faire gallery & cafe

a few months ago divya & i went to faire gallery & cafe on capitol hill; she's a regular there, but it was my first time. my initial reactions were that the staff (owners matt & liz) were really nice, the drinks & food were yummy & the space was so warm & comfortable. after spending some more time there throughout the summer; it seems to me that faire is much more than the typical cafe, even more than the fantastic cafe. the space & the people that frequent it are really open & welcoming (once an old, dusty bookstore).

on sunday nights you'll find that faire is packed full of an eclectic mix of patrons there to see & hear faire play (the weekly jazz group). i went last night for the first time; div & i enjoyed a couple glasses of wine & the music sitting up in the balcony. it's the type of place you pass on your way to somewhere else, stop in & end up forgetting where you planned on going in the first place.

heartbeats

jose gonzales does such a great remix of the song by the knife. i can't really say much more than it's getting played on repeat as i type, thanks to kevin for the info.


the song was used in this advertisement for the sony bravia; using thousands of bouncy balls in nyc set to the song. check out their other advertisements as well.

black forest steins

someday i'll start buying all these t-shirts i claim to love, but for now i'll push them on friends that would like them even more than me. check out nooworks's black forest, a place that claims to be "a land where cuteness reigns, the rivers flow with chocolate and oktoberfest lasts all year long!"

90's r&b

i remember days when i belonged to a cd club & my collection consisted of en vogue, boys ii men, jade, swv, arrested development, tevin campbell & tlc. my girlfriends & i would do talent shows & make up dances on the weekends & after school; my favorite of all time was erin & my dance to motown philly by boys ii men. i also have strong memories of lying on my bed, thinking of my most recent crush & listening to weak by swv. black pudding by swv was such a "naughty" song... "now i may not be a lady but i'm surely a woman, so check it, the truth is in the pudding" & my brother told my dad that i shouldn't be allowed to get the color me badd album, because of the song sex you up.

sent by a friend today, my new favorite website, mixtape maestro. check out videos, discographies & stories about our favorite 90's r&b hits!

foot stools

not long after posting about my couch & my desire (struggle) to find foot stools or an ottoman, i found some. i bought both for $50 from craigslist, they were recently upholstered, in great condition, easy to move around & match the color palette of the moment (the morning sun makes things really bright in my aparment, so it's hard to see the exact color).

the apartment is a work in progress, two things in debate currently:
- whether i should paint my side table yellow
- what sort of painting to put above my couch

alicia bock

i found the link to alicia bocks site at craft synergy. something about her images strike me. i like the feminine & vintage look to her work. i have two square gold frames begging for art & walls begging the same. i am getting the 5 x 5 of this & this (it might be a debate, because i like all of the beach prints). she is from michigan & i'm sure these pics are from lake michigan which makes them even more special to me.

embroidered pillows - tutorial

i just recently finished the embroidered throw pillows for my new couch & decided to do a tutorial. i was surprised to find so few (easy to follow) patterns available online... here is my shot at it.

what you'll need:
18" x 18" pillow form
.75 yards fabric (washed) - I chose the amy butler print ivory/tree peony
embroidery floss
embroidery needle

to make:

1. cut 41.5" x 19" rectangle of fabric
2. select flower to embroider & follow outline (choose one that will be on the front square of the finished pillowcase)
3. fold & pin a 1" hem along edge 1 (the 19" edge, leave edge 2 unfinished)
4. pin .25" seam 13" from edge 1 & another one 18" from the first .25" seam
5. sew hem & both seams - sew along dotted lines, i suggest a straight stitch, double enforced
6. fold the rectangle into thirds (inside out with edge 1 under edge 2
7. pin then sew .5" seams along edge 3 & 4 of the rectangle
8. turn the pillow case right side out, there should be about a 4" overlap with the embroidered detail on the front of the pillowcase

for more pictures or a downloadable pattern go to my pics. please let me know if you would add anything to make the pattern or tutorial easier.

UPDATE: featured on craft: thanks to natalie dee

all in a name

my mom called me from fife lake, mi to ask me if i wanted these suitcases. the story is that she went to the estate sale of the woman i was named after & found these. the reasons i like them: the leather detail, the silk lining & most of all, her initials a.l.c. are monogrammed on both suitcases near the handle. they both need some tlc, but i thought they might look nice stacked as an side table. if it doesn't fit the way i think it will, i'll store my fabric & patterns in them instead.

paint the landscape

here is the summer equinox postcard i did for my firm. i was inspired by a previously mentioned website. i have a strong obsession with cal anderson park & am lucky to be a part of the firm who designed it. the postcard was a lot of fun for me to do & let me get even more experience using live trace & controlling gaps within illustrator.

my couch

i bought my couch a little over a month ago from macy's (they now sell their furniture online). i am happy to see it featured on decor8 today; mine is the cafe noir loveseat. i'm really happy with this couch, but it desperately needs an ottoman or footstools (the idea as of now is to find multiple vintage footstools). i liked the mid-century feel of it, with clean lines & upholstery buttons.

i'm completely indecisive in the first place, but picking out a couch was hard for me. with this apartment being the first without a roommate, i've wanted to make it 100% my style. try this on for self-awareness: in figuring out how to decorate my place i've had to try & pinpoint my style; this task has turned out to be very difficult. my taste is all over the place; i like kitschy but clean, vintage but simple. here is the latest collection of inspiration pics, i'll post some "current state of the apartment soon.