smoke

our house went up in smoke today. i goofed and forgot to clean up some spilt olive oil that had pooled at the bottom of the stove. i also forgot to mention this small detail to luke before he turned on the oven to bake pizza today.

the smoke is now out and the headaches are gone, but here's to being more "on top of things" (whatever that means) in 2011.

merry merry

merry christmas and happy giving!!! xoxo

doilies

had the loveliest christmas dinner with the girls! i always love the look of a table after everyone has eaten and are stuffed and happy! i feel blessed.

roaring twenties

had friends over last night to eat, drink and watch the boardwalk empire finale (we've watched the season together)! and we dressed up and pretended to be serious in photos! nik has the rest of the goods...

photo: mine above and nik below.

♥

my heart is full. handed in my final portfolio today, and so tomorrow will be the first day in a month that i can sleep-in and not have to worry about jetting off to school for the next 20 hours.

on the menu this weekend: a long-overdue night out with the girls, lots of sleeping-in (did i mention that already?), vintage shopping, painting my toes and nails gold, a family christmas with a trillion kids, guest tickets to a great show, date night with luke to see black swan, finally picking out a tree, and possibly waiting for a new baby niece!

happy weekend everyone!

simple style

this girl has impeccable style and a fabulous LA apartment. classic and simple.

image: jeana sohn

william eakin: fading dream

the amazing work of photographer and friend, william eakin ... he has the most beautiful spread in the current edition of eyemazing magazine (just arrived yesterday). check it out if you get the chance!

photo: william eakin via stephen bulgur gallery

the list

i find christmas more than tad-bit overwhelming. i love being with family and friends, and i love filling my plate up with grandmas pistachio jello salad and my dad's apple stuffing. love the white lights and the smell of the christmas tree in the morning. and i love to give - giving gifts usually ends up being what i love most.

but to get there, you have to go through the shopping part, and to be honest, i'm not a fan. i will try to go to the mall, but after being there for about 8 or so minutes, i start to panic and end up running back out to the car with zip. shopping online would normally work like a charm, but with grand shipping fees and strict timing issues, it's not all that practical for christmas.

so this year, i'll be taking a note from my good friend, stephanie, who is doing all of her shopping at thrift and fair-trade shops. i'll add other local boutique shopping to the mix, but my goal for this year is not to step foot in a single mall or big box store. and if either of those don't work, then i'll have to find the time to make something... a few of you lovelies make most of your gifts and i love and admire that.

this lovely store just opened up on broadway and i think it will be my first stop. but i'm wondering, if you must shop for christmas, where do you go?

photo: lune

misspent life

love the title of this book...

wall

have been busy. i have a final presentation to our client tomorrow and i'm so very happy to be done! 7 long days and nights with little little sleep. you know you're in trouble when you see the clock at 4 and wonder if its am or pm. believe me, it happens.

but thought i'd share a little piece of the project. myself and two others are designing a workspace that will be shared between two companies, a film production studio, and a local special effects company (they did avatar by the way). our concept is based around an interactive wall system that separates, but also encourages collaboration between the two companies.

it was a group project, but the design of this wall system wall was where i spent a large part of my time and i'm pretty happy with it... there are bits and pieces - doors, tables, writing surfaces - that pivot and come down from the walls to accommodate spaces of rest and interaction.

now, off to bed!

blue valentine

don't they look beautiful together?

photo: just jared

lately

some photos ...

owl

we have a next door neighbour named michael whose living room window faces the entrance on the side of our house. today when i was leaving for school, i noticed this little owl on the window sill. michael knows that i have a small owl collection and i find it very sweet of him to leave us his! a little extra love to go and come home to...

umbrella

thought i'd post a cheery image since i'm just heading out the door to work in the cad lab (a very small and depressing concrete room in the basement of the architecture building).

anyway, i'm going to draft the parts for a wood model we're having cut tomorrow with the laser cutter. it needs to be perfectly exact and not being much of a details person, i'm a little nervous. wish me luck!

photo by ma-chr (a parisian art and design studio) found via all the mountains

it's going to get loud

we have a set of drums in the basement, but there's something incredibly fun about having them in the living room! the neighbours would hate us...

photo: via i swan

knit one purl one

knit 1

need a project over christmas break?

i'll be knitting/ crocheting a lot come january so i'm thinking of getting my game on early. i find this bicycle especially amazing! but i think i'll start off with a cowl neck scarf. more my league at this point.

photo: yvan rodic, & wood & wool stool (via seesaw)

tinsel tree

it feels christmassy out there. i won't be diving in just yet since i still have school in the way, but there is a huge part of this time that reminds me of my grandma peters. she was the bestest, one of my most favourite, and i miss her more when the snowflakes fall. she was the queen of jam jams and pluma moos, and she had the world's greatest laugh. grandmas are good. just wish they could stick around a little longer.