Very Sarie

Breathtaking street art

Last weekend my sweetie and I were down in Culver City doing a little shopping and we discovered some pretty incredible street art. These two pieces simply took my breath away. They are massive and extraordinary. If anyone recognizes the signature in the last photo, please let me know. I would love, love, love to know more about this artist!

If you live in the LA area you can check them out yourself too- They're right off the metro stop at Venice Blvd in Culver City. Worth the field trip!  

Thrifted

Thrifting is one of my favorite things to do. Yes, there are a lot of great flea markets around here- and those are fun- but there's just something about combing through a bunch of junk. Yes junk. And spotting that little treasure buried or hiding just out of site. Looking a little out of place on the cluttered shelves under the harsh fluorescent lighting. Your heart beats a little faster, and you know you've found something to welcome home. It doesn't hurt when the price tag says $1.50 either. That's really what makes it thrilling- and worth the hunt.

I've been having trouble finding my go-to stores in LA. Minneapolis residents- I can tell you right now that Unique thrift in Columbia Heights will never let you down. They even separate "vintage" clothing into it's own area, with prices that are truly thrift store prices. I can't tell you how many gorgeous old lady coats I scored there- including a full length mink in mint condition for $30. (My rule is real fur is ok if it's older than me. I could have done nothing to stop it's creation and at this point I'm saving it from the landfill.) The Salvation Army off of 10th in downtown Minneapolis is pretty good too. My ultimate piece from there is a danish modern hutch picked up for $150. You heard me. Anything close to it that I've seen out here goes for about 4 grand. Yep. The bottom floor is also all overstock and sample pieces from Target headquarters- so that's a bonus. Two stores in one!

Anywho- Last week I did a run to about 6 different stores in the valley and I think I finally found at least one that's not a million miles away and seems to hold some promise. Here are the treasures I swooped up:

Japaneese teapot with 5 cups: 6.95

5 Silver ombre rimmed low balls: 3.95

Wooden spool shaped candlesticks: 1.95

Glass cocktail shaker with recipe graphics: 2.95

Brass mail holder: 2.00

And my favorite- Heart shaped brass box: 5.00. It was pretty dingy, but I polished it up and it's real purdy now!

So get out there- find your own treasures! Make your space unique! Unless you're a germ-a-phob. In which case you will not like thrifting. At all!

Non recipe recipe: Brussel Sprouts

For years I thought I didn't like brussel sprouts. (Maybe you can relate?) Turns out, I just never had experienced them cooked properly. The same thing happened to me with steak. My Dad is of the opinion you cook it until it is a shriveled black puck. I will never, ever forget the first time a friend cooked me a perfectly done medium rare steak. It was life changing- not joking. I digress.

The sprouts: This is one of those things you impress your friends and family members with because it's not recipe cooking. Really. It's throwing things together with the ease of someone who's got their grove on in the kitchen. No recipe cards, no cookbooks, no ipads. (yeah, I cook with my ipad.)

Take your brussel sprouts- maybe you have a pound. Maybe more, maybe less. Cut the bottoms off and then cut into halfs or quarters- I prefer quarters. It's ok if some leaves fall off. Those are the ones that are going to get extra crispy in the oven. Put them in a bowl. Pour a few glugs of olive oil over top (or melted butter or coconut oil) then season with salt and pepper and stir.

 

Spread the sprouts out on a baking sheet and pop them into an oven that has been heated to 400 degrees. Cooking time varies on how done you like them. Still fresh and green? About 20 minutes. More crispy, carmelized and brown? 40 minutes. Play around. Find out what you like. (Me, I like them on the carmelized, crispy side.)

 

Now this is the part that I think makes the difference. Once you put them in the oven, stir them up every 10 minutes. I even turn the pan around. I used to just give the pan a shake once or twice, but I discoved that I would end up with some that were too done, some that weren't enough done, and then just a few that were kind of perfect. This way gives me consistent results every time.

 

Now go- fall in love with those brussel sprouts! You won't regret it!

an office ottoman redo

I can hardly wait to show you my dining room turned office. I've been busy at work making it gorgeous and I'm pretty sure it's going to be my most favorite working space to date. It's the one room that Craig has absolutely no say in, so I'm taking it just a little girly. Actually- he's not entirely to blame. I do tend to mix in quite a bit of masculinity in my spaces, but when I can, I love to play up the feminine too!

Although the office isn't done yet, I did want to share this DIY that is turning out to be the punctuation mark on the room.

I've had these stools for, no joke at least 10 years. I'm sure longer. They were a clearance score from Target, and I've threatened to rid myself of them several times, but it's nice to have the extra little kick of storage under the seat. The before image actually makes them look WAY better than they were in person. The wood grain was actually a printed contact paper like surface. The tops, yes, were ok, but totally boring. I added the leather trim a long time ago to jazz things up a bit, but overall they just looked cheap and tired. 

I've also had this fabric for forever and a day. Anyone who lives in Minneapolis knows the dangers of S.R. Harris and how it's easy to get swept up in a flurry of home interior fabric sales, then go home and realize you have no idea what to do with 5 yards of this fabulous, yes, but totally bold floral. Especially if you live with a guy, that shit ain't going to fly. When I lived alone for awhile it was the backdrop to my closet office, so I suppose it's apropos that it's landing in my office again.

