happy weekend

I'm off for a girls weekend with Q's mom and sisters. It was originally planned for Chicago but due to conflicting schedules we're staying here for a craft/shopping staycation (and of course lots of food + wine!). We're also going to see Jane Eyre, have you seen it yet? Hope you have an awesome weekend - below are a few links I wanted to share (with photos above):

1. These calligraphy window decals by love, jenna for fat cat paperie are so pretty.

2. Loved both Kate + Pippa's dresses for the big wedding (very classic!).

3. Elle Decor invited me to share something fun last Friday - this mansion made my list :)

(photo credits: fat cat paperie, associated press found via, jenna park)

one thousand wishes

(top photo via one thousand wishes)

I mentioned One Thousand Wishes a couple weeks ago as one of the pop-up shops started for Japan relief efforts. Ali Nash started the shop by collecting goods from designers as well as donating a huge portion of the items herself (with all of the proceeds going to the Red Cross).

I ordered this washi tape from the shop and when the package arrived I was blown away by the thought and care put into it. Not only has Ali generously donated these items, but everything was so carefully packaged, and even included extra papers, tape, and a strand of four cranes made from Japanese paper. Their hope was to raise a thousand dollars and make one thousand paper cranes, and they've already sold out of most everything and passed their goal by far.

the new domestic

I'm so excited that Nerissa from The New Domestic has opened an online shop - her first line of products includes these awesome geometric totes that are screen printed. My tote bags get so much love and use that I'm always adding more to my wishlist, so their nautical seawind & willows bag has gone straight to the top.

photos: the new domestic shop

feeling blessed.

Easter Sunday felt long, in a good way - waking up at 5:30 for sunrise service and breakfast at church, going back to Q's parents for a quick nap, and spending the day hanging out and preparing a big family Easter dinner.

Photos above: us girls searched through his grandma's stash of amazing vintage fabrics (I picked out some plaids & florals); his mom gave us a sweet Easter tin; we took family photos out by the pond; the nephews had a late afternoon egg hunt; his sister Kir made cake pops*. Feeling very thankful for all the good things this weekend.

*The cake pops were really fun for the kids and fairly simple to make: crumble up a baked cake and mix it with frosting in a bowl. Form into balls and place in freezer/fridge until firm. When ready, poke baking sticks into each one, and coat with white chocolate (dye the chocolate with fun colors, like pink or blue). Add sprinkles & enjoy. (Thanks Kir for the photo!).

Easter weekend

(photos: 1 dreamy whites, 2 jamie magazine via frolic, 3 ikea live)

Are you hosting Easter this year? Every holiday I collect inspiration for hosting a dinner, even though we always travel to see family in our hometown. Here are some of my favorite ideas for this weekend: a flowery table setting from dreamy whites, using old documents as place settings (thrifty!); a buffet of eggs from jamie magazine, to represent the Resurrection and new life; and a casual, colorful table setting from ikea live. Have a blessed Easter!

thoughtful packaging

I just love the thoughtfulness that goes into hand packaging something - even if it just means tying a little note on with string.
After doing the Easter photoshoot with Andrea Dozier, she sent this surprise package with photo mounts of some of the shots.
They came wrapped in a simple brown box along with a note on her pretty customized stationery.
The entire package fits so well with her photography brand, it gives you a sense of her style immediately.
Packaging really is one of those little things that can make all the difference!

a gray bathroom

Here's a little board I made of our half bath along with my inspiration behind it. I thought I'd share it because this room is the smallest in our house (right off the front entryway), but it has taken more work than any other room in the house! It might not look like much yet, but the reason it took lots of work is because I had to go back and paint over a bad (really bad) dark turquoise paint job I eagerly did when we first moved in. I'm also the laziest painter ever, and had left turquoise drips all over the white trim and ceiling.

Going back and painting it all a nice Gray in February took forever - it required several coats to cover the previous color, all new white paint on the trim, window + ceiling, and working around all of the corners/nooks that a bathroom has. So the point of my story is 1) put some thought into your color choices and 2) don't be a lazy painter like me. Because it will save you a lot of work later on.

