he's just as i imagined him. funny. contagious laugh. and a storyteller. if this tells you anything, his signature matches his personality...look how good his book looks sitting on my end table with my domino book.
head over here to see if robert's coming to your town.

i must live under a rock

2012-01-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

because i had never heard of this film until i watched a little bit of the golden globes a few weeks ago. and i hear it's garnered 10 academy award nominations today. what? where have i been...

i admit i don't go to the movies often. i like to wait for the movie to come out on dvd or on demand, that way i can watch it in the luxury of my own home. (read: on my comfy sofa, in my flannel pjs, with the ability to pause the movie for a restroom break.)

the artist is a silent movie (what? do they still make those?) in black and white. well, that's 2 strikes for me not to see it. i'm challenged by black and white movies and subtitles. i feel like i have to think more. i feel like i'm straining to watch the movie. does that happen to anyone else?

but then there's this guy. uggie.
i hear he steals the show. reason enough for me to see it. cuz as you all know, i love a cute dog.

how about you? how you seen the artist?

valentine goodies in stock

2012-01-23T09:38:00.001-08:00

don't forget valentine's day is right around the corner. ok, fine, 3 weeks away, but still, it'll be here before you know it. i've got some goodies in the shop to help you out.

these are my favorites. they come with shimmer silver envelopes which are a new item for me.

they remind me of a subtler version of this.

***

AND, you can write on them with a normal ballpoint or felt tip pen. better still.

or how about some tone on tone chevron with simple hearts. perfect to hand out to your friends. make 'em smile.

or let me personalize your valentine's day card with you and that special someone. like kate did.

ooh, and i almost forgot to tell you... calendars are 25% off right now. there's only a few left. you can find them here.
***from here

it's a sea...

2012-01-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

of calling cards on my office floor. i'm trying to find a customer's calling card from 2010.
when you order calling cards from the shop, i always (well...except for a particular order i printed in september of 201o and now she is ordering more and i am trying to find her sample) staple a sample of the finished calling card to your order for an accurate color reference (handy for if i ever switch printers), save the digital file of your card, and then put a copy of the calling card in my "stash".

there's a box stash. i dumped the above sea of cards from that stash. these are from 2010 and part of 2011.

there's a small felt bowl stash that has samples of most designs.
and there's a glass bowl stash for current work printed in the last few months. these cards are stashed here until they make it to the box stash.
and if you say the word stash over and over again you start to visualize moustaches. at least i do.

while going thru the box stash for that customer's card, i honed in on some favorite cards i've done.

loved this one. he sold seasoned firewood. if i remember correctly, his sister got him these cards for christmas.
i love doing photo cards. did you know i can put your photo on a calling card? ... now you do.
these were for my friend janna. janna has an etsy shop here. she makes great jewelry and takes superb photos, so we put one on her calling card.
some pinstripe action.
ooh, chevron.
one customer wanted this graphic on her cards. a little outside my box, but i love how they turned out.and here's my trusty assistant helping me search for that missing card.
and yes, i found the card. it was in the small felt bowl stash. go figure.

happy weekend!

2012-01-13T08:21:00.001-08:00

enjoy your weekend! i'll be back on monday with photos from our trip to the dallas world aquarium. i took 100+ photos of the flamingoes... they were beautiful!

pixel's 4!

2012-01-12T07:09:00.001-08:00

pixels is 4 years old today! here she is this morning. i got her out of bed for a mini photo shoot.
and to say goodbye to grandma and grandpa who left today to continue their road trip. here's 3 generations....
i scrolled thru my blog posts tagged with 'pixel'. boy, there's a lot. but here's a coupla my favorite photos of the little girl. playing gopher at just a few months old...
just a baby, maybe 2 months old. i love this photo.
and all grown up at 3 years old.
happy birthday pixel! mommy and daddy love you bunches.

what i did on my christmas vacation

2012-01-08T14:15:00.001-08:00

wow, i haven't posted in 2 weeks. my niece just wrote and ~~nagged~~ reminded me. so, morgan, this one's for you.

i took a staycation over the holidays, but just because i haven't blogged in 2 weeks doesn't mean my staycation was 2 weeks long. that would have been nice. instead it was about a week but not even a complete week without work. i was slammed with orders last week. mostly this. you can get yours here.

and thanks to a lovely guest blogger at the dallasnews.com arts blog for posting my calendar there. what a pleasant surprise!

here's the highlights of what i did on my staycation.

we made pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls christmas morning and delivered them to our neighbors.
we saw this. great. highly recommend it. it takes a good movie to make me sit in a theater for 3 hours! (with previews.) steve saw it with me (and another blogger friend). this was a record day for us. it was the first time we've sat in a theater together in our 8 years together. yep, we've never been to the movies together.
we fitted pixel for hunting boots. texas land is covered with sand burrs. and the little girl gets hurt when steve takes her quail hunting. these were the first pair we tried. don't ya just love pixel's pleading look?
those fell off with 5 steps. so we tried these. these stayed on.......despite actions like this. we almost peed our pants watching pixel walk in these.
i pinned and pinned and pinned and pinned some more. you can follow my pins here.

we became addicted to the office. we started with season 1, episode 1. speaking about peeing your pants.... it's hysterical. there were days when we watched 14 episodes in a row. we're now on season 6.and we play this while watching. another addiction.
we took my visiting in-laws to the dallas arboretum this past friday. it was a sunshiney day and warm, 70 degrees. we read signs... and picked out the typos... ok so that was me. can you find the typo?
we saw a mud house.
we watched the mommy and me groups.
i practiced with my new camera.
i took photos of my mother-in-law and steve, blowing his nose...
and my father-in-law.and rocksand teeny tiny flowersand ornamental kale.there's not much in bloom this time of year at the arboretum, so i took photos of the writings on the wall. (found inside tiny wood houses in the children's play area.)
how was your holiday?

merry merry. happy happy.

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

i stole my post header from a customer. we put this on her christmas card. i liked it.

this was our card this year. i searched high and low for those boots. pixel's glad i found them so she could pose for y'all. see how happy she is.
wishing you all a very merry christmas and happy new year. see ya in 2012!

again and again

2011-12-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

this past weekend, steve and i made a trip to again and again, the fab vintage furniture store opened by leslie pritchard in dallas. we went first to the warehouse/slice of heaven on howell street and then popped over to the smaller store on bonita street. we were on the hunt for dining room chairs. (the hunt is getting exhausting.... chairs that look good aren't comfortable, chairs that are comfortable aren't our style, chairs that are both comfortable and our style are out of our price range. you know the drill....)

the very kind gentleman who was working sunday allowed me to snap a few photos to show you all. i loved this white dresser.. and those blue lamps. gorgeous!
in my opinion, this is the showstopper of the warehouse. fabulous hot pink linen twin headboards with nailhead trim.
and the second show stopper. this aqua blue lacquered dresser. i love the detail!
we also spotted this brass chandelier. it would be perfect over our breakfast table. i'm still not sure why we walked away from it.
i spied this little fella. loved his pull.
these would be perfect end tables in a family room.
beautiful white leather chair.
gorgeous campaign style low dresser/media shelf.
my eye kept wandering to white pieces. here's another one...
if you'd like a sneak peek into leslie pritchard's lifestyle, check out this post on hilary inspired showing leslie's apartment. (wonder what her kitties' names are?)

