home | calendar display

i saw this idea in the january 2012 issue of martha stewart living and thought is was brilliant.

the aluminum ledge is a ticket holder used in restaurants by chefs to keep track of checks. marbles inside the track grab onto the notes (our stamp collection) without pins and the top is a perfect ledge for other things (the 2012 calendar i made on pinhole press). i bought mine from restaurant equipment solutions for a mere $7.50.

xo, cindy

ps thanks to asiye i'm starting a new 365-photo project where you post just one photo a week in this flickr group. here's my first one and it is bold. they also give weekly themes, but you only have until the end of january to join if you're interested.

collect | something old

line always has the cutest photos of shoes and today while going through our closet i found two pairs i haven't seen in a while. the first are my joan & david wedding shoes and the receipt for $90 (a lot of money back then) from more than 20 years ago (so old) and look cute, but hurt like hell. the second are keds by kate spade, which i've never worn (saving them?). i prefer the sneakers on my feet and the wedding shoes in a box safely stored in the closet for the next 20+.

xo, cindy

pics | 365 at home

kiki and polly print.

breakfast of champions in our place.

a freebie flower from kate spade.

scott's new (fancy) slippers from ll bean. charlie got a pair, too.

green tea ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry - ok.

today is the 277th day of the year, leaving just 88 days remaining and in my 365-project. hur-ray! if anyone would like to try this kind of project, my advice would address the most challenging part of it for me - numbering. i number the photos sequentially and somehow have missed count on two occasions, which is not a walk in the park to correct. so, i would suggest using the date, instead. today is 10-4, ok.

xo, cindy

home | improvise

after we renovated our bathroom last summer the plan was to do the kitchen this year. but, the economy is crazy and we're reluctant to do a gut renovation, so we're giving it a minor face lift. carefully primed walls to correct the rough patches, pretty blue-gray paint, a new light fixture, new door pulls and then we'll see how it looks. i hope it's good because i would love to do a little bit more - talking to you floor.

the tomatoes are numbers 13 & 14 from our garden and we're doing a cost-benefit analysis to see if all of our hard work is worth the effort. so far, scott thinks so and he's the one that eats them. they have some decent lighting because i moved the brown floral curtains from the kitchen to the front room. i've also been moving other things around, which seems like the easiest, most affordable way to redecorate :)!

xo, cindy

ps have you heard the new song richie and ruben from fountains of wayne? it's pretty good.

pics | evening time

taking photos in the evening is not something that comes naturally for me because i'm just plain tired by then. but, scott takes a walk every evening and the other day i went with him looking for the porch i posted about in july. we managed to find it and that porch was so cozy. they had some old time music playing on the radio or phonograph(?) and it was like being transported to another time. i wonder what the inside of the home looks like? enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

ps we recently removed the footboard on our bed and it is like a whole new room. finally, our feet (mostly scotts) are free with no bars for them to go through. it's taking some getting used to for us & our dining room because that's where it is now ;).

home | ironing

i don't know why, but we sure have a lot of laundry for two people, which leads to a lot of ironing. my mother loved to iron. i don't mind it, but don't love it, either. the result is the best part. the process - eh.

we visited the new extension to the high line this weekend and i'll have some photos coming up later in the week, including a marriage proposal. have a good one!

xo, cindy

ps yesterday, i received an email from rachael of the beautiful blog made from scratch regarding a feature on our shop, which was exciting. based out of new zealand, she compiles the most wonderful finds with lovely mosaics to go with them. thank you, rachael!

home | wash & iron

hello, hello! this week i've spent a lot of time washing, ironing and polishing some of the things that might go into in my vintage shop, which is taking forever. such a slow poke. elizabeth's shop featuring her beautiful handmade baby clothes is progressing very nicely and you can see a preview here.

and, have you seen this cute ballerina video posted by chelsea? i just absolutely adore that little girl and the teacher's voice - i know it's so tricky. she never gives up and we shouldn't either. enjoy your weekend, all!

xo, cindy

life | shed some light

long island city | home | grand central (cool lens flare, one more here)

hello, hello! hope you all had a happy new year. my holiday break was just that - a break from pretty much everything with a little bit of creating at the end, including a new 365 project. i didn't plan this post, but a few recent images seem to be all about seeing the light. honestly, that's about all i have to say on the topic as i didn't spend much time planning for 2011 like i hoped or reflecting on 2010. right now, i'm as stuck with all the ideas i have swirling around in my head for this year as ever. well, i have 361 days left to figure it out, but i'll get busy on it right now. really. i'm going ...

