Rockin' In The Treehouse

Doooon't worry... I didn't forget about my promise to show y'all the insides of some of the treehouses from yesterday's post.  I would. not. do that to you.  To be honest, though, I already wrote today's post and when I went to save it, it logged (no pun intended) me out and didn't save any of what I had just written... And now I'm too tired to remember everything I wrote (waa-waa).  But the thing I realized, somewhere in between my panic attack -> hyper-focus/trying-to-remember state was that: oh wait, you guys aren't here today for the pearls of my written word.. You want to see the interiors of these super sick suspended bungalows!  Well, get E.X.C.I.T.E.D.

But first, I will attempt to salvage just one little point from my unsaved scripture and that is how designing the inside of a treehouse is not a task to be taken lightly.  In my fair opinion, it should only be entrusted to those designers/decorators that have the wherewithal to comprehend the unique challenges and creative opportunities that stand (tall and strong) before them... And so, with that in mind, I present to you a wide variety of treehouse interiors.  Here you go, you little treehuggers - FEAST!

What'd I tell ya?  All over the map, right?  Talk about a tour of every type of wood you could imagine.. Which is fitting since we're talking about the "root" of where wood comes from.. Ha!  Um... I should go to bed.   XOXO

Treehouse Trove

Umm.. I'm just going to come out and say it, if you don't think treehouses are awesome, then we probably can't be friends... It's nothing personal, per se.. More just something that's "rooted" (ha!) in fundamental values... or the possibility that you were never a child.  However, if you're open to me trying to change your mind about these ethereal wonders of the world, then there might be hope for our friendship after all.  If so, my campaign begins: NOW.

This post was inspired by my latest addiction... Treehouse Masters.  A TV show of which the title leaves little to the imagination about the topic of the show but which the content contained within this wild series is beyond your imagination.  It's a show on Animal Planet (huh?) about this builder/dad/treehouse-fanatic who is known in the treehouse world as THE GUY if you're in the market for a dwelling amongst the leaves.  The show follows him around as he builds tree houses for people who have commissioned him to build their fantasy foliage flat.  And if that topic weren't enthralling enough, the host, Pete Nelson, is a hoot to watch (treehouse pun points?).  I HIGHLY recommend it.  

But enough about my slothful habits, let's get on with it shall we? I may still have some convincing to do!  I've compiled a cornucopia of tricked out treehouses to incite your envy and show you how these elevated abodes can blend nature and comfort in perfectly magical way.  Essentially a home in the sky, a treehouse is the closest our modern world has come to taking full advantage of our air rights.  And if that real estate concept doesn't get you all hot and bothered about tree houses, then maybe these architectural masterpieces I've "rustled up," will.   Prepare to be BLOWN away (bahaha!)  So sit your trunk down and enjoy the show!  (last one, I swear).  

And of course, I would be remiss to leave out every little girl's dream treehouse... #iwasroberta

But my favorite is and always will be, The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

Check back tomorrow as I'll be revealing the interiors of some of these perched palaces!

... I'm "stumped" for a parting comment so this will have to do!  :)

A Stitchy Situation

Whew!  Boy has work been busy lately!  I feel like it's been hard to catch a free moment but of course, that didn't stop me from getting just a little bit of home beautifying in today...  #priorities.  Meet my latest work in progress project:

Please note the "work-in-progress" part.  It's not a completed piece yet (could you tell?) but I have a special plan of when to reveal the finished product to you all so I've decided to make today's post a teaser post to hype up the anticipation.  Ooooh...  So, here's the sitch on this chair:  it's going to be used as a desk chair.  I had the wood lacquered to match THIS DESK, which it will sit in front of.  And since you've seen it in its worst state (above), here's what it looks like now with its shiny new white/cream lacquer coat... It can only get better from here!

I. AM. AWARE that that upholstery is YUCK.O

I've had my heart set on covering it in an emerald/kelly green linen (channeling the Viceroy in Santa Monica) and was struggling to find the right fabric... when I got a wild hair to search on Etsy for fabric remnants and found the purrrfect 2 yard piece of beautiful emerald green linen fabric that is meant for upholstery.. which is the juuust right amount to cover the chair (and then some).  It was fabric fate situation.  And also, can I just say, Etsy for fabric is #winning.

I also had this idea in my head that it would be quite gangster to have my first initial embroidered on the back of the chair.... Obviously I'm obsessed with myself and my name.. I mean, have you seen the title of my blog? ;)  But vain or not, you can't deny there's something kind of pleasing about having your OWN chair that is "marked" as your's and anyone who sits in it knows.. they are sitting in YOUR chair... Right? RIGHT?  Well anyway, that's where today comes into the story.  I had spent a minor amount of time trying to find out how I could get this random piece of upholstery fabric embroidered and after some unsuccessful attempts at trying to get people to do a custom job like this (mostly a lot of "no responses" to my emails), I found this guy who specializes in embroidery only and is the only guy around that will take on custom one-off jobs...  More fortuitousness... it's weird.

