little find girl

It's true, I've been quiet...but

2010-07-20T10:36:00.003-05:00

Big things in the works. I'll be back soon...

Dining by Design

2010-05-02T11:11:00.005-05:00

Amazing. Last night we attended the fabulous Dining by Design with our dear friend and designer Kristopher. His table was lovely and the event is a major fundraiser for DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. It is one of the country's largest supporters of direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventive education for those at risk.

We'll definitely be going again next year. Won't you join us?

Prairie Life

2010-04-27T07:51:00.003-05:00

An early spring walk. You know how the wind feels out there don't you?

Warm Accessories In Cold Months

2010-02-23T15:37:00.003-06:00

Imperative.

All You Need is...

2010-02-15T08:48:00.008-06:00

Saint Valentine's Day is kind of a big day around here. It's a feast and we celebrate it as such. We make decorations while waking up in the morning and prepare delicious, and sometimes heart shaped, foods all day long.

I love love. I hope it's contagious. I hope you feel it too!

Night at the Museum

2010-01-30T16:14:00.004-06:00

Recently we attended a benefit for the Young Friends of the Arts in the beautiful Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. I have to say it's pretty cool to hanging out in a building that both husband and I have worked on.

Bright, (definitely) White and Happy.

2010-01-04T21:48:00.015-06:00

Our first Christmas in the new house. Boy was it great.

First there was the snow...

Followed by expectation...

and glee...

and a brisk post festivities walk...

brrrr....

and delivering Christmas cookies to Lew...

aaand home.

A few details.

Then more snow and sleep.

Sigh. I loved every minute of it.

p.s. the tree stays up for now.

Once Wed Blog Love

2009-11-24T20:43:00.004-06:00

One of my very favorite, creative blogs Once Wed did a feature on our wedding photographers LemonLime Photography today...and looky who's glowing in the picture. Yup, that's us, no heads, shot by the guys for our engagement photos. I like it.

Thanks Once Wed!

11.01.09

2009-11-01T16:00:00.006-06:00

All Saints Day.
Dia de los Muertos.
Our first Anniversary.

I must say, it's been quite a brilliant year.

Catch My Fall

2009-10-25T15:02:00.011-05:00

It's my very favorite time of year and this fall is raging in all it's glory. The colors of fire are everywhere and my beloved oranges, reds and yellows escort me through my days. Add to that the cooling temperatures mixed with moody skies and I'm in heaven.

And of course there are pumpkins to carve.

Which means seeds for toasting natch.

Yay fall.

Fauxlaroid

2009-10-21T22:10:00.005-05:00

I admit it.

I'm a little obsessed with iphone apps that appeal to my graphic designer self and my want to arty up the photos that I take on the phone without taking them into Photoshop on the computer. This dear reader, is way more fun and immediate. Less like worky. More like hobby.

All of these taken on iphone with ShakeItPhoto
You actually shake your phone and watch it develop. Silly? yes. Fun? heck yeah.

Ah Weekend

2009-10-10T10:04:00.003-05:00

Time to put the feet up and warm the toes in front of the fireplace.

Kittens like it too

Hope you stay toasty. Have a great weekend.

Hello October

2009-09-30T22:41:00.004-05:00

I've been waiting for you. See you very early...

via

Dear September...

2009-09-24T22:13:00.006-05:00

I am rather done with you. I think most people are too. Thank you, see you next year.

One high point of this fussy, crabby month- our CSA (community supported agriculture) from Lew's garden tonight. Hello green beens, fancy salad greens, kale, arugula and collards. Thank you for making September not entirely s*ck.

Here Come the Warm Jets

2009-09-14T22:09:00.008-05:00

Srsly. We're always a bit spicy up here on the Westside. But this past weekend? Good grief. Better throw us in the wa-ta.

Tour of Missouri people. Right up on the corner. Friends, kids, dogs, pinatas, giant sombreros, music, dancing, buffalo bratwurst, a viking, rich, broke (but never poor our 75 year old neighbor born down the street told us), cross dressers and a cowboy looking type speaking German.

