WHOOO HOOOO!

We got a house!! We are now the proud renters of 1045 Green Springs Ave-- I will have pics for ya on monday. Its perfectly fabulous. And I can't stop thinking about it. I couldn't sleep last night cause i was decorating all the rooms in my head- arranging furniture, hanging pictures on the walls, painting.... I was busy :)

Anyway- I got to work and immediately hit up all my fav interior design sites.... I got a little hung up on wallpaper. Heres what i love at this moment:

How fun would it be to hang mini pics inside each of these frames? you could even color them in.... I am LOVING that idea.

So, I am discovering that i lean towards a nature theme or a 1960's acid trip! But this is just a start.

I have 15 or so picture frames and mirror frames of various sizes and would love to frame pieces of wallpaper- That way I'm not covering an entire wall that i will have to rip down when we move again- If ya frame it, ya take it with ya! I'm imagining a wall covered in frames, some filled with wallpaper, some empty... it would feel a little something like this:

I also have a vision of a baby's nursery (surprise surprise)- I'll paint the ceiling and walls just down to about 3 ft from the floor a nice pale blue or turquoise, then go green down to the floor. Then i find some funky patterned wallpaper and cut out a huge tree- smack that on the wall- cut out some birds out of a diff design to sit on the branches and fly in the sky- and maybe a few fun animals to walk around the room-- these are not going to be detailed cutouts, just sillhouettes really....I gotta find the paper and then i will do an inspiration board of the design to share with ya- Stay tuned!!!!

WHOA

I just spent about 30 minutes croping and retouching different images for my title pic. This is FUN. I could spend all day playing with pictures. I wish I had adobe photoshop on my work PC.....wait a minute-don't wanna pull a dooce....I mean, I wish I had more time to edit photos. I am SO BUSY at work, by the time I get home the last thing I wanna do is sit in front of a computer! (there, thats better)
Don't be surprised if my title pic changes over the coming weeks as i try new things- I will eventually settle on something.
Also, don't be surprised if I suddenly don't have a job anymore due to the fact that i spend every other minute editing photos or blogging or blogging about editing....

just who do i think i am?

taking pictures and retouching them like i'm some talented photographer. . . .
well- I think these are pretty good. what do you think?

Lets talk Design.

Since the name of my blog is "A. Fabulous Design" its about time i started talking about design- doncha think?

When i was home over Valentines weekend, I not only took 3 billion pictures of my fabulous niece, but also took a nice walk outside in my parent's yard and practiced using my new camera. I think i got some nice shots...

I have always been intrigued by extreme closeups. I love getting an inch away from a rain droplet hanging from a blade of grass- an "ants eye view" of the world.




I'm also amazed by the colors that appear in nature- this is a tree trunk- not sure what kind of tree- shoulda asked my Daddy! Anyway, I was stunned by how much color was on one tree trunk. I'm thinking these images would look great printed on stretched canvas -- Maybe in a boys bedroom? They have that "cammo" look to them.

They would also work in a mountain house or lodge-- 8x10 with a wide white mat-- hung very symmetrically, maybe in a horizontal line eye level around the room...think "modern cabin chic"- very Vern Yip from Trading Spaces!

Then I found some kind of scrubby weed that had arranged its little dew droplets in such perfectly straight lines- so impressive! I always think of nature as being wild and unruly- it surprises me when i come across this level of order among the seeming chaos. . .

These would also look nice in a cotttage or mountain house, but I may blow them up and hang them in my sunporch, among my indoor plants (this is, of course, an imaginary sunporch as i am still living in the dumb apartment- yes, I do design imaginary rooms in imaginary houses, its one of my favorite things to do)

Finally, I took some shots of my all time fav. flower- the daffodill!! I love these guys- they are the heralds of spring! They take risks-coming out when theres still a chill in the air to give us the good news: "hang in there guys- spring is almost here!"

I played around with a few effects- saturation and black and white focus mainly....

Hope you enjoyed your visit today!!

Happy Monday!

Sally is gonna be so embarrassed....

Look who I got to spend Valentine's weekend with! Of course my husband was there too- but lets focus on little Pound Cake for a minute. She is the definition of Fabulous. She will also probably hate me when she turns 12 and realizes that her Aunt blogged about bath time, but goodness gracious-- Have you ever seen anything so adorable? Sorry Sally, you are just too cute for words- I had to do it. You will do it to your baby one day, so just get over it!

This was the first time I drained all the water out and told Sally, "all done! Ready to get out?" She didn't budge. Apparently bath time was not over. I filled up the tub again.

This one looks JUST LIKE my sister- Sally's mama- when she was Sally's age.

I love this one. Please look at the My Little Pony in the background- she has had quite enough bathtime for one day.

Just Because

Just because its Wednesday and i don't really have anything to say- doesn't mean i should ignore my blog...right?.....so.....guess what i did today? Took my friend Hannah to get her jaw xrayed. My friend is so brave. They tried to numb her jaw first (which in itself is mega painful) then they injected dye into her jaw. . . she said she could feel the dye sweeping across her face. Then they took a quick pic of her jaw bone and she was done. But not so much. Cause she still can't open her mouth with out being in serious pain. And for a few hours the right side of her face was a little droopy.

While i was waiting for Hannah, I sat in a tiny room with your classic little old man: skinny arms and legs, a little hunched over, long scruffy face and white grey hair- only this little old man was wearing a grey tobogan. Yep- He had on old grey new balance sneakers, white socks pulled ALL the way up, a hospital gown that flapped open in the back and revealed his grey with maroon paisley boxer shorts and white undershirt, HUGE glasses, and a grey tobogan. And he had one of the hospital attendants bring him a blanket cause he was "chilled". What an adorable guy. I think he was there cause he was having digestion issues- He said something about strictures and a bleeding ulcer and then he fell asleep. Precious.

