Lisa Lindøe

It's snowing in the northeast right now and scheduled to do so through the night. I'm stressed and grumpy because I have a flight schedule tomorrow morning to beautiful Park City, Utah and I'm worried about what this might do to my travel plans. I need all of you to cross your fingers for me that I will arrive at my destination without major incident. And while you are crossing those fingers let's enjoy some beautiful portraits by photographer Norwegian Lisa Lindøe. Perhaps they will help sooth my frazzled nerves.

Wish me luck! Maybe you keep those toes crossed too.

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Well Look What We Have Here

(click on the photo to see a larger version)

That's me quoted in The Nest magazine expressing my love for clear plastic shoe boxes from the Container Store. And I'm not kidding, I really love them. My closet was a disaster before I invested in about 20 of them. The shoe boxes are $1.79 a piece and only $1.49 a piece if you order a case of 20 (men's shoe boxes are larger and more expensive). I also picked a few extra and use them to organize my linen closet. They are so expensive yet sturdy & stackable that you really can't beat them. Even though you can generally see which shoe is inside which box I might go crazy one day and photograph all of my shoes to label each box. If I ever get to that project I'll be sure to give you a glimpse of the results.

Aside from my name being printed in the magazine there are actually a lot of great reasons to pick up this issue. My organizing tip is listed along side 20+ other great bloggers like Simply Grove & Create Girl. Also, the EmersonMade spread is much more beautiful in person than online and there is a really cute spread with Jayma Mays and her husband.

Even though it was just one small line (with an exclamation point I did not add ) I was giddy to flip open a magazine and see my name in print. I could definitely get used to that.

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A Restful Activity...

... Painting chevron rainbows while listening to Mumford & Sons on repeat.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

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Friday Etsy Favorites

I used to have a nifty little Etsy Favorites widget in my right sidebar but I removed it recently because I could tell that it wasn't getting a lot of love there. I decided it would be better to do a Friday post about the great stuff I discover on Etsy. There will probably be no theme, just a great mix of art, jewelry, & vintage items. Hope you enjoy this new feature.

1 - hindsvik 2 - hindsvik 3 - verabel 4 - dekanimal 5 - modvintageshop

6 - elmstreetmarket 7 - jaimeelatendresse

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Tasteworthy: Apple & Cheddar Quiche

Instructions:

Prepare crust per package instructions. If you would like to make your own crust more power to you. The crust I use calls for par-baking for 10 - 12 minutes at 400 degrees. If yours is similar, once the pie crust is ready, remove from oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Pour egg mixture into crust and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Quiche is great for any meal of the day. I've also made this recipe with brie instead of cheddar and it was delicious. Enjoy!

Photo & Illustration both by Michelle Verdugo

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Perhaps an Equine Portrait?

I am on the hunt for something special to fill this space. I'd like whatever I hang here make a graphic impact. Hanging landscape I think what I choose should be at least 16"x24" which leaves plenty of room for a large frame, but a vertical hanging photograph, print, or art piece would look great even larger than that.

My first thought when deciding what I'd like to hang here was a beautiful photograph of a horse. I've never owned a horse and I've only been riding a handful of times but I've always loved horses. They make great portrait subjects with their expressive eyes and I love how photographs of them are often warm toned and monochromatic.

1 - equinoxphoto 2 - equinoxphoto 3 - f2images

I did a thorough etsy search and found some great possibilities. I haven't contacted all of the sellers yet to see how large the photographs can be printed but I thought you would like to see some of my favorites.

1 - spydphotography 2 - scrappygirl2u 3 - dorndorf

I ran these past Nick and he is on board with the equines, preferably the close up face shots. What do you think, any favorites?

1 - eireannneilis 2 - beccahaydu 3 - dorndorf

I have more non-horse related options to share so stay tuned!

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A Little Weekend Rearranging

I got rearranging itch this past weekend. I hung my collection of art prints and photographs on the brick wall behind my sofa about a year ago and was starting to get tired of the grouping.

It's definitely true that if you don't occasionally rotate your art collection you don't appreciate the pieces. They just blend into the wall and you ignore them. So I bought in a few new prints & mirrors and moved everything around.

But I hated the arrangement so now my art wall looks like this:

I decided that I would prefer to hang one large photograph or piece of art in an oversized vintage frame over the sofa.

A few of the framed prints found new homes like this Baby Crane by Sharon Montrose. I'll enjoy her more here plus she's also covering that eye sore of a unused phone jack.

I am now on the hunt for the perfect piece so I'll share my finds with you here.

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Ace Hotel Lamp Mystery - Solved

Well, it's sort of solved. I never actually found out if it was possible to purchase the bedside lamps from the guest rooms at the New York Ace Hotel. Truthfully, I have a sneaking suspicion that the lamps were designed by Roman & Williams specifically for that project. Fabricating unique lighting appears to be something Roman & Williams does often. You can see a few examples of their lighting design here.

What I did find is the Loft Task Lamp from West Elm. It has the same black powder coated iron shade and thin black iron rod base. The lamps are pretty similar in style and for $74.99 (+ 20% off) I'm really happy with my West Elm purchase.

