his+hers

As promised, Brooke and I are both keeping up with our his + hers challenge to each other. Apparently Christmas shopping has been on my mind lately - last week I shared our favorite store, and this week it's all about the catalogs:

His + Hers: catalogs we get.

Q is loyal only to the Lego catalog. And then there's me, who pretty much subscribes to every catalog available (plus, they work great to recycle as wrapping paper).

(PS. It's so fun to read your versions of his + hers. I'll be linking up to them soon, so let me know if you've done one and I'll include it)

thanksgiving weekend...

(beautiful images: table setting + kitchen)

Starting tonight we are:
Baking homemade rolls, making cookies. Packing to visit family.

Tomorrow we'll be:
Traveling. Thanking God for all of our blessings. Eating not one, but TWO Thanksgiving meals (score!). Falling asleep early from all the eating.

The rest of the weekend will involve:
Cutting down a Christmas tree with my parents. Saying our goodbyes & going home to make our tree stump stand for new fake tree. Decorating. And taking in the start of this wonderful season...

Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend.

gift picks: (no.1) hooray for foodies

There's an abundance of gift guides online this time of year, but I still thought it would be fun to share a few ideas for the people on my list. I put them neatly into categories (like Foodies, above) because if anything, the holidays are all about being organized (right?*).

[1 canning handbook; 2 sipping chocolate; 3 square serving plates; 4 hickory coaster set; 5 organic tshirt: farm girl; 6 porcelain serving spoon]

*classic example...

white + stripes

(images: 1 chris warnes 2 julia lynn + squire fox)

Is it just me, or do you get way excited over Sneak Peek days on Design Sponge? Yesterday I found something I love in both homes: 1) a white, light filled entryway, and 2) a two-toned blue & white striped wall.

his+hers: favorite store

After sharing a His+Hers photo a few weeks ago of our travel bags, Brooke from Pure and Noble asked me to turn it into a little weekly series with her (because she is creative and thinks of cool things like this). So before I could come up with an excuse - like how it would expose my poor photography or how boring we are - I said YES. And here is the first one:

His+Hers: the one store at the mall we kind of want to live in.
Q's would be the Lego store, and of course mine would have to be Anthropologie.

Brooke is also sharing her awesome version of His+Hers over on Pure and Noble. I challenge you to join in on your own blog if you'd like, too. No rules, just a His+Hers photo. They don't even have to be good photos - the ones above were snapped with my phone so I've already set the standard at an easy low :-)

quilt inspiration: geometric

I'm filing away this kaleidoscope pattern as inspiration for the little quilt I'm planning to make. The only thing I've sewn before are napkins and two lopsided Christmas stockings, so I'm guessing this will be a long term project for me! I'll report back next summer. :-)

(found via seesaw)

natural tree stand

(images: somethings hiding in here)

I love this tree stand idea for fake Christmas trees. Last year was our first Christmas in our house, so I was determined to have a real tree. But we learned that real trees aren't a good idea when you have cats who like to climb them (they were obsessed with the pine scent). This stand would be perfect to help make a fake tree still feel cozy and woodsy!

thanksgiving wreaths

(1 emily on a sunday via tabitha emma, 2 elise blaha )

These holiday wreaths are so sweet! And totally genius because they're super easy to make. I love how festive the first one looks displayed for fall here.

tall boots, short boots

(images: a.p.c., seen via unruly things)

Two things on my wish list for winter: one great pair of tall boots, and another pair of shorter, warm ones (ahh, comfy boots!). These two pairs from A.P.C. probably cost more than my entire wardrobe, but I like how they show the many ways you can wear them.

hearts of haiti & weekend

Can't think of a better way to end the week than with this. You've probably heard, but there is a live chat going on today with some wonderful people in Haiti who are working to raise money for a group of orphans. You can read all about it here and here.

vintage love: AMradio

(images: AMradio)

Last night I came across a new-to-me vintage shop called AMradio (through Amanda) and it's one of the best vintage shops I've seen. Definitely worth browsing if you haven't already. And, the owner is from Michigan. Yeah! Love our little mitten state :)

classic fall wedding

(images: studio choo)

I like the sweetness of this fall wedding. It's not too trendy or over the top, just very classic and beautiful.

PS. this color palette (cranberry + blush) would be so festive for a Thanksgiving table, too...

pinhole press cards

(a few favorites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Just after mentioning Christmas cards yesterday, I saw a post about pinhole press this morning. I've heard of them before, but never clicked over to their site - I can't believe what I've been missing! I love their simple aesthetic and styling, it's just beautiful.

revel in fall...

(images, from the series: fireplace, soup, scarf, paper pumpkins)

Have you seen Nienke's fall series called I Revel? It's all about sharing what you revel in during the fall season. She asked me to share a few things last week (see the post here), and has had some other great guests stop by to show what they enjoy most about this time of year. Elise and Mary's posts definitely have me inspired to take in every moment of this short-lived season.

christmas cards

(image: domino mag)

This past weekend I was talking with my sisters in-law about who's doing Christmas cards this year. If I get it together I usually hand make them, but I'm also liking the pretty options from tiny prints & minted lately too. What about you, are you doing any this year? I have this image torn out from domino magazine as my inspiration and it's hard to stop staring.

happy monday.

(his & hers: Q's military bag; my shopping bag)

I woke up this morning feeling excited to start a new week, after the craziness of last. Between the flu that wiped me out, and the long weekend in Frankenmuth (we did A LOT of shopping :-), I was exhausted on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Q has been out of state for military training. I really miss him on those trips. He got home last night, and I was happy just doing our laundry and unpacking and settling, because at least we're back to normal again.

PS. Already looking forward to some "us" time this weekend, doing some fall cleaning, and sitting down to make our holiday plans. Only 6 weekends left before Christmas!

girls weekend.

(photos from last year's trip to barothy)

By the time this post goes out, I'll be in Frankenmuth with my mom & sisters in-law for a girls weekend. We try to fit one in every year (last year we stayed in a cozy cabin up north all weekend & brought projects). This time we plan to shop, eat, and shop some more - and I have a feeling by the time I come home I'll be in Christmas mode!