Julie & Julia - the movie

My friend Brooke (Second Time Mommy) and I went to see the movie "Julie and Julia" tonight and it was a great chic flick. Brooke actually was the friend that got me into blogging and so it was the perfect little movie for us to see on our girls night out date. I am so inspired after seeing that movie - what new blogging adventure should I start? - should I write something completely different? - should I take up French cooking?.....Nah but I may try that beef recipe, it looked delicious! At the very least shouldn't I poke my head into that cookbook?

If you are interested in seeing a really good movie with your girlfriends, I would highly recommend this movie. And if you are interested in reading the blog from Julie Powell that was the inspiration behind the movie and book then click here for more. And for you die-hards out that wanted to find the original Julie/Julia Project blog, click here. I love digging through old archives especially when they inspire a blockbuster movie and bestselling book. Oh wait a minute, I just found the real New York Times article that launched Julie from blogger to real writer almost overnight, how exciting is that? The article was written when she had 13 days and 22 recipes left to reach her goal.

Bon Appetit.

Mini Calendar Idea

While we have 4 1/2 months before 2010, I couldn't help but share this adorable mini 2010 calendar from Maya Road with all of you. It's the perfect way to use up all of your extra cardstock, patterned paper, and embellishments from scrapbooking to make a mini calendar for your desk. The cool part is that if you decide to include photos on the pages, you can easily take off the calendar part and put it into a scrapbook, it's like making a calendar and scrapbooking pages at the same time.

I've already looked to see if it's already available in stores but it's not so I'll have to wait a bit. Wouldn't this make a perfect holiday gift? Well at least I would love it as a gift. The Maya Road calendar which is 4" x 4.2" and the cool acrylic stand that you perch the calendar will be available soon.

More Checklists - Love This One!

Remember the checklists I shared with you a few weeks ago? Those awesome printable checklists to make your life easier? Here's a reminder in case you missed it, just click here.

Well Erin from Vale Design did it again and has another awesome downloadable template for us to print and use. It's the HoneyDew checklist and I know you've gotta love that but I don't know if the Honey will like it as much. I have the best hubby ever so I don't need a checklist for him but I think it'll really come in handy when I'm traveling for work because when the cats away the mice will play.

What's Your Design Style?

I'm 43% Nantucket Style

29% Cottage Chic

and 28% Modern Elegance

So what should I call it - Nantucket Cottage Chic Modern Elegance?

How about Stylish, Chic, and Elegant - did I just describe myself? Ha...

What are you? Check out Sproost for a fun way to learn more about your design style, I think it hit the nail on the head for me. What I really liked was the description and beautiful pictures that they showed for your style preference. It's fun, quick and very informative.

So what is Nantucket Style?

Well I love the beach and my dream home would be in a beach town but since that isn't possible I've brought the beach into my home - yes I have. For my art and accessories I prefer things that speak to beach activities or the feeling that being at the beach brings to me (check out my wall art, it's all very beachy). I love the look of driftwood and prefer fabrics that are naturals, cottons, and linens. As far as colors I get my inspiration from the beach - white, light beiges, and grays of the sand and driftwood, a variety of blues for the ocean and sky, and greens and vibrant blues of sea glass.

What is Cottage Chic?

I love the carefree spirit that the cottage interior inspires but I am also serious about modern art and hip treasures. I love old and new alike, and love to highlight them all to expose the uniqueness of each.

What is Modern Elegance?

Variety is the spice of life and nowhere is that truer than in design of my home. I love contemporary but wish it wasn't so cold and austere and I'm also drawn to traditional rooms. I want to create a less cluttered and busy space so this traditional style is contradicting styles. These contradicting styles is what makes this mix so successful.

I hope you check out Sproost and peruse through my Nantucket Style pictures below. They are so inspiring to me and will certainly help as I try and create this style in our home.

Aren't looking at beautiful rooms and interiors so inspiring? I feel like I'm at the beach relaxing, if only that were true!

Move Over Cake Boss

Move over Cake Boss, it's my mom's birthday and her cake rocked! My mother turned 60 and a party to celebrate was in order. To pull off a party for her from afar, the family was going to have to pull together and that we sure did. Thanks to my SIL, she was able to work with a friend who decorates cakes and boy did she do an awesome job designing this cake or what? This was her brainchild and I'm so glad it was.

As you can probably guess by the pictures, my mom is a quilter and so this patchwork cake with spools of thread, ribbon, buttons, and needles was something I knew she would be head over heels in love with. Everything is edible and no details were overlooked. When we took the spools of thread off the cake we realized that it even had the bar codes on the bottom, just like the real thing. And the ribbon, yes you guessed it, there was ribbon wrapped around the spool. Oh, did you notice the buttons? - Yup, those are edible too. It was so beautiful that we didn't want to eat it but what's a party without cake?

