Interior Infatuation: Katie Brown's Home

Okay kiddos, here are the rest of the photos from Katie Brown's home in Country Living. It was originally a barn built in the 1970's that was used as a photographer's studio. Several years ago Katie purchased the property and transformed it into her home and her "Katie Brown Workshop" where she films some of her shows.

Had to include this picture again, the home tour wouldn't seem complete without it.

Here is the dining room. She mentioned that she used benches as seating because she thinks that dining chairs have the feel of a hotel banquet room. Interesting point. The dining table she made herself with a piece of plywood she stained and buffed with floor wax.

She uses lots of open storage in the home, saying that it helps define the room. I just love her stacks and stacks of dishes and yummy Kilim rug.

The kitchen island she also made herself, all the way down to mixing and pouring the concrete counter top! Up above in the loft is the master bedroom.

Love the juicy orange appliances.

Here is a pic of the open and airy master. Love the bright whites with fresh greens. Perfect for a home in the country.

More inventiveness in the bathroom: the four faucet sink is from a commercial line and the mirror is a flea market find. Gotta love those flea markets!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the rest of the home. I think I am going to start scanning the boat loads of mag tear sheets I have and posting them here and there. Save them from a desperate life of living in a cardboard box in my closet.

Obsessing Over: Huuuuge B&W Photos of Your Kids

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In the recent Design Sponge sneak peek into Jen Altman's home, I couldn't stop thinking about the ginormous black and white photos of her kids hanging on the wall in her family room. It reminded me of an article in Country Living awhile back featuring Katie Brown's home. I knew I had torn it out and saved it somewhere, so last night I spent at least a good half hour looking for it so I could scan it for you guys.

Image scanned by moi from the May 2008 Country Living issue.

Ta-Da! I was starting to panic a little when I couldn't find it at first. I thought it was a casualty of one of my major house organizing/purging rampages. Many a good soul has been lost to those annual meltdowns (*cough*back Domino issues*cough*). I love so many things about this room: the black and white patterened wingbacks, the green dresser, tall black lamp, big bushy fern, etc. etc. But the kicker is that ginormous black and white photo of her daughter! I'm thinking I need to do this in my home. I mean, I carried them in my womb for nine months and spent hours in labor with them, I think I'm entitled to show them off however I please. Hmmmpph.

If you guys are good, I'll scan the rest of Katie's house and post it later.

Cooking Group-Week ?!? Who Knows I Am Totally Sucking At This

This sure looks good, but you can bet I won't be making it!

So I had lofty ambitions in joining the cooking group that I was going to really get it together and whip up fab meals each week and my family was going to be like "You are the best cook ever" and I was going to blow on my fingernails and be all "Yeah, who knew?", but that obviously didn't happen. I could go on and on with excuses to why I didn't keep up, but that's lame. Excuses are useless as they say. I'll just keep chugging along, buying my rotisserie chickens, take and bake pizzas and frozen lasagna until the next time I get a wild hair up the you-know-where and try again.

Seattle Trip-Days 3 & 4

Finally wrapping up my Seattle trip recap with days three and four. It already feels like an eternity has passed since we went. Don't you just hate that?

On day three (Saturday) we started the day off with a bus tour that took us to some "off the beaten track" stops. The above photo is the bus in front of the amazon.com world headquarters which was formerly a hospital. Other highlights were a stop at Lake Washington, a peek through the bushes at Kurt Cobain's old house (I felt like such a creepy stalker though-it was weird), and a stop at Volunteer Park.

After the tour we headed over to the Seattle Center, home of all kinds of stuff like the Space Needle, and the above crazy building which houses the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum.

A few pics from the Experience Music Project.

After our tours of the EMP/SFM it was time to meet up with my blog buddy Maggie of Magchunk and her boyfriend Ryan. She lives in Seattle, so of course I hit her up for a get together while I was in town. We met in front of the Space Needle and then went on up to catch some great views of the city.

Maggie & me

After the library debacle from the previous day, I must admit I was a bit nervous to go all the way up to the observation deck, but it really was not bad at all. The views were amazing and I am glad I bucked up and went. My mom would have been so mad if I didn't! (Hi Mom!)

Next Maggie and Ryan took us over to Kerry Park, which had more gorgeous views of the city. This site was also a recommendation by commenter NatalieW, so thanks! After that we went out to dinner at a yummy Italian restaurant in their new neighborhhod. Then after dinner they gave us a tour of their new place, which was so fun to get to see because Maggie has been blogging lately about the move and the decorating process. I just love blog buddies! It was such a cool feeling to not only visit an interesting new place, but to have friends to get together with too. Thanks again Maggie and Ryan for the great time!

The next day we headed over to the Fremont area to check out the Sunday Market and stroll around the shops.

Here I am resting my tootsies in front of the cute store Burnt Sugar, which was a must-see recommendation-thanks again to Tilley Love!

My silly husband on top of the Fremont bridge troll.

After our morning in Fremont, we headed back downtown and did lots more walking around and browsing.

A few shots from the marimekko store.

For our last big hurrah, we got dressed up and had dinner and drinks at Urbane, our hotel's restaurant.

Oooh, shiny.

I had to take a pic of my pumpkin soup with tempera apple slice floating on top! Delish!

Finishing up my "Rainy Day" martini. We didn't realize our meal came with wine accompaniments for each course, so by the end we were definitely seeing double! Gotta go out with a bang, right?

The next morning came too soon. I was so bitter as I packed our bags to go home. We had such an amazing time in Seattle; we saw so much, yet there were still so many things we didn't end up having time to do. We would love to take a return trip in the future. Well, I hope you all have enjoyed my ridiculously lengthy recaps! Thanks again to everyone who left tips on what to see and do, it really helped make our trip one to remember!

