The beauty in simple things...

Often the most beautiful things are the most simple. Just look at this Plié shoe - an origami inspired ballet style sandal designed by Stefan Lie

....this beautiful hand lettered illustration by Sarah Maxey (an insanely talented New Zealand artist)

....these sublime ceramics by Amanda Shanley (another amazingly talented New Zealand artist)

and...this delicate illustration 'Coffee Face' by Emma Block (drawn in coffee no less!!).

Image via Creature Comforts.

All simple. All beautiful. Sigh.

Portland, Portland....

Among the many things I like about Portland are….

Le Pigeon! Tiny with communal tables, and seating around the 'kitchen' it has a great vibe and an amazing menu. I can't wait to go back.

Tucked away in Sellwood Tilde is full of lovely little design pieces.

Also in Sellwood is the wonderful Justin & Burks antique store. SW Alder has some great places including Canoe and Flora. Down in the Pearl on NW 12th is Cielo Home who’s tag line is 'Life is short….live luxuriously' and is full of gorgeous bits and bobs.

And the blossom trees! I was totally overwhelmed by Portland's frothy tree-lined streets in Spring and can't wait to see what they look like in Autumn. There are many more great things about Portland and Oregon I could go on and on.... Mind you there's also oodles of great things about Wellington and New Zealand - sigh. I will post on these in the soon.

Monday, Monday...

Just skyped R - he's in New York and sounds (and looks) all sleepy. All this travel sounds so glam but in reality it's not all that fab and is really tiring. Especially when one bounces about from place to place like he does.

Turtle, Mu and I made chicken burritos a'la Donna Hay tonight - yum! Which reminded me of the new (well newish) and utterly lovely Donna Hay General Store in Woollahra, Sydney. Oh to have one in our little city....

Among the many exciting things about our move to Portland I am looking forward to revisiting some really lovely stores such as the beautiful Oblation Papers & Press located in the Pearl. From the minute you step inside you are in stationery heaven!

Well time for bed - Mu has a 'make a gingerbread house' class tomorrow so we need to be up and out bright and early. A small shock to the system after a week of very lazy starts! I will post tomorrow on some more lovely Portland stores - promise.

Oh and I am over-the-moon-in-love with my new MacBook - sigh - how fickle we are 'twas only last week I was missing my old laptop....

Images from Jillian Leiboff and Oblation Papers & Press.

Loving the hols...

I'm loving the school holidays with Turtle and Mu - so very relaxed and lots of time to potter. We went walking in the Botanical Gardens yesterday. Well I walked and the boys ran!

I have spent the morning emailing potential rentals in Portland - fingers crossed we find somewhere soon. Imagine if we had a kitchen like this one - bliss.

Image from Southern Accents via The Newlywed diaries.

Other things I'm loving are some lovely Etsy finds. I'm so tempted by these gorgeous bud vases from Pigeon Toe Ceramics.

I am seriously stopping myself from splashing out on this lovely clutch from Red Ruby Rose.

As for this Helmut Lang dress (ok it's from a few years back) but I just love the simplicity and elegance of it.

Image from US Vogue.

Inspiring interiors...better late than.....

Oh dear I realised that I promised some inspiring interiors and I'm a day behind. So to make amends here's some lovely inspiration from James Merrell..... I just love the casualness of the snapshots above the mantle.

And don't you just love the light fixtures in this dining room.

What about these fig branches in John Derian's living room?

I just love these displays of art, photos, and keepsakes.

And for an absolutely gorgeous and inspiring office check out Tamara Mellon's home office - with a great Andy Warhol print of Grace Kelly.

Images from James Merrell, Ngoc Minh Ngo, So Chic : Elle Decor.

A lovely apartment...

Look at this lovely apartment belonging to designer Michelle Adams of the gorgeous Rubie Green.

I just love the way books are turned so you can see their covers. Don't you just love the cover of Painting People by Charlotte Mullins.

Michelle is one part of the duo Lonny a photography/styling duo. This fab pic of these fab yellow shoes is on their site.

And watch this space. Michelle and Patrick Cline (her business partner) have rounded up some fabulous editors, designers, artists, bloggers and friends, and in September, 2009 will be launching the premiere issue of an online decorating and lifestyle magazine called Lonny. I can't wait - it's rumoured to fill the void left by Domino!

