making breakfast...

and then eating it...

wouldn't be so bad in a kitchen like this:

this is from a house tour over on design*sponge.

from the creator of {this is glamorous}.

so you know it's gotta be good!

the whole thing is really beautiful and feminine,

i was just enamored with that kitchen.

wood and white. (and the mix of old china doesn't hurt!)

i'm thinking my next kitchen will be a variation of wood, with modern white.

90% of my favorite kitchens include that combo.

and so there you go.

tuesday.

JILL

the goodwill.

i love the goodwill.

do you have to dig through piles of junk that is kinda filthy? usually. do i find something every time i visit? not even close. is it the thrill of the hunt? is it the joy in paying almost nothing for something awesome? yep and yep.

people give away some really good stuff, you guys. and by shopping at the goodwill, you are in fact, giving your money to a good cause. so shop on. just don't go to mine and steal the good stuff!

its rare for me, but eddie ross finds amazing finds, worth alot of pennies, all the time. he's my inspiration.

i just got these on friday and i think he'd approve.

(i lunch at the goodwill sometimes... and then actually eat lunch at my desk.

just to see what they have.)

this time, i win.

i got 13 (odd number but i'm ok with it)

dainty fire king milkglass tea cups.

they all had a price tag on them for 0.00.

so when i got to the cute girl with amazing hair (not kidding) working at the front, i joked that they were free. she looked at me seriously, said, "no sorry. not free, but i can give them to you for .49 cents."

.49 cents a piece is kind of a joke.

if i have 59834 tea cups already (which, although i told you i hoard dishware, i don't. yet.).... i would still have purchased these for .49 cents.

then i picked up a cute set of 6 of these sorbet cups.

they were .99 cents each.

and i might drink champagne out of them, too.

they could pass for a cute little coupe... with glass balls around the bottom.

i love both of these things.

and my mom, who was with me, she gots tons of stuff, too.

it was by far the best luck i've ever had at the goodwill, ever.

dishes.

they're my sickness.

:)

JILL

deals and dishes.

i came up with an entire thanksgiving table for you...

in case you are waiting until the day before.

and it all came from world market!

down to the very last drop.

it all started this morning when i got an email saying all their napkins are on sale for $0.99 each.

that's kinda a steal.

they have something to please everyone...

plain, ethnic, glammy, colorful, not-so-colorful.

to start from scratch or to mix in with what you already have.

my faves were the sangria sofia jacquard ones i used above.

i think i'mma get me some.

12 of them.

{coupon's good online, too.}

anyway.

i ran from there.

i love dishes, as you know, and i love setting a table.

it's the little things in life, people.

get all the things above, here:

silverware.

napkins.

dinner plates.

salad plates.

soup crocks.

table cloth.

wine glasses.

goblets.

tumblers.

seriously.

do any of you want to buy all the pretty dishes in the world, too?

i think it's an issue.

but. i. just. love. them.

i hope you have a great thanksgiving.

i'll be back here on monday.

headed to wichita to stuff my face full o goodies

and i'm signing off for a few days.

i'm thankful.

for you and lots of things.

JILL

to infinity and beyond.

and that's why you'll need a ladder.

i would like to be in a situation later on down the line,

that would require the use of a kitchen ladder.

that just means:

a-- i'll have buco storage space

and

b-- i'll have to have acquired all that space for all my dishes.

this last one kills me.

best of the best.

kitchen of my dreams.

size, shape, color, wood, ladder, light. all of it.

wrap it up and ship it.

with a bow.

please and thank you.

happy f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-friday!!

JILL

it's complicated.

one of my very favorite movies is it's complicated.

{it's nothing new, but i stumbled upon shots of the set yesterday and thought i'd share}

when i was painting my whole wall of built-ins and fireplace (that took weeks...) i had this movie on in the background over and over and over again. it has a great story and characters, but the scenery is even better.

the thing that kills me is that this whole movie is set around merryl streep's house. and she's having a giant kitchen added on by her architect, steve martin.

why? because this one is so awful?

i love this kitchen.

i want to add on to my house for this kitchen!

doesn't look like a movie set at all.

looks like a well loved, well lived-in kitchen.

i'm crazy about it.

thank you, nancy meyers.

JILL

{i've already posted about meryl's garden in this movie here.}

coupes

i think i'm going to start collecting different, eclectic and fabulous

champagne coupes.

i have a set of flutes... a gift from my college roommates back in the day :)

but i would also like a set of these.

i kinda don't want matching-- just coordinating and roughly the same size.

i'm so excited. now i have a new thing to hunt for while antiquing and that's my favorite!

they are so old school glamorous.

and charming.

and unless i stumble upon an entire set of 12 vintage that i can't let go... or find 12 new ones that i would be willing to throw down the money for (let's be honest, i don't need these), i think an eclectic mix is the way to go. and i definitely want some pink ones!!

