adorable soap dishes and more

i am loving these soap dishes by brooklyn artist shevon gant. i found her work at modishoppe, which led me to her website, full of great stuff!

i like these dessert bowls, too:

beginning to explore in atlanta

yes, i ventured into the big city by myself today, and it was quite an adventure! i think georgians drive at least 10 miles over the speed limit at all times. me and my little 4runner were being passed left and right!

i got to visit some of the shops and galleries i've had my eye on (thanks to some suggestions from fellow bloggers, as well as good ol' google, and design*sponge's atlanta design guide), and i took the requisite photo of both the CNN building and the coca-cola building.


here is a view of peachtree street as you're traveling towards buckhead:

(i haven't gotten into the really ritzy or unique parts of buckhead yet. this weekend i plan to check out some of the different areas, as well as make me way east to decatur...)

but i did go to the beehive co-op, which i loved....

the way their jewelry was displayed was marvelous-- they had these niches in the walls with branches stuck inside to hold earrings, and they had all kinds of small standing trees holding jewelry in other niches. it was fabulous.

one of my favorite things i saw were cara gilbert's ceramic pieces. gorgeous!

i also made my way to city issue, which is a great shop filled with an ever-rotating collection of great vintage things for your home. i bought an adorable little tangerine-colored planter that i want to put herbs in and sit on the little sill looking into our kitchen from the living room. (photos will be shown once i've planted the herbs!!)

they had these great kartell chairs, modern yet retro feeling, that i would love to do something with, but its the kind of thing that if i brought it home, ryan would not be happy. boo for boys with different senses of style!


i also discovered bennett street, and the tula art center, which is chock full of galleries and working artists' studios.

to my delight, the naomi silva gallery (in the tula art center) showed carolina sardi's work, of which i am a huge fan. her pieces are magnificent. so that was a definite highlight of my afternoon.



bennett street also has an extensive antique market. i know nothing about antiques, but i think it might be fun to browse the shops for fun finds.

on my way hope i got stuck in the horrendous traffic that atlanta is notorious for, at 3:45 in the afternoon! don't people generally work until 5 pr 6? there are so many people crammed into this area with too few highways, and it is mind-boggling to me how people deal with it every day. i guess maybe it's because i come from bike-riding/walking/jogging/eco-conscious-land, boulder, colorado. :)

oh, and here is how my day started:


while quietly drinking coffee on the back porch, i noticed a giant freak slug crawling through the leaves. i was fascinated- i've never seen a slug that big! so, of course, i googled slugs in the southeast, and discovered that they are in fact quite common, in all their giant grossness. i had no idea slugs could get that big. ah, georgia. how i'm beginning to love thee.

wallets wallets wallets for your money money money

i am in serious *love* with these wallets! while browsing trunkt this morning, i came across these gorgeous little wallets, made by blissful in san francisco. i just noticed that they are sold at little otsu in sf, too, so i'm wondering if i saw them when i was there...? that was one of my favorite shops in san francisco.

anyway, check out more of blissful's wallets here, and buy them here.
i have my eye on that green one above...

{what great fabric!!!!}

and another cool artist... hilary williams

i just checked in to hilary williams' site, and was pleased to see that shes added some new prints! her work is outstanding, in my opinion. i saw it in person at artist x-change gallery in san francisco earlier this year, and i stood there examining it for what felt like half the day.

you are sure to love her site, too... make sure to look at her prints, drawings, and paintings... they're all wonderful.

cool artist... jane filer

i am loving these paintings by jane filer at center of the earth gallery in charlotte, nc. i love how whimsical and out of proportion they are. i always admire artists that can have such a child-like approach to their art (i mean that in the highest sort-of complimentary way!), because i think it's hard for our adult brains to see things that aren't "right" sometimes. that's the great thing about art. nothing is right or wrong. it just is.

jane filer, wherever you are, your work inspires me!

hand-printed wallpaper

i was thrilled to see this wallpaper by dunford wood on design*sponge this morning, as block printed wallpaper is an endeavor i'm currently venturing into myself.

i love the irregular feel and one-of-a-kind nature of this type of printing process.

see his full collection here.

