the weatherman says to expect heavy snew tonight

And now enjoy this...



and more of that...




xoxox

The Way We Were...

Oh blog. My once sweet, now bitter little blog. Once we were like 2 lovely fawns sipping water from a stream..now it seems those same waters are determined to keep us apart. Try as I might to write faithfully, the increasing pressures of my high-powered marketing machine are keeping me down.

The dramatic monologue portion of this evenings entry has now concluded.

Ok...SO how about this idea, I was thinking that maybe I could gear up for a Big Year-ender! Huh? Huh! Ha-ha! That's it. I'm going to recap 2007 in a blog-a-rama-thon and by year's end I'll be all wrapped up and ready to enter 2008 with a clean-slate, thus fulfilling a pre-New Year's resolution and thereby setting the pace for the coming year's theme of Total World Organization, henceforth to be known as TWO ( all rights reserved on TWO, the use of TWO the Number TWO and all other forms of TWO not discussed wherein, the so on and so forth...)

So where to begin..I've talked wedding, I chatted crafts. What's left, right? The holidays, that obvious..yes, but here's the twist, I'm taken it all the way back to October. I took a bunch of pictures of our Halloween and then I didn't post but it's never too late for All Hallow's Eve.

June-boo guarding the castle gate

Puppy-monsters

Jennifer + Jeff-egies

Ol Punkin' Head + lil' Ol Punkin' Head

Jeff's Self-Portrait

Cookies for Cousin Alex at Montana State

All These Places in our Space...s

All around me I find the stuff of imagination. I've feathered my own nest with items that intrigue and inspire and bring me comfort each day. Some days it's easy to overlook all the things that we've accomplished and focus our attentions more closely on foreign things. For lack of better words, to covet thy neighbors lamp...or couch, whatever the case may be.

So in honour of the beautiful house my husband and I have made for ourselves, I am proud to offer a glimpse into our eclectic-retro-rustic-shabby-chic palace. I hope you enjoy the tour.

The Foyer complete with baptist church pew and thrift store acrylic-block art

The hallway credenza, AKA the mail drop-spot

Downstairs Guestroom in Wakefield

Guestroom lamp, dresser and original artwork by J. Hahn

The Diningroom. Vintage Asian table, chairs & buffet

Another angle in the Diningroom.

More Diningroom.
The Warhol prints and my collection of Franciscan Starburst and Brad Keeler.

The Diningroom sitting area with Stiffel lamp and Jeff's old Fender

The Livingroom with boomerang coffee table & more fish taxidermy

Sun Porch/Hot Tub Room

The circular fireplace and centerpiece of the first floor

The Library and Natural Museum at the Top of the Stairs

A close-up of the corner case

The view from the top stair.
Lawyers bookcase, resident Chicken, an alligator head, Twin Peaks geese and yet another gee-tar

Second-floor Guestroom. 4-poster rope support bead, cactus lamp and lotsa photos

View from the other side of the room. More guitars, Haegar pottery and another great lamp.

"The Red Room"
Second-floor rec room features the bar, dart board and vinyl collection

These are a Few of My Favorite Things....

I have to keep it brief tonight as I have a date with my handsome man to watch The Office.

I've been thinking about all of the people that helped to make my wedding such an amazing day and how nice it would be to spend a little bit of my blog space saying thank you. They may not have been family or friends when they arrived, but they certainly were by the end of the night!

Thank you Paulette
The Catalyst Ranch, Chicago

Thank you Peter & Ashley
Tulipia Floral Design, River Forest

Thank you Dorothy Perry

Double Happiness Family Photography


Thank you Paul and Staff
PhotoWorks Interactive

Thank you Scott Ligon and The Federalis

Thank you David
Harry Caray's Catering & Events

All of Fall's Festive Little Finds part I

Ahhh... the crisp air carries a faint smell of fall through my window as I watch the first trees begin to turn. The changing of the seasons is something that I look forward to with great anticipation.

It's the beginning of something new and it always comes right on time. Just as you begin to long for sweaters and crisp night air, fall is here. Just when you think your toes will never thaw out after a long cold winter, you see the first leaf buds and spring has sprung. And so it goes for us Midwesterns.

