French Style

I have always been attracted to beautiful French Hall Mirrors like this:


I love them in a beautiful gold leaf or distressed and chipping.

like this one

This weekend I found one @ Home Goods and it was only $249. My sweet husband (who was such a trooper to go shopping with me) didn't think that was near as a good deal as I did...and he was probably right, this one was made in Peru. Well, if you are in the market for one check your local Home Goods!


Let the Christmas Party's begin!

I am having a hard time believing that today is December 1st! It just doesn't feel like December. Here is the view from my office window this morning...looks like it should be cold, but we are still reaching the mid 70's during the day! 


I want to see some snow! However, I may be eating my words when we head to Michigan in a few weeks. This is the pic my in laws just sent me of their driveway...I don't know if I really want to see that much snow!



Well anyway, snow or no snow, I am very excited to attend our first Christmas party tonight. I can't wait to show you some of the furniture pieces on display from Southwest Furniture Co. They have made some beautiful custom pieces for us here @ Within Studio, so I can't wait to see what they are showcasing tonight!


Speaking of furniture OneKingsLane.com has some amazing furniture. And I don't mean hit or miss, everyday their inventory is stocked with great European furniture lines that I am drooling over. 
Just a few:
One Kings Lane Hand carved waterfront chest





This lavender mirror could be a head turner in the right place, gorg!

Sarabeth Floor Mirror, Lavender

I am also obsessing over the Stark over-dyed rug that I found on OKL this morning. I love the modern process of over-dying vintage rugs, genius!
And this Arthur Linen Armchair

I love dark grey upholstery in a living room 
via
And throw in a gorgeous studded trunk...deep sigh!

via

Happy 1st of December!




Oh Christmas Tree

Since we did not do Thanksgiving day at our house this year, I got a little stir crazy and put our Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. I couldn't decide if I should change it up this year, maybe a little Southwest motiff...
I found these cute little gourd ornaments

And of course we would need a Chili Wreath

Or maybe a living succulent wreath (found @ the Tucson Home Depot)


Also saw these Christmas Bean Bag Toss Games @ Home Depot
I think they were just showing off how creative they could be with their scrap wood, they were not for sale :(



BUT, I did not in face go for the Southwest Christmas Decor this year...I went with the good ole Traditional Christmas Tree:

With our vintage angel

 vintage ornaments



The copper pineapples from all of our Williams Sonoma wedding gifts


But my fave's are the vintage Shiny Brite's (that you can see in all the pic's above)!


Found on EBAY

What are your favorite Christmas Ornaments?

Entry Consoles

Lately I have been on an all out man hunt for an entry console for our house. Of course I am looking for a bargain or least something that I can have refinished just for our space. There are so many great looks, but I am always drawn to classic Gustavian Antiques!

                                              Gustavian classic style chest of drawers


hall mirror and Gustavian console table


my husband would love this table...then maybe i could bring in the white ribbon mirror 

Swedish Gustavian Design



I found this one from a local Tucson store, Tres Amigos
and at $315.00...not bad!

They also have this wooden apothecary table for $577.00


I found this guy on Craigslist $280, I'd love to change out the hardware and have it painted...like the legs!





Roll and Hill

Have you heard of Roll&Hill? I am really into a few of their fixtures right now. "

Launched By Jason Miller in January 2010, Roll & Hill is a New York City–based manufacturer of high end contemporary lighting. Roll & Hill produces original lighting products by American and international designers".

Bluff City 14-inch

                                                       Bluff City - These would be great over a kitchen island

Monogram

Cute little Monogram brass table lamp  

Modo Chandelier, 3 Sided, 10 Globes

Modo Chanderlier

Arizona Design Center Trip

Within Studio recently took a lovely trip to the ADC in Scottsdale. We found some great pieces for our clients! Here are a few pic's from the trip:

Cowhide ottoman

Framed suzani:

Carved French Shield

Southwest painting by Carole Meyer

 Inlaid leather dining chair

A secret remote control bar...yess!!!



 Industrial Pendant
 Metal lamp

 White marble lamp





 This could totally be a nail headDIY project for a parsonsside table


 Carved wood wings



 Nailhead design on this chest:
 Great daybed for two!
 I want the ribbon Mirror!

Tucson Antiquing

Hi Friends! I have been doing a good bit of exploring here in good ole Tucson and I thought you might like to see some of this towns inventory!

 Hand carved King Solomon from a church in Mexico
Mid century art

I totally want these Tempe Retiree's Bingo Cards


Mid Century Bruno chairs








Then we visited what is now my new favorite place in town - The Lost Barrio. Honestly no one that I have talked to has even heard of it. Here's a little discription that I found online:

The "Lost Barrio" is located in Downtown Tucson but it's hard to find. This place doesn't show up on any map and most people don't even know it exists.
The Lost Barrio in Tucson is a tiny, almost hidden, shopping district of only about 3 blocks. There's a little bit of everything here, Old West Heritage items and furniture, Chinese antiques, Locally created Art and even some Art Deco stuff from Buenos Aries.

There's Antique Furniture from Mexico, South America, India and Burma and there's tons of Doors, yeah that's right, Doors! They have doors from everywhere, temple doors from Tibet, Barn Doors from South America and even Teak Doors from Africa"

Shop Entrances - Amazing tile work











Finally we found our way to Toolies Cafe in the lost barrio. It is out of this world...and they serve breakfast all day. Everything is all natural and they make their own homemade tortillas fresh daily...yumm they were delicious.


Fireworks and Lightning Storms

On the 4th the storms stopped long enough for us to have a great fireworks display...ouuu, ahhhh!





 Woohoo! Happy Independence Day!

I would also like to show you what happened over our house last night...not sure how smart it was to be out in it taking pictures...but I am thinking it was totally worth it! Thanks to my manz awesome skills, we were able to capture what was happening.
Can you believe this:



YOU MUST watch this VIDEO of the haboob in Phoenix. It looked like a scene from the Mummy Returns!

Wedding Time!

On June 17th I flew to Michigan for Elizabeth's batchelorette party! Her wedding date was the 24th so I got to stay with my in law's for over a week and enjoy all of the wedding planning!
Here is a little glimpse of my tip!
We started out the batchelorette party with some mani's and pedi's and some of the most amazing cupcakes from Bake N Cakes - the strawberry shortcake was my favorite...I think Elizabeth was enjoying the German Chocolate Fudge!
 Amanda (my sister n law - Brian's brother David's wife), Elizabeth (Brian's baby sister), and Courtney (one of Elizabeth's friends and bridesmaid):
Moving on to DSW on the hunt for honeymoon shoes!
 Success for Jessica, Elizabeth and Amanda!
We were now off to Maru Shshi, the bride to be's absolute favorite restaurant!
 Somehow we ran into the groom (to be)...they were so insanely excited to see each other!
 Our bride to be decided to order her "man" a shot from the bar...you would have thought they were the only two in the restaurant!

The sushi the groom sent the bride in return...yummmm! 

The AWESOME bride's favorite - sexy bacon roll: 
sexy bacon with cucumber, asparagus,
crab, tempura crunchy, soy paper,
fantasy sauce, creamy garlic sauce and
shredded seaweed...gorgeous!
Then we ended up going to see Bridesmaids in Theaters @ midnight...this granny was tired!!!
The next morning we went to the all organic
Sawyer's Gourmet Pancake House...where we you know just bumped into Michigan's previous Governor Jennifer Granholm. Amanda totally spoke with her - cool!

 I had no idea there were so many incredible "local" places to eat in Lansing

Later in the week we went to the final dress fitting and Elizabeth decided to try on a few other accessories!

Then before you know it it's wedding day!!!!
Started out with Bigby coffee..
Some sweet portraits: 
The Beautiful Bride

Father Daughter Dance
 The Happy Mommy!
The Rosewood Bed and Breakfast  - unbelievable place for a wedding!
A precious little bride to be!!!


