HellofromNavajoNation

Of course people expressing themselves through the art of graffiti is expected in a city but certainly not in the middle of Navajo Nation land. I am very curious about all of these little random expressions of art that are spread out over 120 miles or so...they are so peculiar. My camera can not fully convey the size of some of the decals...like that of the elderly Navajo man and woman. I wonder who designed these? They make me smile. It also makes me smile that as per my little Maile girl we had to stop at one of Butch Cassidy's homes that is still standing (barely). My husband must be successful in feeding her little mind with adventures of what some consider the Robin Hood of the Wild West.

I'm glad to be home.

Happy Monday!

Bright and happy {Lilly Bunn Interiors}

{above photos by Emily Gilbert via Lilly's Notebook}
How about some bright and happy photos for Friday. On our drive to Utah last night I got minimal internet access but I believe right out of Flagstaff, AZ I recieved an email to one of the blogs I subscribe to which happens to be Lilly's Notebook. Have you seen these? Lilly decided to have Emily Gilbert come and photograph some of her projects for her portfolio. All I can say is I can't wait to see more.

Happy weekend!

Go here and be sure to tell Lilly how talented she is.

{hearts of pink}

I could tell you about how much I can't stop thinking about hot pink..or how much I love the above angular ornaments but alas I feel more like talking about the fact that I lost track of my kids for 6.2 minutes while I was on a mission to finish the dishes only to go outside and find them exiting our neighbors house with a white basket full of money (they had already made it to 3 homes). Apparently they were collecting it for the poor. I wonder what my neighbors thought when these little kids knocked on the door saying they were collecting money for the poor...They must have taken pity or felt REAL generous that day because they didn't do too bad for being such fine young beggars. At first I didn't know how to handle the little scenario..I mean, should I have made them return the money??? In the end I decided they were pretty darn adorable so we took all $12.32 to the homeless shelter that evening. The folks at the shelter told my girls that they could come back when they were 10 to help make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They made them feel like such little contributors to our society. It was a win win for everyone because of the feelings that beamed from all of our hearts.

We are going on a unexpected journey to see family so sorry for the silence. Sometimes there isn't much one can control in life....except not breaking the law..and that may even be debatable...darn photo police camera.


P.S. - Can we discuss how awesome Erica Powell's skirt is. I think I may want a pink article of clothing that fits my bottom half.

classic tortoise shell {Happy weekend}

When I was in Utah last weekend I met up with a friend of mine who was on the hunt for a watch. As we made our way to the watch counter I gave her my opinion as to why tortoise shell is one of the most classic, timeless and neutral pieces one could own. I really had to drive home the fact that it goes with everything. So today I stand by that and in fact have a whole pinboard devoted to the very classic tortoise shell.

As far as the week goes, it has been a flyer. The transition from being out of town and then back home has not been as smooth as I would like...which then translates to the fact that I can not get on top of the laundry (amongst other items) but I did find the time to ride a camel (also not so smooth) which must mean I am feeling good.....historically I have never shelled out the money to let all of the kids ride so Woohooo.

Happy Friday!!

for all of the sources to the above go here.

Guest Post {Eagle's Nest}

Do you think my little fish is weird..because I kind of do.

I do not however think the painting is weird. I quite like it. It is by Lee Porzio and I picked it up for a song.

Besides posting pictures of my new finds I really do have a point to this post and it is to let you know that I was over here on Jess's blog...something about organizing but with an acrylic spin. Why don't you soar on over to see Jess in her Eagle's Nest...and say hello why you are at it. Do you remember this hardware that she designed?

ALT Design Summit

The last week has been a whirlwind that started out as a thought but then made a reality after the gracious Caitlin Creer offered to host me at her home as we ventured to ALT Design Summit. Scrambling, I phoned for a plane ticket and made arrangements for my little minis...not always an easy feat. Good thing for nice sisters (Hi Liza and Whitney). Anyway I have to note that every single time I walked into the above space I felt welcomed and so happy to be in such clean, pretty and well thought out space. Caitlin has mad designing skills.

Overall I feel very satisfied about making the decision to go to ALT because I made some very nice friends and felt inpspired. In fact as I sat in the plane to go home I messaged one of those new friends that really should have been an old friend. Text as follows:

"Mara it was really was so great to connect like we did with such ease. I like you mucho. Pls. stay in touch.