JILL

#isthereanAAfordishhoarding

swallows

my recent adventures in my china/dishware hoarding collecting.

i saw these tea cups and saucers on pinterest and almost fell out of my chair.

they are gorge.

they should probably be mine! right?

kinda reminds me of something you might find in urban outfitters.

crossed my fingers, hoped for the best, and

since it's pinterest, i followed their link but it lead me to flickr.

great. i love pinterest, but it's such a tease when it leads you back to one of those photo-share sites. usually means dead-end.

turns out they were a vintage find of a woman living in australia.

lucky. {a al napolean dynamite.}

but if they are vintage, there should be more. right?

went to the internets.

and found these blue swallows in google! oh my gosh.

they're even better than the black ones.

mine.

where do i sign?

followed their link, whop whop.

vintage find of a woman in the UK.

luckier.

the moral of this story is that the internet is cruel.

there are no more links to be found for vintage sets of swallow covered china for me to buy. no pattern name or maker. only photos to tempt and empty links to follow.

i have my china from our wedding and my grandmother's china she gifted me, and those blue swallows would be the perfect link between the 2. so i could use all 3 in one big happy china family.

oh well.

but tgif!

JILL



why

 is it that when i finally find some fabric that i'm in obsession with,

i find it's 100 bucks a yard (and thus over the fence and through the woods over my budget)?

i need like 7 yards, so that's prob not going to happen.

i have a wing back from my grandparents in the navy front room that needs a facelift. i haven't done anything yet because i've been waiting and searching and hoping for this:

katie leede's papyrus.

search goes on.

but in a random note, have you seen lulu dk's byzantine dinnerware? 

want.

get it here.

would be so great to mix.

need.

it's on sale.

for today only.

that's all i got.

til next time.

JILL

dreams.

i'm working at a tradeshow all day today but i'm stealing 5 minutes to share this kitchen of my dreams!!!

i live for color but i could also live in a kitchen such as zees:

every detail, the more i study it, is just perfect.

and i am more than envious of the giant dish/serveware collection she's amassed and displayed.

this kitchen belongs to a belgian photographer, bieke claessen.

i found her home through pinterest last night. where else?

but living with all that gorgeous muted color in the kitchen, i'd have to splash some color elsewhere in my house... and she did. in her daughter's room.

I LOVE IT.

hope you're having a good monday.

JILL

{images via haute design}

cozy mod

gry frager for normann copenhagen made these delightfully cozy, yet simple and modern dishware... based off of old tea towels.

i think they are perfect.

granny chic.

but better?

they'd help to make one beautiful sunday brunch, no??

JILL

so much more...

pendleton has so much more than the blankets we all know and love.

i didn't know this until the other day reading the new lonny.

american indian flair was/is really popular this fall.

what better way to bring some of that into your home than with pendleton?

especially as we're gearing up for thanksgiving.

thanksgiving and american indians go together like pumpkin and pie.

for example:

thanksgiving turkey would taste better off of this platter :)

salt and pepper shakers.

i am from kansas after all.

these were found in lonny.

mixed in with my plain everday dishes... delicious.

mix one set of these with some more modern and plain glasses or goblets and again, delicious.

and i want this if only for pancake breakfast purposes only.

how stinkin cute pouring syrup?!

yep. so right. so cute. {thanks photoshop}

kinda reminds me of girl scout camp when i was 8.

these tartan plates would make a merry christmas dinner table.

who knew?

go here for the usual blankets, but for more home goods, too!

JILL

this is the stuff...

my dreams are made of.

this is the most i've seen in what looks to be someone's home.

holy moly. they need a ladder to reach them all.

(i could see dusting being a nightmare!)

i love how they all go but don't match, with a muted scheme.

this is what i am secretly (but it's not such a secret) striving for.

JILL

from thekitchn

more on my obsession here and here and here.

bubbly tasting party

i just got caught up on some blogs last night, and this one from coco + kelley caught my eye. i'm dying over their mix of glassware!! read more of my dishes/glassware obsession here and here...

but honestly, the idea of this party with the girls is so much fun. they did a rose wine tasting party (more here), i think i'd switch mine to a bubbly tasting party because that stuff is my jam :)

i know i'd love an invite to a cold champagne tasting party this summer!

to implement this eclectic glassware look, you'll just need to buy lots and lots of mismatched pieces.

this woman on etsy collected a bunch for you already.

 and the more eclectic the better in my opinion. like mixing these etched beauties above with these opalescent beauties below. also on etsy.

and i really like mixing stem with stem-less glassware. here are some simple (i.e. perfect) godis glasses from ikea.

and some even more perfect simple marta glasses from cb2.

and i've been meaning to do this for awhile now, but i'd really really like to buy 20-25 of these simple glasses and etch them with a 'B' for our last name. just to have on hand.

i've never used it, but the blogosphere seems to love this stuff for glass etching purposes:

southern living did it recently, but they did it with numbers. another good idea. you'll never be left wondering which glass is yours ;)

and on an almost totally unrelated note, another project that i've been meaning to try:

this mirror form eddie ross. he bought a cheap mirror from lowes and etched an initial on top.

lovely and easy. 2 words that go together like peas and carrots to me.

maybe this weekend!?

JILL

tina fRey

that's right. like tina fey but with an r... and a whole lot of resin crafting skills.

i first found tina's work in this month's martha mag. she featured the pink sugar and creamer below. i was so taken back by their organic form and cloudy translucence. i had to find more. and i did. and she has tons of colors, tons of other objects, and tons of skill. keep reading.

i don't eat soft boiled eggs, but is it a crime that i want an entire cabinet full of these little guys in my kitchen? and just in time for easter! i don't think i could choose between the pink and gray.

stunning.

and she even does jewels. her pooch is modeling my fave below.

but i'd take mine like this:

do you love? i do.

find more of her stuff here. and you can read her cute blog here.

JILL