The dawn of a new reality


Did you all like that one post I put up this summer?  It was awesome, wasn't it? Yeah...

Well, I did write many more of them in my head, usually at 2 am, but obviously none of them made it into the computer.  I even took photos specifically for blog posts, and then sort of shuddered at the thought of opening Photoshop and ran outside.  And that is where I spent pretty much every day this summer - outside (see photos above)!  With the boys, of course, and family either Out East or Out West - and yes I realize that my life is kind of ridiculous, and I am spoiled absolutely rotten.  I thought I would throw together a few of the look-how-awesome-my-summer was shots into one big clump to get them out of the way. :)

My comeuppance has come this week, as both boys start full days at school.  Suddenly I am none too fond of Mr. McGuinty and his full-day kindergarten (the very thing I was crossing my fingers for when I was a working mom paying for childcare).  It's like the end of the most glorious, happy, unbelievably-amazing vacation - a two-year vacation at that.

Two years of being at my kids' every beck and call, of crafting, colouring, drawing, breaking up fights, kissing owies, twisting the chicken timer on the time-out spot, and developing an amazing respect for the phenomenon called 'quiet'.

Two years of days at the park (feeling incredibly guilty as I facebooked and instagrammed my brains out), listening to toy cars discuss red lights versus green lights, denying TV, and then binging on 10 episodes of Max and Ruby (usually with a chaser of Caillou).

Two years of tantrums at the grocery store, book store, cafe, halfway to the park, halfway to the car, in the car, outside the car, upstairs, downstairs, and especially on the time-out spot - many of them thrown by yours truly.  Two years of spontaneous hugs, puzzles, stories, bike rides and snuggles.

You get the idea.  It only hit me last week that days like these will now be confined to two months in the summer, if they still want to hang out with me that is.  For the rest of the year I will have to make due with those fun hours around dinner and weekends, like regular folks.  It was a tough realization to come to terms with, but being grateful for those two years really, actually (Cam's favourite word) did help.  There some sobbing, gulping-for-air tears (all mine) last week to be sure.

But this week things seem to be shaking into some sort of new reality.  I am trying to take it easy on myself and not demand that I find a job STAT (which is how I feel).  I am happy to report that I am still gunning to do interior design, I will keep up with the marketing consulting, and the encaustic project is still a go.

So there you have it, my life in a nutshell.  I am sure you really didn't need to read it, but for some reason I needed to write it!  I seem to have been putting off blogging until I had all this stuff squared away, and now I hereby give myself permission to get back into it. :)

Strawberry-Picking in New Brunswick


I just returned from a month in New Brunswick and while I had the best of intentions of posting regular updates, I was too busy living them to even download them from my camera. These shots are from our first full day at Nana and Grampy's, at the very end of the strawberry-picking season.  We drove (and ferried) over to the Kingston Peninsula to see what was left at Bates Landing.  The berries were pretty picked-over, but the boys and Nana had fun, and I just soaked in the New Brunswick air and admired the view.  I also ate a few strawberries. :)


It was the perfect beginning to the perfect holiday. :)

Made A Mano Tiles

Made_A_Mano_Tile Novecento collection

Oh heavens - is it normal that the above photo makes me weak in the knees?  It is from the website for Made A Mano tiles, from their Novecento collection.  This collection features silkscreened designs from the nineteenth century and is their tribute to the style found in the Aeolian Islands. Ah, so pretty!

Made_A_Mano_Tile Novecento collection

Made A Mano was founded in 2001 by these two ladies, NanaKi Bonfils and Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer.  They have the most beautiful patterns and glazes, and everything is handmade, from the tile cutting to the glazing.  The designs are either hand-drawn, hand printed, or silkscreened. 


NanaKi Bonfils and Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer of Made A Mano tiles
NanaKi Bonfils and Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer
Made_A_Mano_Pop_Collection_Tile
Made A Mano Pop collection - the colour brushed on by hand.

They also make countertops and sinks, and these beautiful lava stone boards below from the lava of Mt. Vesuvio and Mt. Etna.  The texture, profile, and designs on the boards are stunning.  I would love a white and a blue one!

Made_A_Mano lava stone boardMade_A_Mano lava stone boardMade_A_Mano lava stone board
Made_A_Mano lava stone board

The other tiles they do are so one-of-a-kind - they would really be the showpiece in any space.  I am thinking of ordering a catalogue... just for fun...

