richmond

Some of the more quiet details from our trip to Richmond this past weekend.

friday already?

I guess everyone counts down to the weekend, so Friday is usually a welcome sight but I am starting to feel the summer slipping away. For a few weeks I get to lose track of the days, hours even, submerse myself in projects that I can put my heart into, and enjoy so many lovely moments without feeling guilty about everything I am not getting done. And even though it is a few weeks away I can feel that looming work date creeping up. It is time to start thinking about curriculum and syllabi once again and I am just not ready. Not yet. I need more late dinners on the deck under twinkling lights, more midday coffee dates, and more afternoons spent swimming in the Durham rock quarry like we did this week.
Summer, please stick around a while longer.

weekend and babies

This past weekend started early on Friday afternoon and included impromptu pool parties with champagne and sushi, pizza at the best local spot, record release shows for a friend, bonfires and housewarmings, and another trip down the river. Oh and no photos, not a single one, sorry. I guess I got carried away with all of the activity and I think that is exactly how summer should be.

Yesterday I took a mini road trip to visit a dearly missed friend and meet her little man, Ollie. He was just as sweet, playful, and cuddly as I had imagined-but he would have to be with the two amazing people who are his parents- and you guys, he is a little mozart!
Moving a little slower today, adding some new work to the shop (yay!), sipping pink lemonade, and soaking in every page of this. I think it is the best way to beat the heat around here. Hope your summer week is lovely!

tomato tales

Two years ago our garden did great- mostly due to the fact that my sister created the entire thing for us as we were moving in. Last year was not so great, possibly because of the lack of rain, early heat, and my short attention span for weeding. Either way, it was discouraging and I was determined to do better this year. We tilled the soil, reorganized our planting strategy, and got the sprinkler just in the right spot. And things have been betterish. I still have an extremely bad habit of not weeding or deadheading regularly and lately it has been hot- just like the rest of the country. We have harvested peppers, squash, and cucumbers already but the real joy comes with the first tomatoes. I adore tomatoes, all sizes colors and shapes, so this year we planted five different varieties (I can remember black cherry, juliette, and purple cherokee). So this week when we got back from the beach and saw all of these little beauties ready to be picked my heart was happy. I have been picking them a day or two early and letting them sun on our window sill in order to save them from pesky (yet adorable) wild rabbits. I never got around to putting up a fence around the garden this year (another example of my gardening downfalls) so as soon as the tomatoes get a bit of color the rabbits start to feast. BUT- I kind of don't mind sharing with bunnies. I'm just happy the tomatoes are here.

summer's colors

This summer has seemed to finally lift from my wardrobe the heavy darks and empty neutrals that have been so prevalent since some time last fall. This summer I want color. On my clothes, in my hair, on my nails, and even in my food and drink. The local thrift store is always an easy place to find colorful pieces, like this silk patterned skirt. And paired with my ban.do mini sequin heart, some teal nails, and a delicious cucumber, basil, and gin cocktail- I feel like I can't go wrong with all that this colorful summer has to offer.

Cucumber-basil-gin cooler
from the mister

Muddle 3 cucumber slices and several basil leaves with 1 oz simple syrup
Shake with 2 oz gin and fresh lime juice
Strain over ice
Garnish with cucumber slices, basil leaves, and fresh lime

enjoy!

beach bums

Still enjoying our time here on the coast, so much so that I have posted some of my favorite beach-inspired etsy finds over on PrettySouthern. Check it out and get your beach on!

beach umbrella photo by Alice B. Gardens

neutral rainbows

Having a great time at the beach, still sinking in to the relaxed lifestyle that is inevitable here. It takes a few days to unwind and really appreciate the beauty, stillness, and simplicity of the coast but once you get there, it is much harder to go back to real life.Just a brief post as I don't want to disturb my unwinding process but had to share an experiment gone right. Yesterday as we were doing samples of each of our neutral nail polishes, trying to pick the perfect beachy hue, we realized that the combination of all of the neutrals might be more special than picking just one of them. Probably not a good real life manicure, but here on the coast it seems to just work.