Around our house Fall is the favorite season. The trees blaze with color against clear blue skies and everything feels just a little more exciting. This is year is especially exciting as it is our first Fall in our new home and with it brings all sorts of new rituals. For the last several days I have begun my mornings out on the deck, drinking my first cup of coffee and watching the blue jays and crows on our big bird feeder. I really enjoy this. Soon there will be bond fires in the backyard and piles of leaves for the johnny and june to attack.

Fall is also when I get bit by the crafty DIY bug. Whether it's knitting, fall gardening, paperwork crafts or holiday decorating, I'm into this time of year. I have already started thinking thinking about my fall planters and the new leg warmers i'm going to make. So it is in the spirit of the season that I present today's topic and the first in a series I like to call "All of Fall's Festive Little Finds"

knitting:: sewing:: paperwork crafts::

The design was inspired by the cute-but-spooky spirits that inhabit the world of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. This would make such an adorable "Fall Baby" gift. Free pattern at knitty

photos: Makiko Sasanuma, Anna Hrachovec

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decor indoor:: outdoor:: office::

Ok...I love this. I have no idea how it would function with that tail on the end, but it gets 3 Stars sheer entertainment. The company also offers less seasonally-restrictive items like a buxom female figure and a pirate's skull & crossbones. What ever your fancy, I'm sure your desk will be the talk of the walk with one of these unique mice.

Halloween Ghost Mouse from FabStuff.net

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health:: beauty:: fashion::

Oh man these are so cool! I'm a fan of the cowboy boot and this may be the bad-ass-edest pair I have ever seen! Check out Back at the Ranch Boots for tons of other amazing styles.

Hand Tooled Day of the Dead with Alligator

As far as weddings go... this one was great!

The dust is just beginning to form a thin veil over the toes of my patent leather wedding shoes. Left sitting on the ledge of a sunny window since the Sunday after my wedding, they make me smile each morning and remind me of the day that I became this perfect someone's Mrs.

This wedding has been a lot of things that I didn't know/expect it to be. I feel more married than I ever felt engaged. I know what permanence is in the scope of love. I know what "family" can be in the scope of love.

I learned that 2 friends are better than one and that three friends can make all the ends meet. I found a sister in more than one place and I became an aunt and a niece in a single day. I felt beautiful and radiant in a way I hadn't known before.

I learned that "A wedding is where you decide forever who you want to be your best friend." thank you Mary

And thank you to everyone else who had a hand in our wedding. Family, friends..new and old, passer-by's and all the countless other people I have forgotten to thank..and the academy (Wait! Wrong speech.) Seriously though, thank you to everyone who wished us well and made it all the better for meeting them along the way.

Photo taken by Kristin Cannon. Visit her flickr site.

D is for Design

When beginning a new blog, one must carefully choose ones' topic. For me, design was an easy choice. It's always on my mind. Good designs can move mountains, shift sands and balance an otherwise chaotic planet. So if the site of a well-dressed room makes your heart soar, then I hope you'll agree... there's always room for jello, and a good new design blog.

a beautifully simple composition (photo by ninainvorm @ flickr)

a delighful kitchen concept (photo by supershoppertoo@ flickr)

Modern Materials for Modern Living 1957 (courtesy of www.plan59.com)

Something borrowed. Something blue...

Only 6 hours after signing up I breathe a sigh of fatigued happiness as I write my very first blog entry.

I have long admired the wonderful blogs from decor8, hula seventy, the conscious kitchen and dozens more and it's with great humility that I enter into a community of talented writers, thinkers, creators and inspiration-makers.

I thought it would be appropriate to begin my new blog with the my most exciting event to date...My Wedding! The big day is right around the corner (09-08-07) and as I coast along these last few days I am relieved to be on auto-pilot and I am looking forward to exchanging vows and making a life-long commitment to the best man I have ever known. Sappy...yes, but true. I'm blessed to be in love and be loved back and I can't think of anything better than that.


I would also like to take a moment to send a special thanks out to my good friend Kristin. She has been my support system right up to the end and I couldn't have done it without her.