My Husband Is Cute

Can I just tell you all how much I love my husband? A few snippets from this weekend...

He surprised me on Friday with Tina Fey's new book, Bossypants (and tells me I have to read it quickly so he can read it after me.) He offered to make dinner tonight. He likes Pawn Stars and American Pickers as much as I do. He holds my hand and buys me cake batter ice cream from Jimmy Jo's. He speculates with me whether or not track 7 on Death Cab's new album is about Zooey Deschanel (it totally is.) He does the dishes. He makes me feel like I am the best designer in the world. He tells me I'm pretty. All this PLUS he's super cute.

He is my best friend and the love of my life and I don't know what I'd do without him.

Garage Sale Season!

Although the official first day of summer isn't until June 21st, it's pretty much a given that once Memorial Day hits, the temperature stays above 80, you break out the sunscreen, listen to the Beach Boys' Sounds of Summer album, and according to Christopher, it's the first weekend you take the boat out on the water even if it's too cold to swim.

All this, of course, also means garage sale season.Who doesn't love cheap stuff, vintage treasures, and the occasional "whaaa.... seriously?!" items.

Last weekend's treasures and some of today's finds, including a 1950s five volume "Do It Yourself" encyclopedia set for 50 cents!

Last weekend was my first round of garage sales. I went to quite a few good ones, including a church rummage sale and an estate sale that was overpriced but amazing. You may be concerned about that hideous silver and blue Christmas wreathe and the weird fruit cheese-dome thing, but don't worry. I have DIY projects in the line up for both items.

I have a bit of a problem with garage sales, though. I tend to pick up a lot of small vintage items because I love their patterns, colors, and histories... but when I bring them home I have no place to put them. So they sit around in piles until I get around to packing them away (until I have a bigger house, of course.) My house is full of knickknacks but lacks hefty decorative items. My goal for this summer is to focus on large scale finds instead of little 5 cent ceramic owls. I have quite the list of things to buy shaping up, and I thought I'd share a few...

I've wanted something similar to these stadium seats for several years now. Perfect for an entryway.
(sorry, I can't find the source for this image, but I'm almost positive it's from an Etsy shop.)

Our bedroom gets so warm at night, so a nightstand-sized midcentury fan is at the top of my garage sale list. Bonus points if I find one this awesome shade of blue-green.

Flat files. Old library card catalogs. Postmaster storage slots. They look great and provide tons of storage. They're so hard to come by cheap, but Chris and I want one real bad.

1. I'd love to find an upright camera (hopefully in working condition) for $5-7ish. Thanks to Arissa for this new obsession of mine.  2. I'm on the lookout for an industrial chair/stool for my studio area. They're practical, look great, and you don't have to worry too much about ruining them with ink, paint or other crafty things.  3. Who doesn't love globes? I'm hoping to find a great old one with a subtle color palette like this beaut.  

 Tandem bike! I found one last summer but they were asking $200 for it. Might as well buy a new one. 

 Okay, so I know perpetual calendars aren't exactly one of the large items I said I would be searching for, but I still hope to find one. I'm so jealous of Danni's collection.

I also always look for old lace, hardcover books with gorgeous covers, wooden frames, quirky mugs, and fabric. I can obviously find most of these things on Etsy, but where's fun in that? I'd much rather search through to musty, dusty garages and spend $2 than purchase a treasure online for three times the price. Here's to a summer full of awesome garage sales. Are you searching for anything in particular?

The Burning House

If your house was burning, what would you take with you?

Hannah Queen, photographer

Thanks to Google Reader, I just found an interesting new blog called The Burning House. It asks readers to photograph and share their most cherished items -- the armful of stuff they would grab in the few spare minutes they had if their house was burning. It's so interesting to see what people would pick... a mix of sentimental and practical items. Not to mention some of the photographs are beautifully styled.

Kate McAuley, writer

After clicking through the posts, I noticed that animals make quite a few appearances. So do Apple products, photographs and/or cameras, and journals. Which is all to be expected. What I think is most interesting are the unique items that pop up in the images... a necklace, a spoon, a piece of wood. Family heirlooms, gifts from loved ones, childhood treasures. Those are the items that really tell a story.

Tim Robinson, creative director

Laura Pritchett, artist 

The items, composition, and explanations all seem to form a sort of a self portrait, which I love. Since Memorial Day brings an extended weekend in a few days, I think I'm going to round up some of my most cherished possessions and take a photo for submission. You should too -- what would be in your photo?

West Elm Sale!

Well, well... look what's on clearance at West Elm for $9.97:

Seriously. I want these Log Bookends. I'm not sure I'd even use them as bookends... I bet they'd look great on their own. I would also like this, these, and one of these. 

Please and thank you. 

Wish List: Avant Garden

A few weekends ago, Chris and I decided to plant our own garden for summer. Roma and cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, green onion, cilantro, cucumber, zucchini, summer squash, watermelon... it's a small plot but has everything needed for delicious, summery meals. I've also got my eye on a few blueberry bushes to frame out the back end of the plot with a little something sweet.

My cute husband planting seeds -- I love him so much!

So far, the garden just sits there, so I can't say it has been a fun or stressful venture. Little green sprouts have just started to peek up, and soon we will be weeding, watering, and tending to the young plants as they grow. It's funny, I've always admired my mother's garden, and I could list off the names of dozens of flower and tree species, but I've never had the desire to garden until now. Perhaps it's just one of those things that develops with age... now that I'm married and living in a house of my own, I find myself reading more about landscaping, gardening, and the like. Which is exactly what inspired this week's Wish List...

1. The weathered, graphic numbers of this zinc thermometer from Terrain are wonderful and would be easy to read from a distance.  2. A pretty bow adorns ModCloth's Fun in the Sun hat.  3. The lines of these herbery stakes from Anthropologie are perfectly understated, and the white porcelain would really pop in a green garden.  4. As much as I love it, I couldn't spend $48 galvanized steel watering can. With a quick search on Etsy or eBay, though, you could stencil a number on a vintage can for a cheap & easy DIY project.  5. West Elm's recycled glass lanterns would be so pretty strung along a fence.  6. The My Garden five year garden planner would be an interesting keepsake once filled, and that cover design is gorgeous. 7. Grow Great Grub also seems like a pretty useful garden-to-dinner table book, complete with organic pest control and fresh-picked recipes. 

Have you ever gardened before/do you have any tips to share? Chris and I are pretty much learning as we go along, which is part of the fun, but I hope we actually have plants to harvest -- we've already had to replace the tomato plants because of frost. I can't wait to be able to pluck something straight of the vine and make dinner with it later that day... fingers crossed.