Jonathan Adler giraffes

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

My cousin Amy just sent me a link to these Jonathan Adler giraffe sconces at Macy’s (left and right, respectively):

At first glance I thought they were table lamps, but the fact that they’re sconces makes them cooler. Why aren’t there more sconces in the world? Was that a 70′s thing? All the more reason to bring them back!! If I was planning a nursery and had a $500 lighting budget, I’d slap these two puppies (calves?) up on the wall and call it a day. But since I’m not and I don’t, I’ll probably just be putting this adorable little ornament on my Christmas list instead:

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Updates!

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

I’ve been trying to shake things up a bit here on the blog (ok, really it’s more like a few nudges…).

  • I really didn’t like the background I had going on, so after a few days of playing around with other things that didn’t work, I settled on a plain white background. This was hard for me. Anyone who has been to my house can tell you that the only white walls in the place are in the closets (excellent advice to anyone building a new house: paint the insides of your closets white so you will never have to repaint them to match your walls). I made peace with it after determining that I already put enough color everywhere else.
  • I made my header smaller so the focus could be more on content and less on my name. (Hi, I’m Jill, but let’s move on with it, ok? No big whoop.)
  • I’m on Facebook now (as an “artist”)!! Thanks to everyone who already “likes” me! So happy to have you! Up until this point I had been posting links from my blog to my personal account, but now I will only be posting blog posts to my artist page. This helps me feel less like I am trying to cram anything down anyone’s throat.
  • I’m also on Twitter! I had created an account awhile ago but didn’t start using it until I got my new iphone. It’s a new obsession.
  • I have my own little Amazon store! Anytime I talk about a new product that I love or want that you can find on Amazon, I will add it to my little store. I supposedly will receive a tiny little cut if anyone purchases anything from my link. I’m not holding my breath… I didn’t sign up thinking I’d make any money from it. I just think it’s cool to have another little shop, kind of like when I was a kid and used to play “pretend” store. (I played a lot of “pretend” stuff when I was little; please tell me I’m not the only one…!)
  • The links to Facebook, Twitter, and my Amazon store are on my header menu, along with my Pinterest account (seriously, if you are not already on Pinterest, you should be!!!).
  • I put a much-needed new picture of myself on the about page. It was taken during our second “photo shoot“. Thanks again, Jami!

That just about covers it. There’s a million more things I’d like to change/update/add/try/fix, but there are only so many hours in the day. It can’t keep me from trying, though! ;)

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New prints

Posted on October 21, 2011 by

I was passing out my “scratch and dent” prints to friends and family recently, and my friend Kelly chose my blue deco-y print.

Soon after that, she texted me saying that she had framed the print, and it needed a buddy to hang beside it. She wanted something similar but different. I’m always nervous when people request things, so I gave her two options to choose from:

She ended up choosing the one on the left. Which do you like better?

PS. Don’t forget I offer a three print special in my etsy shop. The new ones are available here and here.

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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Posted on October 20, 2011 by

You’re welcome. ;)

 

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Mamoru Yamamoto

Posted on October 19, 2011 by

I saw this adorable vintage fabric on the Jane Foster Blog today…

… and it reminded me of some illustrations by Mamoru Yamamoto that I saw on Image Zoo:

Aren’t they great? It makes me want to be a kid again and live in a world that looks like that. :)

PS. I’ve got some stuff in the Zoo too!

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Big kid in a toy store

Posted on October 18, 2011 by

On Jane’s birthday, we hit up Toys ‘R’ Us after the zoo so she could “pick out” a toy (with some guidance, of course). We wondered up and down every aisle to scope the place out before committing to a Sesame Street toy (of course). I think I probably had just as much fun as she did. At this age she’s still not fully aware of what’s available to her, so I get to pick out what I think she (I) would like. When’s the last time you walked through a full-on toy store? There’s some cool $h*t out these days!

But seriously, if buying toys for yourself as an adult wasn’t frivolous and ridiculous, I’d have come home with this little lady:

I didn’t even know these existed!! How groovy is that yellow outfit? And that awesome illustration of Ms. Barbie in the bottom left corner? If you look closely at the bottom of the photo, you can see that they also have more Barbies in this series from 1977 and 1986. What? Hello! I was born in ’77!!! They didn’t have either of these in stock, so I found them on Amazon. Here she is in all of her mid 70′s glory:

Yeah, I’d never heard of SuperStar Barbie either, but who cares. It’s 1977! And look at that Barbie logo!! It gives me childhood flashbacks. But if you want to talk flashbacks, check out Miss 1986:

It’s Barbie of Barbie and the Rockers fame! I totally had her and the red-headed one (Diva, perhaps?). Does anyone remember the song from the tape that came with the doll – “Born with a Mike in her Hands”? Ok, now I’m just embarrassing myself. On to the next toy I could have brought home…

What is this???!!! I want to live there!!! Oh my word. I just searched for Playmobil on Amazon. It’s a rabbit hole I might never climb out of. We (I) have already committed to Plan Toys, so this just can’t happen in good conscience. Ok, but if Jane discovers this on her own when she gets older, I will have no other choice than to support her. ;)

(I know I said I wasn’t going to spend any time “researching” dollhouse furniture that we [I] don’t need, but these two jumped out at me:

A cafeteria set!!