So, today "Gary"  at Stitches Embroidery Loft in Louisville, CO told me to come by his shop and he would embroider a "K" of my choosing (among 300 fonts) onto my fabric in 5 min for $15.  I was convinced he had somehow misunderstood my request, even though I had no real basis of what a "normal" cost would be or how long it would take, but I went anyway as this was my o̶n̶l̶y̶ best lead and what did I have to lose?  Well it turns out ABSOLUTELY NUTHING.. but I had quite a lot to gain.  Gary is the epitome of a jack-of-all-trades and in addition to having his own contracting company and being a skydiving instructor/extraordinaire, he started his embroidery hobby turned business so that he could embroider skydive jumpsuits and motorcycle seats... He is a stitching magician!  So, I chose what I thought looked like an art deco-y "K" and here is how the embroidery turned out (in 5 min):

I'm so excited about it.  I think it will look great on the back of the chair:

Ummm.. ya, you're really going to have to use your imaginations for this "rescue mission."

So, what are your thoughts about the final result?  Do you think it will make me feel like "G" or is it not your style? Talk to me, people.

Are Men Favored For Success?

WOAH.  Did that get your attention???  Well before you go getting all m̶e̶ feminist ( (or anti-feminist) on me, allow me to explain.  O.K. (throat clearing): Today I am SUPER super excited to "share the science" of this "revelation" with y'all, which despite the [potentially misleading] title of this post, means I'm going to let you all in on a little secret "trick" that can actually be used by men and women alike... AND PUT YOU IN A BETTER POSITION FOR SUCCESS. 

What I'm about to share with you is a Ted Talk that I won't attempt to fully explain out of respect for you, the speaker and myself.. It deserves to have justice served.. And it will.  Thus, I will let this amazing and inspirational social scientist (AND WOMAN :) explain the dirty deets of this "lifehack" but the gist of it, is this:

Powerful leaders possess high quantities of testosterone (the dominance hormone) and low quantities of cortisone (the stress hormone).

These powerful leaders also share similar body language.  The inverse of this is also true (people that command little power and presence also share similar body stances/poses, which are opposite from those exhibited by powerful and persuasive people).

These body language versions have a lot to do with how much space is being taken up.  Which, coincidentally, women not only have lower testosterone levels but are also "taught" to take up less space.

Success is directly linked to people that exude these qualities of power and low stress/risk tolerance.

It is possible to CHANGE YOUR MIND BY CHANGING YOUR BODY LANGUAGE.... And even better yet, it only takes 2 min of changing your body position/stance/pose to have an effect on your mind, happiness and confidence.

I hope that last sentence is as monumental to you as it is to me... Essentially, you have the ability to reduce your stress levels and increase your confidence by changing the way you are standing or sitting for 2 minutes!  Which means "faking it till you make it" is scientifically proven to work!

Now hopefully those bold statements are enough of a teaser (and not quite a spoiler) to propel you to spend the next 21 minutes of your life learning about something that could affect the outcome of the rest of your life. #guilttrip #canyoureallyaffordnotto #whyareyoustillreadingthisandnotwatching

Get to it!

And then "Share the Science" yourself...

xoxo, of course. 

Winning By O-Strich

This is real.  I kid you not.  And this year, I'll be there.... come hell or high water!

In Virginia City, Nevada, over Labor Day weekend, mere mortals will race on Ostriches, Camels and even Zebras!  Say what?! Say Swiss Family Robinson, that what!!   Did you know such a thing existed outside of the movies... and in the United States no less?  I did not. And I am FLABBERGASTED.  I don't know if I would have been phased if someone had told me such an outlandish tale about the goings on in say, Dubai.. but in California's backyard.. NO WAYYY!

But actually, totes WAY.. And as if that wasn't outrageous enough, anyone can race on these animals... For a fee, of course.. But still.  

Have a gander at this video if you don't believe me:

To gain entry into the race, you have to become a sponsor... Which, I am thinking: How great of a sponsorship opportunity would this be for KEELEY KRAFT?!  It's like a match made in heaven!  That's just the kind of bizarre endeavor that this brand is destined for.  And anyone WILD enough to watch these wild animals and equally crazy jockeys go for the gold, is EXACTLY the kind of reader I aim to reach.   I've officially started saving.. because APPARENTLY you have to drop more dough to ride the ostriches (I think only professionals can ride the zebras) than the camels.. And not to sound like a TOTAL SNOB, but I have already ridden a camel.. And those humps made my hiney hurt for a good 2 days.. And I mean, ostriches seem more fluffy and padded, am I right?  Haha, I still can't even get over the words that are showing up on the screen as I write this.. Pure insanity!

So if you want to watch Keeley Kraft take it all in the ostrich finals... and win by o-strich, the International Camel Races take place September 5 - 7, 2014 in Virginia City, Nevada.  Mull on it.  And also, have an outstanding weekend!