michelle my belle

little dinner party & table setting

so a few weeks ago we had a few friends over for dinner.
we try to get together with these two couples about every other month, rotating houses.
this time it was my turn.
let me just say, the two other gals are AMAZING cooks.
i'm not so much.
i try. really hard.

i've slacked in the past, but this time...
i even set the table.

which, i still felt needed help!
please tell me.
what am i missing?
a runner? colored mats? table cloth?

for food, we went with an asian theme.
i successfully made wonton soup.
fried tofu... mediocre success
gary made stir fry from this cookbook... amazing!
fried bananas... a little much.

in the end- thankfully it isn't about the food. or the table setting.
it's about getting together with friends and enjoying each others company.

and, we full hearted-ly did.

our green front door & entry

the original house when we bought it, had green doors through-out.
it was part of the reason i fell in love with the house.
my husband on the other hand was not quite as fond...

(the front door entry)

but.
he slowly came around.
and we were able to recycle most of the original doors. yay!
our new entry is MUCH smaller than our last home but i love the cheeriness of it so much more!
(the door above is actually a new one that we painted to match the existing.)

a closer look at the cute signage next to the doorway.

i'm still in nyc at the gift show... you can follow some of emilee and my other adventures on our facebook page if you like. :)

my only real collection...

since returning from the atlanta gift show all i've been doing is working on boring paperwork.
which doesn't make for very fun pictures.

a loooonnng, LONG time ago i collected cows... yikes!
i'm sure you can imagine just how bad that got.
i've learned you have to be very careful about what you choose to collect.

besides all kinds of art, the only thing i now collect is the letter A.
this pic is heading downstairs to our basement/tv area.
still in the process of settling in, i have yet to hang/display them.

if this fun book can't make you a collector of something, then nothing could!
how bout you, collect anything?

oh, and guess what! apartment therapy featured my xmas card book!!!
it was so funny to read the cynical comments people left.
basically calling me a hoarder! ha!
people... the only thing i could be considered a hoarder with would be art supplies! :)

christmas decorating & yummy cookies!

getting a bit of holiday cheer going on.
it's feeling good.

inspired by this lovely lady to make the decorating itself a bit more of a special event.
really tho- i thought cocoa and cookies might just get my kids (16 & 11) to stick around and want to decorate with me...
without it being a fight or me guilting them into it.

and it actually worked!
so simple. i guess i never read the "decorating with kids" manual.

these were the cookies we made.
inspired by no other than pinterest and ultimately sprinkle bakes.
ours didn't turn out near as cute as hers.
a lot more red food coloring next time!

the much anticipated STAIRS!!!

my hand painted stairs are finally installed!
they were quite the laborious endeavor, but i'm totally thrilled with how they turned out.
find my original stair inspiration here.

this set of stairs lead from our living quarters to my home studio above the garage...
i thought this quote by john maxwell was quite appropriate for the location :) and oh-so-true!

quote by john maxwell

we used beat up oak for the treads so it would flow nicely into the studio space where we were able to use the salvaged oak floors from the original house.

now if these can't inspire me to get into the studio... i don't know what will!

quick pics of the remodeled house

we're still in the throes of moving in and trying to get settled...
i'm giddy with excitement about living in town, closer to...ummm,  EVERYTHING!
we can walk to coffee shops, restaurants and the grocery store!
i love so many things about the country but i'm SOOOO ready to be an urban girl again.

ahhhh. the built-ins, all the windows and the bright cheery feel.
this may be my very favorite room in the house.

our living room...
we will soon be on the hunt for a smallish couch since the one from our old house is too big for this space.
still no cushion for the window seat-
(i did find this great tutorial on making bias tape for piping that i'm going to try on it.)
don't worry Sharon (MIL), i'll totally have it done by the time you come to visit! :)

there is still so much to do.
i'm taking my time.
organizing and purging as i go.

hope you've had a wonderful holiday weekend.


"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul." - Psalm 143:8

 

an art studio MUST!

at least for me...
a solid table is vital to my art studio happiness.

i'm completely spoiled and blessed to have a wonderful husband that understands this and is handy enough to build me one.

as you can see, he put wheels on it.
that way, if i'm working on a large project it can be rolled out of the way, making more room.
the shelf on the bottom provides extra storage along with a comfortable foot rest.
in this studio, i thought ahead and asked them to put an outlet in the middle of the floor-
making it easy to run a plug up through the middle of the table for a heat gun, hot glue gun, etc.

we're still working hard at moving into the house/home studio...
our bodies are hurting and we are both tired beyond belief.
but we're excited and thankful.

i hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ours was small, simple and very enjoyable.

the day has finally come!

the day being... move in day/days!
i am excited and yet the idea of setting everything back up is daunting.
it's been a LONG time since we moved.
we've i've collected so much crap!

it's hard as an artist...
everything, i mean EVERYTHING can be turned into a piece of art! right?!
please tell me that i'm not alone on this.
...and that is why i have more stuff in my studio than we have in our entire house!

well, off to bed.
a long day awaits me.

house remodel- window seat, green room & aqua tile

about a year ago my hubs & i decided that we were ready to leave the rural life and head to the big city... downtown vancouver, wa. (it's the closest thing we can get to portland, oregon without having to pay the 9ish% income tax)

and we are SO READY!
ready to:
leave our way-too-big house and go to something smaller and more intimate.
have neighbors and enjoy community.
leave our beautiful 3.5 acres and move to a barely-postage-stamp-sized yard.
begin a new adventure!

on this house we went with a lot of greys, blues and greens.

my youngest got her wish with bright green walls.
she's 11 and she's never had color on her walls.
wow, even thinking about that i feel kinda bad! haha!

one of my longtime dreams... a window seat in the making.
can't wait to cozy up on this with a blanket, book and a cup of coffee this winter!

some aqua blue tile about to be installed as the backsplash.
super exciting!
we should be moving in next week!

i feel so blessed with this house.
i also feel a bit guilty, like maybe we shouldn't be doing this when so many are struggling.
why is everything so complex.

 

blue lights

pretty blue lights... anxious to see these babies up!
notice the aqua colored ceiling that will be complimenting them?
some people believe that painting your porch ceiling sky blue will ward off spiders & such.
not so sure aqua blue counts!

i've ventured into a lot more color on this remodel.
our current place is almost completely nuetral.
funny that i would be scared of color, given the art that i create.

and the stairs... still hiding. :(
with a little addition of a green door, which i love.