Jen Bowles Design

Happy Friday

Wishing you a wonderful, beach-worthy weekend! 

{ Razor clam shells & clam shell, Nantasket Beach, Hull, MA}

Happy Friday

Sending you happiness to last the whole weekend long...

{pottery heart by Lark Roderiques}

 

{Makes Me} Happy Friday!

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

~John Keats

Wishing you a beautiful summer weekend!

Happy Friday!

  I haven't done a '(Makes Me) Happy Friday' post in forever.  Oops.

I am constantly seeing images, quotes and websites that inspire & delight me though.  I was piling up quite a few post it notes on my computer desk writing them all down.  Not terribly efficient. Or organized.

So I decided to try out a tumblr site.  I'm still getting the hang of it, but it sure is fun.

Go ahead and take a peek:  Virtual Goodness

Have a wonderful weekend!

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

Hello there and happy 1st Friday of October!

Here are a few of the things that are making me smile this sunny & crisp fall Friday...

• Apples  {photo from flickr user donsutherland1}  We haven't been apple picking this year (yet...) but I love this time of year because it means tote bags of apples at the grocery store for 59 cents a pound (!) instead of $4 for a 3lb bag.  And they're delicious :-)
• The Modwalls Custom Blender .  I'm almost ashamed to say that I discovered this site by clicking on an ad on Facebook.  How did they know??  It's great fun to click on the different colors and watch to see what the magical color blender comes up with for your custom tile mosaic.  It's  a quick, easy way to try out different color combinations as well.  I wish you could change the size/shape of the tile...maybe in Blender 2.0.
• The Fish.  It's a two ton, 40 foot sculpture currently on display near Boston Harbor.  Isn't it cool?  The Fish is sponsored by  HarborArts Inc., an environmental non-profit that uses sculptures to raise awareness of issues affecting harbors and waterways.  According to the Boston Globe, the sculpture was created with repurposed sheet metal, steel, wire, nuts, bolts, and sprinkler pipe.  It's on display until October 16th, I'm hoping I might be able to make a visit next week when I head to the airport to pick up my mom.  It's right across the Harbor--maybe I can just tell her to meet me at the Fish ;-)    {all photos from boston.com, by David Ryan}  

Wishing you a wonderful (hopefully not too soggy) weekend!

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

Happy first Friday of fall!

It was nearly 80 degrees here yesterday, we've had a beautiful stretch of weather, which totally makes me happy.  Today is much more seasonable, in the 60s but sunny and clear so I'll take it.

What else is making me happy this Friday?  Let's take a look...

• Urban signage  I've been seeing examples of old subway signs and other cool city specific inspired word art a lot lately.  Even on 'Bang For Your Buck' on HGTV.  Here are a few of my faves:

  

  {Restoration Hardware}          

  

  {Ork Posters}
• Cake Nouveau in Ann Arbor, MI.  Of course I live over a thousand miles away--a small detail.  After watching the owner/cake artist Courtney

  

  win TLC's Ultimate Cake-Off recently, I had to see more.  Love her whimsical style, her color sense and her dedication to creativity.  Between Cake Nouveau and Red Shoes {Catherine is going to start offering classes at her shop!!}, a trip to Ann Arbor is definitely on my wish list!        
  

  

  Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
  

  

Just...Happy Friday

Wishing you a wonderful summer weekend!  We're getting ready for family visitors, some we haven't seen for years, some we haven't seen for...weeks ;-)

Also hoping Hurricane Bill and the accompanying rip tides don't spoil any beach plans for later in the weekend and Monday.

{photo taken during a beach trip last Friday}

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

Trying to look at the bright side this rainy, dreary, cool July Friday morning.
With the good weather m.i.a. for a couple of days, I've made some good progress cleaning our basement.  It's a lot easier to be subterranean when the sun isn't out begging you to head to the beach.
Of course I'll be quite happy to return to outdoor projects and recreation when the sun comes out tomorrow!
In the meantime, a few happy finds...

• Moomah.  A creative arts cafe in NYC focused on open ended projects for children (& parents) and wholesome food to go along with it. Sounds like just the kind of place I'd like to have some day--except maybe trading the wholesome, organic food for cupcakes ;-)                  {all images from Moomah website, found via Design Sponge}
• 

• Fun, upcycled children's art project:  Cereal box sailboat

Found via Colorful Creations blog.  This sailboat is the current featured kids art bar project at Colorful Creations shop in downtown Hyannis.  I have 3 boxes just waiting for me to finish cleaning my studio area so I can build a fleet of these!  Perhaps I'll share with the kids too.  We'll see ;-)

• Speaking of cupcakes, how adorable are these cupcake stands from Victorian Trading Co.?   Though a bit pricey for me ($37 for 6), it's a great idea and a lovely photo.

That's it for this week, now that it's nearly noon I must go upstairs and see if my boys are ever getting out of bed.  Little night owls they are!

Wishing you a warm, sunny & wonderful weekend!

(Makes Me) Happy Birthday Cuyler & Will!

My boys turn 9 years old today!

We've already kicked off  the celebration with giant cookies for breakfast and early morning video games.  Also on tap: the arcade, the beach, a birthday photo shoot and a water balloon fight.
Apparently it takes a lot of energy to be a 9 year old boy ;-)

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

It's going to be short and sweet today.
It's the last Friday of the school year and it seems there's a lot to get done!
With that, this is what's making me happy this Friday in June...

• The lone, delicious and wonderfully ripe, strawberry from my garden.  Yum.
• Spending time walking the beach and collecting rocks, shells and sea glass.  I love being so close to the ocean, just the sound of the crashing waves is soothing to me.  {We don't have waterfront property by any stretch, but we're about 2 miles away from the Atlantic and if the weather and the winds are just right, I can smell the salty air from my front yard.}
• Cuyler has been spending time down in my studio, all on his own, creating.  I love seeing what he's made.  Yesterday he emerged with this adorable paper puppy.  So cute.

Short and sweet, as promised : )
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!