AGA

The more I look, the more I like. AGA stoves were invented in Sweden in the 1920's, and are famous for their longevity and continuous heat. I love the vintage look, and the variety of colors that they come in gives an entirely new meaning to picking out your kitchen appliances...

This creamy yellow is lovely. The puppy sleeping in the basket is also pretty wonderful

A lovely robin's egg blue looks so much better than stainless steel in this space

classic black and white

a tiny off-white AGA

yellow with black

fabulous purple

lovely, well-used stoves. I bet a delicious meal or two was prepared here...

Amazing red

bright white

and my favorite of course.... green

All images obtained via pinterest.com

Picture Update

Fall is coming to a close. All of the leaves are falling, or blowing away in the tornado-like wind we have been having lately. Nothing too new and exciting going on, eating lots of fall food, doing lots of art, and enjoying Kansas City...

I finally got up the nerve to take Nox to the groomer. I love his fluffy black coat, but I also love easy clean-up, and with the wet winter on its way, it was the right decision... I think he looks like a schnauzer with his new do..

I turned 25 last week, I feel like an old fart. We had a wonderful day though, lots of love and cuddles from all of my boys.

This was just too funny not to take a picture of. We all know Nox is a cuddle bug, but this is how he sat through the entire movie the other night.

My new backyard, spending lots of time here playing fetch...

Newton likes to just sit in the sun...

Some fall decor, replaced my cherry blossoms with some red berry branches. I saw the pine cones at the grocery store and it wasn't until I brought them home that they have a very strong cinnamon scent.... so they are now on the dresser over by the window... 

Eye candy Tuesday....

I am, and always will be attracted to black, it is classic and contemporary, cool and warm, sleek and comfy. So painting your fire surround this magnificent color makes perfect sense... I also like how it loudly announces that it is a focal point of a room, take a look

Ingrid Omen, a Canadian designer illustrates this perfectly with the fireplace in her weekend getaway cottage, the black marble surround and trim are stunning and are a perfect fit to her white built-ins.

photo curtasy of houseandhome.com 

a

a more contemporary approach that is lovely...

Photos obtained via pinterest.com

New Addition

With winter fast approaching, our need for more storage for those chunky sweaters and scarves fueled a search for a dresser. Last weekend we went down to the "West Bottoms" which is a bunch of old abandoned warehouses where the railroad used to unload goods, but now house a plethora of antique, vintage, and second-hand dealers. On the first weekend of every month, these old (and kind of creepy) buildings open up to the public. On a previous trip in August, we were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff, so this time we were more prepared with a better idea of what we were looking for. I found this beauty in the first store we visited! I am very surprised that Zach was okay with the bright yellow, but when I showed it to him there was no hesitation! What first drew me to this piece were the lines, and size. It fits perfectly in the little space beside our bed. I have always trended away from color when it comes to interior design, but between the brick walls, my red side-table and bright green leather chair, and now this dresser, I think that I may be a closet color enthusiast...

I need to fill that frame on the right. I am searching for the perfect black and white photo...

Copper Love

A couple of weeks ago Zach and I took a trip to Williams Sonoma, just to look around of course...All of those shiny new cooking supplies, gadgets and cookbooks, it really is heaven for my husband, who loves to cook. I, on the other hand, head straight for the pretty things in the back of the store. I spend time browsing the crystal, porcelain, the seasonal tableware, but I always end my trip with a visit to my friend the copper pot (while drool runs down my face and Zach drags me away before I do something foolish). I will admit, four hundred dollars seems a little steep for a new sauce pan, but a girl can dream right? 

I have heard that copper is a difficult surface to clean and take care of.... but who cares?.... just look at them!

Random Fall Stuff

Fall finally seems to be upon us here in Kansas City. The trees are finally participating in the whole changing color thing ( I was nervous for a while), and fall activities are in full swing.....

We visited a corn maze a couple of weeks ago with some of Zach's work friends... there is nothing like 5 engineers trying to figure their way through a maze, they even started running at one point to see who would figure it out first.... boys will be boys...

Oh, and I just followed Zach around, for some reason I thought he would make a better navigator.... 

Trying to take a break from our intake of garlic.... but it is a losing battle, usually this bowl is full.

The weirdest tree ever, half brilliant orange, half deep green...

Yep, fall means Halloween. I set out a goal not to spend much money, so we had to work with stuff we already had. I own a lot of black clothing, so I just needed to purchase ears and a tail and Voila!...a cat. Zach had everything but the wig, mustache, and glasses....the rest seemed to fall into place. By the way, he is Albert Einstein, not a yeti as my dad thought...

Nox was not impressed with my costume.

Nox posing in place of Zach here. We finally went to see the musical "Wicked", it was literally five blocks from our loft..... sigh, the perks of living in a city.

Been drinking lots of this....

Been doing lots of this.....

We have been making a big batch of soup on the weekends for the last couple of weeks, and freezing half to save for a rainy (or snowy) day. This week was sausage tortellini ....

YUM!