Pinned It, Made It

I know, it's been forever. Forgive me, I had a baby and very little time for pinning and blogging since the end of June!

But I HAD to report on this one. Two of my girlfriends (R & A) and I decided to occasionally get together, pick one thing we each pinned to do (I have a "Do This" board on Pinterest that's full of these hypothetical projects), and actually do it. I've made recipes I've pinned for sure, but I keep storing away great little DIY ideas and not actually following through, so here was a self-imposed call-to-task, made easier by the allure of good company and companion craftiness.

Here's my first project:

Was a blue-glass Ball mason jar, is now a lovely hand soap dispenser in my kitchen! Woot! (my pin; original link here)

Have you made anything you've pinned yet? Or have you pinned something you're definitely going to make?

What should my next project be...?

Who Wants to Make Me Some Pillows?

Or, fine, I'll just order some. But here's where this all started...

I'm in love with so much of Jonathan Adler's designs, it's borderline frightening. I've never indulged, but I want so many of his pieces so much that when I see them my tummy hurts. Recently I walked by the JA Chicago store, and saw these lovelies in the window display:

Logically, I fell in love. (see what happened there? like that "falling in love" play on words? it's clever, but also true.) I want to add them to our daybed, which doubles as a comfy lounging couch, in our multipurpose second bedroom. Alas, I just cannot justify a splurge on these, as much as I love them. So I need another solution. My sister in-law suggested scouring Etsy. Here are a few possibilities:

(here)

(here, also available in capital letters, as seen here)

Where else should I look? Or is anyone reading this crafty enough to create some magic for me? Or should I just splurge? No, I daren't! Dare I?

Northampton

Northampton, Massachusetts, the little "city-lette" next door to Amherst, the town where I grew up and where my parents live, is highlighted today in Design*Sponge's City Guide feature. Yay for the adorable, lovely, quaint, and picturesque Pioneer Valley of Western Mass! Western Mass is a really wonderful part of the country. It was a great place to grow up, and it's a great place to visit. If you've never been, there's TONS to do and see - and every time of year is fantastic in its own special way. There's nature, there's shopping, there's great food, there's a beautiful bike trail, and more and more and more. And all wrapped up in a perfect little old New England package. Can't be beat. It would make a great getaway weekend destination... I'm just throwing that out there, in case you're looking for one! Anyway, you should just go ahead and check it out!

(images via Google image search)

paula greif ceramics

First thing's first: Happy Birthday to the most wonderful Tia in the world.

I stumbled upon this tumblr (or tumbl'd upon it, perhaps?) thanks to simple things, another lovely little blog. I was immediately drawn to Paula Greif's beautiful ceramic works, and just wish there were a "shop" or "buy" button right on there for those of us not in NY. Here's hoping...

Photo Challenge Day 8

A bad habit.

Let's call no judgment on this one, and chalk it up to accountability. If I put this out there publicly, I'll have to do something about it. Occasionally, during the week, and if something good's on TV, I will neither pile the dishes into the dishwasher nor wash them. Then, the following morning, I'll add my breakfast dishes to the mix. Then I'll come home ready to make dinner and feel ashamed and grossed out, not to mention annoyed, because I have to wash the pans in order to use them again.

For the record, due to the photographic evidence, tonight, in SPITE of good (alright, decent) TV, I dishwasher-ed or washed all dishes used for cooking our delicious dinner. (please don't judge me!)



All 30-Day Photography Challenge posts here.

Making Things

I know my posts have been a bit scattered lately, and inconsistent. My apologies. Feeling a bit all over the place and just trying to get my feet back to firmly set on the ground. To that end, I am committing to some creative productivity. I need to indulge my creative side, as well as my need to grasp onto some semblance of control and accomplishment. So, in addition to a chandelier makeover I've been imagining in my home, I'm also going to take on two small, and easily completable DIY creative jobs.

1. Mason Jar Soap Dispenser
I saw this on Pinterest recently and totally loved it, and therefore pinned it onto my "Do This" board. There's a great little shop of vintage homey goods and random salvaged bits nearby where we live. It's called Roost. One of their big ever-growing collections is original blue-glass Ball jars, so I decided I had to give this a try. I went over a couple weekends ago and scoured the collection for a good one with a top in good shape. If I succeed, it'll go in our second/guest/public bathroom and I'll go back and get another one and make one for the kitchen. Tutorial from Blissfully Content:

2. Earring-to-Necklace
Don't you hate when you lose one earring without realizing it? Just out and about during your day? Or one breaks and then who knows what to do with the other? This has happened to me too many times to count, and sadly, it's almost always a pair that carries some meaning that gets separated. Last week I was running out to grab a bite at lunch and saw this guy on the ground. I picked it up and tucked it away and I am thinking of getting a cool chain and making a necklace out of i. The front is interesting - not stunning at all, but interesting:

I actually like the back-side better, though:

So I'm thinking about doing something over the "front" to make it white all over, and then featuring the current "back" as the charm in my make-over piece. Hopefully whoever has this guy's partner isn't too sad over her missing bauble... I'll put it to good use, or at least try to.

