Friday Finds... on Saturday!

Whew we had a busy week! Both my parents and my husband's parents had lots going on, which means we were pulled in many different directions. We had a great time doing everything from a history parade to a ribbon cutting and a block party! Here's hoping next week slows down a bit - I could definitely use some rest.

This week's links are coming to you on Saturday instead of Friday... sorry! I was too busy playing soccer and partying to post. But since I made you wait, I'm going to post a bunch. Enjoy!

These mugs would make great gifts for those of you with cool hipster friends.

I love seeing everyday things re-purposed into art, and these portraits made from cassette tapes are too cool.

If we ever have a baby boy, I'm thinking these paper boat place cards could definitely be made into an adorable mobile.

14 indulgences for the home, including fresh flowers and good storage. I need to start working my way down the list!

Every guy should have this Gentleman's Style Sheet. I was thankful for the ironing tips! And, if you want to see more, check out Part 2 - Dressing Down.

Wine can be intimidating (especially if you, like me, can't taste the difference between a good one and a bad one...). I love this site all about the Wines of France, complete with a guide to what wine to drink with what food.

These photos of famous couples are fantastic. My favorites are the ones of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. It's fun seeing actors doing normal everyday things!

And some videos:

Coca-Cola Happiness Machine


Piano Stairs


Have a nice weekend!

Foodie Thursday, sorta

Pumpkins again, but this time not as a food... sorry!

We're going to a fall festival tomorrow, and my task for the day is to decorate a pumpkin to enter into their pumpkin decorating contest. I was super excited about it (I love decorating pumpkins!) but then I remembered that I've never tried to do something so challenging with an 8 month old in tow... so I had to tone down my original idea. I was going to attempt one of those adorable owls from Martha Stewart.

I'm going to go with something that involves no pumpkin guts instead. I kept having visions of me covered in pumpkin when Emma decides it's time to have an "Emma dilemma" as we've come to call her blowouts. So I've decided that I'm going jump on the chalkboard bandwagon... it should be lots of fun!

Lost your cell? Find it here.

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I can't tell you how many times I've lost my phone, only to find it stuck between couch cushions (or in Emmaline's toy basket... she's sneaky like that). This website lets you call your own phone from your computer. The next time mine goes missing I won't have to wait for Bran to get home to find it!

little girls are so much fun

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How cute is this birthday party? They called it a Pink Fairy Garden Party. The paper flowers are my favorite. I want to make some to hang above the crib in Emma's room.

Absolutely loving this drawing by Garance Dore.

Edit: A friend pointed out that it looks a little bit like me. If it does, I'm flattered.
Do you agree or say no way? 

Wedding Inspiration

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Last week's tree house wedding has got me on a forest kick. I love this French forest wedding, but really my favorite part is the bride's name: Eleonore... the French spelling is fantastic! For this wedding, the bride and groom asked that their guests wear polka dots or stripes, and lots of them did - what do you think about doing a fun dress code like that for a wedding? Sort of like P Diddy's White party, no?

when I look down, I see...

{happy Emmaline}

{new shoes}

Friday Finds

I hope everyone had a good week. I'm still under the weather, but things are definitely looking up, since I have a Darius Rucker concert to attend tomorrow night! My in-laws are always getting the best concert tickets, and because they're awesome they sometimes take us with them :) I am so excited to get out of the house and have some fun at Pier Six in Baltimore.

I'm excited about this week's roundup of links from the web. I think you'll enjoy them:

First is this adorable wedding invitation. My favorite is the "party in the party carriage"!

Then there is this amazing "best movies of all time" subway map. You've gotta check this one out.

Joanna over at Cup of Jo directed me to this wonderful photography endeavor. 10 photographers took 10 photos each on 10/10/10. Genius.

I love this beautiful yellow room.

AND in this special Friday Find, I'm featuring a fellow blogger and good friend. Katelyn Oullette is one of the most stylish women I know. She blogs at Brown Eggs and Spilt Milk, and I can never get enough. Thanks to her,  I am now in love with Garance Dore (The Sartorialist's lady), and Paperless Post. I would be remiss to mention Kate without saying something about her beautiful wedding, so here is my favorite of her breathtaking wedding photos:

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Have a {beautiful} weekend!