An RV!!!)

Man, having a little girl is fun!!!

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Anniversary party invite

Posted on October 17, 2011 by

I almost forgot about this one. My cousins hosted a surprise anniversary party for my aunt and uncle last month. I didn’t want to share it too soon in case Aunt “Sasha” visited my blog, but then the party came and went and it slipped my mind. It’s now available in my etsy shop.

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Random video clips

Posted on October 14, 2011 by

Remember that awesome clip they played on Sesame Street back in day that showed how they made crayons? Well here it is (via Jenn Ski):

Speaking of Sesame Street, here’s the trailer for the upcoming Elmo documentary, Being Elmo (via Cup of Jo):

The Red Velvet girls have released another cute lookbook video:

And on a more serious note, Chipotle has released a video about natural farming that has a great message, awesome animation, and a song by Willie Nelson (found via 2modern blog):

Enjoy!

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iPhone

Posted on October 13, 2011 by

Yep, I’m getting me an iPhone. I was just notified that it’s on its way. I’m pretty excited about Instagram, and I plan on being on Twitter more often (Hi, I’m on Twitter now. Come follow me!). But what I’m really excited about is picking out a new case. Here are the contenders:

Scales by Jonathan Adler

Live Colorfully by Kate Spade

Uncommon Flowers from the Apple Store

Cross-stitch case from Leese Design (found on Whorange)

Or do you think I need more of a carrying case? I’ve never had a touch-screen phone, so I’m a little nervous about cracking it. What do you think about these two?

Patent leather case from Walmart

Faux crocodile case from Amazon

Which one do you think I should get?

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Landscaping update

Posted on October 12, 2011 by

Well, we have shrubs, but they don’t look so great.

The two sad ones and the less sad one on the far left are Golden Vicary, and the ones in between are Arbor Vitae. We’re pretty sure they’re sad because we didn’t keep them watered well enough before we put them in the ground. Dad says they’re not dead yet because he scraped back some of the bark on one of the branches, and it’s still green. Hopefully they’ll make it through the winter.

You probably can’t tell, but the yard has also been seeded. Dad borrowed a slit seeder from a co-worker, and the use of one didn’t require us to till the ground or lay straw. Hopefully by spring our curb appeal will have increased!! (Here’s the before and during pictures if you can’t remember how bad it looked.)

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A fun time was had

Posted on October 11, 2011 by

Chris and I both took the day off from work for Jane’s birthday last Wednesday. We took her to the Louisville Zoo, did a little shopping, and then ended the day at Mom’s for a cookout. We both took the day off for her birthday last year, but very little fun was had. As we were headed to the Children’s Museum in Indy, we ran over a ladder on the interstate. We spent most of the day getting the car fixed, but luckily no one was hurt! This year was much better. Here’s a quick and dirty of our recent festivities.

The birthday day started off with a big a$$ Elmo balloon:

And the “2″ shirt Mommy made for her (here’s last year’s), on which she immediately dripped M&M drool (thank God for Stain Stick) :

Then we had cupcakes for breakfast (made with love by Daddy):

And finally made our way to the zoo:

Where Jane made friends with a lizard thing:

After that, we saw stuff:

And then some more stuff:

And, wouldn’t you know, we ran into Elmo again!

Then on Saturday, we had her birthday party with the whole family:

Where Mommy made her pose for a senior picture by a tree in her now stain-free birthday shirt:

And the rest is just a blur of pizza, cake, presents, kids, and wine. ;) What a wonderful birthday it was!!

Love you so much, Janey-Me. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!!

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More versions of the HomeGoods chair

Posted on October 10, 2011 by

Remember when I saw this chair at HomeGoods over the summer?

I’ve now seen four other chairs since then that are very similar, like this PB teen one that I found on Effortless Style:

And these two that I saw on ModFruGal (from Anthropologie [left] and ConranUSA [right] that don’t appear to be available any longer):

And then this one that I don’t remember how I found:

Do weird things like this ever happen to you? You see something you’ve never seen before, and then all of a sudden, it’s everywhere? What do you think it means? Is the universe trying to tell me something? I probably should have bought that chair and strapped it on top of the Honda…

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Happy 6th, babe!

Posted on October 8, 2011 by

I plan on loving you for many more years to come!

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Jane is 2!

