Kyoto Ivory by Amy Butler * Garnett Pendant *  Male From the Collection of Vince Aletti  * Portraits of the Renaissance  *  Mille Flori Vase *   Celestine 22″ Pillow   * Frederick Chair *  Jute Natural Collection Jute Area Rug in Natural *  Mahogany Chippendale Serpentine Chest of Drawers, Portsmouth * Helene Table Lamp, Large * Fredericka in Plaster * STAR COFFEE TABLE

Well a couple weeks ago, after I had ordered a Bowron Long Wool Rug for a client after it shipped  I got a text from that client,  that started “we might have a problem.”

But it wasn’t the bad kind. In fact I literally laughed out loud:

Followed by:

I was really glad he was happy with it, but I thought he might be exaggerating a bit.

Until I saw it.

Now the thing about online shopping is that you can only tell so much from a picture. I had never seen these in person but I did have a baby Bowron that I got for my son so I figured it would be the same kind of thing, just larger. It was definitely larger, but not just in length and width, but DEPTH too! While my baby bowron is maybe 2″ thick, this rug is at least 4′ – maybe 5.”

It is SO plush.The funniest part is that my client had a super bowl party  right after getting this rug delivered. My family and I headed over to watch the game (this client is also an old friend of mine and my husband, and the owner of the largest TVs I have ever seen). I was busy chasing my kid around when my friend/ client asked if I had been in his room yet. I ducked into the bedroom and was flabbergasted – I came out with a giant smile on my face and said:”OMG it”s like snow!”

A mutual friend jumped up from the game and said

‘”what are you guys talking about?”

He followed me into the bedroom, saw the rug and promptly threw himself on it and started rolling around.  He knew nothing about the texts, it was just his first instinct.

The room is still in progress but I when I went over to look at paint & finish samples and just had to snap a few picts. It’s amazing.

See the shadow – from the rug? The rug is so thick it casts a shadow!

it ate my toes.

We are really close to done on this projects – Check back in 3-4 weeks for some pictures of the completed room. It is really going to be amazing, if i do say so myself…

I also saw the show Endgame  that the rug was in. I think it is a Hulu original. Using Chess as a jumping off point, it is a  clever little mystery series. A pretty good way to spend 45 minutes.  If you are going to watch TV.

Sunday we through Wyatt’s first party!! Would’ve posted sooner but I seriously needed to recover from the party.  For it being the first birthday for my boo I sure set the standard high.  With 40 attendee’s in all we were a full house. I can already tell I’m going to love the whole kid crafting part of parenting.  I mean I went overboard.  Between the vintage circus images mog pogged onto cardboard and pierced with skewers for cupcake decorations to the construction paper handle bar moustache’s attached to a red & white striped straws for the photo booth, I tried to turn our living room into a circus act.  

Wyatt dressed up as a clown (minus the red nose.)  A few of his friends dressed up.  In attendece we had a racoon,  a lion, a jaguar and a dinosaur.  For the smell of a circus we had a small red and white popcorn maker going.  I tacted three 20 by 4 foot streams of red plastic table cloth from the ceiling to arce down like a circus tent.  The icing on the cake was the card board cut out of a circus lion that my dear friend Rebecca DeSorgher created.  She cut the lion’s face out and propted it against a chair facing the laptop and left the photo booth on for people to snap shots as they filtered through.  I totally recommend this inexpensive party activity if you have a mac.  So easy and fun.  Makes for simple e-thank you cards with their personal photo booth pic as an attachment.

Wyatt’s cake eatting was entertaining.  Although it wasn’t his first taste of cake he ate it like a champ, licking the frosting off first and then mauling the cake until we took it away.

Ohhhh yay! I almost forgot about Allison.  My friend came and played her harp’sicle after cake time to lul’ the babes to sleep.  Such good times and so many to come!

A few months back I posted some inspiration I had collected for my son’s 1st birthday party.  Well, fast forward to now and we are just two days away from the party.  I have stuck to my original idea, WYATT’S CIRCUS.  We are converting the living/ dinning room into a big top.  My hope is for it to feel like you are entering a circus tent. as you enter our home Sunday morning.  With a pho-photo booth set up in our bedroom, a cardboard lions head with a cut-out for babies face to pop out of for the picture!  (Will make perfect thank you notes for the lil’ buggers.)  With two vintage popcorn makers my friend lent me for the sound and smell of an authentic circus we shall be set!  Photo’s to come.

