in two weeks, mike perry will be showcasing some really beautiful work at the minneapolis college of art and design. running from march 26th-april 18th, ‘lost in the discovery of what shapes the mind‘ will celebrate some of mike’s newest work and will include an artist talk with mike the night before the opening. i loved getting a glimpse of all the work before it’s been set up (below) but i’m also really loving these one-of-a-kind screen printed posters that mike created as part of the show’s promotion. if i was in minneapolis i would definitely be stopping by to check this out, so if you’re lucky enough to be in the area, click here for more information and to visit the show. you can also check out a little mike perry studio tour video on the show’s blog right here. thanks, chris!

i’m heading off for the weekend, so i’ll see you on monday. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend! below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

• must-read posts of the week: sneak peek: fitzhugh & lyndsay of the brooklyn home co., the inspiring world of playing card design, tyler’s george washington frame makeover
• sneak peeks: fitzhugh & lyndsay of the brooklyn home co., asia gwis, marianne van ooij
• new city guide: jersey city
• biz ladies: biz parents: balance and time management tips
• past & present: ironstone history, cleaning, and care
• living in: alice in wonderland
• diy projects: $5 spring tablecloth, woven cork ikea skala tray, sewing 101: ottoman slip cover, made with love: catnip mouse
• before & afters: beth’s sofa + slipper chair, tyler’s frame + samantha’s chair
• we like it wild: shamrock badges and a visit to legendary sf barman michael mccourt
• small measures with ashley: starting seeds indoors
• in the kitchen with: dwellstudio’s pistou soup recipe
• new d*s guest blogger: great small-space living tips from simone at tiny-ass apartment!
• philadelphia flower show: general favorites and jewelry made from dried plant material
• misc: drop cap prints from jessica hische, recycled rebar nesting tables, prints from dear colleen, the world of playing cards, rough linen bedding, leefee photography, maria tocornal wax books, orange chocolate mini cupcakes

When Christiane Lemieux of DwellStudio submitted this recipe in October, we thought it was a great idea for winter. Those of you who aren’t still watching the snow fall can take advantage of it as well.  You can use whichever vegetables are in season and most flavorful, even if the recipe takes advantage of summer’s finest.  Hearty soups are a great way to use up any surplus vegetables you have around and though I had every intention of pureeing the leftovers and freezing it, my husband ate it all so there were none!   Vegetarians/vegans can substitute the chicken stock with a non-meat based alternative and just use toasted crostini rubbed with garlic, instead of parmesan.    -Kristina

About Christiane: Canadian Christiane Lemieux is a mother of two and a half – Isabelle (4) and William (2 ) and her 12 year old Lab, Jake, who comes to the office with her every day.  She is married to Josh, who is also her business partner, and she is the Founder and Creative Director of DwellStudio and DwellStudio for Target.  She graduated from the Parson’s School of Design with a degree in Fashion design, and has a degree in Art History from Queen’s University in Canada.  Christiane is inspired by travel, design, and all things creative and is trying to figure out how to live a life of adventure while bringing her kids along, too . 

CLICK HERE for the full recipe and more about why Christine chose it after the jump!

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Last Tuesday’s snow fall finally fully succumbed to this week’s warming trend. A brief walk around my property the other day revealed the presence of many, many daffodil buds sending their green arms of praise and golden heads of happiness up and out of the ground, rousing themselves from this winter’s protracted cold, ready for the spring throw-down to officially commence.

Their arrival reminded me that it’s time to get started growing seeds. Accordingly, today’s small measure covers the fundamentals of indoor seed starting. Whereas some seeds are directly sown, meaning they do best by simply being planted outdoors, straight into the soil, others benefit from indoor sowing, leisurely taking their time to germinate, sprout, and transition (oh so gradually) to the wilds of the great outdoors. The backs of individual seed packets will detail which route, direct sow or sown indoors, would best suit your seed’s needs. When planning your approach, there are a few tips to keep in mind for seed sowing success (or, at least, we hope success is the outcome!). To begin, base your sowing times on the calender. We all live in far-flung locales, with wide variation in climates. A plant’s “growing season” is the period between your region’s last spring frost and its first fall frost (those designations apply to residents of the Northern Hemisphere; Southern Hemisphere folks need simply reverse that order, with growing seasons running from fall to spring). Base your planting times on your region’s growing season. If a seed packet indicates to sow indoors 6 weeks before the last spring frost, and you live in a region where that occurs sometime towards the end of April, then you’ll need to get busy sowing around the first or second week in March.

CLICK HERE for the rest of ashley’s post and step-by-step photos for growing seeds indoors!

