inspiration

Recently, I've discovered a new favorite blog filled with European thrift shop finds and lovely French country design! Aina at Modern Country is a sweet girl from the Netherlands, with so much fresh inspiration to share. In one of her recent posts, she visited a local interior design shop and fell head-over-heels in love with this kitchen. First of all, I am also in love!! Second, I am completely dazzled by her flea market finds. This girl's style rocks!

busy bee

I just got home from work, realized I left my cell-phone there, polished off an entire carton of raspberries (D-lish), and oh yeah, my to-do list! Can you tell that my head is swirling!? It seems that our San Francisco bed & breakfast is in full swing: I am *so* excited because my parents and littlest, or should I say, youngest brother (he's 12--and officially taller and stronger...but don't tell him that!) are coming to visit this weekend! It will be so great to see them--I don't think I've ever gone this long without. Can you believe it's been 3 months already, since we moved to Cali? Anyway, it was such a sweet surprise & blessing that they could find time to come. Seriously, I was hoping that they would be able to come before next summer. It's going to be a quickie visit (3 days), so I'm trying my very hardest to plan ahead. For the next 24 hours, I am in travel agent/hostess mode...making schedules, lists, and getting this place whipped into shape! What are your plans for the long weekend? Whatever you have in store, make it delightful!

Do you not love these gold bee earrings by Anthropologie? Totally unique and inspiring me today.

crush

I can't even help it. I am head-over-heels, in love, obsessed with these gorgeous new pillows from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic. (They would be absolutely perfect for filling those big, empty, bay windows in our apartment!) In fact, you could even dare to say that I follow her design religiously. Everything is so light, fresh, and downright girly in a good way. True confessions: 1. A few months ago, just for fun on a Friday night, cozy on my couch, I devoured one of her latest books The Shabby Chic Home, instead of tackling the infinite list of should-be-doings. 2. Since one of her delightful little boutiques is located just across the street from my work, you can bet that I regularly peruse there...which only fuels my obsession! 3. Here's hoping that either she releases similar pillows in her more affordable Simply Shabby Chic line at Target, or a Shabby Chic shopping spree falls from the sky so I can snatch these beauties up today!

happy crafters

We were busy little crafters yesterday! All week long, we scoured the thrift shops of S.F., looking for great fabrics and embellishments to achieve our sewing dreams. After all, Amy didn't check that 50lb old-school metal Singer for nothing! Finally on Saturday, we set to work and fumbled through the tedium of being novice sewers without moms handy when the machine groans and misbehaves. There is nothing more satisfying than snapping pics of the finished products and buzzing about how one day we will open an etsy shop of our very own!{This is the birdie apron that I made using 2 vintage pillow cases and an adorable little crocheted flower. Shhh...The pillowcase came with that cutesy scalloped edge, so no sewing miracle was performed on my part.}
Remember the Martha pattern I romanticized about making for mornings at the Farmers' Market? Well, dear Amy created this carefree summer tote for herself and it's reversible! Plus, she scored a matching knit picnic blanket from a thrift store yesterday. Perfection. :)

Last but not least, Amy had a treasured souvenir tank from her semester in Cambodia that shrunk and was doomed for the rag pile. But, she cut it out, combined it with a handsome button-down shirt, and made it into an adorable tote that might be mistaken for something bought at Urban Outfitters! Isn't she awesome?

the adventure

Life has been action-packed lately...it seems that I've been away from blogging for too long, so forgive me if I'm rusty and/or wordy tonight! We said a sad farewell to Amy at 4:30am this morning when we dropped her off to catch her crack-o-dawn flight. (Tears, yawns) I am excited to share just a few pics from our wild adventures. You're probably wondering about the picture above, right?
That's just Amy doing a handstand on a folding chair at the beach. Yes, we had a little play time at the beach on Thursday--we met up with some of our newfound S.F. friends and went on a little adventure. After scaling down a mighty Pacific cliff, we spent a little time on our own private, unnamed beach at Land's End. That's where we found the folding chair and knew it was time for a photo shoot:

Jeff's wind-up.

Jeff's pitch.

We all need play-days to nourish the kids in us. I quickly snapped back from the magic to grown-up mode when I realized afterward there 6 stinky, sandy, sopping shoes and 3 equally filthy jeans and kids in my neat, clean house...