Oh(!) and don't forget the cowbells. Real ones. Even my farm girl raised cousin Emily can vouch for that one (it was from a honest to G*d farm store). All I can say is it gave good ring.

Here they come...

They did 7 laps through KC for a total of 72 miles. We got to see them SEVEN times after climbing Summit. I've WALKED my bike up that freakn' hill, um, yeah. I'm in awe.com. **please don't link to "awe.com", it's just a manner of speaking. I cannot fathom what you'll come across if you actually try to go there. But if it's awesome, please let me know.

It was a mighty wind when these guys blazed passed us. Many were in the Tour de France.

Dear Tour of Missouri,
Please come back and wiz through the Westside again next year! Please oh please.
Love, your friend
Angiela

p.s.
If you could take down a lot of those big cruddy billboards on I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis that would be great too.

And Friday

2009-08-28T06:13:00.000-05:00

Enjoy your weekend kittens. And don't forget to

via

August 25th

2009-08-25T06:00:00.005-05:00

For Brett on the date of his birth.

The Man burns in 11 days. Welcome home.

Hardware Lust

2009-08-20T06:02:00.001-05:00

Oden by Krown Lab. sigh

Sexy no?

I Love George Nelson Lighting...

2009-08-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

as much as the average designer/wife of an architect, I do, it's true.

But...

...the trouble is, many of the design-y lights and furniture components I like have well, jumped the shark. It's not that I need our house to be Dwell ready, it just so happens I like most of the stuff other designers/architects appoint their recently renovated with. My tastes are aligned with my designer lot, perhaps save my love of the hot pink flocked Jesus bank I refuse to give away. It's a statement piece. Really. Someday I'll figure out how to make it work with a Saarinen Womb Chair (chartreuse please!)

So here's the current dilemma. We need lighting that meets our LEED goals, it needs to marry our champagne tastes with our organic grain fed bratwurst budget AND it can't scream DESIGNER AND ARCHITECT LIVE HERE.

Where we stand.

We've made tons of progress on the monster pile of boxes. You can actually stand in the living room and shoot the dining room, kitchen and remaining boxes. It's progress people. Look beyond the piles of "real life", i.e. piles of crap, and you can see where I'm focusing my lighting search. There are two areas to be addressed: above the dining table (I'm crazy about chandeliers) and something simple in the kitchen above the sink and window that will coordinate (or not) with the two vintage globe lights I scored on ebay for a peanut.

See highly informative photo below.

Here are some ideas I've had rolling around:

For above the sink, this Punga Pendant is pretty sweet

Design by Christopher Metcalfe.

The Punga lights are inspired by the native palm tree which grows prolifically in the New Zealand rainforest. Hug that!

This blown glass number is lovely but pricey.

The Class 40 Pendant Light

And then there's this decidedly whimsical little charmer. (Probably too "cute")

The Perch! Early Bird Pendant Light.

Thoughts? Ok, again, those are initial looks for above the sink. Not really a big deal, but it should be thoughtful.

Now, let's get serious. The dining room is one of the money shots. Look again at the photo, imagine no boxes, no "real life" on the table and maybe a new dining table in the future. Warmth and not too serious are still criteria. Here are a few ideas:

Classic Atomic Sputnik

Lighted balls. On a string. (giggle if you must)
Anthropologie of all places.

Design-y and spendy, but the wood would be oh so nice and warm to combat the coolness of the CFL's (compact fluorescent lamps).

Helios 60 Wood Pendant Light

Really dreamy. Really. If it fell into my possession I would gladly hang it up.

The Mod 2097 Chandelier

But to be honest, this next one is the running favorite. The price is very accessible and the design not too fussy with a bit of humor to it.

The Patrick Townsend White Orbit Chandelier

What do you think?? I'd love some comments or suggestions of other lights to ponder.

Piece of Cake

2009-07-14T11:58:00.005-05:00

The lovely ladies of one of my favorite blogs 100 Layer Cake have done a super fine feature on our wedding. You might remember back in April they gave us love for our invitation via a feature on Hammerpress. Well, they decided to share some additional details of our special day. Yay! Check it out HERE beautiful people.

