Comet Pendant Light

Oh how I want this!

I feel a need to find a spot for it, but I know it won't supply enough light where I need a light like this

Crystal Light Fixture

So Pretty.

La Cornue

These stoves by La Cornue are simply gorgeous.

Everyday Restaurant Dinnerware

I'd been very casually looking for dishes that would match my old basic set because we need more cereal bowls (and soup bowls). Just last week I bought a new size and style to try and then I see this Everyday Restaurant Dinnerware in the Williams-Sonoma Catalog. They're as close as I could hope for.

Sawhorse Worktable - West Elm

This is the desk I want for my me space when the situation merits it. I am currently sitting at a much-loved granite desk/table in our office, but this will be for my upstairs "office."

Color-Coordinated Bulletin Board

My "me" space is going to need scads of spots for me to pin things up and keep them separated. I like this color-coordinated bulletin board idea as an alternative to the cork trivets I mentioned earlier. I need simple ways of categorizing things.

Love

It is too easy to forget that you are truly in love with someone. Its not that you don't love them anymore, you just find yourself taking the relationship and all the emotions it can contain for granted. You get lazy with the relationship and let go things that make that relationship what it is. At least that is what I have found.

I've started to put together a spot for me, and I am toying with framing some "love" prints and overlapping them on an art ledge. It could be a fun addition to a fun spot. We'll see. It might be nice to have a casual reminder that I have something worth cherishing and that to keep it that way I need to remember that I have it.

Some prints I am liking (from a very quick search):

Don't you love this print? The wording more than anything.

Anything by Made by Girl:

Especially Deeply Madly

LOVE

ABC Love

I'm trying to decide if I like this print
by I Am Still Alive. It fits the theme, but is it too much?

I'm not meaning to sound all obnoxious and "oh, I have the best relationship ever," or "my marriage is doomed." I just needed to do this to remind me of how easy it is to get completely absorbed in our daily lives and our kids and forget why we decided to make a life together in the first place.

*

Stress is an ignorant state.
It believes that everything is an emergency.
Nothing is that important.

~Natalie Goldberg

Kids' House

Kids' House designed by Studiomama. Isn't this incredible? I want one for myself.

via kidsHaus

Pretty Food Ideas

Wrapping fruit in parchment paper rather than scooping it from a bowl/plate would allow you to walk around and chat while you ate. This would be great to have out when friends arrive. Or for hungry kiddos who just need to eat more fruit throughout the day....

hmmm....

I usually try to throw chips in a nice bowl rather than leave them in the bag, but this is even better. I may never actually label containers with flavors and line them with parchment paper, but it looks good!

I love using my white bowls to put sides and dips in. These look almost look like pots or vertical take-out containers. I'll have to look for something similar.

via July's BHG mag

Low-Maintenance Backyard

This simple, low-maintenance back porch area is so appealing. The use of color is perfect and brings out the best of the cactus-type plantings. I like how cinder blocks were used to make a bench - its inexpensive, sturdy, and it fits the setting.

via July's BHG mag

I love white dishes - keeping them out for easy access would be nice.

via dti

ELKAY Sinks

I've been spending lots of time in the kitchen doing all sorts of wonderful summer harvest things, and more than ever I am determined to eventually have my ideal kitchen. Ideal for me means highly practical with all sorts of wonderfully useful details, plus appealing and simple design.

These sinks from ELKAY practically have me drooling. I would love to not have to grab a colander or sieve to rinse a few things or to have to balance multiple large items I want to clean at the same time.

I would use this middle ledge all the time.

We Love Jam - Labels

Isn't this label delightful? I love its simplicity. I might have to get ambitious and come up with something similar for next year's freezer jam or to encourage my plans to learn how to can. Seeing how our fruit trees are starting to come back to life I need to figure out how to preserve the abundance of produce.

This company, We Love Jam, makes small batches of jam with disappearing and high quality fruit varieties. I am tempted to get on their waiting list.

