happy birthday, little leap year bro....

I have to say that there isn't any guy in the world I would trade this brother in for.

He is easy going,

calm and cool...

has mad skills with water....

awesome style...

the best hair (even if it is because I cut it last ;)....

wonderfully tacky sense of humour...

finds the best bands...

incredible sense of balance and crazed bravery on almost any type of board (snow, surf or skate)...

is a wild bushy bearded man at heart...

fun as they come....

incredibly handsome  (single, I might add...send me a note if you want his email address...j/k)

and gives sage wisdom....(which I have taken to heart many times and it is tested and true)!!

Wishing my little brother the best leap year b-day ever!!

Miss ya like crazy BK!!

Hope it is the best!

xoxo

Luv,

your big sister

thank you, nicole...

A huge hug to Nicole for this giveaway post!

(another chance for you to win)

also thank you to my friend, Melissa and everyone who posted about our giveaway!

Big hugs to you all!!

xoxo

vintage book finds...

 

While at Habitat for Humanity,

I found these wonderful hand-carved wooden clogs,

some retro turquoise french-fry bowls,

a Broadway record

and a

very fun stack of vintage children's books of which

Bella and I have already enjoyed reading.

  

 

Don't you just love this adorable vintage workbook?

It is copyrighted in 1945 and has never been used.

Thinking about printing out some of these pages and framing them for in Bella's room.

  

 

I highly recommend checking out your local Habitat-Restore 

for wonderful vintage finds and support their efforts to help Haiti.

You can also donate on their website.

Happy Weekend Friends!!!

Don't forget to enter our giveaway!

xoxo

~dee

surprise giveaway draw....

So the giveaway hubbub has gotten to us too.

To celebrate 200 or more followers and to usher in Spring, I created this: "You have a purpose"

8.5" x 14" poster, that isn't even up in the shop yet and we are going to have a giveaway of this poster, 

 one 8.5" x 14" calendar 

and

 and a new pair of handmade turquoise feather and hemp earrings.

Excited, yet??

It gets better because you have up to 4 chances to win.

In order to have a chance to win one of these prizes,

first:

1.  Become a friend of the nest and leave us a message on this post with a way to contact you in case you win this draw.

Also if you want your name entered up to 4 times, you can:

 2.  Place a link to this giveaway and information about this draw on your blog post.

and/or

3.Tweet about the nest and leave a link to this draw.

and/or:

4. Place the nest's button on your blog's sidebar.

The draw will be made by Brodie, Bayley and Breanna (our kiddos) in two weeks on March 12th and will be announced on March 15th!!

Hoping this is as fun for all of you as it is for us!

Best of luck to everyone!

xoxo

luv,

~all of us

working on a surprise...

Trying to raise your curiousity level because I have a little surprise

which I will tell you all about tomorrow.

Make sure you take a peek here at some point, then.

It's gonna be good!

Now that you have no idea what we are up to..

Have a happy Wednesday, friends!

Hoping your day is full of more sunshine than ours'!

It's pretty cloudy in North Carolina this afternoon.

blech!

xoxo

luv,

~dee

a-frame home happiness...

(above found here)

(found here)

Maybe it is just being around mid-century homes as a child of the 70's that makes me drawn to these A-frame homes or the fact that I had this one (below) as a child,

(Did any of you have this one too?)

 

and would love to buy this version for Bella

but whatever it is I find myself dreaming about building one of these on the side of a rocky crag overlooking a river or lake.

 Wouldn't you love to step out onto the deck of one of these overlooking natural beauty and soaking up the sun, sniffing the scent of evergreens and sipping a chai.

Now that is something worthy of waking up for in a morning!

If you have any photos of A-frame homes you would like to share with us, 

I would give you a big over the internet hug!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

What is your dream home?

xoxo

luv,

~dee

good weekend, great even....

dinner at Zada Jane's

enjoyed a delicious plate of vegetarian nachos and a caesar salad..

Listened to this band at Pura Vida

went here with Don and the girls...

and got a wee bit more organized with this.

All in all a very fun and productive weekend.

How was yours' friends?

xoxo

~don+dee

neytiri inspired necklaces....

I wish I had more photos of some new jewelery I have been working on.   This is one of 6 Neytiri from the movie, Avatar, inspired necklaces I handcrafted for one of our favourite shops in Charlotte: Pura Vida.

This one is being worn by our beautiful friend, Teresa who owns this very inspirational and fun shop/gallery/coffee house/music & arts venue.

We are heading over there in a couple of hours for a live music gig that should be a lot of fun.

Feel free to join us.

Happy weekend, friends!

luv, 

~dee

and that makes 12....

Sometimes when I head into a project like this, I have an idea of its outcome.

For instance the idea was to create 12 small to medium sized pieces surrounding our mountain dream but when I see it completed, I have so many more ideas and visually I feel it needs some pieces with more dimensions to it as well as maybe a few bigger pieces and some organic or touchy, feel-y bits to make this group more complete.

So even though I should feel like, phew, they are all done,  I really just want to keep working until it feels right.

I guess there is no real formula to knowing when some projects are done.

Maybe there is some part of art that takes on its own life and will let you know when it is ready to be called finished, or perhaps it is one of those things that is never really complete....

it just grows and grows and becomes a part of you.

