SALVAGED GRACE

A while back, Erin from Salvaged Grace contacted me about writing a little something for her Sentimental Salvage feature. It's up today! I wrote about finding my dad's hysterically weird art from the 1970s...which is now all over our house. Check it out here.

WATER PRISMS

Okay, so since writing my last post I have gotten on a serious prism kick. I want MORE. I mean...why not? We have so many rooms that get great sunlight. And great sunlight = great rainbows. And who doesn't like rainbows?

While combing the internet for all available prism options I stumbled upon waterprism.com. I am LOVING the looks of these. Perfectly new-agey and magical-mystical.

I've never seen one in action...but judging from the pictures on the site they seem to make some pretty sweet rainbows.

I think I need one. Or two. Or three.

RAINBOW MAKER

Okay, so I am currently OBSESSED with this Kikkerland rainbow maker. I bought it last month at Hammertown in Rhinebeck...and it has made every morning since then magical.

It's a solar powered prism that you stick on a window....and it turns when the sun is shining. Pretty genius! Right? Ours is in the bedroom...which has east facing windows and fantastic light all morning. So now we get to wake up to a parade of rainbows every day. Love love love.

CEILING PAPERS

I grew up in a house FULL of wallpaper. In just about ever room. On just about every surface. Ceilings included. My mom studied textile design at art school and she does NOT shy away from pattern. Since my parents have a Victorian home she used a lot of beautiful William Morris style papers from Bradbury & Bradbury. I remember it would always take a really long time to get the paper because it was hand printed. But it was definitely worth the wait. You can see and feel the handprinted layers and the pigments are super matte and beautifully saturated.

Some of the Victorian stuff can get a little heavy for my taste but there are a few real gems in there. And some of the ceiling papers are particularly up my alley. Like the Ice Blossom pattern at the top of this post. I love how quirky and modern it feels! And the gold is printed with shimmering metallic ink which is really stunning in person.

And I also love the Stardust pattern -- based on stenciled motifs from New York's deco-era Cloud Club. I want to put this subtle silvery version on the ceiling in our upstairs bathroom. Tub-time with a view!

FAREWELL 2010

Happy 2011! Justin and I had a low-key New Years celebration at home with a few friends, lots of delicious Indian food, funfetti cupcakes and a slew of champagne.

So, anyone make any resolutions yet? I'm thinking...don more festive headwear. I have so many great old sparkly cocktail hats, flowered headbands, and crazy feathery fascinators...but I almost NEVER wear them. And I should. So, hello 2011! Hopefully the next time you see me I'll have something ridiculous on my head.

LIVING VICARIOUSLY

So, you know that tipi that I said Justin and I were making for my 3 year old nephew? Well, this is it!

Pretty cute! Right?

It's surprisingly simple...and you don't need much to make one. We used some bamboo from our backyard for the poles and a canvas drop cloth for the cover. And you can decorate it with pretty much anything. I used some stuff I had left over from previous projects like vintage velvet ribbon, mint green acrylic paint, and some metallic leather scraps.

There are a LOT of tipi building tutorials online. After looking through a bunch of them I realized that all you really need to know is that the basic shape of the cover when flat is a semicircle...and the poles for a tipi this small should be about a foot longer than the radius of the semicircle. After that you can kinda just wing it.

All in all it was a hit. My nephew loves it, Julian loves it, and I'm seriously considering building myself a big one next summer.

VERY MERRY

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Every year during the holiday season I spend way too much time listening to whatever radio station is playing (mostly crappy) Christmas music whenever I am in my car...just hoping and waiting for them to play this song...

CHRISTMAS WRAPPING by THE WAITRESSES