Deconstructive Artwork

My most recent work of art:

This piece was created through a process of deconstruction as opposed to an applied medium.

Tres Tintas

I first came across this amazing hexagon wall covering, back in April, on Apartment Therapy. Mel and Dave's Industrial Chic Loft Apartment Tour was one of the highlighted tours. I instantly fell is love with this large pattern hexagon wallpaper. Immediately I began the search for places to purchase this paper.

I had absolutely no luck! David Hick's Hexagon wallpaper was dominating the search engines! Don't get me wrong, I adore this paper, but it just wasn't what I had my heart set on!

Well, last week, by some act of fate I came across HEXAGONO designed by Jamie Bermejo!!! It is a "revival" of his 1974 Hexagon pattern. I am in total awe, we must have this for our entry! Thankfully, it can be purchased at Tres Tintas Barcelona.

Art Interest

Judith Braun: expresses herself through charcoal drawings using only her fingers.

I would like to share...

some of our 4th of July weekend!

Our day's started around 6:30 am as Brian was gearing up for a day of fishing. I would make the coffee and smoked salmon/cream cheese bagels (yumm)! We'd have breakfast, soak ourselves in sunscreen and then set up shop on the beach. I refused to get in the water considering we saw a 3-4 foot shark, a flying spotted eagle ray (actually jumping out of the water; which i googled and they jump when they are being pursued, aka, SHARK), and lots of fishies!

Brian must have caught a dozen Lady fish and then he "hooked up on" this flounder...which is in our freezer...which i won't be eating...!

Of course we too enjoy long walks on the beach...

...But mainly because we would want to miss seeing something like this! A sweet mother snapping shots of her daughter lounging on the beach...for her new facebook profile pic! Love it!

(click image to enlarge)


Around 9:00 we watched an elaborate firework production put on by these people:

The Hilton Home, Paradise by the Sea

Architect: Arthur Dyson

That lasted for hours, so when our ADD kicked in we carried on with a lavish display of our own: sparklers!!!

We did a little crabbing (This little guy looked like he already found the oil spill)

And then we caught a ton of sand fleas that Brian would use for fishing bait the next day!

You can't always get what you want...

Brian and I made a very last minute decision to go to the beach for the 4th. We literally emailed every listing on VRBO and finally Resort Quest came through for us! We rushed home and threw only the necessary clothing items in a bag and headed south to the beautiful Rosemary Beach! We were about an hour away when Courtney, with Resort Quest, called to inform us that the air conditioning went out in our condo and the were setting up a different rental for us. It sounded great: larger unit, ground level, on the beach, and just a little further down in Seagrove.

A little less than three hours later, we've arrived. We are at the entrance of one of my favorite places in the world, yes the world, Alys Beach! Unfortunately, this is not our final destination.

We continue on to Seagrove, pick up our keys, then on to Angelina's for some delicious pizza.

Apparently everyone else at the beach had the same idea! While we waited for our order, we sat at the bar and kicked back with a Peroni and a Pinot Grigio. Our relaxation was almost immediately interrupted by one particular homeowner who was determined to talk at us about his take on the BP OIL SPILL! He feels very strongly (at the top of his voice and his Pennsylvanian accent) that BP is getting taken to the cleaners and it is not their fault! It is just now occurring to me that he must be employed by BP....

Pizza in hand and were headed to the condo! Can't wait to see our fabulous upgrade! We walk in the door and AHHHHHHH! There is fake ivy growing everywhere! I have never seen so many artificial plants in my life, they even had it draped all over the window treatments. An interior design nightmare!

I was picturing something more along the lines of this

Thank you Brian for making this so humorous!

It's a good thing we were here for the beach and not the condo. We took one step outside and it was all worth it! I want to go back!!!

Jewlery Designers I adore! It's a close tie between Kenneth Jay Lane and Erickson Beamon

Erickson Beamon:

Kenneth Jay Lane:

Those are not the most economical pieces, so sometimes we must turn to the trusty Urban Outfitters!

Check out this great piece for summer: Metal Sunburst Statement Bracelet

Throw it on with an outfit like this and you're out the door!

These are definately on the wish list for spring!

Camilla Skovgaard Sandals

http://http//www.net-a-porter.com/product/60464

I LOVE BIRTHDAY'S

So Saturday was the BIG DAY...my 22 year old brother called around 12:40 a.m. (Friday night/Saturday Morning)to remind me just how old 27 sounds...apparently he was already celebrating for me; (deep sigh) ahhh, to be young again!

I LOVE BIRTHDAY'S! My family has always made a really big deal out of birthdays. We have always had "birthday weeks" ...I mean come on, there is no way to celebrate how great you are in just one day! I feel like we have been celebrating closer to 2 weeks this year (this will take quite a few post). But for now, I'll start with Saturday.

Saturday Brian and I woke up and went out for some exercise, it was a beautiful morning, we were actually able to wear shorts all day! We got back to the house and made our morning ritual delicious pot of ,our favorite, We did not get to drink it here...

...But we did get to sit on our patio and enjoy it freshly ground and brewed via our Cousinart Grind and Brew (thank you Amanda and David)

http://http//www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisinart-brewcentral-coffee-maker-with-thermal-carafe/?pkey=celtcofaut

and Illy Whole bean, Medium Roast coffee

http://http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/illy-espresso-whole-bean/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C4%7CIlly%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH

Now we can officially start our day!

