Source: parcelsandcomfits.tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest

I wish that I would pick up knitting, or just start crocheting again. It's getting cooler so maybe soon... maybe soon I will start working on that blanket I started last year. Or maybe I will buy some kneedles to work on that "knitting for dummies" book my mom sent me. Instead of just reading it... who sits around and reads a knitting book? (without even knowing how to knit ..or trying for that matter)  Apparently this girl.

Source: None via Julie on Pinterest

I'm now officially set out to get a picture of Zanax (our cat) like this... I love it. And I usually hate cat/kitten photos. (Except of my own of course) But this is definitely not a... "oh how cute a kitten" kind of photo.. that cat is just cool... 


er, you know what i mean.

a portrait.

Source: ffffound.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I love this picture. And furthermore I would love to be the owner of a shop where this art decorated the wall. It reminds me of when I was very much younger and writing lots of poetry and using anything I could find to make something resembling some kind of art. And going to the governor's school for the arts and learning how to make a gigantic portrait of myself using only ink and my fingerprints. 


where did that part of myself disappear to??

Source: aprilandmaystudio.blogspot.com via Núria on Pinterest

felt and crochet yourself and apartment

I won't lie, when I first saw this picture, I was looking more specifically at the benches and trying to figure out if we could easily do that ourselves in our own apartment, if it would be easier than this long journey of getting ahold of some palettes (which by the way a student of mine offered to give us some from his business... just before he went on vacation (the week before i'm going on vacation... so thats been put on hold). 

so as i was looking at the benches in the picture and looking around our own apartment as I looked at the picture again I noticed the awesome and how could you have missed it the first time bright rug in the center of the photo. it turns out that it is braided and felted wool, and it's just one piece made by fashion designer Dana Barnes, who began making them solely based on the need to soundproof her warehouse studio apartment for her young children. through pinterest I found this blog post and through that blog this post on the new york times site.

you should go check out all of the awesome photos and the story at the times site. 

Source: flickr.com via Julie on Pinterest

homemade toothpaste/deoderant

I would love to be able to make my own toothpaste like this lady has, and actually... she uses it as deoderant too... i'm a little unsure about that part. But I'm no chemist and I have no idea what goes into what so maybe it is all the same thing what we put in our mouth to clean our teeth and under our armpits to keep us from being stinky. so well... i wish i could try it. but these ingredients arent the easiest, maybe not completely impossible, but not so available and probably not at a pretty price, around here. it shall go on the to do list. besides it's only baking soda, essential oil, and coconut oil. we have coconuts... it shouldn't be so hard to find the oil... right?

a home

I had to share about this house. This couple in Whales built it themselves for their small family of four! 

From the article, about the house:

Sustainable design and construction:

1. Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
2. Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
3. Frame constructed of fallen trees from surrounding woodland
4. Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally very easy to do
5. Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
6. Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
7. Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture compared to cement
8. Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
9. Other items were reclaimed from “a rubbish pile somewhere”: windows, wiring, plumbing

I find this place very beautiful.... I wonder if I could ever get Julton to live in a place like this for a while... or if a place exists that we could rent even if only for vacation...hmmm

a sonnet

Source: quote-book.tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest