Not to mention, flowering tree on red:

Out of New York come the prettiest things.

Wouldn’t these make great Christmas gifts? See more like this here by Oktak.

PS: Greek Fest photos still to come. My sister and I couldn’t make it upstairs for the download.

PPS: I just had to mention Pears on Gray:

Yes, I bought it. Yes, I love it. Yes, I will run home every day for the next two weeks to check my mailbox. Yes, I sometimes wonder if Michelle Brusegaard thinks she’s as fabulous as I think she is.

Yes, there are others:

Believe me, your girlfriend, sister, best friend, mother, etc would like one. Michelle makes the most beautiful stationary and linens as well. And yes, she’s from Etsy and yes, she has a blog.

Then another kind of red: Kat came over for dinner last night and she, Ash and I launched life plans over Thai red curry and red wine (don’t ask about the bean burgers – they died an early death). Plans that I really hope will come to fruition. It was the perfect way to spend an evening. And it’s not even Wednesday yet.

Have a great champagne day. Drink it up.

Jen

We’re getting a new couch. At first we were all in love with our leather Liberty beauty. It was basically free at $999 marked down from $2499, but more importantly it was a floor model. Who can wait 4 to 6 weeks for a couch delivery? Not us. So, we dragged it home and threw out old Asian lady’s blue couch that Ash kept when he bought her apartment (and whose scent lingered every time one mistakenly plopped down too hard after a long day).

Now, apparently, we also do not have 10 years to wait for a leather couch to relax. It’s hard, sticky and unforgiving. It’s not a couch for slouchers. Also, it’s way too heavy for our light, smallish place more suited to the airy lines of Eames Chairs and Noguchi Tables. And how do I know all this, you ask?

Style at Home. House and Home. Vitamin V.

Yes. This is yet another instance when Vitamin V seems to have read the daily, insignificant dilemnas my inner-voices swat back and forth. This is what trend researchers do right? This morning I received, as if from a higher power, the long-awaited answer to our lingering stiffness after a little too much time spent sitting on our couch: Lushpad.

You might have thought the answer would be, “go take a walk” or “stop watching, So You Think You Can Dance” (which I admittedly cannot). So, even though I am as utterly excited about this new, online marketplace for Modern Collectors as a knee is when it’s bonked on the lower tendon…I am kind of tired of being bonked.

What am I saying? Mostly that I am reading a good book, which always makes me a bit of a snob…but a happy one.

Photo, pretty birds and a deep desire for teak furniture soaked in natural light via the beautiful Geninne’s Art Blog,

Jen

Photos found via Bodie and Fou

Everyone needs a sacred place. Ash and I talked this morning about how I am meant for a studio life. You know, the little studio in the backyard where creative endeavours flourish and champagne is taken midday, mid-word, mid-serenity. I love how he indulges me. The photos above are artist Shanna Murray’s personal indulgence: a small studio in light seaside hues whose walls are papered with the pages of Pride and Prejudice. I love that. What book would you choose to surround yourself with? I can almost smell the soft, dusty perfume that all those old pages would add to the room. Beautiful.

So, what does this all have to do with Champagne? Nothing really, except Ms. Austen’s title got me thinking about the various feelings of pride and prejudice I hold about Champagne. For instance, the lovely bottle of Italian champagne that continues to claim real estate in our wine fridge. We just can’t seem to bring ourselves to pop it. As if something would be lost instead of gained. I hear this a lot. Whenever I explain Champagne Wednesdays to someone new, they always says “yeah, we have a couple bottles in our house. Don’t know what we’ve been saving it for.”

What’s the pride in having champagne on hand? Ever-ready for celebration, with no celebration ever good enough. What are you saving it for?

Jen

PS; Shanna Murray has an Etsy store

I bought this little greenhouse for my grandma, who passed away this year. Now it’s a nice reminder of her and the secret way she had with food. The difference between dried herbs and fresh herbs is a taste of life. A punch of joie de vie that will strike the ignition of your taste buds. Tonight, for Champagne Wednesday, the rosemary will make it into a marinade for pork tenderloin. Ash should be home with the Champagne soon…

Inside lives fresh: Rosemary, Thai Basil, Regular Basil and Thyme.

PS: in behind the greenhouse is my pink espresso print from Etsy seller, Annechovie, another steal at $20.

Greenhouse from Ikea, but many moons ago.

Parachutes of white canvas hidden from the street.

Tables dressed with linen.

French music. Fresh Flowers.

Food sans ego.

Gallery Cafe and Catering at the Vancouver Art Museum.

Champagne $5.50 and Kir Royale $5.00

Happy Wednesday.

]]> http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/vancouver/champagne-settings-in-vancouver/feed/ 1 http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/etsy/love-affairs/ http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/etsy/love-affairs/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:37:36 +0000 champagnewednesday http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/?p=96 Love affairs are wonderful things, and not always necessarily with your betrothed.

For me, it’s chandeliers. A kind of light not so different from the firefly-bubbles in a good champagne.

Here are a few that set me alight:

From Absolutely Beautiful Things

From Paper & Ink Studio

From Velocity Art & Design

Happy Champagne Wednesday. I toast to you tonight.

Jen

My latest print arrived last week from Etsy seller SFgirlbybay (it’s the print in the picture, not the picture itself). I thought this would make a perfect daily reminder for Ash and I to keep calm during the next 6 months before our wedding. Until then, I think I might hang it in my new office at work (yes, a new office, as in a new job, again). Anyway, I just love it. It’s even aptly named “wedding mint” for the background colour. I am starting to think the mailman might think I am some kind of 1) drug pusher or 2) shopohilic (more likely, right?) for all the packages I have been receiving in the mail lately. Can you still be classified as a grossly out-of-control consumer when you are buying strictly handmade??? You can, can’t you? Damn.

I am giving myself one more day to feel this way.

]]> http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/champagne-wednesdays/oh-thursday/feed/ 0 http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/collage-journal/where-shall-we-go/ http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/collage-journal/where-shall-we-go/#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 15:22:56 +0000 champagnewednesday http://www.champagnewednesdays.com/?p=83

Good morning. I found this piece of collage inspiration on Elements of Style – and I thought it was the perfect way to begin this week’s Champagne Wednesday (well, actually a mimosa is the perfect way, but we’ll just pretend). Perfect, especially today, as Ash and I pour over travel sites trying to decide where we should go on our honeymoon. It will be November. Too chilly for our love of Europe, where we shivered through the last two early springs. Too late for the mindlessness of Cancun, where we’re sure to face Hurricane season. Travel is a privilege. Neither of us take the decision or the weight of such a gift very lightly. I see many more nights in bed with dueling laptops until we decide.

PS: this collage, as shared by Erin, is from an artist named Lulu de Kwiatkowsk. Lulu’s hand-crafted collages are a trip in themselves. You could go on a mini vacaton now if you’d like to take a look. I love the one with the juicy green grapes.

PPS: The joys and pathways of blogging never end. Erin has an etsy shop where she sells the most beautiful vintage wallpapers. I like her idea for framing them above a bed. Brilliant.