An educational video about Norway

via Bastard Squad...

Burd turd

Jeff's new painting for the LBMA Influential Element Show coming up in early 2011. And he has a HUGE piece in the works following this one with about a gajillion birds in it. He's an amateur bird watcher now.

Really good, right??

Mom. Make this for LM. Then one for me too.

You'll need a giant crochet hook but I think you need to start going big.

I would just buy it from the ModernCat Etsy store, but it's sold out. :(

ARGH!

I fully realize $130 is crazy for me to spend on a cat bed Lily Mae will likely shun. But I want this one soooo bad! The Pei Pod is finally available outside of Korea and it's so dang cool. Wannnnt...

via ModernCat...

I'm thankful for a reason to have a party.

Thanksgiving is going to be awesome this year! I don't have to share it with my birthday this year (everyone can celebrate me the day after) and we're going to have a full house for our feast! It'll be potluck style but I can't help but pull a jillion recipes that I want to make. Sunset magazine made it easy, all of these recipes are on their website:

Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing (a step up from my beloved Stove-Top, minus those scary mushrooms which is decidedly a step down from my beloved Stove-Top):

Warm brussel sprout leaves with toasted garlic and lemon:

Roasted cauliflower with capers:

Pearl onion and celery stuffing with juniper and garlic (because you can never have too much stuffing. EVER.):

 Overnight soft herb rolls:

Green onion smashed potatoes (although I'll have to come up with a Jan-friendly substitute for the green onions...):

Radicchio salad with citrus, dates, almonds, and parmesan:

Chili-glazed sweet potatoes:

And I guess we're having a turkey (a happy free range one). Seth's dad is going to BBQ it for us! Mandy will be in charge of her green bean casserole and pie, and Karen is all over the corn pudding. Jeff will help me cook and my mom will supervise. Dad will probably be drinking our Bulleit again and watching football. I can't wait!!

Style Unveiled competition!

We Like Flowers was nominated for a "Local Love Award" for the most adored bridal bouquet! It was the bouquet we did for Kelsey's wedding in San Diego earlier this year. How exciting!

If you want to vote for us, please do so by clicking here to see the entries and to vote at the bottom of the page! Here's a reminder of what you'd be voting for:

Patio #2

We continued the patio project this weekend (on Jeff's insistence surprisingly, not mine) and did a lot of digging, weeding, raking, digging some more, and raking some more and finally got to the fun brick part today. Jeff initially got 160 bricks which he eyeballed to be "more than enough. Maybe we can even build a bench with the rest." 382 bricks later, we finished!

The whole project isn't quite done yet. We have to go another pass with the cement sand in between the bricks and then we're going to be planting moss in the gaps between the brick and the other winding pavers. Then it's done! And ready for the BBQ and the fire pit!

Jeff basking in the sunlight, and the feeling of a good day of hard labor. 

Linus the lemon tree is so much happier in his new dirt and bricked in square! We repurposed these bricks that we found in the dirt patch to bring a little elegance to Linus.

Jeff was all about that stamping tool, until he got a mean blister from it. He cheered up when I gave him a Spongebob Squarepants band-aid. 

TA-DA!! Pretty, right? Ignore all those holes along the side. They'll be charmingly filled with moss soon. 

Our new bedroom!

It really feels like a whole new master bedroom... we love the new furniture. The bed is so comfy and the room looks so much more put together now. I'm really pleased with myself over it. :)

See how cute my dresser is in between all that Danish modern?? Jeff's wood dresser would have been way too much wood, plus he really likes the new one. More space! I love that huge mirror and the new placement of the art. 

The bed fits perfectly on this wall. I would have wanted to center it under the long window but Jeff was uncomfortable with that. He said he could then see the ghosts in the hallway. Yup, I'm serious.

I always see things I want to change when I take "styled" pictures. It looks perfect to my eye until I see it in a picture and then I find things that can be tweaked. Like the leopard balsa wood piece. I think it needs to be lowered now. Hmm.

A close up of the dresser. Gorgeous. And it smells like almonds now thanks to the Method wood furniture polish I used on it!

