lovely.

I'll be out on Seabrook for the next couple of days back and forth.  I didn't take this picture, but think it is gorgeous!

 

image via here.

I'll be back in a few days!  Enjoy the week!

J.Crew wishlist.

all images via J.Crew.

A lot of these items are essentials.  But I'm still working on building my wardrobe.  I especially love the chunky gold bracelet.  I don't wear bracelets very often, but would like to start wearing more of them.  

Speaking of essentials, I love Nina Garcia's book The One Hundred.  It is a guide to the 100 basic pieces of clothing/accessories every woman should own {such as: black cashmere turtleneck, Missoni knit, LBD, lingere, animal print, a Pucci piece, converse all stars}.  I've got a list saved in my phone of some of the essentials I still need.  That way, when I go shopping I can {hopefully} stay on track and purchase things that will build my wardrobe.  

Happy Friday! 

{sidenote: Since Missoni is doing a line for Target this fall, I will be crossing that one off my list very soon! Super excited about that.} 

annnd graphic image sale.

Just found out via Design Darling that Graphic Image is having a 50% off sale on all of their items!  It's only going on for 1 more hour, so get your shopping in now! :)  I just finally purchased this passport holder {in orange} I've been eyeing for years at Papyrus!  Only $25!!

 

image via Graphic Image.

I also get all of my planners from Graphic Image.  I love the 6" New York Diary even though I don't live in New York.  {I hope to one day!}  I carry it everywhere - and the six inch size is perfect for that.  Though it is small, I do still feel like I have plenty of room to write down everything I need to in it.  Love Graphic Image.  They're great.

i love treehouses

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I love tree houses.  My dad built one for my brother, sister, and I when we were younger, and we played in it all the time.  Many years later, and I am still enthralled.  While browsing my emails just now, I came across this Jetsetter sale in Sweden for the Treehotel!  How cool.  Anyone who has some extra cash floating around and time off (and I guess the desire!) should GO!  I would if I could!  Look at this sweet tree house!

images via Jetsetter.

Anyone else a fan??  Who needs a vacation?!

all white

image via cococozy.

I just looove this white apartment.  It is so fresh and lovely!  Especially love the exposed brick - definitely gives the room a more warm feel to it.  My only question...

...how do you keep everything so white (even without kids!)??

bedroom style board

So it looks like I'll be moving at the end of October (or sooner).  I'll be able to decorate my bedroom only, so I've already started planning what I'm going to do with it.  Here is my style board:

I'm really excited to actually get to paint the room since I haven't been able to paint in my apartment now!

love my coffee...

 image via here.

...love my keurig!  It makes good coffee and very quickly.  I know it is more wasteful and probably more expensive to buy the individual K cups, but I still love it!  It makes my life so much easier!

painted beer bottle from the other night...

So here is the beer bottle I painted like the one I found on Pinterest via PS I made this:

Not bad for my first try, but again, it was just a practice round.  I'm not sure if you can see from the photo, but the spray paint looks crinkly in some places.  Does anyone know what that is from?  I think maybe I sprayed too close?  I'll post a diy when I do my next piece! Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Inspiration board part II

I finished almost finished my inspiration board this weekend!  After ironing my fabric, I laid it out on the board.  Then, I taped off the black faux wooden border so I wouldn't get spray adhesive on it.

Because the fabric was already lined up where I wanted it on the board, I just folded back sections at a time and spray-adhesived away!  I quickly smoothed out the fabric after laying it back on the board.  

Then, I started putting in the upholstery tacks, spacing them out using my finger.

 

As you can see, because my board is so cheap and thin, the tacks stuck out of the back of the board.  I used fabric paint to cover the sharp edges so I wouldn't cut myself!

And here's the finished almost finished product! (Please ignore the mismatched fabrics on the dresser and the board!)

I say it's almost finished because I ran out of upholstery tacks and couldn't finish the border.  I even went back to the fabric store today, but they still hadn't replenished the ones I bought on Thursday!  I bought smaller ones instead to see if maybe I could make those work, but they didn't look right.  I'm going to use the smaller tacks to pin things to the board.

And I realize that I have to do something about the mismatched fabric.  I guess the board won't be leaning on the dresser...unless I paint the top of the dresser and ditch the toile!!  Now that's an idea!  I'll keep you posted. 

Inspiration board part I

I am desperately in need of an inspiration board.  I bought a simple cork board from Target months ago, and have been meaning to decorate it for a while now.  It is especially necessary now to cover the board since my cat, Bella, got to it:

I guess the cork was just super fun to scratch.  Lovely.


I'm thinking of using a simple, patterned fabric to cover it and adding nail head trim to make it a little fancier.  Maybe I'll use fabric like these: 

 all via Madeline Weinrib.  Love her fabric.

And I was going to hang it over the dresser, but I kind of like it leaning on the wall like it is in the above photo.  This will also save me time and headaches from having to hang it with the hardware the board came with.  Perfect!  Look out for part II coming up!

an organized drawer.

I did some organizing a while back after I sent my dad with list in hand to Ikea (since we don't have one in SC).  This Godmorgan box was supposed to be used for storing makeup and such, which I needed for my bathroom.  Unfortunately, the box did not fit inside my bathroom drawer.  SO, I decided to use it for organizing my desk drawer!  I don't have a before photo, but I'm sure anyone who appreciates organizing will love this! :)  It makes me happy.

