House Tour: Charlene of Plain Zane

Plain Zane designer Charlene let me snap a few (okay... alot) pictures of her modern and green loft-style home. Her style is chic, and she does a great job of mixing rustic with modern. I love to visit because there is always something new to see at least in her home office studio, which stylishly displays all her Plain Zane goods.

Note that I took the pictures during a lunch/pool playdate, so nothing is staged or prepped for the photos. This is how great her house looks. Her furniture is mixed and many pieces come from West Elm, ZGallerie and Ikea.

Large windows, high ceilings and concrete floors give the house a loft feeling. But the house is warmed up with throw rugs and casual paintings. I love her white leather sectional.

Modern kitchen. Glass jars with candy and colorful fruit draw the eyes up to the large "keep calm and carry on" painting. Don't forget to buy gladiolus flowers this summer and put it in a colorful vase.

She bought the rustic table with benches at World Market for a steal. Perfect for children. The paper light fixture is an Ingo Maurer design.

The front door is a glass garage door. Very loft appropriate. Plain Zane little girl sample skirts hang for display.

More samples of little girl aprons, dresses and onesies. So cute!

Chalk paint breaks up the large wall in the children's playroom.

Little girl's room.

Baby's room

Entrance to master bedroom

Ultra-chic swimming pool, which is kid friendly and not too deep.

Fruit Picking

We were out doing our annual summer fruit picking yesterday. There is a great orchard near our house that has a variety of fruit each month for "pick-your-own". The two older kids were more of a help this year than last and did most of the picking and even climbed the trees to pick the best-looking fruit. We got peaches, nectarines and blueberries. With an abundance of fruit, it forces me to make jams and bake pies and can fruit.

This little guy has to take his cars EVERYWHERE we go. Two, of course. One for each hand.

Me and my nectarines and prego belly.

{taken with iPhone. Camera still in shop and won't see it for another two weeks!}

{PS...sorry if you are getting sick of food posts. I promise not to post about food tomorrow}

Cucumber Salad

Since I have so many cucumbers growing from my garden, a yummy salad is a good way to use them up. I called my sister to give me a recipe, and she just whipped this out of her brillant brain. You know...throw a little of this on it, then a little of that and then you have a yummy salad.

Cucumbers--sliced

Yellow onions--sliced

Throw it in a bowl and drizzle olive oil, red wine vinegar and agave syrup. Sea salt and pepper.

Vegetable Garden

I love to see that all my dirt digging work has paid off. My vegetable garden is doing really well. And working in it has actually become somewhat therapeutic. The image below are pickings within a two-day period! My cucumbers and yellow squash are thriving like crazy. I'm giving some way because I can't eat them quick enough. Most of my tomatoes are still green but a few are turning. My zucchinis are growing, but I wish I grew more since I could use them in baking and grilling. I've learned a few things being a first-time gardener and have done a few mistakes:

• I divided my garden bed into two sections for my early summer seeds and later summer seeds. The first section was for all my leafy vegetables. I didn't put any black garden tarp underneath for weed control. For me, that was a bad thing. The weeds are out of control in that section and a daily chore. But I did put the black garden tarp in my second section and it make a huge differences in the number of weeds I get. Anyone have weed-control suggestions?


• When I left to go on my west coast vacation the first part of summer, I hired the neighbor boy to water my garden. That was kind of a bad thing. I should of hired someone who knew how to care for a garden. Not that he didn't water because he did, but he didn't do any weeding and ALL my leafy vegetables (lettuce, spring mix, green onions, and spinach) went to seed. So, what does going to seed mean? Well, for leafy vegetables it means that it hasn't been cut down, but instead grown so large that it develops seeds. It declines in looks and status and most importantly TASTE. All my sweet mouth-watering lettuce now tastes bitter. And no--extra salad dressing does not cover the taste. Anyone have a solution for this? I've cut them down but they still taste bitter. I'm tempted to just pull it all up and try again next year.


• There's a skunk that's been hanging around the garden. I've spotted him a few times. I'm assuming there's something in the garden he wants, but he hasn't eaten any of the vegetables. Anyone have this problem?

Any suggestions anyone can give? I'm thinking of planting some flowers in the sections that are done producing vegetables. Good idea?

{taken with iPhone. Camera STILL in shop}

Gypsy Canopy

I spotted this gypsy canopy at my local anthropologie store and it caught my eye. I wanted to transport to my backyard so I could have a tea party or read a book underneath it. Luckily the artist who built it happened to be working that day. She was busily building some other cool artwork, but on the walls. I got a chance to talk to her and drilled her with questions on how she built it. Did she use a tutorial? No. Did she have additional help? No. She just used wooden posts cut to length. Then screwed in with L-shaped brackets. She did have the canopy screwed into the wooden floor. She tied the top four posts with rope (like a teepee). Then threw fabric over it. I haven't replicated her instructions yet. I fear I'll mess up. But want to try if I ever have a backyard dinner party.