The next day...their married!!!
We had so much fun with our fam in Michigan.

We were exhausted when we got home...nothing like settling down with a few episodes of Toddlers and Tiaras (click to enlarge, haha!) 








Ya learn something new every day!

 
Hi Friends! So I have been oh so blessed to see some pretty amazing homes here in Tucson. This is one of Within Studio's clients homes, one of many modern homes in this golf course community. I thought you might like to see how some of these Tucsonians are living!
  
You can see behind the red sculpture they have these automatic storm shutter that open up so you can have an all glass house when you are home or fully secured shutter when you are traveling...


Incredible art garden...and what a cute little pool for your sculpture!

They called this their Cactus Garden...um, yeah, that is the only kind of "garden" out here.

 I learned that this particular client (currently retired), but they were in the Whirligig business...honestly, I've never even heard that word before. Well, anyway that's what these are:
And this is the view from their master...I wish you could see it in person, the pic's don't do it justice, and there is all kinds of wildlife running around.

Enjoying Peace In HIS Presence


" I AM WITH YOU, watching over you constantly. I am Emmanuel (God with you); My Presence enfolds you in radiant Love. Nothing, including the brightest blessings and the darkest trials, can separate you from Me. Some of my children find me more readily during dark time, when difficulties force them to depend on Me. Other feel closer to Me when their lives are filled with good things. They respond with thanksgiving and praise, thus opening wide the door to My Presence.
I know precisely what you need to draw nearer to Me. Go through each day looking for what I have prepared for you. Accept every event as My hand-tailored provision for your needs. When you view your life this way, the most reasonable response is to be thankful. Do not reject any of my gifts; find Me in every situation". - Jesus Calling

We miss you guys!
Brian + Natalie


Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day Brian and I took a short drive up to Mt. Lemon. Locals say that it is basically like taking a drive from Mexico to Canada in 45 minutes. You go from desert to evergreens in no time; it's so pretty!







Close to the top of Mt. Lemon there is this small little town called Summerhaven

...and in Summerhaven we found the Cookie Cabin!!!
 
 this is the only size cookie they sell...AWESOME!

After a long day of exploring we made our way down the mountain to Guadalajara Grill. This place is incredible, they have a person who comes to your table and makes your custom salsa with any of the fresh ingredients you want in it. You get to try it out and you tell them what you want to add or if it's just right...soooo good!

Dinner - Chimichanga Asada : 

We finish up the day with Percy taking us on a stroll through the neighborhood...right before all of the bats come out...AHH!

8 Great things about Tucson

1. The Palm Trees - It really makes you feel like you are on a vacation. However, we have recently learned that any time you see a cluster of Palm Trees like this there is a sweet trailer park located beneath...beautiful!

2. Bicycle Friendly - Seriously, all of the roads have a third lane for bicycles and they cross in and out of the traffic lanes...sooo scary. Anyway, most restaurants and shops have these cool artsy bike racks; I like um!
3. Farmers Markets Galore - They are everywhere! The difference is that here the big day for the markets is Sunday. Not sure why that day works better, but Sunday it is.





4. Awesome Landscaping, perfect for BIRD WATCHING - Oh you didn't know about your friend the Bird Watcher? We basically live in a retirement community so we might as well take up bird watching.
Little tiny Bird:
Cactus Wren:

Not sure about this little guy, but he was hot pink up close; awesome!
5. New Furniture Stores - Antigua Mexico was cool, they claim to be the Mexico connection. Some really nice pieces.







6. The Music - There seems to be some sort of concert every night of the week...or at least some guy at the bus stop putting on a show with his harmonica.

7. Free Time - Oh yeah, you better believe I am watching the Food Network Cupcake Wars and then I end up stuck wi 3 dozen cupcakes...















8. No Hablo Espanol - EVERYTHING is in Spanish. Seriously even in english people roll their "rr's" when pronouncing street names. I am going to order Rosetta Stone and I am going to learn Spanish...and I am still going to be a bird watcher!