Made_A_Mano_tile_Bath
Made_A_Mano_Tile amazing green floor
Made_A_Mano_Tile

Wow... just... WOW.  Thanks to Danielle at The Style Files for originally featuring them!

(Also I want to make that driftwood boat!!)

So many iPhone Cases!

iPhone case Rifle Paper Co Leif Shop cases

I am starting to worry that iPhone cases might be my new purse.  You know, I have a few but then I see one that I really love, and it doesn't seem that much of an investment, for something I use every day...  I had been crushing on these now-ubiquitous-but-still-so-purdy Rifle Paper Co cases above.  The top left one is my absolute favourite pattern - I have about 6 notes books with that design on the cover that I bought for gifts, but... well, you know. So I thought I would save my pennies for that one (my usual go-to-store is Winners so anything more than $7.99 seems expensive) but then I saw these lovelies from Leif Shop. Gah, I really adore that bottom left one again (scribbled landscape) and the blue tile is so nice...

iPhone case cases Society 6 Afterimages Etsy

Of course Society 6 always has amazing cases to choose from with so much unique artwork to choose from - how awesome is that folded paper number above?  I was also stoked to find Afterimages shop on Etsy which not only has some great choices (love that water one) but will do CUSTOM cases for you too - and all of them are under $20!  I would love to have one with a photo of the boys made, what about you?

neon iPhone case from Zazzle


Of course, if I were thinking purely practically, I would go for a neon number, like these above from Zazzie (only I wouldn't 'cause they are impossibly expensive - $50!?! WHAT??!).  I need something I can easily see in my big pit of a purse.  I don't know how many times I have looked for my phone in my purse, then torn the house apart trying to find it, only to realize that, in its boring black case, it was in the bottom of the purse the whole time.

So what do you have on your phone?  Do you own more than one case?  Are you an addict like myself?  Or do you have one of those ugly indestructible Otter thingers?  Sorry Otter-owners.

Katia and Marielle Labèque

Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest

I love interior design, and I love classical music, and I especially love when they intersect as perfectly as with the Labèque sisters.  Katia and Marielle Labèque are arguably the world's best piano duo - they are incredibly dramatic and regularly astound their audiences with their expressive and imaginative performances.  They are actually performing in Toronto NEXT THURSDAY (not tomorrow - oops) and I am so, so sad to be missing it.  If you can possibly swing it, you should really, really go - I think it is going to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime concerts.  Sigh.

Piano Duo Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home Architectural Digest

These gals seem so cool.  Besides performing the usual Ravel, Satie, Prokofiev, and Mozart, they have also formed a group called the Minimalist Dream House that explores contemporary music from John Cage and Steve Reich to Sonic Youth and Radiohead. They've played with Sting and Herbie Hancock and Madonna is their buddy.  And they have one of the most beautiful and unique homes and recording studios I have ever seen.

Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest

The sisters bought the first two floors of a Renaissance palace in Tuscany and collaborated with Antiques dealer and designer Axel Vervoordt to create this gorgeous home that somehow manages to be sumptuous and minimal at the same time.  That amazing purple sofa came from Vervoordt's Home Collection, and the various treasures are from his antiques and art objects gallery and store.

Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt bedroom

The faded panels in Marielle's bedroom were found under layers of paint and the ceiling is original as well.  The mood and texture of this room is contrasted by Katia's serene space below, although the railing were made by Vervoordt from metal pieces originally used to hold up the roof of the Louvre.

Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
kitchen in Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest

Other modern amenities are hidden away throughout the house: the kitchen appliances are tucked beneath these 17th-century doors, and the rich green silk curtain in the living room hides a state-of-the-art stereo system.

Bath in Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
Piano Duo Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
Pinao Duo Katia and Marielle Labèque's Tuscan Home by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest

This home is so up my alley!  If you are wondering where the pianos are (like I was), they are at the world-class recording studio they crafted out of a 1920's nursing-school in Rome.  Here the spare but textured space has a more industrial feel, perfectly suited to all the cables and electronic equipment.  My favourite thing in the space, the huge stone sphere, is not an adornment from an ancient Italian ruin, as I had assumed, but rather one of a set of nine orbs carved by Thai monks that would have surrounded a temple to "absorb and diffuse cosmic power." Amazing.

