Music Monday: Jack and White

Let's get this Monday started off right! Here's a cute band that I'm digging right now-- Jack and White. Cue air guitar!



I met Brooke White at ALT Summit briefly and this video does a great job at capturing how nice, hip and stylish she is (great job Summer Bellessa---director & cute baby's momma). I hope you had a great weekend!

Summertime, Summertime

I'm back from an unexpected blogging break. We've had some house guests and also took a trip of our own to Utah to see Casey's sister, Kaitlyn get married.

I feel so refreshed and haven't felt this great in awhile. I expect to be back to regular blogging next week so here are a few pictures to tie you over.



|Caden & his Nebraska cousins at a 4th of July parade; me and my sisters starting a new tradition of running together on the 4th of July; Caden and his cousin, James; Kaitlyn & Jordan's wedding reception|

I hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are.  Doing anything fun in the month that's left?

Smiles All Around

Everything child's photography should be- fun, brilliant and laugh worthy.

|all images photographed by Jay P. Morgan|

Camping in Style

Doesn't this look like the perfect camping set up?  An airstream with a comfy bed and a kitchen.  Sign me up!

{image by Dan Bucher via USA TODAY}

{image by Steve Marcus via Las Vegas Sun}

So who's coming with me?

Check out KOA's unique accommodations for more fun camping ideas.

Living in a Glass Apartment

While out in Minnesota over the weekend we got a lot accomplished.  We put in an offer on a house, it's been accepted and now we're just waiting on inspections to come back.  But enough of that.... I know I've been talking an awful lot about the move these days.  So onto something a little more out of the ordinary.

We had the kids with us this weekend and wanted to take our 3 year old, Caden to see LegoLand up at the Mall of America.  While we were up there, I saw this:

A guy named Scott living in a glass apartment.  But not only that.  This glass apartment is in the middle at the Mall of America and he's agreed to do it for one month.  It's something Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota is putting on call The Human Doing.  They are promoting the 'Do' in all of our lifestyles and I think it's clever.  Everything Scott does for a month is voted on-- to bike or exercise?  To do air guitar or arm circles?, etc.  I also love his apartment.  So well designed and it proves how you can live an any sized space.  His apartment is 20'x30' and completely functional.

Interested in checking out more of what the 'Do' is all about?  Go to here to learn more.

All pictures taken from The Human Doing Facebook page.

It's Friday!

Yay!  Friday is here!  We received more snow yesterday, and it looks like we'll be getting some all weekend.  I'm ready for sunny spring days so this snow is a little depressing to me. Have you read Jenny's article about being overexposed to design?

She has some really good things to say so I hope you take the time to read it.

I often find myself shopping for my friends, or blog readers.  I want to make everything look "cool" or "inspiring"-- but really when I try to do that, it just ends up being one big mess, and I hate it in the end.

My husband and I don't exactly agree on design tastes.  I lean modern contemporary, and he leans more traditional contemporary.  It can be really difficult to find a middle ground sometimes.  He cares a lot about design and aesthetics of the home, so it's also difficult for me to pull the "I know more about design card"-- because really, I don't.

One of the most fun home projects we did was decorate the boys' room.  We had so much fun being creative, and making it a room full of fun and inspiring things.  {Remember the airplane?}  I hope with our next home we can find more opportunities to be creative with each room design.

Do you design your home for yourself, or for others?  Do you and your spouse or partner see eye to eye when decorating?

I'm Back! Altitude Summit Rocked Hard Core.

I'm still processing everything that happened at Altitude Summit this past weekend.  In a nutshell.... it was inspiring, incredible, and kind.  And, by far the best conference I've ever been to.

{Amy, me & Ez}

A few reasons why:

1.  The people.

I had the best roomies ever. And now I call them my besties.  Amy Turn Sharp has a heart of gold, and made me laugh all weekend long.  Her and her husband makes the best wooden toys eva' over at Little Alouette.  You should buy one for each of your kids and your neighbors.  They are so soft and gorgeous, I want to eat them.  Ez is the most genuine person I've ever met.  I feel like I've known her forever.  She runs a beautiful site called Creature Comforts which is full of inspiration daily.  Once you check out her site, you won't be able to live without her.

In addition to my roomies, I was able to reconnect with so many talented friends- like Alison, Marie, Laura & Gabrielle.  And I can't tell you how many inspiring women I met this weekend.  I now walk around saying, "What would Erin Loechner do?"  She is so freaking amazing.  She helped me (and so many others) this weekend by connecting us together, and being a sounding board.  I so wish I could carry her in my pocket.  There were so many more people I met that I loved.  Summer  and her husband, Kerry are a hoot and I could have talked to them all night long.  Jamie is hil-ar-ious and has beautiful hair.  I told her I wanted to eat it.  She seemed okay with that.  Jenny is drop dead gorgeous in person and so, so nice.  I'm pretty sure Brian Patrick is going to have his own show someday.  He's charming, and uber talented. 

