mahvelous mahket day

Finally...a weekend that felt like summer here in the Pacific Northwest! I love nothing more on a sunny Saturday than to browse my local farmer's market. I find that more and more recently, I am appreciating the beauty in things as simple as fresh green asparagus, or dazzling-ly red strawberries. It is artwork more complex and beautiful - not to mention functional - than I could ever create.

We call it "Gus" around our house. We adore it. A little olive oil, salt and pepper, grill it for just a few minutes. I'm getting hungry!

And if you weren't hungry before, surely you are now. Look at this red delicious-ness!

and peonies...you know I love peonies. I bought a couple more bunches of them Saturday...some for me, some for my mom (who's recovering from surgery for colon cancer).

yum...cherries!

...and when peonies are only $5 for a large, glorious bunch - why wouldn't you indulge?

sooo purty

But, as always, I find myself drawn to truly artistic and creative vendors. This is one of my favorites.

Little Brown House Herbary sells...you guessed it...herbs! On Saturday the herbs were buy one plant, get one free. Woohoo!

 Above are sweet little bath salts that seller Linda Taylor made herself from her own herbs.

But what I liked more than the great herb deals, was the way that seller Linda Taylor used her artistic talents in creating a charming little space in which to sell her herbs. Above, my favorite thing at the whole farmer's market - which, sadly, was not for sale - was this table cloth she made for her space using burlap bags. I'll admit, I was swooning over it a bit. I told her she should sell them at the farmer's market too - she'd make a killing!

You can see Linda's artistic talent on this great chalkboard she made out of an old frame. I love it when people don't just use chalkboards to communicate information, but they do it in a way that's beautiful, too. Look at all the flowers she drew on the sign! I love to see people who care about making things not only funtional, but aesthetically pleasing, too. It makes a big difference to me.

And here's Linda herself...isn't she cute? She and her husband Jim are two of the nicest people, and she was very sweet to let a perfect stranger take her picture. I kinda felt like I wanted to come back every week just to visit with them! That's one of the cool things about the Farmer's Market. Somehow I just don't feel the same about going to the grocery store.

Can you say "YUMMY"?!

mmmmm......

And ya know, only at the farmer's market are you invited to sample the cherries before you buy them! Love it.

What about you? Do you shop at farmers' markets?

friday's fab finds: loving violet

Today, just for fun, I thought I'd feature some fab finds in lovely shades of violet. Purple, lavendar, lilac...call it what you wish...but the color is romantic, elegant, a little moody, and unique. It's not the most common color to decorate with, or even to wear, and I think that's why it's always appealed to me. Combined with grey or silver the effect is stunning. It's feminine, but not too girly.

mystic orchards...fine art photo print from leapinggazelle

This print is so lovely and sort of surreal. I love the muted shades of violet in this print of orchids. I actually found several prints in this shop that were lovely and purpley all at the same time. In fact, I'm sort of in love with all the prints they offer, even the ones that aren't purple. There are too many I like to feature here.

lilac hair pins from miabeads

Can I get an "Awww!"?  Finally, cute hair pins that I probably wouldn't even let my daughters wear, because they'd be on my own head first. These are so sweet and colorful and elegant. And I love the three colors they are selling together.

cherry blossoms on gray print by luckybluebirdart

Okay, now I realize this one is not purple at all. But I mentioned earlier that the combination of purple and gray is just stunning, and here's a perfect example. This print would fit just about any interior because it's fairly neutral...yet it really sets off the violets in this post well too. I like the more graphic representation of the popular cherry blossoms. This shop carries a lot of other graphic prints that bring simple but styling bursts of color to your walls. You should check them out.

By the Pond original acrylic on canvas by sandinthesky

I love, love, love this and I LOVE the chance to own original artwork. This one is well-priced for its size (and it's on sale through Father's Day!). It is just so restful and beautiful to me, and could fit with traditional, contemporary, or modern decor. Whatever floats your boat. So lovely.

le cadeau ideal necklace by thatjewelrygirl

I hope you're not getting bored with my constantly including jewelry by etsy seller thatjewelrygirl. I just can't help myself! Her pieces are one-of-a-kind, so there's always something fresh in her shop. This neclace could be pink...could be purple...but for sure is GOR-geous!

lilac flowers - set of 6 custom rhinestone notecards by NestInk

Do you like that? How I threw in one of my own products in an act of shameless self-promotion? But really...look at the colors...I designed this gray-and-lavendar notecard several months ago, and as I was putting together my gray-and-purple post today, a lightbulb went off, and I thought...hey! I have the perfect find in my own shop! I've never included my own things in my Friday's Fabulous Finds before, and I don't intend to do it often. But in this instance, it fit perfectly. 'Nough said.