Do you still feel good about all of your thrifty purchases? I'm about to board my plane and I can't stop thinking about flight attendants gone bad...I'm holding on tight to all of my electronics."

Yes there is a story to the above text. In fact, that Mara girl has many life stories that you may want to follow along with over on A Blog About Love. Anyway the thing that I loved most most about ALT was connecting with other people. Sure there was some real treats when it came to people watching and sure there was inspiration and things to learn but the best was just observing that everyone has a story. I even got to learn about a few of them. We all are kind of in this together and we all have so much to share. Of course one of the stories that everyone fell in love with was that of Ben Silbermann, the founder of Pinterest. I think it is safe to say that his passion was inspiring.

ALT was a great and uplifting event to be involved in and I'd go again.

A few notables:

Imitate your spiritual master (Gretchen Rubin).

My heel broke off within the first hour. I had to faux walk so that I'd look like my normal self. Good thing for extra long pants.

Lots of buns, red lips and sequins.

A fun thrift tour with Jaimee, Sarah and Samantha in my car. At the end the most magical snowflakes erupted. There was some great treasures found.

Was reminded that one of the keys to happiness was to get enough sleep. Funny thing though I was most happy sitting up with friends at wee hours of the morning.

Some of the most fashionable girls at ALT told me they loved my squash blossom necklace and that made me feel good.

The reactions people gave when I told them I have five kids...twins and triplets in 2.5 years.

Jenny said 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

Sitting in the corner of the loud Gibson Girl Lounge with Jenny and Mara but feeling like we were the only ones in there because we were so wrapped up into our conversation.

Thinking I was sure glad I didn't have to speak on a certain panel after the spirited and passionate Jasmine Star. She was inspiring.

I need to become a little more technologically savvy. Note to self: Learn more about videography.

One of the best ways to be happy is to serve others (Gretchen Rubin)

There is lots of great blogging stock that comes from Arizona. I had no idea until ALT.

Discovering Caitlin's beautiful Salt Lake City neighborhood. Had a great dinner at Trio.

I was really excited to meet the very kind Rachel from Black Eiffel and Jen from Rambling Renovators. Well actually there were many more that I should add to that list but I'm afraid I might miss somebody.

Stop talking about it and just do it. (Ben Silbermann)

If you are interested in more recaps of Alt then go here for the links.

More pictures of the events can be found here.

{Below photo credits go to Justin Hackworth, b.a.d. photography & Moss & Isaac}

dreeeeems..AND the coolest treehouse ever.

Apparently they are doing a great job teaching the kids at school about Martin Luther King Jr. because I have not said a word to my girls about the holiday today and Maren brought this little piece of art to the table that she had just whipped up before breakfast ...simply brilliant.

Speaking of dreems..how about the below treehouse. I have a dream that my husband would be a copycat to the below husband's brillant act of building the coolest treehouse..

OR in true Martin Luther King fashion I should just muster up the strength and pick up a hammer after I get myself some wood...or something like that.

Did you notice all of the design detail? Love seeing the house at night too. The makers of this treehouse can be found over on Eilas blog. There are also pictures of the different stages as the treehouse was being built. Well done.

Happy MLK Day!

Brass kick plates for your weekend!

Happy weekend! Today I am thinking about brass kick plates again as seen in the above kitchen that I am sure I have already blogged about as well as half of blogland..it is one of my favorites still.

See you soon!

{all above photos by Michael Graydon}

Oh and I heart heart tights like I heart all of you...and that is a lot of heart.

Lately I been really loving the heart shape for some strange reason.

I want to put a heart sticker on everything.

Like the below room.

Can't wait for March issue of Lonny.

{custom slipcovering}

Don't you love it when people give you good advice on something and then you actually use it? Well I want to share the same love in hopes that if you have the task of custom slipcovering something that you will better know how to get the results that you want. Well first off I had considered having a slipcover made for a settee that I had because I felt it would be a good option with having kids. I did not want it to look like a frumpy run of them mill slipcover that I may or may not have bought at a discount shop right after I was married (bless our poor ugly sofa). Anyway about that point I came across a very helpful blog post from Naomi from Design Manifest. After that, I solidified the decision to go forth with a slipcover. Want to see her slipcovered sofa..