Celebrating Accomplishments

2009-07-10T07:03:00.000-05:00

Although a bit premature for a full-on before and after series seeing as we're still up to our chin dimples in boxes, I wanted to do a little cheer for our accomplishments. With an ever growing list of things to do* it was time to take a break and give a nod to what's happened since we started back in March.

After (or should I say currently?)
The filtered sunlight is so beautiful as it comes in at sunset.

Remember this? Clearly before...

And during...

And after, just in case you missed it.

I'll post more as the boxes give way to more house.

*If you are a long time home owner, please do not tell me that the work is never done. It's a real morale buzz kill and if I had a penny...
Thanks tons. Now come visit already.

Water Babies

2009-07-02T06:30:00.003-05:00

Three of my very favorite people have birthdays under the astrological sign of Cancer and all of it's watery goodness. I've no doubt that at any given time this month at least two of them will be on or near a large body of water. When I think of summer I think of them. I'm sure they wish I'd think of sending them birthday cards too! Happy Birthday's mother and dearest sisters.

Brew with a View

2009-06-30T08:35:00.002-05:00

In the new house now and this is what I see looking down on my coffee. Orange kitchen island, reflection of vintage globe light masquerading as a dollop of cream, robin's egg blue sample of leather that covers our long awaited bar stools from Spain.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T09:59:00.013-05:00

A huge sized thank you and I love you today for some pretty special fathers that make life oh so sweet.

Husband

father of zoe and maya

My Dad

father of kristine, daneen and angiela (pictured with kristine)

Eddy's (and my new) pop

father of eddy, julie and stephanie

love you guys!!

It's Official

2009-06-16T08:32:00.002-05:00

Eddy hung the shiny new numbers last night.

Tomorrow We Move! (yay)

2009-06-12T22:50:00.005-05:00

It should be fairly obvious that since I haven't posted in a couple of weeks that we've been insanely busy with work and wrapping up the house. There are still some outstanding things that they'll be working on next week but it's a functioning place to live and we are excited to make it home! Tomorrow we move with the help of the girls and we look forward to introducing the kittums to the space. Carbonara is on the menu for our first meal in the house tomorrow night.

Here's what's happened since last time...

It's Paint People

2009-05-25T22:07:00.005-05:00

The pigment has arrived and we're loving it. Mostly we're sticking with white on white but in a few places we're laying it down. I likey.

This chartreuse really sings against the brick wall. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door and look up the stairs. When the west light comes through the windows it's magic. I also like how the neighbor's green shingles look in this vignette.

I know you think this next one looks like a nursery but it's not. The yellow is MUCH more hip young married couple awesome yellow in person! Really it is. (really) err, yup. Ok, maybe it's a little light and I played it too safe. I'm hoping once the floors get refinished it'll warm up and have a little more legs. If not, it looks like this will be one of my first tasks before moving to repaint it. I'm not giving up hope though...

Up next...the floors get sanded and finished this week. Next post should look much different. Talk to you soon!

Springfest 5.0

2009-05-17T18:40:00.002-05:00

What a lovely lovely evening we had last night in the courtyard with an intimate group of friends. The weather was calm and crisp, while the guests were warm and thirsty. It was a little bittersweet since it will be the last time that Amy and I will be living here to help host the party. Thanks to all who helped make it so very sweet.

Yellow was the color of the evening and many of Lew's garden plants served as decoration. See Amy here checking the details one last time before guests arrived.

And me with handsome husband glinting in the sunset.

...and a few other smashing details. It was visual perfection.

Are You Ready To Rock...

2009-05-05T12:36:00.008-05:00

(said in your best big hair anthem band voice)!
Things are really jammin'. Check out the sheetrock that started going up. Looking good.

dig my photomontage...

Here stands husband in front of what will be the washer + dryer space and our teeny office space, just off the kitchen. Remember last week when you could see through to the stairs?

Painting and flooring up next. Whoo (fist in the air)!

