my new barn art...

like my barn art? it's from here and here...i'm smitten with them too. i'm hoping to collect a few more barn paintings for my collection over the next few months, they're going to hang in my living room, over the couch. my super talented, creative and brilliant boss and co-worker made these beautiful custom frames today from old barn floor board scraps from a project we're working on. aren't they perfect? i was inspired by some framed art at my friend amanda's house in vermont, she was a doll to send me some photos of them so i could copy...

 

work pride...

did i ever tell you i work for the best company ever and that i love my job? well, if not, here's proof- i'm sporting my GGB gear with pride today!

do gooders unite...

looking for a great way to donate this holiday season? well, i've got one (or two) for you. a friend of mine's son holds a wicked awesome toy drive in conjunction with his local starbucks for children's hospital of boston as a thank you to them for what they did for him and his family a few years back. if you're not local to the melrose area and you want to be involved you can message me and i'll send you my address to mail a toy to...

children's hospital not only helped shane, but he helped teddy too. teddy is the son of some college friends of ours who was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and children's hospital saved his life too! you can donate to the incredible teddy foundation here...

animals & children, probably two of my most favorite things in this world, tis' the season for giving back!

one stop shop...

looking for a one stop shop?... i think you could pretty much do all your christmas shopping on west elm's gift ideas page. here are a few of my favorites...

owl mugs

craft paper placemats

glass bottles with wood stoppers

hanging spice rack

chambray cosmetic bags

stacking bento box

baggu bag

ceramic fox speaker

giving the gift of cookbooks...

if you're looking for a good cookbook to give your favorite foodie/chef then you should get these two books. i've bought them for several people now, all whom tell me it's their favorite cookbook...

 

plenty

jerusalem

brain teaser...

my boss gave us this the other day, his mother has been doing a lot of 'cleaning out' at her house. i love this kind of stuff! i've gotten about 3/4 of them so far, still working on the others. please note, this thing is old so some of the information not totally be correct anymore. i have a feeling this is the kind of thing is going to keep me awake at night trying to figure out... (click on it to make it bigger)...

and become your moms favorite player...

 this is by far my favorite commercial on tv right now...

do the conga...

please tell me you saw this dog dancing the congo for turkey on the counter for thanksgiving?...

quotable...

the gift of a garden...

aren't these the sweetest little gift ideas from potting shed creations? and so affordable! i love them...

pocket gardens...

garden makers...
 

extending my hand...

while recently in myanmar, president obama repeated something he had said once before in his inaugural address...something i hadn't understood until right now...

"we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist"

when you are willing to work with someone, to change something for the better for both, you each have to be open to the possibilities...to admit faults...to let go of the past...to listen...and to want to try, together. 

even better...

i couldn't help myself, here's another genius add from the 1969 issue in life magazine...i think these things should make a come back...

if we only knew then what we know now...

my boss brought in a few items from his mothers attempt to clean out her house...some of which were old life magazines. these things are major treasures people, do not throw them away- send them to me if you want to get them out of your house.

i mean seriously, after the whole monica lewinski scandal, how could you not laugh out loud at this artcile headline (from the march 23, 1962 edition)...

quotable...

via laws of modern man

get cookin'...

are you ready for this? best.dinner.party.menu.ever, coming your way from a wonderful friday night vermont hostess...she just sent me the recipes for the amazing food she served us...

delicata squash salad...

chicken pot pies...

salted caramel chocolate cookie bars...

get cooking friends, you will not be disappointed by this deliciousness!

christmas crafting take 1...

this is what happens when you wake up at 6:30am on a sunday... you become a crafting crackhead...

 

i was inspired by this tutorial, but didn't have it in me to be THAT creative, so i improvised. now all we need are the holiday cards to come rolling in!

playing in my head...

currently reading...

does anyone else have a million books in their qeue to read? i'm planning on finishing our book group book tonight (which i wasn't in love with and would not recommend) and can't wait to dive into both of these books...

the birth house by ami mckay was recommended by amanda and borrow from sarah, i think i might start with this one...

the light between oceans by m.l. stedman is one i purchased about a few months ago and has been sitting on my kindle awaiting it's turn...

stuffed...

there's something about being around creative/crafty people that inspires me. the vermont crew of girls hosts a crafting weekend every year which i'm really hoping to be a part of- they are UBER talented, i am envious of their skills. and then today i got an email from one of my crafty book group friends who's going to host a pinterest party where we make some of the projects we're pinning. SCORE. i am so looking forward to these two creative events.

in the mean time, i've been wanting to make a few of these 'stuffed' items i've pinned on my diy/craft board with scrape fabric (from my mom's stash!). with winter coming up, aka: hybernation time, i might actually get something done...

maybe these for christmas...

and for my blue room, which has a 'fishy' vibe, i thought i could make pillows of sorts that sort of look like these...

 

umm, and these, well these are amazing. i looked into them on the actual site they are from and it says they are stuffed with lavender! they'd be great hanging in a closet, or used as a baby's crib mobile...

life is good...

it's official. i'm going to move, no arm twisting needed. if fact, i think i might have said 'i'm moving here' about 10 thousand times over the weekend and have already stalked several building firms to potentially work for. penny and i spent this most beautiful, packed yet relaxing time in vermont visiting a friend (with my other lovely friend) who just bought this house, on this property...

seriously? who wouldn't want to wake up to THAT every single morning? penny made some new vermont besties too. i know people take pictures of their dogs doing really cute things from time to time, but these two snuggle up to one another EVERY.SINGLE.TIME they are near each other, it's too cute for words. i told them i'd be happy to dogsit/housesit free of charge any time they needed...

amanda took us all around shelburne farms and to the special places where she spent much of her life (and will in the future!). if you don't think this place is breathtaking then there is something wrong with you...

 

 see this barn? oh yeah, that's my future vermont rescue farm barn...just you wait...

what else did we do you ask? we spent a little time antiquing here and here (i got a great old white le creuset terrine which i can't wait to use), took a lovely walk down to lake champlain, snooped through a beautiful home, checked in on a bridal event, met some new vermont friends and fell in love with their homes, ate some stinky cheese & drank some local wine, had dinner one night at an older sister's house (who by the way is a serious seamstress- please make me a jacket like your daughters- and cook.i'm going to try to get a few of her recipes to post here soon, you will die from the yummieness) and another night we stuffed our faces at american flatbread. but the best time spent was together, in the car and house, in the mornings and evenings. it was in those moments we got to talk & catch up & learn to love our new friends even more...and life was good.

thank you amanda, jeff, strider & sage for having us... maybe some day soon we will be your neighbors...keep an eye out for our future house!