Foodie Thursday - Pumpkin Edition

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I love pumpkin, and I'm excited to start doing some fall baking. Don't these waffles look amazing? Find the recipe here.

yes, please.

It's only appropriate that on my little master bedroom inspiration day I would come across my favorite bedroom renovation to date. Don't worry - I'm getting my room clean. I'm just looking at inspiration photos between loads of laundry and vacuuming! But seriously, how gorgeous is this room:

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The folks over at Rambling Renovators just finished this gorgeous renovation. I love everything about it. The overhead light, the sconces, the (high and wide!) curtains. Even their throw pillows! The whole thing is just beautiful. I want a bedroom that makes me happy like this one does! Do you love your bedroom, or are you in need of a renovation like me?

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My bedroom is currently a mess, so this is me promising myself to clean it today. I love the way my room feels when the bed is made and everything is put away! Now if I could just keep it that way....

Also, I just noticed how high they hung the curtains in the above photo. My husband and I disagree on curtain placement - I say the higher the better, but he would love it if we drilled right into the window trim. I let him have his way in our bedroom and the living room, placing the rods just above the window, but in Emma's room the curtains are tall, wide, and wonderful.  What do you think? Where do you hang your curtain rods?

treehouse wedding

{all images via}

Now this is a wedding I would have loved to attend. The bride walked down the "aisle" (a moss covered path through the woods and over a bridge...) behind a friend of hers who played Sufjan Stevens songs on his guitar.  They married in the woods and then partied in a treehouse. I absolutely love her dress. The mustaches and hanging frames for photos is such a fun idea, too!

bold interiors

{via elle decor}

{via elle decor}

{via decor pad}

{via decor pad}

What do you think of these bold lacquered walls? I think the second photo is my favorite (the eclectic office with all the frames on the wall). Could you relax with all of those reflections?

friday finds

 Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a nice week. Mine was full of coughing and sneezing and cuddling my little lady, but we're both doing much better now.  I am so so so excited, because this afternoon my best friend from elementary/middle school is coming for a visit! She lives in Virginia, and we haven't seen each other since I think maybe my wedding 2 years ago?! I can't wait to spend some time catching up with her, and introducing her to Emmaline.

Here are some links to entertain you until Monday...


I had lots of fun messing around with these time lapse photos you control yourself.  The sound clips make it so neat! And while we're on the time lapse theme, this video from the music festival Coachella is fantastic.

Am I the only one that didn't know Apartment Therapy also had a cooking section? I'm super excited. You should check out this article about how tacos are the hottest entertaining trend these days. I love tacos, so this makes me happy :)

These tee shirts from out of print clothing are great! The liberal arts major inside of me loves the literature theme. My favorite is this one, with the cover of Lord of the Flies.

Cake for breakfast? Yes, please.

no foodie thursday today

Sorry I missed today's "foodie thursday" post.  My little lady and I are both sick (I'm worse off than she is, but I took her to the doctor today just to make sure she's ok). We spent the day taking it easy and watching the rain. Oh and then we took a 3 hour nap together this afternoon - that was nice.

Check back tomorrow for some Friday finds!

ruffle cake

How cute is this ruffle cake from Martha Stewart? I'm going to store this idea away for Emma's first birthday. I'm thinking maybe a "ruffles & pearls" theme?

dear diary

I haven't written about my life/family in a few weeks and thought I'd give an update for my family and friends on the west coast. In the future, if I'm going to do one of these personal posts, I'm going to title it "dear diary" so those of you who don't care can click back another time :)

I was super proud of myself tonight for cooking dinner at home. Since we moved Since forever, I've been really bad about making dinner. I like cooking, and I even enjoy grocery shopping, I'm just not great at planning it. My wonderful mother in law (I say that seriously, not sarcastically - she's one of my best friends) gave me a book called Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way.  I'm trying to eat healthier (as in, eat fruits and veggies more than once in a blue moon) and also save our budget, and so far, as in, tonight, everything is going great. They give you weekly menus and shopping lists, along with nutritional information for each meal. I'm excited to see how it works for us.