Foam Sweet Home

2009-04-26T15:46:00.006-05:00

Bio based closed cell spray foam insulation that is. An environmentally safe alternative to traditional fiberglass insulation. It has a higher R-value and is its own vapor barrier. Eddy says this is good. It's hard as a rock and looks pretty cool too.

Also note the framing continues...

100 Layer Cake

2009-04-24T07:33:00.007-05:00

This week our wedding invitations that I designed with my buddy Brady Vest were highlighted in a feature on Hammerpress by the lovely lovely blog 100 Layer Cake. I was so excited and honored as I love this blog and still follow it for design inspiration. Thanks ladies!

Flower Obsession

2009-04-19T19:47:00.007-05:00

Just a little break from the house...
I'm in love with these stunning images of the tulip fields in the Netherlands. So painterly, so so beautiful. I'd love to fly over these once in my life.

photos via Mail Online (UK)

Found Things We Now Own

2009-04-08T17:27:00.005-05:00

As found at 1626 Jefferson this week...

...stairs

a board with an ancient advertisement for women's rayon underwear

rays of light from above

chives dear

a truck that could only possibly carry whispers

a feather

a shadow of one made from two.

The Work Continues

2009-03-29T20:01:00.008-05:00

Come on in, take a look around as the progress continues. This shot is just as you walk in the front door, looking back toward the kitchen. The ladder is um, yes, where the stairs used to be. They no longer fit when we redesigned the upstairs in an effort to score an additional bathroom. We were however able to find someone in the neighborhood that was willing to reuse them. They just came in, detached it from the wall, wrapped it up all in one piece, then swiftly slipped it out the door. Voila

The fabulous new steel beam which allowed us to open up the main floor and restore support throughout the house.

And a look out back where the mason has repaired some major damage. It's looking a lot better from when we started!

Last Snow

2009-03-29T11:10:00.003-05:00

A look around the neighborhood this morning after yesterday's bit of snow. I hope Lew didn't lose a lot in the garden. His unplanted pac choi is blanketed and certainly frozen.

Five Years

2009-03-26T07:00:00.008-05:00

My family's first Man in Black. I love this shot of him in his stylish turtleneck at the beach, sporting his camera and looking pensive. You are still dearly missed Eddie.

Clients Would Get Fancy Boards

2009-03-23T20:49:00.012-05:00

If we were doing this for clients we would make a cool board with mounted bits of tiles and swatches and descriptive titles in nearly illegible 8 point type. But we do what we do for us when we get home at night or on weekends. And so our little dining room table has become our inspiration board for the new house. It makes for happy.

You can see just a peek of the sweet early house present Eddy surprised me with this week. It's a print from recent darling of the blogosphere Nicodemus Green . This sugar skull print was right up my alley and will be a nice touch once it's framed and hanging in the new kitchen.

Reception...well, almost.

2009-03-10T12:39:00.018-05:00

I know, I know, you want pictures.

Before I continue on with photos from our wedding reception I wanted to ask you if you knew why we chose that particular date?

We were asked a number of times if it was significant somehow and people wanted to know the concept behind the invitations. I thought I'd share some insights on that for those of you still curious.

From the time we started planning we knew that we wanted the wedding to be in the fall and that the reception needed to take place in the courtyard next to the apartment on the Westside where I've live for the last 5+ years. Originally we were planning on the wedding taking place during a regular Mass at the Cathedral. It's a bit old fashioned and a little out of style to do it that way, but it's a lovely way to have a meaningful wedding while sharing the celebration with the rest of your usual congregation. It's done much like a baptism, following the homily.

A date was set upon, November 2, 10:30 mass, and we moved forward with the planning. Months later we were told that we would not be allowed to have a wedding during Mass on that date as it was a holy day- All Souls Day. Just as the anxiety of losing our date started to sink in (mind you, the church schedules well over a year in advance for weddings), we received another call from the Cathedral...the wedding on the books for noon on November 1 had just cancelled and would we like to take that instead? Clearly that was the day that we were meant to have our wedding, in our own Mass on All Saints Day.

This was perfect.