Any creative projects on your agenda?

Bookends

I guess this is just going to be a mostly nerdy post week. I'm okay with that. I hope you are too. I threw in some scarves and news (fine, news is nerdy) for a twist, but it is what it is. It's good for you!

Over on my (our) other project, Home Sweet Schwab, my husband and I are getting ready to tackle some more home updates to our painfully out-dated condo. We did a couple of major renovations in the past year (kitchen; floors), so though we need to overhaul both bathrooms, we're in a saving-for-that phase, and therefore have to do some lower-budget sprucing-up jobs in the meantime. Right now our focus is on the second bedroom, which currently serves a guest room, office, and storage space, and definitely needs some life zapped into it. This weekend we're painting, but I've also been thinking hard about decor and arranging (I have a Pinterest board dedicated to this space over here).

One of the first things I think I'll do after painting is move in some bookshelves. I have some short, 3-shelf, very basic ones from Target currently residing in our living room. I am thinking I'll replace those with taller, 5-shelf, sturdier ones out there, and move the shorties into the guest room. I have way too many books and other doo-dads, plus blogs and Pinterest only give me more and more ideas about creative shelf-styling with non-book items, so I need the real estate. Anyway, one investment I'd like to make for said shelves is bookends. I've never had them, but I've always admired and desired them. From the formal and traditional or academic to the whimsical and sentimental, I just think they're so neat! Here are a few I've found along the way. What do you think? Yea or nay on bookends? And if you answer 'yea,' then I'd like your help in selecting some!

(Wolfum)

(Etsy)

(via Amazon)

(West Elm)

(CB2)

(Plantation)

and then of course...

(Barnes and Noble)

Those owly guys inspired me to do an Etsy search, and holy moly, there are so many adorable owl bookends... and bookends in general!

I don't know what it is about bookends that draws me to them. Maybe its a little Old World flair, a dream of a grand library room in my future fantasy home, or something else, but I just find them so appealing. Nerdy, yes. Delightful, yes also! Don't you think?

Feels Like Home

Now that I've begun to make peace (sort of) with the close of summer, I'm officially transitioning into one of the things about fall that makes me wistful and nostalgic: feeling sorry for myself for not living in New England at this time of year. Nothing says "Welcome, Fall" like New England foliage changes... I'm partial to Western Massachusetts, of course, but that's just me. The 413 never looks more beautiful than it's about to start looking... and I'm missing it. Pity Party commences... now!

So, to send you off into a true fall weekend, here's a beautiful shot I found of our (apparently I speak now for all Western Massachusetts-ians, or at least all Pioneer Valley-ers) stunning Quabbin Reservoir in fall (how pretty is it where I grew up, for crying out loud?!). I've already made this my desktop wallpaper:

(photo by John Burk, via Fine Art America)

Next week we're trying something new here at Owlet. I'll be co-blogging with my good friend A to recap the Emmy's fashion, a tradition we usually repeat over extensive email exchanging in the week following any/all awards shows, and which we're finally launching for public consumption.

In the meantime... who wants some warm apple cider?! Happy Weekend...

Bar Cart Fixation: Part 2

A while ago I posted about how I was searching for a vintage bar cart, or something like a vintage bar cart, for our dining room. 'Member? So, that's been swirling around in my head for a while, and I've been keeping my eyes peeled and ears perked. I'm in no rush, you see. Just thinking and planning.

Whilst thinking and planning, guess what popped up yesterday in my Google Reader?! This did. Kimberlee of Brown Button has apparently been hoping and waiting for the same kind of thing. And her excitement over the opening of Society Social is both warranted and appreciated, as far as I'm concerned.

(The Stanton)

This online shop is built on the belief that "life is a grand celebration, that means every day... It is this contagious joie de vivre and our tremendous love for a shared celebration that inspires every piece we create. We hope our handcrafted line from the colorful cocktail carts to our playful haute hostess attire induce frolic and merriment from our home to yours." Um... Yes, please. How fun is this?!

