Turquoise!

Why turquoise ... and why now?

Why the questions of "is this too green or not enough blue" and

"will she like it"?

And, yes, the shovels ARE too green ... 

Well ..... it all started with a little loveseat and ottoman from IKEA.

(not the chaise, just a right hand loveseat and ottoman)

Small enough for a studio.  Combined they are large enough for a guest to sleep on -- 

and it is entirely just right for an 

urban/girly/techie/traveler/fashionista 

that is my youngest.

Yes - the Pink Princess has added turquoise to the mix  of black, white and hot pink in her Seattle studio apartment.

The studio apartment with LOTS of windows (a corner unit) and HARDWOOD FLOORS!

She knows what she wants and when she should settle or hold on tight.  (And isn't that something we all should know about ourselves and our situations?)

And why not turquoise?  

Turquoise is apparently the HOT color de jour.

It is EVERYWHERE!

Creative Influences

 Everything Turquoise ....  

whether just the name Turquoise (her design name)

.... or what they do.

Trying to know more about turquoise, I found some history ...

The word turquoise is very old and likely is derived from the French Pierre turquoise, meaning Turkish stone. This is thought to have arisen from a misconception: turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded there, and the gem became associated with the country in the West.

Perhaps even more interesting is that there is a Turquoise Coast in Turkey ....  maybe I need to do a little on-site research!!

Think I'm going to find my white jeans and my turquoise bracelet and be right in fashion for this summer.  Now if I could just get my new credit card delivered and active, maybe we could see about that azure .... er, TURQUOISE water calling me .....

Hugs!

Off to the Barn!

Whew! I am GLAD it's Friday.  

This week has been a little crazy, what with our credit card being compromised and all .... 

  Actually it's a very short story involving one day of rampant weird charges we didn't even know about until a merchant in California called us to ask if we made the purchase and let us know something was up.  According to Mr. Sammy Girl folks at the credit card company were fab.  Living with no active credit card feels VERY strange.  Not sure why or what it means -- maybe just knowing we could head for another part of the world and charge it to a piece of plastic with only a MOMENT'S NOTICE has been an emotional SAFETY NET.   That being said it's time to figure out where we REALLY want to go if we WERE to use that card to escape ....

But for now -- I have the PERFECT PLACE for fun and work.  YEP!  I am going to the TARTE BARN today.  Don't expect any sneak peeks of tomorrow's sale (I always forget my camera and also feel that letting you see the glitz and glam are Cindy's option ....

HOWEVER ... here is a pic that IMMEDIATELY made me think of Cindy ...

 Photo from Atlanta Bartlett .... (check out her yummy pics! -- and her wonderful books, but more on those later ....)

And here's the perfect dress .....

Well - that's enough for now.  Gotta finish up some stuff and then scoot over to OC ... or would that be "oc" as we are not in Cali??

Hugs and have a great day!

Special note:  a blog I just discovered .... decor8 .... give it a look!

Wa-Hoo!

It is true.  It takes so LITTLE to make me HAPPY.  And have have LOTS of little things to make me happy RIGHT NOW.   No, even though yesterday felt like Friday, today is NOT Saturday.  However, there are SO MANY super things coming my way.  (And I know we should ALWAYS practice the attitude of gratitude!!)

So - in NO PARTICULAR ORDER are some of the LITTLE SUPER THINGS:

#1 I have a class tomorrow!!  YEA!  Lisa Kaus ... artist extaordinaire ... featured in Where Women Create ... as well as other publications.

  Most importantly, she is an all-around-fun-and-nice-gal.  I am SO looking forward to soaking up the creativity of Lisa and her studio and my classmates ... and having FUN creating my own "masterpiece".  

I took her Gridlocked class before and was hooked!  (See what I made!!)

This fall I will be taking classes with her at Art and Soul.  (Yes, I know, this constitutes more than a LITTLE thing .... but having a class TOMORROW is just what I need - like realizing you are NOT OUT of DIET PEPSI/COKE, but have ONE BOTTLE left in the frig!!)

Here are some glimpses into her fun work that will inspire us for our projects tomorrow.

#2 I have a date to "play at the barn" with Cindy (aka Queen of Tarte) next week.

  

Yes, this is technically work, as I will be helping her to set up for her next big day, but she is so much fun and so creative, that it is a breath of fresh air to be her assistant/gopher.  (Also, as not being MY project and I am not responsible for being IN CHARGE and worrying about an event of MY OWN ... there is practically no STRESS -- well, other than being home not SOOOO LATE.  And, as you can tell, I LOVE to CHAT it UP!! - ad I need to hear all about FARM CHICKS!! ...  LOL!)  note:  the hyperlink is to their blog, but they also have a website.

#3 My sis and I spent some time working on the new exhibit for Deepwood yesterday.  As there was a special event tea that we didn't want to interrupt, we went out for lunch and a little "road trip" around town.  Sis doesn't get out to the shops as often as she would like .... so I HAD to take her to two.   The GOOD LITTLE THING?  A Victorian table that NEEDED to come home with me!  It is just FAB.  (And yes, I did text a pic to hubby to confirm that I was being logical and not just emo-shopping --- which I actually WAS -- and he LIKED IT, too!)  I'll snap a pic, but she needs to be "prettied up" i.e. have the cobwebs and grime removed before showing up in public!!

#4 I won a giveaway from Dawn at the Feathered Nest ... and it arrived during the last couple of crazy-hectic-what-is-coming-next-weeks and it is WONDERFUL!  