That's it for today, folks. Here in Portland we are praying for SUN and the weather report says we just might get it! We are giddy with excitement. I hope you have a lovely weekend too.

Fab Finds...celebrating summer!

rainbow pillow cover by meringuedesigns

The weather here in Portland, Oregon has been G.L.O.O.M.Y. After teasing us two weeks ago with summer-like weather, everything changed and has been stormy and cold ever since. I think we are now having the winter that we never really had. So I'm going to do my best to combat the situation by thinking about Summer, dreaming about Summer, and even shopping for Summer. (Or at least window-shopping for summer!) To me, summer is all about flowers, bright colors, and America's favorite pastime. Which isn't really my favorite pastime, but since my husband adores baseball...well, I've become a fan too. Since he now (drumroll please) subscribes to my blog...honey, there's even a find in here for you! (I'll give you a hint: it's NOT the paper flowers. As much as I'm sure you love paper flowers. What man doesn't?)

design-your-own bird and branches pillow cover

The three pillows in this post are all by meringuedesigns. I discovered this Etsy seller when reading LeAnn's blog, Vintage Sassy. LeAnn's got great style and I knew if she had a favorite Etsy source for pillows, it must be a good one. It is! Love all the pillows and covers at meringedesigns.

orange full bloom pillow cover

It's happy, bright, cheerful...it says summer to me!! Also by meringuedesigns.

paper mums from paperplatypus

The aforementioned paper flowers. Aren't they lovely? These would be great for a wedding, or garden party, or funky decor around the house. Paperplatypus has a wide variety of styles that are very detailed, yet not so realistic that they lose their funkiness. (Is that a word? It is now, I guess.) I'd attach these to stems and place in a vase, or glue them onto a blank canvas and make a 3-D art piece. Gorgeous!

The Game for All America baseball poster by eye4media

Ladies, bear with me for a moment. I'm going to talk baseball. In fact, you don't even have to bear with me...you could just scroll down to the next photo if you'd like. But for the .5% of my readers who are either 1) men or 2) care about baseball or 3) care about men who care about baseball, this gift idea is for you. Here's the history on this piece. For a long time, I've been stalking (I mean following) Anne Harwell's blog, Annechovie. You may remember her as being the one with the gorgeous chair artwork that I'm in love with (I own no less than eight tiny prints of hers). Her grandfather (who just recently passed away) was Ernie Harwell, the announcer for the Detroit Tigers for 42 years. Represented on this poster (created by Anne's brother and Ernie's grandson, Josh Harwell) is Ernie's poem that was his own special definition of baseball. The poster was created as a tribute both to him and the great game of baseball. Wouldn't it be a great gift for the baseball lover in your life? (Okay, honey...you can thank me later...I just mentioned the word "baseball" seven times in one post. Which will most likely never happen again, so enjoy it while it lasts!!) 

1776 glittered burlap banner by funkyshique

Moving onto the American holiday of Independence Day, which we celebrate on July 4. This banner by funkyshique has got to be one of my all-time favorite Fourth of July decorations I've ever seen! It is stenciled with "1776" and red, white and blue glittered stars at each end. We don't seem to talk a lot about the Revolutionary War, but that's where this country began, and I love both the history and the whimsical nature of this banner. For me, the combination of rough burlap + sparkly glitter = LOVE.

Also by funkyshique are these adorable gift bags. Each one is stenciled with a pink glittered cupcake. You get a set of four for $12. Aren't they the cutest? I had so much fun browsing in this shop. Funkyshique makes banners for just about every holiday, and I love every single one of them. I can't stand tacky holiday decor, and these are so NOT tacky. Even the St. Paddy's day banner is great! What I would really LOVE is the package where you can choose any 6 holiday banners for $100. How fun to have a cute banner you could pull out for each season or each holiday.