It is actually perfect for organizing a desk drawer - perfect spaces for pens, small objects {erasers, white out, jump drives, paper clips}, post it notes, as well as a hidden compartment! (see last photo).  What do you think?  I'd love to see your [before] and after organizing pics! I'll do better next time with taking a before! Haha!

annnnd I'm drinking a beer...

...for the sole purpose of trying out my painted bottle idea from my last post!  Haha!

penny wall

So I found this ah-mazing DIY/cool interior idea on Pinterest, originially from House and Home.  And I want to start saving my pennies!  Isn't it awesome??!?!

 image via here.

There are sooo many different things you could do with pennies along this same wavelength - make coasters, backsplashes, floors, table tops, frame them, make a design out of them...

This is such a great idea for me because I personally hate pennies and sometimes actually throw them away (don't judge me).  I'm thinking I need a beautifully-decorated jar or bottle to hold them in.  Perhaps one like this:

Yes, it's another DIY from Pinterest via PS I made this.  I think this would be the perfect little bottle to hold all my pennies!  I'll keep you posted on the penny collecting progress as well as the DIY bottle!  Hope everyone has had a good Tuesday!

my jewelry

Just wanted to do a quick post about my jewelry that I have for sale on Etsy.  I've pretty much been making jewelry since I was a kid - and the product has grown more and more sophisticated as I've matured.  To say the least.  My biggest first-time seller was hemp jewelry - I remember having a sale at the end of my street in like 6th grade.  Fun times.  Anyway, here are some of my favorite pieces from my Etsy shop.

Love making jewelry and love being creative! :)

diy {cover an ugly tray, part I}

So I bought this lacquer tray from TJ Maxx knowing I wanted to resurface the map design somehow... 

...then I found this pretty paper at Paper Source in georgetown.  My idea was to modge podge the paper onto the tray to cover up the map design.  It was easy, but didn't work out the way I wanted.  Here's how I did it:

-First, I traced the tray onto the back side of the paper and cut out the hexagonal piece.
-Then I had to trim the edges of the paper a bunch in order for it to fit inside of the tray.

-I made sure the paper fit inside, and then put modge podge onto the base of the tray:

(Here is where I realized I should have taped off the edges of the tray, but wanted to see my results faster, so didn't.)
-I placed the paper onto the bottom of the tray, then smoothed out all of the edges and bubbles.  (and there were A LOT of bubbles - so much so that I am seriously considering redoing this project)
-Lastly, I painted modge podge on the top of the paper and set it to dry:

From this picture, you can really see all of the bubbles/creases that formed from the paper being wet.  I'm really disappointed about this.  If you go back and look at the first picture, the paper looks great - I just need to protect it somehow.  SOO I'm thinking about using the first piece of paper I cut (that was a bit too small) on top of what I modge podged, then cover it with a piece of glass cut to fit the tray. 

We'll see.  As I just typed that, it sounded very ambitious with getting the glass and all.  Has anyone done this before? 

Wish I had thought about how wet the paper would get before I started.  Boo.  Here's how it looked when I finished:

The bubbles aren't as evident, but they will still bother me.  For now, though, I think it will have to work.  I'll keep you posted when I decide to finish this. 

{obsession} anthropologie

loving anthropologie (as always).  Since we don't have a store in south carolina, I really enjoyed being able to pop over there whenever while I was in alexandria.  Here are some of my favorite picks from their site now:

Happy Fourth of July!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Fourth with family and friends and food! :)

 

image via here.

winding down virginia

Well my time in Virginia is winding to a close.  I can’t believe it’s been a month already.  I just got here!  I know I have grown a lot, though, and I feel like my time away from Charleston has been refreshing.  Soon it is back to the grind of things and continuing to discern where God will lead my life!  It is bittersweet to be leaving here.  I’m leaving my dad, leaving my best friends, leaving the place I love – but at the same time I’m returning to wonderful friends and family at home too.   Annnd it will be good great to be sleeping in my own bed again.  I have really missed sleeping in a bed, since I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress while up here!   Anyhow, here are some photos taken while I’ve been up here.  I wish I had taken more.  I’m always bad about that.  Note to self:  get better at that.

 view from dad's apartment :)

 terry and steve's 25th anniversary party

dad and I at Eastern Market

 best friends in georgetown!

 new shoes for Lauren and I in georgetown

 de-lish pizza in georgetown

 on my way back from dc

alexandria

georgetown

 driving to dc one last time

lincoln circle at sunset

 Sorry if this was long!  I hope you all have  a wonderful Fourth of July!  I'll be back next week!

hot pink things

For some reason I am really loving the color hot pink right now.  I'm not sure if it is the summer weather or what, but I am really digging pink things!  I'm coveting these items, all in hot pink!!

1. Lilly clutch via here. 2.  Jil Sander flats via here. 3.  Lilly Bowen dress via here. 4.  Dress via here.

5.  Jonathan Adler throw via here. 6.  Live what you love via here. 7.  Moschino sandals via here.

8.  Kate Spade Idiom bangle via here.

What is your favorite color these days?