You may have noticed that it’s been awhile…
Cough cough… YEARS. Well, I noticed that I am still attracting followers, and so as not to lead anybody on, I thought I should let you know that I will not longer be adding posts to Fancy Antlers. It has proved to be too much to keep multiple blogs going. Come please visit me at Fiber Musings.
xo
Hey! Hey….. HEY!!!
Right here! It’s me! I’m alive….
So I admit it has been awhile, but I think I’ll forgo the urge to make excuses. Basically, I’m overworked and underpaid.
Therefore, I feel inspired to introduce a new reoccurring blog entry: “If Money Grew on Trees Monday!” After all, there is nothing like a good writing prompt to get you back into the blogging habit.
Lets get things started right. IF money grew on trees….
Why, I would own this purse… in orange. The “Bongalow Breeze April” by Kate Spade is a staggering value at $268.00. Forget the fact that the contents of this precious little bag could fit into a zip-loc freezer baggie at a mere fraction of the retail price. This little sucker is cute. I would buy it despite that fact that I have no current need for it. I would buy it despite the fact that it’s strapless nature makes it completely and totally unpractical for my lifestyle. I would buy it even though it wouldn’t fit my purse organizer, cell phone, stain stick, wallet, mini-mirror, sunglasses, umbrella and random assortment of pens, most of which don’t work, and the remainder of which work too well… (ie leak all over my purse lining).
So, if money grows on your trees… Buy this. Enjoy it. For all of us who would never even consider it.
When I came across a Design Espionage post containing these great prints from Lauren Nicole Hom I giggled like a little school girl! Then, the more I read, the more I became afraid…. How did she get inside my head? And why does she know all my little white lies?!!
There is more where this came from, be sure to check out the full collection on her blog…
via Daily Dishonesty.
From left to right: Royan Chandelier, Orbita Hanging Lamps, Chipperfield Desk Lamp.
From left to right: BB.11.01, Cubist Table Lamp, Highwire 2 Arm Pendant.
I had to take a quick moment to share some great lighting from ROOM. When my co-worker emailed me a link to the Highwire Pendant I was immediately hooked. This morning, I finally carved out some time to explore the rest of their lighting and was tickled to see the great variety of fixtures and designers that they feature. I can’t wait to go back and scope out the rest of their product range… furniture, mirrors, screens…. Oh my!!
Clockwise from top: Beer Candied Bacon, Tide and Thyme; Meatballs Collection, William Sonoma; Tailgate beer bucket, Celebrations.com; Chips and French Onion Dip, My Baking Addiction; Bloody Marys, Garden & Gun; Potato Bar, Real Simple
Okay gang, I have grandiose visions of being a great entertainer with wonderful coordinated menus and elegant presentation…. however, when the music in my head screeches to a halt- I get real.
Reality, for me at least, is that my husband and I like to host, however, it is almost always spur of the moment. Being bay area residents, we started having impromptu parties as soon as the 49ers got into the playoffs. (Admittedly, I’m not actually a 49ers fan. I grew up in Chicago… Go Bears!). Fan or no fan, the local team going all the way is certainly a good excuse for a party, so each game we have maxed out our 700 square foot apartment and huddled around the TV. Now it is Superbowl time and we have yet again decided (three days in advance and while I’m out of town on business) to host a party.
So, it’s planning time! Quick, easy and low-stress is my mantra.
Our guests will be mostly fellas, so frills are out and function is in…
Drinks: Lets stick with the B’s…. Beer (because the boys like it) and Bloody Mary’s (because I like it). I’m thinking to put the beers in a big galvanized metal bucket close to the TV. Bloody Mary’s will be in mason jars.
Main course: Lets face it, this is the Superbowl, it is mostly about the snacks. LOTS of snacks. So I’m planning to keep the main course simple and easy to eat. This weekend meatballs are going to be my meal of choice. The slowcooker is my party time savior… throw ’em in, turn it on, walk away. I’ll use an easy recipe such as this one for Cocktail Meatballs.
Snacks n Sides: I definitely want to morph Real Simple’s Potato bar concept into a potato skin bar. I’m envisioning that a bit of sour cream piped onto each potato skin will make them look just like a football. (Okay, I admit, I’m veering from my prior stated “no-frills” approach. I know the men will NOT appreciate this, but I gotta throw something in for my own amusement!) For my husband, I think I am required to try the Beer Candied Bacon recipe that I found on Tide & Thyme. To round out the the snack-centric gluttony I am going to lean on store bought chips, dip and pretzels.
Serving ware: I have two words for you… Store bought. I’ll put the meatballs, snacks, and sides out in real dishes but some good old Chinet should save me the joy of being up late on a Sunday washing dishes.