and another post on the furniture warehouse. total eye candy.

if you're in the dallas area, be sure to stop by leslie's again and again. you won't be disappointed you did.

my favorite so far

2011-12-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

kelly smith (all last names and addresses have been changed to protect the innocent) is one of my favorite holiday customers. this is the 3rd year i've done her christmas card.

in 2009 she opted for this....

kelly and kevin got married in 2010. we incorporated this gorgeous wedding photo into her christmas card. it was sent out with persimmon envelopes. i loved this!
this year kelly was in a bind with a quality photo to use for her card. she said she wanted to somehow incorporate the new house they had bought in 2011. the card could then also serve as a change of address card. i asked her to simply sketch the house. and quickly... we were running out of time! she pulled through with this sketch. i loved her simple line drawing. it was exactly what i had in mind. (perhaps i should hire her to draw some artwork and i'll incorporate it into stationery for the shop). then she came up with the brilliant idea to color in the christmas tree.

this is my favorite card i've done this year (ok, well, excluding my own... which i'll show you in a few days as they're still en route). we paired them with christmas red envelopes.

kelly hasn't seen these in person yet. they're heading to her now. hope she likes them!

books!

2011-12-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

i haven't read a book in so long that i wonder if i've forgotten how to read. i hope to pick up a book after christmas. life is just too busy right now. but... it didn't stop me from making a book. after reading about blurb on stephanie's blog awhile back and having a need to make a book, i decided to give it a shot a few weeks ago.

remember our family outing to dealey plaza in dallas a few weeks ago? well, my brother-in-law asked me to send him the photos from the visit so he could show his dad. rather than just putting the photos in a photobook, i decided to try out blurb. there was a slightl learning curve with my first attempt. it took me about 3 hours to put together a 26 page book. next time i'm sure it'll go a little quicker now that i know what to expect.

i got the book a few days ago. here it is. the cover...
i decided to make pixel the author, since she and her uncle bobby have a small love affair going on.i put jfk quotes on the back cover.
i'm really pleased with the quality of the book. the dust jacket is a quality, glossy paper. the book itself is covered in black linen. i ordered the book with premium paper pages and they're gorgeous. they have a slightlustre. i'll definitely do more books with blurb.

and speaking of books, have you seen this one?? menagerie by sharon montrose. you can buy a signed copy here.
i'm a huge fan of her photographs. i can never decide which one to buy... with this book i could enjoy a bunch of photos!

to bring a smile to your face, head here and watch this super cute video on sharon's site.

and.... looks like pioneer woman has another cookbook coming out in march. i have her first one and use it a lot. her comfort meatballs are a favorite!
the book comes out in march but you can pre-order it.

and.... one more book... little brown pen has a book coming out titled 'paris in color'. i love her photographs and have several throughout my home. you can preorder her book here.

this is my latest favorite photo of hers.

christmas in the house

2011-12-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

so last night i got out our christmas decorations. we decided not to do a tree this year. we got spoiled with the most gorgeous, lush trees in seattle and can't find the same here in dallas. so we just decided to forego one this year. but that didn't stop me from making some pretty holiday vignettes around the house. my favorite thing... a bowl or vase of ornaments. oh, and poinsettias.

here's a pretty pink one with my mercury tree.
and i got a little practice time with my new macro lens.a little stove mantle holiday spirit.
my breakfast nook is mainly decorated in blues and green. my ornaments fit in perfectly!
mini stockings.i hope i don't regret hanging this mini cowbell.master bath holiday spirit.

i love our velvet stockings.
more macro practice. ornaments are the perfect subject!i also came across these
that we used in last year's christmas card photo shoot.pixel was kind enough (like she had a choice!) to sport them again last night for the camera.

i love a fire

2011-12-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

there's nothing quite like cozying up by a fire on a cold night. especially if you've got your warm fuzzy slippers on, a book, and hot chocolate.

steve and i finally have a house with a wood-burning fireplace. yippee. a cold front has come through dallas, so we made our first fire last night. steve brought home a small bundle of wood.and got to work with his best assistant.
success. (well, it does help that there's a gas starter.)
semi-roaring.
mesmerized.

our weekend

2011-12-05T08:57:00.001-08:00

we had a busy weekend. saturday started with steve and a coupla guys (all of polish heritage) from work making pierogis at our house. it was a little surreal seeing these strapping men rolling out dough and filling it with their prepared stuffings. (you can click on this photo to see a slideshow of all photos enlarged.)
of course this gal wasn't far from the action, waiting patiently for scraps to fall.uh oh....what just happened in the football game?
the finished product. yum!while the pierogi making was happening, this showed up at the door.
about 3 months ago at a neighborhood planning party for halloween, we got off track and started discussing the christmas event. i nonchalantly volunteered steve to play santa, exclaiming that he would be PERFECT. things snowballed from there....
he's santa!we arrived fashionably late to the party to build anticipation. this little girl was too cute... she had her list all prepared for santa.that beard's a little ticklish.good job, honey! (and can you get over that sneak peek of my neighbor's christmas tree! it was sooo pretty.on sunday we went to a local nursery for some christmas decorations. i love poinsettias, especially white ones.
pretty wreath.
i'll show more photos of the decorations when i finish.

what?!?

2011-12-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

how did this happen?

***

i'm having trouble processing what time of year it is given our warmer temps here in texas. i still can't believe thanksgiving is over. and now, just around the corner, is christmas. i'm not in the spirit yet. maybe this weekend i'll get some (or buy some).

in the meantime... my no peeking chevron holiday tags have been very popular and in 8 etsy treasuries in the last week or so! (i chalk it up to better photos since i got this.

enjoy the treasuries....

i spotted that little red and white bowl in a coupla of the treasures. it's from this etsy shop.buggers, looks like it's sold out, but she has these other ones that are super cute, too.
*** my own little brown pen 2011 mini calendar. here's their 2012 one for sale.

holiday photo cards in the shop!

2011-11-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

do you have your holiday cards yet? if not, i've made some for you. you can find them here. hmmm... is there a common thread to my photo cards. well, she's supercute. who can blame me. and she puts up with a lens in her face.

harper's bazaar!

2011-11-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

back in august, an editor of harper's bazaar contacted me about submitting my black and white chevron notecard for one of their holiday gift guides. i was thrilled... and happily obliged.

it's fun to finally see it in print. and i love the black and white page. thanks harper's!
and i'm in good company. check out that kate spade plate, which i think i need. you can buy the cards right here.

be sure to pop over to the shop for the last day of free shipping (domestic orders only). use code 'blackfriday'.

black friday special!

