it is typical that swedish and any scandinavian design is sparse. this apartment is not that. i really like the elements to this space and think they are compiled together in a lovely manner.

big industrial lighting and huge sectional. cool old carts with casters for media. large arched window frames. and a round marble coffee table.

i really dig that sectional which is not typically "my thing". great rug too.

those counters are to die for

i really like the stand alone oven and stove, but i would prefer counter space on either side, but that is just how i roll.....

sivan askayo's work totally speaks to me. i love looking at the laundry outside peoples windows in europe. you can tell so much about a household by it's laundry. it's like a glimpse into their lives.

via design sponge

how damn cute is this cottage in australia... love it, even the raspberry carpet doesn't bother me.

brad pitt is selling his mid century malibu pad boasting over 4,000 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and coastal approval to add another story, did i mention it belongs to brad pitt??

for thanksgiving bf and i are in VA to spend the holiday with his family. last year i went with my parents to sf to see my sister and her adorable and sweet bf, heath. i saw these prints and thought of them. sf is one of my favorite cities, and i was born there. love you adele, heath and sf!

found here

i am coming clean, i've been having an affair....
with a 32 year old..........champion mondial.

if i remember correctly it began in may...........spotted online, stripped of everything, and i was lustful. it took a while for me to gather the funds to purchase her in all her bare glory, and i think it was close to july when she actually arrived, from Poland.

she is of dutch descent and fabricated in italy. when she first arrived i was incredibly torn whether to keep her as is with wonderful pedigree and of original condition. in the end i decided, resale did not matter, i knew what she was and could be and wanted to customize her to my liking. seeing as i had previously purchased and built up a few other vintage bikes, some bad, some worse, i knew much more what i was looking for in a frame (material, design, approximate size).

warning: this is not a great idea, to buy a bare frame and spend a bunch of money powdercoating it, building it up (lots of labor post painting to prep a frame) before you have any idea if you will like it or not!

beautiful lines, skinny tubes and sexy lugs. campy drop outs...

gazelles stamped into the machined fork crown

awesome brake bridge, more lust......

cable guides that whisper, i'm elegant

hot ass.....


and so she was shipped off to the powdercoater in august for her costume change.
and...............

here she is in the back of the car leaving the metal shop

back at home in the studio awaiting the $$ for the rest of her to come together, and she was patient (i'm talking about myself, now).

and then finally on saturday, my friend and extremely talented mechanic, jeff called to say "come n get it"

baby blue with one large red accent. the saddle is a spare b17 i had but i intend to switch it out for a brooks black swallow

the groupset is campagnolo record (and it's awesome) some machined alloy and other parts carbon, these levers are the most comfortable i have found of the newer groups

the front derailleur is the only part that is chorus, it is a 10 speed used groupo.
the wheelset is velocity a23 probuild and weighs just about 1400 grams. the tires are vittoria rubino and i really like the way they feel, supple and fast.

new velo orange seatpost, very well designed.

velo orange headset, nitto deluxe stem, knog 12 function computer (barely visible), grand bois maes handlebars made by nitto

yesterday bf and i rode out to bear island, sc. a long causeway out over the ashepoo river through beautiful marshes ending on a dock lined creek.
this was the maiden voyage, i am so happy with the result of this build.
it feels compact and racey, yet comfortable and smooth. the campagnolo shifting is an entirely new dimension in comparison to shimano. 
i cannot say enough good things about this bike and am so looking forward to stacking up more miles on it.

i rode a lot in june, july and august then sort of hit a wall and have been half-assing it for a month or so and last week i rode 100 miles, looking forward to picking it up this fall and winter.

gorgeous views and 70 degrees with virtually no humidity, an incredible fall day in the ace basin.

found this super cute bungalow on apartment therapy and thought i would share....

after the inspection bf and i were feeling incredibly unsure about moving forward with the purchase of said new abode and after meeting my contractor friend over there, i realized i was not in love and so, last night bf and i had to break up with the house.  the fact that neither of us feels any deep loss is just one more sign that it wasn't meant to be. somewhere out there, she is waiting for us to discover one another. 

still pretty damn crazy around here, barely finding time to take the misses for a walk in the afternoon. quickly stopping in to post this picture of an inspirational low bookshelf and large piece of art. love that.

total and complete neglect. bf and i have been super stressed to the max with this house stuff and i have neglected my blog, more to continue, but here's a super cute smallish dining area i thought needed a nod.