Red Shoes blog

A2 Treasure Hunt starts october 1st!

You know you want to do it!

it's free,

it's fun, 

and you win some serious pirates booty!

check it out here. or click on the side bar link  ;)

ARRRRRRRRRR

Fall nest building....

 Fall always makes me think warm, cozy thoughts. I start concentrating more on my home and how I can decorate it for the coming season to make it more of a comfy nest....one that I can burrow in for the coming months.

  I break out the jeans and the cowboy boots, the wool sweaters, the darker shades of lipstick,  you get the picture. ;)

  I also start playing with cozy wool in my studio.

 So the past couple of days I started creating in my new space.

I have to say that I absolutely LOVE it!

  The natural light,  and the windows make my heart sing.  but I will say,  the sewing table parked in front of the window overlooking the busy downtown street can be a bit distracting!

  I keep watching the people go by to see what's happening out there in the big ole world,  because I hate to miss a THING!  ha ha!

  SO this is what I have been starting to work on these past few days......in between gawking of course. ;)

inspired by a jar of vintage celluloid buttons...

  SO in the next couple of days,  I will have some fun pillows to share with you.......ideas cultivating and reproducing like acorns and pumpkins......

  of course we have also been getting in some great fall earthy style goods...by some of my most favorite friends and artists....this gorgeous piece just sold today,  yes,  they go THAT fast,  they're so cool!today I am sportin' this beauty.....and channeling my inner Flavor-flav....;)  ha ha ha because it's a biggie!but i LOVE it!!!  (i love making a statement,  don't you?!!) of course there are some smaller pieces, for those of you more demure types...;)  some with vintage text and numbers..perfect at this back to school time of year!yummy frames in mossy, earthy, cool colors....cool books.....more pretty,  dainty jewelry....by the wonderful and sweet Bethwith inspiring words to live by.... because we should ALLL do that right?  right?!!  can I get an amen sisters!   can you tell I am slap-happy!   ha ha.all this fresh fall air,  plus the fact that it's friday afternoon,  weeeeeeee!  SO on that note, I'm off to finish playing with wool and felt.and try and do a million other things on my list  all at the same time mind you.....(you know the deal right?!!)  :)have a wonderful weekend everyone!XOXOXO

vintage goodness and cleaning out the basement....

oh man,

I still haven't had a chance to get my act together since the kids started school,  have you? 

I mean,  I am keeping busy mind you and working on a zillion things behind the scenes,  but I swear I cannot catch up!

  So,  my new thing is taking tons of photos of the vintage things I have had stored in my basement,  and some recent scores from my fabulous trip up north,  because I want to open an Etsy shop for my little vintage things!

  My friend Jenn,  inspired me to do this!

 So between cleaning out the basement,  and moving my studio to the shop, I have un-earthed a TON of stuff that I am ready to let go of!

  So in the next coming weeks I will be trying to set up my etsy shop,  finish my studio, start those classes, and make fall stuff for the shop.

wish me luck!

taking the photos alone has taken me several days!  yowza!

  So here's a sneak peek at a few of the fun things I will be sharing soon!

stay tuned!

XOXOXO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tip of the iceberg folks, tip of the iceberg.

yes,  I have accumulated some STUFF over the years

but i'm purging,  so it's gonna be good. 

yes, indeed.  ;)

XOXOXO

OH TomatO!!

Don't you just Love this time of year

when you can savor the fresh picked Garden tomato?

  well I know I do!

And for those of you lucky enough to live in my area,  you can sign up for a cooking class at Hollanders THIS wednesday to learn how to cook with fresh tomatoes!!!

  My step mom is teaching the class!

you can learn more about it Here

I mean c'mon! doesn't it sound like fun!! :)

tell her I sent you!

xoxo

 

my nirvana

Well,  I am back from our trip up north.

 We always come back at the same time every year, the sun setting just so, and we all collectively feel changed in some respect.

 The melancholy sets in as we say goodbye to summer and hello to the new school routine.

  We are always sad to leave our vacation behind because it's a place we look forward to ALL year long.

  Still, in a way it's so wonderful to end summer on a good note,  but it's also a reminder that life goes by WAY too fast.

 SO here are a ton of pictures from our trip up north to Elk lake.

 As always,  many memories were made,  and many days and nights spent laughing and having fun.

  I hope you will enjoy taking a peek into our vacation!

 

our little rustic cabin,  overlooking the lake.

 

our neighbor's fine vintage boat that i ADORE.

catching tiny fish, and collecting rocks....

 

 

paddle boarding....

 

this year we brought Tank with us.

he was honestly,  THE best dog ever.

SOOO laid back, so mellow,  even he was having a relaxing time,  you could tell.

he was like a little rock star on the dock. ;)

 

 he loved tubing......

boating.....

 

swimming...

 

digging in the sand...

 

 

laying out in the sun....

 

 

fishing with the kids....

hanging out in the cabin....

 

or just basically being adored. ;)

 

 we did a lot of lounging, boating and hanging out ourselves....

completely relaxing and having NO agenda.  it was so nice!

 

 

 

 

the kids enjoyed tubing......

 

fiona tried it for the first time and of course loved it!

 

me having a tiny heart attack of course. :)

 

unfortunately we were not incident free....my son had an accident up there.

he crashed on a motorized scooter at night, cutting his eyebrow open, giving himself a black eye.

talk about Heart attack!!

 darn kids,  they never listen to you when you tell them not to do things.

 so poor Jackson couldn't swim,  or tube for the rest of the trip because of his cut.

 learning his lesson the hard way.  :(

but I will say,  it could have been much worse.

 He still had fun regardless,  because it is up north afterall.....

 

and you are surrounded by beauty....

 

 

he got to boat with the teens.......

 

 

did i mention how cute my friends kids are?

ADORABLE!

 

we had many adventures....

we canoed the Platte river,  which was GORGEOUS!!!

(even though you start the trip out with a sign like this....)

 

who signed me up for this trip?  ;)

my friends assured me that WE were the only cougars to be worried about!  ha ha ha.  very funny.

it was however worth the risk....

the river is stunning,  

 

 

 

girls in one boat,  boys in the other....

did i mention I am a remarkable canoeist?  :)

 

years and years of having to endure my dad steering me into the bushes with spiders along the riverbanks of the huron river,  made me become a fantastic navigator!

anyways....canoeing along,

you end up at the mouth of the river that opens onto lake michigan.

absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

tons of dunes......

 

 

you can see where the two waters converge....

onto this...

 

we all had a great time....

 

relaxing on the beach...

 

then home to the cabin,  we had some amazing dinners out,

 

can I tell you how much i love Pearls,  and their amazing Cherry margaritas and delicious fried green tomatoes?  mmmmmmm.

 We also had some home cooked meals on the grill potluck style back at the homestead......

 

watching the sunset...

 

and the glorious full moon on the lake....

 

 

hanging out with friends till the wee hours of the morning...

playing cards by nightlight,  laughing by the fire....

all in all it was a wonderful lovely time that i will never forget.

so to wrap it up here are some final images... a little potpourri

of the trip....

thanks for visiting me!

it's good to be home

:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XOXOXO