Inspired by… Nathan Turner

There is a great profile of Nathan Turner and his Los Angeles shop in Introspective Magazine on 1stdibs.com.

His interiors are composed of a fabulous mix of styles that give you a lot to look at and mull over, without appearing cluttered or fussy. His shop reflects his fantastic style. He is also the designer of the actress Amanda Peet’s lovely home in the Los Angeles area, which was featured in Domino Magazine before it shuttered last year. I love the homey, bohemian, but still sophisticated style of her home. I have posted a few pics here.

Project: Cover that Amp!

One of the home improvement projects I am working on is to sew a linen table skirt in the style of the one seen here on Wisteria.com. I have nothing against buying a pre-made skirt and table. The table on Wisteria even has a handy shelf where you can hide unmentionables. However, my main goal is to hide at least one of the two big fat guitar amps we are somehow squeezing into our 1 bedroom apartment, and turn it into a nice stylish console for our entryway. It is currently being hidden by a hot pink table cloth, which is not quite our style but at least the amp is covered and somewhat protected. But it’s really time to remove the hot pink. More on this project in the future posts...

Kool Keds!

I found myself on the Keds website the other day, and I stumbled across these super cute shoes titled 'Kitty Shoes by seltzergoods'. This is only one of the many pairs of designer Keds available for sale on their website. In addition, you can design your own pair if you choose. How awesome is that! I am very tempted to purchase this particular pair... I love the bright yellow and the pattern is reminiscent of waves or fish scales.

Home cooking slacker...

(This is an unpublished post from February 10th... Left unposted because I didn't have a quality photo...but I've decided to post it anyway...)

I have been completely slacking on my home cooking lately. Cooking is usually something that I love to do. I find it soothing and meditative. Sometimes I wonder if I find such joy in cooking in part because I live in New York City, and I don't HAVE to cook all the time in order to eat awesome food. But eating out can become tiresome too - even in New York City. Especially when you are trying to eat healthy food.

Earlier this winter I was successfully cooking a few times a week... This included making a big batch of some type of hearty soup on Sundays so I could freeze the leftovers. But the last few weeks my inspiration has stalled. It could be in part that all traces of my local farmer's market have faded. My onions have been used up in the hearty soups and my frozen butternut squash has been consumed. All the produce now for sale in most of my local shops has been delivered to the city by airplane from thousands of miles away. The only open farmer's markets in the city are fairly inconvenient to my apartment.

These are the times when I wish I had a home on a small farm somewhere, perhaps in an appalachian hollow, where I could have a garden, and maybe some chickens and this time of year I would be savoring the labor of my harvest in the form of the basil pesto I froze last summer a la Barbara Kingsolver.

Snow Joy!!

Snow is here...finally!! 12-16 inches is predicted. We have about 7 so far... And my office closed at noon. Snow Day!

Snow Envy...

We were completely skipped over by the winter storm that hit the East. Not a flake of snow or even a drop of rain has been sighted out my window. Even Staten Island received a significant amount of snow, but it did not seem to make it across the Harbor to Manhattan.

Wide Open Spaces

Welcome! This is my first post on my new blog, Green Shoots & Sparks. I am not setting any restrictions on content since this is an idea blog - a space to record ideas, thoughts and display images that inspire. The sky is the limit. I took this picture 10,500 feet up in the Rocky Mountains on my Honeymoon. The world was wide open that day.