The Domestic Nest Blog

We interrupt this digital hiatus…to just start up again. We’ve no big news, launch, or surprises. But, we really miss blogging and are excited to share some updates with you. We’ve been on a technological diet. Haven’t been posting and haven’t been visiting our favorite blogs for quite a while. It’s given us time and space to create. Refuel. Evaluate. And grow. But, man oh man, we’ve got some catching up to do! Looking forward to seeing what our faves have been up to. Happy new year, everyone!

We had a successful and fun holiday season. THANK YOU to all of our customers who make it possible for us to keep creating and be part of the makers’ movement. What an honor! We both have full time careers outside of handmade and most of our time and energy gets spent at the day job. We don’t always talk to our colleagues about our second “job.” When in the teachers’ lounge last fall, I got brave and admitted that I spent the whole weekend making leather goods (not reading a book, sleeping in, or catching up on movies.) A fellow educator got really excited about our small business and said to me, “Oh, I think my husband may be able to help you.” GoodNESS, she was RIGHT! Her husband happens to own a laser engraving business. Oh mercy, my head has been spinning with new products and designs ever since. We’ve collaborated on a few projects, but I really can’t wait to generate new designs and laser engrave the heck out of ‘em! I’m so glad I told the truth and talked about our hobby-turned-business. Not sure why it takes courage to tell others what we do “on the side.” But for me, it doesn’t come easy. I’m still working on my cocktail line. The photos below are a few of the projects that just a little communication produced…a fun start to more creativity!

The exterior of BHV (Bazaar de l’Hotel de Ville) is kind of unassuming. Looks like just another run of the mill gorgeous Parisian department store. Do not be deceived. BHV is a wonderland like none other. The French equivalent of ikea+macy’s+homegoods+home depot+restoration hardware+je ne sais quois. It’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of wanting for your home, under one roof. I saw lots of Parisians carrying around BHV bags and I vaguely recalled having heard it was a bit of an experience to visit. So…we ventured inside. Holy mother of home stores! It was easily a half-day excursion to start from the top down and visit each of the floors. The thing that is most impressive about BHV is the never-ending variety. They carry brand names that can be found elsewhere, but the breadth of availability is unmatched. Take the jump below to behold some of the beauty.

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Ever noticed on Apartment Therapy that people often list the Paris Flea as their dream source for home furnishings? Lots of friends have asked us about the famous Paris Flea…did we go there? Was it magical? Does it live up to the hype? Well, yeah, it’s pretty much a vintage-lover’s paradise. It’s stinky, crowded, disorganized, and filled with mounds of junk treasure! There are a few things we wish we’d known before we ventured into this fairytale land of age-old lovelies.

First, there are multiple flea markets in Paris. Some have more furniture, more crap, and more bargains. Do some research if you’re really into antiques or vintage and choose the flea market that best fits your interests. If you patron Les Puces of Saint-Ouen (that’s where we went), once you exit the metro at Porte de Clignancourt, head toward Rue des Rosiers and once you’ve ducked under the overpass, look left. When in doubt follow someone who looks like they know what they’re doing. Funky clothes + an old fanny pack may signal “tourist” elsewhere, but is likely to mean “serious antiquer” or “dealer” in these parts. Don’t get caught for long in the African market that you find before the flea market. It’s a tourist trap. If you get there when the market is supposed to be opening, you’ll be waiting a while. But a cafe & a croissant won’t leave you wanting for anything else as shops slowly come alive. Talking vendors down on price really isn’t as effective if you speak French with an American accent, but just being nice does make a difference in any language. Prices are high, especially if the euro is going strong. Most vendors take credit, but really aren’t willing to run a credit card for purchases less than 100 euros. If you walk away from something you love, you may return to find it lost, gone, or behind a prohibitive blockade of junk that wasn’t there before, ensuring that the shop owner can enjoy a leisurely lunch without having to deal with any customers. If you adore it, buy it. If you just kinda like it, wait. It may end up on the clearance table for half price in a couple of hours. Pay attention to signs telling you NOT to take any photographs. Snapping pics can quickly get you a boisterous talking-to from multiple shop owners.

