Entertain yourselves, my dears

Gang, I'm off to take a blog-cation, so posting here may be sparse until early January. In my time off, I'm looking forward to hanging out with my family, seeing some old friends, traveling across state lines with two yowling cats, picking up some awesome stuff for the shop in swingin' Frankfort, Indiana, getting thisclose to Jens Lekman on New Year's Eve and I hope having a generally fun, relaxing time. (Megabus rides and all)

I'll miss you all terribly, but we'll be reunited soon. Auld Lang Syne and All That Jazz.


Here are some links to keep you off the streets and out of trouble:

Up until now, I had no idea I needed turquoise and yellow shoes quite so badly.

Is it worth it to throw a party just so I can use these invitations?


Isn't it interesting how we make the same our own?

'Tis the season for home-made NyQuil.

Up goes the Hancock!




I think somehow, someone eavesdrops on my life. (Plus, eavesdrop? What a great word!)

A personal Rorschach Test. I could look at these for, like, a whole 1/2 hour.


See you in 2010!

(images via Magnum)

At home with Benita

It's a holiday miracle! House tours are back with an absolutely charming turn around Benita Larsson's suburban Stockholm house. Benita is the crafty mastermind behind Chez Larsson, which was quite deservedly named one of The Times Online's top 50 design bloggers.

I mean, seriously. Check out this sugar cube Empire State Building she just constructed.

So I asked Benita a few questions about her home and style, and this is what she had to say:


How long have you lived in your home, and why did you choose it? We've lived here for a little over eleven years. We chose it because there was an opportunity to swap our inner city apartment for it. Plus a lot of money, of course.

How did you become involved/interested in decor and design?
Even as a little girl my favorite pastime was to rearrange and organize the furniture in my room and I knew I wanted to be in a creative field. I applied to be an interior design trainee at the head offices at IKEA when I was twenty and then stayed on for another couple of years to gain more experience.

How would you describe your style and is there anyone/anything that has inspired you?
You would probably describe it as Scandinavian but I like to just call it simple and comfortable. I'm inspired by lots of things like American east coast architecture, shaker style, mid century modern designers, Finnish design (I was born in Finland) and then there's Martha of course. As a person she has inspired me tremendously although style wise I'm more in tune with her younger crew's style.

Has your look evolved over the years? If so, how?
When my husband Martin and I met over twenty years go and set up home together we had a junkier style than we do now :) . We still reuse, repurpose and remake old things but then we had a more vintage and industrial vibe going on with stuff in their original and scuffed state. It took me quite a few years to convince Martin that white was the way to go but now he's really into our bright-white-with-a-bit-of-color-palette.

What's your favorite part of your home? Your least favorite?
I love the light that pours in everywhere when there's daylight to be had (not a lot of that to be had half of the year over here unfortunately). My least favorite part is the bathroom situation. The bathroom is in the center of the house in the basement without any natural light.

What's your next project?
We need to replace part of the siding of the exterior of our house and repaint it. I'm hoping to get to it in the spring. Also there are always windows to be painted, holes to dig, stuff to organize, things to sew. It's never-ending and I love (most of) it.

(ah! this kitchen is straight out of my dreams. containers all over the place! ahem, but neatly organized and all that.)

Where are the best places you find treasures for your homes?
Our basement used to be a great place to find stuff because the previous owners left quite a few things that we remade and used. We rarely buy furniture off-the-rack but instead build our own so I'd say the lumberyard and DIY store are our best sources.


Any good backstories on an object in your home or element of your home?
When I ripped out the under side of the little porch roof to renovate it I found the label of the dynamite that they used to level the ground when they built the house in 1937. I love stuff like that, that dirty little stub with coarse brown string really made me reflect on the people who built our neighborhood back then. Our neighborhood is an area of government enabled self builds which was a very novel thing back then. Workers with often large families who lived in tiny one room apartments in the city where overwhelmed at the large (700 square feet..) houses with central heating and running water they built themselves and were able to move into. Gives you a different perspective on things...


Benita says she finds inspiration reading Door Sixteen and Making it Lovely. Thanks so much, Benita! This was a great early holiday treat!

As always, I'd love to feature your home right here! Let me know if you're interested.

What I got for Christmas Solstice

Say what?

Yes, not X-marks-the-spot-day yet, but Marc and I did our little gift exchange this weekend since we will be traveling to several exotic Midwest locales this week. What's up, Louisville? Hat tip, Indianapolis.

On Saturday, accompanied by some Sufjan holiday jams and some hot spiced cider, we tore into some presents. All ribbons and bows were promptly placed on sleeping cats. Where they stayed in place for HOURS. We have LAZY cats.

So, you want to see what I got/gave?

We had a kind of wishy-washy budget of $50, but I think both of us went a teensy bit over...ah well. It worked in keeping things relatively low-key I think.

He got her:

A very pretty etched glass ornament I'd been fawning over just last weekend. Unlike the one pictured, mine is clear glass and prettier, but they don't seem to have it online.

Somebody reads the blog. I also received a very awesome 2010 rooster tea towel calendar from P.O.S.H. that is also not on their website. Sad face.

