A Day in the Life

There's a lot going on, lots of tough stuff, lots of prayers going up. On days like this I'm lucky to have a perpetual hugger at my side, reminding me of all the best things in life.

And it really doesn't hurt to add a little pink in the mix when you're in need of a pick me up.

 Strawberry banana smoothies ...

sprinkled donuts and heart shaped cookies

Soon after we headed off to run a few errands and stopped by the thrift store. This is what we found. 

I've been looking for a bigger casserole dish and this one was even better cause it came with a perfectly sweet little holder. 

Also found this necklace 

 And then we snuggled up for a voovie. 

 And finally, we were off to bed for a nice, long nap. 

 And I had a chance to organize a few goodies for some upcoming projects. 

Sunday Best {only not}

Happy Monday friends! It was a long, not too fun weekend in this neck of the woods due to a mad case of the upchucks (yes, I probably should've picked a nicer word, sorry). So we spent a lot of time hanging around the house trying to feel better and not spread any germs to the masses. It was little E who felt yucky, poor thing, and it's infinitely trickier to protect your carpets and couches when you have a 2 year old doing the throwing up. You become a human shield. 

So we didn't get to go to church on Sunday, a sad, sad thing. We really do love going and Sundays feel strange without it. But we did do a bit of painting that morning and Monty helped me get started on this bouquet of flowers that I picked up for a dollar, the perfect first attempt at a DIY paint by numbers piece. I saw the idea here at Pinterest originally and thought it was brilliant. An easy peasy way to create a quick work of art for your ever changing walls and really fun for the kids to help with too! 

Before ...

After ...

So my Sunday best was, in fact, casual but I did manage to accessorize with a fancy and delicious drink. :)

 How I love thee, let me count the ways ...

 Love this sexy grandpa cardi with it's studdly detailing. A cute way to "toughen" up a sweet look and, of course, what could be sweeter than heidi braids?

{shirt - J. Crew, cardi - Hey Daisy! (GB), pants - T J Maxx, socks - Express, boots - resale from Plato's Closet (GB)}

Pretty Picks {bohemian rhapsody}

The prettiest of picks for you today, on this happiest of Fridays. I'm feeling my heart strings tugging for spring though I'm keeping sweaters on hand for at least 6 more weeks (sad face).

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A sweet drawing 

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These rings are so stunning

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Rainy day project

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leather clad

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photos, flowers and floors - oh my!

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A girl can dream ...

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... with that white summer dress

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rich textiles

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perfect bangs

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flowers in her hair

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in love with this

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 A sweet look with cute ideas for continuing to layer favorites through a very chilly February (funky bookworm specs included).

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 Closet organization. I had a reader question about this topic and this picture is similar to what I do, minus the stunning collection of dresses and heels. I use these velvet skinny hangers which do wonders. And I coordinate by color - dresses and skirts first, pants second, blouses and sweaters third (sweaters hang well on these hangers and you can find them at Target, though they're a little pricey). I find that color coordinating works best for me when I'm looking for something to wear as it helps me feel more inspired when I see things hung in a color happy way. And I tend to rotate items monthly, giving those that are folded on the shelf above a little hang time too and eventual wear time. I have a small closet, so not everything can be hung. Switching a few pieces each month keep my outfits "fresh", if you will. I keep my shoes on floor racks under the hangers and once again, rotate them, but with the seasons instead. I know you'd think I have endless amounts of clothing to store but it's not true. Its just that I actually wear all of my clothes, where I think many women wear only a small percentage of the clothing from their wardrobes. So I'd suggest that you move your go-to pieces to the back and put some old favorites to the front. Don't get stuck in a rut!

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New craft on the horizon for a romantic Valentine's table!

