Architectural Elements

I have always loved this beautiful home in Montreal, Quebec. I used to walk by it all the time and imagine what it was like in its heyday. I still think it is quite beautiful in its current state and have always loved its architecture and colors. With a little love this place could be a dream. The image beside it is of the Westmount Flower Conservatory also in Montreal. It is a beautiful and tranquil place that I would spend many an hour walking through. It is attached to the historic Westmount Public Library. I will post some images of the library another day. Here are also some pictures of some facades I loved in Montreal as well.

Happy October

I know I have already mentioned how much I love Fall, but...have I mentioned how much I love Fall!!!? September is a wonderful month but October is when it really starts to blossom into full on fall. I love that pumkins are arriving in stores, pumpkin patches are being set up, leaves are starting to turn, and one of my favorite holiday's of the year, is right around the corner....Halloween!! I can't wait to set up the front porch for our trick-or-treaters! In the meantime I will be visiting some pumpkin patches and taking in the last of the beautiful dahlia's at Golden Gate Park!

Hallway Redo

I also repainted the little hallway between the office and bedroom yesterday. It was kind of a weird purplish color that just never felt right. I repainted it in the same color as the back room, and definitely think it has a more striking effect. Today I am going to work on a little before and after project on the hallway closet. I think it is going to take me a little longer than planned. I will post before and afters when I complete it! Wish me luck!

New Roof

Here are some pictures of our roof. Before, during, and after. Last winter, our first winter in the house, we had some leaks in the house. Every time it rained I had a little more anxiety. There was also a random chimney still left on top of the roof. A big pile of bricks just adding to the not so great roof definitely did not help ease the nerves. Well, the pile of bricks is finally gone, and all the patches have been fixed! We even got new skylights! I definitely think this is going to be a more peaceful winter and rainy season! Our next step will be to paint the exterior of the house. I think we will start with the trim. The new roof looks oddly out of place now...

Last Touches for Kitchen

My parents came to visit and were here for close to 5 days. With their help we were able to put some final touches on the kitchen! I am so excited that we finally have these shelves in place. It helps give a little extra counter space. Michael and my dad worked on setting up the studs for the shelves for a few days. They had to cut the wall out and reinforce with wood! And I am sooo excited that we finally finished the counter extension behind the stove. With some tips and pointers from my dad I was able to give this piece of wood Michael and I found, a natural stain and several coats of a water based satin finish seal. For the legs we had purchased several different legs to try from IKEA but none seemed quite right and I just couldn't get the idea of using the galvanized plumbing pipes out of my head. After a little elbow grease, a lot of measuring, and trips to home depot I think we got it just right! We were even able to make a foot rest for when you are sitting at the bar. (That was my mom's idea). My dad thought of the cute idea to use the reducers as feet! I love the end result!! I'm already thinking of new things I can make with the plumbing and have a little list going on in my head.

Happy Fall!

It's finally here. Fall. The best season ever! Spotted these old bottles in a window in St. Helena today. I love their autumnal palette. More fall pictures to come.

Let there be Light!

After close to a year, we finally have lights in the kitchen! The wiring was super wonky here but in the end it worked out and i can't believe they are finally in place!

Just South of Big Sur

Pacifica, California

Today Michael took Sadie and I to Pacifica Beach. It was so foggy you could barely see 5 feet in front of the car. It cleared a little when we got to the water but the waves were pretty big and the surfers were out in masses. This shot is actually Rockaway Beach, one beach up from Pacifica. We did go to both today though, it was a beautiful afternoon.

Justin Hawkins and Urban Weeds

I took this picture of my friend, Justin Hawkins, many years ago when I used to live in Seattle! I really like the bright colors he was wearing contrasted with the beautiful fall foliage. I just came across a new picture of Justin, while I was browsing this blog, Urban Weeds, about street style based out of Portland, Oregon. 8 years later his style has changed a little but still looks like Justin!

Mario Testino

To say that Mario Testino is a photography idol of mine would be putting it mildly. He is a genius portrait maker! The way his photographs and subject matter come to life and the beautiful rich and vibrant tones of the photographs are spectacular. This series in particular , which may possibly be one of my favorites of all time, from British Vogue -10/2008 is particularly captivating to me. Not only has he shot one of the most iconic models of our time, Kate Moss, but he has also managed to give a quiet portrait of the equally stunning location: The Master Shipwright's House. The rich tones of the walls and the layers of colors have been given just as much attention. In my opinion the pictures come alive because of the character of the backdrop. I absolutely am in heaven!

details of the walls:

all images by Mario Testino

Color Spectrum

I love how vibrant these flowers are. Almost as bright, possibly brighter, than these lights in a certain downtown SF window...

Happy Thursday

Dreaming of the East Coast....

New Photo Book

A few days ago I purchased the new photo book released by Scott Schuman, aka The Sartorialist. The book is filled with many beautiful and inspiring photographs. I also like how it is just a little bit bigger than a paperback, although very thick, making it highly portable. I couldn't resist adding a picture of this beautiful coaster as well!

Gardenspiration Tuesday

I took these images in and around the Bay Area. Our garden is currently a patch of dirt and dried up grass. I hope to soon have some green growing out of the ground. We have started with a pink jasmine vine and some beautiful grasses. I'll post some pictures when they have grown a bit.

Happy September and Fenspiration Tuesday!

Happy September! Fall starts trickling in now and I couldn't be happier! As much as I have loved this summer and all the beautiful weather the East Bay has provided, I am a fall girl at heart! I'm kicking off lovely lovely September (one of my favorite months)with a new feature all about inspiration! Today is Fenspiration Day (fence+inspiration). Michael and I are hopefully going to be putting up something in our yard soon and I have definitely been getting a lot of fenspiration walking around Berkeley. I am partial to the horizontal fencing myself, what do you think? More 'spirations to come....

Scala by Horst Glasker

I love these stairs found through Poppytalk! They are located in Wuppertal, Germany and are by German artist Horst Glasker. Each word on the steps describes different aspects of human relationships. I was looking up more images of the stairs and also came across an image of the stairs pre-paint from 1978! What a difference the vibrant colors of the steps makes! I would love to be able to walk up or down a flight of steps like this in my daily life.

I also found both of these images of a different project on the artist's website. I love this one as well!!

Red Trio

Miki

Can this be real? I really think he thought he was a baby boy...

Sunday

I am so excited! I just got a new camera! My first new camera in a few years and it is a dream. I was a true skeptic about artistic photos in digital for a very long time and have slowly (over the past few years) been warming up to it. It helps that this camera is a dream and has all the qualities of some of my other film cameras yet all in one neat little package and old fashioned metal body. This sweet little camera will definitely keep me occupied until i get one of those big hitting pro SLR's!

Ghost Driver

Secret Garden

Sea Green

Texture Study

Alley in Colors

Bicycle with Pink and Yellow

Seydou Keita

I am a huge fan of photographer Seydou Keita, an "amateur" portrait photographer from Bamako, Mali. Back in the day when I used to live in the hills of Southwest Virginia studying Art I used to spend many a day and hour at the Virginia Tech Art and Architecture Library. They had THE best collection of art books I have ever seen. They had a few different volumes of Seydou Keita's work that I would check out and bring home to feast my eyes on for many an hour. I have been looking for some books ever since and his work has definitely served as a great inspiration to me. All images by Seydou Keita.

India Flint

I am absolutely in love with the work of textile artist India Flint. I came across her work a few months ago in an issue of Selvedge. She refers to herself as a botanical alchemist. She dyes cloth using plants and water and makes the most dreamy pieces of work. Check out her work if you get a chance....