Our Life's Design

bella napoli

2012-01-30T20:26:00.001-06:00

My grandma's brother comes in town once a year and it's always a time for celebration. We spent Saturday evening catching up, eating Italian and drinking wine. A great time, as always.

{new year's eve}

2012-01-02T18:25:00.000-06:00

and that, my friends, is what you call a success.

{gift tags}

2011-12-29T21:34:00.000-06:00

I always like to deck out our Christmas packages in ribbons, bows, and sparkles, but this year Tim got in on the action and made gift tags. He designed and screen printed them on mat board. We used butcher's paper and baker's twine for the wrapping and ribbon. It turned out to be more labor-intensive than both of us anticipated, but the time we spent on it was totally worth it.

{holiday playlist}

2011-12-21T12:29:00.002-06:00

For all of you in need of a little hoiday spirit...

Christmas by Tim Sullentrup on Grooveshark

{christmas at the sullentrup's}

2011-12-19T21:12:00.001-06:00

I love the way the garland hangs over our bed - can I leave it all year? The next one is the entrance to our office. Tim keeps commenting that I have "Santa" hanging in there. It is - in fact - a sailor, but I guess he can call him Santa for a few more days. Our tree turned out so pretty this year. I added some pheasant feathers Tim brought me from his hunting trip. The presents are only half wrapped. We are making some tags for them. I'll post those when they get done. Three stockings - Mine, Tim's, and Mason's. The garland made it's way to each part of our house, including as wreaths over our frames hanging in the living room. Finally, Tim was responsible for our chalkboard - he had a great time. He ended up writing all of the lyrics to "Feliz Navidad" along with a few maracas in case you couldn't "feel" the music already. He was really proud of it.

{holiday spirit}

2011-12-04T20:51:00.001-06:00

Man, I love these boys. Mason sat so sweetly with his antlers on while Tim and I decorated the Christmas tree. They're both about as handsome as can be.

I'm not much of a baker, but I love to blast the holiday tunes, put my apron on, and pull out the Kitchenaid mixer. It just screams Merry Christmas. After a few emergency trips to the grocery store, I ended up with delicious Almond Poppy Seed cookies - brought to you by Betty Crocker.

{hermann - part three}

2011-11-07T10:59:00.000-06:00

The End.

{hermann - part two}

2011-11-06T10:57:00.000-06:00

{hermann - part one}

2011-11-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

{happy halloween}

2011-10-31T18:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween! From, the Sullentrup's.

{prepared}

2011-10-28T10:08:00.000-05:00

This week has been pretty boring. I had parent/teacher conferences, which makes a single day feel like eternity. I always dread the long nights and 12-hour day. I mean, there is only so much you can do around your classroom. Not to mention, just the cooped up feeling of being inside allllll daaaaaay loooong. BUT...there is a big but...this year I came prepared. I brought my sketch book and paints and a few canvases, shut my door, put some loud music on and painted. For like 5 hours straight. It was pretty amazing. The best part? I have all of the tools I need at school - I was even able to project some of my sketches onto canvas so that I could enlarge them. Pretty sweet. Here's a fun peak at a couple...

...have a GREAT weekend!

{chair hunt}

2011-10-26T07:01:00.000-05:00

I finally sold the chair and ottoman that was in our living room. My hope is to find two tufted chairs to replace it (and send the other leather one back to the office). I actually found the perfect chairs, but before I had a chance, they were sold. I'm hoping that within the next few months, I find some similar ones.

The chair I found is a combination between these two...more modern looking like the leather one, but it was white. I love the wheels in front. They are uber classy. I love that I could see this chair in my house ten years down the road, too - in the office or my bedroom.

And then there is another part of me that loves this wing-back leather chair. Actually, this whole space makes me happy. I need a fireplace. And maybe a bigger house.

{true luxuries}

2011-10-24T21:15:00.003-05:00

Tim goes on an annual pheasant (not to be confused with peasant) hunting trip with my brother and uncle in South Dakota. He always has a blast, but not because of the hunting, more because of the late night poker games and beer drinking. He is the first to admit that he has no idea how to acctually hit the moving bird. Either way, he always comes home with a nice amount pheasant tails for me to decorate with. Fortunately, everyone else is pretty good.

