and i'm off.

***

for a week of relaxation. steve's babysitting the critters and the house and the gardens. i'm kinda scared to return. to return to a mess. he plans on replacing the carpet in our family room with hardwoods while i'm gone. and also, knocking down some of the wall between our kitchen and the dining room. and the carpet arrives today for my office. i'll soon have an enclosed office. woo hoo. big changes. good changes. see ya in a week!

*** i've lost the credit to this photo. i love it. please tell me if you know.

at last! the kitchen reveal

finally. photos of the finished kitchen. after some slight major tidying of the kitchen this morning, i took some photos. here's the post describing our mid-way work. kudos to hubby for all his hard work. he tore down ugly backsplash. tore out tile granite, piece by piece. installed undercabinet lights. the granite is geriba beach.
he fitted a new cabinet to hold the farmhouse sink, which i love! and he loves it that i love it, because that means i do most of the dishes. (the sink cabinet will darken over time to match the existing pieces.) we ordered the sink online. it's a shaw. it shipped for free from florida to seattle... and thank goodness because it weighs 160lb.
the pendant over the sink is by kichler. it's finish is midnight chrome. the paint color is slate by restoration hardware. and we love it. question... do you paint your ceilings? steve and i always have.

the faucet is kohler. another great find. while we were at it, we upgraded our dishwasher to a bosch. unbelievably quiet. since our family room with the tv is adjacent to the kitchen, a major plus. we honestly don't even know it's on unless we see the laser light shining on the floor.
we splurged and got the custom fitted sink grid for the sink. i was worried about scratching the sink. this alleviates all worries.yes, i like a lot of stuff on my counters.
mini roses from mother's day from pixel and her daddy. i love the paris photo. it's alicia bock. she actually sent it as a gift note with some photos i bought from her. perfect for my little frame. the backsplash is 19x19 porcelain tile and we love it.inlay bone bowl from maui. and an oil painting i snagged at a garage sale for $4. it came in the most hideous black velvet frame. i removed the glass and framed it with a target frame. the little suitcase holds our cell phones while they're charging.
here's the before.
and again, the after. we love it. it suits us and our house.
thank you, honey, for all your hard work on the kitchen!

my veggie garden

i planted my vegetable garden this past sunday. try not to concentrate on my plant markers. i'm sure martha would have a cow. they're sooo not crafty and so not creative.

there's romaine and spinach. zucchini and yellow squash. red onions.lots of cherry tomatoes.
rhubarb and strawberries. can not wait for the strawberries. they're my fave, fresh of the vine.

change of plans

i still haven't gotten over the fact that my favorite wedge sandals (well, my ONLY wedge sandals) were lost in our cross-country move 2 and a half years ago. they were perfect for me. stable wedge, not too high. espresso. and oh so comfy.

i strode into nordstrom's yesterday in hunt for these. i thought they could replace my lost pair. they're uggs. and i love uggs. perfect color. look comfy.
when i actually saw them, i passed on them. the heel was too high and slender for me. i teeter in anything taller than a flip flop, so this would be definitely be pushing it for me.

instead, i walked out with these.



they're awesome. so cushiony and comfortable. good arch support. and best of all, they're lined with fleece! while that's not a selling point for those of you in warmer clients, it excites me. my feet will always be warm. yay for the little things.

so what are you up to this weekend?? steve and i will be finishing our gardening since the weather will be nice this weekend. i hope to get all my veggies in the ground. have a great one!

images via ugg

room for one more?

i'm sure bob and cortney novogratz of sixx design wouldn't even notice if i saddled up to this beautiful old french lab table that they're using as a dining table and joined them for dinner.
they have 6 children and a baby. i'm small. i'm brunette. i'd blend in.i'd help set the table. i'd put out the tortoiseshell utensils. i'd help clear dishes. i'd even help clean the white pleather chairs in case anyone spilled during dinner.
they might be on to me though when i start drooling over their 6-burner wolf stove.
or their artwork.
but they're cool. they won't mind. they won't mind one more for dinner.

kitchen images via apartment therapy.
family photo via sixx design.

cravings

i'm craving...
sunshine. and warmth. and so is pixel. yesterday was 46 degrees. and something slushy was falling out of the sky. it's may. seriously, people. i can't deal with 46 degrees and slushy in may.
chocolate gooeyness. have i mentioned that i've been carb- and sugar-free for 15 days, 3 hours, and 12 minutes now. trying to lose those few stubborn pounds that have been hitching a ride since the holidays.

via la tartine gourmande

i'm also awaiting test results for celiac disease. this dessert, though, is gluten-free.
and with this lady out there, all will be well if the results are positive.

pampering. if i can just hold out for 2 more weeks. mom, sis, and i are headed here for a few days. little spa time. little shopping. little eating. little rest.

lovin' this

by artist kate long stevenson

these are my colors. the colors for my new office. love it.

(found via isuwanee)

weekend agenda

first, as in this should be done tonight, is finalizing our carpet selections. this'll be the third trip to the carpet store. we have mostly hardwood on the first floor, except for the formal living room, which is being converted to my office. there's carpet there now, but we're replacing it. we found a good choice for that. a dark greige wool berber. and while we're at it, we're replacing the carpet on the stairs. it's in desperate need of a facelift. it's sagging. it's tired. i'm tired of it. this was my front runner. godfrey hirst, boulevard.

that was until we found out how much it is. we'll choose another.

second,
is my shipping desk. it's getting a facelift too. in sassy green.
and third, is recovering this pinboard from pb in this fabric,

which i've showed you all before. it's my fave.

have a great weekend.

turks & caicos

have you gotten the latest jcrew catalog?

it was shot on the beaches of turks and caicos in the carribean. here's a page out of styling asst allison's behind-the-scenes travel journal from the trip. how awesome is that water and that sky. and i can attest, it really is just like that.

almost 20 years ago i travelled to turks and caicos. i stayed here. it's a club med resort.

(image from here)

it was the ideal vacation for me at that time. i was working as an actuary for a large firm in atlanta fresh out of college. my girlfriend and i needed a vacation. desperately. we'd just ended our busy season at work and had just taken some extremely stressful, extremely challenging actuarial exams. we chose this place. all-inclusive. i wanted all-inclusive. just tell me what time my meals are, and i'm set. i didn't want to make any decisions other than what bathing suit to wear. it was beautiful. the water is clear for forever from the beach. every day i'd stroll down to breakfast, then hit the beach. i'd drag my lounge chair into the surf and read a book. every day. every. day. at dinner everyone would discuss what activities they participated in. i had nothing to contribute. but i did what i came to do. relax. it was wonderful.

don't forget mom

mother's day cards in the shop.
pixel (seen waiting for her daddy to come back downstairs this morning) ...
is getting this one for her daddy. shhhh, don't tell him.