2011-11-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

use code BLACKFRIDAY when checking out to get free shipping on your order at pixelimpress!

and, new goodies in stock.

my staycation

2011-11-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

my family was in town last week. at the request of my history-lovin' brother-in-law bobby, we visited dealey plaza in dallas, the site of jfk's assassination. yesterday marked the 48th anniversary of jfk's death. (steve and i just so happened to catch a documentary the other night on the national geographic channel showing actual footage of that very sad day.)

i took my new camera. steve just used the word obsession and camera in the same sentence in reference to me and my new toy. and it's true. i love it. i took 249 photos this day, between dealey plaza and the dallas arboretum, which i'll show you another day. (if you click on any picture below, it will enlarge and produce a slideshow of all the photos in this post)

anywho, here's the famous former texas book depository. now the dallas county administration building. the open window (2nd row from the top) is the one where lee harvey oswald was claimed to be.
just down the block from the former texas book depository (grassy knoll in the background).
this is ron, our tour guide. we happened upon him when we arrived at dealey plaza. he gave us a walking tour of the area. he was a very interesting man and knew everything there was to know about this site.
my brother-in-law
and steve paid very close attention to ron.the grassy knoll.
a plaque in commemoration of john fitzgerald kennedy.
the area is know as the west end historic district.
another shot of the grassy knoll.ron was intriguing. he spewed off tons of information about that fateful day, 48 years ago yesterday.

on a related note, stephen king has a new book out titled 11/22/63.
it's an 849-page novel of an alternative history of that day. the new york times has an article regarding this book here. i think i might read this.

and, on another related note....my friend denise just heard stephen king speak at a local high school. she has a great post over here about that night. pop over and read about what scares stephen king!

pardon us...

2011-11-13T08:40:00.001-08:00

while we take a break to enjoy visiting family.
(pixel and her uncle bobby who she adores... and he adores her.)

can you tell...

2011-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

i got a macro lens with my new camera?

i'm practicing with the best (well, and prettiest) subject around.
excuse her eye booger. she didn't know there was a photo shoot today.

finally....

2011-11-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

this is in the house!! it arrived last week.

now just give me the time and patience to get through the instruction manual so i can shoot some great product shots for here.

suzani

2011-11-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

i love suzani. i was inspired by this beautiful pattern i've been seeing everywhere...

***

to make my own suzani pattern. and i put it on notecards.

you can find them here.

*** images from my pinterest.

house of fifty

2011-11-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

congratulations to janell beals and her team over at house of fifty. their 2011 holiday issue hit the web yesterday and it's fantastic! super articles, fabulous photography, inspiring interiors and ideas. and i love all the festive colors in the issue. click here to enjoy the issue.

this is my favorite page. (click to enlarge or visit page 92-93 of the mag.) 50 ideas for giving.

and.... pixelimpress makes a small appearance in the magazine! i was thrilled to be asked to design a set of holiday hang tags in bright colors. see page 87.

i love the tags with that chartreuse wrapping paper. you can purchase the tags here.

new designs in shop

2011-10-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

ever since this october 2011 cover of house beautiful, i've had purple on the brain. like lavender, lilac and even beet.

so i made some new designs in shades of purple. i created a set of 10 foldover notecards with these 5 patterns. my favorite is the suzani-like pattern on beet.
of course i like the leaf stem wallpaper also.
and the offset stripe too. ok, fine, i like them all equally.
and then i was ~~doodling~~ working one day and came up with this pattern.
i named it brushstroke chainlink in pink ombre. i turned it into notecards also.

you can find these notecards here.

the 2012 pixelimpress wall calendar

2011-10-25T09:50:00.001-07:00

is in stock! i've been wanting to make a wall calendar for a few years now. the stars aligned this year. and i made this....

it's 12.5"x19" with a 1/2" white border all around. it's pretty. you'll like it.

you can purchase it here.

hope

2011-10-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

as we all know, october is breast cancer awareness month. most of us know someone with breast cancer. i do. someone close to me. very very close to me. she's been through chemo and is almost done with radiation. and she has thrived. her tumor is gone. there's no sign of cancer anyway else in her body. she even managed to work her very busy job throughout her treatments.

in support of her and all women who are fighting this battle, i made these bookmarks. HOPE. for every one of these bookmarks sold, i will donate $1.00 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. they are sold in sets of 3. therefore, $3.00 will be donated by me every time a set is purchased.

if you'd like to support the cause, please head over here and purchase the hope bookmark. thank you.

fatal attraction

2011-10-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

my favorite movie. of all time. i've seen it about 617 times. no lie. ask my husband. i believe it should be seen at all bachelor parties. the divorce rate in the country will plummet because no man will ever have an affair again. (and yes, i know women have affairs also. another one of my favorite movies is unfaithful with diane lane.)

yesterday, the pioneer woman said that she watched a behind-the-scenes making of fatal attraction on the bio channel. dang, i missed it. well, i googled it and it's on again tonight! in fact here are the upcoming air times for it

Thursday October 20 at 8:00PM EDT
Friday October 21 at 12:00AM EDT
Friday October 28 at 8:00PM EDT
Saturday October 29 at 12:00AM EDT

i can't wait to see it. pw warned that the description of filming the infamous rabbit scene was not very pleasant... so heads up, you may want to block your eyes for that one.

image from the pioneer woman blog

joni's outdone herself

2011-10-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

on this one.

a lengthy post on camping and airstreams. wow, it's amazing what some people can do with 4 walls. the camper above reminds me of the one we used to camp in when i was little. no, it wasn't an airstream. but the size is similar. 4, yes 4, of us used to sleep in it. seriously. we'd come out of it each morning like clowns leaving a volkswagen. the retired couple in their 25 foot rv next door found it amusing.

go check out her post. i'm sure you'll be wanting an airstream at the end of it, just like i do.

image source

a snippet of our weekend

2011-10-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

weekends always go too quickly. ours are still packed full with 'settling-into-a-new-house' chores. and leave me sunday night feeling as if i need another day. a day to do nothing.

we went to whole foods friday night. for dinner and grocery shopping. i loaded up on gourds for some fall decorating. although i still don't feel like it's fall yet here in dallas, considering today is going to be 90 degrees. cool front coming tomorrow and bringing temps around 70s degrees. funny... in seattle, 70 was a hot day. dallas cools down to 70.

this is on my dining room table. i went with greens and greys. i love orange, just not at halloween. weird, huh?
this is my favorite guy. maybe cuz he's so ugly he's cute.i also managed to get the ghastlies up on the wall. also in the dining room.
they make me laugh.speaking of the dining room, this will be another framed fabric in the room. i bought this on onekingslane last year and have yet to do anything with it. i'm thinking of framing it in gold.

and i just ordered these silk grommet drapes from pottery barn for the dining room. more than 50% off. can't beat that. well, free can beat that...ah, perhaps i can use this room as inspiration for the dining room. lots of cream (my walls), hints of pink, and grass green drapes.***

breaking the radio silence

2011-10-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

wow, almost 2 weeks of silence from me. that's a rarity. but life got busy. as it will when you're still settling in from moving cross country and prepping your stationery store for the holiday season and squeezing in a jaunt to pennsylvania to visit family. and of course i took not one photo to show you.

wait, i lie. i took a photo. of the bathtub in the middle of the room in our hotel room. seriously folks? we supposedly had priority status at the hotel. i don't think a tub in the middle of the room, closest room to lobby, closest room to elevators (where they continually played music over speakers until we asked them not to) is priority. a reassessment is in order.

we left thursday for the weekend away. while at my parents' we celebrated steve's birthday.

***

his biggest present.... a ticket to a dallas cowboys game in november when my brother-in-law is visiting. they're beyond excited. hopefully they'll watch the game and not the cheerleaders.

while at "home", we also went antique shopping, ate excellent thai food, and visited with extended family and friends. and i went back to my high school for a football game. freaky. hadn't set foot there in many moons. but it was great to see old friends.

and it's always fun to come home to this. the pickup from doggy camp is crazy. she literally bounces off walls and then gets in the car and crashes.and now it's back to the grind.... catching up on orders at pixelimpress and prepping our house for guests in one month.

my next project is painting our dining chairs in the breakfast nook. i'm painting them off white and recovering the seats with a teal ikat. i happened to find this image below with the same color scheme.

