beauty in the cabinet

one of the happiest things to me about my new (it's very old) house is the view of the inside of my bathroom cabinets.
I know, it sounds strange, but I love it.
There are layers and layers of torn contact paper and other coverings that have been exposed in the most lovely way... the way that only about 40-50 years of aging can do and I love it.

Every time I look at it, all I can think about is how honored I feel to live in a place that has this much history.
Part of the pain for me of moving back to LA after 5 years in Chicago was the thought of not getting to live in a home/city/place with history. When we discovered our current neighborhood, we were amazed - "you mean in the heart of LA is a district with historic homes, just like the one we left in Chicago?"

yup - complete with crooked floors, original bathrooms and kitchens, huge front porches and remnants of hiding wallpaper - just hinting at years and years of history.

right up my alley.

Garage sale find

we found this at a garage sale years ago in Chicago... but it still is one of my happiest possessions.
hand-painted, heavy board - it now occupies a prize corner in our dining room

Oven mitts

So I was a vendor at this art show last weekend called "Handmade for the Holidays"
and there were some great booths there! (I'll have to post on them later)
Anyhow - this gal across the way from me was selling oven mitts, aprons, wallets, bracelets.. all of which were quite adorable. I zeroed in on her oven mitts... thinking..."now there is a purchase I can justify - when was the last time I bought an oven mitt? And have I ever owned a cute one?"


So, I am looking at them. I decide to buy two... and then it hits me... so I ask:
me -"Do people buy oven mitts that match each other?" (imagine me wearing one on each hand here)
her - "some do"
me - "do you?"
her - " um, NO"
and then I look down,
"I'm trying on OVEN MITTS! Who tries on oven mitts?"



seriously, you have to imagine me looking like a lobster with swollen pinchers here...


There you have it - somewhere from deep down, the nerd resurfaces...
wearing oven mitts in public, wondering if I am cool....
ah well - at least THEY look good. especially on my kitchen wall...

The couch

Okay. So I saw this image forever ago, of a patchwork couch from Liberty of London - (I only wish there was a relation) - I think I found it through Design*sponge - anyhow - I was smitten with the idea.



1 - It's totally me
2 - I have tons of fabric scraps around here
3 - It's slightly environmental (okay, it's really environmental)
4 - It's chic, colorful, and stain resistant (since I have 2 toddlers)
5 - I have an old, slipcovered couch that is solid white - neither my style nor within my capacity to keep clean.

So, I decided to try it. (yikes) I've never done more than make a pillow - as far as upholstery - at least not that I'd like to admit. So I bought a book about upholstery and gave it a shot.




I love it.
Now I just have to get the nerve to finish the main body of the slipcover.

Home is where the art is

Once, when J and I were dating, he asked if we HAD to have all of my paintings up in our home when we got married. He didn't have to ask that twice.

Funny, because seven years into this thing called "love" - many of the paintings have been since given away, a few recovered, and some have been moved to piles in corners - no longer meaning to me what they originally meant.

I now have other tokens, creations or not - which tell me that I am HOME. I thought I'd start this blog off with stuff that makes me happy from right where I am - at home.

Spending 2 years in a condo that didn't fit our taste, our furniture, or our needs - left me feeling a huge hole in the HOME category. This summer, on a weekend away, J and I saw some paintings of houses that were so charming.

Most of my paintings have all been of nature, trees, etc - but feeling so very attached to the word and concept of HOME, I knew that there was material here for inspiration. So I sat down with my scraps... and here is my very own "home" - which now hangs in my new home.

Libby Dibby Stuff