strike a little posie

Sweet tune of the day: Strawberry Swing puts me in a good Spring mood. I realize it's not quite "Spring" yet.. but I'm ready to shake the cold winter blues. Plus, it's almost my birthday.. and I dislike when it's cold on my birthday. [hush up, amy and kiki]

After singing "ring around the rosie, pocket full of posies" for an hour last Saturday while jumping around in a moon bounce with my little 3 year-old niece, Maddie, I thought how neat it was that little rhymes and songs like that stick around for over 100 years.. and little kids still love them. And I, still love to make up my own lyrics to them. "ring around the rosie, strike a little posie. new shoes, new shoes. don't fall down!" Especially not in these cute new Madden Girl wedges I got at DSdub with my rewards points this week. I love floral and couldn't pass 'em up. They scream spring fun and I'm hoping to ward off the winter cold relapses in these prissies. Pink and turquoise are in this season, which makes me very happy. Here are a few things I have acquired somewhat-recently that are transitioning me into spring:

1. shoes by Madden Girl [Klenn]

2. scarf I got in Rome last summer

3. dress by Peppermint

4. sandals by Nine West

5. shirt by Lauren Conrad; pumps by J.Simp

6. hair accessory from outdoor stand in Rome [thanks, Amy]

stationery experiment v2.0

"She used to tie her hair up in ribbons and bows, sign her letters with x's and o's" - American Girl by Trisha Yearwood

If you can't tell, I'm into making cards and other paper goods. I enjoy designing things on the computer [like the valentines cards], but I also like to create personalized and unique postcards or notes from scratch with materials that I have. The beauty of this is that you can take a plain notecard or piece of cardstock and transform it in any way you want: as simple or as creative as you please.. and for cheap! Here, I made some sample notecards out of a bright colored mat stack I found at TJ Max for 3 bones, various ribbon scraps or $1 ribbon [weakness] from Michael's, leftover fabric from other projects, and buttons from grandma's sewing drawer. [I'm a sucker for buttons] They make each card unique and represent a little part of the past that I feel like I'm giving to my friends and family. I used a hole punch and super glue gel in this little project, but hot glue would also work. I plan on doing more of these stationery experiments. Get excited.

Happy card making! xoxo!

someone's in the kitchen with dinah

I haven't thought about that little folk tune in a while, but doing a blog about contemporary-country kitchens has gotten it stuck in my head! I found a cover to the song by LiliAna Rose - a contemporary folk artist, on youtube. She has an amazing voice and a good pandora station!

I'm excited to post about beautiful kitchen interiors that I have found from my various magazines in the past month! I have fallen for "white on white." It just look so stinkin' clean in these pictures! If we were to try that, there would probably be dirty little paw prints all over the counters from a certain curious cat. What I also love about these kitchens are the lighting fixtures over the island/bar area. How cool are those lanterns?! Mom and I have been pondering over re-doing her kitchen. I think we're going to think Tuscan and revisit some of our pictures from Italy.. maybe include a travertine-esque backsplash and repaint the cabinets white, or [my vote- get new ones!] I'm also a fan of the different kitchen ingredients like sugar, rice, pasta noodles, etc. in the simple, clear containers. Little pops of color can do the trick in a white kitchen. Hope you enjoy some of these ideas! Let me know what you think! 

1. architectural digest: understated beauty
2. southern living: let there be white
3. house beautiful: fresh start
4. veranda: marsh magic
5. southern living: georgia idea house  [in senoia, ga - only 20 minutes from my house. i went, and it was a beaut]
6. southern living: in bloom

happy valentine's weekend!

..off the floor, out the drawer..

..and on the wall! By the obvious pattern I've started by decorating with accessories, it's only logical that my next crafty project would involve an array of scarves!

- - today's tune: Sweet Disposition- The Temper Trap [scroll down to listen] - -

As Project Bedroom continues, my contemporary-traditional mix of decor grows strong. I found a cool fur pillow that I kindof wish I could wear, teal zebra fabric [originally a shower curtain], and a variety of pretty polyresin knobs used in my scarf rack. I caught the knobs on sale 50% off at HobLob. After what seemed like hours of debate on which ones to pick, i ended up with a fun and eclectic combo of the little jewels! I went shopping in our basement and found some wood scraps of a 2x4. I cut a piece down to 21 inches, drilled 6 holes equa-distance apart, sanded it, added hooks to the back, sprayed it with gold+white crackle spray paint, distressed it with a sandblock, and then finished it with a clear acrylic matte coat. Then I just arranged the knobs how i liked and twisted them into place, securing them with the washer and nut. Little Dora Belle wanted to help. If I'm EVER working on something, she makes herself known and likes to get in the way. But, I love how it turned out! It gets my pretty scarves that I have gotten from around the US and Europe off of the closet floor, out of the armoire drawer, and displayed beautifully on the wall!

I love all the colors on the wall! It filled that little space perfectly.

You could try this with other accessories [maybe seasonal] .. such as, bathing suits, long necklaces, cute cardigans, bags/purses. Who says you can't decorate with clothes and accessories? Not me.

xoxo

How about some Ray Lamontagne - You Are the Best Thing for this blog about valentines and sweet homemade cards. Scroll down towards the bottom of the post. I finally found a gadget that will let me play youtube while reading. Perrrrrfect!

It's February [where did January go?] and the month of ... dun, dun, dun ... valentines. Now, believe me, I've NEVER been one to love Valentine's Day. I may have had two enjoyable Vdays since age 12 to now. As a small child, I'm sure it was fun. I liked making cards. But as I got older, I grew more bitter. I was either worried about how many more/less candy grams and carnations I would get than my friends at school, watching my pals flirt with their boyfriends who were A GRADE ABOVE US OHMYGOSH, or getting awkward presents from boys I didn't like. My friend and I went as far as to boycott the holiday my senior year in high school by wearing all black and listening to Metallica. This hatred even transitioned to college where I once had to go on what felt like a black ops secret mission in order to escape a valentine's date... It's a sensitive subject that I do NOT like to bring up unless absolutely necessary. I'm warming up to the idea of Valentine's Day.. but mostly because I have time to make precious cards for my little nieces and nephews [spoiler alert! Hunter] and for my friends too. And I was toying with the thought of making an awesome one for someoneeee ...however, he has filled my head with falsities about becoming a blog follower. So I might just have to wait that one out.

Anyway, whether you adore Vday or roll your eyes at it, you'll love these cute, personalized cards for the little ones. They still get cupcakes, those nasty little chalk heart things with the words on them, <3 heart shaped cookies [just craved Ryal's Bakery, yum], and strawberry shortcake/power ranger valentines.. why not add to the fun!? I did these on photoshop and indesign and printed them on cream colored blank cards that I had. Here's the finished products:

...roses are red

violets are blue

even though I'm usually bitter

these valentines are cute.