I could go on and on.  Everywhere I turned, there was talent and enjoyable conversation.  And everyone was so, so kind.  I was a little nervous about going to this conference all by myself.  I was worried that everyone would have their own little circles and I'd be the lone ranger in the corner.  This was not true one bit.  Everyone was gracious and welcoming which was a huge relief! 

{from altsummit flickr stream}

2.  I learned good things.

My biggest complaint leaving conferences usually pertains to the content.  Not that I know it all, but I've been blogging long enough to know the basics.  This conference left me chewing on things.  Here are some of the things I'm thinking about:

-When working in a group, it's best to delegate all tasks (i.e. have one in charge of email, one in charge of accounting, one in charge of twitter, etc.) and have meetings consistently.  Since most of what I do is a collaborative work, it's good to remind myself of this. 

-There are many tools I need to check out: Skitch (easy to manipulate screenshots), Tineye (reverse image search), and Rescue Time (time management tool) to name just a few.

-"Brands are people too." ~Maggie Mason.  She also said that people that want to give you money are not the enemy.  Working with various brands can be diffi

-Tina Roth Eisenberg from Swiss Miss is the bomb-diggity.  She was candid in her keynote, and full of information.  Here are  few things she's learned along the way.

1. No one can tell you what is best.


2. Surrounding yourself with people is key.


3. Don't just talk.  Do it.


4. Be kind and generous.  It comes back to you.


5. Your enthusiasm and integrity are your biggest assets.


6. Think BIG.  It is possible.

3.  Big bathtubs are where it's at.

I had time to take a bubble bath in Grand America's deep tub.  It was dreamy, and I've added it to my dream house list.

------------------------------------------------------------------

A huge thanks to the Kirtsy girls and their vision.  Thanks for hosting such a great conference, sparking so much inspiration and bringing all of us together! xo

Missing You All

I'm missing all of you.

{hugs}

So far, my day has been full of inspiring messages, chats with people I love, and a fabulous lunch with Mondo and Seth Aaron from Project Runway.

In other words, it's been awesome.

I promise I'll be back next week ready to share great things from ALT Summit.



P.S.  Salt Lake City is beautiful.

image via Cosmopolitician

Laser Cut: Trend Alert

I've been seeing lots of fabulous laser cut accessories recently so it was no surprise when an email came from 2Modern highlighting some of their laser cut items.  Here's a few I've seen around recently:



Asymmetrical Cuff available from the Ponoko store.  (Yes it's a cuff, but wouldn't it make great napkin rings!)



Louis Poulsen Collage Pendant from 2Modern.



Until Dawn curtain from Artecnica.  Can you imagine the beautiful shadows you'd get from this delicate cut?

I love how with the laser cutting you can use a wide variety of materials and get really intricate cuts!

Cool Materials for Your Next Project

I just discovered Inventables and it is a website filled with unique materials that I've never heard of, but would like to try.



Translucent Wood- It looks like wood, but transmits light.  I think they would make wonderful sconces, don't you?



Flexible Metal Brick



Wood Paper

What do you think?  Are these materials a little out there, or would you have fun experimenting with them?

{via Pinterest}

Hop on over to see if you're the winner of the Coffee-mate giveaway package.

Stockings for Your Chairs

Look at these socks for your dining room chairs.  We accessorize everything else, so why not our chairs?





I think I'm partial to the striped ones.  What do you think?  Is this something you would consider doing in your home?

{seen on designerpad}

Kenyan Getaway

My husband and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary next year.  So I've been dreaming up different places we can go to celebrate.  This private retreat is looking quite nice right now.

Naibor Camp is a luxury camp experience located in Kenya.  You can learn more about it here.

I think it looks quite nice.  How about you?

Prism Color Wall

I sure love color!  I honestly don't have a favorite color as I'm in love with all of them!  Color makes me happy, excited, and energetic!  Imagine my delight when I saw the 1st Place winner of the Mind Blowing Color Competition.  Amirko, a Moscow based designer, designed a wall made of prisms that can be changed based on your mood, or favorite colors.  Isn't it fabulous?

Climbing Tree

Now this is something my toddler would enjoy.  Something he could climb on {without me saying "get down from there!}

When I'm not designing...

I think you know this but when I'm not designing interiors I design stamps for paper crafters!  I even had a few new releases this week!  Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas!



What's your favorite part of fall?

Miniature Home Gift

I have two dear friends that are moving away very shortly.  Last week we had dinner party for them to send them on their way.  My friends and I wanted to give them something that they'd remember their houses and the time they've lived in this city so here's what I came up with:





I took pictures that I had of the front of their houses and recreated them with some layered paper.  One of them I didn't have a picture of, but no fear, Google Street view came to the rescue and I was able to get enough information from that to complete the house.

We matted them in a frame and then when the guests arrived at the party, we had them all write a little message on the mat of the frame.  They loved them!  This might just be my standard moving away gift from now on!