holiday equation

roaring fire

+

bearskin rug

+

Southern Belle Shiraz

+

eberjay chemises

= the perfect Christmas break.

the next couple of weeks will see me getting ready for Christmas (I'm making Joy Nuts for everyone!), driving to Chicago, driving back to Lexington, driving back to Chicago, and then back to Lexington. I'm taking a blogging-break until after New Years... I think this is going the be the best Christmas break ever-- I hope yours is too!!

your voice can take me there

aside from my dear friends and a handful of restaurants, there's very little I miss about California...but one thing I really do miss is being able to see my friends' bands any night of the week. living in Los Angeles really spoiled me in regards to seeing shows (especially since I worked for Capitol, Warner, and lived in a venue for a while) and sometimes I get nostalgic for the weeks when I never went to bed before 3am and would cram 3 or 4 shows in each night.

but thinking back, I'm glad that I'm well past that stage of my life. it was fun while it lasted, but I'm beyond happy in Chicago and still have it in me to pull a few 4am-ers on the weekends, thankyouverymuch.

I ran across this Lavender Diamond cover of Like A Prayer, which is what got me going on about all of this. Becky's stories and childlike innocence were always the best parts of seeing them live...this Madonna cover is beautiful and the video is like a cosmic Lisa Frank trapper-keeper come to life.

it' so much fun when my LA pals come to Chicago...Fool's Gold played Lincoln Hall the day after Thanksgiving-- here's hoping Lavender Diamond visits soon!

desktop cleanout

I'm constantly dragging images onto my desktop and it's high time I share them with you and throw 'em in a folder.

loving the woven pendant shade and glossy white floors...

this is the absolute perfect shade of robin's egg blue meets seafoam green. the open shelves stacked with white magazines is a great solution to the piles of vintage architecture mags that lined an entire wall of my bedroom...also the chow-chow proves that this delicate color can be paired with autumnal tones and also looks great with dark wood accent pieces.

open shelving, books in the kitchen, beadboard backsplash, painted floor, mismatched chairs, rolling library ladder, and pops of that great Danish blue...what a delish kitchen!

this is an image from Dos Family and I can't get enough of it. I love all of the prints above the sofa, especially how they're hung, and the cluster of pillows on that perfectly-grey sofa is divine.

this is a tinge on the feminine side for my personal tastes, but I'd absolutely suggest this look for clients. that light robin's eggy color comes back into play and I am such a sucker for bamboo shades layered behind a nicely-tailored curtain. the headboard pops in a darker version of the wall color (wallpaper?) and almost looks like the little buttons in the tufted chair are the same hue.

what's your favorite image?

samsies

while cleaning off my desktop this morning, I noticed these two photos that I'd pulled on very separate occasions.

navy walls, blonde hardwood floors, antique desk/chest with round hardware, black-painted chairs, and woven accents...notice any other similarities?

pickin' up chicks

after growing up in Kentucky and living in Los Angeles, I've decided there's definitely something I want to have in my backyard whenever I finally own a house: chickens.

they were commonplace in east LA neighborhoods, often roaming freely about the streets, and I housesat for friends who owned a huge craftsman with a coop in the back. I loved collecting eggs every day and watching the chickens peck about, just happy to have some ground corn, fresh water, and hay to nest in. it reminded me of living on a farm, only 3 chickens is much more manageable than 40.

it'd be super fun to build your own, but how rad is this chicken fort from Handcrafted Coops?!

I'm not sure if it'd be feasible to keep chickens in Chicago...but you'd better believe I'm looking into it.

feathery frock

I'm in love with this adorable peacock minidress and I especially love it paired with the tomato tights! so unexpected!

this + that

these two rooms were posted on AT this summer and I just happened across them in my archives...put 'em together and it reminds me of everything thats filling my gigantic storage space right now.

in case I neglected to mention it, I'm in Kentucky for 2 months, working for a designer and an art gallery. it's beyond great to be back in the 9-5 world, but whooooooooa buddy, is it weird living at home again. W-E-I-R-D.

I'm also workin' on a bunch of other stuff, hangin' out with family, and counting down the days until I return to Chicago. I miss it somethin' awful...yes, even when it's 2 degrees.