Succulent Chandelier!

I have a huge love for succulents, so you can imagine my excitement when I found {this}! I can't wait for the day that I have a backyard to enjoy a DIY creation of my own like this :)

Twig Push-Pins

These are awesome! I saw these twig push-pins on {Design*Sponge} yesterday and thought it was such a great idea that I would love to do! The idea came about from a tree being trimmed in the yard and instead of throwing it out, {they} made something with the twigs. It makes a bulletin board or wall actually look like a work of art :)

Morning in Pismo Beach!

I feel so blessed to live on the Central Coast of California in San Luis Obispo. I am guilty of taking this for granted from time to time, but going to Pismo Beach for breakfast this weekend reminded me just how lucky I am. Here are some pictures from the morning out there!

Black, White and Green - Natural Green :)

I am a huge fan of black and white - whether it be graphic design, interior design, or photography - with hints of color here and there. Conveniently enough, green is my favorite to accent with! So these pictures of homes found on {Apartment Therapy} . Interior Designer, {Jessica Helgerson} does this really well, so be sure to check out her site. I love that she uses bursts of natural color. A great part of these homes are the rich wood accents that help to warm up the mostly black and white spaces - which can be cold when done throughout an entire house and not just in a small room. The green and wood accents makes them more inviting. I must also say that I LOVE the wooden platform bed.

Vintage Silverware Herb Garden Markers

Lovely vintage silverware herb garden markers from the {Monkeys Always Look} Etsy shop. They are tarnish silver-plated vintage silver. LOVE these. Now if only I had a garden to use them in! One day...

Sand Art Masterpieces!

Inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy, these artists have truly created masterpieces. I am blown away! A few weeks ago I cam across the work of {Jim Denevan} and then today a friend sent me a great {link}, introducing me to the work of {Andres Amador}. He has been producing sand art on Ocean Beach in San Francisco for five years - they creates intricate masterpieces that the sea washes away within hours. Many of his stunning images, which start out as simple squiggles in the 39-year-old's notebook, span an incredible 500x300ft - he has masterfully "doodled" on the beaches of San Francisco over 100 times over the past five years.

OSKA Architects - Rolling Huts

What a great idea! Owners purchased this site which was formerly an RV campground, with the goal of allowing the landscape to return to its original state. They turned to OSKA Architects who created a space for their guests that would be a step or two above camping while still maintaining the open feel of the natural Washington landscape. These {rolling huts} were their solution - they are low-tech and low-impact in their design. The huts sit lightly on the site, a flood plain meadow in an alpine river valley. The wheels lift the structures above the meadow, providing an unobstructed view into nature and the prospect of the surrounding mountains.

Building each hut seems to be pretty simple. It uses an offset, steel clad box on a steel and wood platform. Living occurs not only in the 200 sq ft inside the box, but on the 240 sq ft of covered deck space surrounding it. The interior is finished with cork and plywood – are simple, inexpensive, and left as raw as possible. The exterior is durable, no-maintenance materials – steel, plywood and car-decking. The huts are grouped as a herd - while each is facing a view of the mountains (and away from the other structures), their proximity unites them.

Tree House!

So cool! I think this would make a really cool idea for a retreat getaway / tree house resort type of thing with individual rooms like this all throughout nature :) Another great {Apartment Therapy} find. These tree houses are built by {Blue Forest} - definitely worth checking out their site.

Why don't I go to the beach more...

I live 10 minutes from the beach and don't seem to get there nearly as often as I should. Yesterday some friends and I decided to go there in the late afternoon - weather was still so beautiful when we left around 7pm! I loved it, but not nearly as much as Zachary and Oliver (the two Golden Retrievers). Definitely going to be doing that more often now that it is getting warmer out! These are some of the photos I snapped of the outing :)

Leafy Mandalas

Check out this beautiful work by artist {Janine Mackintosh}. Theses collages - mandala designs - were created using eucalyptus leaves, linen thread, and gum. I came across this artist on {NOTCOT.org} today.

Paper&Inkling - Tastefully Inspired Days

Again, another shop I stumbled upon on Etsy :) Seriously the absolute best thing that ever happened to the worked of handmade art and design! This work is by {Asako Sprague}, a graphic designers, originally from Tokyo, Japan - but is now living in the Mid-West. Her inspiration comes from everything she loves - being in nature, hiking & camping, flower arranging, cooking, baking, window shopping, browsing books at Borders, being in the country, vintage/antique shopping, gardening, etc. She designs, prints, and packages all of her stationary herself.

Check out her {blog} for more of her work and work that inspires her.

Dinner in a Treehouse?

I first heard about the {Yellow Treehouse} restaurant a few months ago and just came across some pictures of it today and wanted to share it for those who haven't heard about it. The interesting part is that modern treehouses are not new to architects, but the designers of this project in New Zealand were able to create something that blends with its host, a redwood tree. The fungus / chrysalis-shaped building is a restaurant build by, of all people, the New Zealand Yellow Pages. It is situated 30 feet up a giant redwood tree, just north of Auckland.