PS promise I will start using real photos soon, not just my phone uploads, though I am loving them...

signing off

Happy Friday everyone! I am getting off here in order to wrap up my laundry and packing and get into complete vacation mode. I need to let my head be clear and my hands be free of work for a few days before I get back on. I will undoubtedly continue posting next week as inspiration strikes or we work on some fun projects- but this weekend I am shutting off. Have a super summery weekend!

jena ardell via color collective.

summer essentials

You know, the simple things like fresh garden flowers and water with lemon slices.

sand and surf

A quick, one-night girls getaway was a much welcomed event in this quickly fleeting summer. Hours on the beach followed by some time out at our favorite downtown spots was exactly what we needed. Needless to say there were tons of laughs, a few falls, and some very sleepy girls on the ride home. It is so nice to live in a state where the beach and mountains are all in a few hours reach.
Next week the mister and I will be spending the entire week on the coast with my family and I absolutely cannot wait. My sisters, mom, and I have some big crafting plans- along with the hours of relaxing, sunning, swimming, wine pouring, and beach walking that are already on the agenda. Oh summer, I forgot just how lovely you are!>>photos from my iphone<<

the beauty dept.

I have to admit that I was skeptical to visit Lauren Conrad's new beauty blog, The Beauty Dept. I was unsure if the MTV pretty girl (and friends) could pull off real style and writing, but guys, I was impressed! Style by the super talented Bri of DesignLoveFest (one of my favorite daily reads) this site is lovely to look at and does have some really fun styling and beauty tips. And that awesome hair? Well that is LC herself- you have come a long way from Laguna Beach, girl.

Happy 4th of July Weekend to all my US friends and readers, hopefully I'll back on Monday with some fun sparkler pics!

original photo.

what it's all about

One more photo from our lake house adventures last weekend. I think this pretty much sums up what summer is all about. (Not drinks- but beautiful scenery, good friends, and plenty of time to create memories.)

Also today, check out my interview with local artist and awesome lady, Kat Lamp, over on prettysouthern!!

lakes and picnics

We had a great time at the lake house with friends this weekend. Swimming, napping, playing, and enjoying plenty of summertime cocktails. We came back feeling refreshed, if not a little over-indulgent. I loved taking some photos with my Fuji Instax and I'm surprised how well they scan. Hope you are having some relaxing summertime adventures!
Also jump on over to PrettySouthern.com today to see my picks for a Pretty Summer Pastel Picnic.

summer fun, summer nails

After seeing so many great nail polish colors and blogger manicures this spring/summer, I thought it was time to have some fun with my own. I am in love with anything coral or peach right now so it was a no brainer to pick up this Sally Hansen, Coral Fever. Not normally my favorite brand but this shade from their summer line was too perfect to pass up and the price point is a few dollars less than Essie or OPI.I have been wearing a coat of this shade for a few days and I am a pretty lazy nail painter so I usually just go over the old layers as they begin to chip. This polish actually covers pretty well and looks fresh after a touch up.
I found a cute mint color today at the store and had to try that out on my pinky so I ended up with a multicolored hand. Then I wanted to switch things up a bit I went back to a trick I used back in the winter when I wanted a more festive look for holiday parties and what not. So I added a layer of gold glitter polish over the coral, keeping it more saturated towards the end. I like this look but it did not come out as well as I had remembered in the winter, maybe my cheap gold polish has just gotten old.On the other hand I didn't want to do full glitter so I decided to highlight just my ring finger with a little extra bling.

I have to be honest, it was fun to play around but I wasn't thrilled with the results and it didn't exactly seem practical for the rest of my afternoon of crafting and cooking and not attending any festive parties, so I ended up taking off the green and glitter and going back to all coral. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

first day of summer!

The summer season has officially started and as the first day drifts towards dusk I thought it was a good time to share some of my summer plans with you. I am off of teaching for two months in the summer, you see, and this is when the "real" work begins for me. I choose not to take on another job during the summer, even though money can get tight as we are living off of savings for two months, because I really want to devote myself to my shop, blog, and other projects that bring me so much joy.

