move your world for water

          leave your best friend ... leave all your friends every place you have always 
         known, all your security ... give up your 
      pension early, buy a home that will depreciate by half in two years, lose your financial security
           for the ability to drive less than an hour and see this water ... 
                     it has now been six years and there are days that i really miss Chicago, but i don't know that any sight in Chicago, familiar or not has fed my soul the way 10 minutes can at the ocean.


we all have to weigh what it is that makes our soul smile and for each it is different. to reach that place, sometimes it often means giving up a lot of other people, places and things that make you HAPPY, but don't FEED THE INNER SOUL. perhaps it is the time of the moon and tide when i was born? perhaps i just feel God's smile in water.

lovely visual design

                                  i am not sure i could recycle or throw away this lovely packaging for saxton cider in a world full of store signs that echo such generic terms such as "groceries, cleaners, pharmacy, food, etc." it is refreshing to see products with thoughtful design that tells the tale of the brand. 

goodbye to a creative genius

                                                                                                
                                                                                                           hero.   
                                       As a visual designer, and someone who has always been chastised for being "outside the norm", today is both a day of sadness and reflection.                               We have lost the creative community's hero. For those that have been told that their ideas and dreams are impossible because they don't follow mainstream ideals, Steve was an inspiration. 


Godspeed Mr. Jobs. Thank you for your incredible creativity, your bravery for fighting against the critics to continue to bring revolutionary products to those that welcomed excellence in innovation and a better way to bring creative ideas to life. You will be truly missed. God bless your family in the days ahead. 


                                             your gentle genius will never be forgotten.

Rue Mag

If you haven't had a chance to curl up with your computer and view an issue of  r u e

            you must find the time to savor each page. As a designer that is a type afficionado, there is nothing that can match a well designed magazine with fascinating content.                                                                       pour a nice cup of warm chamomile tea and position your computer on your lap with your knees bundled up against you and                                           dream through the pages of rue.

wistful wonderful wisteria

                   if you haven't yet become familiar with wisteria, it is time you visit their wistful stores and website.

today, they promoted their summer catalog and it is filled with many unique and beautiful wears. i really love this bench and can see it in my kitchen with a robins egg blue table and white washed wood chairs on sides, with a french bucket filled with hydrangea's on the table. yes, that would be grand, wouldn't it?

or perhaps this tiered metal stand filled with tulips and petunia pots on my front porch? 

                              what a way to say hello to guests!

french galvanized buckets

                                                           i can just see a beautiful bouquet of tulips or hydrangea's being held by these  beautiful french buckets,  can't you? i really love the one with the birdie and the polka dot bottom. you can find so many unique types of soul kandie at elizabeth's Embellishments. sweet fanciful reminders of  european cobblestone streets and flower carts perhaps?

You  can find these beautiful buckets here

                                                              perhaps, i have been too often inspired by dreamy whites blog. i find myself just fascinated by the photography on this blog. you must visit and follow this blog for  visual inspiration.

 photos that will make your liver smile 

twinkling retro lights and memories of outdoor festivals

                                                            i'm not sure what year it was or how old i was, but i know that i was a child. we went with my ‘adopted’ italian godparents to  a summer italian outdoor festival. it seemed magical to me and reminded me of some of the scenes from the movie A Walk In the Clouds. i found the hanging string light bulbs fascinating, like little fireflies suspended in animation. when i happened upon these hanging lights from Restoration Hardware, my soul smiled because it brought back this wonderful childhood memory . . . the lights, the smells of festival italian food, the sundresses, white summer cardigans, couples holding hands and children loving summer . . . wouldn't it be wonderful to put one of these sets on my back porch so that everytime i looked through my glass doors at night, that same memory would continue to soothe my soul? some people remember apple pie, some people remember playing kickball in the street with friends . . . but for me, i remember twinkling light bulbs . . . .

You can find these wonderful hanging lights here