Hand-Painted Lovelies

I was browsing one of my regular reads, Bloesem, when one of her ads actually caught my eye.  She always posts the most unique and beautiful things.  So I clicked on the link, and found the piece that had caught my eye, this adorable Victorian Row House storage container.

I put it in my cart and contemplated where I could use it in my house, then I went to default, when I can't justify buying it for myself and thought, "Who I could buy it for?" (Because gifts don't really count when you're spending money, right?)  Then I remembered one reason I started this blog.  Because I don't have a lot of space left in my house, so instead of buying the cute things I see, I could start posting them for others to see and enjoy.

So, happily, and with animal shopper's instinct under control, I continued to browse and found these other hand-painted fabulous finds.  Perhaps I can tempt you to purchase one for your home...or maybe you could buy it as a gift!

images via bookou

The Yellow Wallpaper

Okay---here it is.....the dreaded classroom with the yellow wallpaper.  Please tell me if I'm being overly dramatic, but can you imagine being able to pay attention in this room?

Here's a close up of the windowless room.

And here you can see how the back wall is nicely slanted in so that if feels like it's closing in on you!!!

Now, I would hate for anyone to think that I'm opposed to wallpaper.  You can check out this past post to see some examples of good wallpaper.

School's in!

Well, it's officially back to school for me this week as teaching started today and learning started last week (although I do just as much learning when I'm teaching, as I do when I'm supposed to be learning). And let me tell you, there were a few serious impediments to my learning last week! Stay tuned, and I will post a picture of the most horrific classroom I have ever seen!

I hope I won't be disappearing like I did last semester. I'm going to try to post at least once a week so my few blogging buddies don't forget all about me!
Hasta pronto.

Back in New York!

Who else is excited about Project Runway's return to NYC? I thought it was a pretty good show last night and I'm excited about some of the designers.

Two questions for you: what's the best part about them being back in NY?

And, which designer did you like best?

As far as design goes, I liked the winning garment:

But as far as personality goes, I really liked Anthony! He's hilarious!

What do you guys think?

A Garden For Your Feet

Maybe you don't have a green thumb, but with these slippers, you could have a green toe!

One of my friends just got a pair of the cutest slippers for her birthday and she sent me the link--Twinkle and Whimsy. I thought I would share them with you all because although they are indeed cutesy, I also think they are really cute! She got "Persimmon"

I also like Camelia,

Summer

Sun Lily

and Peony!

These delightful little slippers seem like they would cheer you up on a cold dreary day and make you think of Spring! Hope you enjoy.

Charlie Harper

Any Charlie Harper fans out there?

I'm becoming one.

I first noticed his art on a set of alphabet flash cards I bought at Anthropologie for a friend's baby. Now I see he was quite prolific.

Those of you with kiddies might want to get this book:

Just a thought.

On the brighter side

My last post was a little heavy, and now I'm kind of embarrased that I shared so much. So, this next post is a little "lighter".

In Florida for Christmas, my mother-in-law was inspired by my IKEA post. She decided that my gift would be to take me to that glorious heaven of Scandanavian design for the day (and not rush me like some people did!) and give me $100.00 to spend. What a great gift! The closest one to them is in Tampa, about an hour away.

The main thing I bought was this light which I'm planning on putting in our office (which will hopefully become our nursery one day).

So my question is this: is it weird to put a light like this in an office/bedroom? What do you design-junkies think?

The funny thing about our trip was that we took our time, looked at everything upstairs, ate lunch, looked at everything downstairs, and then when we had completely had our fill of IKEA, we got ready to go. We headed out to the car, parcels in hand, and I couldn't find my keys! So, we went back in, I went to lost and found (and those of you that have been there, know that there's no quick and easy way to get around--that place is HUGE!)

After finding no keys, and climbing onto the hood of my car to try to see if my keys were anywhere visible in the car, we got my brother-in-law to call Triple A to see if they would come (just hoping they were somehere in the car so my husband would not have to drive out an hour during rush hour traffic to bring me the spare key). We went back inside, got a frozen yogurt and a tray of cinnamon buns, and waited. Thankfully, when the Triple A man arrived and broke into our car, they were sitting just where I'd left them, underneath the IKEA catalog!!!

Needless to say, I got more than I ever wanted of IKEA--but we had a great time and we enjoyed our adventure together. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!