No, this isn't a Banana Republic ad, it's us (me, Ames, Matt, Jeff, & Dan) at Zachary's after a busy day of adventures. Zachary's has the best pizza in the world and is so worth the hike to Oakland. Amazing crusts. Amazing sauce. Amazing, choking amounts of delish cheese. Amazing everything. Enough said.

Here's to visiting great friends!

A steal of a plane ticket landed me right here in breezy San Fran! Don't be confused by my Midwest accent, Jessica bestowed me the honor of being her first ever guest blogger! My name is Amy and I'm from Madison, W.I. , and here is a glimpse into my first 2 days in this hilly city! Jessica picked me up from the airport at 11am with my sewing machine in tote (probably the weirdest item I've ever checked) we have big crafting plans to execute while I'm here. For the record the sewing tote was 3 times heavier and bigger than my suitcase. We didn't waste a minute...off to the farmers' market to do some wandering; then a tour of the adorable neighborhoods with the painted ladies (as seen on previous posts).

We meandered through the streets of Chinatown,

sampling fresh fortune cookies and being charged 50 cents to capture the moment.

I got to experience my first ride on the Muni (what the locals call they're electric city buses) to go see where Jess' adorable husband Jeff works. While we waited for him to finish his shift we took in some of the local street corner talent.

Can anyone else vouch for me that street dancing is sexy? Jessica claims I was drooling....but it had to be that I was just hungry!

Famished from the days activities we decide to take the Boudin bakery tour in order to better educated ourselves on the art of sourdough bread making...and to get the samples at the end. During out delicious dinner we met an adorable local named Ricky who divulged some of the local clubbin' hot spots for one of the week's later activities. We decide to cap the night off by over-indulging in some Ghirrardelli dessert. After a day like that (and not having had any sleep the night before) I rolled into bed!

Today was the day for windey wine country. We made a pit stop at the beginning of our day at an adorable antique shop called Sonoma Country Antiques that imports handmade English housewares. Minutes later we discovered the art of sparkling wine-making and sampled some of the sparkling wines from the Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves.

Hug a Tree!

Needing a bit of fresh air after experiencing a bit of motion sickness (the roads are so windey!) we decided to take in the amazing sights and fresh air of the Muir Woods. After seeing trees that we felt had some unspoken stories we realized that it may be our calling to write children's books about the giant redwoods. (Coming soon to a book store near you!)

This is only day 2 to of my 5 day adventure so tune in for more of my Cali getaway...this is Amy Thierer signing off =)

time for the ladies

My friend Amy is visiting this week! It is quite wonderful for me to have some girl-time with a BFF. Plus, it's the first time she's ever visited S.F., so it'll be a blast to play tour guide and run around to all of the gorgeous S.F. sights...Something I don't always get to do when I'm stuck in the daily grind, on the muni (bus) between home and work. On the agenda: touring, shopping, beaching, hiking, photoshooting, eating out, and of course, spending a little time with my very favorite painted ladies (photo from flickr) at Alamo Square. Plus, we have some important craft projects to catch up on, which I promise to share! I'm excited to begin chipping away at my to-do list from designsponge. Happy Tuesday everyone!

creative space

This weekend I've been on a complete rampage to neatly organize all of my craft supplies in the scrapbook nook. It's always a challenge to 1. personalize a crafting space with general cuteness and design, 2. organize and maximize its efficiency with my favorite supplies within reach, 3. stick to a low-to-no budget, and 4. keep it that way!

That's when I turn to the experts:I don't know about you, but I am having some major jealousy issues with Heather Bailey's studio right now! Everything about this room is absolutely divine. I adore her use of color and elegant furnishings. It's a vicious cycle, really: Have a gorgeous inspirational creative space--then create more gorgeous inspirational things to share with the world. Thanks, Heather, for a peek into your studio. Sorry about the drool...

happy, happy weekend!

I simply adore my embroidered days-of-the-week dishtowels made by my grandma! In my opinion, every girl needs a crafty grandma and every girl needs a set of these to brighten her kitchen daily. In truth, I have two sets...One week of lovebirds (from my Grandma) and one week of teapots (from my Great Aunt). So fun! Hope that you have a relaxing, productive, recreational, and inspirational weekend.

find

Just wanted to share my Etsy find of the day! {For those of you unfamiliar with etsy, it's an incredible, enormous online craft fair featuring only the best and beautiful little shoppes.} Darling wristlets from pink lemonade boutique. Pink and black with a little sass, and a sweet little birdie to balance it all out!

walking on gold

As promised: the continuation of Monday's post about our anniversary adventure. Later that afternoon, we found ourselves at the foot of Hearst Castle a very famous California historical landmark. All I can say is, this place is amazing and ridiculous at the same time. We lucked out and hopped on the first of five different tours you can take of this immense building. That's right, there are five different tours because it's waay too much to take in in just 2 hours.

