Today's Finds

Geometric cloche by Lisa Lu

Vintage doll case from bellalulu

Handmade desert boots by BlueDrop

Handmade basket by Citizen London

Porcelain coffee cup by Jason Russell

Visit these awesome shops and give them some love.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! And happy Memorial Day to all my fellow compatriots. If you plan on celebrating in the traditional manner of backyard barbeques and day drinking, be safe. :)

House Update

I have a few new housey things to show you:

We ordered a bunch of herbs a while ago actually. We were waiting to plant them in the backyard after we had some people cut down a tree that was not in the best shape and prune a few others. (We suspected they might trample whatever was planted back there and thought it best to wait. Incidentally, that was wise foresight on our parts.) After that was done, we discovered our backyard is a favorite hangout for the neighborhood bunnies. They are so cute! But now we know we have to build some type of enclosure around the herbs unless we want them all to be eaten. It turns out everything I learned in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is true. They will eat everything.

For now, the herbs are living in the bay window. They've done well in their little containers so far, though the dill is looking a little sad. We might have to transfer them to bigger pots if they're going to stay inside.

Next is a pillow I ordered from Society6 designed by Emily Rickard. I love her colorful work so much. In her bio she writes, "I think people should be surrounded by art that makes them feel joyful!" I couldn't agree more, and her work does just that! I will probably be ordering more of her stuff in the future.

Now that I have my own Society6 shop, I wanted to test out the quality of their products. I've heard from people who ordered prints and phone cases, and everyone had positive things to say. But I hadn't heard anything about the pillows. The material is a bit stiffer than I thought it would be; Peter described it as "starchy." But as a throw pillow on the sofa, it's just fine. The print quality is excellent, and the colors are vibrant and true. By the way, Society6 is offering free shipping worldwide again till Sunday. They sure do love to offer free shipping over there, and I'm glad they do! I think I will take advantage of that myself this weekend when I have a bit of time to browse.

Last, but not least, is this adorable handmade bench by Etsy seller Signed & Numbered. We needed something just inside the back door to house the detritus that follows us in from the backyard (muddy shoes, watering can, etc.). I've mentioned before that our house is tiny; we don't have a mudroom or covered porch. I wanted something small and unobtrusive since this space is essentially in the dining room. A typical large entryway piece of furniture with coat hooks and cubbies wouldn't do here. I also wanted a pop of color because there's a lot of wood and neutrals already going on in this part of the house.

When I discovered Signed & Numbered and saw that they will make this bench in just about any color you can imagine, I knew instantly it would be the perfect solution. And it is! They also offer a couple levels of distressing in every color (and custom color combos). I'm not really into shabby chic or faux vintage, so I just opted for solid red. It's a really great shade of warm orangey red too.

I ordered the succulents you see on top of the bench from another Etsy seller, Sargeant Sailor. I was a little worried how they'd fare being shipped in a dark box all the way from CA, but so far they're doing ok. They'd probably perk up if we could have several sunny days. (It's been overcast and rainy here in DC a lot this May.) I also need to pot them properly as they're still in the plastic containers they were shipped in.

We have much more to do in this back half of the dining room. A lot of bloggers, maybe even most bloggers, wait to post photos until each room is decorated just the way they want it, but that's not really my style. I like to see progress shots along the way, and I think other people do too. I also resist the urge to only show perfect, "finished" corners of my home. That's not reality, at least that's not my reality. So with that in mind, here's a really rough sketch of what's planned for this back wall:

We are definitely painting the walls--we think a light grey--and have played around with the idea of painting the door too. There will be a glass cabinet on the right side of the door to display pottery, serving dishes, and other things we don't have room for in the kitchen. And there will be art, of course! After we've done everything else, I'll start focusing on details like changing out door hardware. But like I said, that's low on the priority list right now.