Loop candelabra, which is really a vote of confidence in my book. Marc is always afraid I'm going to burn the house down with candles, so this just gives me another chance to prove him wrong (fingers crossed). Also a great gift because I'd love to have three of this to link together, so he's all set for upcoming gifts.

Le Foret eco-keepsake notecards. Definitely needed and notecards he won't feel weird about using either.

I am a very lucky lady.

She got him:

Heather grey houndstooth cardigan. I was into the elbow patches. Plus, we all know how I'm feeling about h-tooth these days, right?

Plaid tie. Again, exact one isn't on the site, but there are options.

Set of custom M&A (mergers and acquisitions?) napkin rings, thanks to the awesome gift guides from Design Crisis. They're nautical and masculine, right?

The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles. Marc loves his bikes, and this book is full of gorgeous bike porn photography.

Plus one more little mystery present to come...

Happy Solstice, gang!

What's going on with you?

Whatever gets you through the night

Cat Narnia: The little bulbs are starting to grow!


Here are some daytime shots


So far, so good. But I have been yelling at one cat when he even looks at that table. I think it's confusing him.

Also, here is a picture that just makes me happy:


(Look at his rickety little legs!!!)

So I walked into a hotel in the Peruvian countryside about three years ago (which I admit sounds a little like, "So I'm rappelling down Mount Vesuvius when suddenly I slip, and I start to fall. Just falling, ahh ahh, I'll never forget the terror. When suddenly I realize 'Holy shit, Hansel, haven't you been smoking Peyote for six straight days, and couldn't some of this maybe be in your head?'")...and there is a baby deer scampering around the lobby! Eeee!

The hotel staff explained that the little fellow was an orphan that had wandered in a few weeks prior and had decided to take up residence. He was SUPER adorable and friendly and even sat on my lap and licked my face. The staff also said he was great about just walking himself outside when he needed to TCB.

I wonder whatever became of little guy. I can't imagine they let him stay in the hotel once he got all hormonal and aggro and antler-y.

But awww.

I needed that pick-me-up. I hope it made you grin a little too.

Holly jolly blah blah blah

So on Sunday, I went a-thrifting and found some low vases and this giant glass ball--I'm serious. GIANT. I had to wash this thing in the bathtub because it doesn't even come close to fitting in the kitchen sink. I can't really even lift it when it's full of water.

I haggled and got it for half price after patiently listening to the guy at the thrift shop serenade me with his most bluesy, sultry rendition of "Baby it's Cold Outside."

One day, I think it will make a rad terrarium or vase, but for now, I'm forcing paper whites in it.

So now I present you with our stupendous table of mystical dazzling holiday fantastical fantasy magical delights. AKA cat Narnia.

Don't think I won't cry and act surprised when one of the a-hole cats tries to stick his head in that big ball and the whole setup comes crashing to the floor.

Note to self:

I like this for two reasons.

1. Wall color. Our fireplace is painted similarly, and I think I'd like to do another wall and the front door in this color.

2. Framed maps. This is what I was trying to explain here. The highway maps I have are about the same dimensions as those beauts on the left.

(image via Apartment Therapy)

Stuff that happened this weekend

A co-worker of Marc's sent him home with a six-pack of Spotted Cow, which was delicious.

We spent a fun Friday night at Post 27, where I fell head-over-heels in love with these nesting tables.

Marc wrangled up a pack of cats.

I wrapped up (and wrapped!) all of my Christmas shopping.

I found some new stuff for the Etsy shop (more to come this week).


I also ate almost a whole wheel of brie. I'll polish the rest of that off while watching Season 5 of LOST tonight. Sounds like heaven to me.

What were you up to this weekend? Did you have fun?

Whip it. Into shape.

I hate messy knots of dangling cords as much as the next person.





So this installation from Maisie Maud Broadhead makes me so happy in my heart.

(Via Avant-Garde)

Guys, I found some wallpaper for the lanai

Hmm...which colorway? Decisions, decisions.

Eye candy caning

My grandma was an interior decorator back in the 60s and 70s, so in addition to loving anything Oriental (the lady had some seriously gorgeous silk and mother-of-pearl screens), she had a penchant for the look of natural fibers like bamboo, rattan and caning, not only represented in materials, but in fabrics, ceramics and just about anywhere else you can imagine.

This bowl set that I just listed on Etsy (and that I'm more than half hoping doesn't sell because I kind of love it), reminded me of how much I share her love for those particular patterns.

So, in a variation on yesterday's more modern houndstooth theme, get ready to get caned. On a freezing, snowy day like this, I'd really like to have a dramatic room lanai in which I would swan about in a muumuu and oversized sunglasses, listening to Whipped Cream and Other Delights by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and tending to my bird of paradise plants. Of course, I'd also have my lady friends over to play Mahjongg and gossip while we lunched on a few rounds of Tom Collins (Collinses?).

My fantasy lanai must include at least three of these elements:

The Relic Trail, or...

HausProud

Ginger Scraps

U Know U Need Another

The Vintage Supply Co.

Also The Vintage Supply Co.

Forrestina Vintage

Damn, I may have to start stalking The Vintage Supply Co. more often.

And Found Furnishings

Also And Found Furnishings, or for a more casual vibe...

Fashion Rerun, or this...

Which I want. Badly. A Vintage Revolution

Won't you join me?