Giving Thanks

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

My Craigslist Affair: Deal O' the Day

Oh Craigslist, as if I even need to explain my affection for you....you lure me in with your one liners "Vintage look Mirror with hooks & shelf" or "Vintage Wooden Folding Garden Table Shabby Green Old" and then you make me laugh with your charming typos and cross cultural language phonetics. It is so cute when you say "Dinning Table" and when you let me know if something is in "good conditions."

My love, just recently you gave me two of these lamps and I only paid $30 for the pair....

You are so generous to provide two and they could have easily cost double that EACH. You also show how much you care by the quality of these lamps; No breakable glass or lightweight metal here, these are heavy, solid chrome and could be used as a weapon in the event you are not around to defend me. You knew I wasn't a fan of the black shades, but you encouraged me to try them anyway and explained I could easily change them out later...you are so positive like that! Finally, you proved to me you were really listening to my desires...you obviously realized how much I love shiny silver objects like I wrote about here and here, and these beautiful lamps combine my love of impractical decoration with a more useful purpose. Oh Craigslist, how I love you. Please, let's go on like this forever......

xox,

Does True Love Exist?

Many times while shopping for clothing for my daughter, I become envious of the cute styles and colors and have frequently lamented "Why doesn't this come in grown up sizes?!" The girl has a pretty rockin' wardrobe all in all, but my absolute favorite has to be this T-Shirt:

Like I said, I admire many pieces of clothing in her closet, but something about this T just really captured my eye. I love how it's a little bit Rock-N-Roll and a little bit Princess; Throw in some sparkly studs and I'm sold!

So when she grew out of this and couldn't wear it anymore, I couldn't bear to let it go. I just kept it in her drawer and there it sat...and sat....and sat. I decided to find something useful to do with it, but what to do with a size 6 girls T shirt?  I had seen some people make pillows out of old t-shirts, but usually in grown up sizes so there was plenty of material to work with. This shirt wasn't big enough for a whole pillow. Hmmmm.....but maybe it could become *part* of a pillow? Yes! I decided that's what I would do.

I looked in my fabric remnants and thought these two would work with each other and with the colors on the T-Shirt. I didn't have enough of either one to make a whole pillow front and back and I like the way they juxtapose each other; Playful zebra stripes and a classic brocade, just like the t-shirt: rock-n-roll meets princess! Actually, I didn't even have enough of the brocade to make an 18" width, so I had to seam two pieces together.

I decided to use this for the front, since my plan was to cut out the front portion of the T-Shirt with the design on it and stitch it to the fabric that would form the pillow. So, most of the seam would be covered anyway, and it doesn't even bother me that the pattern doesn't match up.

It was difficult, but for a better cause, so I cut the design portion of the T into a 'square'....sorta.

 All pinned and ready to stitch on. At first I tried to turn the edge under for a clean look, but that was easier said than done and so I opted for a raw edge on the T_Shirt fabric.

Sewn on and a little bit crooked, but nothing a little trim won't fix! I used the zebra print for the back and did a really simple envelope closure.

And here is the *almost* finished pillow. I plan to add some loopy fringe trim to the edge of the pink. Maybe something like this?

Or if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

As to the question of whether true love exists, I can only say it's different for everyone, but I do truly love this pillow and it reminds me of my daughter every time I look at it.....and that is true love indeed!

Sharing Here:

Apartment Therapy Room for Color Contest

Going on right now over at Apartment Therapy is a fun contest sponsored by Farrow and Ball, *the* preferred paint brand of many designers. Readers submit rooms with color, (or lack thereof) and people vote on their favorites. There will be four division winners, based on region; North, South, East and West, one International winner and one overall Grand Prize winner. Prizes are $1,000 towards Farrow and Ball products, including some of their gorgeous wallpapers, for each division winner, PLUS two Eames molded chairs for the Grand Prize winner. I submitted my entry last week and got this e-mail a few days later:

I figured this was the only way I would ever have a chance to try some of Farrow and Balls legendary paints as I am usually an 'oops' paint or Walmart paint center consumer! Head on over to  Apartment Therapy to see all the submissions...there is a ton of color inspiration there. While you're at it, vote on a favorite...I would love it if it was mine, but if not, there are plenty of rooms to choose from and you won't be disappointed!