Thanks to Groupon, we are trying new restraunts and getting out a little more often. So, on Friday, we went to the fancy-schmancy restraunt Skies that overlooks the downtown skyline. Can you say, romance? ROMANCE! We got all dolled up and hit the town. It was a true date - candlelight and everything! So, with the great the food and the beautiful view...would you like to guess what the best part of the date was? It was when we got home, put our pj's on and cuddled up on the couch for a movie. Sometimes the most simple things are the true luxuries. It was the prefect way to end our week and say good-bye for a few days while Tim is gone proving his manhood with the boys.

The UFO looking thing above Tim's head is where we had dinner.

I know it's not as spectacular as NYC or Chicago, but I sure do love some good ole' Kansas City.

The floor is at a slow spin. It takes one and a half hours to go all the way around the restaurant.

{fall into the season}

2011-10-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

When we moved into our house, we found a set of vintage suitcases in the attic. Lucky find, eyh? I put one above the armoire and a few stacked on the floor. They were kind of my "inspiration" for the room. I went with the earth tones in them and also added some oranges. I really love how the space feels. Its fresh, natural, airy and a little rough.

{initial pillows}

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

This image is not the best, but it gives you a good idea of the space in there.

I made these a few weeks ago. I love, love, love how they turned out. I can see our bed from the a few rooms in the house and I love the glimpse of the bold typography each time my eye catches them. My favorite part? The colors will work with each season's current pillows, although I think they look best with the oranges and greens in the Fall euro pillow's I made.

{weekend}

2011-10-17T16:17:00.001-05:00

This has been one of the most beautiful Fall's I can remember and I'm making sure that we are taking every opportunity to enjoy it. We packed up our sketchbooks and headed to the park for an uber-relaxing Saturday afternoon.

{girl's night}

2011-10-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

These two beautiful ladies got this crazy idea that I was stressed out about my baby-making issues. Crazy idea, I know. So, what did they do? They stole me away from Tim for the night and took me out on the town. We had a true girl's night.

As goofy as I thought it was, I couldn't help but know how sweet it was for the two of them to want me to leave my stresses at home and have a martini (or four) with them. And guess what? It worked! Any stress I had built up was smothered with bruschetta, olives, Bellini's, and laughter.

I love you, girls! And thanks so much for getting me out!!

{weekend}

2011-10-10T06:24:00.001-05:00

When Friday night comes, we are ready to relax. So this Friday, we headed out to the art district in town. On the first Friday of each month they open all of the galleries, close some streets, and invite the community to view art. It's not all local art - often times there are more famous artists that are showing. I will say, this Friday we saw some beautiful work by the artist Michael Allen Lowe. I'm not going to post any of his work for fear of copyright laws, but I would encourage you to visit his site.

We also piddled around some cute shops. One of my favorite shops is Hammerpress. They make beautiful letter pressed stationary and posters. I have a collection of their greeting cards from Tim. They're the kind you want to rip off the front and frame.

{and the winner is...}

2011-10-03T18:25:00.006-05:00

I can't believe it. I didn't take a single picture at the Chili Cook-Off! Not one! We we having such a great time that it didn't even cross my mind.

In the end, Meagan won the contest with a delicious Cajun Chili.

2011-09-30T13:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend is our third annual Fall Extravaganza and Chili Cook-off! Time for a party!

{are you following what i'm saying?}

2011-09-01T14:11:00.003-05:00

Tim and I were looking at the Google Analytics for Our Life's Design (I'm calling it OLD from here on out) and to our suprise, we found that people actually read this. Like, A LOT! I found this a bit suprising because we only have 8 followers. The logical part of my brain says that if you aren't following OLD, you probably aren't reading OLD. Totally wrong. There are a ton of you reading this and a few of you actually admitting to it.

So, my question to you is...Are you following us? The button is to the right of this post. Push it.

Challenge accepted?

* I want to say thank you to the 8 followers who have openly admitted to indulging in this blog.

{you're invited}

2011-08-27T15:25:00.004-05:00

The plan is to play a few kickball games, BBQ at the house, and then head to that good ole' crawl!

{slow turn towards fall}

2011-08-24T07:26:00.001-05:00

I haven't had a chance to update recently, and I don't really have much to update about. I am loving the slow turn towards fall and it's inspiring me to make some small changes around the house.

My inspiration.

I pulled this bedroom a looong time ago and have always loved its simple equestrian feel.


These initial pillows have been on my TO DO list for a long while. I hope to get them done soon.