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And this brings me to question #2, in regards to smelly, musty vintage finds. I love vintage sheets, afghans and quilts and yes, they are often smelly. But I'm lucky enough to have an awesome GE steam cleaning washer and I use the high efficiency Tide cleaner with this machine. I used to use free and clear cleaners because of my son's sensitive skin but it made no difference in the end. So with the new washer/dryer and the need for HE detergent I was thrilled to find that the Tide brand left such a wonderful clean fresh scent after laundering, and even with the vintage textiles and bedding. No more smells! I do wash on the delicate cycle (twice if necessary) and I hang dry. In regards to clothing, the same applies and if dry cleaning is necessary then so be it. But that hardly ever seems to happen. Hope that helps!

Have a fantastic weekend friends!

Feathers Falling

A relaxed and comfortable look for day though chic enough to wear at night when you're entertaining a few guests. 

I love the feathered phenomenon, despite the fact that it's a little overdone now. I think it's just so pretty when it's done right and this chiffon-y blouse felt like one of those "right" pieces. I've managed it over a sweater already and in the spring I'll try it over a denim dress perhaps. 

 {necklace & jacket - Forever 21, tank - Aerie, bracelets - heirloom, jeans - Current/Elliot from Azure (GB), boots - Steve Madden from DSW}

A Look at Home

A close up look at bits and pieces of home. Vignettes, if you will. 

1. My bathroom wall prettied with Goodwill finds (oh, how I love touches of turquoise) and a J. Crew belt back out for spring (yes, I'm dreaming).

2. Alice keeping company with dinosaurs and ballerinas (latter was a gift from my grand-dad ... sweetest man you'll ever meet)

3. A happy yellow elephant (Goodwill) holding our pencils over a hand embroidered gift from my mother-in-law's collectables. Sitting under the palette of paints used for my first oil painting. 

4. A plate wall - from Anthropologie, Goodwill and an afternoon in Cape Town - with brass spoons from my mom (early 1900's). 

1. Gorgeous thrifted quilts from Manna for Life (shhh, let's keep that location our little secret).

2. A corner where pillows congregate for tea and gossip (thrifted chairs).

3. A recent find, this little turtle footstool ($2). 

4. Tiny reindeer (Somewhere in Time Antiques) still recuperating from Christmas, not too eager to leave their peacock-y shelf. 

1. My mass of boys sharing a couch (not thrifted but ... home made. Haha!).
2. The coat hat rack and the huz caught playing Kinect sports.

Neutrals and Sun

 Well, it worked! I went outside for pictures today and the smile came back. Thanks for all the helpful advice friends. What would I do without you? Ha ha!

You'll think I'm nuts when I say this but we are, in fact, having glorious weather at the moment. Sure, every once in a while your car slips slowly into a ditch and the wind freezes your lashes into clumps but it's not all that bad. Most importantly, I'm sweating all the time now because the temperature is in the high 20's today and my body is trying to keep up (as is my wardrobe. Sweaters under winter coats in 20 degree weather is apparently too much warmth for me). And high 30's for the rest of the week ... practically spring time!

{blouse - H&M, sweater - Target, pants - Gap, knee socks (scrunched a la leg warmers) - Free People, boots - Michael Kors from T J Maxx} 

Sunday Best {remixed}

Seems that this sea foam green blouse has proved quite versatile, and who woulda thought really? (also wore it  here and here). This time I layered it under a dress (borrowed from my sister) and added a pretty collar. The whole outfit had a sort of retro feel about it. 

{blouse - J Crew, collar - vintage, dress - Forever 21, dotty tights - Gap, shoes - so old I can't remember}

I'm suddenly unable to make eye contact with the camera. Not sure what's really going on here but I am most certainly taking baby steps backwards in the road-to-being-comfortable-in-front-of-the-camera department. What's going on? And weirdly, smiling is impossible! I find that (1) I feel like a complete idiot and (2) I look like a complete idiot. Perhaps it's the fact that I'm now doomed to photograph indoors and its made me lose my mojo. Apparently... 

So till I get it back, you'll see plenty of photos of me avoiding making eyes with the camera, or the husband behind it. (Is it just me, or is he starting to smirk when he takes my pictures? I repeat, WHAT"S GOING ON HERE?). 

I think I need a little air.