Now, I'm still holding out hope for a sweet little vintage find (in fact, I'm planning to attend this kooky and awesome annual overnight flea market over the weekend where some little vestige of swingin' times gone by might be waiting for me), but should she not fall into my lap anytime soon, you bet your sweet bubbly I'm bookmarking this site for future reference and purchase! Delightful, spirited, fun--who doesn't want that in their life?! AND a glass of something fizzy and boozy to toast it with! And therefore, don't you need somewhere to store and display aforementioned glass and fizzy/boozy something? You do. Like one of these puppies:

(The Madison Mixer)

Self-Deception and Self-Promotion

As I was walking from the bus to the office this morning, the sky turned very suddenly ominous-black. And when, at a corner, I felt a man running behind me, I turned around to give him the hairy eye (like, 'hey, don't run up behind a seemingly helpless woman, dude, because, I'll cut a bitc*!' (note: I probably wouldn't cut anyone, but I would follow the lessons I learned on Rosanne years ago, and kick a man in the bits and poke him in the eyes and run if I felt the situation called for it!)), and *actually* saw the storm moving toward me down the block. As I gingerly "ran" across the street (I'm in high wedges today, I can't risk really running and turning an ankle!), I got prickled with BB gun-strength pellet-rain that appeared out of nowhere. Also, the wind took it upon itself to muss up my hair. I got inside and settled in my office, where the windows were visibly shaking (that's comforting), and I thought, I would soooo rather be tucked into my bed/couch with my book today. My coworker Luz agreed: today should have been a "work from home" day!

So, self-deception: I'm mentally returning myself to my yesterday, which was spent, in part, on the beach behind my building, just me, my book, and the sunshine:

And self-promotion: the book you can see I'm currently reading is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. And I'm reading it for my virtual book group, Reading Without Borders. We conduct all of our discussions throughout each month electronically, via a Google Group to which all members subscribe. If you'd like to join, just shoot me an email (hellerms [at] gmail [dot] com)!

Now... back to "work" I suppose...

More Pottery Love

Oh my glorious pottery, this stuff is beautiful.

My love for ceramics is no secret, so I obviously had to read more when I saw this post on Design*Sponge this morning. So glad I did. I'm in love with the rich, warm, earthy colors and artful utility of these stunning pieces by artist Janet Williams. Williams has been making pottery for more than 40 years, almost exclusively in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work is inspired by the landscape and culture of the Southwest, yet has its own distinct voice and identity from other classic Southwest-style art. Each piece is wheel-thrown and glazed by hand, so no two pieces are the same. Bonus: all of her work is dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe.

I already want several of these pieces... friends and family getting married/having anniversaries or birthdays/generally loved by me better watch out... I want to buy the whole collection! View it all here.

Only Martha

Only Martha Stewart would frame hokey bandanas and create beautiful, simple wall art. I just think this is so so so lovely, and I think I may just steal the idea promptly.

(Martha Stewart, via Poppytalk)

Bar Cart Vintage Style

I want this bar cart for my dining room. Or something similar for cheaper (this one's around $200). If we had this hanging out in our house, we could move onto hosting swingin' 60s-style parties, right?!

Puppy Love

I'm working from home today, which comes with multiple bonuses, not the least of which are staying in sweatpants as long as I want, and neglecting to look presentable in any way, shape, or form. But truly, the best bonus, is the companion at my side, our sweet sweet dog, Lanie (formal name Penny Lane). If I'm being completely honest, her master is my husband, and if he's around, I'm just background static. But if he's not around, she's stuck to me like glue, lying on the floor beside me as I work at the computer, or snuggled up on the couch if I'm on the iPad or editing print-outs. She's the kindest, gentlest, most loving girl ever, and I love her more than I could possibly attempt to articulate. With all the shenanigans going on at our house lately, she's the ever-calming presence I need so badly right now. Today's been a good day with my co-editor by my side.

These were taken a while ago, but I haven't put them anywhere, and they just make me smile, so why not here. Behold, the beautiful and wonderful Penny Lane:

(total beach bum)

who's your best furry (or not so furry) companion?

Pods

I'm seriously obsessed with these hanging air plant pods from mudpuppy and just need to pull the trigger and buy them. But here are the questions: color? number? which plants?

(black)

(natural/buff)

(glossy white)

(moroccan sand)

INPUT PLEASE! (aren't they awesome?!)