Picking Colours

Do you find picking paint a little daunting? Or downright scary?? Or do you thrill at the sign of the Benjamin Moore fandeck or the Farrow & Ball brochure and think of all the possibilities therein?

{ fan decks fanned out }

It's amazing how we are given a teeny tiny paint chip as a sample of colour & how differently it reads once on the wall. And how varied the EXACT SAME COLOUR looks in different lights & on different planes.

My friend, Kelly, is building her home very near mine. I met Kelly at the school playground. She was warm, friendly, sweet & gentle; I liked her right away. (In spite of the fact that she has 100x the patience I do & legs that just don't quit which would normally be two perfectly good reasons to dislike her ~ hee hee just kiddin' Kelly!!)

Kelly has asked for a little help with picking paint colours for her new home. And I agreed. She has a great sense of what she wants in feel & colour for her home but as is the case with most of us, just needs a little nudge in the right direction. Let's hope I can be that nudge... I'll be posting more here as we proceed on this project.

In search of the perfect dining table...

I have been trying to find the perfect dining table. Long enough to accommodate our boisterous extended family & friends, but adjustable so it doesn't feel like you are at the other end of a tunnel shouting to 'pass the salt' when it's just us.

Here are some inspirations:

{ from La Leche in Puerto Vallarta }

I love how this is white on white on white & more white. My sister Leah discovered this restaurant while vacationing in Mexico. Guests & food would add enough colour, no?

Would you be brave enough to use this turquoise table from Dos Gallos??

{ 19th Century table; single plank top }

or maybe two benches like this (but finished in a rustic brown) along either side of the table:

with a soft flax coloured seat cushion & throw pillows for the back covered in this Madeline Weinrib fabric:

{ Suzani Collection; Colour: Sunder Blue }

And two of these chairs from Restoration Hardware at either end in the same flax colour as the bench seat cushion:

{ Belfort Wingback Dining Chair }

Or what about a clean-lined table like this one from Moe's (but in a brown stain that tends to the black vs. red)

Perhaps paired with some fabulous chairs from Casamidy:

in a fabric like this Ikat from Madeline Weinrib:

{ Luce; Celery }

It also comes in brown for a more subtle look...or go a little cuckoo-bird with this one:

{ Thomas Paul fabric }

it also comes in black if you were feeling nervous about the brightness of the first colour.

Ok, I'm inspired to tackle my own dining room... "before" pictures coming & "after" pictures soon; promise!

Paulina's Very Merry Unbirthday Party

Paulina's birthday party was last weekend & we had SUCH fun. Here are the invitations I made up (with lots of help from Miss P):

{ invitations created using scraps of pink paper & lots of ribbon }

I copied bits & pieces of the wording from the story & from websites I checked out. I scanned in the image of the White Rabbit from my old colouring book from when I was a little girl:

{one of the few items from my childhood which survived!! }

We attached tea bags to the invites so each guest could make themselves a cup in anticipation of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party to come:

{ making tea in Great Aunt Pauline's teacups }

{ something is brewing... }

My sister, Leah, & our fabulous nanny, Arlyn, helped me with the preparations. The party was held in our unfinished basement where the bar will be (one day....). And Paulina & Sebastian were great assistants as well.

{ Leah making cupcakes with Sweet P }

{ testing to make sure icing is not poisonous }

{ me & Sebsy prepping }

{ Leensie & Mama getting ready }

Soon we were ready for the arrival of our guests who were greeted with:

{ our welcome sign }

We are ready for our guests....

{ table settings }

{ take a bite }

{ eat me }

{ tea with the white rabbit }

And the guests arrive!!!

What a frabjous day! What uncommon nonsense was had by all!!!

Study Day

I have a few assignments to finish up before I complete my interior design course. I've been working on other projects (our house, other people's houses, eating & drinking too much at Easter, etc.) & just haven't 'gotten to' my school work. So today's the day...

And while I take my lunch break of Italian Wedding Soup

{mmmmmm}

here are some lovely school-y type images to keep me motivated:

I'm a sucker for vintage so this desk from Factory 20 had me at 'hello':

{ vintage atelier child's school desk }

And vintage books that have been well-loved? Yup, sucker for those too:

{ don't these just BEG to be read?? }

And to encourage good list-making & note-taking you can't be without your trusty notebook like this one from Mead available at Amazon:

plus a Sharpie for perfect penmanship:

Apparently these new ones don't bleed through your paper - hip hip hooooray!

Now, back to my assignments...