Steve Penley at AMA

On Thursday night of last week the Albany Museum of Art was all a flutter with the opening of their newest exhibit: Penley, The Reconstruction of America.



As if the exhibit is not exciting enough, the opening brought Steve Penley himself to town. The lovely affair, hosted by a few of Albany's finest and most fabulous (and I'm bursting with pride to say, a few friends of my very own), boasted a rocking bar sponsored by, none other than, Thirteenth Colony Distillery. The placement of the bar was key here and is worth mentioning. It was set up as a square consisting of four long tables placed smack in the middle of the gallery. This locale didn't only look pretty cool but it also kept everyone around. You never had to miss a thing. Socializing, refilling your cocktail and (of course, most importatnly) taking in the amazing sight that is the exhibit could all continuously happen simultaneously. A couple of musicians played in one corner and Mr. Penley signed copies of his (fantastic) new book in another. All in all, it was a lovely evening.



If you live in the area, the AMA's exhibit, Penley, The Reconstruction of America, is really something to see and truly a treat for Albany. The wild way Penley applies paint to canvas without losing one bit of the integrity of who or what likeness he is portraying is absolutely remarkable.


Sadly, I didn't take my camera in. But don't fear; Greta did!


and so did my girl, Tab ;)

and i really wish i had this in my house

photos courtesy of smitten photograhy and t. hale

post by arre

speaking of cupcakes

do you know how quickly i would be this for halloween if only i were a child? or Erika.



& apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea. We got this catalog TODAY and it is already 'no longer available' online. Good thing being it wasn't really an option for me anyway.

post by arre

pink tulle, birthday party, & fishing

(i know, my titles are getting worse and worse)
A quick weekend update...

Jim was out of town, and the girls were a little sad about it, so I told them we'd have an all girls princess weekend so we pulled out the pink tulle!!


and had a princess meal for breakfast, lunch & dinner and this quickly put smiles on everyone's faces.

matt's birthday was on saturday, so i headed over to arre's (and matt's) house for some football and cupcakes



Card above, was made by Arre - one bonus to being Arre's friend (or sister-in-law) is that she makes the sweetest, most creative cards. If they aren't homemade (due to time constraints I imagine) she never holds back on the sweet words in them. I didn't read matt's because it wasn't my birthday ...but i imagine it said something really heart felt :)


Arre's friend Mary Elizebeth made these and they were the best homemade cupcakes i think i've ever had!

Arre served ice cream in a big ole' bowl.


and the boys devoured it like they were at a 5 year olds birthday party


while all the girls stood around in the kitchen looking at this precious baby (Lucy)


the next day we practiced fishing off the porch. Jim bought the girls these fishing rods and the attire MJ chose to practice fishing in should say a lot as to how an actual fishing trip would go with these two.


post by kristen

(connect the) dots

i'm noticing a pattern here (and not just the pattern). pairing a traditionally sweet and even childlike design with anything edgy completely takes the edge (pun intended) of expectation off. leave it to these girls to make ordinary look anything but.












*update* per Kristen's observation - you decided, look alikes?



images from people, garance dore (obvi) and wikstenmade

post by arre

Sav♥nnah

if i'd only known what a weekend-long theme this would become...

A few weeks ago Kristen and I trekked across the state to see our sisters (how convenient that we each have a sister in the same town. i still can't get over the perfectness of it). She to meet a brand new niece, I to (yet again ;) move my medium sister (I borrowed the terminology. 'Medium' is what Mary James once called Molly. Clearly, she meant middle, which also designates which sister I'm referring to. But I digress.) Luckily, the loveliness doesn't stop there, their kindred home? Savannah!

I always mean to capture lots of parts of my life as the best bloggers do but I seldom succeed. This weekend cannot be counted among such failures.



Abby (said sister of mine) was moving from what can only be categorized as 'the 'hood'. Two years ago when we moved her in Matt had serious trepidation about leaving her in such a place. And he is far from a worrier. Pictured above was the locale's only point of redemption. We thought it only appropriate to bid adieu by way of a feast of cupcakes.



This place not only houses the most marvelous treats (to look at and eat) but it also houses the sign pictured above, which my co-worker observed would make quite a cute accoutrement for little girl's room. What a lovely idea!