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it’s never too early to start the day with something sweet, so i wanted to share this delicious recipe- and cute decoration idea from allyson baker. allyson announced she was going to have a baby by baking her co-workers these delicious cupcakes with fun little wrappers and tags. i think the idea is so sweet- and so is the recipe- so i couldn’t resist sharing a quick recipe for orange chocolate mini cupcakes from allyson this morning before we jump into our main recipe later this morning. click here for allyson’s full post and the recipe. thanks (and congratulations!) allyson!

*over at the d*s guest blog simone is finishing up her small space living week with a post on hanging and hidden storage. click here to check it out!

Aside from the obligatory pint, we’ve never been quite sure what to do on St. Patrick’s Day. Since most of us just aren’t a green plastic bowler hat bunch, we decided to do some serious brainstorming in order to come up with a bit of wearable green that suits our particular tastes. While visiting North Beach’s Washington Square Bar & Grill last week legendary barman Michael McCourt poured us a couple of “lady’s” pints (a half pint) of Guinness to help us get our creative juices flowing, chatted us up about the comings and goings of the neighborhood, and even offered to wear a little of our green himself.

Until recent decades, St. Patrick’s Day was little more than a saint’s day observed only in Ireland. Mike told us growing up there in the during and after World War II, St. Patrick’s Day meant the bars would be closed and there may be a big soccer match to see but the raucous celebrations we associate with today’s St. Patrick’s Day were unheard of. After some investigating we found that some other traditions of the holiday had been lost over time. In previous centuries people made paper badges decorated with crosses and shamrocks to mark the day. Gradually, badge and ribbon making lost favor and most people chose to wear a shamrock in their lapel for the saint’s day, and now…the green carnation. According to Mike, it was a real religious and nationally observed saint’s day, “Until Budweiser realized there was money to be made,” he laughed.

We decided to bring a little bit of finery back to the St. Patrick’s Day celebration by making a shamrock badge (inspired by the idea of Victorian lapel vases) to wear while partaking in our lady’s pints next Wednesday. We happened upon a stash of miniature medicine bottles at a flea market recently that have been the perfect vases for our tiniest flowers in the shop and were a perfect fit for clover (bonus: these bottles are spill proof!). The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland and the holy trinity, but the same clover is a native species on most continents. It usually sprouts little white flowers and is used as a ground cover for areas where little else will grow. Due to it’s tenacious spirit, clover is also considered a weed by many, but how many weeds can say they have their own holiday? Our yards are completely over-run right now with yellow oxalis; the shamrock look-alike we used in our bottle.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Studio Choo’s shamrock badge project (including step by step how-to photos) after the jump!

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this next before & after really caught my eye for some reason. i really love when people subtly modify something in a way that makes me see a piece in a completely different light- especially if i would have walked right by it before. this george washington frame makeover comes from tyler goodro at plastolux. tyler explained, “i stopped by a antique store the other day not really expecting to find much in my flavor. as I rounded a corner there he was giving me this smirk, and i ignored him. needless to say two days later I went back and took this 60’s 70’s print of george washington home, frame and all for $25. i busted out the acrylics and a paint brush and went to town on the frame. i also replaced the plexi with glass, now it is a little more my flavor – modern!” i really love the way the frame mimics the print itself- and it really does change the feel for me. well done, tyler!

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images!]

CLICK HERE for samantha’s chair makeover after the jump!

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i’m feeling a little under the weather today so i’m going to kick off the before & afters a little early so i can try to work in a little half-day off to rest up. these first two projects come from beth at nest interior design. i love the way she updated this sofa and added the cording detail- it gives the finished result such a crisp, clean feel. not to mention it makes you completely forget about that cheetah print nightmare the couch was before. click here to check out more of beth’s design work online. [photos by kevin dotolo]

[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images!]

CLICK HERE to see beth’s slipper chair makeover after the jump!

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good morning! i wanted to start today with a little eye candy from chilean artist mariana tocornal. mariana is going to be showing her work at ICFF this may (i can’t wait for the shows this spring!) but before we get a glimpse at her work in person i wanted to post these beautiful beeswax books. something about the texture of those glossy pages has me mesmerized this morning. an overwhelmed by a desire to turn the pages and feel that waxy texture with my fingers. hopefully mariana will bring one to the show for people to see- although i imagine all those hands would melt or damage the wax. so for now, i’ll keep my browsing online. click here to check out more of mariana’s work online.

*over at the d*s guest blog simone has a great post about turning closets into home offices- great for the small space dweller. click here to check out all of her ideas.