Katia and Marielle Labèque's Recording Studio by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
Katia and Marielle Labèque's Recording Studio by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
Katia and Marielle Labèque's Recording Studio by Axel Vervoordt Architectural Digest
Katia and Marielle Labèque's Recording Studio by Axel Vervoordt
Katia and Marielle Labèque's Recording Studio by Axel Vervoordt

I love the inlaid panels placed above the pianos in the this space and the one pictured at the beginning - even the acoustic requirement add to the overall aesthetic. Katia has a great quote in the AD article“Axel is the only person we know who treats space the same way we read a musical score—exploring new areas of feeling while holding on to the rhythm.”

If you are interested, there is a great interview on the Architectural Digest site of the Lebèque's collaboration and friendship with Axel Vervoordt. Below I'll include a mesmerizing Minimalist Dream House performance of Radiohead's Pyramid Song.  (I chose not to include the video of Madonna taking her dancers and crew to visit the Labèques - Madge's patronizing and affected voice makes me crazy.)

Lastly, if you can make it, I implore you to go see them for me next Thursday night, August 1, at Koerner Hall in Toronto (7:30 pm, torontosummermusic.org)!


MINIMALIST DREAM HOUSE _ Radiohead "Pyramid Song" from Meloni Mitchell on Vimeo.

The joys of technology are unending


Hoo boy you guys, I am up to my nostrils in blogging muck, trying to move Wicked & Weird from Blogger to Wordpress.  I am doing it super slowly, mostly because I don't have a clue what I am doing and have to find a youtube tutorial for every step.

However, it feels like a step forward towards having a business of some sort.  I have registered the domain lisamackaydesign.com and am hoping to move the blog to lisamackaydesign.com/wickedandweird.  That leaves the main site for building up a brand, sales pitch, pricing, and um... maybe some sort of a product to sell!

It took me AGES to decide on a wordpress theme (I ended up going with Salient) and now I am trying to get it to look the way I want - which is more or less like my blogger blog.  Anyway, I will give you some warning before I press the red button and officially move everything over (or lose it forever, perish the thought).  Until then, I am heading back into Confusion Land...

I Heart The Latest Covet Garden

 

The latest issue of Covet Garden features Jenn Hannotte, a Toronto designer I have long admired for her pared-down funky interiors.  She recently moved to a new Victorian house and I have been waiting for a glimpse of her newly decorated digs!  Thankfully, Covet Garden provided for me. :)


That rug in her kitchen is gorgeous.  She mixes modern and traditional so well, and every knick knack is chosen and showcased deliberately.  I wish I could do it as easily!  Mind you - this is all styled-up for the magazine, I wonder how it normally looks. :)  As always, Jodi Pudge goes a fantastic job with her light, bright, clean photography.  Someday I would like to see my place through the eyes of such a photographer, wouldn't you?

Craig's List Roundup

Lovely simple lines on this iron bed - $100
It's been a while since I trolled around Craigslist looking for things I don't need - I have had no need, what with The Listings List bringing me all the good stuff with a fantastic dose of snarky humour.  But tonight the hubby is out and I am too tired to do any work but too wired to go to bed early, so treasure trolling it is.  Here are a few things that caught my eye amongst the insanely overpriced junk and car parts:

Art deco-shaped brass and glass shelves - $175
Oh-so-chic brass pendants with filament bulbs, two for $210 (so you know they want $200) isn't a crazy price...
'K, don't even really read this one... this kilim is mine (for $175).  Sorry honey, it has to be done.
LOVE the straight square lines on this brass headhttp://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/atq/3847527990.htmlboard.  LOVE.  WANT. $300
Looking beat-to-hell, but isn't that the point with these lamps?  All that character, in working order... for only $35!  You know this would be at least double that at SMASH.
A lovely walnut dresser with completely the wrong knobs (imho) - $225
Are these ugly?  I kind of love them - brass and rosewood flatware for $80
"Retro" light from Union Lighting means you won't need to rewire it! - $75
Sometimes a half-moon console table is just the right size for awkward spaces.  This guys has a nice shape, but it is looking a little rough, so I would talk them down... from $30.
Oh spool beds, how I love you. I really do. Even for $300.
 Anything tempt you?  Do you think I might have a thing for wood and brass?  Maybe?