Happy Superbowl everyone!
I am so excited that I finished these cozy fingerless gloves just in time for my trip to Lake Tahoe!
For the past couple years my design firm has maintained a steady stream of work in the Tahoe area, thus making me a frequent visitor. At the height of a project we visit the job site monthly and up here they don’t stop construction in the winter. I’m always impressed by how tough our construction crews are. They work full days… outdoors… without heat, and when I am here I try to keep up without too much complaining. So when I caught myself whimpering about cold hands (gloves make it too hard to take notes), I realized there was a perfectly good solution. These little gems will allow me to sketch, scribble and scrawl while keeping my hands toasty warm!
The pattern is a slightly modified version of Lion Brand’s Cottage Wrist Warmers. I simply continued the ribbing to make them longer and I also used a slightly bulkier yarn.
Well…. this is where I went. To my home office (aka dining table). I have been lost in the wonderful, albeit occasionally overwhelming world of freelancing. On top of my regular nine-to-five design job, I made the smart…urrr silly, urrr… smart (jury is still out) choice to take on some additional side work.
After a crazy few weeks, I think- (knock on wood)… I am finally starting to get my routine in order. And what pray tell is the recipe for freelance success? Easy!
An extra cup of coffee in the morning, an extra glass of wine at night, frozen black bean burgers and a supportive husband who is a quick draw with the corkscrew and doesn’t mind eating microwaved black bean burgers.
Cheers-
1. Roll & Hill – Bluff City Lights
2. Roll & Hill – Agnes Hanging Candelambra
3. Roll & Hill – Excel Chandelier
4. Roll & Hill – Modo Chandelier, 3 Sided, 10 Globes
Poketo Agenda Planner
I faintly remember a time when I loved going to the bookstore during the first week of January and sifting through all the new calendars. I would get entranced by the big splashy graphics of the wall calendars and lose track of time trying to pick out which one I would take home with me. Then I would hit the personal planner section and flip through all the neat crisp pages with their charts and conversions and pockets and holiday listings. This tradition emphasized the sense of new beginnings and fresh starts while simultaneously giving me a decently good excuse to go shopping.
So what happened?
Google Calendar…. iPhone…. Micrsoft Outlook…. Need I say more?
I am syncing so much that I couldn’t miss an appointment if I tried! Our family Google Calendar syncs with my husband’s work laptop, his cell phone and my iPhone. My Outlook work calendar syncs to my iPhone and back to my Google Calendar. My birthday app (yes there’s an app for that) syncs with Facebook to keep track of everyone’s birthdays, which syncs with my Red Stamp app which allows me to send out semi personal digital or paper cards directly from my cell phone. Oh, and I almost forgot: my iCloud to-do list is syncing with both my Google Calendar and my iPhone GPS so that every time I leave the office my phone quacks like a duck and reminds me to bring home my Tupperware and sew a button on my co-workers jacket.
I’m in real deep…
I’m fully digital. As a matter of fact, I’m so far gone that I can barely remember life before digital. I’m not sure I’d know what to do if my calendar didn’t beep, quack, or ring at me. And yet, it seems so wrong…. Sometimes I dream about the days when I used to scribble and sketch in brightly colored agendas, and recently, I’ve seen so many beautiful ones that I started to wonder if I shouldn’t give it another chance. Perhaps at this stage in my life I am too far gone for a physical planner. But when did the large graphic wall calendar ever do me wrong?
So I’ve gathered together some of the most tempting planners, agendas, and calendars of 2013. After all, it may be too late for me, but there’s still hope for you…
Snow & Graham 2013 Desk Calendar
Poketo Perfect Mini Planner III
Linda & Harriett Letterpress Perpetual Calendar on Luxe Paperie
2013 Letterpress Art Desk Calendar & Wood Stump Holder on Luxe Paperie
Graphic Image 2013 Metallic Leather Pocket Datebook
2013 Linnea Design Calendar
Old School Stationers 2013 Spiral Bound Wall Calendar
Poketo Voyage Eco Travel Journal
Poketo Voyage Eco Travel Journal
Christmas may be over, but we can still enjoy the season that chills our toes while warming our hearts: Welcome Winterness!
Winter is wonderful… Our homes are cozy, a warm meals feels like an indulgence, and a hot cup of anything is endlessly gratifying. (Coffee, tea, cider, glogg? Bring it on!)
I must admit, however, that since moving to the West Coast, I have not been weathering the bitter cold like I did as a child. Here, the temperature is never more than slightly uncomfortable and my nostalgic side sorely misses “real” winter. Thus, I have developed a finely tuned system of overcompensation:
Keep your needles sharp, take the kink out of your yarn and enjoy!
Fancy Antlers 