xo, cindy

ps i received the anglepoise lamp for christmas and that lamp has so much personality it's like having another person in our place.

holiday | red + white

hello, hello! our holiday decorations are really simple this year and more about winter than christmas. frannie was made by ann wood and is dressed in an acorn hat & linen scarf for the cold. she's leaning on a vintage tiddlywinks container because she's had too much egg nog and can't stand up without some help ;).



the little embroidered stocking is from the new york botanical gift shop and hangs on our china cabinet.



my brother made the birdhouse long ago and i painted it white. the wooden bird ornament is from abc carpet & home and the embroidered clove-filled sachet a lucky score from wiksten.



the spool of thread wreath is from michael's and such a great idea!



the scandinavian-inspired martha stewart wrapping paper is also from michael's and the shanna murray gift tags are free in the november/december issue of rue magazine (page 60 or here). i also saw these tags yesterday from sharilyn and they are wonderful, too!

xo, cindy

ps have you seen the paper disco ball by laurie cinotto? so great!

pics | change the view

hello, hello! for some reason, i decided long ago that the best source of natural light in our apartment was in a tiny corner of our bedroom. but, after replacing the green balloon shades with sheers in our living room, it turns out the light in there is much better, which is good because i have a lot of things i want to photograph. i'm using the same set-up, but the light seems more white and is available longer.

the one draw back is that i can't just throw myself down on the bed when i'm frustrated like mari in the babies documentary. oh well, there's always the floor :)!

xo, cindy

ps have you seen the photography on rollei life? it's just lovely.

craft | change it

hello, hello! thanks to wi-fi, i've been converting our computer cabinet into one for sewing, but having a terrible time photographing it - oy! one thing i haven't had a terrible time doing is making these pretty fabric covered hangers thanks to pascale's wonderful tutorial on \\between the lines\\. scott even likes them.

this weekend we took charlie and my brother to a favorite czech restaurant, encountered a couple of rude photographers (more on that later, although it makes me cranky to think about it) and started to watch season one of dexter via netflix. it's a bit graphic, but we are addicted and dexter usually takes care of bad (rude) people, permanently ;). hope you had a wonderful, rude-free weekend!

xo, cindy

home | shiny new bathroom

hello, hello! well, i've finally finished our bathroom diy-projects and they seemed to take longer than the actual renovation. it hasn't been sunny here the last few days, but this room is a life-sized lightbox. it's very white with a little bit of very pale gray & green at this point. we wanted to keep it simple and stay in a style that suits the rest of our apartment, which is kind of like grandma's beach house. we went with beveled subway tiles & trim for the walls and marble penny round tiles for the floor, which is all of 25 square feet. we really wanted to maintain a vintage feel and although the tile guy laughed out loud, we stayed with ceramic bathroom accessories and our vintage hamper with matching waste basket.


we had super-soft, lightweight dri soft towels from bed, bath & beyond and kept them. our garden isn't producing much this summer, but a bunch of mint in a karin eriksson vase on the windowsill is nice for its fragrance. everyday i use the shower squeegee from ikea because i don't want to spend a day cleaning this bathroom, especially since the tiles in the shower area extend up to the ceiling to bring your eye up. and, to break up some of the white, i added liberty of london fabric binding from purl to our waffle weave shower curtain. 


the fixtures are from the devonshire collection by kohler and the sink is by woodcrafters from home depot. i added the shanna murray magnolia garland decal above the mirror as a nice reminder each day and the microdry bathmat from bed, bath & beyond is plush and soft. the baskets are from muji and will be stored under the sink when not in use and they were expensive - oy!


the manila rope for the steam pipe is from home depot and started me thinking about some seaside touches, so i added the vintage buoys from brook farm general store. the fog linen work tray on the windowsill is from there, too. i lined the shelves with some extra vinyl wallpaper i had and turned it upside down so you can see the pattern from below. some pieces from our vintage english chintz china collection are displayed along with a mermaid we picked up years ago in cape cod, a sailboat ornament from my brother and a few starfish & shells. my transistor radio even got a makeover with new clear rubber bands to hold it together.

i just have to fix up the door a bit, but i think we're done with this room, although it might be nice to have the ceiling painted a soft blue and the rope pipe might be pretty with some white stripes. i'm happy we did this renovation, but i don't want to do it ever again. going down to the studs, ugh. but, our kitchen really could use a face lift and i'm sure i would cook a lot more if it was also shiny & new ;).