*studio time accompanied by raspberry lemonade with fresh herbs

It can be hard to balance my time when things like sporadic pool or beach trips pop up or crappy reality tv somehow finds itself playing in my living room (though I swear I would never turn on Bravo while trying to work....) In addition to adding new items to my shop, blogging, and finishing some around the house projects I do want to make sure that I find some time for all of that fun stuff too. And that is when the battle begins, I can literally guilt myself into doing nothing but work (which I of course enjoy) and doing nothing else all day. It is just that I so badly want make some changes in my life that mostly consist of working for myself and sharing the things I love with the rest of the creative world. So I take these months in the summer to dive into that and immerse myself into as many projects as possible. Luckily I have a creative husband, a supportive sister, and a bunch of artistic friends that are happy doing these same sorts of things- with some pool parties and cookouts thrown in for good measure.

custom projects for special orders

With that long-winded explanation, here are some of my plans/goals/routines for this summer:

• Blogging- on here and also now happily sharing some of my thoughts and ideas over on prettysouthern.com
• Creating- some projects for the site, lots of work for my shop, and some other personal fun projects as well
• Collaborating- with the mister on some fun design projects, with my sister during our "studio time" several times a week (quickly becoming my favorite activity), and with some dear friends on things like entertaining, hosting dinner parties, and creating a NC craft cohort
  
• Gardening- ok this is only with the help of my sister since I have come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no real talent here (remember the failed seed attempts from last year?)
• Vacationing- with the fam at the beach, tubing down the river, lakehouse trips, and maybe a big city adventure to NYC to visit some people who are truly missed
• Planning- putting some plans in place so that this "work" I love doing so much can hopefully become a more permanent part of my life
• Relaxing and having some good fun here in Greensboro- this is the one I will really have to work on- remembering how much good stuff goes on right here at home

new work up in the shop

I will most certainly be sharing all of these adventures with you here on the blog as the summer flies by, but right now I would love to know-- what are your big summer plans?

indian summer

This summer has been long and harsh. We are still in the midst of 90-degree days but in my head it is cool fall nights already. The garden didn't stand a chance in the heat and I may not have gotten all of the projects crossed off of my to-do list, but many lovely memories were made over the past few months. I spent some time this afternoon looking through some of our photos and remembering those moments. Some of my favorites come right off of my phone...
Coney Island, NY
Picnics in the woods
Anniversary Beach trip (afternoon before the proposal!)
Bike rides and dog walks
Family Beach Trip

As summer comes to an end and real life (and work) starts back, I am excited for a change of weather, a change of pace, and a change in names.

a teeny beach update

Besides feasting like royalty, having guitar and banjo-driven sing-alongs and enjoying lazy mornings in the breeze- we have managed to fit in a little physical activity in here at the beach. Yesterday the mr, my brother, his girlfriend, and I drove up the island to the Currituck Lighthouse. We climbed it's 162 stairs to take in the view of the Outer Banks from the top. With shaky legs we stood in the fresh air and cool breeze and looked down the island nestled between the ocean and the sound.
Other than that there have been long hours of reading on the beach, many a bottle of wine, and some good laughs and thoughtful moments. I don't think I will ever be ready to leave.

lazy days

Summers off are nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't do too well with too much down time. If I don't completely over schedule myself with work activities and allow just about no down time, then I get a little crazy. Today I have spent about 3 hours on the couch, 1 in a coffee shop and two muffins and 5 cups of coffee later, I don't have much to show for it.

I have a summer to-do list a mile long but some days just don't start off quite right and the momentum goes down the drain. Instead I have spent the afternoon dreaming of being on the beach with one of these gorgeous Steven Alan blankets. Only problem is- everyone else is working during the summer...

picnic perfection

Besides the thousand degree weather we're having, it seems like the perfect time of year for a picnic. I have been scouring etsy to find the best supplies to bring along and here is what I've found so far. The color scheme would be perfect for a fourth of July celebration as well!

red tin vintage picnic basket

indigo denim gingham picnic blanket
urban picnic roll-up
organic linen canvas tote bag
leaf specimen cloth napkins
little red bud plates