{taken with iPhone. Camera still in shop}

Gender Surprise

We decided to find out the sex of the baby this time around, instead of making it a surprise appearance like last time. However, the hubby was out of town and could not make it to the ultrasound. The hospital had no other appointment and if I didn't make it on that day the measurements wouldn't be accurate...blah,blah, blah. So, my girlfriend Heidi came in his stead and provided moral support. After the appointment the hubby knew I found out the sex, but I refused to tell him. It drove him crazy. He would text me all throughout the next three days wondering why I was keeping it a secret from him. The kiddies and I decided we would make it a little fun and surprise him with the answer.

So, we baked a cake. It says "what are we having?"

Hid a baby bottle in the middle with the answer inside.

the pink top gave the answer away (oops!)...

But he still decided to open it up anyway just to make sure.

Then we ate cake and celebrated and talked about names. The kids are excited to have a baby sister. Seth didn't think it was possible to have another girl after two rambunctious very boyish boys. I do have to say that I kind of knew it was always going to be a girl. I definitely had the mother's intuition thing going on. Now we just pray that all will go well with the pregnancy and delivery.

Catching Fireflies

I can't seem to get my children in bed before 9 p.m. during the summer because they like to catch fireflies. Our backyard becomes a nightclub of lightening bugs right at dark. My kids are getting good at catching them that it's become a summertime favorite. I love little activites like this that create simple childhood memories.

Pastel Penthouse

I always like looking through celebrity homes. They give a little glimpse of their true self and personal space. Apartment Therapy featured Gwyneth Paltrow's New York penthouse. Clean, light, feminine, modern.

Zucchini Squash Pizza

I've been lovin' my vegetable garden. It's been quite a delight, and I've been making sure that dinner always includes something from the garden. The latest dish that I've been scarfing down for the last two dinners (and lunch--yes it's that good) is zucchini squash pizza. Fresh from the garden! I like to use Naan bread to make our homemade pizzas. Rub a little garlic olive oil on it, then sliced zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes. Fresh basil and oregano bring out the flavor. Sprinkle sea salt and top with goats cheese. Bake in oven at 425 for 10 minutes. Yum!

{taken with iPhone. My camera's in the shop}

Superhero Birthday Party

The superheros came with a bang and left with a ka-boom! We had a lot of fun at the party. The only thing was the weather was hot and humid and slightly windy (hence, why I couldn't get a good picture of the table), but the kids didn't seem to mind.

The first activity they did when they arrived at the party was decorate capes. I cut and sewed capes before the party. They were all ready to be decorated by the superheros using felt patterns and their first initial. I used a quick drying fabric glue for the felt. After they got to decorate felt masks. It was darling seeing the boys run around in their capes and masks. They enjoyed face painting, jumping in a bounce house and sprinkler action to cool off. After lunch, a superhero obstacle course was set up.

A traditional happy birthday banner was hung and made with a superhero theme. I made a sound clip garland with comic words like ka-boom, bang, pop, zoom, rumble, etc. I really liked how this garland turned out. The words were cut out with a circle punch then sewed to make the garland. I hung them on the table's edge and by the banner.

Superhero lunch food was served with Lucas's favorite: pizza, chips, and berries. I made a superhero energy fuel drink: sprite with lime sherbet to give it a kyronite look. Power h2o labeled water was also served. Lots of superhero action figures lined the table.

Birthday Boy being a little timid and shy when we were singing the birthday song to him.

Dress Envy

My bridal days are long behind me, but this dress by Monique Lhuillier's Spring 2011 collection makes my heart beat. In my book she is queen of wedding dresses and could make any girl look like a fairytale princess.

Other beautiful dresses from her collection.

{via Wit + Delight}

Hip Hip Hooray!

You might want to bookmark this new party blog called Hip Hip Hooray, started by Suann from Simplesong. It looks like it will be a great resource for planning your next child's birthday party.

Forever 21 Maternity

Attention bargain preggers...Forever 21 has launched a maternity line. The styles are basics. I'm sure once they get the line going, they'll add more items. But everything is under $20. They have maternity leggings which I'm placing an order for since I pretty much live in leggings while pregnant. I think this will be the only maternity item I'll be buying since this is my last. Cheap and chic!

Superhero Goodie Bag

The goodie bags were called Superhero Power Kits--filled with everything a superhero needs to combat the evil villian. The kits were filled with:
bat-a-rangs
kyrtonite crystal sticks
spiderman wrist bands
pop rocks
superhero pez candy dispenser with candy
iron man blower
batman velvet poster

The superheros liked it and were able to test some of their goodies on each other.

Superhero Invitations

The theme this year for Lucas's birthday is superhero. These are some of my favorite invitations! I was so happy when it all came out the way I was envisioning. I wanted to included all the superheros showing off their superhero powers, and I think this accomplished it. The party is tomorrow! Ten little superheros are going to be zooming around my house. Let's hope it turns out to be a success.