Well...

...Friday turned out to be a teacher planning day which spelled out no school for the Bug, lucky boy.  So determined to keep our kids from watching TV all day, the fearless GeorgAnna and I took a total of six kids to the Oatland Island Wildlife Center to run around and dodge mosquitos for a few hours.  Later, heady from our adventure and refueled with PB & Js, GeorgAnna and her infallible husband Andy offered to watch our kids so that Dillon and I could go on a...wait for it...DATE!  What?!  It's not everyday somebody offers to watch one's high energy four-year-old and never-been-babysat set of infant twins, let alone somebody you love and trust, so Dillon and I jumped at the opportunity.  We were positively giddy through dinner, and by all reports, our kids did us proud.  Thank you GeorgAnna and Andy!


In other news, Baby Girl is famous!  One of Dillon's students, the amazing An Le, shot a fashion editorial for The South magazine last month and used our sweet Baby Girl as, well, a prop.  But a really cute prop!  Look:

The April/May issue of The South magazine is on newsstands and online now.  Have a lovely weekend...see you on Monday!

Laying Low

Wow, did we ever have a long night last night--synchronized sleeping is just not in my twins' skill set at the moment.  Sigh...Oh, well.  In any event, we're laying low this morning and watching a little reality TV--the Decorah Eagles web cam.  Have you seen it?  I gotta say, it's actually quite riveting!  


I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully a bit more rested and clear headed with some pics of our latest lighting designs...See you then! 

Daily Reads

As I mentioned in my first post, I've been an avid blog reader for years.  The first blog I ever came across was Superhero Journal way back in 2003 or so.  (I'm so glad I took a moment just now to remember my first blog encounter, because I haven't visited Superhero Journal in ages--it's so good!)  Anyway, I used to have a long list of daily reads, but with the birth of each child, that list has grown shorter and shorter.  Still, I manage to visit my favorites just about every day.  They are (in no particular order):


Aesthetic Outburst 
Design Sponge
Wee Wonderfuls
Posie Gets Cozy
Soule Mama
Apartment Therapy Family


There are others I read often, of course, but the above are my must-reads.  What are your must-reads?

Almost Finished...

are our sconces!  They feature wood lath from our recent dumpster dive, leafy green and shiny chrome hardware, and gorgeous Marconi filament bulbs.  Our cloth covered twisted cord and plugs should be arriving in the mail any day now, and then these'll be good to go!

We have several other designs nearing completion, but man, are light fixtures difficult to photograph...good thing I've got Dillon, the Master Photographer, at my disposal.  I was going to have him snap a few photos last night, but on the spur of the moment, we picked up the Bug from school and headed to the beach.  The beach on a school night?  Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!

This Weekend...

...we had a lot of fun doing the Bug's first ever book report on Peter Brown's The Curious Garden.  Have you read it?  It's a sweet story about a little boy who makes the world a more beautiful place by turning others on to the joy of gardening.  Inspired by the book, we painted lots of little pots and planted them with flowers to give to his classmates at school.  As you can see, we had a pretty good time:

Tomorrow I'll have a few pics of some lights we worked on this weekend--we're super excited about them!

Breathe

So, today is the last day of Dillon's spring break, and we're not quite as far along with our lights as we were hoping to be by this point, but whatever...with Savannah charting record pollen counts this month and everyone around here descending into slimy, congested puddles, I think we did pretty well under the circumstances.  Hopefully, we'll have our Etsy shop up and running in the next two weeks or so.  Until then, we took today to regroup a little.  Isn't that a sweet little green print up above?  It's by Nikki McClure, a favorite around here, and we've had it for ages.  I always feel a bit calmer after looking at it.  Things are already looking up--it's only 4pm and I have dinner taken care of.  Look:

Yum!  Here's to a productive weekend!

Progress...

We've had some great progress in the studio this week!  We're pretty happy with how our first chandelier turned out...it's made from vintage woolen mill spindles my folks bought from the Pendleton mill in Oregon way back in the 80's and a vintage cheese box.  Check it out:

And, here are some boxes Dillon finished yesterday that will soon be used in our sconces.  Notice the wood lath!

Lastly, gotta show you our sweet Baby Boy...he's pretty pumped about it all, too!

Score!

Yikes, we had a bit of a sick day around here yesterday, and I spent most of it on the couch cuddling one congested baby or another.  Thankfully, everyone is feeling much better now, so I'm back!  Anyhow, like most crafty types, I am not above dumpster diving.  Indeed, the sight of a full construction dumpster in particular fills my heart with hope and anticipation.  I was already on the lookout for old wood lath to use as a central element in our new lighting designs, but then a few weeks ago, I spotted this on one of my favorite blogs, Aesthetic Outburst (via Design*Sponge):

It's from the Philadelphia home of Tara Mangini and Percy Bright (aka Jersey Ice Cream Company) where they saved all the wood lath from the plaster walls they removed during renovations and applied it to one bedroom wall--stunning!  This sent my wood lath obsession into overdrive, I can tell you.  Fast forward to last Friday when I spotted a construction dumpster in our neighborhood with a telltale plaster dust cloud rising above it.  I sent Dillon to investigate as I had a car full of fussy children, and score!  All the wood lath we could carry!  We've got some sconces that incorporate wood lath in the works, and of course, now I want to cover a wall (or ceiling!) in the stuff.  Here's a pic of our supply.  Stay tuned...