A couple things I still want to do: add some pink accents (yes/no?), give the frames a gold finish, and add a cute basket for trash (instead of hanging a plastic bag from the doorknob - haha).

Room inspiration sources (from above): 1 gray paint, 2 potted plant, 3 striped rug, 4 gold mirror.

his+hers: to do lists

My side of our weekend to-do list could also be titled: things I avoid. I challenged myself in an afternoon to take care of a bunch of things I dislike doing (the floors) or don't need to do regularly (cleaning blinds/filters) that were in serious need of being done. They're not even that difficult, but for some reason I always procrastinate on them.

And good news is, it didn't kill me to do them (ha!). Aside from a tiny cut on my finger I came out alive. By the way, I'm so glad we only have blinds in a few rooms - they were embarrassing to clean and probably should be done regularly.

(His + Hers is a weekly series that Brooke (from Pure & Noble) and I started as a way of sharing random peeks into our daily lives. Feel free to join in on your own blog if you'd like!)

happy weekend

Happy Friday! We're looking forward to another weekend at home and I hope to stop at Ikea to look for some patio things (and have a cinnamon roll - or two). I know, exciting stuff right! Hope you have a good one. Oh, and I came across a bunch of good things this week so here are four of them:

1. Gwyneth's new cookbook (added to my wishlist) - via Goop.
2. Outdoor lighting (and summery things) - from Ikea.
3. Kirra Jamison's amazing paintings - via Julie Digs Design.
4. Unique handmade clothing (launching soon) - from The IOU Project.

spring table + challenge

(photos: bliss)

Really inspired by this table setting from Bliss - amazing! I came across it last night and my jaw kind of dropped at how creative it was. She gives it a fresh look with bright colors and unique paper flowers (see how she makes them here).

I found Bliss through Justine at Urban Scarlet - she let me know about a fun diy challenge they're hosting together. And they're offering lots of party goods as prizes (yes please!). Check it out here.

diy: billy button flowers

(photo of the flowers in Andrea's home)

I've always loved dried billy button flowers, they look so whimsical and modern, but I never seem to find them in stores. I've heard you can get them online somewhere, but honestly if it's not at my local craft store or on Amazon, I usually don't get around to it.

So for the dessert table that Andrea + I put together, I had grabbed some dried flower balls from the craft store last minute (in the aisle with vase fillers) and decided to quickly make my own. It worked great and it's so simple! It seems silly even doing a tutorial because it's pretty basic. But, we did one anyway and Andrea Dozier took these pretty pictures along the way:




Start with dried flower balls, wire sticks, and floral tape. Then assemble: 1. set wire in jar and cut to desired height, 2. wrap wire in floral tape (dark green is what I had on hand, but other colors would look nice), 3. poke the wire into flower ball (adding glue if you'd like). 4. Keep assembling until you have a pretty arrangement!

Honestly, once you start making these it's kind of addicting - instant flower arrangements that never die. Awesome.

(photography: Andrea Dozier)

poketo goods

Just came across Poketo again recently (I can't seem to remember where), and their website is all about promoting the work of artists through limited edition products. It's a great place for unique gifts! And I'm kind of obsessed with those cute striped backpacks, they'd be perfect for traveling and camping.

1. striped fleece backpacks, 2. icon clock, 3. mini planner, 4. mini notebook

his+hers: weekend projects

We worked on a bunch of house projects this weekend, mostly outside because we had incredible weather (the first time since winter!). Above are both of Q's projects, since mine aren't as easy to photograph (a clean house, loads of laundry, planting bulbs, napping in the sun...).

The first are stairs Q built for our patio, the second is a box garden he made for me. I'm already excited at the thought of walking out to our patio to pick tomatoes and herbs! If I can make them survive. Still have to paint the stairs and extend the patio in front of the box garden, but we're getting there.

And, the weather was so summer-like that we ended the weekend with a walk on Sunday evening, taking pictures of the neighborhood and getting ice cream at a very crowded Coldstone on our way back. Sometimes, weekends with full to-do lists turn out to be the really good ones.