I've been looking at cabinets and sideboards, both vintage and new. It's challenging to find something with the right proportions for that small space. And, as is typical for me, everything I really love is way out of our budget. But I'm confident I'll be able to find something eventually I can live with that also doesn't clash horribly with the modern/industrial/rustic/mid-century thing we've already got going on in this space. That sounds like a horrible mishmash of styles when I write it out like that, but it's good, I promise.

So that's all for now! Our new chair for the living room is coming Friday, and we'll probably start testing paint colors soon. We're still undecided about whether we're going to paint ourselves or hire painters. We got an estimate from one company that was $750 for the living room/dining room, which is way more than I want to spend. Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

Anyone else in the midst of decorating chaos? Feel free to share links in the comments. I'd love to see what other people are doing in their homes/apartments. xo, Mary

Shop update!

Here are a few new things I've added to my Etsy shop:

Popsicle dream notebook

Blue daisy brooch

Peach daisy brooch

Aqua blue daisy brooch

I'm working on a few other things; it's been so cloudy/rainy lately that it's been a struggle to get good photos. But hopefully, I'll be able to list them at some point this week.

What are you guys making?

Today's Finds

One of the reasons I started this blog years ago was to share and help promote fellow artists, handmade and vintage sellers, and indie shops. The blog world can be a cliquey place, and some of the largest blogs tend to stick to their favorites (or sponsors paying to be featured) and ignore a world of awesomeness out there. So I'm going to get back to featuring more of my favorite finds on a regular basis. If you're a fan of Instant Art Collection, I'll still be doing those too, just intermixed with other handmade objects and vintage things. So without further ado, here are today's finds:

Postcard from typescale

Ombre silk shirt from xsilk

Vintage industrial lamp from EarthSeaWarrior

Porcelain bottle vases from Foekje Fleur

Golden wool felt coasters from Cotton & Flax

What better way to start off the weekend, right? xo, Mary

New Things, Blue Things, and Old Things Too

We are still making little improvements on the house, one room at a time, while sticking to our fairly small budget. We've made one big purchase, a chair for the living room, which I'll blog about when it arrives. In the meantime, here are a few glimpses of progress.

We finally got around to hanging our prints from Elsa Mora in the little blue room. We still aren't sure what to call this room. Sometimes, it's "the library" because the opposite two walls are lined with overflowing bookcases. And sometimes, it's just the "blue room."

We aren't finished in here yet. I will probably change that table, as it's too traditional for my taste right next to the very old rocking chair, which came from my great grandparent's house (or possibly older?) so obviously, the chair stays. Actually, the table came from my grandmother's house and is probably old as well, but not "family heirloom" old. I might try to find another place in the house for it. It's challenging to mix family pieces in with more modern furniture, which is really more my style, while also incorporating little treasures picked up here and there. But I think we're doing ok so far. (Designing was so much easier in school when I could make a space from scratch, without history and attachment.)

That little elephant on the table came from India. A friend of Peter's brought it back for him a few years ago (she is Vietnamese and married an Indian man...they went to India on their honeymoon to visit his family). I believe elephants are good luck in India if their trunks are up, like this little guy. Someone told me that in India they have festivals to honor the Hindu god Ganesha, the elephant god, to bring about good fortune. I love to hear about traditions like that.

If you'd like to see detail shots of these prints and read more about them, I wrote about them here.

A couple of new pieces of pottery (bought several months ago at a vintage shop) lined up with other older things on our entryway table. The two on the far right came from a trip to Spain about seven or eight years ago. The one with the dandelion in the middle was a birthday gift (several years ago) from Peter, bought in a local shop in Arlington that's now closed. We were sad to see it go because the owner (a Japanese man from San Francisco who we got to know a bit) stocked great art, housewares, all sorts of stuff in a tiny shoebox-sized store. He was here in northern Virginia to take care of his ailing mother, and he would skype every afternoon on a laptop in the store with his daughter back in SF. She was really cute.

