Flora Swatch Head.

Here is a rendering of my gray-eyed baby girl. Capturing her face was a lot trickier and I'm not totally sure I did it. I need to let it set a bit and I'm sure I'll revisit it soon.

In Progress: Swatch Faces.

I had this idea a while back to try to boil down the colors of my eyes and lips to single shades so I could make swatches with them. I have been fascinated by color lately, and this was a fun exercise. If you ever look at yourself in the mirror up close or examine a photograph, no bit of us is one simple color. I still thought it would be possible to at least simplify to one essential color. This is just a rough first draft, but it was fun to do.

Update: new version of Swatch Head Meg.

I wanted to play around more with the line style. This is the next version.

style: yes, please.

image from j crew.

i daydream of being effortlessly stylish, loving everything in my closet, and never again dreading that i have nothing to wear.

one can always dream, right?

in my dreams, i roll out of bed to a beautiful closet where all my clothes are hung on wooden hangers and my shoes are lined up neatly and i can put on anything and feel lovely.

there seem to be two ways i can work toward my dream. one: worry less about what i wear (that's fodder for another post). two: focus more on the basics. three: think more carefully about color.

i went through my clothes and did an inventory--i wrote down everything i have. then i made list of the things i feel i'm lacking. i tend to bargain, buying bits and pieces, sometimes missing the essentials to really put a look together. after seeing how much stuff i do have, it was refreshing to see how small my missing item list was. included on that list:

jeans or dark pants, preferably with a slimmer leg

a new summer skirt

some kind of blouse

a light gray cardigan

a couple more everyday shirts

something striped

this spring i'm excited to try something new, something feminine and daring--like berry lip stain or orange lipstick or a skirt--on a weekday. who knows, maybe doing something adventurous superficially will somehow transcend to the rest of my actions.

what's in the wardrobe of your daydreams? do you see yourself trying something bolder this year?

favorite things from 2010.

somehow there are two days left of this entire year--did it sneak up on anyone else? before 2010 is completely over, i wanted to note some of my favorites from this year of wonder. it was full and lovely and i look forward to 2011, whatever it holds.
note: some of my favorites did not come out this year, but they're my favorite things from this past year.

album: broken bells by broken bells.

i listened to this over and over when it came out in the spring. james mercer (the shins) has such a great voice, and this pairing with danger mouse is pure greatness.

album: the suburbs by arcade fire.

musically there's a lot going on, and lyrically too. plus the songs will always remind me of wandering the streets of nyc with b--we traded off humming "the suburbs" and other arcade fire riffs while we waited for the subway or looked for cool buildings.

album: abbey road by the beatles.

i have to admit i always respected and admired the beatles, but i didn't really get it until this year. i didn't grow up listening to them, and hadn't listened much at all until we started introducing some beatles songs to the kids--fun early stuff like "twist and shout" (which g calls "shake it up baby now") plus later fun stuff like yellow submarine" and "octopus's garden"--b made some beatles cds for our road trip to utah, and that was it. the medley on abbey road is incredible. "golden slumbers" is probably my very favorite, but it's really hard to choose just one favorite beatles song.

children's book: knuffle bunny free by mo willems,

& film: toy story 3 by pixar. for more in depth reflections on both, see here.

film: inception.

i love movies, but find very few that i am willing to pay full movie theater price times 2 + cost of a babysitter for three kids, so i rarely see movies at the theater. the only movie i saw in the theater this year. we saw it on an imax screen, and it was well worth it. the visuals were stunning, the plot and characters were intriguing, and one of our favorite buildings made a cameo appearance.

film: 500 days of summer.

we finally saw it on dvd this past summer, and i loved it. something about it just stayed with me. i especially loved the dual-screen scene that showed how tom wanted the party to go and the reality of how the party went. i've always wanted to do a scene/short film like that, and they did it so wonderfully. it was also fun to see a film appreciate the architecture of downtown los angeles, because b and i share that appreciation.

film: scott pilgrim vs. the universe.

fun fun fun. that's what this film was. fun on so every level.

live concert: neko case.

she is incredible live. it was amazing to hear her in person.

sewing project: christmas tree advent.

inspiration from here (some of it very direct). i finally finished our advent. i'm pretty proud of myself because it was a big undertaking.

cookbook: cook 1.0 by heidi swanson.

swanson is the writer/photographer behind 101 cookbooks. this vegetarian cookbook is so wonderfully simple. i've really been inspired the recipes this week--we're due for a major detox around here after all this holiday bliss.

book: silas marner by george eliot.

it's a simple story, but so beautifully written it really left an impression on me. it took a bit for me to get into eliot's 19th century writing style, but once i was in i was spellbound. i recommend it to anyone.

children's book: iggy peck architect by andrea beaty.

the illustrations are fantastic, and the rhyming tale of the young architect is refreshingly tight and charming. i need to find more rhyming children's books that have the same respect for meter.

website: fabricworm.com.

i love looking at their wide selection of fabrics, from heather ross to japanese imports, and their prices are pretty reasonable. right now i'm loving this.

literary discovery: the new yorker.

two of my favorite authors are new yorker writers, and i finally started reading it online more this year. i'm very excited to start getting it in the mail (thanks, whit!)

treat: homemade strawberry ice cream (made with organic strawberries) and ginger snaps.

a friend gave us some organic strawberries, and using this recipe. if you haven't had organic strawberries you should. the difference is incredible. i'm afraid i can't go back to overgrown grocery store strawberries. i was also excited to adapt my great grandma's ginger snap recipe to make them gluten-free.

restaurant meal: curry dosa at hampton chutney company in new york.

it was so good we went back with friends. mmm.