Happy 60th Birthday Mom!

We love you.

Cukes, Cukes Everywhere

Remember that garden I planted back in June? Well you don't have to have a green thumb to grow cucumbers, they are popping up like weeds! Here you can see the first one that I picked and I was so excited that it actually produced veggies that I had to take a picture. Since this picture was taken a week ago, I've picked another one each day. Just when I think there aren't anymore, there I find another one. Now that I am reaping the fruits of my labor, what recommendations do you have for all of these cucumbers other than putting them in a lettuce salad?

Looking for a recap of the progression of our little garden?

Let's hope it grows - June 4th blog post.
It's Really Growing - July 14th blog post.

What's my secret you ask - why the DIY Rain Barrel that we built of course. I am sooooo happy we made that together and honestly having fresh rainwater to water the garden and flowers is not only the green thing to do but it hasn't cost us a penny either.

P.S. I should be able to post some tomatoes and green peppers soon.
P.S.S. How do you use your herbs from the garden? I am in need of some recipes for parsley, basil, and dill if you have them.

Loving Frank and Oak Park

A week ago Sunday, David and I headed to Oak Park to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright studio and home as well as go on the walking neighborhood tour. I have been begging to go since I read the book "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan last summer for book club. I absolutely fell in love with the whole story and his work has become a bit of an obsession with me. David and I both share a love of architecture so it was a perfect way to spend a summer day together.

In addition to drooling over all of the beautiful homes in Oak Park, I enjoyed taking over 100 photographs of the homes. I forced myself to only use the manual modes on my Canon SLR camera which was quite the challenge for me. Hopefully you'll agree that the hard work was worth it after viewing the pictures.

This house above sold for $3.9 million last year even though they were asking for more than $7million.

This is the front of his studio which was an addition to the house.

Another view of the front of the studio.

Finally here's a picture of his home.

Can you see me by the door? I just didn't want to leave, it was the most beautiful neighborhood and I felt right at home.

This home while it wasn't designed by Wright, I felt the curb appeal and design was just my style. I think for a couple of million it could be ours. A girl can dream right?

Our next trip is off to Falling Waters, we better get planning!

DIY: How to Create Interesting Wall Art

I've been working on a couple of projects for our living room upstairs and I'm finally ready to reveal them to you. The first is an old ladder from my grandparent's farm that I wanted to hang above the staircase to use as a way to use of the space in a creative way while also being practical because I can use it to display items on the little ledge.

First we had to clean up the ladder that's been hibernating in a barn and covered with spiderwebs and dust. We cleaned, sanded, and gave it a little TLC before it was ready to be hung up.

Secondly we had to remove the metal hangers that were attached to the ladder. Back in the day they were used to attach a second ladder to it when you needed an extension ladder. I don't like heights so there's no way I'd be getting on that.

Lastly, we had to attach the ladder to the wall above the staircase that leads to the upstairs. A trip to Ikea helped us find these cream colored vases which fit perfectly between the steps of the ladder. It's hard to see the detail but the vases really are cute and just the right size.

So what do you think about the ladder? A little different but I love that it's aged, came from my family, and fits the space perfectly.

The second wall art project I've been working on is the set of 18 photos and frames that are hung in a very casual style in the space that separates the dining room from the living room. I have to thank Layla from The Lettered Cottage for the inspiration for this project and she also helped by offering her photography for sale as well. Sorry folks but I can't take credit for that but the photography is exceptional and mine doesn't come close to this. Seeing it in person is even better, I promise.

Once I had the art ready to hang; I took a trip to Homegoods, Target, and Hobby Lobby to purchase the frames. I had to buy 8x10, 5x7, 4x6, and 5x5 frames so I bought a bunch that were interesting to me (more than I needed) and brought them home to figure out which would make the cut and which would need to be returned.

Next I matched the photo to the frames and then laid them out on the ground. This part required a lot of patience because there was lots of moving around until I got the layout that I really liked. Then it was time to bust out the hammer and nails and it's time to get to work.

Tip: If you prefer, using kraft paper cut-out paper squares the size of the frames and stick them to the walls using painter's tape to ensure you are happy with the layout on the wall before you commit using nails. While I wasn't patient enough for this technique, I highly recommend it if you are commitment phobic with wall decor.

After I got them all hung, I had a problem with keeping all of the frames straight which was a bit frustrating for me especially after I kept ensuring they were straight with my handy dandy straightener. Therefore I had to come up with a solution fast otherwise every time I walked by the wall I would notice any frames that had mysteriously shifted.

Tip: I purchased a package of velcro fasteners that are little 5/6" round dots and I attached one to the back of the frame and the other to the wall and magic happened - the frames don't shift anymore!

Here's the end result which I'm very happy with. While this look isn't for everyone, I love the wow factor it offers. Have you created some interesting wall art that you would like to share?