weekend inspiration

Blog: Wool & Spool. Elizabeth runs the blog, works in the fashion industry in New York, and makes things like cute bow tie necklaces in her free time. I stalk read her blog regularly...

images: 1 wool & spool, 2 lonny mag

Blog Post: Outfit to Room by City Sage, featuring January Anthro images paired with interiors. I'm definitely sold on that French inspired haircut.

images via City Sage: Anthropologie + Nuevo Estilo

Shop: The Love Shop, filled with the cutest prints that are perfectly sweet for Valentine's Day.

1 the love tree print, 2 je taime print

Flickr Set: "stuff" by danske. Beautiful Polaroids of everyday objects.

"thread from pcc" via danske

We're taking a road trip this weekend to visit several friends, some of whom have cute newborn babies. On Monday I have a collaboration with the amazing Natalie Jost to share with you (it's been in the works since December, it's good I promise!).

sheepskin rugs

We love our new sheepskin rug that we picked up at Ikea for under $10 (normally $25+) shortly after the new year.
My cats appreciate its softness, too, and are now forced to choose between that and their favorite other spots. The rug we have is little, but I'd love to get a much larger one to warm up the whole room.

etsy love: winter inspiration

I was looking through my favorites on Etsy, and I like seeing the combination of items collected - lately it's been: red, white & black; a little Valentine's inspiration; and an ode to tennis (the Australian Open is going on right now, have you been watching?).

black & white sundress (jessjamesjake, found via)

love cards (humunuku)

love-love card (cracked designs)

valentine bike card (lark press)

sardana screenprint (roddy and ginger)

all photos linked to sources above

sara smedley

I spotted this apron (above) on Papernstitch, and here is the shop description, from Sara Smedley:
My line of butcher’s aprons are inspired, in part, by aprons my grandfather wore when he cooked. Julia Child wore a similar style apron and wrote, “its a working apron, not a dainty thing. ‘Dainty’ doesn’t look professional in the kitchen.” But let me add, Julia wore some pretty amazing printed blouses to complement her denim aprons and that’s where my prints come in.

photos: Sara Smedley

PS. The garden in the top photo gives me an early case of spring fever...

work hard & be kind...

I couldn't resist posting this positive quote by Conan O'Brien, his closing words spoken on his last Tonight Show on Friday. I've been a longtime fan of his - yes he is silly-funny, but also smart, witty, & genuinely nice. In his words: "if you work really hard and you're kind, I'm telling you. Amazing things will happen."

(Image by Old Sweet Song, found via Oh Hello)

charming home in san francisco

Earlier this week I was drawn to the charm of this 100+ year old home, as well as the story behind it. It's owned by a couple in San Francisco and they spent 2 years renovating it. They documented the process, and the before and after photos are amazing! See the full tour here.

A framed photo of the couple during renovations:


sweet, simple bedroom:


I want this color blue somewhere in our house:


Open shelving in the kitchen:

photos via Apartment Therapy

Sometimes all of the interior inspiration I find online and in magazines starts to overwhelm me, but this home had the opposite effect. I'm adding flowers and paint (Benjamin Moore: Bird's Egg 2051-60 to be exact) to my shopping list.

hello, motivation

Thanks for the encouraging words & suggestions after yesterday's post. So glad there are creative people out there that can relate. I've posted a few of the suggestions, hopefully some of these will work for you as well...

Kitty: write down all of your tasks & then randomly assign each one to a day on the calendar (close your eyes & point to a day). Then schedule it in for that day.
kribss: similar to Kitty's idea - write down your tasks & randomly pick one or two each day.



Darling Savage: break down your tasks & work on one phase of each at a time (makes it much less overwhelming).
Sarah: be thankful the sun is out past 4 o'clock these days!


(all photos by Sarah Maingot)

Kellie (her comment made me laugh): - she's in Australia (where it's summer!) & claims it's even more difficult for them, because they're on summer holiday and really, who has motivation to work during that time of year? Good point.

wallow: to move about with difficulty

Since Christmas, I feel like I've been in sort of a slump as far as creative work goes, and staying motivated to complete tasks and be inspired has been difficult. I can blame it partly on 'winter blues', which I always seem to get. I'm not fond of the cold and after December it feels like there are endless months of winter ahead. This weekend was typical of what I'm like in these dreary cold months: we spent most of the weekend at home because I had some work projects, but I ended up scrambling to complete things on Sunday afternoon because I had procrastinated (no surprise there) much of the weekend.

