let's talk marble

i'm sure at some point i've declared my love for all things marbleized. if not, i'll do it now. i love marbleized things. there, done. so i made some stationery sets recently with envelopes lined in marbleized paper. this is luxe, folks. thick cottony paper. shimmery envelopes. gorgeous colors. and elegant marble paper. all wrapped snug as a bug in a pretty silk ribbon and packaged in a pretty white box. great for gift giving. and as you know, the season of gifting is upon us.

Holla ... set of 10 flat cards and 10 lined envelopes.

in the mood for something a little more vibrant? how about curry and purple. 

found here.

and then i spotted these at west elm. marbleized boxes. how cool are they. the natural colored one totally matches my stationery. i think i'll ask santa for one.

radiant ads

i usually don't pay attention to ads in magazines. i usually just flip right thru them. i was reading the latest oprah magazine last weekend, when an ad caught my eye. how could this not catch your eye. what a stunning image. beautiful woman. beautiful, colorful balloons. beautiful, colorful streamers. wait... i know these balloons.. and this woman! the woman is jihan zencirli, master balloon artist, creator and owner of geronimo balloons.

 

 (ad photo from here)

i met jihan in seattle a few years ago when she worked at my favorite paper store. since then she has relocated to los angeles and opened geronimo balloons. it's a brilliant concept. she provides huge helium filled balloons with gorgeous, colorful streamers for events.

here's some more of jihan's work (images from her site).

congratulations, jihan, on all your success!

i'll be

sporting these new kicks at bootcamp tonight. yep, i signed up for another 5 weeks of torture exercise in the texas heat. i think i'm crazy.

this will be my mantra. i borrowed this from the texas fit chicks facebook page.

sales

i've been trying to decide on artwork for the focal wall in our dining room. i'm 90% sure i'm going to try my hand at abstract painting. but every now and then i come across artwork online that makes me reconsider my decision. today i found these on one kings lane, as part of their emerging artist sale. love them. and great prices. (one kings lanes is a member only sale site... if you need an invite, let me know!)

by michelle armas

by cozamia

and speaking of the dining room, we also just made this purchase for the chandelier. it's from restoration hardware. if you didn't know, restoration hardware is currently having their friends and family sale until july 4th. 20% off of full price merchandise. the code is 'friends'. so with a little help from that sale and a buildup of american express points turned into gift certificates, we got it for about 25% it's original cost. i love it when that happens.

rh

steve and i made a trip to our new local restoration hardware store this past weekend. the sales associate told us to be sure we saw the outdoor living area showcasing their outdoor products. i was in love when we stepped through the doors. it's gorgeous. grey painted brick walls decorated with mirrors. i love painted brick. pea gravel. underfoot lighting in the gravel. massive sofas. beautiful pillows. and gorgeous green foliage.

and the fountain! gorgeous!

how about a firepit/coffee table?

i loved this tree with lanterns hung with rope. how fun that would be for a garden party.

or perhaps an outdoor chandelier? 

steve patiently waiting for me to stop taking photos.

 

boxwood in a planter. love this too. my motto is generally "more is more" when it comes to container pot gardening, but a single lush, full boxwood that fills the pot is fab.

 

ah, pillows. warm tones.

 

cool tones.

and then there were the succulents. never thought of planting a singular one in rows like this...

i usually do more of this look.

and the brick wall. they're training the vines to climb the brick. can't wait to see it in a few years.

all this goodness can be found at the willow bend restoration hardware in plano, texas.

the last few days...

pixel has been on dogbed rest. she has partially torn her acl. we are supposed to keep her still to encourage healing and hopefully prevent a full tear which would mean surgery. we're trying, trying really hard at keeping her still. actually she's doing very well with it.... as long as no one rings the doorbell.
this was installed over the weekend. i'm in love. it really makes the white trim and doors "pop". and the texture is gorgeous. this utility hallway from the garage to kitchen has 3 doors... panty, laundry, and garage, and a recessed niche/mudroom area. we almost always enter the house thru the garage door. this hallway is now a welcoming site. i have yet to rehang my artwork.
i was at target the other day and found these melamine dishes. i love the handdrawn damask -like pattern. plus the color. it appears that aqua has become my favorite color. (hmmm, maybe i need to make stationery like this?)

they also have these patterns and styles.
i'm not a huge fan of reds and cranberries, but i love this pattern.
i think i need this one to round out my set.these would be perfect for summertime entertaining around this.

wow. beautiful kitchen.

i just saw the most beautiful kitchen over on pinterest. stunning. absolutely stunning.
farmhouse sink. hanging lanterns. wolf stovetop. honed absolute black granite and marble countertops. beautiful artwork. lots of windows. lots of light. banquette seating. white subway tile. just gorgeous. head here to see more photos of it.

the beautiful blue runner by the sink caught my eye.
it's from west elm. west elm, folks! it's new. and i love it.
this will be my next runner in my kitchen. love it.

the highlight of my weekend...

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?

we're having issues.

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

finally....

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.

the state of things

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.

apparently

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?