rennes

Last weekend we couldn't stand seeing theses paper lights anymore so we made a lamp. I got the idea of putting rope around a cord from this lamp, but I wasn't sure how to do it. So we did a macrame stitch instead. We're pretty happy with how the rope portion turned out - it's thick and it a lot more exciting than a hanging cord. I thought doing the knotting would be a breeze on a larger scale, but it actually took a lot more arm strength than I imagined: doing 15 ft took about 2-3 hours. I'm trying to decide whether we should put a shade on it. At first I thought I definitely wanted a shade, but now I might have gotten used to the bulb. Now the next step is finally hanging either some wall shelves or some kind of wall hanging by the couch.

 I found these bells on our trip and didn't want to hang them on nails - I wanted to make wall mounts. I bought some wood and a metered saw yesterday and I like how they turned out. You just need wooden blocks, a drill, hanger bolts, and super glue. I think I'm going to make a lot of them as they were very easy. I can think of all sorts of things to hang on them!

It's easy to get stuck in a rut. Take for instance: I moved my work out of this room more than nine months ago and until a week ago I was sick of it I would barely stepped foot in it. Whenever I saw it all I could think of was piled up stacks of fabric, impractical storage solutions (ikea always makes it look so easy in their store, but then you get home and all the containers and shelves you purchased only seem to have made matters worse), and cramped machines pushed so close together it makes me wonder how it ever worked. That on top of not being a fan of Navajo White paint made me feel permanently deterred from doing anything in this room. I know, I sound like a snob saying I don't like a certain shade of white paint, but I swear it makes already dark rooms darker.

Fast forward to this past week:  there is 'less hate' (as our friend Jim would say), for the back room. Three things we nixed: A blue braided rug, the blue curtains, and the striped blue bed cover. We added: a cream bed spread on top of the bed I forgot we had, white curtains we used at our last apartment, and okay - one purchase - a rug. Needless to say this is the first rug we have ever bought, so I don't feel too bad about it. All the other ones we have just seem to come to us. I think that having most things white in this room has lightened it up considerably (all that blue hadn't been helping).

Also, I'm not sure I ever mentioned that we made this bed about a year ago. It's a simple frame. Jesse drew it up in CAD and then we built it from scratch. We kept meaning to paint it or finish it but I've always liked the look of raw pine so we never got around to it. I wish we had had the time and stamina to make ourselves a bed frame, but we finally caved in and bought one recently.

I spend a ridiculous amount of time dreaming about a perfect home and someday I think it's possible to get there.  I'm just hoping when I get there it 1. won't include bay windows and 2. has an attic we can remodel.  In the meantime I'll just continue to make as many things white as possible.

I baked and cooked all day today! It was so fun, I should do it more often. I keep thinking I'd get into it as a weekend hobby and today I finally did. This morning I made these scones and they turned out really, really good and I don't mind saying so. (Follow the link for the recipe). We altered the recipe just a little bit and put some jalapeños in with the dough along with making the butter to go on the side. I remember the first time I learned that cold cubed butter was the secret to pasty flakiness: a definite life changer. The dough got really sticky after I added the scallions at the end, so it's good to add a little more flour before you roll out the dough.

 The afternoon was concluded by making some pickled red onions and some mustardy brussel sprouts. Lots of salty things, but I'm totally okay with that.

Today our home is featured on Design Sponge! It was really fun to put this segment together with them. You can check it out here. Thank you Shannon! :)

When I think about my favorite colors, I always assume I love neutrals - white, grey, black, tan, navy, etc. And it's true, those are my favorites! But in reality, I think my favorite color is actually red. You can see this in our kitchen and throughout our apartment in different ways. A little pop of red here and there : text in a print, cups and bowls, a spatula, towels, a plaid apron, and socks. While I don't tend to wear a lot of red, it definitely has it's place in our home. Recently we were given an old wooden table which we sanded down and painted white. It's on our back porch now. It desperately needs red bistro chairs to go with it. So the hunt is on.

It's been nice to appreciate where we live in a new way (without all my work stuff here). There's more room to spread out now, and I feel more content just being at home. I am starting to have a new appreciation and obsession with empty space, clutter be gone! I can't wait for the weekend to start. I hope you have a great weekend as well!

P.S. Take 15% off your order between now and Sunday night with the code "JULY"!! [Offer applies to everything in the shop except the Riley Dot Tote!]

