Modern Prairie Girl

A little over a year ago our dear friend, Leah the Fabulous, asked us for some help with her beginnings of her clothing line. We ventured out to her Cannon Beach house (gasps all around at this incredible house–even still) to be together and photograph some samples. It was a magical time wtih women I love very much. Who would’ve thought that a year later we’d be at it again, this time with the line complete and a Barn House show under Leah’s belt.

The infamous Art by Leah cow made quite the appearance this weekend…this time with feet!

Julia and Natalie were styling and cow-holding, respectively.

Julia (painter extraordinaire), moi, Debbie,   Natalie,  Robin  and  around the table getting some fuel before our big day.

It was a pleasure to shoot with Robin this weekend. We worked well together and got all of the shots covered that Leah needed. Robin and I were accused of talking shop a lot this trip, but it was just a blast to have someone to compare toys with!

Natalie, WonderBaker, made this little treat that appears to have landed straight on my tush…sigh…I can’t resist cake with pink frosting…it’s just so pretty.

Princess Fauna came out to play with Leah’s dogs. She did great—seen here (in her usual Queen fashion) taking the most comfortable and the LARGEST seat in the house.

Leah the Fabulous makes a rare appearance in my images (posing with Simon)…she’s a little, shall we say, HARD on herself. A more lovely designer you’ll never meet. Kisses Miss L.

Okay, lovelies…ON TO THE CLOTHES! I can personally attest that these garments make you feel like a million bucks. Of course, Debbie, the face of Belle Blanc, looks incredible in them—but the brilliant part is everyone looks great in these clothes. Thought you could never wear white? Look again! Thought you could never wear fitted clothes? Behold the power of the RUCHE…an optical illusion brought to us from this clothing line.

Sir George, another important part of the brand, poses here with his usual royal-ness….I love this boy.

So wonderful to see this dream come alive for my friend. For me, Leah is the one that is always building me up…helping me take leaps and jumps into the creative unknown. I’ve grown more brave because of our friendship…all of these women bring joy to my life. Thank you, ladies, for everything.

OX.

Hello, lovelies….summer is almost over and that means wandering around my house wondering what grand changes I’ll make before my departure to living in the car begins when school begins. Right up there with putting a windmill in my living room is the possibility of some kind of deer head design element…don’t worry PETA members, I am not in the market for the real deal…just some ceramic or paper mache’. Found some interesting ones in my web travels….

Love these from  Fryd and Design…

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Buy it here.

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I loooove this one below…nice and subtle.

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I think I might need some horns in the abode…waddyathink?

OX.

p.s. Had the most incredible “Alice in Wonderland” photo shoot last night out here on the compound complete with the characters…

…it was a dream come true for me. ‘Will be working on the images this week and will have lots to share.

An MPG astute pal sent me these images because she knew I would swoon…and swoon I did.

I. must. have. some. of. these. one. day.

fabulous, fabulous…

I found a few of my own that I’m coveting…

(the ultimate!)

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Not sure what it is about bringing the outside in, but I am craving the barn door thing, but also a windmill in my living room…

I saw one in one of my fave books, “Found Style”

par example’~

Lest you think (by the scale of this to that random child up there) that my ceilings are 20 feet high…I would like a smaller version of this.

I’m not kidding.

I almost knocked on a farm house door out here in the sticks and offered some cold hard cash for their weathered, antiquey looking windmill that was about 6 feet–perfect for my house! I chickened out though.

They had a not-so-cuddly-looking dog in their yard…

and a truck with a “Insured by Smith and Wesson” sticker on the bumper.

I am peeling these eyelids back though—look out if you’re out in your yard in Vancouver, WA and you’ve got one of these dad-gum things in your yard.

I’m ready and I am not afraid to stuff it in my minivan…in exchange for cash, of course.

What are some strange or random things you would like in your living room, lovelies?

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So far the swing, the barn doors and the windmill are rounding out my list…I just may find myself single. Ha! PH is not a fan of hardware in the living space, but he will learn to deal, as he always does..bless his little PH heart.

I hope you have lovely weather wherever you are for the weekend (supposedly 97 here today…we’ll see…)~

OX.

Some more (belated) images of Barn House Flea…I see a pattern with what I’m drawn to with my camera as I roam the booths at barn sales. Funny how I don’t see it until I download..

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Thought it would be fun to show some faces of our local flea market vendors (who also show around town at antique shops and other shows)—we love them all!

Sweet smiley-faced Debbie (Laurie too ) from Worthy Goods~

Joann and her pal from Camas Antiques~

Lisa and Isabel–our girls from A Thing for Roses and Maison Douce~

Our Tarte-girl, Cindy–who, btw, is hosting something that sounds fabulous called “Artsy Tartesy”

here with some Worthy Goods…

Sylvi (and Layla, the sweetest blond this side of Texas) from Little Cottage~

Duchess gals…

One lovely from Kindred Roses

Auntie Joy and her joy-filling booth…

Camera-shy Natalie from Sparrow…

Calamity Jane had a very cool booth…no one was ready for their close-up

Of course, our BOYS never disappoint…I got the sale of the day (in my opinion, anyway) of a rustic white farm table that is road-trippin’ over to my kitchen. Can’t wait to play “dining room” with my new chairs! I’ll show it when it’s all done and purdy.

Again, it was a perfect day and I was blessed to be there. Just wonderful…so long to wait for next year.

I hope your week starts out well today, Lovelies~

OX.

p.s. some serious happenings going on in the new art studio  at work…was flinging paint and moving stuff this weekend. I am one motivated cookie..can’t wait to begin to work on the pieces I’ve been dreaming about…also can’t wait to share them with my MPG pals.

We all have that one dream that seems a bit ridiculous…or completely “un-do-able”…mine is always the same…

To live in a firehouse

(with the pole, of course.)

Well, lovelies…one came up for sale in Portland, and although I am not anticipating a 1.8 million dollar move, a girl can dream out loud…

Firehouse for sale

Just for the record…if I was going to live in a firehouse, I would HAVE to sleep in this bed from Anthro (who else?)…

Seriously…is that not one of the coolest things ever? (wiping drool from my mouth corner)?!

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Firehouses…fire trucks…it’s a red thing and I do seem to have this color come up a lot…

So..why not do a styled photo shoot around it? My plan is to use of these images for a collage piece…just getting that studio space ready so I can begin. ‘Bought some wood blocks at Home Depot yesterday to get myself going!

Check out the rest of the red images here.

Happy weekend, lovelies!!!

OX.

p.s. very excited to be on Kelly Rae Robert’s post this week