***

i'll be sure to show you the before and after.

*** images via my pinterest

the state of things

2011-09-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

i'm trying to understand that 37-day-old refrigerators just break down suddenly. i'm trying to be patient and understand that even though it's only noontime friday a part cannot be ordered until monday. i'm trying to understand that we'll be without a refrigerator for several days. i'm trying, i'm really trying.

etsy finds

2011-09-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

from here

what i've been up to

2011-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

steve was in ohio this past weekend surprising his mother for her birthday. i worked on some projects around the house. of course.

i bought this picture at a garage sale for $1 before we left seattle. i bought it for the frame.
here's a sneak peek of what i'm doing with it. i found this super fun fabric in albuquerque nm on our road trip from seattle to dallas. it's the ghastlies by alexander henry. and i painted the frame hot pink. it'll be a quirky addition on a dining room wall.
i also spent a lot of time framing some of my favorite artwork and hanging a small gallery wall in our breakfast nook/desk area. you'll see more of this area when i recover and paint the chairs in here. fabric for those is on the way.
and, steve and i went to homegoods last night! my first trip ever. yes, ever. washington state doesn't have a homegoods. somebody needs to rectify that.

ummm, maybe we hit it on a bad night, but i was expecting a little bit more. we did buy a pair of these lamps for our master bedroom, but sadly they don't work in the bedroom like i thought. love the lamps, but i'll be returning them and maybe picking up another pair i saw.
and lastly, occupying my time this morning was a trip to the dentist. ugh. i hate dentists. nothing personal to all you dentists out there. steve and i literally had dental check ups on our last day living in seattle so we wouldn't have to deal with finding a dentist here in dallas right away. yesterday while eating my lunch, i forgot to take the fork out of my mouth before biting down and chipped my front tooth. yikes. small chip, but still, it needed attention. nothing like going to a new dentist and having him work on your oh-so-obvious front tooth. but he did a fantastic job. and i'm snaggletooth no longer.

pram parking

2011-09-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

i learned something new this week. in denmark, mothers park their prams outside of shops and restaurants and then go shop or eat. where's the baby? ....outside in the pram.

***

joanna over at a cup of jo wrote about this.

would you do this? could you do this? i know i wouldn't. i wouldn't even let pixel tied outside of our small grocery store in our last small neighborhood.

head over here to read the comments and see what others had to say about this.

***image by jenny brandt for a cup of jo

maps in the bedroom

2011-09-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

i have a roll up map similar to the one below but larger. i displayed it in my office in our house in seattle. it nestled nicely into a niche above my work table.
i'm not feelin' it in this house. i just don't think it belongs in my office. so steve had the brilliant idea the other day to move it to the bedroom, since we need large artwork above our bed and our predominant colors in the master bedroom are blue and orange. my sister thought it was a bad idea. "a map in a bedroom? i don't think so."

so i got on pinterest in search of inspiration. and came up with these.
i love these. granted, these are all neutral schemes. my map is a little more "educational" in appearance. doesn't hurt to try it...

rachel austin

2011-09-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

i already own several prints by portland artist rachel austin. i just spotted this in her etsy shop. i love it!!
and according to her blog, it'll be available on canvas from sundance and llbean. congratulations rachel!

the pixelimpress 2012 calendar!

2011-09-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

it's done. it's here. you can buy it here.
it's always a labor of love. i started it a month ago before we left seattle. one cross country move later, it's done.

i think july is my favorite month. i love mr. octopus.
although april's pretty cool too. also love a hot air ballon.or you decide. which month is your favorite?
and because i'm a nice person, if you buy 4 calendars you get a 15% discount. woohoo. go ahead, tell all your friends...

apparently

2011-09-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

i'm not business savvy. otherwise i would have snatched up the remaining few of these yesterday at target for $12.99 each and then try to sell them on ebay for 9 times that. i didn't even think of it, even after the salesclerk told me that one woman purchased $1400 of missoni merchandise for most likely selling it on ebay.

(i blame my muddled thinking on the toddler who was allowed to blow his plastic horn over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over sounding throughout the entire store like a duck was being crucified in a back aisle with his mother only ever saying shhhhhhh over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over even while she was trying to have a cell phone conversation. i'm sure at dinner last night she was telling her husband about the petite brunette in the women's department who gave her the menacing look of "if you don't make him stop that noise now i'm going to rip that plastic horn from his little hands myself".)

but, back to the candle.... it's going in the upstairs guest bath. the colors are perfect for that room.

i made my impromptu trip to target after my post office run late afternoon. i was thinking maybe i'd go to target this weekend to view the missoni collection, never dreaming that people would be lined up outside the store before it opened yesterday morning (as the clerk told me). and never dreaming that this is the only missoni stock they have. it will not be restocked.

i did snatch up 3 of these bins. for $7.99 apiece. perfect for the ribbon storage in my office.
i really like the colorful pattern.
and i bought this cute little cosmetics bag.

did you get anything?

remember my pantone post

2011-09-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

about the postcards? well, i would write on them with these. or perhaps just look at them. they're so pretty, all lined up. you can get a set of 36 markers.

24
12
72 (not shown). or go for the mackdaddy of all. 150.

found here on sale. i read about them here.

mommy's mean

2011-09-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

mommy found her old grover in some boxes last night. he's seen better days. she introduced us. look how good i'm being. me and grover. sittin' on the sofa. snuggling. loving each other. life is good.
maybe grover wants to come upstairs with me and be my lunch. mommy won't know.
oops, how'd that happen.mean mommy. where's MY grover?
yeah right. like i'm not gonna sniff him out on the table. i'm a birddog for heaven's sake. sniffing is my life.thanks mommy. maybe you're not so mean.

we labored...

2011-09-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

***

over labor day weekend. labored long and labored hard. and just because you only see pictures below of steve laboring, don't think i was sitting around watching the real housewives and eating bonbons........ the tennis u.s. open was also on.

we braved ikea first thing saturday morning. the swedish cattle pen as steve called it. it frustrates me also. it's so huge, i get overwhelmed with the selection. but then when i go to find something (like curtain rings for the rods we bought), we find out they don't sell them.

above is a pretty, styled version of the stolmen shelf system we got for my office. hopefully one day mine will be styled also and i can show you an "after" shot, but for now, here's the "during" shots of it.

my two printers will sit on these cabinets, like this. paper in the drawers. in the store, i was displeased with the off white color of the shelving. but once we got it home, i realized it was more white and blends nicely with the wall color. i like it.um, and here's the dining room. yep, we're still overwhelmed by boxes.
and look what i have in my office..... a tv! we got this free as a promo when we bought our king size bed last year. never hooked it up in the old house. now i can be entertained while i work.
speaking of work.... i'd better get to it. happy short week!

***image from here

back in business!

