texture

3 different finds, all under $30. the most recent being the center french bread basket, covered in old linen grain sack (hand stitched on, primitive, needs a good soap and warm water scrub and then air dried...need to wait for some heat) only $10.

hazy shades of neutral

these colors (or some may say non-colors/neutrals) really make my spirit sing. i know, in contrast to the bathroom post below, you must be thinking i'm confused, but i just choose to believe i'm eclectic in my taste.

photo from vintage pine, an antique warehouse in chicago, featured in chicago home 2007.

is this for real

i do love the chairs and i do love the floors AND how can i not comment on the amazing bright light coming through that over sized bathroom window.

then there is the great sink with the perfect little mirror perched high above the sink, it is all so good, but then i wonder if it is just for the hippie family who chats while they bathe? everyone come on in, grab a seat and lets talk family vacation.

whatever the case may be, i think this room oozes with fun and brightness. it would be a great way to start the day...all the light and space.

photo found at homes & gardens

i have to

post these. my mom and family live on a 50 acre farm and they have 12 horses and most of them are over 20 years old. oldies but goodies..that is what i tell them whenever i visit them (ghost, star and i can't remember the other one right now).

AND the out building is the local fruit stand, not yet open for summer, but charming all the same.

i promise i will not post any more idaho post...i know they are a bit dull and scenic.

blossom me idaho

idaho was in full spring bloom. the drive to my mom's ranch winds you through the orchards and vineyards of south western idaho, 23 miles west of boise.

it is always breathtaking, but the older i get the more i tend to take notice of mother earth's beauty. these are blossoming apples, pears and i think peaches.

obsessed and packing

1) i'm still obsessed with douglas friedman photography, i look at it all the time. his eye is so refined and he knows how to evoke that emotion in me.

2) packing for the wedding of the spring. mom and family live on a 50 acre farm in a small little town (800 population) in idaho. so, i gotta be sure to figure out how to get my riding boots on the plane, in a carry on and not get charged.

be back soon.

by the light

this is the same Barcelona flat i posted a month ago, the home of architect carlos nicolau.

the light in this flat makes me feel connected to the sky and the indoor patio with the potted tree's really connects one to life.

the casual approach to this room is so welcoming..from the pillows on the floor to the pallet like coffee table. i need more space.

silver fox

mom's getting married this weekend. after 30 some years of being single, and amazing at that, she has been give another chance at love. Yippee and cheers and WOW. i couldn't be happier or prouder than i am right now AND she hooked a younger one to boot.

their story is sweet and it all revealed itself while they were camping with the family last summer. appropriately their wedding theme is camping and this is all going down this saturday in idaho.

photo found on oncwed.com (victoria & fritz). adorable to say the least.

keep on moving

23 offers later and some lucky folks landed a little piece of heaven in SF. we didn't get the home and i'm a bit bummed. you know, the "making an offer" process gets your emotions a bit wrapped up. i keep making the mistake of conjuring up grand plans and idea's.

the unfortunate thing is these homes we are making offers on keep selling for hundreds of thousands above asking price. what gives in sf?

i've been told something better is out there waiting. so, we will wait.

still dry, but not for long

i'm just hoping it didn't end up being a belly flop. this photo evokes lots of emotion in me, mostly joy for some reason.

i can only imagine the feeling of freedom in this jump. if only we could fly...just for a minute or so (no sky diving though, i like the dragon style of avatar :).

this is a photo of bobby dekeyser flying in to join the tour de monde.

hello and good-bye

did a little brock street shopping a few weeks ago. this little south of france gem was suppose to hit the storage closet, but somehow made it to the 3rd floor, got itself waxed and perched in the living room with a great city view.

she will hopefully make her debut at the brock street pop up store one day, but there might be a battle in store.

plain amazing

these bespoke kitchens designed by london based design firm plain english.have me mezmerized and hypnotized by the simple, city meets english country sensibility.

i'm inspired by these understanted spaces. charm, charm, charm all the way home.

standing still

time seems to be standing still about right now.

the update on the house offer is this, for those crossing their fingers and toes.

there have been 20 offers as of yesterday....holy cow. so, if it is meant to be it will be an amazing feat. will find out today.

photo courtesy of my friend laura, found on junkspot blog.

nap time

what a day. i'm getting ready for my daily, 8 hour nap and wouldn't it be nice to have a space like this to rest your head.

hmmm, this is the second recent photo of a sparse bedroom. i think it must be time for some spring cleaning.

now, where do i order those wide plank floors??

never give up

so, i was out checking out the scene in Santa Cruz a few weekends ago and stumbled upon this estate sale. i am talking the mother load of estate sales for the deep pocket types.