We vowed to not spend much money while i was there so we stopped at a gas station - one that happened to have a decent selection of wine and cheeses. only in Savannah - to pick up (our version of) a recession-friendly end of day indulgence for once our hard work (for the day) was through. We also came across some really gorgeous flowers in the really-on-sale bin at Kroger. I called all of this decadence on a dime.



As we neared what was to be the new and (according to Abby) improved abode, Abby starts telling me there is more than one way to get to there and that one of them is not as cute. I had already noticed the less than stellar surroundings. No sooner than I said "I don't care how we get there as long as we're not nearby" she says "we're here!" Utter disdain. I am now sad I didn't photo-document this part of the weekend. But the last thing I was thinking at the time was what a cute blog post this was going to make. Suffice to say she had cleaned the entire thing (so she said) with rainwater because, that's right, she hadn't yet gotten her water tuned on. It's also noteworthy that only someone as small as her could possibly fit around her double bed because it quite literally filled the entire bedroom. But this all pales in comparison to the fact that the first night she spent there (right, with no water) there was a drug bust across the alley, which also serves as the only access point to the dump. The only photo I did bother taking was on the phone to send to my mom and Matt as a plea for help; as in 'help me convince her she cannot possibly live here.'



that's right. there are bars on the windows.

Matt, being the perfect (or at very least 'accutely in tune to where his maybe-a-little-less-than-easy-to-please-wife will even consider resting her head) husband he is, responded instantly with "call and reserve a room at a hotel downtown. i insist."



So we did. There we dined on our gas station begotten gains. For a minute. (yes, we used the cellophane wrapped styrofoam cups for wine and brought our knife). We soon decided since we'd already sort of blown it anyway, what with the hotel and all, to forgo the whole minimalist weekend and dine out! After all, the vow to barely spend was taken before i laid eyes on her home-to-be.

The next day, thanks to a good night's rest, a real meal and the fact that the roommate-to-be's mother put living in the would-be residence to screeching halt, we headed to what came to be known as the new-new apartment and started re-moving. The rest of the day was spent between the old-old apartment (where she was living), the old-new apartment (where she thought she was going to live) and the new-new apartment (where she does live).

By the end of the weekend, leaving her here



with this fireplace *swoon*



windows like these *sigh*



views like this *gasp*



this



and this outside her door



oh yeh! and overwhelmingly close proximity to these lovelies





I left her with an envious heart, which - in this case anyway - I strangely enough, much prefer.

post by arre

picture frames

(sorry for the lack of a creative title) We have been so busy working on and (soon!) finishing up some custom orders. here's a glimpse



They are for 4 different customers. But i really want to steal them and cover my walls in them. I will refrain.

We are getting ready for our annual Albany show (more details to come) we are about to begin a production - if you have any orders to get in - now is the time!

Also - if you weren't on last year's list for invites (or have moved!) and want to have more info - please send us your mailing info to... stewartandjames{at}gmail{dot}com.

post by kristen

Domestic Reflections::Sunset Magazine

In case we didn't already know how cool Jora is, now her (amazing) house is in Sunset Magazine. Check it out here. And don't miss her post about it!



image from sunset mag

post by arre

get it together

Long have i been feeling like the suave commercial mom (the BEFORE suave commercial mom) when she has children running around her screaming, while she holds a baby, her hair is a mess, and she looks like she'll never see the glimpse of a shower again. ever. As mills gets older, i hardly have much of an excuse anymore. I should have it together by now - so a couple of weeks ago, i decided i'm going to make a change. I'm going to get dressed (meaning actually LOOK in the mirror after i pick out something other than jeans off the floor and the t-shirt i slept in), attempt a shower a day (attempt), and actually blow dry my hair and maybe wear makeup every once and a while. So i started my attempt and while i was feeling much better when out in public..i was quickly drained from it. I'm still going to try a little harder as I had no idea how "bad" it had gotten until i was bombarded with these questions (every time i attempted the above mentioned tasks)

mj: where are we going?
molly: i want to go
molly: what's that? (when i pull out my makeup)
mj: are you going to a party?
molly: is kay kay keeping us (she thinks i'm getting a sitter for nonexistent party)
mj: you know if you and daddy are going to a party, you should probably take a shower at the same time and that will make things go faster (oh, innocent child)
molly: (crying) i wannttt to goooo

This is over the course of a few days and really... i wasn't ever going anywhere important. I was just trying. Trying to look like those moms that DO have it together. But i finally realized, i don't care about those things. Maybe one day i will, but for now... i'm happy to be (and look like) the BEFORE suave mom. It is my life, and if I can spend a few extra minutes talking to my kids rather than blow drying my hair, i feel better anyway.

