#573...cabin fever

I recently pulled together some inspiration pictures of log cabins for a client who bought a small vacation cabin in the woods. The cabin has lots of wood everywhere...on the walls and cabinetry.... so much that it has a bit of an oppressive, dated heavy wood feel vs. a charming cozy cottage feel. I've been contemplating ways to bring in color by painting the window trim and doors, and adding subtle modern colors to the kitchen and bath cabinets.

#572...more houston hype

The most recent issue of on on-line magazine Lonny features a story on the de Menil's, one of Houston's most philanthropist art families. The story profiles the Menil museum collection and the family's private home pictured above and below. Last year, I had opportunity to tour their private residence as part of an annual home tour in the River Oaks neighborhood where the home is situated. It's rooms center around an interior garden and a breathtaking backyard.

#571...macaroon tart

For my book club dinner last night, I made this macaroon tart from Heidi Swanson's book super natural every day. It is the first recipe I've tried from the book, and it turned out really tasty. I was worried about how good it would be, because I ended up baking it for about twice as long as the recipe called for. I attributed this to the fact that I baked it in a stoneware casserole dish, and not the tart pan that was recommended. The only other change I made to the recipe was adding twice the amount of berries called for. I used both blackberries and blueberries. We ate it with a side scoop of Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. Check out Heidi's blog 101 cookbooks. She makes food look pretty.

#570...high five houston

In the February 2013 issue of Dwell magazine, there is an article about a group of modern row houses built in my neighborhood the Heights. They are done by Shade House Development, and are called Row on 25th, (which heavily insinuates they are on 25th street). I need to drive by and check out the modern residences. They were interior designed by Barbara Hill using vintage furniture like the turquoise sofa in the picture below.

Houston also got props on the NY Times list of 46 Places to Go in 2013, placing #7!

(I took this picture of Houston's skyline from Eleanor Tinsley Park at SummerFest last year)

....and, Houston got mentioned a few times in this Southern Living Article on The South's Best Bars. 

#569...pottery cabana after dark

I snapped some pictures of the pottery cabana the other night on my phone. We've added some more wall shelves and decor in there. We bought these slat wall shelf brackets and used 8 inch pine boards on the back wall to create shelves. I put up my hand-made pottery collection (some my pieces, and some thrifted), a woven wall hanging or two, some books, and a photo of the Manhattan skyline from Henri Silberman for Ikea circa 1997. 

#568...photo panel art

I think this landscape photo series panel arrangement is a really interesting wall art idea. It looks like something that could have been taken out of a plane window.

#567...infinity loop scarf

This past summer I made a bunch of silk infinity loop scarves, and decided to make some more this week as birthday gifts. Only thing was I forgot how I made them, and spent 30 minutes re-figuring it out. This time, I decided to diagram the directions for future use.

1. cut a piece of fabric about 15" in width and 63"- 72" in length

2. fold the fabric in half with right sides together to make a long tube. Stitch the edges together, leaving about 3 inches unstitched on each end of the tube.

3. TURN THE TUBE RIGHT SIDE OUT. very important (i forgot this step several times)

4. with right sides together, stitch the ends of the scarf together creating the loop. This step was hard to draw as the scarf is right side out, but you are using the openings left at each end to work on the inside of the scarf.

5. now you have a loop scarf with a 5" or so opening in the seam that you need to slip stitch together by hand 

These scarves are both made from stretch knit. The top pink stripe one is looped twice around my neck, and the multi-color stripe is looped three times.

#566...pet portrait of bailey

I painted a portrait of my brother's former dog for him for Christmas. Bailey was quirky and sweet, and I tried to capture that in her painting. Below is the photo I used as inspiration.

#565...scrap wood animals

Tyler knows how much I like quirky animal sculptures, so for Christmas he handmade me some scrap wood animals inspired by the work of artist Nina Tolstrup. He used scrap wood from the 10 years worth of projects we have done at our house. For instance, the painted portions of the elephant were cut from our house siding that was removed when we had a door added to our back laundry/bath. I have been wanting him to get rid of the multiple bins of scrap wood that he's been hoarding behind our garage for years, but now I'm glad he hung on to them. I love these little guys, and they are the most creative and thoughtful gift he's ever given me.

#564...my reads and my pendleton pony

I did a fair amount of reading this year. Here is a list of the titles I read. Those in Pink were my favorites, and those in Blue I struggled to get through. (Atop my book pile is Franklin, the Pendleton pony that my sister Sarah got me for Xmas)

Cleopatra 

Cutting for Stone 

The Swerve 

The Night Circus 

Escape from Camp 14

The Kite Runner

The Power of Habit

Shades of Grey

The Tale of Desperaux

The Lotus Eaters

Heft

Wildwood

This is How You Lose Her

The Wilder Life

The Dovekeepers

#563...bunnies and superheroes

I have admired the stuffed creations of Sian Keegan for a long time, so I was excited when she came out with a DIY book last year on making stuffed animals. For Christmas I made my Mom a black bunny, because she has a very soft, midnight black pet bunny. 

It was a doll making holiday for me, as I also made a superhero doll for my little friend Nolan, using this free pattern from Martha Stewart by Black Apple. I modified the pattern a little bit to create leather boots and a cape for Super Nolan.