The Money Pit: Water is not a Homeowner's Best Friend

A few months ago we started smelling a musty aroma coming from the fireplace area.  Thinking it was just the old chimney that needed a good scrubbing of course we ignored it.  One day I went to clean off the mantle and noticed that one of my Hammerpress prints had some waves in it, you know the kind that paper gets when it gets wet and dries.  I went to pull the print down from the mantle and a 6 inch long piece of paint from the wall came along with it.  Much to our dismay there was water coming in from somewhere, the source of which we still haven't exactly uncovered.  So my lovely mantle that I worked so hard on went from looking like this...

to this...

I had tried to decide to repaint the 6 inch rip, as we were having a lot of friends over last weekend for a party.  However instead I ended up ripping a gigantic portion of peeling paint off.  Don't ask me what happened, I think I blacked out.  So what to do?  I came up with a temporary solution..

I stapled up some vintage fabric.  This way until we discover where the damage is coming from we can hide the peeling paint, and also the fabric is washable and of course easily removable.  Wah lah!

love, em

My First Apple Pie

A few weeks ago Matt's aunt called us up and said that they had a surplus of apples from the tree in their backyard.  They were organic, and sweet, so what better to do with them than make an apple pie?  It was my  very first attempt, and although I'm not a lover of any desserts in the "baked fruit" category, it tasted delicious and the crust was just the right amount of flakey and golden brown.

Apron on, ready to go...

Organic apples, almost too lovely to use...

pie crust rolled out and decorated...

Finished product (and no it's not burned, I just got a little patchy with the cinnamon).

What's your favorite autumn dessert?

love, em

For the Love of Flowers: Steph and Sam

White is a fairly common color that I get requests for as far as flowers go, for obvious reasons.  However Steph and Sam's wedding whites were anything but typical, and I had such a lovely time working on their flowers.  With total artistic license and some great suggestions by Steph's MOH we created textural arrangements in hues of white and green.  It was also my first time making wreaths, and definitely won't be my last (they were my favorite part!)

flowers in their buckets, waiting to get to work.

Milkglass arrangements with white roses, dahlias, hydrangeas, scented geranium, and rosemary.

Congratulations to Steph and Sam, and thanks for letting me be part of your day!

love, em

Happy Birthday Sam!

I just wanted to take a moment today to wish my little brother (well not so little, he's 22 and a whole lot taller than me) a happy birthday.  The closest in age to me, I was so excited to have a sibling.  I can say that although we had many play sessions with Hot Wheels and Legos, I also dressed him up in tutus and hair bows more than one time.  However no worse for wear, I'm so proud of him and all he's accomplished.

Happy Birthday Sam!

love, em

For the Love of Flowers: Ellen and Brian's video

Watching Ellen and Brian's wedding video was a great way to start the day.  As some of my dear readers may or may not know I am an amateur video editor (very, very amateur), and I can't help but love some well edited videos.  I really enjoyed getting to take a look back at their wedding, which besides being beautiful, was so much fun to attend.  Poor Ellen had a cold that day, but she was such a lovely bride.  I think Parigo Studios did an great job of capturing the feel of the day, and of course I love all the flower shots.    

Ellen + Brian: Married from P A R I G O S T U D I O S on Vimeo.

 

 

Fall is in the Air

This time of year is no doubt my favorite. Not just because the weather is perfection, but also because of the beautiful colors that are everywhere.

I've been inspired lately to create some new fall jewelry including lots of rings in tones of red, burgundy, orange, and brown, as well as some teal and even a little leopard print. Say what?

Love, em

Lovely leaves in my backyard.

Nerd Alert: iPhone 4 Customizable Cases

It's no secret, I'm in love with my iPhone.  Well maybe not in love, but it is my favorite piece of technology that I've ever owned.  So you can imagine my glee at discovering the wealth of delicious cases available from uncommon.  Not only can you upload whatever design you like to be made into a customizable case, but they have an awesome group of artists work to choose from.  

Check out these creations from Jill Bliss, one of my faves:

(this one matches my journal)

Or holy cute, these designs by Allison Cole:

 

or this pixelated floral number from Scott Wilson, which would go quite nicely with my "Pixelated Nightmare" dress:

Ahh, so many choices my head might explode!  Find these and many more designs at getuncommon.com. (and a shout out to my friend Jeanee who led me to this sight).

love, em

Happy Birthday Tara!

Although I'm not sure that she reads this blog at all, I'd just like to take a moment and wish my littlest sister Tara a very happy birthday.  The youngest in our family, there's 17 years difference between me and her.  She's grown up so much, and has become an intelligent, and lovely young lady, with a sharp sense of humor and an unmatched love for Harry Potter.  

One of my favorite photos of all time.

Happy Birthday Tara!

love, em

Now for Sale from emmy-ray: Vintage Dishes

I have finally gotten around to putting some of the pieces from my vintage dishware collection on Etsy.  Even though I love them all, it's really time for us to part ways since I have way to many and they don't get used as they should.  Check them out in my shop, I'll be adding more as the weeks go on.

Cute stacking mugs

Little Birdie Drinking Glasses

And I also have been adding a few Origami Rings each day.

Happy Shopping!

love, em

The Money Pit: Homemade Rug

I'm back at it again, re-arranging and decorating, which is one of my favorite things after all.  I decided after we inherited my grandparents dining room table, that I no longer wanted another table in our breakfast nook.  It seemed a little redundant to me for our current lifestyle, that is considering that we never used either table for anything other than storage space for our junk.  

I moved my vintage sectional into the spot, which creates a cozy sitting space.  My next big project is to make a slipcover for it that will help it match the kitchen a little better, probably in a red and white pattern.  However the space felt a little empty.  What was missing?  A rug.  After hours of scouring the internet and finding that what I wanted was going to cost me an arm and a leg I decided to go ahead and make my own using a heavy canvas fabric and fringe I found online.  

I bought a drop cloth at the hardware store to back it with and to give it a little more weight.

The final results (picture red and white patterned couches).

I think Ollie approves.

love, em

"Style Spice" from the Concrete Catwalk

Happy Monday loves.  I was catching up on my google reader (what's new, I always fall behind) when I came across my sweet friend Jessie at the Concrete Catwalks newest venture.  She's started a webisode series called "Style Spice", where she offers all kinds of little tips and tricks to help spice up your wardrobe.  Check it out and you can also become a subscriber to her You Tube channel:

 

Good luck on your new venture Jessie, I can't wait to see more!

love, em

Your City: Oddly Correct Coffee

Good morning lovelies, it's been a long time since I've done a "Your City" post.  I woke up this morning and was seeking inspiration for blogging while enjoying a delicious cup of coffee, and then it hit me: I should do a post about Oddly Correct Coffee, duh!  I met Greg, the owner of this "nano-roasterie" at the very first Ric Rac Round-up last year.  He offered me a sample of his coffee, and probably to his horror, I turned it down as I wasn't much of a coffee drinker at the time. Times have changed and I recently purchased a bag of Oddly Corrects delicious "Tanzanian Peaberry" roast at The Filling Station.  

Plus not only does the team at Oddly Correct made up of Greg, his wife, and their adorable daughter, roast delicious coffee, Greg is also a printmaker, hand printing most of their lovely, and eco-friendly packaging.  If you are a coffee lover I highly suggest you check them out.  Their distribution is growing as they now sell at Hammerpress and The Filling Station, and they also offer home delivery (to the midtown area, see their website and blog for details).

Cheers to you Oddly Correct for making delicious coffee for Kansas City to enjoy!   

love, em