What a day... or not

Still feeling rather ick. Had a very slow start and was helping Turtle & Mu reload Garage Band when my laptop died. And I mean died died - as in the hard drive died! Disaster! A trip to see the super friendly and helpful people at Magnum Mac (who are ever so patient when I use terms like 'the little square face thingy'). My poor iBook I'd had her for years - I mean years - and sadly she is no more..... Much to Turtle and Mu's utter amazement we came home with a sparkling new MacBook Pro. The look of sheer delight on Mu's face was priceless. And thanks to Mr Time Machine everything copied over super easily - hooray!

On an entirely different note I was thinking of my Mum today (probably 'cos I'm ill), and the time she came to see me and much to her horror I was in hospital. Once she knew I was OK, and the colour had returned to her face, Mum bounced back and made a classic Mum comment "I know they're hospital pj's Annabel, but that green really suits you you". It always makes me smile. Speaking of stunning green things - I came across these beautiful beads at Madder & Rouge this week. They are made from acai seeds by this uber eco company called Escapulario.

Sadly no riding today - too ill.

Image from Red Magazine UK.

Not so well today....

I am not feeling great today - pretty awful actually. Hopefully it goes away soon. There are so many icky bugs about. On a brighter note I have conquered my new email downloads AND sorted out my hard-drive memory problem. Ok so possibly not that hard for most but somewhat revolutionary for me.

I am enjoying the hols with Turtle & Mu, who have been wonderful today with me feeling all ick. I attempted to brighten things up for myself by researching things (and people) I love.

What I'm loving right now....

Anything and everything by Isabel Marant. Images below from her Fall 2009 collection

New season sunglasses - especially these ones from Bottega Veneta.

Sofia Coppola....and her room!

Kim Noorda's hair...

Off to bed to see if I can shake this bug. I think tomorrow will be all about inspiring interiors...

Feeling rather pleased...

I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. This morning I finally managed to practise yoga - wait for it - at home (!!?!) I must say I'm rather impressed by my ability to procrastinate, and as much as I would much rather pop along to the lovely Kiri's shala alas it's not always possible. Fortunately Mu's impromptu photoshoot this morning didn't coincide with my yoga! Blurry or otherwise I'd really prefer not to be captured with my feet up around my ears. I've attached a few of Mu's pics - a moment in time in the life of a 9 year old - if only his brother would keep still.

A day of gazing at art...

Well almost! The boys and I spent time at Te Papa in the art galleries - but it was 'fair for everyone' according to Turtle as we'd spent a good (and long!) half hour at Our Space first. There was a great Len Lye film in the modern section which the boys enjoyed. And the John Reynolds installation, Cloud (see below) is great! Comprised of 7081 small canvases with words and phrases from The Dictionary of New Zealand English, the work is a galaxy of words written in silver marker. Turtle and Mu were very excited to see a few featured 'swear words Mummy!'

On the way home we saw a great Kim Pieters (I think) in the window of Bowen Galleries. I love this picture of Kim's studio - with peonies!

I've no good reason to post the following images other than I love them likewise pretty much all the work by both photographers!

Photograph Joseph Kelly.

Woodpecker Bay, State Highway 6 by Derek Henderson.

A cold & windy winter eve

Another weekend has gone by.... R and I went to Capitol last night and had a wee planning session, and laughed a lot which was nice. Turtle & Mu spent most of the weekend drawing, and we all ate way too many pancakes this morning! R left this evening for Portland and Europe. The 27th is a long way away and we all miss him already. On a brighter note on Saturday I popped into Small Acorns and gazed longingly at the lovely ceramics from Mud Australia.

And discovered the most gorgeous stationery from Poppies for Grace. I may just have to go back and purchase some.

I think this week I'll have to start sorting out a few cupboards, I made a start on my email folders tonight and came across this great Robert Frost poem...

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.


His house is in the village though;


He will not see me stopping here


To watch his woods fill up with snow.


My little horse must think it queer


To stop without a farmhouse near


Between the woods and frozen lake


The darkest evening of the year.


He gives his harness bells a shake


To ask if there is some mistake.


The only other sound's the sweep


Of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,


And miles to go before I sleep,


And miles to go before I sleep.

A whole lotta organising

It's starting to sink in that we have a fair bit to do between now and the end of August. Only 54 days left before we depart on our adventure! Turtle & Mu are on holiday for the next fortnight - we have lots planned starting with an expedition to the cable car this afternoon. Not quite as glam as the SF cable cars but pretty good for our little city. I wonder what kind of house we'll be living in? I seem to be obsessed with interiors at present and found these wonderful images from Storage: Get Organized by Terence Conran. It's often all in the detail and by having the bits and pieces we've collected over the years around us we will be able to make our as yet unknown new home a home.