in the kitchen: heavy aluminum round cake pans with removable bottom.

perfect for cheesecake, and great for regular cake, too. this was a favorite purchase this year.

from the market: arugula.

i hadn't tried arugula before this year. it's delicious in salad and on pizza.

first with lulu: evergreen city ballet's production of the nutcracker.

it was just my lu and me. she sat on my lap for a lot of it. we were both mesmerized. she loved the music/dancing/costumes/everything. i loved sharing a favorite (ballet) with her.

one of my favorite memories with g: jane's first day of school.

we went to get donuts at a nearby shop. we both missed jane terribly. he's my special little guy.

first with flora: trip to utah to introduce her to family and give her a name and a blessing.

it's fun to see the effect our calm, sweet girl has on everyone we love. she belongs.

memory with b:

i can't choose just one because b gave me a lot this year. he won a trip to new york so we could go together, and our time there was amazing. for our anniversary he surprised me with tickets to bumbershoot, which was awesome.

favorite colors this year: yellow, pink, and gray or light blue.

what are some of your favorites from 2010?

darling cake topper.

meet this cute little peggie. i would love to put her on top of flora's first birthday cake.

images from and peggie here.

hazel.

i would wear these darling clothes if they came in my size. lulu loves the rose shirt and taupe coat. i love the colors and the attention to detail.

in the works.

welcome to our living room.

what i love about this room: the white walls, wooden floors, and big east-facing windows make it a cheery, warm space.
favorite pieces: b's paintings: the colors of the house painting, the technique and warmth of the oranges (they remind me of california, too), and the calm river in bishop, ca; the calder-inspired mobile; the credenza/stereo; the knit wool rug.

our color palette is probably partly a response to gray northwestern skies. our warm reds and yellows make for a lovely contrast to this gray, drizzly time of year.

yellow.

via style me pretty.

i heart hable.

i think you will too. unless you already do.

here.

collars.

collars are darling, especially on baby clothes.

newborn wish list.

i wish, i wish....i'm on a roll with wish lists lately, and the nursery is not lacking. i have been blessed with many beautiful and practical gifts with the arrival of each of my children. still, if money were no object and i could buy anything for my newborns that i wanted . . . yeah, here are a few things on that list.

netto bassinet. phil & ted stroller (so smart!) baby gym (love the wooden one from ikea). a great chair (like the tok by stokke). beautiful clothes from the tea collection. a mobile by flensted. eames elephant. swaddlers by aden and anais. wooden rattle from alouette.

wee marie antoinette.

is anyone else as delighted by this wee marie antoinette as i am?

also more here.

last bit of summer.

school has started. it's raining. summer of 2010 is coming to a close.

there's still time for one more little summer post.

some highlights from the end of our summer: my semi-surprise birthday dinner at the lake; picking blackberries; homemade chocolate hazelnut gelato; an outing to the seattle square (where we met the lovely people who made that ice cream poster) and pike place; bumbershoot; and this pizza.

that's prosciutto, arugula, and organic sun tomatoes. mmmmm.

we have at least one more trip to the farmers market. the parks are still there. we'll make gelato at least once more. and there will be blackberry pie in the near future.

summertime.

maybe now that it's officially summer, the sun will shine for two days in a row.
a few things we love about summer:
shave ice
the beach
fresh basil and heirloom tomatoes
farmers markets
sunglasses
camping
light out until 10pm















what do you love about summer?
image: martin parr via this cool person.

the palette project

i saw sofia coppola's marie antoinette a couple years ago and was really struck by it. i was especially interested when i heard coppola talk about the colors for the film. she worked closely with the art director and cinematographer on a color palette that they kept consistently through the film's design and filming. coppola collected pictures and small objects that stayed within the candy-colored palette she envisioned for the film, and greatly minimized the blacks and browns on screen. i had a greater appreciation as i watched the film a second time, and felt that their use of color was a powerful part of that film.
i am a list maker and collector, so to me, the thought of collecting objects or pictures based on color makes sense. it also sounds really fun and inspiring. i have been further inspired to start my own palette project after reading this article (which also provided the love images in today's post) from martha stewart living. the article talks about a few different ways to find color inspiration--and how to find your own color palette for anything, from your wardrobe to a room to a brunch menu or bouquet.
















i have started to pay more attention to colors i love, and have started to collect them. i have a file folder and folder on my computer dedicated purely to color. i'm excited to see how paying more attention to the colors i love--and hopefully finding some trends--might affect the design of our home and my life as a whole. for instance, is it a coincidence that both of the images on today's post feature some variation of a primary color palette? right now i find i am very drawn to dark yellow, light blue, and red or dark pink (sometimes light pink, too). gray is still one of my favorites, too, especially paired with more lively colors like yellow or shades of pink.
how do you find colors you love? do you consciously try to create color palettes for projects, your wardrobe, or your home, or does color just happen? what is your favorite color or color combination this spring?

baby girl's room: pretty things

for baby girl's room, i plan to design a much more feminine space. it will still be based on color, with the hope that the pieces we collect and create could be used later when lulu and baby girl share a girls room.

a few resources: ohdeedoh, cb2, anthropologie;
a few of the items: miffy, eames rocker, heather ross fabric

design inspiration: orchard

back when i was putting together the nursery for lulu and g, i experimented with ideas for themes. in the end i decided to go with color as a central design element, which worked well for many reasons: 1. the space was for a toddler girl and a baby boy, and 2. the things we got or made can grow with them more. fewer limits is always good, in my book.
i am still drawn to one of my theme ideas--orchard. trees, fruit, birds, to name a few of the charming elements of this theme. here are a few items i found.