happy weekend

Cutting out early this week to head to Haines for the Southeast Alaska State Fair, my dears. Looking forward to sleeping in my tent for the weekend and visiting with friends. Here is a beautiful hand made tent set up that if I lived somewhere drier than SE Alaska, I would love to spend some nights in. Have a fantastic weekend! xo

via La maison d'Anna G.

scandinavian color

I love the look of this house in Denmark. So much white and so much color at the same time! A perfect way to make a bright and cheery space and yet not go overboard with so much color you don't know what to look at first. I posted a similarly styled house last week, they seem to be on my mind right now. My eye wonders so easily through this space I know it would be comfortable to spend time in. Stunning and creative. Love it!

images via french by design

work spaces

Yet another area of our house I am trying to get set up to be more usable is my work space, which is shared with a guest bedroom that thankfully, get's a lot of visitors. So my little desk area needs to be efficient and easy to tidy up. Here are a few spaces that I would love to work in. Enjoy!

images via Au coin du monde

image via apartment therapy

oh martha

Here is a really cool DIY, via Ms. Stewart of course. I haven't tried it yet, but I think this will be a good fall project when it tends to rain every day and you need as many bright things to cheer you up as you can think of. It looks easy and what a fun end result! All you need is what you see in the pictures and some double sided tape and you have a new cheery and unique light for anywhere in your house. FUN!

images via Martha Stewart

happy weekend

We've survived another one, my dears...This weekend we are going camping - but I also hope to do a little dancing. Cheers!

image via A Lady's Findings

a sunny space

I love this cheery light filled home. The Scandinavian inspired design, the delicate mix of old and new, the splashes of bright color, all make for a beautiful and fun space. Love it!

images via La Maison d'Anna G.

oh audrey

image via au revior paris

dreamy outdoor space

I am totally in love with the outdoor spaces of this house in Portugal. The white wash and the Mediterranean colors are so inviting and crisp. It all fits so perfectly with the natural surroundings. I feel relaxed just thinking about diving into that pool and spending an evening sitting around that table with good friends, good food and good wine. If I lived here, I would never leave. Lovely.

images via the style files

something fun

Happy Monday! My friend Alison let me know about these cool door knobs made out of hockey pucks, created by a company called modknobs. Of course, I am curious how one could make these themselves, seems like a DIY possibility to me. We have a lot of hockey pucks come through our house...Although I must say the colors are not nearly as cool as the ones here and Bret would probably be mad if I started stealing his pucks to use for door knobs. So check out their website, they're really quite fun. A whimsical way to get some color into a room. Thanks so much for the tip, Alison!

images via apartment therapy

happy weekend

Well my dears, Friday has arrived again. And as it was a short work week for me, it came quickly! Here is a picture I took at White Sulphur Hot Springs earlier this week. It was, as I am sure you can imagine, a divine five days filled with wonderful women, hot water, sunshine, champagne, delicious food and horizon views. We could not have asked for more. Cheers to a wonderful weekend for you!

a summer read

I just finished reading a book called Lunch in Paris, A Love Story with Recipes, by Elizabeth Bard. It's a memoir about her time spent falling in love and living in Paris. The book is an easy read with some fun insights into the french culture and the realities of the difficulties that come with not living in your born country. A nice touch is that Bard focuses a great deal on food and has recipes in each chapter. If you're looking for some lite vacation reading, I'd recommend this book. You can also check out Ms. Bard's blog if you want to see what she's up to now. In the meantime, here is a delicious picture of some Paris eats I took this spring, to get you in the mood.

apartment love

Check out this beautiful apartment! I love the floors, both the painted and the wood tones. I also think the dining room table is stunning, as is the overall serene feel of the space. Enjoy!

images via Elle Interior

happy weekend

Today I am headed out to White Sulphur Hot Springs with 6 girlfriends to celebrate the 40th birthday of our friend, Laura. I am looking forward to a long weekend of wilderness, soaking in the hot springs and quality time with my girls. I will not be back until late Tuesday night and will do my best to post next Wednesday. Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, my dears!

image via Cherry Blossom World

kelp pickles

My step-mom makes great kelp pickles. It's something a lot of folks do up here using Bull Kelp. The pickles are delicious in Halibut salad sandwiches, and also just by the spoonful as my sister prefers them. The other day, Bret, my sister, my dad and I all helped do some prep for Kara to make pickles with some kelp my dad brought home. It was fun and quick with all of us pitching in. Basically, it entails chopping the kelp and soaking it in pickling salt for several hours, then mixing it with chopped onions and mustard seed and canning. A great little slice of the sea to pull out of the cupboard any time of year. Here are some shots of the process.

summertime

You're half way there, my dears! Have a fantastic hump day. I did promise pups on this blog, so here is a fun shot I took recently of Rosie Mae, sitting in a patch of wild flowers. Happy summer!

fabulous fancy

I love the mix of vintage and ethnic style in this open and light apartment. Owned by a photographer and a stylist in Stockholm, the space is whimsical and fun without being cluttered and distracting. Love it!

images via Skona Hem

happy holiday

Happy 4th of July. I hope you get to eat lots of pie! My step mom, Kara made this strawberry-rhubarb pie last night. Delicious! Love this time of year. It's also Bret's birthday today and pie is his favorite, so we'll be having more of that! Have a wonderful holiday, my dears.

happpy weekend

We have been watching a lot of Mad Men in our house lately. If you watch the show, you know that there is a lot of booze consumed by all the characters. One drink that Don Draper regularly orders is an Old Fashioned. So, I recently decided to find out what goes into an Old Fashioned and how they taste. Turns out, they're quite easy to make and very yummy. Interesting fact - the name Old Fashioned comes from the theory that this drink was possibly the first one referred to as a cocktail. So, happy weekend, my dears. Have yourself an Old Fashioned and roll into your down time with some history on your tongue!

2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 dashes bitters
1 splash water
1 tsp sugar
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

Mix sugar, water and bitters in an old-fashioned glass (i.e. a short tumbler). Drop in a cherry and an orange wedge. Muddle into a paste using a muddler or the back end of a spoon. Fill with ice cubes, pour the bourbon over the cubes, and stir. Enjoy with a toast to the invention of cocktail hour!