Click below for photos of shopping at Les Puces. The last pic is of some of the trucs we simply couldn’t resist!

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Leather envelope necklaces and iPad sleeves are in our shop!

To celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary, we took a long vacation. We’ve been gone almost all summer & have visited Montana, Virginia, Paris & Stockholm. It’s been an incredible adventure & we can’t wait to share pictures, stories and many of the things we’ve learned. The strange assemblage above is our anniversary gift to each other.

Wood:  pepper mill from BHV in Paris

Iron:  drawer pulls from the Paris Flea

Candy: chocolate covered fruit from our favorite local market

We like to stick to the traditional anniversary gifts, it’s fun to see what we find! We also like to look at old pictures, recap the preceding year, get away, and reminisce. This year was epic. We’re forever changed by the people we met and challenges we faced during our european extravaganza. It feels way less like the end to a year full of hard work & movement, and way more like the beginning of a year that promises to be loaded with change and challenge. Bring it on!

There are lots of reasons that handmade gifts are just not practical or convenient. Maybe you don’t like to craft. You don’t have time to order online. Your giftee just isn’t into handmade things OR seems to have everything they could possibly need or want. We like to gift services in these cases. Our neighbor & friend is a talented yoga instructor. I wish we’d thought long ago to ask her about her rates for one-on-one yoga instruction. It made us really happy to gift her services. We know the recipient is getting a valuable gift, and we’re happy we get to support our friend as she builds a client base.

We always try to give handmade gifts when we can. This sometimes requires an extra bit of planning, since running to the big box store is more convenient and can be done last minute. When we patron an indie market, we make sure to take a list of upcoming birthdays and people with whom we exchange holiday gifts. We keep a little present bin stocked with some of our favorite handmade things…that way we have them on hand when a special event pops up. One of our favorite handmade gifts to buy & give is the zippered pouch made by The Pleated Poppy. She sews up super useful, high quality necessities in the prettiest candy colors. We fill them with soaps from Fresh Batch, handmade eye pillows, and other nice smelling things. Add a ribbon & a card and…voila…a really nice gift.

I’ve always loved wreaths and welcome signs. Our door is glass, so a wreath doesn’t work too well for us. So…we made a little WELCOME sign to put out when we’re expecting guests. I love how it turned out, tacked to a wood scrap from our old fence. I’d like to experiment and make more with resist-treated letters, so they stand out better. This one makes me really happy for now, though.

Living in SoCal, lots of common foods are prepared and sold with a Latin-American twist. We make pizza fairly often, but were tired of the same ol’ red sauce. So, we made our version of Mexican pizza with a back bean sauce and Mexican herbs & spices. It was delish! Our favorite pizza dough recipe can be found here. Really, it doesn’t get any easier. Or cheaper. When we buy fresh dough from the store, it kinda feels like tug-of-war trying to roll it out. But this recipe rolls out beautifully. We like to throw the dough right on a hot grill before topping and cooking it. It doesn’t fall through the cracks, like you think it would. And the black bean sauce is just pureed beans (or canned refried, if you want) mixed with a little black bean soup for thinning. Yum!

I got brave and let a friend convince me to sign up for the San Diego Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon. I’ve never been a runner. Never liked running. And always considered three miles a “long” run. But, I love a challenge. While training, I put in lots of miles running up and down the coast in Oceanside and Carlsbad. I was amazed by how running really fueled my creativity and cleared my mind. I created patterns, reviewed to-do lists, and imagined new products while running. It was mandatory time away from the computer and away from the studio. It was a fantastic break from the norm and I’m so glad I took the challenge and stuck to the training schedule. It was super fun to see everyone’s costumes and handmade accessories on race day. I realized that LOTS of creative people run. I’ve been converted…already thinking about the next race.