wear the change you wish to be...

a friend gave me a lovely 'keep calm and carry on' necklace for my birthday recently, it's beautiful and i love wearing it as a daily reminder...

here are some other great creations from the same jewelry designer worth wearing as a reminder of what's important and how to live your life...

the swedish chef...

do ya'll remember the muppets? dude, the swedish chef HAS to be the best character of all time on that show...i totally forgot about this shit...how did our parents let us watch this? way over our heads as children...



statler and waldorf are a close second...

bo-ho chic bedroom...

i think i might go bohemian-chic for the master bedroom decor, thoughts? it's not too girly right? the walls are a pale grey, i have some great colorful kilim rugs already on the floors, my favorite abstract painting by kay flierl hung on the wall, simple faux-crystal lamps on the bedside tables... and i hate my bedroom furniture color but maybe if i had it painted either all black or all white it might work better with the room...

and i think i'd like to get this bedding for the bed, it's reversible...

i think i need a funky basket on the floor too to hold some extra throw blankets and what not, maybe one like this?...

via west elm

via wisteria

via sundance

blog crush...

i came across the blog life needs edits this morning, and i can't stop reading it. i love it, i think she and i would most certainly be friends... she reads, she cooks, and she has this little lovey as her best friend...

i see a lovely morning of procrastination ahead of me while i catch up on her blog!

dreaming a little dream...

i've been having some pretty vivid dreams lately. the night before last i dreamt about my grandma and cousin melissa, they were on the side the road picking wild flowers and i stopped my car to talk to them. i had a full on conversation with my grandma, which i haven't been able to do in the last decade because of her alzheimer's disease. i woke up crying because her voice was so real, just the way i remember it. i think it has to do with that easter photo of my aunts & uncle in her old kitchen that i posted a few days ago...

grandma circa 2000

last night i had a dream that my rear teeth were crumbling in my mouth. this is an awful dream, let me tell you. i woke up this morning wondering why i would dream such a thing, there must be a reason. and then i came across this explanation:

image courtesy life needs edits

Crumbling Teeth: Crumbling teeth dreams means our fear of getting old. When you watch anything crumbling what image do you have of it? Our dream symbols act as metaphors so when you see your teeth suddenly crumbling it hits at your age and how you perceive yourself. Nobody wants to get old that why dreams of this nature have such a profound effect on us at a later age. These types of dreams are not something you should be alarmed about. You may just want to come to terms with getting older.

sweet dream huh? i love the advice 'you may just want to come to terms with getting older'. thanks jerk.

support a friend...

ok people, you've got a little over a month to think about what to get dear old mom for mother's day and boy do i have a great idea for you. my floral extraordinaire friend becca of petal floral design has been invited to participate in west elms 'pop-up flower shop' at the boston/fenway location. what better way to not only show mom you love her with some flowers as beautiful as she is, but also to support your local artist...

becca will be at the west elm in boston on three consecutive saturdays; april 28, may 5, may 12-from 10am-3pm. please go and support my dear, sweet, talented friend!

full house...

in addition to these two...


we have these two staying with us for a few days...

buddha & the squirrel...

organizing the garage...

if i ever get around to working on the garage, which quite frankly is at the bottom of my 'to do' list, i think i'd try to do something like this...

currently it looks like this...a big fat disaster zone...

oinking it up...

a good friend recently gave me this ceramic pig speaker as a housewarming gift, knowing that i'm going for an understated 'pig theme' in my new all white kitchen. it's a pretty awesome gift i have to admit. it's not something i would ever buy myself, but it's a great little gadget to have in the kitchen so i can listen to some tunes while i'm cooking...

so other 'pig' items i have in the kitchen are a simple wood pig cutting board (given to me by my aunt) and my unhung pig towel holder (from some unknown sender)...but i'm thinking some 'pig art' from etsy is in order....

via bhotchkiss

via vintage dictionary art

via coconutgrass

via charlotte kelley

via hullabazoo

i don't think i showed you the bench seat cushion my seamstress mother made for the kitchen window seat, it's finished and it looks great! i need a few more pillows in a variety of stripes & plaids, but i think it's looking pretty snazzy already...

i like these striped & plaid pillows but refuse to pay a lot of money for a damn pillow when i can make one myself...

via world market

via west elm

via nutfield weaver

via maria claire interiors

do you like the table? it's this one from ikea, the ingo table, i just painted the legs the same color as the walls & trim in the kitchen (ben moore white dove) and stained the top with a min-wax polyshade bombay mahogany and topped that with 4 coats of satin polyurethane...not bad for a $69 table right?...

playing in my head...

You’re the lucky one so I’ve been told
as Free as the wind blowin' down the road
Loved by many, hated by none
I’d say you were lucky cause I know what you’ve done
Not a care in the world not a worry in sight
Everything’s going to be all right
Cause you’re the lucky one

purple, white & green...

i'm loving this color combo for my future garden/plantings; purple, white & green.i like this container, it might look nice at the back deck (geraniums, lobelia and bacopa)...

and i thought this would be a lovely border for the front of the house around the stone foundation walls (hydrangea, boxwoods and white impatients)...

easter whackos...

my mother, aunts & uncles MIGHT kill me for putting this picture on the blog, but it was too good to pass up. this is them, minus one of my uncles, at easter time. my mother is the oldest/crossed eyed one in the photo. look at that awesome wallpaper in my grandmothers kitchen, i distinctly remember it still being there when i was a little girl too...amazing right?...

easter basket alternative...

oh my goodness, is this not the most wonderful idea for an easter basket seen on design mom today? instead of pumping your little one full of sugar and other useless crap, why not teach him/her to grow something beautiful and possibly edible? i LOVE this idea, i am definitely going to stash this idea away in my 'someday' category...

cooking this week...

randomly i happen to have all these ingredients in my pantry/fridge at the moment so i think i'll whip up these orzo-stuffed peppers, a recipe from this april's issue of health magazine, one night this week for dinner...yumm...simple, easy and healthy...

ingredients:

• 1 cup dry orzo
• 3 cups baby arugula
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 small bell peppers, halved and seeded

preparation:

1. preheat oven to 400°. cook orzo according to package directions in salted water; drain. return to pot. add arugula, feta, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper; stir.

2. season inside of peppers with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.fill peppers; transfer to a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. cover with foil; bake until peppers are tender (35-40 minutes).