photographer hana pesut shot these clever photographs, they are hilarious!

when i first met bf he was moving back and forth between some dear friends guest bedrooms and his furniture looked a lot like this minus the white adornment.

then upon further investigation, it is actually powder coated steel around cardboard. i think i love it, what do you think??

here are some interiors i am sweating recently.

the red couch, the tin ceilings, the amazing wall of old advertisements, the floors, the wood, there is nothing here to hate...............

this kitchen is pretty amazing, all the reclaimed wood and metal, and i can't even speak about that window.................

not usually a fan of carpet i love how these two floors come together, very brady bunchesque

upon return from our travels i promised photos and totally under delivered. since i only posted about our time on ibiza, in an effort to make up for it, i would like to post photos from my favorite city in the world (thus far).

this was the cutest canalside village, just north of the the city we took the free bike ferry over the Ij and rode bikes out here, just before the SUPER windy fields.

bf and i rented a canalboat for a week and stayed on the water.............aaahhh amsterdam.

fields of sheep north of the city, by bicycle

the houseboat across the prinsengracht canal from us, and a duck, i loved feeding the ducks stale bread every afternoon

again, north of the city, riding bikes along a road with a small canal in the front yard, they actually have a bridge, i want a moat around my house. i really think charleston needs to reconsider canals, when it rains even a little our street becomes a canal, let it go back to it's natural state.

tiny marina

almost every boat and doorway is adorned with overflowing pots of beautiful green plants, super lush city!!

i saw these curtains in a window riding by on my bike and turned around to go back and take a picture, aren't they wonderful, like little girls dresses.

our cute boat on the right, look at all those bikes locked up on the bridge and the cafe tables on the left.

this was the "special" duck that came by every afternoon for snack...........amsterdam, i'll be back, i love you!

summer tomatos are abounty! everywhere i go i seem to be picking up tomatos whether i have a dozen at home already or not. we have had lots of heirloom varieties this summer, i made some succotash with local grape tomatos last night, but the best is THE summer tomato sandwich. this particular variety is a brown tomato called a kumato.

summer tomato sandwich:
rye or multigrain bread (really, whatever your favorite will work), toasted
dukes (no substitution here, PLEASE) mayonnaise
tomatos, sliced
fleur de sel (come on, you don't want to skimp here)
ground black pepper
assemble and find an unsuspecting friend to share with.....

you may notice a new blade on my new cutting board (beautiful end cut black walnut)
i recently got 2 new additions to my knife collection they are handmade by a third generation blacksmith in japan, named takeda.
one is a gyuto, an eastern version of the chef's knife and the second is a nakiri bocho, an eastern version of the santoku, sort of between that and a cleaver (ok, it's a veg knife).
they are so beautiful and incredibly sharp. i have been finding things to make that require a lot of knife skills, check them out here

i love this DIY for eliminating TV the ridiculously passive way wherever you go. It is not a DIY for beginners, but i'm totally going to try it soon. I love this!!

to everyone in charleston that has complaints: here's your chance to do something about it.

there is a regional planning meeting planned and it is open to all residents to come listen and VOTE.

you can't complain unless you get involved!!

here are the details:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/aug/15/have-a-say-in-regional-planning/

as summer begins to wain i can't help but think about crisp nights and (i can't believe i am thinking, saying or writing this) camping??? anyone that knows me knows of the time i spent living outdoors (2 years) with no electricity or running water and thus i have been "over" camping for quite some time. in addition to that, i LOVE airstreams and have planned to have one in the future as a guest house. But now i am wanting one to go to the mountains and ride bikes, and sleep parked next to a stream on a mattress with a screen door and make breakfast in the AM in a kitchenette.
is christmas god going to bring me this on Christmas morning??

images found here

recently, i have been looking at plate collections to hang on the wall, here are some i find interesting

these are the ones i really want, and maybe not just for the wall........found here

i am also loving these posters....

from here

family camp started out great. then the norwalk virus struck and half of camp was man down, myself and sister included. no fun. back at work today and still not feeling awesome, this is what i have to contribute, hilarious! (thanks dr. y for turning me on to this video)