2011-09-01T09:17:00.001-07:00

pixelimpress is back open for business! one would think that with 3 weeks off, i'd feel a little more rested. but there's no rest when you move cross-country. although my office here in dallas (i can't believe i just typed that my office is in dallas.... hasn't quite sunk in yet) is still in a somewhat shambles, it's time to make calling cards again. head over here to shop.

and here's a sneak peek of my 2012 desktop calendar that i drafted before i left seattle. i still need to put some finishing touches on it, but look for it in the shop next week.

farmhouse sink therapy

2011-08-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here she talks about needing therapy because she had to leave her farmhouse sink behind, thus the title of the guest post.

I’m Susi and I write as a guest blogger for DesignShuffle.com, a fabulous social media site that promotes interior designers and their work from around the world. My writing focuses on things I'm passionate about: interior design, decorating ideas, home furnishings, gardening, travel and art. I get to look at gorgeous things all day and write about them. I'm a very lucky girl.

When Pam asked me to write an article entitled “Farmhouse Sink Therapy” I knew there was a story behind the request. In honor of the beautiful farmhouse sink in her Seattle kitchen that Pam left behind, here are 8 tributes to the farmhouse sink. Pam, I have faith you’ll have another farmhouse sink in your life at some point. Until then, I hope these pictures provide some sink therapy.

Houzz (via)

A deep white farmhouse sink is now a classic in the kitchen. Oh how we love the farmhouse sink… let us count the ways… We love a white farmhouse sink paired with white subway tiles

Houzz (via)

We love a farmhouse sink with brass faucets that look antique. A white farmhouse sink looks crisp against pastel colored cabinets and a white marble countertop.

Pinterest (via)

We love a farmhouse sink against grey Shaker style cabinets in a modern farmhouse kitchen. The farmhouse sink can easily work in modern, traditional and farmhouse kitchen designs.

Houzz (via)

We love a copper farmhouse sink paired with dark wood and dark marble in a cream color kitchen.

Pinterest (via)

We love a metal farmhouse sink that looks like it was handcrafted. A single, a double or even a triple farmhouse sink can tackle the biggest pile of dishes.

Sweet Nothings (via)

What could be better than a farmhouse sink in the kitchen? Two farmhouse sinks, placed side by side.

Pinterest (via)

We love vintage farmhouse sinks rescued and restored. An extra wide vintage farmhouse sink, with a vintage fabric curtain, fits right into the vintage kitchen.

HGTV (via)

And last but not least, we love a farmhouse sink in the kitchen island. Love this one that matches the molding on the cabinets and is set in a dark stone countertop. Love the contrast.

Well, there you are. An ode to the farmhouse sink. Thanks for letting me visit Pixelimpress! I hope you enjoyed it and found some kitchen design ideas to add to your inspiration file! ~Susi

This content is provided by Design Shuffle, where you can find and share talented interior designs from from New York interior designers, Los Angeles interior designers, and more, check out the latest at Design Shuffle.

getting settled

2011-08-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

this was the scene infront of our new house in dallas last week. these moving vans are huge. they can fit 3 households on one van. incredible.
as i watched the boxes being unloaded and stacked, i wondered how we had accumulated so much stuff.
and i considered applying to hoarders.after steve and i organized the kitchen, i got to work in the master bath. i found this great drawer liner at wal-mart (my nearest superstore) and lined all the bathroom drawers with it. it resembles grasscloth. love it.
pixel intended to help but fell asleep.here's a shot of one side of the bathroom.
these are some of my favorite pictures. they're antiques. i bought one of them in central pennsylvania last year while on vacation with my mom and sister. last christmas, my sister drove 2 hours to get me another one.
(click to enlarge)
next up... reassembling the pixelimpress office. but pixel and i are having motivation problems....and only feel like doing this.

we're here!

2011-08-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

we carted this face and 2 other four-legged across 6 states, 2000+ miles. from seattle to dallas. and we're still sane.
this is utah. moab i think. utah is beautiful. i must go back.

and now we're off to buy a house! be back soon.

the countdown is on

2011-08-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

the countdown to when we take our positions as such. (click on it to enlarge.)

this is us. us being our little family of steve, me, pixel, cali, and beauty. we have 54 hours remaining in seattle until we resume these positions in our nissan xterra for the next 5 days enroute to dallas. steve will most likely do the majority of the driving. i'll backseat drive from the passenger seat. notice steve's smirk and my non smile. that's because he likes to sing jingles until they are stuck in your head and you're left singing them for the next 17 days. he thinks it's funny. pixel will be harnessed to the back seat, lounging on her fluffy memory foam cushion. cali and beauty will reside in their makeshift 1.5 story condo (ie a large dog crate equipped with small litter box). i'll make that half story by stretching a piece of cloth between the top lid and bottom in the back half of the crate to create a hammock. cats love hammocks. hopefully so much so that they'll forget about the fact that they're locked in that crate for the next 5 days. and just in case they don't forget, i've got plenty of cat sedatives to make them forget.

wish us luck!

adding to to my birthday wish list

2011-08-11T10:02:00.001-07:00

with this. giclee print by anne hartwell. so lovely.

reading nook

2011-08-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

i've been mentally decorating our new home for weeks now. actually, since i stepped foot inside of it. here's the floor plan for the 2nd floor. there's a small room off the back. the builders/designers envisioned it as a homework area. you could even have the builder install computer desks in the small room. my initial thought for the space was for a storage area to hold pixelimpress supplies. gosh, how boring is that.

i then spotted this photo from house beautiful. a reading nook. i love this space. then the wheels were turning... what if we made our 2nd floor nook into a reading space?

here's some more inspiration.

this one i love, love, love. our nook even has a window.

what do you think? do you have a reading nook? do you want a reading nook?

photo sources can be found here.

we have landscaping!

2011-08-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

steve went out to the new house yesterday and took some photos. the workers had a busy weekend... they landscaped, painted some interior rooms and laid carpet upstairs.

front yard. the little tree off to the back left is a crepe myrtle.
magnolia tree!! in the backyard.
and the kitchen has a fresh coat of dark taupe paint.
and under that brown kraft paper above is beautiful dark handscraped hardwoods.

where's pixel

2011-08-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

scroll to the bottom to play 'where's pixel'. but first you might as well look at some pretty flowers.

this is our backyard yesterday evening. (click on these to enlarge them and get the full effect. things are looking lush. as they usually do in the pacific northwest.
lavender background and some purpley feather-like flowers. steve knows. i forget. honey? honey? name this plant please. i know it start with an "l".
the tall red flowers are crocosmia. and boy do their bright tubular flowers attract the hummingbirds. they're here every evening. lavender in the foreground.
the tall stalk like plant on the right is a stargazer lily. they're just about ready to bloom.
peach astilbe.
agapanthus! he gets an exclamation point because he made me wait 3 years for his appearance.
crocosmia.
pretty, pretty pretty lavenders.
hydrangea.
cutest puppy in the world. aka pixel.and speaking of pixel. she's in the doghouse right now for causing me some panic this morning. i don't let her out in the backyard unsupervised. i'm either back there with her or at a nearby window. she can't escape from the backyard if she tried. totally fenced in. no holes. but i'm a worrier. so i always panic if i look back and see she's not around. which happened this morning. i gave one sweeping glance and didn't see her immediately. i panicked. i walked right into the adirondack chair, stubbed my toe and hit my ribs on the tall back. cursing ensued. here was my view. do you see her? (click to enlarge)

yep, there she is.
sneaky little sh*t. hiding behind a lavender. she knows she's not even supposed to be in that flower bed. wait til i tell her daddy.