Either way, I find it like a drug to watch the changes in the way I view things and the way my techniques are growing and seeming to evolve.

All this to say, I love playing with paper and paints and creating....

it feeds my soul....

I don't ever want to stop....

Yes,

my name is Dee

and I am an addict.

My addiction is to art.

I wonder if there is a program for people like me.

Happy Thursday, friends!

xoxo

~dee

oh happy day....

The past week was super hectic for us and this one seems to be catching up in last week's footsteps.

Some days it feels like everyone wants something from me and at those times I sometimes wonder if the sun will shine and if those cozy happy feelings will ever come back.

Then the morning breaks open and the sun beams, I awaken, make some yummy homemade granola and yogurt, a cafe anise...

grab the mail...

and

open a cute envelope loaded with sweet little bits and pieces

from a dear friend....

for the month of LOVE.

 She really made my day!!!

(Silly as this may seem, every so often I wonder if I am alone here.)

This little package full of love made me know that that is not at all the case.

Thanks so much Melissa!

You gave me a happy heart today!

And a cheery painting was what came out of that happy heart.

Happy Wednesday!

Go out and have a wild one!

(I am off to the dentist.)

Enjoy the fact that you aren't...
unless of course, you are too. ;)

xoxo

luv,

~dee

only four left to go...

I know originally my goal was to create 12 paintings and multi media pieces inspired by our dream to live in the mountains but it seems the more I complete, the more I can envision as a part of this group.

For now I have 4 left to complete, along with some feathery necklaces and earrings I am also hoping to fit with this group.

I'm loving this creative spurt I am having and it is funny how hard it is to come back to real life.

I just want to play and create all day long.

Good thing, I have a cute husband, 4 lovely kiddos and a little barky dog to help ease me back to this life of mine.

What are you all up to this Tuesday?

xo

our valentine's weekend....

 We had snow and played in its soft, cold, fluffy goodness...

went for dinner to 300 East (a cute little restaurant in Charlotte fitted into a cozy historical home) ...

someone very sweet and handsome bought me a beautiful piece of jewelery handmade by Michelle

who has the lovely Etsy shop called, Blue Moss...

and had a toasty espresso compana for dessert...

acted like immature kids and had a lot of fun.

Hoping your weekend was a lot of fun too!

xoxo

~don+dee

do a little dance....

A mini dance for the weekend!

( I am no videographer but I had to share.)

Hope your weekend is full of dancing and blessings!

xoxo

~bella & dee

wow mom...i love papers!

We got a little Etsy package in our post box today, full of fun papers for using in collages.

I think Bella was as excited as me to go through them.  So fun!

They are from Shelley Laming.  This is the third package I've ordered.

I have to say I love these little pretty packages of papers!

You know they will show up in some of the work I am up to right now.

The weekend is almost here!

(smile, its gonna be alright)

xoxo

~dee

a goat walks out of the clutter...

So out of the mess yesterday emerged my first goat.  His girl goat will hopefully be on my wall of dreams soon.

You didn't think such a cutie could come out of that mess, did ya?

This work is definitely more challenging than other work I have done but I am loving growing in this way,

especially since I have never taken a painting class in my life.

There is somehow a feeling of accomplishment when you struggle through and find little techniques that work for you and are all your own.

Growing is good, I say.

What area are you growing in as of late, friends?

Happy Wednesday!!

p.s.  I am feeling the need for a wild wednesday today, how about you?

xoxo

luv,

~dee

clutter+me=creative sweet spot.....

I know that there are a lot of artists who believe in order and cleanliness.  Considering my goal for this month is to simplify, I really should reconsider this post's equation.

Really though, I think I love mess and clutter, as odd as that may sound. 

Contained clutter, that is, especially since my kitchen table is my studio....

at the end of my work I package and bag everything and put it in our storage area but while I am working I kind of enjoy the colourful chaos.

Anyone else out there in my frame of mind?

Happy Tuesday!

Savour every moment of your day...

Live this day like it might be your last. 

I know I intend to.

(just thinking it might make your dull chores like cleaning seem small, right)

;)

xoxo

Luv,

~dee

9 more to go...

A 1/4 of the way through this project that will extend to 12 pieces all inspired by our mountain dream.

(So I thought I would share a quick peek.)

blogging blahs...

oh happy day!

thanks for the well wishes...

My surgery was postponed until after the 15th.

So no pain yet...YAY!

I have been in a non blogging mood for the past bit, I apologize.

Hopefully, I will get back into the swing of it soon.

Wishing you all the best a Monday can bring.

xoxo

~dee

unhappy hipsters...

Needing a smile to make it through my first oral surgery appointment today, I turned to this blog.

(Hoping it makes you smile too.)

Even in your company, I feel so alone.

(Photo: João Canziani; Dwell, September 2009)

Trapped by the tawny palette, he struggled through yet another brown knit scarf.
(Photo: Randi Berez; Dwell, September 2005)

Locked out again, he cursed the architect who thought that the parallel plywood doors would “balance” the slat-window living area.
(Photo: Jon Jensen; Portland Monthly, March 2008)

His sartorial attempt to blend in with the concrete did little to assuage the tension.
(Photo: Paco Perez; Dwell magazine, July/August 2004)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Enjoy!

xoxo