sick sticks

image from ginette lapalme via poppytalk. love these painted pieces of driftwood. i want to start walking the beaches early in the morning to gather pieces of driftwood. so beautiful!

happy friday!

hope you all have a weekend filled with your favorite summer things! we are excited to have our friends down from boston tomorrow. heading to the beach with them and then grabbing some gyros at the hellenic fest in newport. also, if you live in the area make sure to get your tickets to the free screening of no impact man at sweet berry farm next wednesday night. newportFILM is offerring a whole bunch of free thought-provoking films at outside venues this summer in newport. watching movies under the stars is what summer is all about!

image from remodelista.

alphabet magnets

found via babble. love this alphabet magnet set by grimm's spiel and holz for kids sold at child trek.

lands' end canvas sale

if you like classics take a look at the lands' end canvas sale. my friend, maggie, alerted me to the prices that cannot be beat. you get an extra 20% off the sale prices until july 27th. i haven't ordered anything from the canvas line, but i will be today. i like that they still have most sizes left and the sale items are returnable (unlike j.crew).

3 ingredients=1 easy peasy lemon ice cream recipe

made this lemon ice cream last weekend when my uncle and cousin came to visit. it is so refreshing and i have been cooling myself off all week with little bowls of this stuff. i made it in a 8"x12" ceramic oven dish so there is more surface area and so it freezes faster.

here's the recipe:

1 quart of 1/2 +1/2
2 cups of sugar
zest and juice of 3 large lemons
mix together and freeze. beat before it congeals and refreeze.

that's it! the easiest dessert i have ever made.

image from here.

i like...

barbershop paper pockets from upon a fold via black.white.yellow.

bigger boat screen print in turquoise from mengsel

landforms and drainage of the 48 states by raven maps and images

sailor striped organic tea shorts for the girls from littlemave on etsy

gold leather boho bag by patkas on etsy

super mod tree by my tree and me modern geneology via stephmodo

waterbirds poster by banquet on etsy

design candy

some black, white, and neutral eye candy to get the juices flowing midweek. i don't think i will ever get sick of rooms decorated this way. i prefer this calm soothing approach much more than bright colors.








1. living etc.
2. elle interior
3. skona hem via automatism
4. canadian house and home
5. the new york times via ill seen, ill said
6. canvas home store via remodelista
7. light locations via the style files

marimekko

there is a marimekko sale going on here until july 15th. i can just picture a house with white painted floors and walls with a chair upholstered or curtains made in one of these fabrics. ikea has similar fabric for a more reasonable price, but love the signature marimekko design.

house tour

had to stop in home depot this weekend to get some more box fans because it feels like we have been living on the equator the past week. called ahead to make sure they had them and they said they had 52. when i arrived an hour later no one could find them. lovely. the only positive thing about the trip into home depot was i stopped by their magazine section and discovered the june/july issue of readymade magazine. absolutely loved the article about morne and kerryn fischer's home in south africa. the laid back vibe of their house is one i want to emulate. i dig the grey walls, the exposed kitchen shelving, the leather poufs in the living room, the fish photo on the dining room wall, the tepee, and the heart made out of twigs and driftwood. very cool styling. left with no box fans, but one inspiring magazine.

all images by russell smith for readymade magazine.

dear mr. james,

please, please, please, please, please stay in cleveland. my husband is losing sleep anticipating your announcement and that's all we talk about these days. i know you want to win a championship, but a deal with an awesome player may work out if you stay. i remember exactly where i was when cleveland won the lottery for first pick the year you were drafted. and i watched all of your olympic games while i was on bed rest in the hospital with my twin girls. you mean a lot to cleveland and i just wanted to say that you would be missed. love, molly

happy july 4th weekend!

hope you all have a festive weekend!! we are planning on going to newport's indie art by the sea festival and the tiverton four corners antique show on july 3rd. i love living in a small community where there are a couple of activities on the weekend calendar, but not so much where you feel overwhelmed. we are still deciding if we should head to the bristol, ri 4th of july celebration. it's the oldest in the country and the parade is supposed to be pretty exciting. not sure if i want to brave the crowds and heat. hope your weekend is filled with lots of weber grilled meats and sweet treats. cheers to america the beautiful!

photo credit (clockwise): 1. martha stewart 2. kendra smoot 3. molly tompkins 4. martha stewart

calling cards

erin's letterpressed cards. via black eiffel. printed by studio on fire.
after moving to a new state i'm finding that i'm always fumbling to give people i just meet my contact info.(especially with toddler twins running around). i think these cards with my phone number and email added would be a smart and efficient way to reach out to people i meet. love the chic design.

around the house

my mom found this cute mesh purse to collect seashells in. it keeps the sand out and the treasures in. the lobster bag was designed by the artist, yuko adachi, who has a dear store filled with beautiful artwork, cards, and graphic designed mugs, bags, and organic t-shirts in rockport, ma on bearskin neck. you should check out her things. she is so sweet!

scored all these letterpressed cards at a rummage sale in rockport. the owner of a card shop needed to get rid of her old cards to make room for the latest series. i was pinching myself about the price of 3 for $1. i couldn't believe it because letter pressed cards are usually $5+ each. felt like the best dream ever.

was given this vintage postcard holder as a christmas gift. it's so much fun decorating a new home. josh and i filled it with some of our favorite photos over the years.

finished updating my recipe notebook. it's been a work in progress. love looking at it before i head to the grocery store so i can find recipes to use with what i have in the frig. or freezer and then get the few fixings to supplement it.

cool kitchen

even though this kitchen is small it is a feast for the eyes. why does exposed kitchen shelving look so much better than kitchen cabinets? could just picture someone with bare feet whipping up a homemade salsa from vegetables and herbs they grew in their garden.

image from canadian house and home via the style files.

summer relaxation

haven't posted in awhile because we headed to rockport, massachusetts to spend some time with my family (parents + bro). although my parents live in ohio we manage to meet up a couple of times a year to have some fun. it really is the simple things in life that keep my soul pumping. morning walks with the girls. having your eye on the horizon. watching the moon pop up over rockport. sand, sand everywhere. late afternoons at the beach. watching the girls explore seashells, rocks, and algae. laughing with family. iced coffee. watching the girls eat cupcakes for the first time. watching my mom sing and rock them. painted toe nails in the sand. lemon ice.