Yummmmm!

I watched a Food TV show with my kids about this bakery in NY that does gluten free, sugar free, but still yummy treats. They looked so good I thought that maybe I, a self described not so great cook, would attempt to try my hand at making some of these tasty treats! I ordered the cook book from Amazon and got it yesterday. My daughter and I are planning a little baking this week! I will report back on our progress!

Copy Cat

via i swannee

One of my favorite blogs, i swannee featured this awesome blue chair, that I fell in love with. So much so that I decided to make my own little bench version! The fabric is different and it doesn't have the weight and elegance of the chair but it is a "lite"version inspired by the original, and I really like how it turned out. The very creative person responsible for this super cool chair is Jamie from "Furbish Studio". You can see her great blog and store here.

Magic Carpet Ride

I am a hair dresser by training and a decorator by trial and error. My salon allows me to indulge both of these creative endeavors. I have had so much fun decorating this ever evolving space! I blogged about it here. The latest addition to my work space is this groovy old rug I found at Goodwill for $15.00. It is sorely beat up but the color and texture it adds to the room more then make up for its shabby condition. I love how it looks! Thanks again Goodwill!!

Another Addiction of mine...Chairs!

With a little left over paint from "Lowe's" in "Granite"...

...about a half a yard of cool fabric...

...and a handy palm sander and staple gun,

a beat up dining room chair...

...can become...

a handsome piece of furniture!

I Love You Honey!

My poor, wonderful, understanding husband never knows what he will find when he comes home from work and opens the garage door! My latest find...wait for it...another dresser! It was such a great deal I could not pass it up. I wonder if there is a support group for dresser addiction?

More Great Words to Live By

This poster by jacksoncreekpress via ETSY says it all: http://etsy.com/listing/50265943/make-words-not-war-letterpress-type?ref=sr_gallery_29&ga_search_query=posters&ga_search

Digging up a Good Deal at Anthropologie

In the last few months I have gotten some really great home stuff from the clearance room at "Anthropologie". Yes, I love their clothes too, but as I do not have the tall, young, slim body required to make their lovely clothes look even lovelier, I mostly stick to the home furnishing section. Their stuff is so unique and having just one or 2 Anthropologie pieces in a room make any room that much cooler. We got a new basement couch at a garage sale last weekend, and its pretty nice, but maybe a little plain. Lay down a hippopotamus pillow from Anthro and it magically looks so much better! I love those colorful fabric letters, the trick was finding letters from the very few left, that actually spelled out a word. I got lucky with "FUN". I had been crushing on that pillow that looks like its from an old animal encyclopedia for a long time. I would visit it every time I went there, until it finally went on clearance and I snapped it up. My gorgeous niece Lillian, who happens to be tall, young and slim, so she looks great in their lovely clothes, got a job there. I can't imagine a cooler job for a 19 year old girl. I have told her to keep her eyes on the clearance room for me!

Get to the Point.

OK, so you know I love pillows. Old or new. Fancy or homemade. Expensive or cheap. Big or little. I love them all! I found this little cow pillow at a thrift store for $10.00. There is something very charming about him I think. I don't know if its the colors, or the needle point or his tiny head turning to look at me, but its unusual and I like him. I prowled the Internet looking for other needlepoint pillows to see what was out there and how they were being used in a more modern space, but honestly, mostly to justify my odd purchase! Here are a few of the more interesting I found:

Communist Heros of South America by Jim Finn

Jonathan Adler

Emily Peacock via ETSY

Modern Dose

cARTography

I found this great old map at a little rummage shop I happened into today. It's a lovely illustration of Oregon and Washington, with sweet little drawings of people, animals, buildings and other area attractions throughout the region. It is uniquely interesting to me because I have homes in both of these states. The colors are very muted and old-fashioned and will look great up at the Lake House.

Please don't eat off the Art!

all images via Apartment Therapy

I have always loved plates on walls. No, not thrown at walls like some crazy Italian family in the movies, leaving messy streaks of spaghetti sauce dripping down the wall. I mean plates used as art. I have collected a few over the years but have tended to group them in a linear design, either horizontally or vertically, or flanking another piece of art. While browsing around the Internet I found these great photos of plate walls done in a completely new way! Very random and organic with a mix of old and new. I love that they look so effortless but I know in reality that it must have taken a lot of planning and trial and error to achieve that look. I think I need to dig out some of my old finds and start looking for some more modern pieces. I see a new kind of plate wall in my future, with no spaghetti sauce in sight!!

Please come out, Sunshine!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy Birthday Honey!!

It was my husbands Birthday yesterday. We got him this outdoor, rolling, BBQ station. Its handsome and sturdy and quite functional here at the Lake House....sounds a little like him actually! Happy Birthday Honey!!

I miss Hurley...and Jack...and Charlie...and Sawyer...

The "Lost" poster I ordered at the end of May arrived last week. It is really cool! I blogged about it here: http://betsymakingpretty.blogspot.com/2010/05/lost-and.html I had a hard time deciding which one to get, they are all a great homage to a landmark show. I framed it and decided to hang it at the Lake House where it's retro feel fits in perfectly and works with my aqua-blue accents. I love it and I know I made the right choice! Ironically, I have never seen an episode of "Lost" up here, we don't have cable....but we do have every episode of "Gilligan's Island" on DVD...close enough!