younghouselove.com

I have a growing obsession with the blog Young House Love. It is a kind of love/hate relationship, because while I am crazy impressed with the renovation/design skills of the couple who blogs about their home's transformation, it can make me feel lazy and like I am living in a "before" photo!
I think the relationship is mostly good though- they have some incredible project ideas and executions, so if nothing else , I will be propelled by jealousy to breathe new life into my own before picture house.

Images: younghouselove

"There's always money in the banana stand"

 

For lovers of the quirky series "Arrested Development", two bits of good news- 1) Netflix is airing a new season of the show in early 2013 and 2) tomorrow at Gallery 1988 an exhibit opens that is 100% inspired by the zany sitcom.

EW provided some shots of the exhibit's originals.....

grilled peaches

Thank you to Martha Stewart for the easiest grilled peaches recipe ever....

• 4 peaches
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter 

1. Heat grill to Medium-low.
2. Halve and pit peaches; brush both sides with butter.
3. Place peaches on grill; cover grill, and cook until charred and softened, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

If you want your peaches to look like the photo, simply whip up a batch of this whipped cream and snag some mint sprigs.
p.s.  I love them with a side of vanilla ice cream!

Image: hidethecheese.com

ida pearle

I was looking for Ida Pearle. I did not know it, but after seeing the above image on the album cover for Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are My Little Bird, I did some sleuthing and found out the artist for said cover was Ida Pearle. The rest of the world, it seems, was already acquainted with her, but even late to the game, I decided to post some of her art.

Her site gives a detailed explanation of her medium and methods- and who isn't charmed by the end result? The alphabet cards are my favorite, but the skater and children in the rain give them a run for their money. The gallery on her site shows many more pieces if you are interested.

 Images: ida pearle

BSO at Tanglewood is 75

If that title sounds like nonsense to you, then you are most likely not from the New England area, but whether you are or aren't is not relevant- this is an interesting bit of information (at least I think so :)).

The Boston Symphony Orchestra plays summer weekends at Tanglewood in the Berkshires and this year marks the 75th anniversary of the partnership. The marriage between the beautiful natural surroundings and the scope of musical activities/performances makes Tanglewood an incomparable music festival experience.

The BSO performs in the Seiji Ozawa Hall , a 1200-seat concert hall with the distinct feature of a back wall that opens to allow for an additional 2000 lawn-seated listeners. Now, in 1937 the BSO played on the grounds of a Berkshires' estate to their audience of thousands, and I learned this from the comprehensive article on the 75th anniversary in this week's Boston Sunday Globe. If you can get your hands on it, it is a fascinating piece.
I am adding a trip to Tanglewood to my life's to-do list.

Images: William Rawn Associates Architects,Inc.

hot air

Recently, for her 65th birthday, my aunt went hot air ballooning. She said it was pretty amazing, with the breathtaking views and the exhilarating rush of adrenaline making it her best birthday in some time.

I definitely want to try hot air ballooning at some point (hopefully before I am 65!), but until then I think going to one of the ballooning festivals would be very fun. If nothing else, it would provide for some incredibly cool photographs.

HotAirBalloon.com has a comprehensive list of ballooning events and festivals.......there is bound to be one near you!

 Images: Inhabitat, art.com, telegraph.co.uk

10 cards

SugarBeetPress

I have a box filled with my kids' birthday cards and while I am not 100% sure why I keep every single one, I do know that I am always especially appreciative of the unique selections. I know when they are older they will enjoy going through them and I imagine the cards will hopefully inspire some great art projects down the road!
Here are 10 unique cards from Etsy- if you have a little person's birthday on the horizon, you may want to consider one....

 belleandboo

 UnderTheStairsStudios

 EllaLeachDesigns

 twotonepress

 pixieland

 gumo

 ArtistInLaLaLand

pistachiopress

  littlebeehive

simple blue hydrangea

 Sometimes, there is nothing prettier.....

Images: google, pjmommy, pinterest, pinterest, elizabethannedesigns, weddingbee

Jimmy Fallon's Reading Rainbow

Thursday, a fox, and Etsy

 

Painting: Emma Skurnick Illustration 

Since February, we have had a backyard fox. It is not shy at all and in addition to looking very regal, also scares me just a bit. I don't really know much about foxes- except that they run extremely fast, are good hunters (given that we have zero rabbits or chipmunks this Spring!) and are handsome animals. So this Thursday and Etsy is all about the fox.....
Lots of fox related artwork to be found- a pretty watercolor, very cool movie poster, extraordinary quilt fabric art and photography with personality.

Movie Poster: Printwolf

Quilt art: CCollier Studio

Photo: ThisYearsGirl

For the little ones and the young at heart-  a newborn fox, a stuffed friend and a snazzy graphic pillow.....

Fox Hat and Cape Photo Prop: MySweetPotato3

My Friend Francine Fox: mgpscrapbooker

Pillow: LauraFrisk

Some fox-y paper goods and a vintage button set ....

Postcard set: TheFoxandTheTeacup

Fox notecard set: sweetharvey

Button set: sugarplumrobots

The fox as jewelry, three ways.....

Fox brooch: BeautySpot

Earrings: bumblebooHandmades
 
:

Necklace: laonato

someecards

 I have seen them popping up on Facebook a lot and sometimes they make me snicker, so I decided to go to the source- someecards. The site has quite a few to choose from, some are very funny and some are duds, but it could be worth a look if you want to send somebody a little smirk.....

Images: someecards