Happiness mug from brookish

Happy sighs. Finally, someone who loves Jane Austen and modern design, too. This mug would be a great way to celebrate any occasion and bears a quote from Pride and Prejudice, when Jane gets engaged to Mr. Bingley. What a great way to celebrate!

Half agony mug from brookish

"I am half agony, half hope." The other side of this mug displays the "half hope". In the words of seller brookish, "Any Persuasion fans out there? It's up there with P&P for me, although not as quotable. This however, is a mug-worthy line from Capt. Wentworth in his highly romantic letter to Anne Elliot." Jane Austen again provides the language for this lovely mug. As a mom of three little ones, I'd say this mug pretty much describes how I begin each day. ;-)

bridesmaids neclace by mollusa

And last, but not least, this necklace struck me as gorgeous. It's listed as being for bridesmaids, but it would be lovely to wear to any event this summer that calls for that extra special touch to your wardrobe. Etsy seller mollusa makes gorgeous clutches, hairpins, and jewelry, all with these fabulous handmade flower touches. Great for wedding parties, but lovely for special occasions too.

There you have it! You know, a funny thing happened as I was writing this post. As I wrote about summer, and things that remind me of summer, my spirits lifted. Just a little. Maybe yours will too?

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

friday's fabulous finds...vintage-inspired finds for the home

Hi friends! It's Friday...what better time to bring back my Friday's Fabulous Finds posts? This week I'm focusing on some of the great home decor you can find on Etsy...not much more rhyme or reason to it than that, just things that are speaking to me at the moment. I noticed after the fact that most of it is vintage-inspired. Funny story...someone who doesn't know me very well asked me last night if I like vintage. I just laughed and said "Do I like vintage??" I didn't know what else to say, for some reason it just struck me as funny. Because I looooove vintage. Anyway, check out these fun finds and their lovely shops on Etsy.

set of three suitcase tables, by lovenostalgicwhimsy

Somehow these vintage suitcases have almost managed to take on a life of their own! They are so whimsical and sweet. I almost want to name them and make them my pets. But I would settle for using them as end tables instead.

designer pillow cover by aggieray

This pillow is just so happy and cheerful, I can't get over it! Plus it combines my favorite turqoise with yellow, a happy color I'm incorporating into my living room accessories this spring.

blue nigthstand/end table by TheVintageBarn

Oh my. Vintage. Blue. Original hardware. Need I say more?

square linen pillow cover, by inklingprints

I can't get enough of linen these days, it seems. Loving the deep turquoise print on this one.

vintage textiles banner trio, by mokeypuzzle

These banners kind of make me swoon. I wouldn't need an event or reason to display them. They're just plain cute and I'd display them everyday.

hand-painted linen table runner by TheCraftyHome

This is the perfect spring accessory for my dining room table. This one is created by Jen, who blogs over at Sanctuary Art. Jen was one of my very FIRST friends in blogland. I've been so happy to see her expanding her already flourishing artistic business by selling on Etsy and I love giving her a shout-out, not only because I think her runner (and her whole shop) is fabulous, but because I consider her a friend. :-)

There you go...feast your eyes and your wallets on this loveliness. Happy Spring!

on my wishlist...beautiful calendars

Having just repainted my kitchen, I've been looking for a wall calendar that I'm not embarrassed to have on my kitchen wall. You know, one without cats or muscle cars or anything like that. (No offense if you love cat calendars or muscle cars...sorry.) Well, I've finally found a perfectly gorgeous one! Check this out from Paper Source.

Each month displays a different piece of artwork that just so happens to have a small calendar on it. I love that it's more art than calendar. Of course, you can always trust me to prefer form over function (in my personal life, that is...I try not to make my clients suffer in this way!).

But for a second choice, I could easily go with this one, also from Paper Source:

All the nostalgic images from Italy are really fun...especially since I have a bit of a soft spot for Italia. They also offer a New York calendar, with vintage travel posters, and a vintage Paris calendar. But if none of these are your style, check out this one:

It's full of prints of vegetable drawings from the 19th century. Kinda kitchen-y and cool. And for my more romantically-inclined friends, look at this one:

Aren't these botanical illustrations beautiful? Celebrating flowers without being fussy. I really like that.

