Hung Jury

I am not normally a fan of puns.  But they seem to be flowing here these days.  Yikes.  I could not stop myself from typing that title up there, as the jury is still out on whether the hanging planters I've recently made will stay or go.  Here's the deal.

I stopped dead in my tracks one day while walking past Gold + Arrow, a hair salon in Downtown Portland that has a gorgeous interior.  Filling up the window of the salon were a bunch of amazing macrame hanging planters filled with beautiful succulents (which you will have some trouble seeing in the photos below, thanks to glare).  I e-mailed Gretchen, the sweet salon owner, who told me that she bought the macrame pieces on etsy and filled them with pots from shops here in town.  I immediately began searching etsy and found myself overwhelmed.  There are lots of great plant hangers on the site, but too many options make me freeze.

After a bit of thawing, I realized that I could start by making some hangers myself.  I happen to have a bunch of leather lace on hand from a collection of leather necklaces I'd worked on last year, and I decided to have a go at making a few hangers using the leather instead of twine.  I used this beginner tutorial (if you decide to use it, pay attention to the comments below the video about measurement) and made a few hangers that are currently nestled in our window bay now.  They're extremely simple and not at all like the ones that blew me away at Gold + Arrow, but I think I'm okay with them for now.  I'll probably do a little more reading and work on more complicated patterns, and maybe add some embellishments (wooden beads? colorful twists of embroidery floss?) to the ones here.  I may also switch out the pots that I've got hanging in them... maybe that hold plants that are a little more dense and a little less spindly.  Lord knows we've got plenty of potted plants to choose from around here.

I Made Temporary Peace with a Fussy Corner

The space that we lamely refer to as the "listening area" of our apartment always feels a little off to me.  I'd love to have a big old womb chair to stick in the corner so that one of us could cuddle up in it when we're listening to albums.  But we don't have one of those big old womb chairs.  And if we did we'd probably have to fight over who'd get to sit in it.  The funky, paint-covered wooden chair up there (that we are really fond of, don't get me wrong) just can't provide the cuddly comfort of a womb chair.  And it was looking a little silly sitting there on its own.  Without a comfy chair to hang out in, no one's really spending much time in that corner.  We go over there to put a record on and then go hang out in another space.  I figured that if we're not getting something ridiculously cozy like a womb chair, seating that looks intentionally "quick" is the way to go.  It turns out a little stool we've had for years is a good fit there.  It provides a place to sit and look at an album's cover art or to read liner notes for a few minutes, and then get to moving on.  It's a great scale for that corner.  And the stool spins around.  Like a record, baby, right round.  Sorry.

We Bit The Bullet

After almost a year of stopping by Lowell to visit a rug that we both adored, Barry and I finally made the decision to take it home with us.  It may end up hanging above our bed some day, but for now it's doing a beautiful job of lying on the floor.  (I consulted at least three websites to figure out if the rug was laying or lying on the floor.  That's one grammar rule I cannot commit to memory.)

It Hangs

We finally decided on a spot to hang the painting

by Christopher Bibby that we picked up back in October.

  

The Forty-Five Degree Angle is Back

Last week, Barry had to go out of town for work.  It's pretty much a given at our place that while he's away on work trips, I rearrange the furniture.  Between his work travel and my cold weather-induced nestiness (not to be confused with nastiness - it's anything but nasty), apartment rearrangement was really unavoidable.  I decided it was time for a return to the angled living area set-up that we've had once before.  Don't worry, Dad.  I kept lots of those right angles in tact.  I provide the first photo as evidence.

  

That faux-kati* in the second photo from the top and in the photo below - the one on the wire chair, tucked back into the window bay - what do you think of it?  It's super snuggly and makes sitting on a wire chair a little less waffle-butty.  But this one is an acrylic/polyester piece from Ikea.  It's on the smallish side.  And Barry's not a fan.  What's your vote?  Is it worth it to invest in a real Flokati?

 

I like that this set-up makes the view from our sofa more focused on our windows than our television set (which is conveniently yet unintentionally hidden behind that column in the photo above).  And it makes the view from our bed open and uninterrupted.  I do like to lie in bed for a bit in the morning and look out over our place and out the window while I think about the upcoming day.  An uninterrupted view is nice for that sort of thing, don't you think?

*I am a big dork.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit how pleased I was with myself when I came up with that term.

Cold Outside/Warm Inside

Portland's recent winter weather has been gorgeous.  Freezing cold, yes, but also visually stunning.  Crisp, blue skies during the day.  Romantic evenings filled with moody fog.  My favorite time of day, though, has been early morning.  We've woken up to beautiful, lace-like frost in our neighborhood that makes everything look like it's covered in magic.

I'll admit that I love what I see of the weather when I'm outside in it, a big part of what I love about the cold we're experiencing is how cozy it makes me feel when I'm inside.  I've been in serious housewarming mode for a couple weeks now.  Barry is in on it, too.  I'll share some of the warming that's gone on in our one-room home with you this week.  If you come here for the jewelry, save yourself some time and skip the next several posts...

That Jewelry Thing

I don't seem to post about it much anymore.  At least I don't post about the jewelry I make as frequently as I actually make it.  I was really busy with earring and (especially) necklace production before the holidays.  Several collections of pieces came and went without a reference or photo here.  Since most pieces I make are one of a kind, I'd like to be better about documenting them.  I made an effort to snap a couple shots of the recent selection of necklaces that I dropped off at Betsy & Iya last week.  The shop was completely wiped out of sulu-design after the holidays (thank you, Betsy & Iya customers!), so I restocked them with lots of new pieces.  One of them was layered up with Betsy's own designs outside the shop the other day.

Back with Recaps: New Year's Day

 

 

  

  

Ditto on yesterday's text.

Except this time throw in the fact

that it's the first day of a new year

which makes everything feel

fresh and electrified.

Add in an early breakfast at J&M

after hours of walking in the cold

and you've got yourself another awesome day.

Back with Recaps: Days Off

 

 

  

 

 

It doesn't get much better than

a few free days

of crisp air,

clear skies,

and gorgeous light...

all spent strolling around

with your best friend,

cameras in hand.

That last photo is for you, Dad...

you know, the Lutjen flat spot.