Modern House Minimalist Design

We spent a long and convivial evening with our supper club last night.  Hosts L&D served up a scrumptious fall inspired meal – think caramel apple martinis, roasted veggies, a hearty pasta and toasted gingerbread with ice cream and caramel.  *what I wouldn’t do for another piece of that dessert*  After dinner the gals curled up fireside on the porch while the boys headed out with glow in the dark golf balls for Ryder Cup inspired Night Ryder tourney.  And while I can’t give a first hand account of that outing, I can tell you that the captain of the winning team came home drinking scotch out of his trophy.  I’m guessing they had a pretty fab time out there :-) I couldn’t be more thankful to have such fun friends.  And I can hardly believe that three years ago I’d yet to meet a single one of them! xoxo

A few weeks ago I showed you the farmhouse table I built for our dining room and a few days after that our fall decorating in that room. Although I was pretty excited about the table, I was not a fan of my autumn decor in that room. It was a little dark and drab looking. It might have been fine for November, but just seemed too dreary for September or early October, especially seeing how the weather is still so warm here. Last week I finally played around with it and am so much happier with how it looks. The first thing I did was build a bench for one side of the table. It took a little while but was relatively simple. I upholstered the top of it once I built the base and then added some nailhead trim to dress it up a bit. I took photos as I went and as soon as I have time to edit them will do a tutorial.  Sometimes I feel like things look better in photographs than they do in real life and sometimes I feel like a photograph just doesn't relay the feel of something. In this case,

somewhere, hidden in a bower, bracken filled and flights of wings, living there, beyond the eye's dreams.....a little person, slight of, weightier than a butterfly yet silken and fond of sunshine,  a little person, a friend of gentle folk and foxes of the forest. moss laden footpaths, winterey and sleeping quietly as the forest speaks. quiet sounds, far past any memories of solitude, wait for the woodsman,  watch for the peasant milk maid  for their lives are old and yet filled with stories stories of old wooden doors, rooms of thick, heavy books and keys whose owners know not where they arrive from. stories of roads of brown, soft soil where wooden carts have fastened long trails of familiar afternoons. i remember that such places find their way. ready for the old trees lovely limbs and leaves to feather and dance lightly into the sky. night falls, dusk and bending light and clouds, softer, more gray than that of fading coal the foot steps out the unknown door, unknown only to the

The PCP was just thrilled to leave yesterday’s game with the game ball.    And while I’d never tell him this, (I mean, what good is a mother if she’s not the kid’s biggest fan?!?)  I knew it wasn’t the best game he’d played all season.  So later that afternoon when he said “Coach S didn’t give me the game ball because I played the best.  He gave it to me because my attitude was the best” I couldn’t have been more proud.  It was a tough game and a hard loss but he’s right…he DID have a great attitude through and through.  It’s moments like that when I think maybe, just maybe, we’re doing something right :-) xoxo

A few weeks ago I took some photos of Lillie and Lola. I don't think I've taken any setup type photos of them together since last fall and they've grown so much since then. Lillie is wearing our Briar hat, made by my sister, Dana. We are hoping to have them available again later this fall. Lola's hat was a gift from Jon's parents for Lillie when she was little. It's from a store in Indiana called Lola Rue. My mom made Lillie's plaid jumper. Lola's dress, little jacket and shoes were also Lillie's. I guess that's what happens when you are the second child. =)  The dress is from Gap and her little jacket and shoes are from Joyfolie.  Our neighbors, Chloe and Bayley came along too and wore the Briar hats in gray. I also wanted to introduce you to our newest sponsor: Vinyl Wall Decals Head on over to their website for a wide variety of vinyl decals at great prices! I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

                                                    jo aylward jo aylward lost in fiber, blog michael graydon olssen and jensen pondeli pretty gingham, blog sada art on etsy sada art on etsy house of bliss on blogspot some pink flowers, blog topipittori tumbler winnie a rough week, wishing we were at the ocean or somewhere else. do you ever have days where you just feel so sad and discouraged. we just are not happy where we are. want so much to sell our art more. would love to be a traveling art teacher. anyone have any ideas? at least have peace and happiness more from these lovely pictures. certain things do keep me going. would love to hear from you.

Hi there and Happy Friday. Another week gone by.......wow they are going fast! Even though I think some of these random posts might be short, they inevitably end up being rather chock full as I keep on adding to them and by weeks end...I have one heck of a long post, but its normally up through the weekend, so its a few days worth:)  I am still recuperating from my party last weekend, did very much enjoy the leftovers and had a few friends stop over to help me polish them off (cannot stand seeing waste)! I love how the "after effects" of a great party linger well into the week after............. See exhibit A. A plate full left of the fabulous French pastries......yum! And exhibit B. All the pretty flowers I received still going strong and condensing  some arrangements to maximize their staying power. Other than that, trying to get going on more projects in my house, doing two E-design jobs, and that along with all my other non blogging commitments has me really busy....as in