Kitchen Art

Remember when I won a custom illustration by Oohmoon? Well, I got it printed (mpix rocks) and then got it frame and hung it in our dining room.

I dig it.

Behold:

One day I will be able to afford museum glass...until then, reflect away!

Linen mat, wood frame

The whole shebang (I'm not thrilled with the 3 prints underneath. I feel like it needs a 4th...and the frames came from costco, so that requires a trip I don't make lightly...)

Isn't this frame awesome?  I just had to share because I love it.

Thanks, Katie!!!

Thank you, Pinterest

(here)

The Magic of Fairy Lights

It's that time of year again. The time when I start watching Nigella Lawson like she's going out of style (she not, thankfully) and wishing that I could be her when I grow up.

This year I decided to do something about it. Namely: twinkle lights.

If you'll notice in this video, aside from making crab cakes that I need to eat, she wanders around a house filled with twinkle lights. 

So I added some to our kitchen: 

Unlit, the looks a little sloppy, which...whatever. We rent, people. 

Lit, even with the lights on, they add a bit of working light and warmth to the kitchen.

With the lights off, however...even our $2 IKEA bowls look sparkly and glamorous.

They may stay up year round.

Then I attacked the mantle: 

It was really quite easy and it adds a nice glow to the living room. The only holiday decorations I have up are the Thankful tree (which is really just cards from Jones Design Company hung on a little bronze sculpture I've had for forever) 

The other touch is a few illustrations by Katie Moon over at Oohmoon. (More kitcheny goodness from her later this month!) When it's no longer Christmas, I may replace those prints with ones from her bicycle series.

I picked up the frame at the 10,000 Villages Craft Fair this year. It may not live there forever, but it works now. 

  These may stay up year round, too.

And yes, I know I need to touch up the wall...the paint is in the garage. When we exhume it, I'll touch up those little spots. (we rent and I can't just change the color of the wall. otherwise I would have done that first.)

**also on the mantle: an heirloom weather station, an empty apothecary jar - it house peanut M&Ms, but they are being eaten and will not be replaced, my Dead Author Bobble Heads, a print from Hammerpress in a frame from the Lollywood shop. Art by Baz, under that is his silhouette, the Russian/Soviet President Matryoshka dolls, a rocking horse, and a clock that was made for us as a wedding gift from my uncle. Random and awesome. It makes me smile every time I look at it.**

Gratitude

So a fellow blogger (Amanda at Let's Take the Metro) has a regular Gratitude post in which she lists things she's grateful for.  She's certainly not the only one, but considering that a) it's the time of year and b) I get constant reminders that it's that time of blogging....I figured I would do a few throughout this month (and year, in theory) and just document the little things that I am grateful for.

So here we go.

This mess. Because it means that I have food and people to help me eat it.

The city of San Jose, who will take these cats and sterilize them, vaccinate, and deworm them before microchipping them and notching their ears (except Lucy, this grey one, who managed to escape ear-notch free. But the shaved patch on her belly told us the rest of the procedure happened.) 

Abundance. (and not having to pay for Pomegranates. If I charged what the grocery store charges, I'd be a rich woman!)

Spray Paint.

Heart-shaped leaves.

Napping buddies.

Traditions to pass down.

Your turn.

Festive Ceramics

 Every year the local paint-your-plate place has a few nights where you can go in and carve your own pumpkin. They dry it, fire it, you come back and paint it, they glaze it and fire it again, and you bring it home to add festiveness to your porch. Or wherever. Last year I went on my own and created Bunnicula. (I went back and painted on my own, too.) 

 This year, we had "help" and did the haunted house..I had "help"painting, too. It's good, but not great. But I love it because he helped.

This year, I have the added help of pintrest...on which I saw this. A LOT.  I decided to take that and apply it to some dunk mugs...

We had some mugs...and then we fed them after midnight...

I rather like seeing them up there, plotting my demise...

When I'm not thinking they look a bit like Wallace and Gromit extras...

(via) 

Arrangement

Crayons arranged by him. Apparently he was finished coloring.

One day, he will kill me for putting this on the internet

but I can't help myself. He wanted to do it all by himself...so they're inside out and backwards. He was so proud.

We're back from our travels (LOVE Seattle, people. LOVE.) But we've been struck with a series of head colds...which has led to me feeling like there's not a whole lot worth talking about.

Seattle trip photos can be found on the flickr. Button at right.

See that? I can't even be bothered to link you directly. The power of mucus, am I right?