And my baby girl. 
She's all better! She's not cooperating for this photo but she is accepting the new furniture and her lack of hiding space under the bed (although it took her about 3 minutes after we assembled it to figure out she could squeeze into one of the storage drawers under the bed). I even jazzed up the bedding. Because of Lily Mae's bulimia, we usually throw some yardage of whatever waterproof fabric I have on hand over the covers, but after organizing our linen closet, I found this Marimekko birch trees shower curtain I bought on sale at Anthropologie that we had in the downstairs bathroom at the old house! A new life for it. It almost looks like actual bedding...

Better than clear!

Mandy and I did some experimentation with some cheap clear glass vases I had, spray painting the insides with gold and copper paint. We think they turned out pretty neat! We like that it hides the stems and floral foam and brings a rich metallic touch to an otherwise basic arrangement. We have a wedding booked for May and the bride wants some copper touches so we'll see what she thinks of these.

I love carnations. I really, really do. Especially when they are 25 for $8.99.

I did a little urban foraging for this bouquet... it's basil that bolted from a few of our gigantic plants. It smells sooo good, and looks pretty cool too I think.

This is one of those ubiquitous crystal bowls that you can find in just about every thrift shop. I think a little silver polish would shine up that rim, but we kind of like the weathered and tarnished look, especially with the copper and contrasted with the fancy looking cut crystal.

Our camellia trees have started blooming, and these guys fell to the ground. Such a pretty color, how lucky to have these already in our backyard when we bought the house!

Happy 33rd Jiff-Jerf!

As promised, here are some pictures from Jeff's 33rd rock n' roll birthday party we threw him (thanks to Mandy's blog and Jana's Facebook page!). A little costume explanation: Jeff is Angus Young from AC/DC, Seth is David Bowie a la Ziggy Stardust era, Mandy is Siouxie Sioux, I'm a kitty (with Peter Criss from KISS face makeup), Jerod was Brandon Flowers from The Killers, and everyone else was awesome 80's/ early 90's rockers. THANK YOU to everyone that came and gold stars to those that dressed up! Jerf loved his party. :)

And Jan sadly didn't get to wear his costume for this party because of a overly packed social calendar that day (he came as an Emo Kid instead), but he did send me this picture last night of him at the Gasser. Classic. A little less attention paid to us as kids growing up Mom and Dad, and this might have been Jan today (not in costume)...

I can now die happy. In my Danish Modern teak bed.

My mom once said "Teak is an endangered wood because of your father!" Being a descendant of his Scandinavian blood, I too am drawn to the Danish Modern design. These were the pieces that I was dreaming of, and scored this week for a deal and a half! We also sold our old bed within a day of posting on Craigslist which made the price even better.

Check it out! I love the seller and his "TA-DA!" pictures. Part of the reason I bought it.

TA-DA! Isn't it gorgeous? I had wanted a platform bed especially because of the kitty. I was originally of the mindset that kitty should have a place to hide and feel protected and under the bed was good for that. In practice, not so great. She throws up under there, hides from us when we need to give her medication or take her to the emergency vet for butt surgery, and it's  where her fur and dust collect and kick up to aggravate Jeff's allergies. I think this is a better choice for all three of us. She still has the closet at least.

And look how cool! Hidden storage drawers for extra linens! TA-DA!

The attached nightstands kill me. I love them. I especially love that little pull out shelf for the late night apertif. Or water. Whatever.

And bonus of all bonuses: it comes with a 6 drawer dresser and mirror! This is quality stuff too. Dovetail joints and solid wood. Niiiiice. The bedroom set came from the guest room at an estate sale where the seller said it had barely been touched since it was originally purchased. This will be Jeff's dresser, because the one that I already have will fit in nicely with these pieces, and his old dresser (the one he's had forever since he was a munchkin!) will be repurposed into storage for his studio supplies until baby comes along and it goes in a nursery.

I can't wait to pick it up tomorrow and set it all up in the room! By the way, last pieces of furniture for a very long time. I love everything else we own. This bed will last us forever. Swears it on my heart.

Rx for a happy life

These Jonathan Adler menagerie ceramic pieces are awesome. I want them all. Jeff will collect Be@rbricks and I shall collect ceramic animals. I'll start with the greyhound: 

The giraffe lamp would be so cute for a nursery!