television fix. the fabulous beekman boys.

JP & I were just discussing this show last week at the office. I love it! The Fabulous Beekman Boys on Planet Green channel by Discovery - find the show schedule & see clips here.

The following newsletter clippings below comes from Terrain - a lovely specialty garden center in PA. If you're near Glen Mills, go check it out on Saturday [but sign up for a spot for the signing - details below].

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Take a peep inside the book here.

Visit Beekman 1802 's website here.

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♥ - Kat.

book nook. crafty ideas for the bride on a budget.

Most of the projects were a bit too "crafty" in my opinion. A lot of the projects felt more like a creative scrapbooking aisle exploded into wedding projects. I liked the simplistic [but lovely] cake ideas best. And there's a great "how-to" section about working with fondant with loads of step-by-step pictures in the back.

The floral projects were inspiring in aesthetics, however I'd prefer to see higher quality supplies photographed versus the lower priced typical craft store floral stems used. Frayed edges make the bridal bouquets look a bit sloppy. Honestly, I'm just not fond of the bridal bouquet as artificial flowers. I want to smell fresh flowers -- there's just no substitution for that. If you want a keepsake of the bouquet, press some of the flowers to keep in a scrapbook.

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double duty menu / place card.

I must have my snob-nose on today, because this is the only project that I really liked besides the flower & cake ideas. But I'd prefer this with both pieces the same shape/size [floral piece with name on top; menu on bottom]. Then the decorative brad through both at the top so that the two papers "slide". But that's just me....

bridal bouquet.

okay, okay. no, you can't tell that the flowers are fake & frayed from the scanned image. but, dammit, i want to smell the fresh flowers. translate this bouquet of hydrangeas & snowballs into their real counterparts & i'm in heaven.

floral place seating.

here, put the money into the real flower bouquet above & save on fake [err, artificial] flowers here. 

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now! let them eat cake:

this monochromatic, [edible] glitter-dusted cake would translate into so many other great events. lavender & pink dustings for a sweet sixteen... silver or gold dustings for anniversaries [i'm proud to claim that my uncle & aunt will approach their 50th in a couple years--so see, it can still happen]

I would leave off the flowers up top [or, only add a small stem/sprig or two]. and I admit, i'm dyeing [i crack myself up] to see this design with wedgewood blue fondant with the white accents! or, add a light washing of color [edible "paints" of course] to the bows & swags.

I think this is such a simple, yet darling, cake design. It reminds me of my grandmother's old chenille & candlewicking  bedspreads. Most definitely a choice for the romantic.

How simple & fun is this one?! Again, this would translate so well into a impressive birthday cake [diy style no less!].

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Inspired yet?

♥ -Kat.

[all images from book]

design fix. staircase with books.

It's true, I love books. This is a neat idea if you have the books & space to spare on a staircase. The books are cluttered [& clock hung low] for the sake of a good picture, but still...

Another thought for those of you overrun with coffee table books, stack them up on the floor in a corner. This works nicely with a corner a few feet from a door way.

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♥ - Kat.

[image from an old Ballard Designs catalog]

events. wish i could be there

some immediate & near future happenings in ATL:

John Saladino [faboo designer] will give a presentation [Ancient Influences in the 21st Century] this Friday, May 7th, at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center [ADAC]. There will also be signing for his latest book Villa afterward.
Note: Trade event only & reservations must be made through ADAC.


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Corinne Bailey Rae show will be at Center Stage next Tuesday, May 11th. Sold out show.


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 Julie Andrews [uh huh] is going to be at the Little Shop of Stories in Decatur May 21st for a book signing of her latest children's picture book The Very Fairy Princess.
Note: 185 tickets will be given out at the shop Sunday, May 16th. See the book store's website for details.


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She & Him is going to be performing at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens July 9th. Get there early & go along The Canopy Walk...Alex & I can't wait to go visit this feature [that just opened up this season].

Okay, it's been about an hour since Alex has ate & he's reminding me of that now! He's going through major growth spurts right now. He's jumped up 2 sizes since last summer. That includes shoes now, too...we just bought two new pairs this weekend...

Happy Monday!

♥-Kat.

[all images from respective links]

because you'd rather be... reading

I make no apologies for being somewhat of a nerd. My nerdiness involves more than just reading, but that's the focus of the current babble. 

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When my parents divorced, my mother & I lived with my grandmother for a while. The property was a couple acres & had numerous buildings on it [besides the residence]. There was my grandfather's workshop with all of his woodworking industrial tools, various storage sheds, a greenhouse, a playhouse, and several buildings [& a retired school bus- not kidding!] that housed my grandmother's craft supplies. 

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While the playhouse had become something of a cachepot of storage, it was an absolute wonderland for me as a girl. All of the walls [minus the windows] were entirely lined with shelves containing books, puzzles & games. I especially treasured the books. Many were school books from my aunt, uncles & grandfather; they covered subjects from basic arithmetic & rhetoric to botany & politics. My mom was the youngest of 6 kids, so from her, there were books like The Legacy, The Amityville Horror, King & Bradbury [see, it mom's fault that I read so many horror/supernatural books!].

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Fast-forward to today. I'm in the library at least once every couple of weeks if not more. I live in Fulton County, so I'm tied in with all of the Atlanta libraries & they're really great with inter-library loans. My specific location [Roswell] is fabulous. I'm constantly amused with the extra programs that the library maintains: flamenco dance lessons, yoga, movie nights, and art classes. This is in addition to typical book club meetings & basic community outreach programs. Obviously, not all libraries have the space to provide the noisier programs...but isn't that just too cool for a library?!

The teen art program this week was paint your own Sistine Chapel. How, you ask? By crawling under a table & painting the underside! Unorthodox creativity makes me smile, what can I say?! I wanted to impersonate a teenager for the 1st time in a really long time for that class. It reminded me of a particular art teacher in high school that actually had her kids paint the ceiling tiles in her class.
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[image from Friends of the Roswell  Library site, here]

Here's to supporting your local library!
♥ -Kat.

because you'd rather be... reading

...except you don't want anyone to realize that you're reading a racy-covered romance!

OR

...you'd like to pretend your bookshelf is more impressive than it really is!

Enter Book City Jackets

 

 

The artist sets features artists from the Atlantic to the Pacific and are limited editions. These guys make for fun gifts and artistic additions to your bookshelves.

fan them on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter

Enjoy!

♥ -Kat.

thursday feature. The Moment Jars

Is there a special day or moment that stands out in your mind? Some turning point in your life? The Moment Jars is a work in progress by collaborating artists: Mark Freid [of Think Creative, Inc.], Kim Foxbury, Jeff Matz & Paul Mastriani [of L2 Design Collective, & Cliff Manspeaker, Jr. [of Drive New Media]. 

Stop by The Moment Jars site and add your very own moment. It really is the sum of all things small that seem to make the difference.

Enjoy browsing!

♥ -Kat.

Book Nook: One-Yard Wonders

One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker & Patricia Hoskins looks like a fabulous book & I can't wait to get my copy! Thanks to How About Orange for reviewing the book & for taking the inside sneak peak shots! See her (Jessica) original post here. Find out more about the authors at Storey Publishing's site here.

Happy Sewing!

♥-Kat.