1. Oh hello new couch. I seriously don't want to get off this couch. Also, a nice ceramic lamp from Target and button pillows from Kim. 2. Just picked up a loaf of bread from my favorite bakery around the corner. Yum! 3. Bracelets and necklaces from Stephanie, been wearing them since they arrived. 4. Fabric, piles (and rolls) of fabric. 5. In a little bit I'll be moving my studio into a different room that's a bigger and has more sunlight. 6. Backpacks getting made and ready to be shipped off.

Good morning. Things have been quiet around here the past week. We had a nice holiday weekend and got to do some hiking and kayaking - I seem to be on a bit of an outdoors kick lately, but knowing me, we'll see how long that lasts.

Our new couch was delivered yesterday, and we spent last night assembling it. We decided to go with the Kivik sofa & chaise after all. We haven't quite got it in the right place in our living room yet (not enough time to reshuffle everything yet) but it already feels so much homier to have a real couch.

Also, just a quick note, I'm behind on my emails. I'm sorry if I've haven't gotten back to you yet - there have been some things that have put work on the back burner, but hopefully in the next week or so things will be back on track. Maybe it's just me, but then again, isn't there something about fall that makes you want to hibernate inside with a cup of tea, knitting, and a good book? Speaking of books, does anyone have any goods books they've read recently? I seem to get stuck in a rut and read lots of historical fiction, but would like to branch out!

Couch shopping, to put it lightly, is a daunting task. Buy too cheap of a couch and it will fall apart, buy a used "nice" couch and you get pet hair and who knows what else, buy a "nice" couch and you blow all your savings - so where may I ask is the middle ground? Where can I find a couch for under $1000 that doesn't feel flimsy and cheap? After four months of a an on and off search, I concluded my best bet was the above Kivik loveseat and chaise couch in Teno Light Gray from Ikea. Don't get me wrong, I love Ikea, but I get nervous about making an expensive purchase from them given how flimsy their hardware and and materials can be. Love their textiles, rugs, small things, but as an owner of one of the Malm beds and an Expedit bookshelf, the contruction is very much "you get what you pay for". But after sitting on the couch in the store I feel hopeful, so, we shall see! In the meantime if you have any couch suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!

We painted our dining room over the weekend. Before it was a beige/cream color - which isn't a bad color in and of itself, it just didn't work in the room because 1. it was glossy, yes, the walls were glossy, and 2. the room is dark for most of the day. Therefore, a nice white seemed like a good option (just like our living room). We did the whole room in one day except for the china cabinet because it's a big project by itself and would be easier to tackle later.





I got this book last March when I was in New York. I really love all the hand stitching leather work. I keep wanting to give it a go but then I never have the time. Also been on the hunt for some perfect red leather, a search that's proving somewhat difficult.



Another book I got as well, with some different clothing designs in it. I want to make a light weight fall jacket with a perfect linen/wool tweed. I think I might use the pattern on the right as a base for it. I wanted something with a loose fit, and this seems like a good place to start, sans those black panels - not a big fan of those.

Things might be quiet on here the next week or so as I'm trying to get something exciting together, hopefully I'll be able to share that with you soon!

Just some random shots from around the house past week. Things seem to be moving in slow motion, but I'm grateful for that because it has given me a lot of time to reflect. I feel about a million times better than I did just a week ago and I can't even put into words how good that is. Some of the scotomas that had been developing in my eye have retracted a bit and the inflammation has gone down. I feel much better sewing and am getting in the swing of things already.

We are going to New York on Thursday through Tuesday to get a second opinion from another doctor, but have made the trip a bit longer so we can have some fun too! I'm excited because I haven't been to the city since last fall - and I don't think Jesse and I have gone on a trip since the summer - so it's about time! Which leads me to another point, could you recommend some fun things to do while we are there? I tend to do the same things over and over again (re: shopping, museums, food) because I like them, but I want to mix it up this time and would love some suggestions! I'm especially keen on eating sushi, so if you know of a great sushi place I would be excited to hear about it. One thing I'm excited to do is check out the Pip-Squeak Chapeau shop in Brooklyn - I've never been but love their style so much. And of course there is more than one fabric store on my list. I'm also hoping to find a place that would carry the Margiela Tabi's so I can try them on in person - don't worry, I would never buy them, but I can dream. I see that Totokaelo has them in black now - and while I love the nude color, I know I would destroy them in a year. Black is a bit more practical.