Pomodori Al Forno

For Mom and Heather, and anyone else interested: Bon Appetit posted the delicious Pomodori Al Forno recipe here, and the article here.

Just in case the links disappear, below is the amazing recipe. I found myself dipping bread into the oil while the tomatoes cooked, and no tomatoes made it through the full standing time, but I did make the mistake of halving the recipe!

*err on the side of extra spice and seasoning!

Ingredients

• 1 cups (or more) olive oil, divided
• 2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded. (Canned or fresh, depending on the season and convenience. Canned worked beautifully.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (I used fresh and doubled this)
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley
• Aged goat cheese (such as Bûcheron)
• 1 baguette, thinly sliced crosswise, toasted

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Pour 1/2 cup oil into 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange tomatoes in dish, cut side up. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup oil. Sprinkle with oregano, sugar, and salt. Bake 1 hour. Using tongs, turn tomatoes over. Bake 1 hour longer. Turn tomatoes over again. Bake until deep red and very tender, transferring tomatoes to plate when soft (time will vary, depending on ripeness of tomatoes), about 15 to 45 minutes longer.
• Layer tomatoes in medium bowl, sprinkling garlic and parsley over each layer; reserve oil in baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with reserved oil, adding more if necessary to cover. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours. DO AHEAD Cover; chill up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Serve with aged goat cheese and toasted baguette slices.

Cherner Barstools

We would like different barstools and I wouldn't mind using Norman Cherner's Barstools in wood...

...or metal...

or the stool he designed for Konweiser Inc.

kidmodern - Gale Kaseguma

Jellybean Tree

These cheerful prints by Gale Kaseguma make me feel so happy. I would love to use one some day - probably in a play area.

Starry Sea

Nighttime City

Wonder

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.

~Walt Streightiff


It is easy to forget this. Every last inch and ever last minute of our day is a potentially new and exciting experience for my children, even if that is playing with the same old toy or rope, but using it or their imagination in a new way. My jaded eyes and ears sometimes skip over items that are able to bring joy to my babies. I love how enthralled and captivated they can be by things.

I took the kids to the children's museum last week and we found ourselves staring at this neat ball roller coaster/maze thing for a good 20 or more minutes. It is pretty fascinating, even for me, but after a couple minutes of watching I started shifting back and forth, eager to hustle the kids to another spot. One look at their enraptured faces and I committed to stay as long as they wanted without breaking their trance. I found myself using the time to really follow the balls, to really watch all the random events that put them on the path that they wound up on. I found myself looking forward to the thunk of a ball bouncing on just the right spot to put it back on the track or the balls that made certain chimes ring just so. It was amazing. Truly worthy of being considered a wonder of the world. I have never appreciated it for what it is before.

We have been enjoying the occasional strawberry eaten within seconds of being picked from it's spot in our garden. A likes to help me look for them since she is usually the one eating them and I recently realized just how much she enjoys finding and picking these little treats. We even have to argue over some of the greener ones even though she knows and tells me they are not ready yet. She just enjoys the experience so much that she finds it hard to wait another day to see the progress. I just laugh when she tells me "Look! There's another one! It's ready, see? It's ready." To her our strawberry plants are one of the wonders of the world.

So... I am trying to slow down, to step back and recognize everything for what it is and has the potential to be. I am trying to look at things from a fresh perspective, trying to see the wonder in the world around me. And it is truly wonderful.

Now I need to go to sleep. Being on the computer brings out the insomniac in me.

Winter's Beauty

Seeing a beautiful winter scene captured through beautiful windows is just stunning. It seems as though most of the time windows are photographed when the view is green and sunny so this is a pleasant change in perspective.

It gives me a little hope that I won't mind the cold winter as much this year. There really is a unique beauty to it. I need a cabin. Sigh...

via desire to inspire

Lovely Playroom

I've been starting to think seriously about a playroom for the kids. Oh how I wish I had a spot for this room! I want to curl up on the massive day bed and spend the entire day reading.

image by Per Ranung via desire to inspire