I love carnations

I don't care what you say, I love carnations. I have this really distinct memory from when I was a really little kid, probably seven or eight, and my parents had been at my dad's company Christmas party the night before. My sister and I were fast asleep by the time they got home. When we woke up in the morning, early, as little kids are apt to, we padded downstairs and went straight to the fridge. We found what we knew would be there, a bright red carnation with its stem wrapped in floral tape and a beautiful "pearl" pin stuck through it.

Are you old enough to remember this tradition? At fancy parties and even on airplanes, they would give you a carnation boutonniere.

Our mom had saved her carnation for us girls because she knew we would love it. And we did.

I bought some fuchsia carnations today and  put them in my wheat-patterned milk glass bowl.

We'll see how long they last because Trotsky the cat loves flowers, and especially carnations.

Emersonmade

I was trying to remember the website of Emersonmade for a few days and couldn't figure it out because I hadn't bookmarked it!

How do you suppose they make them?

I want to figure out how to emulate them! They are so cool!!! I wonder what kind of fabric they use and how to make the petals come into the centre.

Thank goodness for my favourite blog, design*sponge! They did one of their famous sneak peaks on Emerson and Ryan's house today. I love the sneak peaks!


This is, like, my dream house. Excuse the 13-year-old girl talk (I have a girl in my class, like, who uses the word, like, like every second word)

Oh my! What I wouldn't give for a big room and a table like that!

Holy heck! Can you imagine a pantry like this one?!?!?!

I wish I had a big ole kitchen sink like this one. 

And open shelves, too, though I'm sure I'm too cluttery for that.

And that ceiling lamp!!!!!

And romantically, I wish I had chickens, but I think they would be stinky and gross and I probably wouldn't like them.

Tenement Kitchens

One of my favourite books ever is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I had never seen a character like Francie before in a book, and the racism that existed against Irish-Americans at the time shocked me. I mean, I had no idea that kind of discrimination existed. NO IDEA. And to know that the book is fairly autobiographical and that Betty Smith did endure such conditions of poverty is pretty amazing. The scene in the book when Francie and Neely when they go to buy tongue for their mother to cook because that's all they can afford was incredible.

Anyway, I saw this article on Apartment Therapy today about the Tenement Museum in NYC. To me, this is exactly what the kitchen in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn might look like. I can just imagine Katie Nolan, Francie and Neely's mother, stoking that stove and washing dishes at that sink.

Aren't those amazing? What I'd give to have a kitchen like that first one, and yet it was considered the lowest of the low at the time.



You can take a virtual tour of the museum here.

DIY: Homemade wreath

I like to have a wreath on my front door, and I really like for it to reflect the season. It's finally feeling like spring here in Calgary, a city infamous for its unpredictable weather, so I wanted something cheery. I also wanted something simple, so I bought a can of lime spray paint and a $5 grapevine wreath from Michaels. Then I went to town, and sprayed it probably about four times on each side. I finished it with a coat of clear glossy spray.

Then I used some spare gray fabric (suit lining, actually), and cut a bunch of circles and folded them and sewed them together. I used a technique similar to this one.

 You can see the flowers better in the image above than you can on my wreath.



Anyway, I'm really happy with the results, and I just love the colour! It's my new favourite colour, I think.

First Post!

Hello out there!

I decided to start a blog because I read design blogs every day, and see lots of stuff that inspires me and I want to keep track of so I can go back to it later. I also spend a lot of my spare time creating, and I want to put those projects out there on the web to inspire others, too.

I'm still fiddling with the layout of this site, so bear with me as I get it all figured out.