For those of you out there that do freelance/work for yourself, I'm sure you realize that being unmotivated or unproductive isn't really an option. You're on your own to make sure deadlines are met and customers/clients are happy. Thank goodness for my fear of messing that up, because it definitely keeps me in check. So, I'm wondering if others out there are experiencing the winter blues? I'm working on a plan to help myself be more productive during these long months, and I hope to start posting more about business & ideas to keep me accountable. To be honest, just writing out this post and knowing that it will be published for others to see makes me feel instantly motivated to stop wallowing and start doing.

(On a more important note: It's been over a week already since the quake in Haiti - if you are still looking for a charity to donate to, I know there are many, but this is great one.)

photos via Anita Calero Photography

horne

Thanks to the Dilly Dallas blog for introducing me to the lovely shop, Horne. It's filled with simple home goods + accessories, and while I'm certainly not in the market for more tea towels - let alone $32 ones - these have definitely become a new favorite.

"flour" tea towel


linen table cloth


"the street" tea towel

1&3: tea towels designed by Teresa Green
2: linen table cloth by Fog Linen Work

updates

Over the weekend I updated the look of Hooray a bit: changed the banner (it's been a slow work in progress - I'm a novice at these things), adjusted the layout, updated the links & so on. It's been on my to-do list starting out the year, so I'm glad to cross that off.



Also, before Christmas I started a Facebook page for Hooray on a whim and I'm working on updating that. You can visit it here and it'd be fun if you became a fan!



all photos by krisatomic

Lastly, I updated my Tumblr page to give it a cleaner look as well. Tumblr is one of my favorite sites, the toolbar feature makes bookmarking photos and their link as easy as a few clicks.

I hope your Monday is starting out better than mine, as I'm off for a trip to the dentist. :( For more of these lovely photos, visit krisatomic on flickr.

scrapboxes

There's a great article in the Feb. issue of Living about the frames & scrapboxes that Darcy Miller made. They are such a sweet way to capture memories (and are perfect ideas for gifts).

growth chart:


keepsakes:


I'm thankful the weekend is here. Hope you enjoy yours!

miss potter

This past weekend I had a girls' weekend here, and we watched a bunch of movies including Miss Potter (about Beatrix Potter, the author/artist). If you have any interest in the Potter books, or in a love story, you should rent it.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (my favorite of Beatrix Potter's books)

photo via here

It brought back memories of going to our local library (a big, old stone house) as a child. I loved to go down to their basement to find all of the Potter books, which were miniature in size and fit perfectly in my hands and crinkled from their clear plastic library covers. It was then that I decided they were my favorite books.

hello there (from the library)

Our internet has been out since Friday, after I called to have our landline phone cancelled. We've never hooked up a phone to our landline but we had to have the line installed when we first moved in, in order to get internet (due to our location). So, after hours of phone calls they have finally told us they will hook up our internet again on the 13th.

Don't they realize I have blogs to read?

(photo by Rachel Whiting via Darling Dexter)

the secret print

This print makes me think of me & Q. Except we don't have black hair (or coordinating winter outfits... yet).

"The Secret Print" by one of my favorites: Blanca Gomez

french details

I have been swooning over these French inspired discoveries lately...


handmade dress (Les Zigouis via Design is Mine)


pretty paper (ffffound! via snippet & ink)


save the dates (Martha Stewart)


Chez Panisse menu (Cynthia Warren)

Note to self: find more French blogs to subscribe to.

neiko designs

Sometime during December I spotted a handbag from Neiko Designs eon the web (where, I'm not sure, but likely on Etsy's homepage). Neiko Designs is a handbag company based out of New York, and their bags seem like the kind that instantly make you feel chic. They get bonus points for giving their creations cute names like Olivia and Sam.


Olivia (updates a trip to the library)


Dandies 04 (perfect for everyday casual)


Canvas Tote 2

camilla engman

As an avid follower of Uppercase, I've been wanting the latest book they've published, The Suitcase Series by artist Camilla Engman, since it was available for pre-order.

The Suitcase Series (by Camilla Engman)


A look inside the book


Camilla Engman's home in Sweden


Camilla's dog, Morran

The Suitcase Series also comes with a mini booklet about her dog, "The Adventures of Morran: the little Swedish dog with a big imagination."

michaelis boyd interiors

This past fall I discovered the amazing online portfolio of Michaelis Boyd, through Anita Kaushal's book The Family at Home. It features the kind of interiors that I go crazy for: the style is a mix of clean & modern, with vintage touches & a European feel (the firm is based out of London). I gathered my favorites here...

Byron (burger restaurant on Kensington High Street, London)


Cowshed (on Portland Road in London)


Inside Cowshed


Retail shop m e l t (on Ledbury Road in London)


Brass Rail, Selfridges (diner on Oxford Street in London)


Maggie & Rose Nursery (shop + nursery on Pembroke Road in London)