Last Minute Halloween Decorations

In case you aren't all squared away in the Halloween decor department, check out these inventive ideas from Wise Craft:

What I love about these decorations is that she used items that are recycled, upcycled or thrifted and can be found year round. She did the project for Value Village, but we don't have one of those around here, so I am not sure what type of store it is. Perhaps it's equivalent to a Big Lots? Check out all the projects complete with PDF directions here.

My faves are the zombie barbies:

and the creepy silhouettes, which all you need to do is print out and frame!

Simplify: Tip #43

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i'm gonna live where the green grass grows
watch my corn pop up in rows

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every night be tucked in close to you
raise our kids where the good Lord's blessed

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point our rocking chairs towards the west
plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows


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where the green grass grows

The ultimate simple life anthem.

Weekend Hideaway: Forts!

You know how the other day all I wanted to do was lay around all day in bed? Well this weekend all I want to do is hide away in a cool grown-up fort like these:

I ran across cool site BOOOOOOOM! via the Red Velvet Girls in which they called for photo submissions of people building "Where The Wild Things Are" style forts. Fun! Come get me when the weekend is over, K?

Currently Coveting

A dainty duffle from anthro

This proud origami peacock from etsy shop melker

A cute address stamp from Paperwink

Every single stocking from Plum Cushion. What, is it too early to be talking Christmas?

Blogger Book Fair: My Picks

I'm wrapping up the Blogger Book Fair this week with my picks. I've had fun hearing everyone's suggestions and look forward to bringing the series back in the future!

Anita Shreve A Change in Altitude
Anita Shreve is by far my favorite author. It all started with The Pilot's Wife, and I've been hooked ever since. This lady knows how to pack a real emotional punch in her novels that often leave me reeling for days after I have finished the book. This is her latest book that just came out this month, and is about an American couple who move to Nairobi in the 1970's. They attempt to climb Mt. Kenya and something tragic happens that changes their lives forever. Sounds intriguing!

The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Fizz Carr
I'm not sure where I ran across a recommendation of this book, but it sounds right up my alley: gets the whole family involved in cooking simple, homey meals and explains the why's and how to's of each recipe thoroughly.

Glamorous Rooms by Jan Showers
The perfect coffee table book. Who doesn't like a little glam every now and then?

Lulu by Lulu De Kwiatkowski
I've wanted this book for soooo long, but have never splurged. I just love Lulu's textiles, and this book is full of her collages inspired by her life and many travels. Colorful eye candy at it's best.

Cottages on the Coast: Fair Harbors and Secret Shores by Linda Leigh Paul
The title pretty much says it all. For when I want to dream the day away.

Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule
I loved Amanda's first book, so this follow-up is sure to please. Filled with crafts and sewing projects for around your home, many of which are made using re-purposed materials. Sounds like the perfect book to pull out when facing cabin fever this winter!

Seattle Trip-Day 2

Alright folks, ready for day two? We got up bright and early to hop on a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. I heard it had a nice little downtown area with restaurants and shops, plus I wanted to get out on the water somehow and the ferry was by far the cheapest way! I believe it was around $6 each for a round trip ticket.

Leaving the city behind...

Bye bye Space Needle!

Hello Bainbridge Island!

I could not believe how idyllic the setting was. As the ferry pulled closer and closer I kept oohing and aahing over the lush trees, how beautiful the sun was glistening off the water, and all the amazing houses that dotted the waterfront. It was like the perfect movie setting.

Here is a shot of the ferry pulling in. I had never been on one before so I thought it was pretty neat. The funny thing was most people on board were commuters and take the same ride day after day. They were just sitting inside reading newspapers and such and I could not believe they weren't out enjoying the view!

When we got off the ferry we were starving-of course! My husband was craving some clam chowder and I wanted breakfast so we found this cute little restaurant called Doc's Marina Grill that was serving both.

It was pretty much the best breakfast ever. Beautiful views of the boats docked, a bit of a rustic maritime vibe to the decor which added to the mood and some of the best hashbrowns, eggs and bacon I've had. I tried some of my husband's clam chowder and oh my-it was delicious as well.

After breakfast we strolled around town and ran into these fun little guys made from rock.

Boats, boats and more boats

This was by far the snazziest boat on the block.

Oh, just my dream house, that's all.

A pretty church-this town is the perfect movie set I tell ya!

Pretty store front

One of the shop owners informed us that this cafe is where Giada De Laurentiis stopped in to film one of her Weekend Getaway's shows for the food network. We didn't eat here though, because we were still full from breakfast.

I spotted another cute little cafe with a yellow and white striped awning.

Here are some pics from inside one of my favorite shops on the island, Hollydays. It's where I splurged and bought myself a gurgle pot!

Back on the ferry.

After several hours on the island we felt we had seen it all and better get back to the city. Although I really could have stayed there forever. By far one of the best parts of our trip was the little ferry ride out to Bainbridge.

Once back in town we hit up Pioneer Square, to check out all the historic buildings:

Next we decided to head back to our hotel to rest up a bit from all the walking. On the way there we stopped in the Seattle Public library:

Cool to look at from the outside, but once inside...

Thanks but no thanks. This is the view from the top floor. I started to get dizzy and it felt like the floor was moving underneath me. I could sense a bit of a panic attack coming on and had to get out pronto. Something about the weird geometric shape and the fact that you can see through the top created a very uneasy feeling. No me gusta.

When we finally got back to our hotel at around 5:30 we were so pooped out from the day we ended up just staying in the rest of the night. It was nice just lounging around, watching whatever we wanted on TV (no toddler wanting to watch noggin!) and falling asleep by 10pm. After all, we had another big day ahead of us! Stay tuned...