The house is coming along beatutifully. We re-arranged our living room this week, and I've got to take photos because I think it looks great. My goal now is to hang things on our oh-so-bare walls. I'm looking forward to flexing my budget-friendly decorating muscles. I'm thinking it should involve this:

At $69 I could definitely afford one of these for the blank wall above my love seat.

Tomorrow is party inspiration day - check back for some grown up party inspiration.

fall wedding inspiration: hannah and ben

{all images via}

I love this! My favorite is the little cake topper modeled after the bride and groom.  Plus you can't go wrong with a photo booth at a wedding (especially if you give guests mustaches on a stick!).

JK Place, Florence

I had the opportunity to travel to Italy a few years ago, and am now severely dismayed that while staying there I missed this beautiful hotel. We stayed in a dump while in Florence (as in, they played Akon over the speaker system and something had died in the a/c unit of the room my Mom and I shared). It was sad. And now thanks to Lonny, I find out that I could have been staying here! Sigh... I suppose that means I have to go back. It looks as though JK Place is a treat from the moment you arrive until you step out the door.  Here are some photos to entice you...

One of the several lounges. They don't have a formal restaurant because there are so many wonderful places to eat in Florence.

They encourage guests to eat breakfast and lunch (which are included with every room) in their dining rooms so they can mingle with other guests.

This is the Master Suite, just one of the 20 beautifully decorated bedrooms available.

This bathroom makes up the second floor of the Penthouse. Its large window offers a panoramic view of the Duomo.

I could spend an afternoon on this veranda!

{all images via lonny magazine}

I could go on and on about this hotel! But I'll spare you, and instead direct you to their site, where you must read the descriptions of their room packages (one includes a trip to a local market with a gourmet chef!). Put in a random date and tell it to check accommodations. It will give you a list of rooms and packages. 

Ciao!

lonny love

{all images via Lonny Magazine}

I was thrilled to get an email letting me know that the October/November issue of Lonny came out. I'm halfway through, and it's already great! The bedrooms above are from Designer Lulu de Kwiatkowski, and the third photo is from an amazing hotel - check back later today for an entire post on JK Place, Florence.

Friday Finds

Hey there! How was your week? Mine was a long one, since Bran ended up having to work last Saturday and Sunday.  It's hard not getting a break between weeks! We're looking forward to spending the weekend together. Do you have any fun weekend plans?

Here is this week's finds from the web:

These photos of New York City are incredible.  I've been several times and would love to go back, and these photos are making me miss it even more!

I really like the idea of this You Are Loved baby journal.  I feel like you could make something very similar with scrapbook supplies.

Rachel, one of my housemates from when we lived in Idaho (a married couple, their brother and sister respectively, and a complete stranger living together for 2 years under the same roof... and we all lived to talk about it!) sent me the link to this site. She said it seemed like something I would like, and she was so right! I want one of these type maps - what a great idea!

As you know, I've already started gathering ideas for Emmaline's first birthday (like this one).  A mini version of this ruffle cake would be the perfect smash cake, and I think that with my mom's help I could totally make it myself.

And finally, this ring from Satomi Kawakita jewelry is absolutely stunning. I love that it's hexagonal.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Foodie Thursday

 

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These stuffed baguettes from Baking Obsession would be such a great snack at a picnic or for after church. This one is filled with goat cheese, cream cheese, sun dried tomatoes, olives, salami, bell pepper, and fresh herbs.  Doesn't it look delish?

emag love: Covet Garden

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 You must check out this new emagazine! This quote from their blog says it all:

We started Covet Garden because we wanted to see a magazine that made us feel as though we were invited into someone’s home. And then, once they let us in, we started snooping around and got to know them a bit better.

Each issue features a home and the people who live there, complete with photos, an interview, and fun features inspired by the hosts.  What a fresh take on interior design!

By the way, I am absolutely going to use their paper flowers idea in Emmaline's nursery. They're beautiful!