Business Happenings

I have added 2 new pieces to the shop!

These new elastic headbands are eclectic with their ruffles, rosettes and beads. One has a yellow ruffle with a patterned rosette and turquoise beads...

And the other features a navy ruffle, gray linen rosette and gold beads...

I have decided that I like the elastic bands much better than the metal ones. I must have an odd shaped head or something. The elastic also holds flyaways and unruly curls at bay. Look for some more additions to pop up soon. I must say things are easier to do with a new craft corner. Pictures of that later...

Obsessed: Lofts

Erik and I love our first home that we currently reside in, however in one of those "If I ever win the lottery" type moments, we have decided that we want a swanky loft apartment. I like industrial, he likes simple. So when I saw Gwyenth Paltrow's loft on her website I was in l.o.v.e.

The master bedroom is the best. I love the peacock blue bed and those wall sconces are to die for. I have already spent 30 mins trying to find something similar on the web. Any suggestions??

The kitchen is even better. The stools are industrial goodness and the full subway tile wall is stunning. And to believe that it is all in Nashville, TN ? I'd actually listen to county music if I could life here. See the whole apartment and design process here.

Seriously, does anyone know where to find those sconces??

Craft Room Inspiration

Since I'm going to have some extra time on my hands ( summer vacation!!) I thought it was high time to get the Etsy shop updated and inventory up. However when I have to retire to our guest room to get to work I feel less than inspired. I like the guest room but I feel like it isn't my creative place. I have plans to try and add a nook to the office for my headband making and sewing. This serves as my main piece of inspiration at the moment:

{ image }

I already have a Lack shelf in the office so I would be adding the display rod, another desk, and some cute containers to hold my notions. There is quite a list working of summer projects to keep me busy.

The Places I go...

The blog world is a fun and overwhelming place. There is truly something for everyone. Whether it's home decor, DIY anything, mom's doing fun stuff, cooks, photography, or gardening, chances are if you have a hobby there is a blog for it. The thing I like most about blogs are that they are usually written by regular people doing regular things. It's nice to read that others have struggles with planting a veggie garden, or that I'm not the only person who is obsessed with throw pillows.

So these are some of the places I like to visit to see what's shakin':

The Cooks:

Bakerella

Honey & Jam

Seven Spoons

So Good and Tasty

The Home Gurus:

Making it Lovely

At Home At Home

Little Green Notebook

Sabbespot

The Creatives:

Homemade Grits

Avie Designs

Paisley Wallpaper

Our Blog of Love

Blue Eyed Freckle

Cakies

Please go visit them whenever you need inspiration and pretty things to look at and read.

Quiet Time, and a picnic

The days are flying by so fast that I just want any spare minute to sit. In quiet. With Erik, Doc or any other warm cuddly thing. But life prevails and continues.

One such instance is when our kitchen sink fell victim to a moment of frustration and ended up broken. To Home Depot we went. I figured if we were having to replace our builder boring faucet, we might as well get something that was nice and that we would want to have forever- or until another karate chop takes it down. We got this guy:

It has the removable spray nozzle and fun matching soap dispenser. It looked beautiful in the box, but what a pain to install for my very handsome and fit husband who had to squeeze under the sink to install it. After 2 hours and a trip to the hardware store, we had water use again and had to get out of the house.

We visited our favorite lunch spot and had a picnic with the little one. It was beautiful out. We laid on the blanket together in the warm sun, with whispers of "weiner dog!" as passerbys saw our adorable Doc hanging out with us.

{ side note: disregard the grass clippings, he likes to roll around on bugs }

A frustrating, rewarding, delicious, and relaxing afternoon.

Rewarding

To grow your own home decor.

{My bright orange geraniums with my favorite owls.}

DIY: Recipe Cards

I purchased this 3 ring Recipe book at Border's a million years ago.

I love the simple design of it. However the lined paper for your handwritten recipes was less than desirable. So I came up with my own DIY recipe cards on Microsoft Word.

I made them to fit 1/2 sheet of a standard printer paper, so I can get 2 per page. I spent Sunday afternoon retyping my recipes to fit into the new template. This helped me to have all my favorites orderly and neatly presented, but it also has the added bonus of having them all saved on my computer = easy access, so when a friend loves one of my creations I can easy email it to them!

One more thing off the never-ending To Do list. Actually there may be 100 more things, check back for details...

Surprise Dinner Party

Saturday was spent in the dirt. That has been a common occurrence in these parts lately. It is just too darn nice out to be inside, so if that means I have dirt under my nails than so be it. After I spent time tending to the weeds, planting some more herbs:

{ Rosemary }

{ Ours on the left, Graham's on the right }

and helping Erik build the structure for the veggie garden, the neighbors and I decided that a patio dinner was a must do. So I buzzed around the house cleaning and picking up to make sure all was tidy for our impromptu dinner guests.

I used some of my beautiful geraniums and snowball blooms to decorate the porch tables. We had delicious kabobs, asparagus, potatoes, and an amazing blueberry cobbler, a BYODinner courtesy of my awesome neighbors and lovely sister. We ended the night with a little Wii bowling, to which I can proudly announce, I RULE.

It was a great night.

Fighting the Rut

I have to be honest, I haven't been in the best blogging or creative mood lately. My dear hubby has been busting his tail at work, and the students and I have been longing for Spring Break and now that it is finally here I just tuckered out. I don't want to do anything, and when I feel like I have to do something it makes it even less desirable. However, I have decided that I must power through. I want to be able to stay home with my future family one day, so I better stop being lazy and start getting busy! After a fun afternoon with my favorite little lady and her awesome mama, I came home and started working! I will be adding this Ruffle Cluster Clip to the shop momentarily.

Also my itty bitty clips will soon be sold in groups of 2! They are the tiniest things, perfect for the cute girlies in your life! I hope all is well, thanks for sticking in there with me...

The Hostas are coming!

I love perennials! It is so fun to see my spouts pop up after a long winter. The hostas are making their entrance this week. They shoot up in little tubes, beginning with a beautiful eggplant color and then turninig to their varigated green. I separated these last summer so I can't wait to see how they fill in this year.

Shouts to Homemade Grits for featuring another star of my front garden on her site today :)