Sloane Tanen

I saw the yoga image above in the Sunday Times years ago and it still makes me laugh. Sloane Tanen has produced a series of books using little chicks, great sets and witty lines. Her books are hilarious... I recently bought one for my friend who's expecting called Hatched, The Big Push from Pregnancy to Motherhood.

Post - woohoo...

I had a lovely surprise when I got home today, I received a little postcard from a friend of mine in Dublin, she is so sweet, she doesn't own a mobile and she sends the loveliest of letters which is such a treat as most people text, facebook or email you and most of the post you receive is bills, bills, bills.

My little Office

Oh I'm so tired now!! I worked all day Sat on the office and was entertaining all day Sunday, work and 2 walks today plus started my sisters wedding invite!! So I'm off to bed now but I wanted to update on the office... It's not finished yet but I'm really pleased with how it has turned out thus far!  

I can laugh now but as I was painting this blackboard wall and thinking to myself how easily the paint went on I stepped off the ladder, caught the corner of the tray full of black paint and flipped it up all over myself, I had shorts on - my 2 legs, arms and back were covered in streaky black paint along with the WHITE door, WHITE floor and the saddle board!! But thank God it only put 2 little dots on my newly laid carpet in the hall! I very nearly cried but there really was no point - I lost an hour cleaning up the mess... I still can't believe I did it - so clumsy as usual!! 

Work in progress..

Well I started my office last night, I was sitting on the couch at around nine when an idea hit me, I worked through til 1:30 and I'd hate to show you the mess that I'm surrounded by now and I'm only half way there but I love how it's looking so it'll be worth it... perhaps I should have painted the surrounding walls first but I was so excited to get started once I thought of it.

For years I have been addicted to magazines used to be mainly fashion, now it's mainly interiors (it was wedding mags for a good 8 months - I ended up with hundreds!). What better way to inspire myself than to pull out fabulous pages and create a wallpaper. I really love the fashion shots interspersed as they are mainly from 2006 mags and the styles have stood the test of time. I had a few great issues of Italian Vogue to pillage too!

Beautiful Styling...

It's amazing what nice styling can do, I don't really like these wallpapers but don't the pics look beautiful? They are for Swedish wallpaper company DecorMaison.

Chloe Style...

I just love Chloe Sevigny's style by day or night she always looks elegant but edgy.

Elle and Chloe

Two of my favourite American things... American Elle and Chloe Sevigny, I love the type

I have always loved dolls...

I've had my baby-doll for some 27 years now. She has payed a few visits to the dolls hospital in that time. I only came across these Blythe dolls a few years ago, aren't they amazing.

Blythe was created in 1972 by designer Allison Katzman and was sold in the US for one year only due to a lack of interest.  

In 1997, New York TV and video producer Gina Garan was given a 1972 Kenner Blythe by a friend and began using it to practice her photographic skills. She began taking her Blythe everywhere with her and took hundreds of photos. In 2002, Gina published her first book of Blythe photography with Chronicle Books, This is Blythe. 

Many people have emulated Gina and create outfits and photos of their own. (I have gathered these images over time and I'm not sure who to credit - sorry)

Casio Love...

I was sitting here thinking how I love my watch when I remembered that a friend recently told me a bizarre fact that dozens of men were detained at Guantanamo Bay with the primary link used as evidence against them being the fact that they possessed a Casio F91W watch.

busy dee

Oh... so much to do this month...work is really busy so I've been working through lunch and late AND weekends grrr (I know lucky to have job etc) but I need to design my sisters wedding invites and of course I want to do something wow. I'm forever making lists and never getting around to them so here goes maybe I can shame myself into finally get my act together!

TO DO

1. Aoife's invites

2. Aoife's hen (organise + this is your life book)

3. finish my Thank You cards

4. finish office

5. loose 7 pounds in 3 weeks!

6. exercise, exercise, exercise

7. fill all the empty photo frames around the house

8. let photographer know which pics I want

9. design wedding album

10. business plan

11. new car? research?

12. touch up paint

13. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE

14. trip to Ikea

ok maybe it's not so bad and I know people have it a lot worse! 

Creating my creative environment...

these office spaces have the cosy, lived in feeling I'm hoping to achieve for my little office

Bureau pics

Made another purchase today... a sisal rug in Meadows & Byrne for 60euro...so the theme is set...black, white and gold. I already had these Ikea curtains and I got a present of the beautiful mohair blanket.

Writing Bureau

I'm very excited..I had been eyeing a writing bureau in TK Maxx for the last four weeks priced at a reasonable 267euro but with the ban on shopping prior to NYC I couldn't part with the money, I visited this table pretty much every day and on Saturday I went in with my Mom and there it was reduced to a mere 120!! I couldn't resist! So I sit here now in my element tapping away! I can't find the camera though so I'll have to wait to upload some pics. 

On Saturday after the purchase I rushed home to clear out my dump room which has acted as an in-house shed for 2 years, I set to work clearing space in the garden shed to house all the junk we have stored and spent hours clearing the space, it's still the horrible lemon color that the builder chose and my lovely floor boards which were painted white have gone yellow in parts so I have a bit of work to do to pull my office together but I am very excited as this the last room to be tackled! In search now of some armchairs that I could perhaps spray paint and upholster and a coffee table and my little room will be well on it's way ...oh the plans I have once this room will be finished... I'll have no excuses then!

So Irish...

My friend went to Kilkenny for the weekend and while there she came across a man walking a fox, yes a fox!! He rescued her as a 3 week old cub and has raised her since. Her name is Grainne.

This is my favorite quote from a local newspaper...

"Only that I saw and heard it myself, I would have said it was fiction, but it did happen. Patsy took out his harmonica and started to play a traditional tune and Grainne rolled around the floor, completely at ease as Patsy belts out the tune while keeping a eye on his four- legged audience."

oh my sides hurt from laughing... too cute!!

lovely idea

The Card Society 

In this unique card-of-the-month club members receive two individually designed, letterpress-printed cards in their postbox each month. Cards are one-of-a-kind, never to be re-printed or sold anywhere else.

I think this a beautiful idea, but pricey at 150 dollars for a yearly membership.

Fashion fix...

I love this time year as I start thinking ahead to boots and coats and imaging being all wrapped up... I saw this amazing blouse on www.garancedore.fr which led me to the designers site where I found these amazing pieces.

The designer is Mirco Giovannini 

www.mircogiovannini.it/

No longer just a black board...

I spotted this on Droolicious, Hudson Paint deliver to Ireland and produce chalkboard paint in a range of 24 fab colours!

Gorgeous gift boxes...

I saw these on thedieline, Beautiful gift boxes for Aspen Boutique.