My own little Fairy in a Jar!  And she is a celebrity, having been featured in Somerset Life. 

#5 I am HOME at my condo in WHOVILLE with the opportunity to put things WHERE I WANT THEM and MOVE FURNITURE AROUND this afternoon.  Sound looney?  Well, it's almost exercise, and much cheaper than THERAPY!!  

What more could a gal ask for?  Not much!  Well, other than some designer clothes and shoes to fit a newly slimmed-down and tanned-up cellulite-free body ....  maybe a new little sports car .... fresh flowers every day ... calorie free full flavor chocolates (See's Candy!) ... and,  well, I guess there's always room for dreaming!

I'd better get busy and move some furniture around for my workout ....... so I'm off to "furniture-ize" ....

Hugs!

Back in Town!

Back .... as in back from Montana and the busy month of May.   Not that anything much happened  ..... ha! ha! ha!

The Pink Princess Returned.

Yes, the pink princess returned from her YEAR in India.  Picture me doing the smothering and she is trying to tactfully let me know she is is competent and capable.  Because she is financially cautious (and a poor college student) she humors me and I take her shopping.  She has since moved on to her own studio apartment in Seattle.  I am SOOOO looking forward to helping her decorate!!  She is keen on black and white with maybe some hot pink and teal.  The cell phone videos of her place and our calls back and forth have been fun. We are taking a u-haul up next weekend.  U-haul?  Yep!  Her bed is a full/double renaissance revival.  Yes, the kind with a seven foot tall headboard and 3-foot tall footboard.  Hers is disassembled in the garage (aka staging area), but looks something like this (but wood is darker and a little less ornate and more curve-y):

What else?

 

Montana Kid Duty.

Driving 11 hours to Montana to watch two ADORABLE grandkids for TWO WEEKS while mom and dad luxuriated in Hawaii to celebrate their anniversary.  (Even if luxuriated ISN'T a word ... it certainly SHOULD be!!)

                                                 

The REAL Sammy Girl turned six while I was there. 

 

The stay included daily trips to 1/2 day kindergarden (several miles to paved road!)  and time with the two-year-old-engineer-in-training.  There were visits to the Missoula Carousel  ....

 .... got signed up for a first library card (something EVERY GIRL NEEDS!)   ....  a couple of trips for bike riding and touring the visitor's center at the game refuge ..... playing at the park .... and more and more fun!  The weather was so variable .... crummy windy, rainy, stormy ... and some bits of nice.  One morning near the end it was clear and beautiful.  And COLD.

  

The irrigation sprinklers left ice on the fences and trees and I tried to catch some pics on the way back from our morning kindergarten drop off.  Deer were often in the front and back "yards", and one day we saw a fox with breakfast in his mouth right next to us on the road.  AWESOME!  Worst thing?  No cell phone reception or "real" internet.  With mountains all around, the only place to communicate by cell was by the garbage cans (about 2 miles from the house).  

View from the garbage cans.

As if THAT wasn't enough, 

Wedding vows and week-long celebration.

We ended the month with My son the genius (MSTG) getting married. MSTG married a great girl who is .... wait for it .... brilliant .... wait for it ... sweet and beautiful .... wait for it .... a rocket scientist!  Yes, yes .... a REAL rocket scientist.   The right education and a job in the field. Anyhow, a car full of people and stuff came up from LA a week before the wedding. There was a shower at Deepwood, rehearsal dinner at Leach Botanical Gardens ... our Whoville condo filled to the brim all week.  Also included sidelights like Mr. Sammy Girl (aka Poppa Steve) taking kiddos to the Zoo ... and on and on ... It's true that I couldn't find the jacket for the ensemble I had planned to wear so fit in an emergency run to the Nordstrom Rack to find another jacket. And the day of the wedding, another emergency run to find a strapless bra for one of the girls who couldn't find hers.  Who had time to get bored??!!

Pink Princess was a bridesmaid and two grandkiddos were in the wedding.  Flower girl was on task and simply FABULOUS!  Zander Man ..... well he knows what to do in church!  Walked down the aisle with poppa and hopped into the empty pew three rows from the front.  He then proceeded to kick off his shoes and settle in.  All ready for the sermon with a great view of the platform.  Problem?  He was the ring bearer and was supposed to walk ALL the way to the front.  I guess it's my fault as I reminded him we were going to church and he was wearing his church shoes.  He certainly knows the routine!  (Don't YOU kick off your shoes in church??)  

Everything was lovely.  Lots of pictures afterwards.  Then we took the scenic way to the reception.  Lost?  Well, maybe just turned around a little ....  

The next day (Monday) June 1st was laundry and packing so both girls could leave.  One last field trip, so the munchkins and I went to see the Eagle's Nest.  They were both impressed. At seven feet by eleven feet it would impress anyone!  On the way home we stopped at our farm stand and bought a chocolate milkshake and real (red, ripe and juicy) Oregon strawberries.   YUM!

Tuesday I headed to Eugene for classes and the next day Mr. Sammy Girl got sick.  See?  He CAN'T live without me!!

Now I'm back home.  

They say "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" ... and mine is starting by putting away all my serving dishes and folding the six loads of laundry I just washed.    Hmmm ... maybe instead I'll start it by going out to breakfast with Mr. Sammy Girl (guaranteed to make him feel better, of course!) and a trip to Camas (road trip to spend time with him and maybe a little shopping??)

Hugs to you all and hope to get caught up with everyones postings!