{how design conference - chicago}

2011-08-14T12:00:00.002-05:00

In late June, Tim and I went to Chicago for the HOW Design Conference. At the time of our trip, Tim and I both were feeling very trapped. Trapped with ideas we had, not really knowing what to do with them, how to do them, or even if they were good ideas at all. In going to the conference, we were hopeful that we would come home with a renewed and re-energized creative self - ready to tackle all of the things before us. In the end, that's exactly what happened.

We heard some really amazing speakers like Peleg Top and, Armin Vit, the brains behind Under Consideration. We also heard designer Heather Lins talk about how she started her own company selling designer pillows, of all things! She gave tips and advice for those of us who were thinking about starting a product-based company. The most amazing speaker was the designer/artist/genius Stephen Doyle who created so many amazing designs that we see every day. We felt like we were in the presence of a true genius.

Seeing all of this work and hearing all of these stories, we noticed an underlying theme. All of the speakers were essentially telling us to do what WE wanted to do, to be creative with it, and to do it simply because we love it.

As soon as we got home, we felt this urge that we needed to do something with our creativity or we were just letting ourselves down. One of the immediate results was Tim's portfolio. He's been wanting to start/finish it for a long time now, he just needed that extra push to get going. I am really proud of him, and it looks awesome! Hopefully he will post the link soon.

As of now, Tim and I are both working on our own little ventures and hopefully, cross your fingers, something will eventually come out of them. When I sit back and think about it, I feel fortunate that we are so young. We're not really scared to take risks because we know that we have a long time to fix them if they fail. And, if we don't take the risks, we'll never know what could be. It's amazing how freeing that is.

{summer of sam}

2011-08-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

The Summer of Sam is quickly coming to a close. School supplies are being bought, work clothes are coming up from the basement, and my mind is no longer on what time of day is best to get a tan, but more on how I need to wean myself into getting out of bed before 7:00am.

Remember my summer "To Do" list? Well, it seems I have made a pretty good attempt at accomplishing the things on it. The things I have left seem to be more of "hopes" rather than "must do's".

~~go to Chicago for the HOW Design Conference~~ - We did this at the beginning of summer - I still need to post about it. It was AAAA-MAZ-ING!
make an outdoor table top - I still want to do this. It's definitely not at the top of my list, though.
make two initial pillows - Also, still want to do this. I just can't seem to find the perfect sham. Maybe I should just make the whole thing from scratch. Hmm.
~~go to Table Rock at least twice~~ - Best place ever. Hoping to go again before the summer is over.
~~throw a Fourth of July party~~ - Hell's yeah!
~~fix the wall in the kitchen~~ - Thanks Michael, I really do appreciate you!
~~get the AC checked~~
~~make a coffee table~~ - More like BUY a coffee table way cooler than one I could make.
repaint our bed
~~organize the closets~~
save money to pay off loans - Ongoing, but making real progress.
~~paint the lanterns in living room~~
~~go camping~~ - I hope we get to go again this summer/fall. I love camping.
~~go horseback riding~~
~~go to the lake with friends~~ - More like "roast at the lake with friends"
~~clean out the basement~~
~~clean out the desk~~
paint the front door
~~finish portfolio~~ - This is a biggie! Tim finished his portfolio!!! And it looks great, I might add.
~~have our niece and nephews in town~~
go camping in CO and visit Carrie
throw an outdoor movie night - I've realized this is more of a fall thing. It's been too hot. Hopefully I'll be able to cross this one off in a few months.
~~make homemade ice cream at least twice~~
~~clean the blinds~~
change out cabinet doors in kitchen - I want to put window-paned doors on a few cabinets. Problem - I can't seem to find the ones that match our cabinets. This one might need to be taken off the list for good...
rewire the living room lamp - So it doesn't burn the house down. There are reasons why things sell for close to nothing at thrift stores.

I really feel blessed to have my summers off. I know it's part of the whole teaching gig, but I really love it. It gives me a time to unwind, relax, and just get my mind in a more creative place. I am able to focus on the more important things that get pushed aside during the school year. Tim and I are able to spend more time together, I can throw dinner parties at the drop of a hat, and just do the things I want to because I have time to do them. On that same note...I am always ready for the school year to start again. I am ready for the consistency, the challenge, the kids, and most of all, the fall wardrobe. Boot season, baby!