We used to know a lot of shop owners and restaurant workers in our old neighborhood, which is something I miss. Many of them are gone now, and we are too, moved further out to the suburbs where there's less of a "this is my block" kind of feeling...but I digress.

Here are the two recent additions: tiny little mid-century vessels that are so cute, don't you think? I kept carrying them around the store while I tried to convince myself not to buy them. After all, we have too many pieces still packed away and not enough places to display them. But there was no avoiding it; they had to come home with me.

I love that they are very different pieces but both have the same opening.

I also moved some things around on the mantel, but for some reason, I only took a photo of this side. So anyway, here are things you've seen before just rearranged. I love those silhouettes.

Last, but not least, is the new bistro set for the patio. Peter wasn't sold on buying a bistro set, but the bright, modern blue color won him over. It's such a good color! Also, the price could not be beat (I think the whole set was on sale for $87 from Target). Plus, they are very heavy, solid pieces; I'm guessing each chair probably weighs 20 lbs. They fold flat for storage, though because they are so heavy, I think they'll be fine left out in all but the most severe of storms. And the powder-coated steel is weather-proof and requires no maintenance (music to my lazy ears).

So, that's the progress for now. Hopefully, I'll have another progress post in a couple of weeks!

Flickr Favorites

(Click on images to go directly to sources.)

Happy weekend, everyone. xo, Mary

Scenes from Life + New Prints

We've had rain for days, and I'm being unabashedly pouty about it. I know rain is necessary for plants or something, but I don't like it and I'm not apologizing. ;)

I've been editing recent photos from sunnier days and doing my best to drown out the incessant tap tapping on the window with music and off-key singing...which works, sort of. (There may have also been bad dancing combined with off-key singing once or twice, but there's no evidence and I'll deny it.)

Several of these photos are available as prints (and phone cases, pillows, greeting cards, etc.) in my society6 shop, and I'm offering free shipping (on anything they'll let me) till Sunday.

Also, I get asked a lot where my photos are taken; these were all taken in Alexandria, VA close to where I live. I've also been asked "What's the deal with the stars on the sides of buildings?" You see these stars a lot on row houses in older cities; they are end caps (sort of decorative washers) to tie rods that run crosswise through the building and provide structural support. The metal tie rods were used in masonry construction (i.e. brick row houses) to keep the walls from leaning or bowing out. Alexandria was founded in 1749, and most of these houses are really really old, so you still see odd architectural elements here and there.

Apparently, it is a trend today to buy these metal stars, which you can find at antique shops, or new stars made to look old, and use them as decorative elements. Sometimes, I think it's a little silly when people try to make new architecture look old...especially doing "faux" architectural elements. But at the same time, I guess there's something nice about preserving tradition and holding on to a bit of our past.

What do you think?

Bits of April

Flowers inside and out. The tulips in the top left pic just popped up in the middle of the yard one day, no idea how that happened. Pink and white blossoms on trees in my favorite park. And brooches I made.

Weather that made no sense as evidenced by these outfits. We went from winter, to spring, to summer, and back to spring all in one week. (Btw, wearing shorts in April is just unnatural.)

We bought some cute pots and a watering can at IKEA. Went shopping for house plants and ordered seeds for the yard (sunflowers and herbs to start). And cleaned up the yard a lot. We finally dug up the remaining concrete supports left from the previous owner's garden shed (and by "we" I mean Peter obvi), and we found some treasures buried nearby, like this handmade turtle. It has the name "Thara" carved on the underside and reminds me so much of sweet things I made in elementary school. We are keeping it, of course.

Easter candy treats when I was sick...actually still sick mostly. Took a walk on a sunny day. I don't know if you can see clearly in the photo but i love when stoops have these cutouts underneath, like a little tunnel. The prettiest pouch I ordered from Ayla. And I love the light and shadows that come into the living room/dining room late in the day.

We're hoping to get a lot of stuff done on the house in May, so stay tuned. :)