Anyway, every calendar above is from Paper Source. You might browse through their complete selection - I just think they are all lovely.

my craftiness (in more ways than one!)

Just a quick post...checking in with nothing to say, really...but I went to Michael's yesterday and bought just a few things. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to buy crafty things, but how difficult to actually DO something with them? For me that's the case, anyway. I find if I don't follow my vision right away for the things I purchase, they just get tossed in a closet to possibly never get used...or at least not for what I originally intended them, anyway. So I'll give you a little list, and you can try to guess what I'm going to use them for:

silver craft paint
rounded tip paint brush (about 1/2 inch)
white Martha Stewart coarse glitter w/ glittering glue

Here's another hint: there are two different projects represented here. Oh, I also selected some paint colors for my bathroom...and a new light fixture...and am going to schedule painting for next week. My husband will be out of town. Isn't that the best time to work on projects? Especially those that he might complain about the money spent on them. He'll just come home, and - voila! - I'm just sure the bathroom will look like it's from the pages of a magazine! (wink) At which point he will be so overcome by its beauty he will neglect to ask how much it cost. Hmm. If you know my husband at all, you will know this is a bit of a pipedream...but hey! A woman can dream, right??

sick kids...and retail therapy

Sometimes the best-laid plans...well, you know...they go pear-shaped, as my British friend Jane likes to say. I had intended to post yesterday...then first thing today...but you know, when your kid gets sick, everything else takes a back seat. It's nothing too serious - she got her immunizations yesterday and is having quite a fever in reaction to them - and she's still quite miserable. But to show you her personality - here she is, bundled up on the couch (because she's freezing), she was feeling miserable - but the minute I whipped out the camera, she whipped out her cheesy grin. Future Performers Unite!

***

On a different note, here's another tidbit from my vacation last week. While we were staying at Black Butte Ranch, we took a trip into the cute little Western-style town of Sisters, Oregon for some shopping and lunch. There are a lot of little antique stores, gift shops and art galleries in the town. Most of the shops have quite a country vibe to them...I appreciate bits and pieces of what they sell, but the overall style is not quite up my alley. Even though I've shopped in this town the last five summers in a row, I made a discovery this trip that made me SO happy - I discovered the cutest little shop called Wisteria Chic. They sell new and vintage items from textile designers. The owner, Debbi, has great taste! She sells a little bit of everything - really fun fabrics with a modern and whimsical flair; homemade throw pillows out of these fabrics (made by the store owner herself!) fun trims and ribbons; cute gift items, sweet aprons and all kinds of items for kids and the home. Here are a few things I picked up:

Handmade pillow cover w/ down insert, made by Debbi (owner of Wisteria Chic) - $28

raw silk pillow w/ beadwork...50% making it $14.95 - when the owner heard me trying to convince my husband, she said she'd sell it to me for $10 'cause it was the last one! Who can pass that up?


and then a few random items...The Preschooler's Busy Book which is 365 crafty ideas to keep your little ones busy, using mostly items you find around your house. And then, two large sheets of paper I'm really excited about...one is covered with chairs (!) in light orange/pink, the other is covered with chandeliers (on the aqua background). Both have a hand-drawn look and I'm planning to either frame them, or use them to back the built-in cupboards in my dining room.

Woohoo! There's nothing like a little retail therapy - especially when you're on vacation! I highly recommend you check out Wisteria Chic next time you're in the quaint little town of Sisters, Oregon.

Paper Love: Paper Source

Just a quick post, since the day's half over...I just found out that my favorite paper/craft resource, Paper Source, is opening a store in my city! While this is extremely dangerous for me, it is also cause for great rejoicing. If you live anywhere near Portland, Oregon, mark your calendars for August 16. They'll be having a Grand Opening event in their new store, located on NW 23rd (of course! that's one of our swankiest districts).

In the meantime, for everyone else out there, I highly recommend you check out their sale. This is the last week of it and many of their items are up to 75% off...random papers, envelopes, cards, etc. For someone like me who loves paper, this is great. They also have a few letters like this one above. Get this: they are bare steel, 15" tall, originally $52 but on sale for $13. Hello! I just bought one. But I have to warn you: they don't have many left, so you may not find the letter you want. It's worth checking out, though!