Family time with dad and the elk...

The boys love when Dad comes home. He works 3 weeks and then comes home for 3 weeks. Its much better than how it used to be when he would drive away not knowing when he would have time off again. Now it's a constant and Ezzie (our 5 year old) always makes plans for his "daddy time". He stores things up for us to do-it's cute. Sometimes daddy has his own plans though-hahaha and this time the boys were all about it. It involved finding a standing deer blind and some camouflage stuff. I grew up in the city so hunting isn't really my thing, but up north here it's a holiday. No really-the schools are actually closed on opening day of deer season! Isn't that funny? All the women go shopping out of town while the men head to camp. So, anyway I was on board for a little hunter/shopping adventure with my boys. They can drop me off at Hobby Lobby and I'll fritter away some time! We did have fun! Roo (almost 2) didn't like HL as much as I'd hoped. He started yelling for his "ganky" when we reached the paper section. Oh well. Emm and Ez picked us up and we spent about an hour at a Jay's sporting goods store. It had real animal heads all over the place which delighted the kids-but I was more concerned about the Keen's and North Face stuff. Next we headed over to the Elk Preserve to watch some animals and finished our family day at fun little Mexican restaurant. Then back to Alpena. These really are the best days of our lives.

here's a peek...

I want my Ganky!

cute fuzzy keen boots...

I ended up buying these Keen boots-much more lifestyle appropriate-thinking I can look kinda cute while shoveling 4 ft of snow.

Friday Rooms...ending a week of feathers

Well it's the end of the week of feathers here on AF. What were some of your favorite feather things? Would you put feathers into your decorating scheme? Feather themes are kinda cool to change out with the seasons. My sister-in-law loves them in her Christmas tree. She has a gorgeous feather boa she wraps from the top, then accents the rest of the tree with natural elements and colors like rust, gold, and green. It's really pretty.

 I'm planning on spending the weekend reading Grace Bonney's new (signed edition)of her book "Design*Sponge at Home"-yay! So now I'm leaving you with some inspiring pics of spaces and products that have incorporated feathers as an element of design. Maybe you'll be inspired to put a little feather in your nest!

Have a look...

Wisconsin cabins from the The Lettered Cottage

Apartment Therapy

House Beautiful

Parlour Blog

Elle Decor

Alexander McQueen "Feathers" rug-The Rug Company

Apartment Therapy

Parlour blog-Portfolio work

Juju feather art via Parlour Blog

 For a cool Tutorial on how to make a
JUJU FEATHER HAT, check out this link to Design*Sponge!

Etsy Artist Finds....

Well in keeping with my Wednesday tradition I've trolled Etsy in search of cool things that (loosely) go along with my weekly theme. I am exploring some fall decorating trends including zig zags, crochet and deep bright colors. This journey was sparked by the Missoni frenzy over at Target. Even though they're sold out you can always shop at Etsy folks! lol-but seriously here's a little shop with some cute pillows to dress up the house this fall...


Habitation Inc: This Indianapolis, IN shop stocks pillows and some crocheted housewares that are perfect for some fall color and texture. Shop owner Lesley Herron says that she began making her own home fashions originally because she was decorating on a tight budget. She decided to share her talents with us too and Habitation Inc was born.Her shop is a collection of handmade Bohemian Chic & Modern Eclectic pillows and home décor.  She enjoys using various designer fabrics, handwoven Uzbeki ikats, vintage hand dyed Japanese shiboris and reclaimed burlap coffee sacks.

Check it out...