xo, cindy

ps i originally had a photo of our toilet, but replaced it. i thought maybe it was too much. i included it because since we only had a pipe with the other toilet, we were very excited to be able to drop something into the tank to keep it fresh and immediately did so with the blue tablet. but, maybe that wasn't such a good idea as the blue is quite intense. the jury is still out on this one.

home | rope that pole

hello, hello! i don't know who thought it would be a good idea to wrap the steam pipe in our bathroom with rope, but i think it was me. it's been painted so many times and pretty ugly. usually,  i cover it with wallpaper-covered insulation and that's pretty ugly, too. so, the rope looked good and who knew that 100' would turn into 200' and finally 300' of rope going around and around that 8' pipe. plus, it's been so hot here this week, i basically come home, turn on the air conditioner, watch the cooking channel for a few minutes, and then on to wrapping that darn pole. well, it's finally done and looks pretty good.

this weekend, i'd really like to see the movie despicable me in a cool movie theater and work on a little sewing project. hope yours is great. stay cool!

xo, cindy

ps for those of you who might like to live in nyc, taking the subway during 100° weather is brutal. this sweaty guy who smelled like a bar was falling a sleep and leaning my way the other day at 9 am! enjoy your air conditioned cars ;).

home | ugly bathroom be gone!

hello, hello! well, maybe our bathroom doesn't look so bad in that top photo, but if you look closer it does. ugly pipe for the toilet, peeling paint in the tub that was so worn it had to be painted, black tiles that would never stay clean, a battered, dented floor not to mention an ugly light. our building was constructed in the 1950s and the bathroom was showing its age.

we've wanted to do a total gut renovation on this room for many, many years, but we could not find a contractor to do the job, quickly. it's our only bathroom so we need a dedicated crew. a few weeks ago our superintendent showed us the renovation he did that took one week and we were thrilled. literally, almost over night we decided to go ahead and i chose all the materials in about two hours. not bad for someone who is decisionally-challenged, although i've been thinking about this change for ages.

i was nervous about the noise and disruption to our neighbors or something going wrong like a broken pipe or finding mold within the walls, so scott took vacation during the week and was home everyday. fortunately, there were no surprises during demolition and our neighbors were really understanding and offered us the use of their bathroom and shower - awesome! we didn't impose on them in that way and were lucky to be able to stay in a hotel nearby and included that cost in the budget.

after the first day, when we were down to the studs, i was speechless. i knew what it would be like, but couldn't believe the cacophony of pipes within our apartment walls. i just stood there doing that stare babies do and totally lost my imagination of what it would look like. i wondered who thought we should do this anyway (scott!) and felt so vulnerable because if our contractor didn't come back we would be screwed. all i could think about was the show holmes on homes and renovations gone bad.

once things started to go back in i felt a bit better, but honestly, i was nervous right up until the end. some of my design choices brought on new issues. originally, i wanted simple subway tiles, which make nice corners/edges. but, after looking at the other choices, i decided to go with tiles with a bevel and they don't make nice corners/edges, so special trim pieces ($$) were needed. plus, subway tiles are small and take a lot of work to install. our bathroom is only 5' x 7' including the tub area and the floor/tiles took 3 days to complete, and yes, that is a toilet in my living room.

i still have a few diy projects to complete like this one, so next week, the big reveal of our tiny bathroom and we should all be glad i don't have a laptop if you know what i mean ;).

xo, cindy

life | i'd rather be doing

we stayed in a hotel each night during the reno and it was nice.
love decorating with color from martha.

hello, hello! do you remember me? i took an unexpected blogging break last week because i underestimated the total mayhem involved in demolishing a bathroom in a 800 square foot apartment. our bedrooms were locked up tight with our computer inside and there was so much dust and mess i thought it best to leave them alone.

well, within five days we went from demo to pretty bathroom, but the picture is not complete because we still don't have a sink. i'll show you what we did next week, but for now, our bathroom reminds me of a big sugar cube as it's all white and lacking our special touches. last week, i really missed you guys and was often thinking of places i'd rather be. spending time with any of these ladies would have been divine.

