Best of: Leather DIYs

Image via Words for Young Men

There's no doubt that leather is a classic, and it's not surprising that we've seen a large number of leather projects over the past year. Leather can be incorporated into any design from ultra modern to vintage-inspired and when cared for, leather will only get better with age. Here are a few of my favorite modern leather projects...

Made & Found: Glass

I feel like it's always feast or famine with our glassware situation at home. In the past year I have purchased over a dozen glasses that are no longer with us. Luckily I hit the jack pot and found these nice pint glasses that remind us who was boss in 1953.

Peanut & Purls and a cat house from UP

I've been planning on making Peanut her very own UP house for a while now.  On a Monday night, the urge became too strong. Four days later, and this is what I have. It's a monster of a cat house (quite large), but I love it! 

Handmade Home: Something Special

Book Report: "Amahl and the Night Visitors"

No one diagrams the dissolution of a relationship like Lorrie Moore, and "Amahl and the Night Visitors: A Guide to the Tenor of Love" is no exception. (My, what a clunky title. You can see why I shortened it above.) Self Help, the collection in which "Amahl" appears, is devoted to tales of love and loss. When listing authors I admire, I somehow always forget about Moore. This is terrible of me because she's really quite wonderful. With an eagle-eye for details that ring devastatingly true and wit for days, Moore seems able to capture the right word, feeling, and movement at the exact right moment. Oh, she's a sharp one....

Insta-sista

Because I'm still in the lovey dove spirit, I took a look back at my instagrams and these were some of my favorites…

Best of...toys from my childhood

This post hurts my heart in the best possible way. My stomach is fluttering and my nose can recall just how all of these toys smelled--that familiar sweet plastic! I know exactly how they would feel if I were able to hold them, and I can remember all the happy memories they were part of. Well, mostly happy memories. Take for instance my Breyer horse Man O War. Christine, Monika, and I were in the backyard playing model horses (naturally). Monika got mad and chucked Man O War across the lawn. He landed, with his back leg sticking out of the lawn like some kind of horse lawn marker. His leg broke off in the dirt. I had to dig it out.

Made & Found: Structured Alpaca Cowl

With all the cowl making Catherine has been doing this past year, I finally got motivated to knit one for myself. Take forever, right? I buy nice yarn with every intention of making something, but then I let the skeins sit on my dresser for weeks. Ok, months. Catherine finally gave up asking me if I had started the hat I was supposed to be working on in October. I think because I flipped it and used the hat yarn for my cowl...

Peanut & Purls and new knits

Do you remember at the end of December when I blogged about Brooklyn Tweed's Winter Look Book? There was that one resplendent sweater called Alloy. I caved and bought some knitpicks yarn. I really wanted to get Brooklyn Tweed yarn (remember Truffle Hunt?), but it would be a $150 sweater, and I want to make sure I love the pattern first.

Handmade Home: Shoes

Finding the perfect shoes to wear with an outfit is important, they need to be comfortable for whatever activity you have planned, as well as they must compliment the garment you are wearing. I've noticed that I have a lot of appropriate footwear for February…

Book Report: "Travis, B."

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the books I chose to round out February are not about love, but rather unrequited love. In this instance, a young cowboy named Chet takes a winter job feeding cattle in Glendive, MT. He comes into town one evening and wanders into a night class taught by Beth Travis, just out of law school, who lives 9 hours away in Missoula. Chet falls for her of course, but nothing ever goes as planned, and well, I did say unrequited...

Insta-sista

All of my air plants are dying. I'm incredibly upset and a little baffled. I've had most of them for at least three years--three healthy years. The stalks above are from my last remaining survivor, but it's slowly whittling down to its bulb and is maybe 1/5 of its former size. Sigh. I'm so bummed. Why, Tacoma?! Why are you killing all my air plants?!

Best of: on screen romance

If you are staying in this Valentine's evening I would like to share of my viewing recommendations for the occasion...
The Decoy Bride



This movie is very light and adorable, how could it not be with David Tennant and Kelly MacDonald. I find this a charming and easy watch. I've watched it several times since discovering it on Netflix.

Romancing the stone



This is one of my top movies of all time. I love Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turners on screen chemistry. If you haven't seen this please for the love of god watch this movie! (and then watch Jewel of the Nile, and the War of the Roses)

Only You



I hate to be redundant, but this is also one of my top movies. Marisa Tome and Robert Downey Jr are so amazing together, not to mention it has one of my favorite lines of a romantic fashion (he would kill tigers for you…), which in truth I wouldn't support unless it was a life or death situation. Which I would hope is the only time a gentleman would kill a tiger for a lady, lest he be no gentleman.

The Office Special- spoiler alert if you haven't seen the original Office series incompletion

Happy Valentine's Day, No One II

Just look at all these potential valentines--wishing and hoping and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming for you to come along. 

 

I'm partial to James Spadge myself.

Peanut & Purls & Lisa Frank oil paints take 2

A couple of months back I started my Lisa Frank oil paint collage to hang somewhere in my new house. The first sticker to paint was the dolphin. I always loved that dolphin. Well since then I added a shark and some cats in a sneaker.

Peanut & Purls & the mystic chords of memory...

