Noreaster

I had hoped to update my blog before the holidays with before and after photos as well as updates on the crafty christmas we have been having over here but time has run out and we are off to visit Richard's people on Cape Cod. We will be in NYC for a few days first and I am going to take a lot of photographs of all the super gorgeous window installations. I am hoping I have a little time to post some of the best of these photographs while we are in NYC but if not tune in for the big update when we get back. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Well, after more than a week of slowly trimming the tree we finally finished it. I don't think it has ever taken that long to trim a tree in the history of tree trimming but we think it turned out great. Here are a few shots of our little tree and of course our holiday friends. I am uploading a lot of other detail shots on flickr if you want to see more.

The photo above is of one of my childhood holiday deer. I love this little guy. He still looks hot.


For the past few years this has been the star for our tree. I have no idea who made it or where it's from but I love it. My two favorite parts are the look on the top elf's face and all of the green glittery elf arms.



Working on finishing curtains tomorrow. (if my sewing machine decides to work with me)

That's all for now!

teapot part two

Here are more realistic candidates courtesy of ebay.

teapots

In an effort to waste more time today I decided to obsess on teapots. I guess it has been an ongoing obsession but today I am having a hard time concentrating on work so I decided to devote extra time to searching for teapots. Above you will see my current tea set up. It is really quite sad. I have been half heartedly looking for a cute teapot to replace my current situation but it hasn't been easy. I have always thought that teapots should be a little bit crazier or decorative or sillier than other items that you might bring to a table so it makes the search harder. Today I found a few on this Russian website and I thought I would share them. I feel like I might be on the right track but I could also be grasping at garish teapots because I am having trouble concentrating on work. I'm not totally convinced. So far the one at the top is my favorite. Maybe the second one....

tree prep and trimming

Here is the first look at the tree we chose for the holiday's. As you can see this photo was taken in the shower. I don't think I've ever washed a tree before but it seemed like the thing to do so we did it.

It took a few days to start the tree trimming process and we weren't able to finish before Richard left for Miami Basel so I have to wait for his return to finish the tree or to post pictures of said tree with even partial trimming. I promised. This is is a tough promise to keep because it looks so cute! But he gets back on Sunday so I should be able to start the week with a fully trimmed tree.

The apartment is looking so cute right now! I will upload some pictures when we have nice enough light to take some. Everything is overcast and rainy today. I am so glad that I have hot chocolate with marshmallows to keep me going.

holiday spirit

we are busy getting into the holiday spirit over here. new posts to follow.

between thanksgiving and christmas

I think that November was the fastest month ever. With just a few more days til December I am trying to figure out how I can squeeze more hours into a day. I might have to start getting up at 5:30 just to stay on top of things. Anyway...Thanksgiving was great. My parents drove up from the central valley and I had a few friends who joined us as well. I am sad to say that I wasn't able to get great photos of the table because I was too busy overcooking the turkey.

I am posting up to date photos of the apartment. We just picked up our tree so we will start the holiday decorating in a few more days but here is a little in between holiday progress. We have hung a lot more art and finally dug our way out of almost all of the boxes. You can't see them in these photos but they are totally there.




If you want to see some before photos you can check them out here in the archives. We still need curtains and a million other things but for now we have a space where we can sit and work on things or just relax. It feels like it is really coming together. I have a lot of detail shots that I uploaded on flickr if anyone wants to see close-ups of our stuff.


We are also fine tuning the office and I am posting a couple of those photos.

more later....have a great Thursday!

catch up

I have been trying to catch up on everything from my blog to my after thanksgiving apartment and it hasn't been easy. I wanted to post something so I am leaving you with a few new friends we found at the flea market on Sunday and decided we couldn't live without. I am also posting a few random scenes from the flea that I liked enough to photograph. I will do a proper apartment post once I have better pictures. It has been nearly impossible to find time!

this almost looks like a painting but it is made like a quilt

a marble fawn

cute little girl

I am working on a more thorough post for later in the day. I can't believe the month is over and I am this far behind....crazy.

happy thanksgiving!

monday

The last few days have been really busy. I have been trying to make time for a good post but I think it is going to have to wait a little longer. We have agreed to have Thanksgiving here for my parents and the apartment isn't quite ready so I have been up early and doing all sorts of organizing, hanging more art, cleaning, sewing curtains etc. I took progress photographs yesterday but it was overcast and none of the pictures have enough light. I am going to try to re-shoot them today. In the mean time here is picture of Richard's studio chair from L.A.. We've decided to keep it here with us but it needed a bath first.

Have a great Monday!

Holiday sale

While we were in Los Angles our friend Cupcake gave me the most adorable ring that she had made. It is a photo of Grizzly bears that she saw on a recent trip. I am posting a photograph of the ring and also a photograph of an invite to an amazing holiday craft event that she hosts every year. If you are living in the L.A. area and want to see truly inspired pieces by local artists this is the place to be!

Where is the month going?

Richard and I drove down to Los Angeles over the weekend to patch and prime his old apartment. We had thought of keeping the place so we would have a little spot to go when in LA but in the end Richard said his final goodbyes to both his apartment and his studio. I am posting photos of the before and after but we didn't really paint we just patched and primed the walls so while it was a dramatic change and a very long day it may not appear so in the photos.

While we were there we had the chance to see the Murakami exhibit at the MOCA. I have never been able to call myself a huge fan of Murakami but after seeing the show I have to say I really loved it. I heard that you couldn't take photos but I was able to find a few photos this morning on Fecal Face and Riott. You can also go to the Moca site and watch video of Murakami talking about his work. If you have the chance to see it you should try to make it. I am really hoping I have the opportunity to see the show again before it comes down in February.

Happy Tuesday!

One more little wall

I bought this great map years and years ago. I used it as a window treatment for my bedroom when I was living in Brooklyn. Since I've been back in California I've had to store it..until now. Welcome back Polar Air Age Map. I missed you!

happy kitchen

I occurred to me today that I haven't really posted good before and after shots of the kitchen. I did a little work in there today so I wanted to post a few good pictures. I am really proud of the kitchen as it was the hardest to stay optimistic about. Make sure to take a good look at the before pictures.

As you can see from the before picture I had to strip paint off of the glass cabinet doors. We also replaced the above sink cabinet with two red Ikea shelves. The stripping took a long time. Just looking at this picture makes my hand start to cramp up in the shape of a shrimp.

We were really lucky with the Wedgwood stove. The stove is gorgeous and works great but I think it may have to go. I need something a lot smaller so that I can actually work in my kitchen. If you know anyone who wants a gorgeous Wedgwood stove please have them contact me via email. I am so torn but ultimately I need more space and less stove.



There was a lot of cleaning and priming and painting. I am including an action shot of Richard painting behind the stove. That was super nasty. Those of you who have been reading from the beginning of this project know that the apartment wasn't exactly clean when we got here. The kitchen was by far the worst. I will spare you the details but I was afraid of the kitchen for a while if that tells you anything.

Another little project was the former ironing board area. We have very little space for food storage so Richard turned our ironing board area into a tiny cupboard.YAY!

I am going to work on posting some detail shots of the kitchen on Flickr later.

Thanks for looking!