Help Indra and her kittens

"my meowey ears r itchy"

I received an email that 11 moms and babies were going to be put to sleep at the NYC Animal Care and Control. It made me extremely sad, I used to own a rescue group. I found a foster (thanks Kayte) and a rescue group to to pull them from me. A public person cannot pull from death row. I said save whoever most likely won't be saved. Indra and 5 babies were delivered to Kayte 2 weeks ago. Indra is a beautiful egyptian mau/tabby mix, petite and 2 years old.

4 of the 5 are her babies but the 5th is Nevil who she took under her wing. Her 4 babies all look alike. Kayte had the smart idea of putting collars on them so we can identify them. Kayte is a wonderful foster, she has spent about $100 on food so far, moms and kittens eat like crazy, she gives the kitties little mani/pedi's and gives each one cuddle time.

We had a rough patch last weekend. Little Red contracted upper respiratory while in the shelter and she had a bad case of conjunctivitis. I watched it all weekend but by Monday I felt she needed to see a vet.

Little Red's eye after 3 days of treatment. 

She was put on medication for her eye and also treated for ear mites. Her mom, brothers and sisters also have ear mites. Unfortunately the rescue group cannot afford to have the rest of the clan in to the vet to be seen so we can get them the ear mite meds.

The meds will cost $53.00 per cat per dose (hopefully they will not need more than one round). There will also be a charge for each kitten to be examined by the vet.

I am trying to raise money to pay for the kitties' meds. Ear mites can cause permanent ear canal damage and is very uncomfortable for a cat, scratchy and irritating.
Who wants scratchy ears!

Thank you for whatever you can give and these kitties are also up for adoption! Contact me for more info.

Cooking and Eating Organic - RoostBlog

I've discovered a new blog with enticing recipes and beautiful pictures, RoostBlog, more importantly the beautiful pictures. Boy does this make me hungry. Great way to start a summer weekend!

Caitlin,who writes the blog, has a husband who has Crohn's Disease. A few years ago she eliminated gluten, grains, sugar, lactose and starch from their diets.  Her husband is medicine free and doing awesome. She started this blog to inspire organic cooking. She is doing a pretty darn good job. Her profession? A photo stylist, no wonder the pics are so lovely.

Raw tacos with melon and avocado

Strawberry cake with swiss meringue icing

Vanilla ice cream with summer berries

I think I may be trying some of these recipes this weekend,
Enjoy!

Papering the Walls

Darcy from Graham and Brown

Now that we are slowly settling into our new home we have decided to do some wall papering.  This past week Andy has been painting and has shown me some wall paper ideas.
Graham and Brown is one company and the other is Cole and Sons. Obviously in these two cases it takes more than one person to wall paper.
We have a great little nook across from our kitchen that is going to be perfect for a bench and dining table.

I was hoping for a farm table but I have started to change my mind. Rather I think I had one idea in my idea and when I started looking at farm tables I didn't like them. However back to wall paper.

Vivienne Westwood for Cole and Son

Trees called Contemporary II

Love this one but afraid it may get old. Maybe for a walk in closet. Classix from Cole and Son

The other company,  Graham and Brown, has quite a selection. We really are liking the modern prints.

Barbara Hulanicki


Thinking of painting? You may want to look into the wall paper. 

I am looking forward to the trees in our dining nook. It may not have a window but there will be nature to look at.

Father's Day gift that can be done before Sunday!

Father's Day is just around the corner and my father is always tough to buy for. I want him to really like and use whatever I give him.  At work we had a great blog project of lovely Liberty of London hankies  for Father's Day. I was thinking about doing these because my dad being of a different generation uses hankies. But I couldn't find a Liberty print he would like, and he is cool with flowers. However nothing seemed to fit him. I finally decided Wednesday to make regular hankies with Kaufman's Cambridge Lawn and embroider them.

What you need:
embroidery hoop (I used a 4")
half yard of Lawn fabric or similar light weight
DMC embroidery floss (at first I used dmc quilting weight cotton on the spool but it was too thin)
needle
transfer (I used a design from Sublime Stitching Book by Jenny Hart


1. wash fabrics
2. iron  and cut fabrics ( I made a 16" square hankie)
3. transfer design (follow directions)
4. Stitch design - I used a seed stitch
5. more ironing
6. fold and steam edges 1/4" and repeat then sew
7, done!