I am beyond THRILLED with how these turned out and can't wait to show you the rest of the room! A no cost solution (literally) that is making all the difference!

Muchas Gracias

At the beginning of the year I was contacted by Meghan Kirpatrick of Sweet Heirloom photography to create some custom tags for her very own wedding in Mexico. Meghan is one half of the dynamic duo of Sweet Heirloom and their wedding photos are just superb.

I love the way the custom hand lettered muchas gracias tags turned out! Be sure to check out my ready made tags here too. And, as always I love to do custom requests!

new life for an old throw

Ah moving...one of those times in life where we get rid of the old, welcome the new and rediscover things forgotten. Case in point: these pillows I made from a vintage afghan.







I made these when I lived in Minnesota and actually never used them. It was shortly before I moved to California, and they got packed up into a box and forgotten about. I still love them, but one of the reasons they never got unpacked is because they're not really a favorite of Craig's. I'm enamored by vintage afghans- I love the colors and patterns, and imagine the stories of their creation. Where long hours spent crocheting to make the perfect gift for someone? Was this a first project that started a lifelong love of crafting? Or one of a long series of projects simply inspired by a particular color of yarn? Craig just sees them as "granny." I get it, and there are other things I would rather fight for. So the pillows get put away.

I'm actually thinking of adding them to my etsy shop. I have several other afghans I would love to change into pillows and lately I've been contemplating a mix of things I've designed + found vintage items + items repurposed from vintage items for the shop. What do you think? Would you love some throw pillows made from vintage afghans?

so I bought a farmhouse table

Last weekend we bought our first piece of furniture for the new house. A GINORMOUS farmhouse table. I knew I wanted one- I'm turning what would be the small dining room off of the kitchen into my office, so wanted a dining area in the front room. I knew a big farmhouse table would be perfect there. (I'm imagining long drawn out dinner parties in front of the fireplace with wine that never ends...)

Let me tell you, this table is something. Besides the fact that it weighs about 20 tons, it can comfortably seat 10- what?! So yeah, a bit bigger than I had intended, but let me tell you why. We saw several tables, they were all beautiful but oh so expensive. (I've also had my eye on this one from West Elm.) When I walked up to this table and inquired about the price I thought IF he says something for $1000 or less we can talk. (that was a big if though.) Imagine my surprise when he said $450. My play it cool face kicked in. Of course I tried to talk him down. Of course he looked at me like I was a fool...so it was ours- for $450. It's a bit darker than I wanted, but down the road I'm thinking about giving it a good sanding to make it look a tad more rustic.

Now...how to fill out the rest of the room. My plan was to put the white Eames chairs you see in the photos on the ends, have metal farmhouse chairs on one side (these ones from overstock are a steal) and a bench on the fireplace side. Unfortunately the white chairs don't tuck under the table, and with the length of the table, it just gets too long having them on the ends. So they need to live someplace else (sad face.) Those yellow chairs however, which I had no intention of keeping in this room may just go on the ends for a pop of color. I'm still planning on getting 4 metal chairs for the window side, but my dilemma is white or antique metal. (What do you think?!) On the fireplace side I'm also still planning on a bench (or two shorter benches) but I'm thinking about building my own. I found some reclaimed wood on Craigslist for cheap and think the benches would look great with some vintage hairpin legs. Craig says he doesn't like the thought of me operating a circular saw, but I say to heck with that! (He followed it up with "well, when I have to break up with you because you have no fingers don't say I didn't tell you so. He kids. I hope.) 

Here is some of the original inspiration I pinned for the room:

After chairs, my next challenge is figuring out how to style an 8 foot by 4 foot table top for everyday. Thoughts?

pinner to follow: Nordic House

I just discovered Nordic House on pinterest and I'm loving the simple, neutral environments and vignettes highlighted on their boards. 

Some day I would love to live in a simple all white space- although I'm sure it would be a distaster with our rambunctious pup! (She sure would look pretty in the photos though!) 

Check out all of Nordic House's pins here

the home of sara and julius

"What?" That's all I could say when I saw these images of Sara and Julius' 18th century flat in Sweden over on French by Design. I love the perfectly imperfect curated feel, the limited palette, and the mix of modern and vintage pieces. 

The thought of having my clothing and shoes out on display normally would horrify me because really, I'm tend to be a little bit of a slob with my closet. But seeing this wardrobe elevated as objet de'art may just change my mind... 

 

Happy, Happier, Happiest

I know, I know. I've been absent. So I wanted to pop in to let you know I'll be out for probably a few more days. I'm moving in 2 days and have packed hardly a thing and just spent the last two days in Chicago for a project. So yeah, it's a little cray cray around here. 

I did want to wish everyone a very happy Valentine's day though and urge you to go check out Kate Spade's cards on paperless post to dash off those last minute notes to all those that fill your life with joy.

I loved this happy, happier, happiest one, and thought I could share the happy thoughts I have today amid the chaos around here.

I'm happy to be living in LA.
I'm happier that I'm here to be with my Sweetie.
I'm happiest that we're starting a new life together in a new home in just a couple of days.