...settling in

the internet is up and running, and i'm feeling ready to go in my new georgia home! it is hard to believe i've already been here a week. (how did we all survive without the internet?? i must say, though, it was sort-of a nice relief to be without it for a week.... it's really easy to dissociate from ourselves and our intuition with all this crazy technology. in my experience anyway.)

here are some photos of our new house (in it's meager beginnings!) don't look at the safari couch... it is the one piece of furniture in our house that i absolutey cannot stand. but with the move, i can't afford a new couch just yet, so...... it stays for the time being. i am toying with the idea of learning how to make a slip cover-- any suggestions for where to learn out there in web-land??

i will be sure to post more photos as we spruce up the place a bit.

{the living room---- complete with brand-new fish in the aquarium!! so sad, though: we woke up this morning to an almost-dead cardinal tetra... what is it about new fish being so vulnerable??}

{a view into my *new* studio!}

{the dining room and tiny window into the kitchen...}

{and my all-time fave georgia picture so far......sorry if this offends anyone. it is just oh-so-different from how i grew up in boulder, colorado...}


a few pics from some things we've done since our arrival in hot sticky georgia:

{lake lanier, just 15 minutes from us!}

{ryan and i at the lake...}

{an old converted mansion on milledge street in athens, georgia-- they're all fraternity and sorority houses now!}

{one of the streets in downtown athens... this town reminded me a lot of boulder, and it was just lovely. i'll be back for sure! it's just 40 miles from us}

{a street in midtown atlanta. one thing we've discovered *quickly* here so far is to not go anywhere during rush hour. it is no fun! we've ventured the 20 or so miles into the city to make a couple of trips to IKEA, and i am excited to learn more about bustling atlanta.}

the thing i'm least excited about in georgia: THE BUGS. i've seen cockroches, spiders, crickets, and giant ants galore since i've been here, and big noisy bugs that i've never seen before that live in the trees. and, to top it all off, as i was falling asleep one night, i felt and heard a bug climbing into my ear. i am not joking. it is like the amazon down here. (ok, i'm exaggerating, but it's different from boulder for sure!!)

it's hot here in georgia........

i'm almost ready to post again! i made it to georgia safe and sound and we are in our new place, but we don't have internet in our house yet!

please keep checking back... i will have lots to write and post about in the next few days.
(pics of my new studio! stay tuned.....)

xoxo

mini blog break

just a quick note to you all to let you know I will be posting only sporadically for the next week or so-- please keep checking back, and i promise to post all about georgia as soon as i'm there and somewhat settled in!

{ps- ganesh (image above) is the remover of all obstacles....i'm hoping to have no major obstacles in my journey to georgia!}

things to buy in georgia...

{faux bamboo cabinet in yellow, at pieces}

i am currently looking through some of the websites of the shops listed on design*sponge's atlanta design guide (which was perfectly timed for my move, i might add!), and i'm seeing all kinds of things that would be just lovely to put in a new house! unfortunately a lot of it is out of my price range (not having a job in georgia to go to and all...), but fun to look at anyway!

these are some of my favorites i've seen so far.

{modern end tables in red, at pieces}

{yellow mirrored night stands, at pieces}

{at pollen}

{at pollen}

{at pollen}

{louis xvi side chair, at belvedere}


{fifth wheel birdhouse at heliotrope}

Georgia, Here I Come!

so friends, the decision has been made. we are moving to georgia!!

our trip at the beginning of the week was exhausting and cut short by weather and flight delays, so unfortunately i don't have any photos of our new home-to-be yet, but by the end of next week, you will feel like YOU live in suwanee, georgia! i will be posting a ton, i'm sure, as i get to know my new area of the world...

thank you to all of you who have given me suggestions about where to go an what to do- it''s going to be hugely helpful! the best news so far: there is a whole foods in a neighboring town, so it looks like i'm not going to be subjected to nothing but waffle houses and chicken restaurants after all. :) thank goodness.

one last thing: to any of you in the boulder/denver area reading this: i am having a sale in my studio this coming monday and tuesday to try to clear out some inventory, so i don't have to lug it all across the country!

please email me if you would like more information, or check out my website for details.