Thoughts:
1. W.R. Hearst built this monstrosity as a hobby. I'd like to know exactly who and how one can collect ancient Greek & Roman ruins for your poolside.
2. I've never seen so much marble in my life.
3. This place is a complete museum. Did you know that he has a set of four giant tapestries that belonged to Louis XIV? Yes.
4. Wish we had more photos of inside his palatial courts...No flash allowed, of course!
5. For a minute there, I forgot that I wasn't really in Old World Spain.

Conclusion: We walked on gold. Lots and lots of gold. 22k gold smattered all over the deck of this dude's indoor pool. I'd like for MTV Cribs to take a look at this place. We are taking tours 2-5 ASAP!

scrapping away

I have the day to myself! No work, no commitments, nothing but a whole lot of scrapbooking going on. I am finally starting some honeymoon layouts! Just wanted to take a break and share. Happy day!

paper repurposed

Just flipping through the August Martha. I am in love with these paper fortune tellers repurposed for a Sundae party. So simple and adorable!

a man in brown rang my doorbell...

...And made the world a happier place! I am *so excited* because I just received a very special package of Favorite Things in the mail! These things were not just anyone's favorite things, but the select favs of Jihan, the swap hostess herself. I think that I am the luckiest girl in the world right now!I absolutely love everything about it! She and I share a love for paper, ribbons, and of course Martha Stewart. This is seriously the sweetest little surprise I've ever received!! In case you can't read her cutesy little notes, the stack of adorable polka-dotted tins included:

*green-polka dotted tissue paper
*Seattle chocolate
*oodles of green ribbon
*Kiehl's lip balm
*mini soap
*a flashy rhinestone tape measure/keychain (how nifty is that!?)
*a book of witty Italian phrases, because when in Italy, you never know when you'll need to say something meaningful about olive oil or fend off a gypsy: "E possano i tuoi denti marcire prima di Natale!" Translation: "And may the rest of your teeth rot before Christmas!" fun!
*an assortment of darling paper tags
*lovely note cards and envelopes

I am feeling so inspired! Thanks Jihan, the package is absolutely amazing. You are a doll!

one fine day

Yesterday was our very first anniversary getaway! We set out bright and early, claiming our place in line at Dotties, our favorite little cafe in the city that we discovered last summer on the honeyM! It's located in the sketchiest of neighborhoods, so we try to limit our visits, but we love it and the food is yum. ;)

Honeymooning-me at Dotties last summer!

Next we road trip half way to L.A., down Hwy 1, along the ocean to Big Sur and beyond. The coastline there is absolutely breathtaking:We do a little hiking and amazingly, it's already time for a romantic little picnic beneath the Redwoods. Since we couldn't bring our frozen wedding cake with us when we moved, we saved a $pendy bottle of wine from Jarvis--an incredible Napa winery we also visited and loved during our honeymoon days! Quick plug for Jarvis: if ever you have the chance, the tour and tasting is unforgettable. The entire winery is built in a cave. If ever you have the chance, go there, because all I can say is that it is straight out of James Bond.
I can't imagine a more fun day & way to spend our anniversary than road trippin', hiking, and blissing out with a gourmet picnic. It was a fine day, indeed! In fact, we took so many photos that I am thinking that I need to spread them out over 2 posts. More tomorrow!

once upon a time, one year ago, on {august 12th}...because i couldn't wait 'til even midnight share this!

...I was doing this! And it was the happiest day of my life until...
...Until I spent 365 more days of wedded bliss with my darling, Jeff. I never dreamed that it could get better. Ever. But it just did. So happy anniversary, my love!

We are off to spend the our day retracing some steps of our honeymoon and visiting some other places for the first time. (What are the odds of living in the city where you honeymooned just one year ago!?) Our destination: Big Sur. I can't wait to post pics of our 12-hour romantic getaway on Monday!