(His + Hers is a weekly series that Brooke (from Pure & Noble) and I started as a way of sharing random peeks into our daily lives. Feel free to join in on your own blog if you'd like!)

giveaway: linkel designs

Since it's Monday I thought it'd be the perfect excuse to do a little giveaway. I don't do them here often, but Kelly from Linkel Designs is so sweet and makes such colorful jewelry that it seemed fitting for spring (oh and she's also from Michigan!). She is offering one of you a special gift containing both pairs of earrings shown above - two of my personal favorites from her shop - the vintage rose + ivory leaf earrings.

Aren't they beautiful? If you'd like to win them, you can visit her shop here and then leave a comment below to enter. I'll draw a winner on Friday April 15.

PS. Kelly also has a fun blog!

*Post update: Stephanie, commenter #15, was chosen as the winner via random.org. thanks everyone for entering!

weekend project...

(photo of it so far)

I finally attempted one of those diy twine light fixtures. I started off enthusiastic about my future light for-the-price-of-twine (yeah!). The excitement died about half way in, when my hands and everything else were covered in tacky glue, Q was reluctantly holding the ball while I guided the string but it kept sliding off, and my cat was determined to either lay on my lap or sniff glue (and neither of us had free hands to move her).

Eventually we gave up for the night, and it's been sitting in our front closet ever since for about a month now. Maybe this weekend I'll work up the motivation to finish it...along with some other projects. I hope you have cooler weekend plans.

handmade faves: cards

My favorite thing about sending someone a pretty card is that (obviously) it can double as miniature art afterward. I would happily frame any one of these. And that little elephant has lots of cute animal friends right here.

1. bicycle letterpress - paper lovely press.
2. covent garden letterpress - maida vale.
3. eames chair - paper and twine.
4. elephant - PAWLING.

easter inspiration: a dessert table

When Andrea was here visiting last month, we decided to style a quick photoshoot inspired by spring. Remember those glittery cookies? They turned out mighty cute in bright colors so we used them for this simple dessert table, perfect for upcoming gatherings or Easter celebrations. And yeah, we got a little carried away with the pink and pastels...I guess we're overly enthusiastic about spring. More to share next week!



Creating the dessert table: napkins, pretty dishes, doilies, jars with decorations (like dried flowers), and a basket filled with fabric scraps for eggs. Tissue flowers and extra doilies for above the table. And most importantly, sweets!



(images: Andrea Dozier photography)

*Post Update: see how we made the yellow billy button flowers here.

pop-up shops for a cause

One great way of raising money and awareness for Japan relief efforts (as well as other charities) are pop-up shops. The artist/designer donates their time + talents, and when people buy the product the proceeds go towards helping others...I think the whole process is such a labor of love. Above are just a few I like:

1. One Thousand Wishes, by Ali Nash. Ali put together this collection of various crafting goods, many donated by herself. Proceeds go to the Red Cross for Japan (if you're interested in donating items, email me and I'll forward her letter).

2. Lomography Loves Japan. Sylvie from Lomography sent this yesterday - they've designed a special series of Diana + Fisheye cameras with proceeds going toward a 20k Red Cross donation.

3. Stitch + Connect, by Zakka Nouveau. A limited series of hand sewn goods, one available per day, with all proceeds going toward a charity of your choice.

studio sweet studio

(Kelli Anderson, Zakka Nouveau by John Miller, Patpari, Hooray by Andrea Dozier)

If you like seeing behind the scenes peeks at artists and their work spaces, Studio Sweet Studio (the new site launched by Meg & Tuesday) is full of inspiration each day from creatives around the world.

Meg contacted me shortly before its launch to see if I'd like to share my studio, and it was such a fun opportunity I couldn't say yes fast enough. Andrea took some pretty photos and today the tour is up right here! The whole site is worth checking out - above are some of my other favorites - so happy browsing (and happy monday!).

april weekend

Yay, the weekend is here, and it's a new month so we're that much closer to warm weather. Our Paper Source calendar has a bike + flowers for April, so I've been looking forward to turning it to that page all winter. Hope you have a good one! Here are a few fun links to check out...

1. vintage getaway cab - kathryn's san francisco wedding.
2. shoulder bag for spring/summer - seesaw vintage.
3. striped slip-ons (comfy + cute) - seesaw vintage.
4. heirloom tomato salad (so good!) - the swell life.