So here's to a weekend filled with friends, love, laughter, family and all those fun things that really matter!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT! (my brother-in-law & arre's husband) i promise i'll take a shower before your party.

post by kristen

(sadly not) in her shoes

As i was reading my (2008) October Domino - earlier tonight - I became overwhelmed with desire, still, after all these... months, for the shoes Kelly Wearstler is sporting on the cover. I got on the computer to blog about it and solicit any help I could get about them. While googling the necessary image, which I found at Apartment Therapy, to illustrate what exactly I was referring to, I came across this. What a hoot! I applaud the effort (especially beacause it saved me from making one) and admire the end result but most of all, I am disappointed beyond reason.

post by arre

not only did we survive the ride...

we had so much fun!! the kids were amazingly well behaved..really, AMAZINGLY. Here's a clip of the ride..

see? we had very little screaming. and a big shout out to wright (the only boy) for putting up with all of us girls AND for feeding the babies. Here's a few pics of the rest of the trip....









post by kristen

must.have (boots)

Yesterday, while cleaning up and out a bit, I realized that for someone who lives in a region that is seldom even cool, I have entirely too many coats and sweaters. But I don't care. Nor can I help it. I long for temperatures just low enough to justify building fires, wearing scarves and indulging in rich and warm foods (yesterday's temperature briefly reached 70 degrees. We had chili and (marvelous!) grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner!). So you can imagine my dismay when I found myself compulsorily filling my online shopping cart with Urban Outfitters boots this a.m. (I blame Courtney). With ridiculously sensible pricing and lovely shades of the season, how can I resist?!









now the only question looming: are these definitely the colors I want?!


post by arre

How cute is....

Angie?!

When Arre and I are brainstorming on people we can "bother" to send us pics, we always mention Angie - she comes to our shows and is so sweet about how much she loves the frames. I finally sent her an email asking and she (very quickly) obliged.



and we are so glad she did - how cute!

Thanks Angie!

have a lovely weekend everyone!

side note

for those of you that have been missing arre's posts as much as i have..not to worry, she is alive and kickin' .. her computer has just been on the fritz..which leaves me to try my hardest to not post only about kiddos. And that is exhausting (and apparently impossible). hurry back arre!!!

So back to the kids.. as we speak, i am braving a 3 1/2 hour drive with a friend and six children. all 5 and under. say a quick prayer....but do not worry, it's all for a fun reason - the beach is callin' our names!! have a wonderful friday and weekend!

♥ kristen

p.s. quick edit - looks like arre is back with posts! yay! ok, seriously walking out door

Beautiful World :: Story People

I have been a lover of Story People for more years than I can even remember. From time to time this one rises to the top of my favorites list. Lately has been one of those times.

post by arre

this is love

i love this mama and little girl big time. and i think this might be the sweetest picture of them. ever. even if i did take it ;)
post by arre

from scrap to treasure

When arre and I aren’t at starbucks or drinking paint in my basement…. We are making our way through this:

Sometimes we find interesting & unique wood without any trouble, but lately…we’ve been doing lots of digging. A lot of the old wood has layers and layers of paint (that's the kind we love!) Sometimes we will pick an old board that appears to have old white paint, but once it is planed we are pleasantly surprised with an adorable blue or deep green coming through. Only if this wood could talk, the stories it would tell! only if.

occasionally we find some fun items
but mostly, it's piles and piles of wood

lots of wood

that is hand picked with a particular frame/customer in mind. And while it's fun - we never know what to expect (and always pray for no snakes or other creatures to surprise us). ok maybe fun isn't the word - it's challenging, interesting, and never dull (1 tetanus shot, lots of scrapes and balancing acts). but what is fun is to be able to recycle this wood for YOU to display your priceless captured memories. Afterall, what is life without the memories?

post by kristen