Can’t believe my boo is already a year old.  Still can’t get over the fact that I am his mom. Such a gift!

XOX

roz

If you are wondering what is so special about this four day design summit held in Salt Lake City and why I am adding it to my things to do in the next 365, take a look at (just) some of the key note speakers…

Clockwise starting straight up at twelve;

DRUM…

ROLL…

PLEASE….

- Anne Sage (SF) of Rue Magazine (and apparently of TheCitySage, a blog I need to start following,)

- Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy or more commonly known as the ‘apartment therapist,’

- Emily Henderson (LA) of the HGTV show Secrets from a Stylist, only the prize for winning season five of Design Star,

-Victoria Smith (SF) of sfgirlbythebay, my idol who propped my creative eye open to the world of blogging (and where I first heard of this summit,)

- Grace Booney of Design*Sponge who was actually my first blogger crush(sorry Victoria and who’s book I still need to buy Design*Sponge at Home,)

- Ben Silbermann (Palo Alto) co-founder of Pinerest a  r a d  online pinboard that organizes & shares things that inspire you,

- (and last but certainly not least) Amy Butler (Central Ohio) a creative designer with a signature fabric print (search her stuff on BURKEDECOR!!)

Note to self:

- Put alt. on the calander for next year (NO MATTER WHAT!)

I might as well DO IT NOW, right Elise?!!

XoX

roz

full disclosure: I stole this from a friends pin board - i like it much better than the over used Keep Calm poster.

But, alas, It’s been a busy year so far and I’ve been knee deep in some new design projects. One of which is a new outdoor space for some clients who have a myriad of different tastes that need to be blended in to a space they can all share.  I actually this they have chosen a perfect time to focus on their outdoor space. I know in most of the country it is freezing cold outside and the last thing that people are thinking out is the ideal spring/ summer outdoor space; BUT, there are always lead times and waits for things  – especially in the beginning of summer when everyone is thinking about creating their perfect outdoor living area – and starting now means that once the weather warms up you will be ready to go!

These are a few of my favorite inspiration images  so far:

via:http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/article/detail/1950/loft-247--sao-paulo-brazil

via : http://www.jetsongreen.com/2011/06/sunset-cargotecture-idea-house-hybrid.html

Alright… I’m offically obsessed with ‘A Beautiful Mess.’  It’s a blog that presented an idea I have had in such an appealing way.

Maybe the fact that my swatches, or paint chips, are still piled high in my craft closet is why the girls at ‘A Beautiful Mess’ made this great idea look so good!

If you have  the time, enough swatches and a wall in your home or office that needs a punch of color… this is the D.Y.I. project for you.

I mean those hostess baggies.  Too sweet!!

Went to my first ‘swappy’ at my dear friend Cristina’s home last night.  I call it a ‘swappy’ and not a clothes swap because we traded way more than just clothes.  Cristina and her husband moved the family into this home only a few months ago but the place seems so perfectly furnished and decorated you feel like they’ve been adorning it for years.

As Cristina put it, “…it’s like we’ve been collecting items that perfectly fit this space for years, without knowing this place existed.”

These two framed images were killer Alemeda flea market finds.  The seller told her they are Kwakiutl artwork (an Alaskan Native American tribe.) Fourty bucks for the two… score!!

The image you see over the mantel was a photograph from their wedding at Dylan Beach that was printed on canvas.  RAD!

Cristina’s hubby works with wood.  Here is a piece of cedar he had left over from a job that he whipped a reading-candle table for her to use during her tub time.  Swooning.  ohhh, and those are sea shell’s lacquered onto the toilet seat.

Tinctures and Simpatico bubble bath!

In the bedroom…  what i found so attractive about this Petaluma home is how minimal yet abundant if felt.  Love the brown sheepskin at the foot of the bed. I know it’s from Full Belly Farm (found just northwest of Sacramento in Capay Valley) because they have a spot at our local farmer’s market.  Cristina and I have been meeting there weekly since i was pregnant with Wyatt.

The Heiman’s minimal decor allured me.  Matching that with the book i made it home from the ‘swappy’ with, Clear your clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston, I guess I have some more digging to do.

XOX

r