island storage

2011-08-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

my new kitchen in dallas is similar to the this style and layout. except i have espresso color cabinets. i've never had a sink in my island before. it'll be a change for me. change is good, right?

see that paper towel holder on the island.

via

they should have thought ahead and done this. genius. and there's the farmhouse sink i'm leaving behind in seattle. i may never recover from that. seriously. i love my sink. the good news about having a sink in an island is... if you ever want to change out the sink, you only have to replace the granite on the island and not all the perimeter granite. (just thinking ahead, honey... it'll cost less $$ to change the sink than the therapy sessions to get over letting go of my farmhouse sink.)

let's look at some other clever island storage. trays anyone?

fridge drawer.
dishes. below my stovetop will be 2 drawers. i thought about doing something similar to this.
but then i saw this. bingo. linen storage.

last 5 photos via here

stuff

2011-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

this is why i'm still craving summertime.
this was the sky yesterday morning as i drove into seattle to meet my friend. 11 am. sad, huh? we had a good time though. did some shopping. ate lunch. lisa is one of my oldest friends (oldest as in i've known her many years). she was my hairdresser in atlanta 23 years ago. and we've always kept in touch. she moved to seattle years ago. steve and i just 4 years ago. soon we'll be in separate cities again. but i know we'll always stay in touch.

back to that shopping part of the trip. i picked up this. read about it at erika's blog. she's a big fan of fresh products.

i hadn't bought lipstick in 4 years. the last tube i bought was for my wedding. i rarely wear it here in seattle. but i felt like i needed just a hint of color. love this. and it tastes like sweet lemonade.

and where will i be tonight?? glued to the tv watching this.

ben?or jp?
rumor has it she chooses jp. but i'm not sure. my guess is neither. we shall see.

is it too early....

2011-07-29T11:27:00.001-07:00

to start my birthday wishlist? my birthday is 7.5 months away. i'll take a set of these please.

pantone postcards. 100 of them. i love color. i love pantone colors. i love paper goods. therefore i love these.

i first read about them here. you can buy them here.

sale at pixelimpress thru schuelove blog

2011-07-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

natasha of schue love blog bought calling cards for her blog at pixelimpress a few weeks ago.

here's the finished product.
she posted them on her blog and her readers loved them. so we decided to offer her readers a discount of 25% off everything at pixelimpress thru august 5th. i thought i'd let you all in the deal also. head on over here to get the coupon code for my etsy store. and check out her blog while you're there.

you can see what you did with the giclee she won from brooke at velvet & linen.
and check her out here with her "lap dog" wilson. love this picture.
thanks, natasha, for shopping at pixelimpress!

my new favorite restaurant

2011-07-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

i could eat sushi 7 days a week. i love it. which is odd, because i didn't eat fish until i was in my late 20s and didn't eat raw fish until several years later. my local sushi restaurant shut down a few weeks ago. steve and i were their best customers. we ate there sometimes twice a week. i'd been going through withdrawals. until kotta! we went to kotta sushi in frisco friday night to celebrate our new house purchase. it was awesome! we sat at the sushi bar. the sushi chef was phenomenal. he really took care of us. the fish was beyond fresh and the service fabulous. the owner even greeted us and chatted for awhile.
and, knowing i was heading back to seattle and not going to have sushi for awhile (at least at my local spot), we ate at kotta again sunday night. it was event better! you must try it if you're in the area. our favorite roll.... the sakura.

images from here

the winner!

2011-07-23T10:25:00.001-07:00

this is our winner! the frontrunner from the last post. we love it. we move in the end of august.

and i didn't realize how big it truly is until i saw steve and i standing in this archway. it's deceiving because the interior space is still cozy.it has everything we want. and it's in a beautiful community just north of frisco, just north of dallas. they still have some finishing touches to complete. like hardwoods (on the entire main floor) and landscaping.

the frontrunner

2011-07-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

i am off to dallas to buy a house! finally....

this is our front runner. preliminary negotiations have gone smoothly. now we just need to seal the deal. and then celebrate.

and on a side note, the weather in texas is in the triple digits. they probably do hot yoga classes in a parking lot. it'll be at least 35 degrees warmer than seattle. i haven't experienced that in several years. hope i don't faint...

dallas real estate

2011-07-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

i think between us, steve and i have looked online at every house on the market in dallas and the suburbs north of dallas. it's exhausting. many of them are badly staged (read not staged at all) and badly photographed. when you spot a magazine worthy home photographed well you stop and look. and drool. i found this one today. even if it's out of, or rather, way out of our price range. and i actually think it's under contract, but... i thought i'd share it.

loads of curb appeal.
gorgeous front entry.
gorgeous kitchen.
but the backyard is where the magic happens. i'd gladly sweat out a hot dallas summer here.

all photos from here

i won!

2011-07-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

about a month ago, the lovely ceri hoover of cooper grey had a contest. the winner won two pillows of their choice. i won! i got the pillows today. they're gorgeous! and huge. and in my favorite fabric, kelly wearstler's bengal bazaar. head over to ceri's etsy shop to get your own. the quality is superb! thanks ceri!

yum

2011-07-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

my book club met this past friday evening. i love book club nights. good food, good friends, good conversation. in fact, when steve and i first discussed whether or not we should move from seattle to dallas.... my first reaction was "but i just got into a book club!".

anywho, back to friday evening. we met at bridget's house. she's a cook, a serious cook. she had the most awesome food.... bowtie pasta salad, grilled shrimp, grilled corn, lemon chiffon pie for dessert, and my favorite... this salad. from tom douglas. tom douglas is a famed seattle chef with several restaurants and cookbooks. bridget made one of his salads for us. i haven't stopped talking about it.

image via here, by mark thomas

it's grilled cornbread salad with red onions, arugula and red wine vinaigrette. i found the recipe for it here. bridget modified the recipe slightly. she served a sweet cornbread on it, and didn't grill her cornbread. it was delicious! thanks bridget. i'll definitely be making this myself.

chevron wedding menus

2011-07-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

client nicole contacted me about a month ago to make chevron menus for her upcoming wedding. she's having a modern wedding with colors yellow and grey and succulents. not many details, but enough to conjur up a beautiful image for me. after a few drafts, we went with this. thin chevron on front. thick on back.
all packaged and ready to ship. i also printed some grey and white chevron placecards. i love the way they turned out. happy wedding day, nicole!

dining alfresco

2011-07-05T11:00:00.001-07:00

well, almost alfresco. july 4th breakfast. the patio was still in the sunshine, so we opened up the french doors and enjoyed the cool breeze coming in.
our view.
my peonies exploded this last week.
even pixel enjoyed the view.

happy 4th!

2011-07-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

steve came home wednesday from being in dallas for 4 weeks. yes, 4 weeks. we missed him. pixel especially. they're 2 peas in a pod. or 2 red haired beings on a sofa. you get the drift.
and now it's time for the holiday weekend! well, after i get caught up on orders from here. i'm swamped.

steve's sister and her family are enroute to our house for just an overnight visit. we're making these for dinner. have you ever tried them? what?!? you must.image via here

and then saturday we're hosting a cookout for a bunch of our favorite people. we want to use this space before we pass the house to new owners.

what are your plans for the weekend?

high gloss...

2011-06-28T13:37:00.001-07:00

july/august 2011 issue is live! go here to read it.

almost the weekend....

