oh target you disappoint me

 you've heard about it, you've read about it, you've seen the ads. it's been everywhere, social media & blogs & tv and on target's own website... the nate berkus collection at target is debuting today, october 21st, at 8 am at target stores nationwide. 

perhaps someone should have told the target stores near me. i drove to my nearest target store this morning. upon arriving i didn't see any of the items i'd seen in the online ads. i asked a clerk where the nate berkus collection items were. "nate who?" as she gazed down the hardware aisle where she was restocking items. i informed her that nate's items wouldn't be in that aisle. they'd be in home decor. 2 other clerks were just as clueless. by the time i got to the front registers, i voiced my frustration to another employee there. he said he was on it! he thought maybe there were 2 items in the back but was hot on the case.  i left frustrated. extremely frustrated.

in the parking lot, i called the next nearest target store, sure that they would be more on the ball. i asked the employee who answered the phone if the nate berkus items that were debuting in their store today were on the shelves. she told me to hold and i overheard her tell another employee that she had to take this call because she had no idea what i was asking for. they were not aware of who nate berkus was and that he had items debuting in their store today.

i drove home extremely frustrated and amazed that target's own employees did not know about this line of products debuting today.

target, i've always supported you. i like your products. i like your prices and  i know you do good things. but i expected more. you disappoint me.

on the bandwagon

i've done it... i've jumped on the bandwagon and joined instagram. you can find me here. i was following a few peoples' feeds and then had the brilliant thought that maybe i should be putting photos up too. it's easier for me than blogging right now. life has been hectic. we had a houseful of company plus a new puppy and then i traveled back to pennsylvania for a few days for a mini family reunion. between all of that and this, i'm a little weary.

so, if you'd like to keep up with me on instagram... please do.

2013 Desk Calendar now in stock!

it's always a labor of love, a culmination of my favorite patterns and colors. all bundled into a clear cd case that folds back to make an easel on your desk. 

it's the pixelimpress 2013 Desk Calendar. and it's in stock now. 

here's the cover page.

 

and a few of my favorite months... 

a little gingham

a coupla elephants strutting their stuff

love this pattern so much it made the cover ...

and here are all the months.

front and back covers.

hop over here to get yours and if you purchase 5 or more, you'll receive 10% off! they make super christmas gifts... teachers love them!

meet finnigan

on sunday, we added a new member of our family... finnigan. he's an 8 week old brittany, the same breed as his new sister, pixel.

meet finnigan.

here he is with his proud daddy. 

 testing out the pool.

 

chewing on everything and anything he sees.

 and playing

 

i can't do a puppy post without posting a photo of his big sister, pixel. i think she's wondering when he's going to go home to his own house...

 and stop following her.

welcome, finnigan. we love you already.

i have talented clients

i have the privilege of working with some very talented people at pixelimpress. i love seeing what they are up to with their businesses. laura has been a customer for a few years now. she is a wedding and event planner in georgia.  i follow her facebook feed and almost fell out of my chair when i saw photos of this beyond beautiful wedding she put together at chukkar farms in alpharetta, georgia. style me pretty georgia fell head-over-heels also and featured it on their blog last month. congratulations, laura... it's fantastic!

take at look at this rustic gorgeousness...

 

such a cute idea for guest photos.

what a fun crowd! (check out that draped ceiling with chandeliers.)

 it's the little touches...

simple, rustic, gorgeous.

love the printed burlap.

permission to post by laura....thanks, laura, for allowing me to show off this creativity and congratulations to the bride and groom.  photos by photographs by anjuli.

pixel here with the latest news

mommy's busy, so she asked me to fill you in on what we've been up to....

i'm swimming!! finally!
mommy and daddy took their time introducing me to the swimming pool. they waited until the sod around the pool was fully developed so i didn't get all muddy coming out of the pool.  because we all know that if i'm muddy, mommy's not happy. and if's mommy's not happy, nobody's happy.

here i am heading down the steps, to....

daddy!

hi, pixel

head up, head up, keep my head up.

almost there

phew, the steps.

it took me a few laps to realize the best way out. i tried turning toward the side of the pool to get out, but, um, that didn't work out too well. so now i use the steps like every one else.

mommy loves taking close ups.

here i am, in action.

i do a mean doggie paddle.

and then, after 47 laps, i crash.

and crash hard.

and in other news, mommy and i are really really really proud of daddy. he rode in a 100k (68 mile) bike ride a few weekends ago. he got up at 230 in the morning, drove a few hours with a neighbor and arrived at the starting line at dawn.

they rode thru an air force base.

way to go daddy!

the backyard and pool reveal!

the two readers of my blog have called... they want photos of the backyard since the pool has been completed. and who am i not to oblige my in-laws. so i headed outside (covered with bug spray and long sleeves to ward off any west-nile-virus carrying mosquitoes...yes, i'm paranoid) this evening and took a few shots.

but before i show you all the photos of the finished pool and patio, let's remember back a few months ago to what the backyard looked like when the pool was first dug.

 DURING

as you can see the pool fit perfectly in a little niche up close to the house, surrounded by an L-shaped patio.

and drumroll please.... somebody, anybody......pixel?

THE AFTER

hang on to your hats..... there's a lot of photos coming up. but remember, you (and you know who you are) asked for it.

the pool as seen from the patio

a closeup of the waterline tile

the spillway. it makes a soothing, bubbling sound that doesn't drown out conversation.

and now for the patio. we searched high and low for outdoor furniture. everything that was comfortable was out of our budget (i had issues with paying more for an outdoor sofa than my indoor restoration hardware sofa.... call me crazy). and if it was in our budget, it was, well, ugly.

we finally found a gorgeous set in a local store  but discovered that we were only looking at the price tag for one section of the set. the price tripled when we added up all the sections. we left with the maker of the set and model/style. we found it online for about half the price with free shipping and no tax. they quoted me a 4-6 week delivery time (a little disappointing). i was ecstatic when it showed up in 2 weeks! i loved also that i could pick out the fabric color. this is sunbrella's canvas palm. it was just what i wanted. i found the black and white pillows at joss and main.

the sofas and ottomans can be moved around in a multitude of ways. and if we get a storm i lift up the ottoman cushion and store the pillows in the base.

 we had the sheers from last year's end-of-summer sale at restoration hardware. i bought black outdoor curtains to pair with them.

we got creative with our hardware. we went to home depot and found plumbing pipes. steve anchored them to the ceiling as our rods. i love them. and they were about 1/10 of the price of outdoor curtain rods... another bonus.

we weren't sure how we were going to hold back the curtains given that our posts are brick. again, we got a little creative. we found rope at home depot. steve knotted it using his boyscout skills from 35 years ago. way to go, honey. and we used metal clips to hold the curtain tiebacks.

i found these two green garden stools at ross (for $29 apiece!) when steve and i were out one night running errands.i knew they'd be perfect for the patio.

one day my neighbor rang my doorbell to let me know that another neighbor had these blue adirondacks out by her curb with a FREE sign on them. she said, i don't have room for them, but you do! SCORE! i plan on spray painting them when it cools off. still a blue, but maybe a little darker.

pretty blue lantern.

purslane.... my new favorite, mainly because it hasn't died yet... it actually thrives in the texas heat. it blooms pretty dark pink flowers all day long and then they go to sleep every night.

 

we found this tapioca tree at a local nursery. i love it.  the leaf stems are pink.

 

and there you have it.... the backyard reveal! we're gearing up for our first holiday weekend with the new backyard. we've got friends comng over saturday to swim and cook out. should be fun. have a great long weekend!