This weekend...

All I want to do this weekend is curl up on the couch in my pajamas with a warm blanket, a cup of tea, and a good book. Am I doing that? No. I'm cooking dinner for all of my in-laws. It was my idea so I shouldn't complain, but blah, blah, blah!!! COMPLAIN! Hope you all have a lovely weekend and I'll see you on Monday when I'll be less of a whiner.

*photo by anja mulder

Casualties...

The casualties of moving are making me sad today. Remember our pressed penny collection in our last apartment (see the close up here)? Right before we moved I took them all down and put them somewhere safe, somewhere I'd remember. Now I can't find them anywhere! Someone (whose name I will not reveal) also broke one of the ears off of our (silly) deer. This part of moving is rarely fun.

Outside...

The back porch of my dreams looks a lot like this one from plattdana architects. An outdoor fireplace? Yes, please.

Mad love...

I've always loved Valentine's Day. I'm getting a jump start and thought I'd share a few of my favorite valentines out there. Last year I bought the one above from something's hiding here for PRH and he loved it. I've posted the Obama valentine from owly shadow puppets before, but it's too good not to post again (directly below).


Here are some others that I think are pretty fabulous from KG&AB...


simple song...


xlessthan3...


atelier 22...


nouveau designs...


cuore...


QandA papier...



dutch door...


pistachio press...


round rabbit...


and hello handmade...

Masked man...

As promised, here are the masks we made. They're admittedly a bit freaky, but we had a lot of fun. They're like a cheap version of something I'd imagine Matthew Barney's children wearing on a regular basis. EZ E thinks he looks fabulous.

Collected...

I thought this instant collection of department store credit cards was too bizarre not to post. I never would have thought to collect vintage credit cards, but they're so graphic and interesting...why not, right? Poor Ruth.

To do...

If we were still living in Buffalo, we would definitely be attending the Hero Design Studio Retrospective Exhibition at Western NY Book Arts Center on Friday night (Jan 29 from 6 to 9 PM). The exhibition, called Pulled to the Limit, "features the most comprehensive exhibit of Hero's silkscreened works to date. Along with limited edition prints and posters, the exhibit will feature one-of-a-kind prints, experimental work and works-in-progress that will help explain the creative and production process". Both Hero and WNYBAC are gems in Buffalo and I'm so excited to see the two come together for this exhibition. If you can't make the reception Friday night, the show is already up and will continue until February 20. Congrats, Beth and Mark and WNYBAC!

Whooooo...

EZ E and I are making masks today. Ours probably won't be as lovely as this owl mask from pretty little things, but we are definitely feeling inspired by it. I'll show you what we come up with later.

Sold...

I realized that I often mention our trips to the auction, but haven't ever pointed out anything that we've come home with. We picked up this desk over the summer for PRH's office. It needs a bit of work, but it was pretty cheap (I try not to spend over 50 dollars on any one item). The auction itself is a couple of towns over and takes place almost every Friday night. Be warned that mid century finds are not typical in this area. It's mostly older antiques and household sort of stuff, but there is the occasional gem. If nothing else, it's worth the trip for the homemade pie and people-watching. Trust me, there are some characters!

*BTW, I know that cloth on the chair looks awkward, but shell chairs are cold and PRH needed something to keep him warm.

Stick...

These are the sticks to EZ E's teepee, which are just as pretty as the teepee itself. You may be wondering why the doorknob is missing...EZ E has discovered the joy of locking his parents out of the playroom. Fun for him, not so much for us.

Little rabbit...

Our friend Rachael recently collaborated with artist Samantha Cotterill on these super cute limited-edition prints. Only 100 prints were made of each design, so get them here while they're hot! I'm in love with that little rabbit.

Andre's lady (?) friend...

You may remember meeting Andre, the love of EZ E's life. Well, Santa brought him some vintage WWF wrestlers so Andre wouldn't be lonely and it has totally backfired. PRH and I thought that this wrestler's name was Adrian Adonis, but EZ E has informed us otherwise. Meet 'mean mommy'. Yup...our two-year-old calls this wrestler 'mean mommy'. When asked about his name choice he says, "It's because she has armpits", which is EZ E code for boobs.

Mid century masterpiece...

