inspiration.walk

Inspiration is everywhere.

I thought it would be fun to share with you what inspires me.

So this morning on my very ordinary walk to work, I photographed some of these ubiquitous tidbits.

In my sneak.peak earlier today you see the focus on text in my latest project. It is also the focus of what I was seeing. No coincidence.

sneak.peak

A little something I'm working on...

Not sure where this is going, yet, but letters and numbers are so graphically beautiful and contemporary and of the moment.

I have been wanting to do a series with numbers/letters. This may be the beginning of something.

I'll keep you posted as this progresses.

cooking.creative

Is cooking a creative endeavor?

Why ask, let's eat!

Last night I dove into my new cookbook (a.k.a. gateway to dreamy southern France) "A Table in the Tarn" by Orlando Murrin. This beautifully photographed book tells the story of two English gents who live out their dream of buying, renovating, and operating a b+b in southern France.

It also, of course, is about food! Wonderful glorious French food.

And this pretty little morsel was my first recipe experiment.

'Le cake' aux olives et au reblochon

A dense little "cake" that is meant to be sliced and eaten as a appetizer accompanied by a lovely white port, perhaps. It is savory and delicious, so don't be fooled by the word cake. No sugar in this one. Lots of black olives, bacon, fresh herbs and of course, cheese.

Here's the catch, it was so good I forgot to take a picture of it! Oops.

Bon Appetite.

wedding.bliss

Two lovely friends of mine recently got married!

JC & E, as they are know, are the rare sort of couple that combine two completely different personalities that work perfectly together. You know what I mean?

He's a great cook, brews his own beer (which is so tasty) and has the greenest thumb anyone who lives in New England can have. He's the kind of guy who takes his time for the seemingly insignificant things in life.

She has her own business and is a true entrepreneur, always on the go, thinking of the next thing and truly one of the genuinely friendly people on this earth that has a way of pulling you instantly into her vortex of smiling energy.

And of course they are both gorgeous!

So when I got the phone call and JC shared with me that they were getting married I wanted to get them a gift that wouldn't involve a trip to Pottery Barn.

I waited and waited, hoping inspiration would strike. What would this dear couple treasure and love?

And then I received their wedding invitation and it was a no duh moment!

The beautiful branch peeking in from the top of the perfect letter pressed card was my answer.

What I made was a set of 12 linen napkins hand printed with their wedding invitation branch in each corner. It would remind them of that special day every time they brought them out, placed them on the table and enjoyed a meal alone together or with friends.

Oh, and I kept going. Decided 4 matching linen placemats would be an ok think to throw in for good fortune.

Congratulations JC & E! Love you guys and can't wait to come for dinner...and beer.

DAILY FACTOID* JC brewed all the beer for his own wedding! Ya!*

starting.something

Of the, oh, about a dozen project that I have going on at any given time (most of them still in my head) it's hard to know which to start with. I figured this would be the hard part, actual content, and yes, in fact it is.

So, I'm just gonna pick one and go with it.

This little project I started came from a need i discovered a short time ago. I have a lovely MacBookPro and no case to put it in...well, that's not entirely true. I have one, it's just ENORMOUS and completely practical, which of course is not the point at all. So I set out to design and make a minimalist lap top case.

Sounds easy enough, right?

I start with gorgeous red wool (New England=Winter) for one face and a brown gray for the other. Orange stitching holds it all together.

It's in it's early stages yet, but the size feels nice, the proportions are working and now I just have to get my overworked sewing machine to cooperate and in no time I'll be posting the finished product. Stay tuned!

hello. there

...how to start one's first blog?

Frankly the white page, a little scary.

But it's not white anymore, so here goes...

In life a simple "hello" always works.

So, hello. I'm Susana.

Architect and professor by day (that takes up most of it) and by evening/night (usually tired and starving) I still want to skip down the hall of my apartment into my little studio and see what comes out!

I've been itching to do a blog about designing, making, building, and general pretty things in my life and I've finally decided it's time.

I've hear so often from those close to me, "You should do a blog about all the stuff you make." My response..."Who would want to read about that?"

So I set out to search the World Wide Web for others like me who design, make, built etc, etc, etc, and live to tell about it.

Turns out, there are a lot of you out there, and your blogs are soooo engaging and interesting!

Truth be told, I'm addicted. Every day I am inspired by what I see and read. I love my daily dose of beautiful images and of beautiful things.

So, I'm joining in and hoping that in the process I inspire and find inspiration in life from doing what I love!

Glad your on board for the ride.