Autumn

Bedroom Update

We finally moved back into our bedroom a few weekends ago. Tonight my sweet husband is installing new curtain rods from ikea. It still needs some artwork and finishing touches, but it's nice to have some space back.

The state of things

Recently our life has been filled with lath & plaster dust, stripping linoleum from the fir floor, stripping paint and texture from moulding, and other mundane and ugly tasks. In other words, not great fodder for blog posts. The images, from top left:
The new framing and roughed-in electrical for the new window and sconce lights in the bedroom.
Last weekend we painted the back wall of the house.
The linoleum rug is now completely removed via a heat gun and putty knife and many, many hours of stinky, brain-numbing (probably brain-damaging) work.
Some of the pretty original (1910) wallpaper that's going to be covered up via a layer of 1/4" drywall this weekend.

blue bedroom

We have officially started construction on our bedroom. The walls are pulled out and a new window has been installed as of yesterday. We're a long way from painting, but I've been inspired by cocoon-like blue bedrooms. I love smokey blue walls with gold, white and black accents. The very center room of the collage has the perfect blue. Would you call that cornflower?

Spring.

The flowers in our yard are going crazy (no lilies yet), but I don't have a camera to capture them with. There's the 18 different types of daffodils, and a variety of tulips and hyacinths. Spring is wonderful even when it's dumping down rain and completely gray - at least there's something beautiful to brighten up the yard.
We installed our raised bed a few weekends ago, but haven't planted anything yet. We're talking about carrots, radishes and lettuce. To me there's something so special about making a salad from ingredients grown in the back yard.

The Doors.

I have trouble watching suspenseful movies. I remember being 5 or 6 and my parents renting "Little Shop of Horrors" and being traumatized by it, and since then I have found little enjoyment in anything that's suspenseful, violent, or scary. I'm a wimp. So, when we watch anything that's even slightly frightening, I either leave the room or draw. Drawing somehow distracts me. These were drawn while watching movies this weekend.

Chez nous

Dog.

I've been saying that I'm going to do a portrait of the dog, but keep putting it on hold. I've been working on sketches for the last few weeks. He's generally a ridiculously happy dog, so these make him look a little over-serious.

les fleurs de printemps

The watercoloring continues. I'm not sure what's inspired it, but I'm enjoying playing with paints and spring flowers. We have 5 or six types of daffodils flowering in our garden right now. The pink ones (below) are really fluttery and delicate. 

le petit maison jaune

I'm on a watercoloring kick as of late.

Playing with more paint. I like the roof on this one.

Why don't you have a piece of fruit?

Tropical fruit watercolor I painted while in Kauai. If I could retire tomorrow (at age 28, which is unlikely), I think I would spend a little time every day painting.

drawing

I've been avoiding the internet for the past few weeks. I started to feel like it was taking up most of my free time, and I wasn't getting anything done, and I definitely wasn't being creative. This is the result of being isolated from the internet: painting & drawing. Good stuff. Hopefully there'll be more to come.

sewing

Image via {frolic}
Spent the weekend sewing a new dress (not the one above). I'll try to post pictures soon. I've become inspired to sew all kinds of dresses and skirts and other things. I love the dress above - it's perfectly summery and light.

A few weeks ago I spent some time at the Mill End Store, where they have delightful fabrics despite the weird building and location. It's a Portland classic.

Into the wild

Source unknown.

Ole! to you.

This is worth the time to watch. It made me a little teary-eyed because it spoke to me on so many levels this morning at 10 AM. Enjoy. (via bacon is my enemy)

money.

This is one way to make money during an economic downturn.

Turquoise

Turquoise is both feminine and peppy. Somehow it reminds me of 1986, but it has a clean fresh ladylike feeling.