Hopefully these pictures will help you along. Entire job took an hour or so.
You can do it before Sunday and make a happy Dad!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Do it Yourself - Painting

I think the greys here look great with Homer's tail color.
Shore, Silver Sage, Lt Silver Sage,  Gravel (the darkest)

My husband and I recently purchased our first home. We made the big move from Manhattan to the big island of Brooklyn. It is a brand new place in a brownstone built in 1897. I love that aspect. There is lots of work to be done which can be bittersweet, fun yet stressful.  I plan to track our work and progress on my blog here.  There are going to be lots of DIY from ceiling to floor.  My husband, Andy, and I like opposites of everything.  Where he likes subtle, I like bright. This is chapter 1, painting.

Bedroom room. Shore from Restoration Hardware or Sidewalk Grey from Benjamin Moore

I really want sea foam ish color for the bathroom en suite.

Living room. Light Silver Sage, China Blue, Hydrangea Blue.

Walls are an off white color. We are working on the living room first which is an open design with the kitchen and eating area. 

bad burnt pumpkin color above the fire place.

Lots of space to cover but Andy loves to paint!

And one more picture for fun. Homer being a good boy. 

Weekly Color FIX: Stone White

Elle UK June 2012
Love the knitted shrug and white layers.

From goodbyefolk on etsy, white and grey brogues

Stone and white, not stone colored white. All though that is also beautiful. I am still a true believer in no white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. I know it may be silly but if just doesn't seem right. Probably because the unofficial start of summer is Memorial Day. Well this holiday has passed and now it is safe to wear white, I joke. In honor of summer nights, I created this white treasury on etsy, you can do some shopping now if you like.

From rocks and salt on etsy a white metallic linen skirt

I like to give a shout out to etsy sellers because I believe in it. But of course I love looking at the high end designs. Sometimes they are expensive for a reason, good quality and design. Check out this cute dress form Gucci for Resort 2013.

Shoes by Lanvin

Love the shirt and wrap deets on this dress. And why was I surprised to see this was Diane von Furstenberg

From Brahmin yellow and white chevron stripe purse

Classic with a kick. Sharp and citric yellow with white in a chevron stripe pattern. Perfect summer accessory!


Wanted to update this post from something from Vogue.com's the Social Shopper,  that was just posted today. A great article on Summer Whites! Perfect timing if I do say so myself!

Tremont Toiletry Bag at Celebrate Brooklyn

Silent Cat

My latest venture is Celebrate Brooklyn, Instead of working in the occasional market this summer I decided to partake in this summer long event; sharing a booth with the Etsy NY Team. A group of 16 artists have been chosen to sell in the General Store at Celebrate Brooklyn. Ok so what is Celebrate Brooklyn?  An arts, music and movie festival that takes place in the Bandshell in Prospect Park. My first visit was last Saturday and it is such a fantastic space! The event is organized and run by BRIC Arts and media.  June 5th was the first night and opened with Jimmy Cliff.








I will be selling 2 new items at the festival, the Tremont Toiletry Bag and the Liberty Scarves.
The Tremont T Bag can be used for toiletries, knitting or food.  It just makes a nice travel bag because it is water resistant and sizes run about 13" x 6".  Personally I use a few of them for my current knitting project and my toiletries, not at the same time, two different bags are used.  However, I gave a friend one and she uses it to carry her lunch to work with her.

The shell is laminated cotton or oil cloth with a pretty ribbon trim on the inside. Some of the bags have pop colors for the zipper. All bags have a zipper pull. I've been using an awesome turquoise cording I found at Purl Soho.

Glasses

Grey Daisy

Vintage Cycle

Sweetpea

 If you can't make it to the General Store at Celebrate Brooklyn, don't worry, some of these are for sale in my etsy shop or you can custom order one! But for a lovely time outside this summer in Brooklyn check out one of the many concerts or movies showing at Celebrate Brooklyn.

And the winner is.....

Overwhelming majority to Shooting Star! Thank you to everyone who voted here and on the Etsy NY Team blog.

This is a flat sketch of the dress from the book. A flat is basically just a black line drawing.
A few friends and colleagues want to join in on the fun of making this dress so I will be reporting on their thoughts of this pattern and progress.

Stay tuned!