The Big Deal, Part 2

Wow, that really was a Big Deal--according the newspaper, over 15,000 people marched in Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Parade, and over one million people lined the streets and squares to watch it.  That's even more impressive when you realize the population of Savannah is only around 130,000!  What I wanna know is where did all those people stay?  Hmmm...

Anyway, here are a few photos to share:

Dillon and I also got quite a bit accomplished in the studio, too.  More on that later this week...

The Big Deal

Have I mentioned I live in Savannah, Georgia?  Well, this Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, and here in Savannah, St. Patrick's Day is a big deal.  Did I say big deal?  I meant, Big Deal.  So, finally, after living here for over four years, we are finally going to attend the biggest deal of the Big Deal, the Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade.  I'm so excited!  Maybe I'll whip up some of these for the occasion.  In any event, I'm sure I'll have some fun photos to share on Monday.  Until then, though, may the luck of the Irish lead you to the happiest heights, may the highway you travel be lined with green lights, wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you!

Around the House

The morning light was just so lovely in the Bug's room today, I snapped these pics to share with you.  Hope you spot some loveliness in your day, too!

Works in Progress

Today is Day One of Dillon's long-awaited spring break--hooray!  We awoke early this morning which is nothing new, of course, as we have three young kiddies.  It did, however, allow us to get to work on our lights right away--can I hear a whoop whoop!
Here's the jig Dillon made for cutting circles.  Isn't it beautiful all by itself?

Here's the first circular disk that'll be a central element in one of our chandeliers:

Can you see my reflection in the bulb?

Here's to a fruitful day!  Speaking of fruitful, have you seen this?  Yeah, man!  See you tomorrow...

Woke Up Laughing

My sweet Baby Girl was all grins and giggles from the moment she opened her eyes this morning reminding me of this song Dillon put on a mix tape for me ages ago.  What an awesome way to start the day!

I hope your day started out in a similarly happy vein.  I'll have some more work-in-progress pics of our lights tomorrow, fingers crossed...

Peek Show

Happy Monday, y'all!  I've got one kiddo off to school and two slumbering in the next room to a Pandora lullaby mix.  Happy Monday, indeed!  Dillon and I had a rather fruitful weekend, design-wise.  Wanna peek at what we've been up to in the studio?  Oh, alright, you don't have to ask twice...check it out:

Dillon's spring break begins in precisely 29 hours, and then it is on!  We've ordered the remaining parts to finish a total of 15 lights.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!  Stay tuned...

The Canine Contingent

Our little family wouldn't be complete (or quite as smelly) without Jasper and Kerouac, the canine contingent.  We found Kerouac "on the road," as it were, over eleven (!) years ago dodging traffic on I-10 just outside of Defuniak Springs, Florida.  It took about 45 minutes to catch her, but in the end, we lured her into our car with provolone cheese and potato chips.  We attempted to find her owner, but to no avail, and thank god, because we fell in love with her right away.  Kerouac's getting up there in years and she's as deaf as a doornail (whatever that means), but she still retains her status as alpha dog and spends much of the day surveying her domain.

Jasper came to us as a stray puppy almost nine years ago.  We tried for weeks to find him a home without any luck.  Finally, Dillon reluctantly agreed to let me keep him, a decision he has regretted on many occasions, not the least of which was when Jasper proceeded to eat a large portion of drywall, ahem, in our back room.  Thankfully, he's calmed down a lot since then--they both have!  Jasper's big and lovable and spends most of his time trying to lick a baby.  He's succeeded quite often in this endeavor which I believe is why my children have such hearty immune systems.


In other news, our little line of home lighting is coming along quite nicely...I'll have a sneak peek for you on Monday.  Until then, happy weekend!

The Twins!

On March 3, 2011, our lives changed forever when my husband Dillon and I found out, to quote the sonographer, "It's twins, y'all!"  Dillon belly laughed for several whole minutes.  Many months of waddling (on my part) followed, and finally, on the first mild day in September, my beautiful twins emerged silent (Baby Boy) and screaming (Baby Girl) into the world.

Growing from a family of three to a family of five seemingly overnight was a bit of a shock.  It's been complete and utter chaos since their arrival, but no matter--it's been a lot of fun, too.  They've been with us a shade over five months now, and their individual personalities are becoming more and more apparent each day.  Baby Boy is wide-eyed and curious, while Baby Girl is lively and talks as much as I do (a lot).  I'm not gonna lie, I truly wish they'd sleep a little bit more at night (and at the same time, for Pete's sake!), but they bring such joy into this house that I'm willing to wholeheartedly forgive the lack of sleep. They light up like fireflies whenever their big brother comes around, and The Bug absolutely adores them.  We all do.

The Bug

Today, allow me to introduce my oldest son.  He's heart-wrenchingly sweet and infuriatingly hot-tempered.  He's curious, smart, and unbelievably observant.  He's affectionate and stand-offish, outgoing and shy, loud and quiet.  He's got a photographic memory, and boy, you should see this kid dance!  He's got a given name, of course, but around here he's known as The Bug.

The Bug likes:  anything with wheels/wings/propellers, granola bars, snuggling during story time, helping Daddy in the garage, spend-time-together days (aka weekends), and Bob Marley.  The Bug dislikes:  authority, any kind of fruit or vegetable, and waking up in the morning (he claims to be nocturnal).

Being his mother has been and continues to be the most bewildering yet amazing thing that has ever happened to me.  I love him so!