happy weekend: spring has sprung

happy friday!  spring is here in durango and björn and i are very excited that our siding will be complete very soon.  for now here are a few photos of the house from a fresh vantage point!

happy friday

drought tolerant flowering plants (via plant select)

now that spring is officially here and the weather in durango has been beautiful for the last week and a half i have begun to start seriously thinking about the landscaping that need to take place.  it is going to be a lot of work to get our property looking great but i am looking forward to it!

of course our rock wall was a huge investment into the hardscape of the yard and will provide a great jumping off point for planting areas, and the creation of outdoor rooms.  i thought i would share with you some of the landscape photos i have been pinning on Pinterest!  as you will see most of them include pea gravel and planting areas which will use very little water.

enjoy and happy friday!

i would love to have an alfresco dining area on the side of our house like this

a kitchen garden somewhere is must!

this would be a great idea for the area along the river
under the river birch trees

low water usage landscaping is a must in durango- considered a desert

all photos via sunset.com

happy weekend: ms. de generes and ms. de rossi

i don't know what your opinion on ellen degeneres is but i think she is funny, smart and has some great style.  and who knew she was obsessed with real estate hunting and interior design.  architectural digest has just published an editorial on the couple's beverley hills home in their november issue- pick one up!  here is a sneak peek of some of their beautiful spaces!

the entrance hall complete with ping pong table!

the living room- love that ruth asawa scuplture hanging in the corner

pretty porch dining area

the tranquil pool

i hope this weekend is lovely for you!  i am going to catch up on some reading, looking at design magazines and continuing to draw up ideas for the interiors of our project!

all photos via architectural digest

happy weekend: must-see films starring architecture & design

happy friday....


i was so excited to stumble across architectural digests picks for their top films featuring architecture & design in a starring role.  i have had the chance to see many of these films & for most of them i definitely came away thinking that the set design was fantastic.  a few like the 2010 film, Ghostwriter, i have not had the opportunity to catch but i think maybe björn and i will have to take some time off this weekend to check a few more movies off of this list.  see the full list here

Blade Runner

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The Fountainhead

Ghostwriter

A Single Man

Something's Gotta Give

The Graduate

The Thin Man

happy weekend: yard sale

this weekend björn's mom and i are having a yard sale to hopefully clear out some space in her house.  it should be fun to see how much money we can make selling some of her antiques and little knick knacks.  hopefully we make enough to go to one of the many hot springs in the area.  we have talked about going to a particular hot spring in new mexico which is known for being very nice called ojo caliente.

The Ojo Caliente Ironpool

here are a few pictures of what we did this week and an update on the retaining wall progress!

more rocks were delivered

a friend, justy, stopped by for a visit.  we found out her owner lives across the street

we had a bonfire to get rid of more brush

thats our boulder wall in progress

happy weekend: birthday bash

this weekend is björn's birthday!  i hope he won't mind but turning 33 is a big deal and we both think 3 is a lucky number so double luck for him, and boy are we going to need it!  we are turning in the drawing set on monday to the building department in durango, so wish us luck that everything goes smoothly!


as for birthday celebrations- i ordered a cake from dairy queen.  now i didn't grow up with dairy queen but björn did and for four years now he has requested an ice cream cake for his birthday.  well, being the worst girl friend in the world i am just now fulfilling his wish, but each of the last three years there have been extenuating circumstances- i swear!  not that i didn't make the effort  just look at this cake i made two years ago and drove from washington dc all the way to nyc to meet björn for his b-day!  see....

i have forgotten what the cake actually was but i know it was yummy!
  bjorn doesn't really like sweet icing so the frosting is whipped cream topped with fresh strawberries!

happy weekend: lots to do

vancouver skyline via Pretty in Pink

just got back to the u.s from a quick little trip to vancouver, british columbia.  what a cool place, with a really awesome urban landscape surrounded by some very beautiful mountains! while we had an awesome time, i have a lot of catching up to do on finishing the plans so that we can get them into the building department in durango next week.  good thing i have a few hour to sit around the minneapolis airport while waiting to get to colorado. airports are the perfect place to get some work done! 

have a great weekend, hope you have some fabulous plans for the "last weekend of summer!"

happy weekend: hurricane schmericane...

hope everyone has a fun & safe weekend.  i was supposed to go down to charlotte, nc tomorrow to see my sisters but i am postponing that until sunday evening when i am hoping the hurricane will have passed us by.

keep dry & appreciate the time you have to stay in & spend time doing those little things you never get to do, read a book, organize your enormous pile of magazine clippings (thats what i'll be doing) or just spend some time doing absolutely nothing!

happy weekend!  see you monday!

happy weekend: inspiring offices

i am in Vermont right now, supposedly working on the electrical & lighting plans for the house....its just that the weather here has been so beautiful & the swimming pool has looked so tempting...so i haven't really gotten much accomplished.

one thing i don't miss about working in my old offices was the lack of a view.  sure, here in Vermont I catch myself staring out at the green mountains & thirty whole minutes have zoomed by, but an office should be inspiring, no?

enjoy your weekend, here are a few inspiring desks and offices spaces to get you thinking!  bjorn flies in tonight so i better get back to work.

My Office in Vermont!

Edouard Francouis- Carte Blanche Love Table via Apartment Therapy

Home Office outside of Sturgeon Bay, WI via Unplggd

Office with a view to die for! via Elle Decor

I like to imagine a pretty awesome view outside these windows!  via Elle Decor

Love the plans rolled up and the vintage tripod lamp! via Elle Decor

This is an interesting office, with some very cool stuff in it!  via MET Home

Tamara Mellon (Jimmy Choo founder) home office in London.  via Elle Decor

This is the only office that rivals mine! via sushi kay deisgns

Bjorn's office if pretty sweet too!