We are quickly approaching the holidays. Every year it flys by and I always say to myself that this year I will be super organized, holiday cards done by Thanksgiving, presents wrapped as they are bought, and all shopping done by mid-December. I assume I am like...
I love everything vintage and when I am shopping for Christmas I often try to find things that are unique. Vintage or retro fits the bill. I always check out Restoration Hardware for fun games and stocking stuffers. Although I mostly play Words with Friends on my...
We spent Thanksgiving at my in-laws in Manteca. On Friday, as we were heading home we passed a church sign on the main street that I had to stop and take pictures of. It appears that God is a stand up comedienne! Or at least some of his followers are. If I was...
Top Ten Things to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving: 10. Martha Stewart will not critique your turkey or the $1 store napkin rings. 9. You get to be with your family–all day! 8. There will be plenty of wine flowing, see #9. 7. You finally get to use your gravy boat....
What’s not to love about the holidays – traffic, people fighting over the last Tickle Me Elmo doll, Grandma’s fruitcake, Uncle Joe’s drunken slurring – I digress. I love the holidays and can’t wait each year for them to arrive. Almost...
Everyone gets their child’s senior portrait picture taken during the summer before their senior year. They are usually pretty generic–a cap and gown for the boys and black dress for the girls. This is the picture that is used in the yearbook. But does this...
Everyone has an uncle, a brother, a sister or a friend that is uber cool and trendy. These design inspired gifts would be perfect for them or anyone else on your list. First up is this insanely awesome laptop case. I may just buy a laptop so I can get this case. I...
We recently designed personalized wrapping paper, just in time for the holidays. You can add whatever message you’d like, personalize it from Santa or buy a roll with your family name. Add a pretty bow and you are set to go. We designed two sets for Christmas...
We are working on several new art collections for the Atlanta Gift Show in January. We will definitely be showing some new Christmas gift ideas and some exciting new kitchen themed collections. But the collection we are most excited about is Mediterranean...
Ray Villafane There are some amazing pumpkin carvings out there and I thought in honor of Halloween I would share some great ones. I came across the artist Ray Villafane during my search. Wow! You can see his pumpkins here also. Quite amazing, it is too bad they rot...
Life is a series of decisions not a series of events. Last Thursday, I attended the event Real Women. Real Conversations. It was put on by our local chapter of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners). What a great resource to have available. It has been...
We are almost done with Holiday cards here at Simon+Kabuki. Just doing some last minute additions to fill in some holes on some of the sites that carry our line. One thing that we’ve learned with licensing our artwork is that it is a very long process. Not at...
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. – William Shakespeare This weekend my husband and I had a rare hour to kill until my son’s soccer game started. We decided to visit the San Jose Rose Garden....
I minored in photography in college but since then I don’t take as many pictures or really think about my composition as much when I am shooting. I love taking pictures but I usually have to contend with my kids who think it is like chinese water torture to have...
Yesterday was a sad day. I am not sure if we feel it more in Silicon Valley or if everyone else feels the same. It was like a beloved teacher or relative passed away. Steve was such a game changer in so many industries. As I sit here typing on my mac and playing Words...
We are really excited to have been featured in Quilt Magazine this month. It is their October/November issue out right now. We are the designer spotlight. We were called several months ago by the writer Cynthia Van Hazinga. It was a great experience and really easy,...
I love the look of an all white room. Especially shabby chic and comfy with just a couple of pops of color, if any. This probably won’t happen at my house during my life time. With 3 kids, a husband, 2 dogs and a cat, I’m lucky if I can get the chocolate...
I’m a volunteer baker for an organization called cake4kids and I just made my first cake for them. I love baking so this is a perfect opportunity for me. Before reading about cake4kids, it never occurred to me that some kids don’t get a birthday cake or...
Today I was perusing the web looking for cool projects made with our Juicy Blossoms fabric and I was not disappointed. I found some great pieces that I had to share. As many of you know I do not sew, I am good with iron-on sewing and that is about it, much to my...
If you saw my post about terrariums, you know that I love miniatures. It goes back as far as I can remember. My sister and I used to take our plastic horses and set them up in the weeds and grass in the backyard then snap away with our trusty polaroids. For all you...
Right now I am loving all of the vintage looks that are in home decor. Mixing burlap and lots of white is beautiful and really brightens the room. Since I always design my kids birthdays around a theme, I thought it would be fun to decorate a baby room in similar...
Simon+Kabuki has some exciting new products that have hit the shelves and the cyberworld. One product that I just love is our new Cuddlebumps coloring book (full disclosure, I did not work on the design!). I used to love to color as a kid and my two girls still...
This month my family traveled to beautiful Lake Tahoe to attend my brother’s destination wedding. They were married on the beach at 5:30. It was a beautiful ceremony and the setting was fantastic. My brother wore a khaki suit instead of traditional black and I...
I’m keepin’ it real right now by saying I don’t ride a bike around town. I love my car and am not comfortable enough on a bike to coexist with Silicon Valley car traffic. I wish I was, as the whole “spare the air” thing is a lovely idea....
I am so exited to have found a lovely network of websites that is made for anyone who loves food, weddings, and decorating (ME!). It’s comprised of inspirational, user-submitted photo gallery sites: foodgawker, craftgawker, weddinggawker, dwellinggawker. I like...