All Saints Day is one of my very favorite days and it coincides with another holiday that is special to our neighborhood, Dia de los Meurtos. The parade and the celebration for Dia de los Meurtos happens every year literally steps outside my front door. Dia de los Meurtos (in English Day of the Dead) is truly a happy day. It is believed during this day the spirits of friends and family who have passed away have divine permission to visit the living. All over Mexico (and our neighborhood) altars are decorated with flowers, fruits, candles and incense. It's an occasion to come together with family to share food and music and remember that the dead are never forgotten because once a year they visit the earth to share these gifts with the living.

Now that's a party we thought.

And so this guided us with our invitations. Designed in tandem with Brady Vest at Hammerpress Letterpress here in Kansas City (Westside neighborhood buddy of old and fantastic craftsman artist extraordinaire), we had a vision. Eddy wanted an invitation that was cool and sustainable (less waste- no fussy envelopes or inserts for the landfill please) and I wanted an invitation that was reflective of me as a graphic designer and made with my hands and Brady's. Done. The form was kinda Eddy's brain child (with the perfs and the detachable mailable rsvp). Brady and I worked it from there. Post printing I hand sewed a heart milagro* onto each invitation while Eddy addressed the mailers with his fancy pants architect handwriting.

*milagro (in English means miracle, also known as ex-votos) metal pieces are offered to a favorite saint as a reminder of the petitioner's particular need for a miracle, or they are offered to the saint in thanks for a prayer answered. Attaching these to the invitations was our way of encouraging people to ask for what they might be needing in their hearts, say a prayer for our marriage or simply to feel the goodness of the community that we are a part of.

And then a boatload of our nearest and dearest helped us make it the most fantastic day we could have ever hoped for. Neither one of us has our head in fairy-tale land, but boy, did that day exceed anything we had ever experienced. Many thanks all. Many many thanks.

Ok, pictures now.

The Reception I : Angiela + Eddy

2009-03-10T08:11:00.016-05:00

The Reception II : Angiela + Eddy

2009-03-10T08:02:00.007-05:00

The Reception III : Angiela + Eddy

2009-03-10T07:26:00.012-05:00

The Wedding : Eddy + Angiela

2009-02-27T10:40:00.008-06:00

1 November 2009

Up Next...The Reception

The Wedding : Angiela + Eddy

2009-02-14T23:01:00.010-06:00

1 November 2009

It was a most beautiful noon wedding. Although we were blessed with an unseasonably warm day, the morning started out with thick fog as white as my veil. Even so, the glint of the gold dome and the fire of the fall leaves promised us a glittering day to come.

I had heart milagros, tying back into our invitations, put on all of our bouquets, the custom ring dish Zoe carried and on Eddy's boutonniere.

Thanks to Neal and Eric at LemonLime Photography for the wedding and receptions photos.
Stay tuned, more to come!

Happy Saint Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T13:10:00.006-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day from the bottom of our hearts.

In honor of the day I thought I'd start posting wedding pics from our All Saints Day celebration. It definitely warms my heart thinking about that gorgeous November 1st day.

Lots of great eye candy to come!!

Up the Demo Staircase

2009-02-11T21:13:00.013-06:00

Take a look at the progress upstairs.

We'll keep this entire brick wall exposed.

Remember this? It used to be the bathroom. Now we have three windows in our bedroom.

That my friends is the north view from our future bedroom. It is quite spectacular at night as we're able to see downtown, the Western Auto sign in the Crossroads, and as far south as the Federal Reserve building.

And three windows here for the girls as well. The new bathroom will be in between our two rooms.

1626 Demo

2009-02-09T12:31:00.009-06:00

One week in and the handsome and expeditious men of
Jamie Jefferies Contruction have literally cleaned house all the way down to the brick. Wowee. Don't forget to look back at an earlier post that shows the starting point. Here's a peek inside...

This is standing at the front door in the living room and looking to your right you see back to the dinning room.

The next one I'm standing in the living room looking at the office area. The three images following that are all kitchen shots.

Maybe this will help.More images to come!

