Eye Candy

If only I had a reason to get dressed up....

 

Wing It On Dress (the back side), Silent Era Heel

Wait and Zebra dress ,  Just Like Honey Heel

 (LOVE the bow and the pop of zebra print at the back of the dress!)

Gondola Lift Tour dress  , Gift Wrapping Professional Heel

Flutter of Butterflies Dress  , Just Like Honey Heel in Blueberry

(two toned dresses make me happy)

Work With Me dress , Surprise Celebration Heel

(mustard and cobalt? YES!!!)

Wing of Beauty dress ,  Vintage Reverse Virginia Heel

Thank you ModCloth for all the eye candy!!

A Change Will Do Ya Good

Dan and I purchased a real rug this week. By real, I mean it's made of wool, is more than .5cm thick and was bought from a real store (not craigslist, a thrift store or a garage sale). It was an amazing clearance deal from Target with FREE shipping!! I was so excited about it when it came, I dragged it up the stairs and rearranged the living room all during nap time!

Before, our living room was wonderful, colorful and functional. But, with the introduction of our new soft thick 8 x 10 rug, I got inspired to open up the room a little bit more. I didn't want the rug to be covered up by any furniture, either. So this is what we got:

BEFORE

AFTER

I just love how open our living room is now! The (craigslist) rocking chair and (goodwill outlet) ottoman  will get much more use now that it's out of the corner. I plan to do lots of cuddling in that old wooden chair :)

We are driving back to St. Louis today and I can't wait to sit and catch up with Dan in our new living room tonight!

Friday Featured Etsy Shop - Ashley Goldberg

 

{HELLO june}

 

{Merrily Merrily Home}

 

{On My Way - this one makes me want teal hair!!}

 

{BOY  /  GIRL}

And there's so so much more!

Ahsley's Etsy Print shop

Ashley's blog : Kitty Genius

Friday Featured Etsy Shop - Quilting!

Babies, babies, babies! Being a doula and in the "baby phase" of life myself, I can't help but waste time browsing handmade quilts on Etsy. Even without the baby factor, quilts have always been a weakness for me. Quilts can be the glue that brings a room together, especially a room being shared by both genders. Here are some of my current favorite quilts on Etsy.

I love the design of this one. I can only imagine the hours of work that were put into making this quilt!

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Red and teal. So fresh!

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Sweet. Girly. Modern.

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Gray, yellow and teal...what's not to love!?!

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Orange Peel creates the most beautiful baby quilts. They are so bright and modern, yet pretty affordable.

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Have any of y'all ever used a quilt as the starting point for decorating a room or nursery?

Friday Featured Etsy Shop - Name Design Studio

Name Design Studio is completely new to me. Although the fabrics they choose might be a little too velvet for my taste, I absolutely LOVE what they are doing! The idea of a patchwork couch makes me giddy.

Box Sofa Patchwork

Sweet Rose Patchwork Couch

Check out this amazing patchwork dresser!

 

I love the mix of texture, color and painted wood. So so fun!

Don't Get Stuck in a Scarf Rut

It's scarf weather, finally!

If you can believe it, I only own three scarves. So instead of switching out my scarf every day, I find a new way to wear them. This cute little video has given me plenty of ideas. After all, who wants to be stuck wearing their scarf the same way, every day, allllll winter long?

{yes, that was sarcasm you sensed. still, it's a fun video. check it out!}

Friday Featured Etsy Shops-Sew Fresh Fabrics

Thinking about picking up some new fabric for Lazzy's quilt. Sew Fresh Fabrics is the perfect place to find bright and fun patterns for little boys. It's gonna be tough narrowing down the choices!

{Spring Street by Carolyn Gavin}

{Too Much Leaves by Helen Dardik}

I'll need an entire day to look through all 2202 listings in this shop!

Oh, and Happy 11.11.11!!!

Pin It!

Well, it took me years and starting a small business to finally give in and join facebook. Honestly, the main reason for staying away was because I knew I would spend too much time there and I was right! For that same reason, I am staying away from smart phones and Pinterest as long as humanly possible.

BUT, for all of you who have way more self control than me, I have added a Pin It! button to my blog. It can be found at the bottom of each post for your pinning pleasures. I am fully aware that there is probably nothing pinable (sure, that's a word...) on this blog. I only wanted to have it available to you pinaholics (another great new word! feel free to use it.) in case you got inspired by something here.

Thanks Julie Ann Art for the tutorial!!

Homeowners make me SICK!

Well, not really. Just jealous.

I have never had the desire to own a house. Dan and I are both wanderers. We love to travel and often feel stuck if we've been anywhere longer than 2 years. Really, owning a house seems like such a chore. First, there's the buying it. Then the fixing it up. Oh, gotta fix it again. Yup, something broke. Back to fixing it. With renting, you just call your amazing landlords and the problem is fixed within hours while renter eats dark chocolate and reads during nap time.

Well, the longer we are in America, the more I want to own. Not because I don't love my cute apartment, but because I cannot change anything in my cute apartment! Just so you all know, if I was a homeowner, every wall would be painted various shades of gray, teal, and yellow. Chalkboard paint would been seen on more than one door and appliances would be vintage!

If I were somehow able to buy a house before November, would someone, PLEASE give me this kitchen for my birthday!!

With an adjacent matching laundry room!

I'm jealous of all my home owning friends who get to transform their spaces to reflect themselves. I listen to them chat about all the recent changes they've made and how "it's so much nicer having the laundry on the second floor!". Suddenly, when the boys' bedroom door falls off, I'm not jealous anymore.

(they had a curtain for a door, thankfully it didn't last too long!)

If my blog were a baby's room...

...it would look like this:

LOVE IT!

(psst-you've got to actually see my blog to get this. ahem google readers.)

Featured Etsy Shop - BlueBerry Ash

BlueBerry Ash is a fresh new Etsy shop (opened last May) that I have completely fallen in love with. Maria lives in Australia where she creates beautiful bags and pillows with her very own hand screen printed fabrics made from natural materials. The colors are incredibly pleasing to the eye and the designs are very modern.

My Favorite Bag

I want this pillow on my bed!

Isn't that city print so fun? Windows and doors have never looked so fresh. If you sew and want to make something of your own, check out the Hand Screen Printed Fabric section of her shop.

Since stumbling upon BlueBerry Ash, I've wondered to myself "how did this Australian lady know to make these prints using my absolute favorite colors and designs?".

All I'm sayin' is, I'm saving up!

For updates on her shop, follow BlueBerry Ash on:

Facebook

BlueBerry Ash blog

Fancy Toilet Paper Rolls

I love to be crafty, especially with the kids. Still, as a self proclaimed minimalist, I strive to keep my craft supplies at a minimum. I refuse to become a hoarder of old newspapers, pipe cleaners and toilet paper roles. I leave that to other crafty mothers.

Although I know the crafting hoarder community is quite large, only a small amount of people actually put these things to good use. They save toilet paper rolls until there is no where to sit in the house and then make robots, Christmas ornaments and binoculars. These little projects are sweet and a great way to get small children through a rainy day.

For Anastassia Elias, empty toilet paper rolls were meant to be made into art. REAL ART.

This stuff is no mommy/kiddie craft. This is incredible! Interested in sporting these images around town? This design (among others) can be bought in t-shirt form or laptop and iPad skins.

Anastassia's creativity is not limited to empty toilet paper rolls. Oh no. There's much much more.

Follow this French artist's blog.

Shop prints.

(thanks Drawworm for sharing!)