2011-06-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

what's on your agenda? i think i'm going to start this book. i hear it's good... i'll let ya know.
and oh, how i wish i was reading it here. in a lounge chair, by a pool, with sunshine. smelling the peonies. with a cold drink. interspersed with naps and dipping in the pool. and perhaps even a butler will appear with lunch so i can dine al fresco. wouldn't that be lovely. can you tell i need a vacation?

via

speaking of books, have you seen this website, what should i read next? simply put in a name of a book you liked and it recommends similar books. genius. i found out about the site here. and if you're still stumbling to find your next book, you can read thru the 338 (at press time) comments from her readers about their favorite books!

have a good weekend!

summery bright

2011-06-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

i got an email from pieces. you know... that ultra chic store in atlanta with all the cool stuff you want to buy. they're having a sale.

so i popped over to their online shop and put together a board of all my favorites, in bright, summery colors. click to enlarge. um, yeah, i could live with any of these in my home. and everything else in their store. maybe i should just live in their store.

what do you like?

the backyard

2011-06-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

it's the first day of summer and for once seattle weather does not disappoint! after a drizzly, cold weekend, we finally have bright blue skies, lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze. i stepped out back with my trusty sidekick a little while ago to share it all with you.

let's start inside. the dining room. with a view of the beautiful french doors that steve put in last year. there was a window there first. (click on photos to enlarge.)
steve built this patio roof. post and beam style. i love it and will hate, hate, hate to leave it when we move.
one back corner of the yard.
lion's head maple.
the other back corner.
wildflowers at the tippy top.
and then there's this thing. you can't step out back without her and her obsessing over her tennis ball. that look says "i'm gonna stare at this thing until you put down that camera and toss it for me."
"see. i'm still staring."
"and still."
"thank you. now i'll rest over here in the shade with it for just a little while. but get yourself prepared to throw it again, cause i'll be back at your feet in a minute."
peonies! just about to bloom. i've waited 3 years for these to bloom. this year's the year.
honeysuckle.
"i'm getting ready to head your way."
succulents.
i love this pillow from pottery barn.
those french doors.
"thank you."

raw berry pie

2011-06-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

seleta posted about this pie the other day. raw berry pie. i love a berry pie. especially in the summertime. she found it on this food blog, whole family fare. here's your fair warning... do not read this blog when you're hungry. you will jump through the screen. her photos are breathtaking. i've never seen even lettuce look so scrumptious.

but, back to the pie.... here's the recipe. i think i'll make it this weekend. made with almonds, cashews, coconut, honey, and berries. it's healthy. i won't feel so guilty when i eat the whole thing.

photo from whole family fare.

my baby

2011-06-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

her daddy's been out of town so we send lots of pictures so he doesn't forget us. here we are leaving the dog park after some serious, and i mean serious, ball throwing and fetching.
straight from the dog park i took her to the self serve dog wash at the pet store. here we are before we went in. i told pixel to smile for daddy.... and she did!
here's pixel all clean and fluffy and smelling like roses after her bath. nothing like a nap when you're all clean. we miss you, daddy.

living abroad

2011-06-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

i watched house hunters international on hgtv this past weekend. i never watch it. but i did this past sunday. it was an episode about a family of 8 (!) moving from denver to normandy, france. i recognized them.... it's gabrielle's family! gabrielle blogs at design mom.

this is a photo of the exterior of the house they are renting for a year in normandy. look at that wisteria! the house is a dream house. an artist's house filled with character. just check out this treehouse in the backyard.
you can head over to design mom for more photos of the house. (see her sidebar.) and to read about their adventures abroad.

the episode got me thinking about living abroad. the fact that gabrielle and her husband ben relocated themselves and 6 children to france for a year is astounding to me. (i'm struggling with the logistics of moving a dog and 2 cats cross country shortly!). could you live abroad? would you want to? could you deal with the language barrier, if there is one? a different culture? being away from family and friends?

glassybaby

2011-06-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

have you heard of glassbaby? the colorful, hand blown votives made in seattle? here are they on the cover of the june 2011 real simple. bottom shelf. aren't they pretty?

they come in an array of colors.
and you don't have to use them just as votives. fill them with pencils.
ice cream!
pretty flowers.
use them in your centerpiece.
pop over here to read how founder of glassbaby lee rhodes started the company.

ms. rhodes also made an appearance on the nate berkus show.
i purchased my first glassbaby a few weekends ago at their university village store in seattle. this greeted me when i walked in, one of 3 or 4 similar displays. how possibly is one supposed to decide which color?? i ended up buying my go-to color.... aquamarine. and i got a dark taupe for my sister. i'm thinking about which color i need next. the greens are taunting me.
and.... glassbaby has certain "goodwill" colors that if purchased, 10 % of the proceeds go to a specific charity. love that.

photos taken from glassbaby.com or their facebook page here.

ombre bandwagon

2011-06-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

ombre, meaning shading. i was seeing it everywhere. from celeb hair like alexa chung'sto fashion
to furniture, via here.
from cakes, via here

to curtains, via here.so, what's a gal to do. but jump on the ombre bandwagon herself. and create ombre chevron calling cards. now you each can join me on the ombre bandwagon.

they come in green.
and pink and aqua.and yellow.
and grey and purple.
a total of 6 colors.
you can purchase them here.

sunday morning in the suburbs

2011-06-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

a little tennis action.
which prompted our own tennis ball action in the backyard. do you think she's possessive of her tennis ball?
a little coffee and a book. like my coaster? i got it here.
and a little gazing at the peonies i bought at the farmer's market saturday. i think i got the vase idea here.
and, on a side note.... hostas amaze me. they die back in the winter but somehow manage to grow leaves 2 feet long in a matter of weeks.

this....

2011-06-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

found here at little brown pen reminds me of sunshine. it's in the forecast for this weekend. sunshine that is. finally. 70s and sunshine. we seattle-ites have waited a long long time for it. i might go do cartwheels.

i'm trying really hard not to laugh

2011-06-02T12:28:00.001-07:00

this is cali plc. post lion cut. sometimes as a mother you have to do things that are for the best, maybe not the most attractive, but for the best. she was matted. very matted.
this is cali blc, before lion cut.
again, plc. she's got boots.and a feather duster.
and now a complex. sorry, baby.

in my dreams

2011-06-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

i'm not cold, i'm not wet, i'm not dodging raindrops. i'm not wearing ugg boots to a memorial day picnic, but...

i'm flying over this.
taking a boat to a secluded resort.
soaking up the sun and warmth and swimming in the infinity pool overlooking the ocean.
napping in one of the daybeds scattered throughout the resort.
getting gussied up for dinner on the terrace.
dining on prawns with goat cheese ravioli.
then finishing up my day with some late night tennis.
wanna join me?

all images via here

life lesson 101

2011-05-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

the greatest lesson i learned from the season finale of the oprah show, may 25. sometimes you know it, but it helps to have someone put it out there infront of you. i will remember this. and be conscious of it. in fact, i think i'll print it out and put it on my wall.

loving this

2011-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

my sister-in-law sent me this. isn't it awesome? i'm usually not a skull type of gal but i love this! found here.

it tickles me....