For reference, this is what the bedside previously looked like. Those sconces served their purpose for awhile (they're battery operated so it was a cinch to take them down) but they looked tiny when paired with the new, much larger, nightstands.

I love the way the bedside looks now, what do you think?

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EmersonMade in The Nest Magazine

I bet it's a shock to no one who is familiar with the clothing and accessories brand EmersonMade that the home of the couple who runs the company is as charming as their handmade fabric flowers. Emerson and Ryan's new Hampshire home was recently styled by Paul Lowe and photographed by David A. Land for The Nest magazine.

I haven't seen the feature in person yet but what I can gather from this preview is that it's about how the couple lives surround with open storage but some how makes it look organized instead of cluttered. That's a decorating issue I know many struggle with so this edition of The Nest will definitely be worth picking up.


Ryan and Emerson's home is so cozy, and warm, and welcoming and so many other superlatives. Also, I am extremely envious of that pantry.

See more shots from The Nest feature on Sweet Paul's blog or pick up a copy of the Winter 2011 edition of The Nest. While we are on the subject of EmersonMade, they just released a sneak peek of the new Spring collection and once again I want every item.

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West Elm Spring Sneak Peek

Is it just me or is the selection at West Elm getting better & better with each new season? By the way, I think West Elm has helped me solve my Ace Hotel lamp dilemma. Further research has lead me to believe that Roman & Williams may have had those lamps manufactured specifically for the Ace Hotel and so I will never be able to get my hands on them. My solution - the West Elm Loft Task Lamp. They're a pretty acceptable substitute so I just ordered two.

I went through and picked out some of my favorite new West Elm furniture and accessories, what do you think of the new collection? Do you have any favorites to share?

West Elm also has a new artist collaboration for Spring - Jason Polan, the illustrator behind the Every Person in New York blog. He's also the creator of the book, "The Every Piece Of Art in The Museum Of Modern Art Book". I love the style of his simple line drawings and those dots plates are definitely on my wish list.

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Free Download: 2011 Calendar & Planner

Sorry this is a couple weeks late everyone but at least you can get 11 months of use out of this 2011 planner. Last year's planner was pretty popular, I hope you enjoy this year's calendar just as much. I made some changes to the layout and included photographs I took during 2010 so let me know what you think.

Link To Free 2011 Calendar & Planner

Tip: For double-sided printing, Set your printer to 2-sided printing then to print on long edge.

If anyone is interested in a wall calendar version of this let me know and I can rework the layout.

Enjoy!

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EKLA Home

Among the many product pitch emails I receive there is the occasional gem. EKLA Home creates handcrafted upholstered furniture using natural latex rubber, organic wool batting, FSC-certified hardwoods and non-toxic stains. The Chester sofa features Ecotextile's Northern Lights bamboo/organic cotton velveteen and ottomans and pillows are upholstered with Fabricadabra's organic cotton cheeky ikats and Dutch wax print. Launched in 2007, EKLA home is located in Santa Monica, CA and focuses on creating the highest heirloom quality non-toxic upholstered furniture. I love the clean, simple lines and the responsibly sourced materials.

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Visit Local: Ace Hotel NYC & My Love for Roman & Williams

Somewhere between my the stress of preparing the Thanksgiving meal and the craziness of Christmas shopping Nick and I snuck away for a weekend in New York City. I live so close to New York but trips into the city generally consist of just running in after work to meet some friends for drinks or the occasional weekend trip to the museum. It's rare that we just get to enjoy the city at a more relaxed pace. As I mentioned previously, local trips are going to be a more regular occurrence and this weekend at the Ace Hotel was just perfect. I scored a large king room from Jetsetter.com for about 30% off and then magically got upgraded to one of the incredible loft rooms. At 700 square feet, a bathroom with a claw foot tub & separate rainfall shower, and a corner banquet with great views, we were ready to move right in.

Since this weekend trip was to weeks before Christmas we couldn't resist wandering the neighborhood to see the Christmas sights like the Rockefeller Center tree, the skating rink & holiday market in Bryant Park, and store windows at Macy's. It's madness in New York during the holidays but I still enjoy it. We enjoyed dinner at the english-style restaurant in the Ace, The Breslin, run by April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, owners of Michelin starred restaurant, The Spotted Pig. The Breslin was recently awarded its first Michelin star and was worth the long wait. I'm dieing to try the suckling pig dinner served at the chef's table available for parties of 8 to 12.

(Please help, I'm dieing for those bedside lamps but can't find them anywhere. If you know who makes them I will love you forever.)

My search for those bedside lamps led me to the design firm responsible for this spectacular hotel. Roman and Williams, founded in 2002, have designed major residential projects in New York and Los Angeles. The firm recently completed the renovation and expansion of one of Frank Lloyd Wright's important Usonian houses, the renovation of the iconic Royalton Hotel, the Standard Grill and the 18th Floor Club, and of course the Ace Hotel - including The Breslin restaurant, Stumptown Coffee Shop, and most recently the John Dory Oyster Bar. I really connect with Roman and Williams work. Their esthetic is every evolving but always spans time frames, cultures, and styles.

You can read more about Roman and Williams future projects here and see more photos of completed projects here.

Photo Credits: Photos 1 thru 5 - Michelle Verdugo remaining photos from romanandwilliams.com

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