Reprieve

2009-02-06T13:06:00.002-06:00

Today however, we are gifted with a warm and sunny day. It reminds me of the blossoms on Belleview just waiting in the wings.

Confirmation

2009-02-05T07:30:00.002-06:00

Miss Francis Farmer of Assisi concurs- six more weeks of winter.

In Need of a Little Love

2009-02-04T07:30:00.001-06:00

She's strong, she just needs a bit of attention to breathe some light back
in to her.

1626

2009-02-03T08:21:00.008-06:00

Isn't she lovely nestled in quietly between her two old friends? Just think what these ladies have seen in their days.

Here's what my architect husband has to say about her:
"It's an 1890's all brick house that we bought at foreclosure for $61k. That's less than a vacant plot of land in our neighborhood. It's within walking distance from the new performing arts center (completed in 2010), a yuppie grocery store, and a movie theatre (small one, 4 screens)."

Not to mention the proximity to the Crossroads art district. But mostly the neighborhood is great because of all of our dear friends that make up this sweet little community.

1626 Jefferson

2009-02-03T07:34:00.002-06:00

I interrupt the regularly scheduled flashback to bring you this update: It's official, we signed on the house a few days ago! Here's a quick peek, more to come...the demolition is moving so fast I'll have to update you practically hourly. Stay tuned!

The Windy City

2009-01-30T07:30:00.001-06:00

A surprise trip for the squirrels, starting with a scavenger hunt to find out where they were going and their first plane ride. Eddy takes his girls to Chicago on a beautiful summer day.

And sometimes we occupy our time while standing in line taking photographs. This is our fabulous eye series. Can you guess who is who?

1. eddy, 2. zoe, 3. maya, 4. angiela

First Trip

2009-01-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

"I can't believe you've never been up in the Arch," he said. To which I replied "I've been waiting for you. Where've you been?"

Me, in a glorious Eero Saarinen designed pod at the Gateway Arch. The first of many photos where I appear alien.

The Gifts We Brought to the Table

2009-01-28T07:00:00.001-06:00

He has critters...

As do I...

First Date!

2009-01-27T07:00:00.002-06:00

After happily running into ex-co worker and friend Eddy (whom I hadn't seen in over a year) at Curtis' BBQ, we scheduled our first date for the following Friday. We double dated with longtime friends Amy and Ryan, going to an ArtsAlive event where we saw our buddy Josh get tatooed, followed by an amazing performance by Quixotic.

Dearest Dan M had something to do with all of this. He might have inquired as to Eddy's dating status at a very important business meeting in the days following the BBQ. And then he might have dropped my name. That might have influenced Eddy to email a few days later to suggest catching up over lunch. Which might have led me to suggesting a real date on a Friday night. And I might have introduced Dan to his future wife a few years ago. I'm certain we ALL had SOMETHING to do with with helping each other find what we were seeking. Love has a way of finding it's way home.

To Do List

2009-01-26T21:11:00.005-06:00

Too cute not to post.

This was my husband's to do list for himself tonight when he came home from work:

dinner

talk geothermal-sign contract

pack

get check amount

work on book

love wife

Boy I like him.

Good Things to Come...

2009-01-25T11:00:00.002-06:00

So many blessings have come my way over the last year and a half!

I started dating an old friend that would become my husband, our dear friends and neighbors got hitched in San Francisco, Eddy asked me to marry him, we took a year to be engaged and plan our wedding, we carved pumkins from the pumpkin patch, we celebrated two Christmas' together, his daughters gave me my first "mother's day bouquet", we were "showered" by friends, two other couples we're friends with tied the knot, we went to Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and San Francisco for fun, we had a beautiful Catholic wedding and an amazing reception on the most gorgeous day of the entire year, we spent a lovely week in Mexico for our honeymoon, Eddy started a new job, a project I worked on was in "O" Magazine, I took my new family to the country where I grew up, we've made our tiny apartment a home and we're about to buy a fixer-upper this week. {whew}

This blog is a way for me to honor all that has happened since my journey with Eddy started and also a way to share the adventure of our little family as it unfolds.

Stay tuned!