As a child I spent time every summer on Cape Cod with my best friend and her family. We stayed at this mid century house almost every year. Not only was the house amazing, but it was full of Eames shell chairs and had funky tapestries on every bed. For six grand you can spend a whole week there (not in my budget, but it does sleep 10). The interior has been "countrified" with quilts, overstuffed furniture, and bad lighting, but the bones are still there. You can close your eyes and pretend you're surrounded by shell chairs.

Zig zag...

I saw abchao's living room (above) and freaked out over that rug. How gorgeous is that zig zag rug?! I tried to find one, but haven't had any luck so far. I did, however, find a great tutorial to make your own version. If you give it a try, let me know.

I'd like to know...

Today is Monday, so that means it's time for I'd like to know, a weekly post dedicated to talented artists, designers, etc...all people I'd like to know and who I thought you may like to know of too. Today I'd like to know...Faile, an artist's collective based in Brooklyn. I saw their work on fecal face and was blown away. Head to their website to see more. So awesome. Happy Monday!

This weekend...

This has been such a good week! We have a full weekend ahead of us and I'm genuinely excited about it...not like those other weekends where I fake enthusiasm (only kidding). PRH and I have some mailboxes to make (thank you!), an antiques auction to attend tonight (two wassily chairs will be mine), we're having dinner with our lovely friends tomorrow evening and with my parents/brothers on Sunday. Hooray for being back home. What are you all up to? Hope you have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday! xo, Abbey

*photo from the sugar monster (originally seen on smile and wave)

Honey do...

I could totally see PRH making something like this for me (hint, hint, wink, wink!).

Collected...

I love the idea of these prints by i.klee. I've been wanting everything to be oversized lately and these prints are no exception. Wouldn't they be gorgeous as poster-sized prints? Her flickrstream is pretty fabulous too.

All kinds of amazing...

I am not embarrassed to admit that I have an art crush on our friend Kim Hennessy (don't be scared, Kim). These pieces are absolutely incredible! Head over to her website to see more.

Foxy lady...

I just realized that I never posted the fox that I made for Kicky. I didn't use a pattern, but it was inspired by the foxes from Bit of Whimsy. Her stuff is amazing.

Game on...

There's something so sweet about the meandering line of this hopscotch grid. I saw this photo and it instantly took me back to catholic school, where I sported a plaid uniform and the coolest reebok high tops my mom could find. Oh yes...I said high tops (pink classics, thank you very much). I'm sure it comes as no surprise that little miss swears-a-lot spent her formative years in a catholic school. Anyways, here are the hopscotch rules in case you're like me and forgot. EZ E and I are going to have a hopscotch throw down today. What? He's only a toddler, you say. Well I say, game ON! Where did I put my reeboks?

*photo from amsterdame

Today...

Our day today: hay bales on the way to my parents' house, the cow on top of the local grocery store, and our backyard. Woo hoo.

Unoriginal...

Several readers have emailed me to ask about the globe in our house. I made it on a particularly frustrating day in the studio while in grad school. The text reads, "f this s"...I think I was in mourning about not being able to swear out loud after EZ E was born. I was planning to use it for my thesis exhibition, but decided not to. I wish I could say the idea was original, but one of my professors, Adele Henderson, had been painting globes long before me. The first time I saw her studio I almost died, she had globes everywhere! Adele doesn't pseudo swear on her globes and hers are way better than mine, so I wanted to be sure to give credit where credit's due. Keep the questions coming, my sweethearts. I love to hear from you all.

Boys room...

While we're on the subject of little boys rooms...this tree stool by Courtney Skott would also make a perfect additon. EZ E would love these.

Busted...

Who needs a bust of Mozart when you can have a boy scout bust by BROOKLYNrehab? Don't you think this would be perfect in a little boy's room?

Trendy, trendy...

I was trying to find Very Good & Proper's canteen chairs (below) on twentytwentyone and instead came across the Monza chairs by Konstantin Grcic (above). I'm totally loving this raw wood/color trend. I need another chair like I need a hole in my head, but it doesn't hurt to look, right? Don't answer that, PRH.

Clean lines, baby...

Not sure why I felt the need to throw a 'baby' in the title of this post, but let's go with it, shall we? Here's a little contrast to the farmhouse photos I posted last week. Some days I prefer the clean lines of Blake Dollahite's house that I saw on The Brick House (one of my favorite daily reads). If you don't read that blog by now, you definitely should. It's too good. The only problem is that after reading it I whine incessantly to PRH about wanting to buy a house to remodel. Some day, right? Hell yeah, baby.