A Second (or Third or Fourth) Look...

Ruthie Sommers' kitchen - if you were a Domino magazine devotee, then you'll recognize this image from the inaugural issue of the magazine. The room has been admired by many ever since (black paint! in a kitchen!), and stills feels fresh to me. While catching up on the blog Shelter this evening, I saw something in the photo I'd never noticed before - Blue Willow china on the shelf in the upper left hand corner! Now, of course, I love the room even more.

Image via Shelter. P.S. Congratulations, Julie!

You can get your own Blue Willow collection started at Sparker Shop:

Pegboard Inspiration

Yesterday while sitting in the Sparker Shop booth at the vintage fair, I found myself flooded with ideas. Fortunately, I had pen and paper with me and was able to jot them down between tending to customers. Many of the ideas were just little improvements for the booth, blog or shop. All simple, easy things - like the calendar on the blog sidebar that shows when I'll be manning the pop-up shop. But the one I am really excited about is improving my booth display.

You see, lately I have been collecting a lot of vintage kitchen utensils. They are unique, built to last and I can't seem to resist them. The downside is displaying them. I've been laying them out on one of my colorful table cloths, but somehow that doesn't seem to do them justice and it takes up quite a bit of valuable table space. So, yesterday I had the idea to build a kitchen peg board for my booth! Not revolutionary, but to me it was very exciting.

Ever since, I have been trolling the web for inspirational photos. The toughest decision will be deciding what color to paint the board! At the moment, I am leaning toward a French blue.

Below are some of the photos from which I'll be drawing inspiration, and here's a great story I ran across about Julia Child's pots being reunited with her kitchen at the Smithsonian.

Domino via Flickr.

Apartment Therapy.

Design*Sponge.

This one is my husband's dream! How to be Domestic.

Better Homes & Gardens circa 1983 via Flickr.

Martha Stewart.

Simple, Elegant Table

I will be recreating this look for a dinner party as soon as possible. Equally appropriate for an end of summer fête or a fall harvest dinner party.

Image via Shelter.

Waning Days of Summer

Yesterday's post was all about fall, but today I'd like to slow down and enjoy the waning days of summer. Here's my Etsy roundup of everything you'll need to celebrate the season.

First, throw on this Mexican Bird Sunshine dress from JessJamesJake and call up your friends!

Pair the dress with these perfect summer hoops from Favor Jewelry. I picked up a pair myself and have been wearing them with everything!

You and your guests can recline on Plum Cushion's Palm Springs terry cloth cushions:

Sip margaritas served in this green glass pitcher from Sparker Shop:

Serve appetizers on these sunny yellow platters:

Wrap up with dessert in these fetching yellow sorbet cups:

And ensure you'll enjoy summer all year long by picking up a print from JP Greenwood:

Top photo also from JP Greenwood.

Getting Ready for Fall

Let's face it, it never truly gets COLD in Los Angeles. So when catalog after catalog arrives bursting at the seams with winter coats, I get jealous. Not so much for the extreme weather found in other locales, but for the wardrobe.

I think I've stumbled up a good compromise: the cape. Stylish and warm, and here in LA you could probably wear one with a white tank top underneath!

Here are a few of my favorites, the first is from Anthropologie:

A close up:

A vintage orange/coral cape from JessJamesJake:

Another lovely option from Anthropologie:

Diane von Furstenberg's stylish take for fall:

Busy, Busy

*UPDATE: Sparker Shop will be at the Silver Lake Craft* Art & Vintage Fair this weekend, Saturday, September 12 from 10am to 4pm. Come say hi!*

Busy, busy. Doing what? Well, for one thing, I have been getting ready to participate in my first vintage fair! This Saturday, August 15th, I will have a booth at the Silver Lake Craft* Art & Vintage Fair. The Sparker Shop booth will be open for business from 10am to 4pm, so if you are in the area please be sure to stop by. And I can't make any guarantees, but the last time I was at the fair, which occurs every Saturday, the Border Grill taco truck made an appearance.

To prepare, I have been gathering lots of special goodies which include the items in my shop, succulents and herbs planted in vintage vessels (talk about a wonderful hostess gift!) as well as the framed vintage bow ties pictured below.

Hope to see you there!

Majolica

When I laid eyes on these:  

I immediately thought of this image from Australian Vogue Living:

Image via Desire to Inspire

Then I stumbled upon these images from Martha Stewart Living:

Images via Mostly Majolica

And now I'm inspired to get out there and find some more!  Start your collection by picking up this set of Majolica leaf plates made in Portugal from Sparker Shop!

Tweet! Tweet!

Sparker Shop is now on Twitter!  Join these folks and you'll receive tweets about the latest additions to the shop, art and decor that are inspiring me, tips on vintage finds around town and much much more.  Click here to follow Sparker Shop.

Be sure to check out the cool people below who are already following Sparker Shop and get your twitter mosaic here.

Thanks to Eye Spy for tipping me off to Twitter Mosaic!