Heath Ceramics Tour

Our road trip to Northern California is fast approaching as we are working really hard to wrap up work before we leave! We were originally planning to make it all the way up to Oregon, but unfortunately we do not have that kind of time before the kids start school! However, we are very excited to be able to take a different kind of trip visiting places that our new to us since we've done all the city stuff already! One of our stops will be Sausalito, CA which I have never been. This is also home to the original Heath Ceramics factory. My favorite! I am very excited for the tour I was able to book for us.

Every aspect of their tile and tableware production, from clay-making to kiln-firing, is done right there in their Sausalito factory. The building was built in 1959 for Heath Ceramics. It was designed by the mid-century architecture firm Marquis & Stoller in collaboration with Edith Heath.

Pretty Shop : Lightly

I discovered a beautiful shop Lightly from Australia.
I love everything they carry, but here are a few of my favorites!

concrete table/stool no. 2

Our outdoor living space is coming along slowly but surely.
It has been a lot of hard work, but we are happy with the results so far...
Remember the concrete core project I was working on?... I finally finished
painting all 3 of them. Yay!

This is what they use to look like.

I really like the contrast between the bright colors with the grey pebbles and concrete walkway.

Wall painting

This is my current project I started over the weekend.
I decided to go with an avocado green for this wall.

My ode to Hawaii to start things off...reminding me of the beautiful place, lovely people, and "ono grinds"!  J's from Hawaii, it's my second home and a big part of our culture.
 Lulu always keeps me company as I work.

My kids hang out with me too...Maya's behind the camera.

A work in progress...

Quote of the Day

Via  words over pixels

Red Wagon Makeover

A friend of mine wanted to borrow our little red wagon for her sister's wedding for the ring bearer to ride in....isn't that a cute idea? Although the wagon was used only a mere two times to haul my then toddler children through the grounds of the Los Angeles County Fair, it was in no condition to make an appearance in a wedding! It sat outdoors and I was using it as a garden cart to hold my empty pots and gardening tools. The paint was chipping off, and the interior was just awful!
However, after a good scrub, some sanding, and a  fresh coat of paint, I must say it looks pretty good!

Pretty Pots

I'm really loving these footed pots for your plants by Erica Peterson over at Stvdio Brooklyn.
Feeling inspired...

Concrete outdoor table/stool

As we continue to improve our outdoor space, J brought home these concrete cores from a downtown L.A. job site, where we are currently building a restaurant. Its not in perfect condition, but we thought the concrete look would be pretty cool outdoors.

Inspired by Moroccan tiles, I started painting them. 

Midcentury Bamboo Swivel Chair Makeover

I found these vintage swivel chairs on Craigslist a couple years back and knew I had to have them!
Although the wood was in bad shape, it had good bones so I thought a little TLC can bring them back to life. I only paid $30 per chair. It sat in our yard like this for awhile in this sad sad state. After a few summers here in our new home, we decided that we need to "get on it" and improve our outdoor living space like how we always talked about.

BEFORE

I cleaned, I sanded, gave it a couple coats of paint, and sealed it.
The Behr paint samples you can get for $2.94 for an 8 oz. container was perfect for this project.
Available at Home Depot. I ended up using 2 containers worth.
The cushions I purchased at World Market for $14.99.

AFTER

 One project down of many more to come! Stay tuned....

Mini Curio Cabinet Makeover

We bought this mini curio cabinet before my first daughter was born, which was like 8 years ago.
I never really loved it, but it happened to be the right size and budget ($50) at the time we purchased it.
I currently use this to store my vintage collection of mugs. I finally got around to painting and refinishing it this weekend. Here's the before and after photos....