meet the ladies

you'll remember Chick-a-Dee perhaps.

here she is with her two newest roomates "Miss Cavendish" aka "Candy" and "Miss Rafferty" aka "Taffy". (thank you mr. nash.)

they were two scrubby rescues we took in at the end of the summer. the transition was a little bumpy at the beginning, but quickly smoothed out and now they all get along swimmingly. (and looking quite lovely if I do way so myself.)

and we are back in business!

cool pool

with this summer's heat we have spent an extraordinary amount of time in our pool. it is the "last great project" of our house (or perhaps tied in this position with our guest bathroom). we have lots of ideas. but limited resources in time and money.

so while we wait for that to change, i'll continue dreaming of eliminating our chlorine system, and doing this:



via Martha Stewart Living

or this:



via apartment therapy

or this:



via archdaily




beautiful natural swimming pools article in this weekend's LA Times Saturday

whoot!

bokashi

at dwell on design this year i checked out a bokashi composting system. i had looked at them on our last trip to australia, where they are quite popular, but thought we'd do the worm thing instead.

unfortunately the worm thing has never taken off. and the bokashi is looking attractive again. i especially like that you can do all organic waste (fish etc. even!) a lot of our green waste goes to the chooks. but not all of it.



urban composter via biome

this is good overview (i heart alys fowler). and these are cute.

have you tried it?

new doors!

D likes to take on a project while the girls and i take our annual summer break.

this year - it was the doors. he put in all new birch veneer doors. beauties. it wasn't easy. our home is far from the right angles that make hanging doors easy.



these have been on our list for a long time. (we also celebrated 11 years of being in this house in july!) the old doors were original to the house - and showed their age badly. they had been refinished without washing first and had dirt embedded in their surface, along with dings and dents that drove me crazy.

i loved the old brass handles, but most of them were unsalvageable. so we got new hardware too.



a little change that makes a huge difference.



before back-to-school: the closet doors.

::

I appreciate the longevity of quality sheets and towels when cared for properly. We are still using those we received as wedding presents nearly 13 yrs ago.

Our friend Alegre recently decided to shutter her long-standing business Green and Greener. It was an opportunity to pick up a great deal on beautiful Coyuchi sheets and towels.



Based in Northern California's Point Reyes Station, all of Coyuchi's cotton products are certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and produced using fair–labor practices, verified by in-country auditors.



Alegre's online store is still up for a while. You can visit it here. Or check out her newest venture...

ich liebe dich*

my dear friend c has nominated this blog for a Liebster Award (thanks c!) i have known c for more years then i can count on fingers and toes. she is my rock. her blog inspires me to think carefully about the way we live, and more often than not teaches me something new. you can visit her here at retrench: poor cate's guide to frugal living.

bunklelife

jan and i have known each other a very long time... she has a cute house in north vancouver she is working on, always guides me towards what i should be listening to. and her cats crack me up. (i love you jan!)

rebbermade

rebecca is a long-time blogging friend. our time together stays in my mind and i know we will meet again someday soon. she is a talented artist, resourceful,and lives in beautiful corvallis OR with her beautiful family.

chasing bluebirds

leslie lives "just down the road" from me in long beach in an amazing mcm cliff may. with two beautiful daughters. they have a great cabin in the woods. and they travel. a lot. what's not to love?!

petite gourmand

this blog brings back many TO memories. she is a photo stylist with a great eye. i always enjoy her take on mommyhood and hearing where she has been for dinner :)

karkovski

kristina's blog is one of the first i ever followed. it has been exciting to watch her art evolve, and her kids grow up.


that's my 5. but i'm adding a 6th and wishful thinking...


sprawl: life in the san fernando valley

i realize that this blog might be defunct - but i am hoping to inspire my neighbors to resurrect it. i love what they have put up so far. and keep checking my feed for new inspiration from their garden/kitchen/bar...

*the only german i know btw. i learned it in a bar in dusseldorf in high school ;)