in alphabetical order -

• Sewing in Paris with //Between the Lines // 
• Recuperating in the garden with A Perfect Beginning
• Painting with A Print A Day
• Sketching lessons with  An Open [Sketch]book
• Learning about hockey with And The Flowers Pick Themselves
• Writing poetry with Another Lifetime 
• Doodling on her gorgeous porch with Artsyville
• Exploring new worlds with Bella Sinclair
• Making beautiful jewelry with Blue Moss
• Designing another new bathroom with Callie Grayson
• Picking Sweet Peas & visiting my niece Lucy with Candace Rose
• Making wonderful fabric with Cicada Daydream
• Designing pretty jewelry with Clementine
• Sewing cute fish with Darling Savage
• Finding great art with Design For Mankind
• Sketching in the big city with Dilly Dallas
• Painting wonderful views with Fifi Flowers
• Baking & sewing lessons with Gossamer Wings
• Looking at wedding photos with Hungry Girl Por Vida
• Going back to school with I am an age old tree
• Creating wonderful textiles with Inleaf 
• Playing with puppies at Julie King Art
• Practicing yoga with Kelly Loves Whales
• Enjoying the World Cup in person with L'Atelier
• Spending time on a farm with La Porte Rouge
• Making silhouettes with Le Papier Studio 
• Traveling and then traveling some more with Lenore Nevermore
• Making gorgeous floral arrangements with Little Pheasant
• Discovering the lovely in Hawaii with Lovely Clusters
• Finding vintage paper with Lovely Paper
• Listening to good music with Lyrical Journey
• Learning about collage with Megan Coyle
• Creating wonderful paintings with Michelle Brunner
• Making something yummy with Modern Renaissance 
• Making ceramics with My Mama's Table
• Getting to know a new friend at My Favorite Things
• Finding something pretty with One Crafty Fox 
• Enjoying a craft party in style at Painted Fish Studio
• Starting up the new press with Paper Schmaper
• Shopping for vintage with Please Sir
• Repurposing those vintage treasures with Poetic Home
• Finding wonderful things with Post Grad Hair Cut
• Enjoying the good life with Punctuation Mark
• Photographing my weekly objects with Reading My Tea Leaves
• Changing diapers with Red Otter
• Making an art quilt with Rotten Bananas
• Listening to the short stories of Seens From The Backs of My Eyelids
• Decorating with Simply Grove
• Learning about letterpress with Simplesong
• Sketching cats with Small Expectations
• Exploring the markets at Spain Daily
• Creating something new at The Craft Begins
• Crafting and exploring with Three Sneaky Bugs
• Taking a trip with Traveling Bug 
• Taking a tour with our cameras at Une Fleur Pour Toi
• Traveling from Canada to the UK with We Blog Artists
• Making decoupage and music with Wild Child
• Crafting jewelry with Your Destiny Is Stone Golden
• Finding new music and making gorgeous bouquets with {frolic!}

i must admit i'm finding it hard to get back to blogging. it kind of feels like jumping in on a double dutch. have a great week all - it's hot as blazes here!

xo, cindy

ps if you visit us, but don't comment, let me know and i'll add you to the list.

life : technically, it's difficult

place : brooklyn botanic garden

hello, hello! we've been experiencing some technical difficulties, so i've been offline the past couple days and it has been interesting. i've done a lot with the new program i started, but miss my online friends. we hope to resume our regularly scheduled programming very soon ;). happy wednesday!

xo, cindy

ps this photo from the brooklyn botanic garden is for scott who said 'please don't take one more photo' as i clicked on 258 with the bench. i stopped at 269 and was happy to do so.

life : home & flowers

song : kandi by One eskimO - from michelle's tweet

hello, hello! you know what? my life is driven by flowers. shocking news, i know ;). if i don't have enough around me, we're going to public gardens & parks to see them. i don't know how i'm not doing something in my work that involves - flowers. bi-zarre. here are a few floral-delights from around our place these days -

home
i read about the wonderful crochet pillowcases from rose hip on fryd + design. after thinking about it, i had to have a pair and they are so pretty. now, her shop is empty, but if you covet a pair she'll create a special order for you.

flowers
scott got into trouble for buying me the peonies. can you imagine? we saw them the day before at the supermarket and i took a pass because they were fully-opened and wouldn't last. he brought them home the next day and i kind of got mad because he didn't listen to me. but, i think he likes it when i take photos of the flowers he buys and post them. so, ok, i'll do it ;).

more flowers
the peonies mixed in nicely with iris from our tiny garden. we worked on it on sunday and i don't believe how much pain a 8' x 12' piece of land can cause. i suppose when you squeeze in 4 weeks worth of work into one day that can happen. the thing is we didn't plant a thing! so much for spring doing the heavy lifting once the tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinth are spent. it was good while it lasted. on to the weeds and roses!