i can't quite explain in one post how amazing the estate was : from painting (up to $100,000), to tiffany opera glasses ($5000) to navajo blankets ($4000) and there must have been thousands of items and nothing had prices on them, so we had to ask about everything. Well, we quickly realized this wasn't really up our alley, but we continued to drool all over everything.

then, i noticed this box on the floor with old frames, news paper clippings and what appeared to be a lot of broken things. I asked the guy what was in there and what the prices were and he said everything in there was junk and around $5.00 each. now he was talking my language.

well, this original pencil and water color piece was sitting there with my name all over it. it is the perfect size 9x13", color and subject. AND it has the newspaper clipping taped to the back with a photo of the artist, brenda grummer. Hers was one of 15 pieces chosen out of 760 for a Midwestern, 16 state graphics exhibition.

the title of this 1970 little gem is "two together". charm, charm and more charm all the way home. i haven't really been into the whole owl trend of recent years, but i will reconsider for this one.

so, the moral of the story is to never give up....keep diggin, keep looking and don't run away from those big, scary $$$. there just might be a junk box nearby.

fingers crossed..candles blazing..positive, positive, positive

i didn't sleep last night or the night before and i always sleep.....you could probably carry my mattress out the door, throw it on the roof of your VW bug, drive me to LA and back and i would still be sleeping.

we have been looking at real estate for many months now, with many ups and downs...getting attached and getting outbid. the SF market is tough when your regulars like us'ns.

well, our agent emailed a few days ago and i had to leave work at 5pm (early) to get the 1st or 2nd viewing of this special home.

you would all love it. built in 1913, in the same family the whole time, all original details in tact...including a second pantry with the original metal mesh pie rack shelving and a split back door (you can open the top half only) and so many more cherished tid bits.

here's to hoping its our time to own a piece of the pie....fingers crossed.

nominations

so, some of you know about the nomination blog awards and several of you have, "too generously" nominated me. i think we all just want some scoop, and i don't want your request to go unnoticed :o). here you go, hope this doesn't put you to sleep.

1) i was a member of the jaclyn smith fan club in 4th grade. on the playground my friends made me play bosley and they were the angels (charlies angeles that is)
2) moved to idaho from LA when i was 8ish. the folks bought a pig farm in the country, on a gravel road and i will let your mind take you to rolling fields of gold, but the reality is i was an official pooper scooper.
3) nick name = ggma (great grandma). love being home, love to bake, love to drive slow in my old cars.
4) a bit of ocd. everything clean and most always in its place. at least in the places you can see (under bed, closets and drawers..... VERY different story)
5) brock street is the name of the street my grandparents lived on in LA. they were and are the apples of my eye.
6) animal lover. had an animal clinic in my bedroom after we moved to the farm in idaho. i was always sneaking in the runts...but i hated any blood. it was more of a respite that a clinic.
7) last, but not least = i was adopted as an infant AND found my bio-family later in life...5 years ago AND couldn't have imagined feeling more blessed and grateful.

i am now suppose to nominate 7 others, but i feel like most of you have been nominated already...so i will leave you be.

now you can wake up.

what to say

if i were to dream up a bedroom, this would be it. from the floors, to the balcony, to the simple linen bed cover..and of course the primitive lighting.

a clutter free space.....makes dreaming easy.

and the winner is....

me. this is even better than winning the jumbo tweetie bird at the county fair. when ebay is good for me it is good and when it is bad...it is really bad. it seems to go something like this:

fall in love
make an offer
offer stands until the bitter end
5 mins before the bidding closes someone comes in and kills my dream (it doesn't take much) and bids $1.00 more than my highest offer. you know the drill.

OR

Sometimes it goes like this:
fall in love
offer stands until a day before
by the time the bidding is closed it is hundreds more than my piddly offer
this is when you know you were on to something good.

at the end of the day, it is just a little twinkle in the eye and really just an object that won't go on to the next life..or maybe it will be there waiting for me.

old news but good news

weekend shopping in santa cruz.
can't get enough of the old french linen grain sacks.
added 6 to collection and boy were there some bargains goin down.

on the heels

of easter & remembered these.

get to your flagship old navy pronto. get on the pony express if you have to. old navy just launched their summer jewelry collection and its all over the press. these great braided-beaded wrist cuff's are just what you need to jump into the spring/summer spirit.

balance

this room makes me happy. from the wide plank floors, to the industrial/exposed lighting, to the symmetry of the 4 chairs.

happy easter. hope this finds you after some sort of gathering around a table with family or new or old friends.

demand encore presentation

here's looking at you kid.

i mean who needs more inspiration than this. so, just to stay true to the blog intentions....notice the architectural pc in the back ground....$5.00 at local flea market, and the bleached out small log= free, found in tahoe.

2 more days and counting until the weekend.