Ruthy's Birthday Sparkler

Ruthy's birthday is on friday and I am behind on her birthday...but that is okay it's going to be a week of activities and I have some fun plans ...one can only hope. Many details and pics to follow....but for now I have ordered her sparkler number for her cake which is always a hit and thought I would share this fun website where you too could grab yourself a sparkler plus all sorts of fun surprises...like their surprise balls which have vintage trinkets and fun little things that kids love! ps that sparkler is shaped in the number two...soooo fun!

party on here....http://topsmalibu.com/

Octopuses...the new owl???

We are obsessed with octopuses in our house hold and now of course I want to use them in my home decor.....here are a few inspirations. I love the octopus wallpaper for a bathroom.... I even used it on my business card for I love the analogy of needing eight tentacles to manage the everyday needs of life.

Rythmn in the Chaos

This sunday morning I must figure out how to reconfigure the little space I have now for my Ruthy and I. It is a talent and I am always looking for inspiration. We have had to downsize as many of us have had to do. Her room is literally the closet. I will be posting the progress and have fun figuring it out. It helps she picked out a great paint color for her space.

There is such fun in this picture...and there is nothing I love more than vintage with modern. There is a sense of organization without being too stuffy...and it certainly is inviting for those little people.

I am a total sucker for stripes and I love it here! More to come on my space for my girl and the fun I am having!

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

I had the privilege of taking my nephew Kane and my Ruthy to the museum the other day...they were NOT excited since I had assured them over and over again that there will be no live animals. They were most excited about the train ride there and that is what got them there but the art captured their attention and they it was hard to get them to leave.

Well, Modern Art is great for kids...lots of primary colors and everyday objects as subjects they could recognize. This spider sculpture was their favorite.

I loved introducing them to Frida, Andy and Roy.

We also discovered a new artist, Barry McGee. His art was sort of a sculpture and mixed media and we were all three drawn straight to it.

It helped that we had to walk through these gold beaded curtains to get to the gallery where we walked straight into the above piece that just reached out to you literally and kept your attention. I will definitely be back and be following this young artist for many of years to come.

It is great to give our kids and ourselves art as they are losing out on the arts in school. Find your local museums and bring your children and give them the gift of art as it feeds their little souls and they will always remember the feeling of discovery.

Baby Blue and Purple

While shopping for a headboard for a friend....we fell in love with a baby blue headboard....trying to convince her to go for it...i came across this tear sheet! Love the baby blue and purple! Who would have thunk it?

Chez Ellwood

I just returned from a fab week-end in Santa Barbara. Absolutely stunning. I began my week-end with my good friend Erin Ellwood. She is a talented production designer that has left the film industry to begin her life with her beautiful daughter, Amelie, in Ojai, California.

She has a fun new business she is starting....details to follow. Be sure to follow because everyone needs a little of her talent in their homes!

She is one talented woman! i am so excited to share with you her home. She has an eye like no one I know. Enjoy her sanctuary...I did!

zipits! soooo fun to say!!!!

These are fun little zipper pulls that come in a box and you don't know which one is in your box. My ruthy loves them...we discovered them in Chicago at this little japanese shop.

They were great because in the winters her little fingers couldn't grab that little cold zipper pull. You can layer them and collect them and I always think how fun they would be as a party favor.

Time to Go Fly a Kite

So it has been a year of change and I had to do some work.

I am back and ready for sun shiny days and lots of creativity.
My daughter and I are starting a new life together and to celebrate we started our summer out at the Berkeley kite festival.

We felt the ocean breeze, spent time with family, and nurtured our souls.

I hope it will inspire you to do something as free.

Free being the key to every ones sole soul happiness.

East Bay Creative Re-Use Depot

Ruthy and I had so much fun discovering this Oakland find....I am a little scared for she seems to have inherited the shopping junk gene. This little discovery is an art crafters dream thrift store with thrift store prices.

They had treasures from stacks of paper to barrels of empty egg cartons to old school cassette tapes to "thumbs up" pens to alphabet stencils to barrels of empty gift boxes to wrapping paper, fabric and much much more.

Look at all our goodies we scored for $5.35 cents.

A perfect spot for those rainy day afternoon art projects!!!!!

Taking the ordinary and making it Lovely

I love new york city...the city where anything goes....this amazing artist, Finley, grabbed some of her friends and decided to wallpaper some dumpsters in the middle of January! How pretty they are and what good friends!? I love all these designers and artists that make everyday objects softer on the eyes.

You can read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/garden/14events.html

This project stirred up a memory for me....my fridge and Domino magaize..RIP



Oh how I miss that Domino...I must say I am a magazine junky but Domino was by far my true love. Anyway I remember when they had featured a project of somebody whom had wallpapered their refrigerator. Brilliaze!

when you can't get to a swing in the snow we brought one to her

this swing saved my life when i lived in the great city of chicago...where i had a newborn in very cold weather......far from my family and friends...and far away from sunny california....besides my dog dozer it was ruthys babysitter so i could do a two minutes task here and there.....

sometimes a girl just needs to put on a red pair of shoes....

i thought id share a few pictures of my daughter and here she is in a pair of red clogs....i realized i too had felt so fun in my red chanels on my wedding day!

Gourmet's diary of a foodie

i'm sure the serious foodies out there can't miss an episode of this amazing show on KQED....i truly am just a beginner in this foodie world but love watching this program (i have over 20 episodes in my DVR)...the photography, travel and food fills your soul...so so pretty...and I love Ruth Reichl...not only because her name is Ruth...but she dumbs down recipes for the at home chef. check it out here...http://www.gourmet.com/diaryofafoodie