read
the letterpress cover of slow love, how i lost my job, put on my pajamas & found happiness by dominique browning caught my eye in the bookstore. she was the editor-in-chief of house & garden for 13 years before it closed and it's interesting to read about someone who reached the pinnacle of success only to deal with its dissent and then find her way back, again. i'm really enjoying this book - it's poignant, enlightening and funny, plus it supports my new mantra about it never being too late to make a living doing what you love. i haven't lost my job (yet), but i am exploring my calling and might initiate the change myself (scary). happy wednesday!

xo, cindy

ps the lilies of the valley are also from our garden and they are one of my favorite flowers. i realized after taking the photo that they represent 'return of happiness'. wow, i didn't set it up! somehow these things just come together. i love that!

home : nice gestures

song : heaven right here by jeb loy nichols

thank you for your sweet comments on our last post. they were special because at the end of the day i think i'm just a regular girl and anyone could do what i do. so, reading your nice words means a lot to me.

transitioning between posts can be tricky. it's strange to me when a blogger writes about a stressful experience. then, everyone pours their hearts out with sympathy or advice in the comments and the blogger never references it again. or, they're suddenly over it and write about the next new fantastic event. this week has been strange. haiti, a cured husband, new babies, and a friend's loss. where do i go from here? mmm ... let's go home.

scott realizes that I don't always eat breakfast, especially on my days off. so, sometimes, he tries to give me a jump start by putting out bread + butter for toast before he leaves for work. he also makes the coffee. last week, i thought i could do a little bit more.

thomas' toasting bread with butter & vermont maple sugar, delicious liberte mediterranee yogurt and honest juice one day. a heart shaped egg the next. well, sort of, the egg was supposed to show a heart design in the center, but i had too much egg. that's fine, waste not want not. i saw the idea in instyle magazine of all places. here's how to make it -

- cut a shape in the center of your bread. a heart is nice, but scott likes a car.
- melt 1 tbsp of butter in a non-stick skillet. i butter the bread so it browns evenly.
- cook both pieces about 3 minutes over a medium-low heat or until golden.
- with a spatula, flip each piece over. break the egg in the center of the cut out. season with salt & pepper. cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the egg is set.
- they say serve with love, which sounds like the best part and reminds me of the movie women on top with penelope cruz. scott loooves her.

making that little heart toast reminded me of the homemade croutons my mom would serve with her pot roast & noodles. i really want to make pot roast, but her recipe is packed away someplace in my brother's attic - my fault. if you have any recipes, i'd love to know about them. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

life : sunshine days

hi all! i hope you all had a very nice holiday and are enjoying the final days of 2009. my inbox and i have missed you. well, i'd like to wish you all a happy new year and wishes for nothing but blue skies and sunshine days in the next decade. this calendar from 1910 says it so well 100 years later -

'many happy years be thine, full of golden hours, both their shadow and their shine, bringing forth sweet flowers.'

i've included vintage wallpaper and stamps for love, photography and each state in the usa for travel. i really hope we have all those things next year, plus health! have a safe and happy new year!

xo, cindy

ps some things we did this holiday -

1. celebrated with our family on our turf - yay,
2. because scott was home he cooked each night - yum,
   
3. visited the doctor with scott six times, including christmas eve - ugh. his left foot is doing very well and he went back to work this week - yay for a couple of reasons ;),
4. went to see the nutcracker and it was wonderful. i definitely want to go to the ballet, again - yay (couple images here),
5. received some nice gifts, including a handy white balance lens - yay,
6. listened to some new music from au revoir simone - yay,
7. didn't do all the crafty things i wanted to - big nay, but i have time,
8. i visited the eye doctor - mixed feelings: a $500 bill - nay, no reading glasses - yay,
9. started to wear a hat, which i never do. the one i bought from elly makes it easy and no hat hair - yay,
10. hmmm ... did enough things to continue our theme of creating distractions this holiday. one to go!
    

life : happy holidays!

song : the nutcracker suite opus 71A
performed by the boston pops orchestra

our christmas plans reversed themselves this week. we were to be on the road visiting others, but now people will be visiting us! although i don't have many decorations up this year, there are a few and i love the card garland i saw on blue moss. it was so easy and i combined vintage cards with new ones.

we're signing off for this year and wanted to thank you all so much for being a shining light in a year that brought us some sorrow. we hope you have the most wonderful holiday and a very happy new year! we're ready for the next decade!

xo, cindy + scott

ps i chose the song today because we're supposed to go see the nutcracker on 12/26. it was a last minute decision before scott got hurt. hope he can go because i want to see how long it takes before he falls asleep ;).

note 1.2.10: we did get to the nutcracker and this video via pj is perfect.