The Full Monty.

All the photos of our apartment - to date. Some changes have been made, but this is pretty much it.

House Photos - The Remix

It's that time again...

Yes!

This house is perfect.

From the black door to the black floors, this house is perfection. (Okay, so I'd add some color and lots of books. But, other than that, I love it.





Such a cool kitchen.

(Images from Tine K.)

Check out the full slideshow at TineK Home.

Let's Elope. Seriously? Seriously.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole wedding planning process. (Oh, yeah, in case you're a new reader, we're making it legal. Otherwise..."Hi Mom!") Hopefully when all is said and done it will be a pretty awesome party.

To Do, before "I Do" (the short list):

Venue
Caterer
Lodging
Dress
Final Guest List/Addresses
Photographer
Band/DJ
Invitations
Flowers
Suit
Officiant
Website
Booze
Decorations
Transportation
Rehearsal Stuff
Registry

The horror!

I was reading THIS great blog post by Michelle Mitchell of Scribbit this morning. She writes about the importance of getting your children to read books/improving their literacy at a young age, as well as some tips on how to do it. I thought, "Oh God, what if my (as yet unborn) children don't enjoy reading?" (I will admit, horrible as it is, that one of my biggest fears is having a kid that is an illiterate, obese couch potato. And a mouth-breather.) So, while I'm not going to force Chaucer, ballet or T-ball on my kids, I am going to encourage reading and physical activity.

And, on a related note, some of my favorite books from childhood (in no particular order):

Critter books by Mercer Mayer (Awesome illustrations - one of the first "series" that I read straight through. Math class, 2nd grade, below the desk.)


The Fudge Books by Judy Blume (I laughed so loud in class in 4th grade that I got sent to the hall. Stupid Mrs. Harvey...)


Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene (I STILL love these books and can name every single major character.)


The Ramona Series by Beverly Cleary (A doll named Chevrolet? Classic. Also loved the tv shows with Sarah Polley.)

I dunno, you tell me...

is this study super awesome or super cluttered? I keep changing my mind. Either way, I want that desk/table.

Friday Fry Day.

I'll let you in on a little secret. I love McDonald's french fries. I love them. They are addictive. (It's been proven in studies, I swear.) But, despite the fact that my body craves them, I try to practice a little restraint and not have them with every meal. This is made difficult by the fact that there is a McDonald's ONE BLOCK FROM MY OFFICE and TWO BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. So, I have made a deal with my craving. I can have McDonald's fries when it is both Friday AND a payday (which happens every 6-8 weeks). So, today? You got it: Friday Fry Day. Oh, yes! But, I did not buy any fries. No sirree. I had a salad instead. A bland tasteless salad that was a leftover from Tuesday night.

My lunch (post chowing down):



And to wash it down: a diet Pepsi and a multi-vitamin.


This made me realize two things: 1) I might be getting sick; and 2) I am totally that annoying person in the office.

The Barefoot Contessa lives in a Barn.

Okay, so it's a swanky converted "barn" in France. It's amazing. If that's what they mean when one says "What, did you grow up in a barn or something?" then I wish I grew up in a barn. Lovely photos and a nice article on Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa, on the House Beautiful website HERE.

P.S. (Malin, want to go on a pilgrimage and say "hi" to Ms. Garten?)



(Image by Simon Upton, House Beautiful magazine.)

March Madness.

(Image via Flickr.)

I want to go on vacation. Here. Just me and a good book.

Big Brother Is Watching You.

One of my favorite things to do is to peek inside other people's homes. Literally. I like to run at night and on my evening runs I take every opportunity to jump up and see what's going on inside the homes I pass. This is especially easy to do in San Francisco because every other house has a large bay window in front and (strangely) very few people draw their curtains. I would say "Yeah, I know this makes me weird..." but I know that almost EVERYONE is a bit of a voyeur. Hence the success of design/shelter magazines and blogs. Blogs like The Selby. The Selby is 7th heaven for people who like to peek. Please, please click HERE and check it out. Real homes of real (albeit, super cool) people.



(Image: Edward Hopper, "The Night Window")

While the Cat's away...

...the Mouse redecorates!

New shelving in the kitchen:



Along with two new cool industrial stools found on craigslist:

Si Romantique!

Check it out: Le Love.

Ha! Maybe I do miss JJ, after all. ;)

Quiero Ir: Mexico City

Really neat post on the guest blog on Design*Sponge about design/art in Mexico. This one's for you José Jaime. Read about it HERE.



(Image via Design*Sponge)

Sketchy.

Inspired by this AMAZING website, Happy Menocal , I made a sketch of my own.

It's when JJ and I first met at Melissa's party.

What drawing skillz.

But seriously, check out the sketchbook on Happy Menocal. It's cool.

Pinkie Swear.

Sorry for the (unplanned) blogging hiatus. I'm back and I'll post regularly. Honest.