Not too shabby...eeeh.

Truly because of her I was able to really convey to the upholstery shop what I wanted. Like for example would you ever think of telling them to put the zipper on the side rather than down the middle...just in case it would ever be a floating piece of furniture and you needed that zipper to be much more conspicuous? Anyway I thought it would be fun to pass along Naomi's advice in case you missed it the first time.

Without further ado here are Naomi's words of advice that I used when having my custom slipcover made:

Tip #1 Get a custom slipcover

Custom slipcovers may cost a little more, but will fit your sofa like perfection and the quality will show through. They come in pieces: a fitted section that covers the body and arms, and then separate covers with zippers for each loose seat or back cushion. A better fit means less shifting with daily use.

Tip #2 A single skirt adds casual elegance

This is purely my opinion, but I love the look of a straight skirt across a sofa. I didn't want any added seam definitions. Sometimes I'll run a seam along the base of the sofa (where the feet begin) to help hold it in place, but for my own sofa, I wanted more of a flowing feel. I also did NOT want any pleats. Many slipcovers have a pleat at each cushion, or one in the middle, but I wanted a single piece of fabric across my base. I thought it looked cleaner, and thus kept the sofa more modern.

Tip #3 To welt or not to welt

Adding welt (cording) to the cushions, arms and back can help add definition and be a nice tailored look. Naomi said that she opted for no welting on her sofa because it was more modern and wanted to soften the lines up a bit.

Tip #4 Don't ignore the back

If you don't specify, your slipcover fabricator may put the zipper right down the middle of the sofa back. The horror! My sofa floats in my room, so that would certainly not be OK. I have my workroom put the zipper in the back corner every time. It's a nice clean look and it gives you flexibility. Your sofa may be against a wall now, but it doesn't mean it always will be.

Tip #5 Choose the right fabric

Cotton and linen are the most common slipcover materials. Cotton can be thrown in the washing machine. White cotton can be bleached. It's hard to beat that in terms of practicality. For families with young kids, I like to have two made. This lessens the wear and tear on the slipcovers and allows one to be on while another is being washed. For my own sofa, I was less concerned with practicality and more concerned with look and feel. Fact of the matter is that linen just has a classier look and feel than cotton. I spot treat any stains and find that it's held up great so far.

*********************

When I went to drop off my sofa I actually brought in a couple of inspiration photos and really tried to specify that it needed to be as fitted as possible. In the end I am mostly satisfied. I still wanted to do the slipcover in a different color but went with a white indoor/outdoor fabric because of the 10 hands and 50 fingers that would assault the sofa. You would never know that it was an indoor/outdoor fabric because it is not stiff like many others are. I am really happy because it has been so easy to clean up being that it is an indoor/outdoor fabric. I am assuming that if there were ever a time that I needed a little extra help getting a stain out that I could bleach it since it is white. NOTE: Before I bought the fabric I took home a swatch a poured ketchup and grape juice all over it, let it sit then washed it off with a little soap and it all came clean. Well how about I just show you it already.

In the above pictures I am playing around with some of the detailing..like adding a fun trim to the slipcover. I also have yet to find a fabric that I want to use for a large bolster pillow so of course I pulled out the fabric that I always pull out (hope you aren't sick of it yet). Also I am seriously thinking of making new drapes out of that coral-ly salmon color. ..kind of all depends on what my new commissioned painting will look like when I get it...I can't wait to share it with all of you. You may even know who the artist is.

There you have it. I am just a Mom who excessively appreciates home decor and design but also has lots of jr. bacon cheeseboogers around the house so it is a good day when compromise can happen and I don't feel like I have to totally sacrifice my style.

Thank you Naomi for your advice. If you all want to be inspired you can visit Naomi at Design Manifest right here...yes the same Naomi that recently had her home featured on Design Sponge. You really should go to her blog to check out her lovely color infused home.

Would you, or have you ever had a custom slipcover made?

Oh my Stars!! {a star projector}

{above star projector found here}

I love lights which also includes twinkling stars. My girls recently had a birthday and I purchased the DIY Romantic Star Projector. We have yet to receive it but when we do I may have to snag it for a few nights in my bedroom. Doesn't it look so magical?

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