a few things to refresh the palace.

After moving in a year and a half ago - I have been trying to do some slow room by room upgrades. It has been a long process but things are really coming together and it seems like the littlest things make a big impact. Here is a short list of recent additions --

1. new bathmat & hand towels in silver sage (middle)

1. new bathmat and hand towels in the bathroom from Restoration Hardware - in silver sage. Good lord - Restoration Hardware can be absurdly overpriced for super everyday stuff but they really do have some great colors...

We also purchased a print of a silly old-timey boxer to hang in the bathroom. The new towels and the print - along with a recent paint refresh from bright white to light gray (aka bog) were just enough to give the room the chill but quirky spa look I was hoping for.

2. velvet pillows from Anna Maria Horner

2. Blue velvet pillows for the living room couch to go with the "new to us" yellow mosaic rug. The pillows were from Anna Maria Horner whose work (fabric design, fab blog, awesome sewing books, etc. etc. ) I adore. The blue and green in the pillows are a great off set to the yellow in the rug. Did I mention they are velvet?? So soft and a fun addition of texture to our standard mocha micro suede couch.

3. San Francisco is for carnivores print

3. This absolutely ridiculous but amazing print (ours is framed) that I purchased at the annual San Francisco craft fair Bazaar Bizarre. It break down the neighborhoods of San Francisco into different parts of a pig. We currently live between the ear and back fat. Our kitchen really was not complete until this gem was in place.

I also framed a pair of photos of Adam and me as children. In mine - I'm about 3 or 4 years old and have on a pair of fake glasses with a giant nose and mustache attached. In Adam's (taken the same year) he is wearing a cowboy outfit over a superhero t-shirt. The silliness and off-beat sense of humor started early for both of us.

Cheers.
B.L.E. 

Oh for the love of etsy!

Oh how I love Etsy! If you don't shop Etsy - stop reading my silly blog and get on Etsy.com right now. Etsy's self description is "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade." Absolutely everything on the site is amaaaaaaazing. The quality and the breadth of what people can make is outstanding. So much good gorgeous stuff. Truly I could spend hours upon hours browsing through all the different shops. Sometimes I search for something random - like blue gnomes - just to see what magical things will appear. Then maybe I will sort by region so I only get local artists - I have to see what my SF neighbors are up to, you know? It makes me happy to think that just around the corner from me there is someone else tinkering away on their passion projects too (with obviously much better results).

Last week I succumbed to my addiction and supported some fellow crafters by buying a few things. Here are two of my recent Etsy purchases.

1. patchwork stroller quilt from raggedyowl. This is obviously a woman after my own heart. The simple - super soft small quilt is made with fabric showing gnomes and goldfish and dots and stripes - the photo above does not do it justice. It is so bright and cute and I can't help but smile when I look at it. And...big virtual hugs - the quilter included a handwritten card thanking me for my purchase. It makes me feel good inside to support someone else doing something they love.

2. hand printed cards from papermichelle. How could I resist a gnome jumping out of a mushroom cake?? OMG it's like this person is my gnome soul mate. I did buy 6 other cards as well - they were too perfect to not stock up on.

This is the just the tip of the Etsy iceberg.

Happy shopping my friends.

B.L.E.