On February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky, a great man was born. I freaking love Abraham Lincoln. I take my Lincoln love seriously. Like really seriously. I don't want to see Lincoln posed on a dinosaur, wearing sunglasses, or holding an ax. It makes me want to vomit. I am ok with him on a band aide because it's his actual face, and not some jazzed up altered version. I can't tell you exactly when my love for Lincoln came about, but this love is a true love, and it's not going anywhere...

Handmade Home: red dress

I found my way up to the thrift store by my house again, and naturally I had an overflowing basket on my bike ride home. I did however pull of my favorite and most elusive play, purchasing a dress, that I liked for this reason or that, intending to alter it, and actually doing it!

Book Report Inspiration: Handmade Valentines

I planned on making some anti-valentines, but after reading Valentines, Ted Kooser's lovely book of Valentine's Day poems, I decided to make some sweet valentines. Just so we're all on the same page: in 1986 Ted Kooser decided to write a poem on a postcard and mail it to some friends for Valentine's Day. It was a hit, so he made it a yearly tradition. Eventually his list of postcard poem recipients reached 2,600 people. Valentines collects these postcard poems. I know poetry can be a terrifying prospect, especially when it's concerned with L-O-V-E. But Kooser's poems are not overflowing with flowery, gushy sentiments--they're sweet, sometimes silly, and fun...

Instasista

I made some major progress on my Lisa Frank oil paint this past week. I've finished the cats in a sneaker and have moved on to the classic sundae in space.

Best of: #LateNight Hashtags

You probably know we love our Jimmy Fallon videos. I mean, really love, and since he's moving to The Tonight Show this month, I thought I'd round up a couple of my favorite segments from his Late Night days. This is the #LateNight Hashtags edition!

Made & Found: Valentines all the time

After putting up some Valentine's decorations I started looking around and realized that I'm kind of ready for Valentines all of the time…

Peanut & Purls and decorating for Valentine's Day!

The only part of Valentine's Day that I've ever given a crap about was in elementary school when we would get to decorate some brown paper lunch bag with constructions paper, doilies, and glitter. We would tape these pink and red glitter heart bombs to our desk with much anticipation. The next day all the kids would deliver valentines to our desks. Usually the paper bags (Valentine mailboxes...?) would tear and fall off the desk before the day was over but that was just a sign that you were gifted a lot of valentine loot! 

Handmade Home: a hearty decor

What to do when Valentine's is around the corner, and you have yet to decorate? Well, just pull out some water colors, paper, and string...

Book Report Inspiration: Finding the Right Words for Your Valentine

Finding the right words can be difficult, especially when trying to express yourself in a genuine and non-cliche way. Anyone can pick up a greeting card covered in hearts and roses, but the sweetest notes are those that are heartfelt, personal, and true. If you're having trouble coming up with the perfect words for the one you love, like, or respect, here are some tips for getting something down on paper and a few options for a backup plan.

1. Reference the good times. The inside jokes, pet names, and that totally annoying but also endearing thing your lady or gentleman does. Adding something personal to a card is an immediate and easy upgrade over just signing your name with an arrow pointing at whatever's printed inside. 

2. Look to your significant other's favorite music. Two options here. 1. Digital mixtape: songs they love, songs you think they'd love, or songs that express how you feel. 2. Song lyrics that can be incorporated into your valentine. Any of these options demonstrates that you've been paying attention and are willing to put in a little work to make something special. (Also, movies. A little Disney or Harry Potter gif collection never hurt anyone.)

3. Use quotes from novels, poetry, and correspondence. Skip Shakespeare and the Romantic poets. (Unless that's what you're into.) I love Shakespeare and the Romantics, but there's so much more--countless authors and poets who have put their love into near perfect, weep-worthy words. All you have to do is seek them out. The Poetry Foundation has a page that sorts poems by occasions, seasons, and subjects. Guess what? They have 123 poems on love. Even if you don't find anything, you'll still have read some inspiring poetry and should be primed to write your own. Done and done! For author and book quotes, try Goodreads--A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh) is a great place to start. 

4. Find inspiration in antique or vintage valentines. People used to talk real fancy and they declared their love in ornate and beautiful ways. Study those ways and then steal their technique. Last year, Design* Sponge featured a lovely collection from the New York Public Library. And don't worry if your lady or gentleman friend isn't into the intricacies of Victorian courtship, there are lots of less formal decades to choose from. Maybe your significant other or BFF has a particular love for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or She-Ra: Princess of Power. One word: ebay.

5. DIY yourself a cute punny card. If you're on Pinterest, you probably know the sort of thing I'm talking about: the card with a book of matches attached to the front where the caption reads: "We're a perfect match." Cute, right? And easy too. Real Simple put together a collection of just such handmade valentines, including the matchbook card. 

6. Let clever people do the work for you. Just print and cut, email, text, or post on Facebook. Last year, Jennifer Lewis made some amazing illustrated Wes Anderson and Arrested Development valentines for Flavorwire. Beth Evans made her own Parks and Recreation and Breaking Bad valentines. But she didn't stop there; her tumblr has pages of sweet and silly pop culture valentines. And Marisa Seguin created these cute Arrested Development valentines. For 2014, Adam Ellis of Buzzfeed has crafted some literary valentines. Any hip lady or gentleman would thrilled to receive these little gems.

insta-sista

 Lately I've noticed that when I get out of work in the evenings it's much lighter, and that makes me really, really, happy. I still do love my night time walks with Ben and the girls though. Wouldn't mind seeing a bit more in the stars department.