Liberty of London

In a previous life I was a make up artist. And even though I have every shade I could ever need - I continue to hunt down make up items for my collection. MAC always has fun collaborations that result in great colors, fun packaging and me spending to much!

Recently I went into my local MAC store and was super surprised that they had done a collection with Liberty of London.

Liberty & Co. has been around since the later 1800's. What started as a shop of housewares has turned into a continued rotation of home, apperal, and cool accessories.

The packaging for these cosmetics is covered inside and out with little floral prints and birds - signatures of Liberty of London and the crisp white background is oh such a nice contrast.

I could not contain myself. I actually walked into MAC for a practical every day item - which they were out of. So I walked out with the most bold and beautiful blush for amazing disco cheeks, a very mauve lipstick and a eyeshadow that is grey and green at the same time.

And even though I have been using these items for a few weeks - I cannot yet toss out the packaging. It has me spellbound!

party flowers

Spring is here in the Pacific North West. Or at least it is attempting to be here between the  hail and sideways rain. But the tulips and blossom trees are pushing forward putting me in the mood for a spring get together.

I sent out invites to a close group of friends for a little gathering of snacks and drinks.

I wanted to make the homestead a little more festive so I decided to attempt to make some of those awesome tissue paper flowers that are featured on almost every party and wedding site.

I found directions on Martha Stewart and they were so easy to make.

Ramon helped out and ironed to tissue paper for me - we used 8 sheets for nice fullness - I would like to try with more and see how it comes out.

I worked on the accordion folding and cutting the ends to create the petals and then secured them with florists wire - then we separated the layers

The tricky part is to fluff the layers and create seamless balls so you cannot see where the two sides meet.

Ramon hung them from the ceiling while I art directed the installment - overall they looked really good and people who came over thought they were pretty and were surprised I made them. Which either means I don't look like the crafty type or they looked real good!

As I am also wedding planning I thought these might be good in newspaper for a more rustic flower look - they also would be quite smashing in black tissue and a pop of green.

Le Marais - our neighborhood in Paris

While in Paris we stayed in the wonderful Le Marais neighborhood. Full of great food and shopping but also all of the usual Paris type establishments that make this city so fun - cafes, butchers, bakers, pastry shops and green grocers - just to name a few.

We arrived tired but exhilarated - so we decided to start walking our neighborhood and get a sense of what is and Paris had to offer.

Hungry and ready for a breakfast - we stopped in for a little coffee and Croque Monsieur (a wonderful version of grilled ham and cheese with a bechemal or mornay sauce). This is not your typical breakfast item and garnered some unusual looks from our waitress. But once she knew we were americans it all made sense.

I was amazed at the amount of pastry/bakery options that one neighborhood could support. From basic bread to fancy pastries and confections.

This store had amazing marshmallow options as well as beautiful cakes and pastries.





The butcher shops were so pretty - these people take their craft very seriously and meat was displayed like works of art. Some still had feet and heads attached - it was nice to see a culture still in touch with their food. Not like here where most things are shrink wrapped - boneless and no longer representing the animal that it once was.



There were a great deal of deli type stores - filled with cured meats, salads, cheeses etc. A great place to stop and pick up a meal or side dish. We oohed and ahhed over the aspics and meat gels.





One very cool little chain of stores is called the Daily Monop. Here you can get a wide variety of pre-made sandwiches, salads and soups. Also prepared fruit, yogurt, beverages and dry snacks. There is a variety of fresh-baked bread and rolls to choose from as well.

We stopped by here regularly for little snacks - it was so convenient to say - "I am running down to the Monop", it was so close and handy.

doors in paris

This post will show my geekier side for sure. I love doors. There was a time when doors were really important design elements - and I love that and miss that. I even have a door in my house that was a gift quite some years ago - it has moved with me all over and just hangs out against a wall in the dining room.

One of things I loved in Paris were all the doors - so old and so beautiful. I took a few pictures of them alone - then decided that Ramon would be a good door prop.

So here you go -

the joys of laundry

Growing up we did not have a lot of money. When you don't have a lot you tend to take real good care of what you do have. I learned from a young age how to do laundry - from simple sorting and washing of clothes to the details of ironing a mens shirt piece by piece. These chores became weekend rituals and I found peace in them then and still do today.

Laundry is one of my favorite household chores. It is one of the most gratifying tasks that leaves you with warm piles of folded clothes and towels smelling fresh. Taking a pile of wrinkled clothes - ironing and hanging them seems to restore order and say - we are ready to take on the world.

Call me crazy! But I love it!

I also love products - so I am always on the hunt for new, exciting products that can help me get my clothes clean as well as make as little impact as possible on the earth.

This new laundry soap by Method is so amazing - the tiny little bottle so easy to have around and if you are schlepping to a laundry mat this is o-so portable. Very, very concentrated only using 4 pups for an entire load of laundry. My clothes came out clean and smelling fresh. If you have not tried it I say give it a whirl.