Posted on October 5, 2011 by

We love you, baby girl! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!! We wish you many more wonderful birthdays! :)

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Much better

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

The planets must have been perfectly aligned. The weather was good, Jane’s mood was good enough, and we got at least one good shot of every pose I wanted. Good job, Team Browning. Mommy be so proud!

PS. We left the camera on “auto” setting this time (my sister-in-law Jami helped us out again). I checked out a photography book from the library. I’m determined to figure this crap out.

PPS. I used Picnik to edit the photo (Thanks for the suggestion, Sabra!).

PPPS. I cut my bangs at 10 pm last Sunday after seeing how crappy my hair looked in last week’s photos. Does anyone else do stupid stuff like that? I’m in a hair funk…

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Wall art

Posted on October 3, 2011 by

Isn’t this a cute wall?

You wanna know how you could recreate it? With prints from my etsy shop!!! Need help visualizing it? Here you go!!

Just sayin’…!!

(Found on Pinterest from Cristina Rivera via Arren Willams)

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Adventures in photography hell

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

I’ve mentioned more than once that I’m not terribly fond of photography. It’s right up there with Photoshop. I’d probably like them both better if I had proper training. Maybe someday, but for now, I’m self-taught…

I decided this year for Jane’s birthday/our family/our anniversary pictures, I would take them myself (I know, red flag #1). Last year we went to Picture People in the Greenwood Mall, but that location has since closed. I don’t want to pay good photographer prices, but I want better quality than the Walmart photo studio (nothing against WM; we have had a few anniversary photos taken there in the past). I don’t need a ton of good shots, just a couple good ones of Jane, one of our family, and one of me and Chris (and maybe one of just me to replace the crappy one on this website). So what do you do when you can’t find what you’re looking for? You (at least attempt to) DIY.

So we borrowed a camera from Chris’ very generous co-worker Keith. It’s a Nikon something-or-other with, like, four lenses. He brought it home last week, and I had planned our “photo shoot” for this past weekend. The evening he brought it home, we had been grilling out at Mom’s, so I messed around with it so see what I was getting myself into. Here are a couple that I took (with the help of some Photoshop Express):

Not too bad (good enough). If our family photos turn out this good, I’d be pleasantly surprised. At this point I’m thinking, eh, we can pull this off. I could not have been more wrong…

When we woke up Saturday morning (“photo shoot” day), it was overcast (one thing I do know about photography is that you need as much natural light as you can get), and Chris was having some mean allergy issues. But I was still determined that Team Browning could do this thing. Then Jane started whining around because it was nap time (duh, red flag #47, but I thought I push her nap back since we had slept in). And THEN when we headed up to my brother and sister-in-law’s house to take pictures (they live on the hill behind us and have better landscape-y views), it started to sprinkle (red flag #62). But wait! They have a front porch! We can still do this!!

Nope. Here’s the best of the crap we ended up with:

Fail. Big time. I even threw a Hail Mary at the shot above and tried to edit it into something salvageable:

Again, no dice.

Oh well. We tried. Luckily Keith is letting us borrow the camera for another week, so please cross your fingers that our second attempt goes better this weekend…

PS. I’ll take any free advice anyone wants to offer on how the heck to use an SLR. I’m most certainly still at the “push buttons and turn knobs and see what happens” stage.

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Guess what I’ve been working on…!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by

I’m going to try really hard to get it done sooner than last year’s. (Click here to see my desk calendars from the past two years)

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Nirvana

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

Wow. As of Saturday, this album was 20 years old. How is that possible? Am I really no longer in high school? Ok, technically I was in 8th grade when this album came out, but it wasn’t until high school (specifically, after Kurt offed himself) that I really started to consume Nirvana. But for me, it was more than just the music. After I read this book, I started to see life in a different way.

The world got a whole lot bigger. It was proof that there were others who felt like a misfit. I also watched this video over and over again.

And Dave Grohl. I still love Dave Grohl, even though I’m not a huge fan of the Foo Fighters. Is there anyone cooler than him?

So what about you? Were you in any way influenced by Nirvana? Have you too had a decades-long crush on Dave Grohl?

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Muppets

Posted on September 23, 2011 by

Is anyone excited about the new Muppet movie coming out Thanksgiving weekend?

I thought I was until I read this article; now I’m not so sure. It definitely got me thinking about my position on the Muppets (deep stuff, I know). Maybe I’m just excited in a nostalgic kind of way. I’m probably more excited about Jason Segel than anything. I love the Muppets, but will they still be funny to my 33-year-old self? I still watch the older Muppet movies from time to time, but I think what I like about them is that it takes me back to when I was watching them for the first time as a kid. Does that make sense?

Regardless, I’m really excited about are these posters by Michael De Pippo:

Aren’t they amazing? And what are your thoughts on the movie or the Muppets in general?

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