I just got the new Pottery Barn catalog in the mail today and promptly perused its pages over lunch. Although its not my favorite home store (I'm more of a West Elm kind of girl) I did find a bit of lovely inspiration.This is such a great idea - these frame risers hold your picture frame off the wall a little bit, so that you get that "overlapped collection" look (although you could probably achieve the same thing for a fraction of the cost with just a quick trip to the local hardware store!). I love the 3D quality of the wall display (even though its a few too many frame styles and sizes for my taste). I think it would be really cool with 1 or 2 frame styles and a bunch of different length risers with almost no wall space in between, so that your pictures become kind of a sculpture on the wall.

And this room, well this is just wonderful. Sometimes I think the best thing about being a designer is that you get to design spaces of so many different styles. I am drawn to such a multitude of different things that if I only had my house to work with I would probably have such a mish-mosh of design directions it would feel a funhouse. Right now, I am really into the 30's Hollywood glam - black and white, classically understated. While I am usually more drawn towards casual comfort, a little bohemian-vintage style for my home, I would love to spend lots of time in a space like this. Which makes me think this would be a great look for a design studio, don't you think? And the furniture images on the wall make me swoon...
And wouldn't it be great if your design studio came with a fully-stocked bar? Just like in Mad Men, you could walk into a meeting with your boss at 4pm and pour yourself a little gin and tonic?

Words cannot describe...

Happy Monday

I woke up this morning to lovely snow on the ground, and I'm starting out the day with delicious coffee and homemade granola. I used this recipe, and I highly suggest it - so easy and delish it makes the store-made version pale in comparison.
I've tried to make granola before. And I've burned it horribly everytime...I know what you're saying, geez it's really not that hard...
But there's some things I just have a gift for, and burning granola to a crisp is one of them.
OH, and a big Happy Birthday to this girl!

burn and turn

It would be difficult for me to express myself as eloquently as my talented sister-in-law, so I believe I may cop out on this one and defer to JULES.

Sean and Julie throw fantastic parties. The kind of parties that make an ordinary night extraordinary. The kind of nights that make you feel full, not just because of their gourmet snacks and well-mixed concoctions; but for their camaraderie and simple pleasures. I always leave feeling a little bit better about life. My stresses seem to find their little place outside on the doorstep, and amazingly don't find their way home with me at the end. It's good to be with friends. And to laugh. And to talk of love. And life. To meet each other where we are.

And at the end of this night, a whopping 2,226 chips...if only it had been for real pennies.

Pinch

I just discovered this very fabulous furniture maker in London (does everything wonderful come from London?) I have been so intrigued lately by the art of combining clean, streamlined furniture with beautiful and unexpected upholstery. This chair is lovely.I am also loving this new site. (Funny that I just wrote that, considering what the website is all about!) It's so funny to read through some of these posts and see what people come up with. Some of my faves...
And one that seriously could have been written by the mother...


And my additions? "I love you more than afternoon espresso" "I love you more than actually getting vegetables to grow" and "I love you more than etsy". What about you?

If I Were a Room

I do believe I would be this one.

Late Night

It's late late late.. and Tam and I love photo booth... we've had a good night....

Whew...

I feel exhausted from this week. I tell you what, it's a crazy time to be in the design industry. The economy isn't exactly doing anyone any favors, but this financial downturn is starting to affect our business like I hadn't expected. The hospitality industry has largely relied on China and Asian factories to produce materials for hotels for the last several years. This isn't really any different than any other product that we use in this country, like all those clothes and plastic ditties I just can't resist from buying at Target that are all adorned with a little "Made in China" sticker. I always knew in theory that those products where produced in some little (or giant as the case may be) Asian factory, but it wasn't until I was really involved in purchasing and interfacing with these manufacturers that it really became apparent to me just how dependent our country has become on foreign suppliers. The economic downturn is affecting these countries and industries just as deeply, and many factories are feeling the domino effect. Probably as a result of the slower Christmas shopping season this year, many factories are closing their doors after the Chinese New Year celebrations beginning next week. All of a sudden, the thousands of products we are expecting to install in our properties in the next couple months, are just not coming. It's pretty crazy as I am seeing many of my friends in the business get laid off because there's no work for their companies, the same thing is happening in these factories. While I feel awful that so many people across the globe are losing their jobs, I can't help but feel like there is a silver lining around all of this. I hope that we as a country and a culture are learning to be more self-reliant. Our greed and desire for excess has gotten out of control, and we are exploiting other countries as a result. I have struggled with this ever since I decided to become a designer. It seems to be a constant struggle to find the balance between doing what I love, and staying true to my convictions. I have felt sick about our dependence on China, because we could never afford to produce the same item domestically, simply because the cost of labor would be so astronomical. Not because we pay our workers that incredibly, but that we pay the Chinese workers so horribly, the comparison is ridiculous. While I have no idea what the future holds for our business and our industry as a whole, I feel like a little purge is beginning - and I feel okay about that. We are already seeing some of the less-reputable companies closing their doors. I have a feeling that, in this case, the good will prosper, and the questionable companies will fall. I feel more and more thankful everyday that I work at a company that shares my outlook that goodness will be returned to those who put goodness into the world.
Wow, that was kind of unexpected...I didn't think I was going to lecture tonight when I sat down at my computer. I was simply going to write that I am spending all night tonight with this lovely girl, and I can't wait.Happy Friday!

Just In Case You Think I Make These Things Up...

I assure you I do not.
Remember that fancy design-world vocabulary word we learned at the lake? Well here it is in print...
One of our wallcovering reps brought this new product in for us, they've just launched a new custom program called "Kit of Parts". And for those of you who are more visual learners, here's a perfect graphic tool to help you remember the meaning. (For what it's worth, I still believe that someone at commarts made this silly saying up... I had to explain it to everyone in my office too). Now class, let's all try to use today's word-of-the-day in a sentence tomorrow.
On a side note, my study guide for the NCIDQ arrived on my doorstep today...a whopping 619 pages of facts and figures I've been actively trying to forget since I took my last college final exam. My life as I know it is over...for a few months at least...

Little Known Fact

I've discovered over the past few weeks that with just a little kick in the pants I could become nearly nocturnal. Now, the credit for this newly discovered way of life must go mostly to Julie and Deanna, who keep me up playing games and chatting until all hours of the morning (yes, we are all well into our 20's, though it often feels strangely similar to middle school?). And then, like last night, I find myself driving home at 4 am. I am eternally grateful for their friendship, and to be in the company of such beautiful women who speak truth into my life.