2011-05-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

when customers are excited about their new calling cards. ***

so much so to do this...

it also tickles me when customers make me step outside my box (square cards) and make me do them standard size and vertical. how cute are they?? they'll be getting their own listing in the shop soon (but they're always available special request!).

thanks jamie! and while you're over at her blog, check it out. i just managed to spend some time over there. love all the inspiration.

*** jamie's photo

i want to be...

2011-05-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

a guest at this party.
and at the end of it, i'll try to sneak that credenza and those lamps into my car.

found here

an end of an era

2011-05-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

there's only 5 more oprah shows left. are you watching? i am. i've pretty much always watched oprah. maybe not her first few years, but definitely the last 20.
i'll be sad when she's not on every afternoon. but she's closing it out with some amazing guests.

yesterday she interviewed ralph lauren. a great interview. and view into his colorado lifestyle.
and earlier this week, she interviewed james frey.... again. you may remember the controversy 5 years ago surrounding his memoir. i think this was one of her best shows ever.
oprah will continue working at her own network, own. i'm excited to see what she's go in store for us there.

i'm needy

2011-05-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

i need sun. i had a blood test done last week. it showed i'm extremely low in vitamin d. i live in seattle. go figure.

i need warmth. while i'm at it, an ocean and sand would be nice too.

this pretty much sums it up.

found here.

snippets from our sunday

2011-05-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

there was an open house. we had to leave. i didn't feel well and just wanted to crawl back in bed. the rain and cold temps (seattle has yet to realize it's late spring) didn't help. we headed to the nearest coffee shop and read our books. steve was engrossed. i told him it was a good one. he hesitated reading it because he watched the movie with me and doesn't like to read the book after the movie. he's almost done with the book, after just one day. he's a speed reader.
i read this for our book club meeting friday night.
and the coffee shop is dog friendly so this one got to join us inside.

giveaways!

2011-05-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

a few of my favorite people/shops are having giveaways. and because i'm a nice gal i'll let you in on them...

ceri at cooper grey. her giveaway is for not one, but TWO of her beautiful, gorgeous pillows in designer fabrics! seriously. i'm lovin' these in hot house floral.
my very good cyber friend (although i believe if we lived in the same city, we'd be real-life friends, too) janna at jacjewelry is giving away this set of pretty earrings. how pretty are these for spring! go here to enter.
little brown pen is one of my favorite shops for photos. the quality is superb. they are giving away a set of 9 8x10s! i'd pick these. go here to enter.
now go enter some giveaways. and then have a nice weekend!

dear universe,

2011-05-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

***

i'm ready to go. i'm ready to move cross country. i'm ready to sell our house in seattle. i'm ready to buy our house in dallas. i'm ready to get settled in a new house, in a new town, in a new state. i'm ready to cart 3 animals cross-country to a new home. not sure how yet, but i'm ready. just wanted to make sure you knew so you could send any able and willing buyers our way so they could love our house and make an offer. thank you. pam

*** i always forget the source for this photo. help me if you know. i'd like to credit it properly.

goodness

2011-05-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

the may/june 2011 issue of lonny came out yesterday. i love it. i apparently have breakfast nooks on the brain, because these were my favorite images from the issue, both breakfast nooks.

these drapes had me at hello. gorgeous.
and this banquette. phenomenal.
now go enjoy the rest of the issue. it doesn't disappoint.

option 3

2011-05-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

you've already seen option 1 for a house choice in dallas. (we're moving, remember?) and you've seen option 2.

now here's option 3. this one's in the same subdivision as the red house, option 2. remember, all houses are the same builder, so that's not a decision-maker.

can't you just picture some vines on the arbor over the garage doors?
front porch for sipping lemonade and reading.
kitchen. i really want white cabinets. really. really bad. and a darker island. love this.
there's also some glass front cabinets and more counterspace to the left of the photographer here.

kitchen/family room.
large backyard with an already in place magnolia tree. looks like a pool size lot to me! pixel and i would love a pool. hubby's not so sure.
master bath. love the hexagon tiled floor.
study/new office of pixelimpress.
guest room bath. L.O.V.E.
what do you think?

this little guy....

2011-05-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

sits on a bench in our powder room. i painted him. awhile ago. while i was taking watercolor classes here. that was back when we lived in atlanta.
my mother-in-law coveted this painting and threatened to slip it into her suitcase on her last visit here. like i wouldn't notice it was gone. i made a mental note to paint one for her. it would look perfect in her newly redone bathroom where she wanted to hang it. i planned on painting it for last mother's day. didn't happen. planned on it for her birthday. it didn't happen. planned on it for a christmas gift. didn't happen. it was one week before this mother's day and i thought about it again. i already had the frame bought. i just had to sit down and paint it. and then i had a brilliant idea... do what other painters do. make prints of their original artwork! so off i went to have it scanned. it turned out beautiful. so much so that i made a print for my mother also. i framed my mil's in a dark aqua lacquer frame from pottery barn. and my mother's in a gold frame. and shipped them out last week. they loved them.

new font on the block

2011-05-04T09:38:00.001-07:00

kapitza just released a new font. called roto. you can find it here, one of my favorite sites to download fonts. they're really nice, especially when you accidentally TWICE download the wrong font. they don't yell, they don't scream, they politely refund your $$ and get you the font you originally wanted.

here's roto.

and you can do cool things like this.imagine the possibilities.

spoiled rotten

2011-05-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

a few months ago we started letting pixel sleep in the bed... only on weekends. the weekend apparently bled into the week this week. she's now been in the bed friday night, saturday night, sunday night and last night. she hops up, turns a few times, then buries her face down under the down comforter. this was her last night. she's so spoiled. spoiled rotten.

another possibility

2011-05-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

so, about a month ago i showed you one of my favorite houses from my house hunting search in the dallas suburbs. we're moving, remember?

well, steve was back in dallas last week and spent an afternoon with our realtor. they stopped by a subdivision in mckinney, texas. the neighborhood is designed as a master planned, new urbanism TND. some others you might be familiar with are alys beach in the florida panhandle and serenbe just south of atlanta, georgia.

this was one of the homes he saw. it's by the same builder as the other homes on our list. just look at that front porch. it's made for sippin' lemonade and greeting neighbors.
main hallway with transom windows. love those! dark wood floors throughout the first floor.
study behind french doors.
master bath.
powder room. love! give me a pedestal sink any day over a vanity.
kitchen area as seen from family room.
do you spy what i spy? white subway tile backsplash. woohoo. and white cabinets, dark island. wouldn't change at thing. ok, except maybe put in a farmhouse sink instead.
another front view. the only negative to this house is, do you see it, do you see it??
a detached 3-car garage.
it's not my ideal. i could make it work. we could make it work. the main disadvantage though is that it takes up a lot of the backyard. and we'd have to add a small iron fence separating yard from driveway to completely fence in the backyard for pixel.

overall, it's a gorgeous house. what do you think?

new greeting cards

2011-04-28T17:55:00.001-07:00

i made some greeting cards yesterday. thought you might like them. they're very colorful, very summery.

purple poppies.
you can choose between 3 envelope colors. and 4 sayings.
flower burst in pinks. again, 3 envelope choices.
4 sayings.and flower burst in blues and green. one of my favorites.
3 envelope color choices.

4 sayings.all can be purchased here.

how cute are these

2011-04-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

hand-drawn letters. whimsical patterns in summer hues. by Australian artist Samantha Robinson for anthropologie. love these.