I just finished watching Emily Henderson's new show "Secrets From A Stylist" on HGTV. She was the latest winner of "Design Star" and is originally from Oregon and a fellow blogger, so she was my personal favorite from the beginning. I am so glad she won! I love her aesthetic and easy going style. The process she uses to identify her clients different styles and layer them within the room is genius! I learned so much from just this one show, I can't wait for more! Check it out! 
My daughter and I made this jewelry holder a few months ago and are on our way to making another one for my sister and her new teen resale shop. It is simple, lovely and elegant and reminds me so much of this one by Pottery Barn. You can find detailed instructions here.
Ok, this is not going to be one of my typical posts, but is there anything better that watching your sons first football game ever? Unless its watching your husband coach him. So fun!!
In a conversation with my son the other day we discussed what makes a person a writer. He is a writer, has been one since 4Th grade, at least. He is now in college and studying Journalism. He writes every day, he says he has to. That is what makes him a writer, the need to write, or stop living. Dramatic I know, but true enough through the mind and experiences of a teenager. I support him as I have since that moment in 4Th grade when he knew that words were his calling. I can't tell you how many times I have heard the words, "Mom, I thought of a great story idea." And I listened to every last one! I have saved almost every thing he has written except for a few short stories he lost in grade school when the computer crashed. Bummer, that was some good stuff! He wrote for his high school newspaper and our local town paper, and I have every article, every word. He now writes for an online magazine called Flux that is run by the students of University of Oregon. He blogs like crazy: we had a friendly competition about who had more followers, he won (so far). He talks about his future in publishing like its a "when" and not an "if". His life is destine to be about stories and ideas and lots and lots of words. Long story short, I really love this poster by jacksoncreekpress.
What is a perfect day you ask? Well let me count the ways:
My daughter and I packed up the "Hello Kitty" sewing machine and headed out of town for a few days of sewing and baking. We are finally going to make the Gum Drop Pillow we cut out months ago. On the way up we stopped at 2 Goodwills (of course). The first one was a bust; walking out of a Goodwill empty handed is terribly ungratifying. But at the second one I found this blanket. Plaid, wool blankets seem to be making a come back lately and this one is the real deal. Its a genuine Pendleton and at $12.99 its a real steal too. %5B1%5D.jpg)
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I went to a "Stella & Dot" Party yesterday
My sister and I did some major Goodwill shopping this weekend, on the hunt for art and stuff for her new teen fashion resale store (more 0n that later). We got some great deals! I kept this one for myself. Its an old, black and white photo of 3 little boys playing croquet, blown up and mounted on a piece of particle board. It looks like a pre-teen Abercombie and Fitch ad, but much more sweet and innocent. I don't know exactly why I was drawn to it, maybe it reminds me of my own little boy, with his new football season buzz cut, but I think it's the mystery: who are these boys, what was this picture used for, and where are they now? I do know it was $3.99, its really cool, and I love it! 
Emily Henderson from Portland has made it to the final 2 of HGTV's "Design Star"! Yay! I love her style and design aesthetic. She has a great blog too. I'm really excited for next Sundays finale. Between this and "Project Runway" I'd say Oregon dominates in creativity!
It's almost 100 degrees here today and I went to see my favorite play "Much Ado About Nothing" at Shakespeare in the Park. Luckily I was able to sit in the shade of a big tree, even then I wasn't able to make it through the whole thing. I did get to see Beatrice and Benedick begin to fall in love and that is the best part!
OK, so I don't technically live in Portland any more. But I have spent the better part of 47 years living there and I consider my self a Portlander at heart. I found this Portland Neighborhood poster at a local frame shop that I was killing time in while waiting for my son's summer camp to let out. I had seen others like this on design blogs and on HGTV with larger city's featured. I didn't know where they were from, who made them and certainly not that there was a Portland version. I'm glad I was early to camp pick up that day! You can see more here.
I stopped into HomeGoods last week during a hectic, errand filled day. (When your that close to HomeGoods it's criminal not to stop!) I'm so glad I did! I found this exotic little pouf that I have visited a few times and was having a serious love affair with, on sale! Half price even! It is made up of so many lovely muted and bright colors it would look great anywhere. I originally got it for the lounge area in my sister's new store but decided I may just have to keep it. Sorry sister!! 
I really, really want this gorgeous rug from Overstock! My birthday is in November, and I promise to act surprised! Christmas is good too! You can find it here!
I got this little deer at a thrift store for a dollar. She is so tiny you could easily miss her, which is what I love about her. She is unexpected. Sometimes you need a little bit of unpredictable sweetness.
OK, so I am clearly not a food stylist, but I wanted to update you on our baking experiment! To bring you up to speed, (all 10 of you!) my daughter and I ordered a sugar-free (mostly) vegan (mostly) gluten-free, cook book from a bakery featured on the cooking channel. The bakery and the cook book are both called "BabyCakes". Most of the recipes have a lot of kooky ingredients but after a trip out to "Bob's Red Mill" we were all set to bake. The first (and so far only) thing we made, was their Apple-Cinnamon Toastie. While making the batter I tasted it (of course) and honesty, it was nasty! But I decided to trust the process and forge on. I'm so glad I did! It is one of the best sweet treats I have had in a long time, gluten free or otherwise! I can't wait to try more recipes from this lovely book! Check it out!
When it comes to decor & design, my hair salon is the place I play with the most. It is the most experimental and the most fun. I shuffled things around in there recently to make room for some of my more recent finds. I brought in a dresser for storage (and to get it out of my garage) and found that I had to rearrange some of my art. Throughout this process I took down some of the pieces I didn't think worked any more. (I had framed the letter H but no one could figure out that it stood for hair!) I found that I needed to find or create some new art. I went through old family photos looking for something original and found just what I was looking for. My apologies if you recognize yourself from the 5th grade class at Holy Redeemer in 1973-1974! I'm top left and my sister is in the lovely red blouse! And I have no recollection of why I scratched out that poor girls face, but she must have had it coming! Nostalgia Art! I love it!
I went over to my good friend Rachel's house last night and I remembered that she and I did an Art Wall together at her house. This was our first attempt and it turned out really great! We scoured the "Goodwill's" in our area for interesting pieces of art and added in a few paintings by her mother. She found an old quilt piece she already had, and with a trip to "Home Goods" (who could turn that down) we had what we needed to get started. After laying them all out in her living room in one configuration after another, we finally found just the right balance. I love how it turned out and I am so proud of us every time I see it!