So that was my morning- oh- and i also worked the whole time. Thats the great/not at all great thing about Blackberrys...you are never more than a click away from your work. I can work from absolutely anywhere- and i have! The movie theater, the car, the shower.. you name it, I have emailed from it. Not gonna lie, I kind of hate that device.

Tonight I am going straight home to study for my precal test tomorrow... and probably going to bed super early again- I have been SO tired lately. Don't know if its stress or the time of year or what, but i could lay my head down anywhere and fall immediately to sleep. I need to get that checked out.

OK- thanks for stopping by- happy Wednesday!

Speaking of Books. . .

I just got a book shelf for my blog (look to the right, and down)- don't you want one too? Go to this website and make it happen for yourself.

ITS HERE!!!!

Look what i got today! To commemorate the closing of domino magazine, I bought myself this fabulous book (sorry honey, consider it my Valentines Day present :)

It is truly a must have for anyone who cares about decorating. Go out and buy one- oh, and ignore the special gift offer: one domino magazine subscription included with the purchase of this book. . . not so much.

This book is beautiful from cover to cover. Its a real shame that this publication had to fall victim to our crap economy. Lets all say a prayer for those who find themselves without a job due to this newest economic casualty. However.... i think we can also celebrate this time in our history as a moment to collectively step back, get our spending habits under control (as i ask you to go out and buy a book- HA!), and remember there are other definitions for the words value and worth-they don't have to be associated with dollar signs. Hmmmmm....this makes me think of another great thing i ran across this week- The Handmade Pledge!

Go to this website and you can pledge to buy more handmade/homeade items- this way we are all supporting each other while giving big-business-corporate-america a time out (they need to sit in the corner and think about what they have done). From that site you can link around to their blog and to many other fabulous sites devoted to hand crafted wares....

OK- thats all- enjoy your weekend my friends!

Amigurumi-- what?

So- I'm picking up the hook again. I haven't held a crochet hook in almost a whole year! Last winter i made the most amazing hat, but it took almost 2 weeks of straight crocheting. My hands fell off and i had tunnel vision for a month--i got seriously burned out. And then i moved to Alabama where people don't need warm winter hats with giant pom-poms on the top. . . what a waste. Sometimes i wear it anyway and pretend i'm in NYC.... and then my head starts sweating.
But I digress! I have decided to pick up the hook once more and start on some of the projects i've had brewing in my little brain. I'm starting with a sweet stuffed animal- a gift for a new baby girl. I can't decide which one to make though, so i grabbed some pics off the world wide interweb and thought i would share them with the two people who read my blog in hopes we can come to a decision....

This one i've made before- for Baby Fabulous (aka Sally Beck)- and yes, it turned out pretty darn fabulous.

This one is called "Mr. Funky Bunny in a Dress"-- thats right, MR. Funky Bunny. I could not resist.

cuteness overload.

Again, so effing cute.

All these pics come with free patterns- just click on the links and you'll find em-- You can also do a search for "Amigurumi"- thats a japanese word for the art of knitting or crocheting little stuffed animals or inanimate objects with anthropomorphic features (thank you Wikipedia)
All Amigurumi are insanely adorable, and some of the non-animals are the cutest- i have seen cupcakes, coffee cups, even a cactus wearing a hair bow that was so precious i almost melted. seriously. So- help me decide what to make for this new little baby i know, and enjoy your new japanese word.

dog for a weekend, home for life?

This weekend we got to babysit the worlds cutest doggie-- Sputnik! (no, i don't have any pics....why didn't i take any pics of her? I am such a dummy!) We took so many walks my booty is sore (thanks Sputnik! no seriously, thank you. I don't cringe so much when i catch sight of my back side in the mirror) We had a blast walking all over the neighborhood, sniffing stuff, peeing on stuff, chasing squirrels. I almost want to get a Dog now... but i promised Clarke that when we adopted Hampton (our youngest fuzzy- the winner of the fuzzy fight a few blogs back) she would be the last animal for awhile.
Anyhoo- Clarke and i also drove around town this weekend looking for a new house- It felt so "marital". Husband and wife taking a sunday drive through neighborhoods, commenting on houses, well manicured yards, children riding bikes and dogs chasing cats. .. so Norman Rockwellian! It was nice. Its one of the reasons i moved back to the south. Say what you will about the american dream- the house with the white picket fence, the patch of grass, the dog, cat, and 2.5 children- but theres something to it. What draws me to this ideal is the promise of family, friendship and togetherness. I remember growing up in my old neighborhood; We had friends all over the hood. We had block parties, slumber parties, swimming parties, and birthday parties. Every night during the summer all the kids would meet at "the circle" (a central grassy spot in our neighborhood) and go for bike rides or roller skate. The adults would gather in someone's yard and chat about the week, drink sweet tea or somethin stronger, and play nurse or referee to us kids- whatever was required. Everyone knew to drive slow cause you never knew whose children would be drawing with sidewalk chalk in the street. My family's old dog, Belle, always slept in the middle of the road- towards the end of her life she became blind and deaf, and all our neighbors knew to look out for Belle when they drove by our house. Thats true friendship. Thats what makes life beautiful. Thats what i am looking for.
So- this weekend i played with a dog, and dreamed of my future. . . . This was a fabulous weekend!