Elizabeth and Carlos arrive in town around 4 or so. Brian I decided to have everyone over to our house since my parents were throwing my family party Sunday night at their house.

The menu:

Fresh gulf grouper grilled and seasoned to perfection, placed on to a tasted hoagie bun with provolone cheese and topped with homemade tarter and cocktail sauce!

Oven baked red potato wedges sprinkled with Parmesan cheese (and covered in KETCHUP, oh my, how gourmet!)

Homemade coleslaw topped with baked crushed ramen noodles

...and to top it all of Margarita's made with the best William Sonoma Margarita Mix (I usually make them homemade, but it's hard to beat the WS mixes!

A Perfect Dinner!
The house was covered with flowers (thanks mom and dad)

and then there was a very creatively wrapped gift from my husband (we have been moving and cannot find anything, aka wrapping paper, so he used some roofing felt and painters tape...I LOVE IT, so cute)!

WHAT IS IN THE BOX ALREADY??!!

AHHHHHHH, scream,

Ok, well, the actual lamps weren't in the box and won't be here until the end of the month, but there was a picture with the sweetest note telling me that a pair of Authentic Kartell Bourgie Lamps are coming to live with us very soon! I couldn't be more excited. What a wonderful birthday!

It's Coming Along...

This past week has been a blast. It was my 27th birthday week and my fabulous sister-n-law and boyfriend came down (from Michigan), for their spring break, to celebrate with us. But before the festivities could begin, we had to finish up the last major renovations to our house. We had a roofing crew on top of our house for three day putting on a new roof and taking off 2 previous layers of roofing ( i guess i had no idea that legally you could put a new roof over an old one?), anyway, off with the old and on with the new!


And while the roof was getting a makeover...there may have been a few projects going on inside!

This is one of our guest rooms. It's one of my favorite rooms because of the huge windows and how much natural light it gets...but I just couldn't stand the built in bookshelves. Brian and I agreed that they just had to come down. I love that Brian is just as impulsive as I am, and as soon as that decision was made those cabinets were out of there. The walls, were sanded, puttied, sanded, puttied, sanded, primed, painted, baseboards replaced, carpet finished...and then we got our beautiful room (finished pic's to come)!!!



But we couldn't stop there, oh no, we had to fit in a few more projects. One of the most important was the Fan Project. Remember this Deco gem? We decided not to spend the $ to get the one we really want so...with a little TLC and some serious skills by my husband, we've got ourselves a new fan!

BEFORE:



AFTER:

Jag är överväldigad av glädje!

That is "I am overwhelmed with joy" in Swedish...at least that is what Google translator says it means. But why in Swedish, might you ask? Well, apparently my husband has a pen pal there and I have got to learn the language in hopes that we will visit them one day (although I'm sure they are fluent in English!)

I did not learn of this "pen pal" until last night.

Elizabeth and Carlos were spending their last night of vacation with us and wanted to prepare a traditional Colombian dinner (Carlos is from Columbia). It was an amazing feast! While we were dining we began talking about taking a trip to meet Carlos's family and the traditions/customs, government, exchange rates, etc in his country... he was telling us how unreliable the mail system is in Columbia and somehow we got sidetracked onto talking about pen pals when we were kids (doubt many kids do that anymore). Anyway, Brian brings out a present for me telling me that his pen pal in Sweden sent it for me. I am so confused, excited, thinking it may be a practical joke... I have already had the best birthday imaginable, what in the world is he doing? Well, I rip through the paper and open the box to find this:

MY HEART ALMOST JUMPS OUT OF MY CHEST and I literally cannot believe what my eyes are reading. I am still pinching myself to see if this is real! Yes it says, "Happy Birthday dear Natalie from Adam & Viktoria"!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH I don't know what i am more excited about the actual gift inside or the note itself???

Hello, have none of you been reading my blog? This is the only reason I started a blog! Adam and Viktoria Pillows! Last summer Brian and I went to Tacoma, WA and stayed at the Hotel Murano http://http//www.hotelmuranotacoma.com/ where I was first introduced to most beautiful pillows on earth. I dream about them, I mean I am so totally obsessed. But there is this one, just this one pillow that i can't get over and to my luck you cannot buy them anywhere. I'm not kidding. We have contacted every place that we know of to try to get one and there was never even the slightest glimpse of hope. I would try to find something different to replace it in my mind but i just couldn't picture our living room with out one.

Well, my husband takes it upon himself to go straight to the source. He emails my IDOLS...

Adam and Viktoria (the two names i must google search a hundred times a week) and they respond, they talk back and fourth with Brian; I cannot believe it!

They send me their very last Turkish Delight pillow in Grey and Istanbul. THERE ARE NO MORE TO BE FOUND. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Adam, Viktoria...and of course, Brian, I cannot thank you enough. This pillow will be a family heirloom; I will have it forever! I can only dream that we will be able to meet you one day! I can't wait to see all of the amazing things you continue to create.

With love,

Natalie

Oh, I am a huge fan of your's...

...No really, these are huge fans of ours! We have just recently purchased our first home together (which is, hands down, the most exciting thing in the world). We love everything about it... except for the fans...well, and the landscaping, but that's a whole different blog. Please take a look at these beauties...


The 80's Deco inspired, focal point of the living room The Tommy Bahama...for the master
The Wicker Paddle...
However, there may be someone out there who wants our ceiling fans...check out this guys website; "one man's trash...another man's treasure"
http://www.vintageceilingfans.com/sellyouroldceilingfan.html