beach scenes

Beach week is my favorite week of the entire year- if you hadn't caught on to that yet. It is a week of family and friends who are like family, incredible food, beautiful views and if we're lucky equally as beautiful weather. It is a week of pretty much no responsibilities, no alarm clock, no house to clean and no pressing tasks except to enjoy yourself. And my family is good at that. We barely leave the beach the whole week, we don't go out to cheesy seafood restaurants or tacky beach stores, we spend 6+ hours on the beach each day, cook and eat all of our meals at home, and we couldn't be happier. So with that, here are some of my favorite beach moments from this year. I don't think they require much explanation.
blue sky over our favorite coffee drinking spot
perfect beach symmetry, salty hair, and seashellskite-flying & perfectly worn in cut offs that are the base of every beach outfit and provide the perfect anchor for throw-back crafting
and sunset over the sound.

Thanks for letting me share- I hope you're summer is absolutely stunning!

happy friday and going home

Today is our last day at the beach, probably the saddest Friday of the year as we head back home tomorrow. But I am excited about the work, projects, dinner parties, and crafts I have planned to work on next week. It is good to be busy to recover from the depression of leaving the beach. I also have lots of photos from our time here to share with you. Hope you all have a great weekend!Photos from my iphone, of course, and my lovely sister is in the first.

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.

honeymooning

I didn't share much about our honeymoon back in April but today I am sharing my top 6 tips to getting the most out of Charelston, SC over on PrettySouthern. I also got to scan and share some of our photos from the trip- so fun!favorite coffee shop, Hope+Unionabandoned bars off dirt roads

giveaways and getaways

Remember this little guy that I ordered? (Starting my summer online shopping spree which is still going strong.) Well he arrived late last week, found a happy home with us and was even a great model in my latest shop photo shoot. I think he did a great job.

This weekend we are going to enjoy a little time away with some friends at a lakehouse. We will celebrate birthdays, swim, rest, eat, and hopefully my hard-working husband will come back rejuvenated! I can't wait! I am going to take my last roll of instamax film and hopefully get some fun shots.

Oh and remember this giveaway I was doing over on Southern As Biscuits? Well tomorrow is the last day for you to enter to win one free item from my etsy shop! What are you waiting for? get over there and comment!

saturday thoughts

Just a couple of things I have been thinking about rather than being productive today::

1. How I cannot wait to be at the beach. I don't know if I will even make it to the end of the month for our family trip, may have to escape to the shore for a day before that. photo by Margaret Durow.
2. Inspired by this girl, I want to do some tie dye. I am thinking of organizing a little tie dye party for me and my girlfriends but I don't want to end up with some hippie bright apparel, so I may need to do a little research first. I want some nice soft colors and swirlie texture, any tips?
3. I can't wait to see this movie.
That's all, happy holiday weekend!

the getaway

Finally have some pictures edited and ready to show from my week in the mountains. This was not a vacation so I didn't get to do a lot of wandering around in the woods and taking photos. But I did get to spend some time outdoors, hang out down by a river, and take in some great scenery.
river views
rock designsand cows in the shade.

back to reality

Well I am back from a week of relaxation, professional development, long walks, and lot's of food. It was a much needed break and I feel really rejuvenated, even going back to work! The shop is doing well, I need to get back into the studio and get some items made, and the weather here is incredible right now. Flowers, herbs, and veggies are all peeking their little heads out and soon we will be eating out of our backyard! I have not yet edited photos from my trip so until I do, here is some textile jewelry I have had my eye on lately, from the etsy shop kjoo. I am already thinking about how I can fashion up something like this of my own this weekend. I'll keep you updated.

taking off

I am on a week-long hiatus from life. Ok just from work while I am up in the mountains on a professional retreat. Sounds weird, but I am enjoying the slower pace up here and am not worrying about what is going on in my classroom! I may be a bit sporadic on here this week as the internet is iffy here and I dont really have a set schedule for myself. I will be trying to do a lot of yoga, relaxing, eating great food, crafting and maybe picture taking. We'll see, either way, hope your week is as lovely as those desserts up there!

Been totally slacking on here this week and I am sorry. I am trying to get through this week so we can go on our weekend vacation!!! And to make the vacation even better, I get to come home from it to a week off of work. I am so excited as it has seriously been four years since we have gone on a vacation by ourselves. I look forward to exploring an unfamiliar (yet somewhat close by) city for a few days.

So how did I do on the weekend goals?
Gardened and grilled. Did not do much crafting or photography unfortunately. I'd say that is ok since we also did a lot more stuff. I am still trying to get the perfect shot of Eva before she is debuted on here, so hopefully this weekend will yield some better results.

Next week's (spring break) goals:

• sketching
• printing some cards
• listing some ceramics on etsy
• cooking and lots of eating
• being creative since I haven't remembered how to do that in some time

I don't know that putting goals on here will make me any more accountable- as I can be incredibly lazy when given a good amount of down time- but I am hoping it will. Here's to productivity!

weekend

It was a busy and productive weekend- the good kind of busy. We got a new pup dog named Eva, celebrated two years of great health for my dad, grilled out with some good friends, and booked our cabin for the upcoming trip. Lots of dog baths, long walks, extra vacuuming and very little school work later, I am pooped. Now I just have to make it through two more weeks of work before spring break and our little trip to the mountains. This is the cabin we are staying in and hopefully there will not by ANY snow when we get there. Otherwise how will I romp through the woods in my romper??

Pictures of Eva coming soon! She is a rescue and in need of some good TLC but she is a sweeeeeet, pretty girl!

Mint Mojito

Vacation! Leaving for the beach for a week in the morning. Time to relax, sip cool drinks, and soak up the sun. Have a lovely weekend!
PS above is an image from my recent NYC trip. Wonder Wheel at Coney Island.

summer so far

some things i have been enjoying lately::

veggies from our garden

the nest in our fern

a new exhibit at the moma

an outdoor restaurant in nyc

lanterns and sun in the trees

happy 4th

hope it's looooovely.

image via v.

wish i was here instead

so wishing i was on the beach right now. I have yet to take a summer vacation, minus one day trip to the mountains, and I am just counting down the seconds till I can have my toes in the sand! have a beautiful weekend!

photo by bueller designs, etsy shop here