must have!

This necklace by Scout Holiday
paired with one of these cake buntings found over at design sponge, made by dawn of kiki la rue. Seriously, that cake bunting may make an appearance at my wedding, engagement party, or shower!

Q&A

There is a nice little interview with me featured today over on Things We Make. Ch-check it out!

marimekko

We all know how lovely the Marimekko textiles are. Well this morning I stumbled across these free Marimekko wallpapers. I am currently rocking the on above my screen- but thinking I am liking those sweet treasure filled jars as well.

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.

beach house decor

While browsing over here, I was directed over to here, where I found these hand painted oars by leanne culy that come from here. So sweet- makes me excited for the beach house at the outer banks I am heading to tomorrow! If I owned a beach house that last oar would be decoration inspiration.

We will be at the beach with my family for one week of relaxing, drinking, swimming, and eating. I will try to get some photos while there- but posts may be few and far between around here next week.

tie dye

Still on my wanting tie-dye kick, just haven't found the time yet, but these two pieces perfectly fit the bill. Love the fit of that blouse and it looks like a pretty simple pattern. Hmmm.... maybe tie dye would be a fun activity for our beach trip.
On other notes, the mister and I were just talking about creating some sort of wood wall installation for behind our couch and then I saw this tutorial on etsy this morning! It is not exactly like what we were thinking- but what inspiration! I also found an awesome faux bois wood grain rug at target yesterday- we need to replace ours- but am I going overboard here?

we are so good together

I would love to have this hanging in our bedroom. I have loved it ever since I saw it in an article in Dwell about LA-based shop Reform School. Unfortunately it sold out...mmm....about two years ago. And is not being reprinted. What?? I need it! Maybe I will look on ebay.
In the meantime- I did find it being sold (only the largest version) on the great art site 20x200's site...but in pink. Could I hang a pink print in our room? Would he die? Would he love it as much as I do?? Help!

favorites

Total blog-failure this week. Got caught up in the excitement of the engagement and summer and have not been lounging around the internet to much- which is a good thing! But I miss this little haven and wanted to get back- so here are some of my recent favorite shop finds on etsy. Soon all the searching will turn into inspiration for wedding crafts- so I need to share these while I can!


Ruby's Lounge. These resin deer heads are amazing! I have a feeling that the photos don't really do them their full justice. They just look incredible and I would put one up in my house in an instant!

The artwork of theblackapple shop. Love, love, love these prints! I am drawn to the animals and creatures but their are also some great side-show themed ones that are great and will definitely be making their way here in the form of Christmas gifts for friends.


And finally, the great pie-chart inspired jewelry of StudioFludd. As an artist, I am almost embarrassed to say I was always pretty good at math and these necklace could really bring out the geometry geek in me!

That's all for now, I am still on a strict shopping diet so no etsy purchases for me right now but these will definitely stay on my wishlist.

rings and things.

Five years to the day- he asked, I said yes, of course.

Details to come.

knee deep

It has been a busy week. One with lots of messes, very little cleaning, swimming pools, friends, and a few good meals thrown in there. We are knee-deep in the bathroom redecoration and I can't wait for the artwork to arrive! We are also leaving tomorrow to celebrate our 5th anniversary! I am excited to spend a day on the beach and a nice night out with my favorite person in the world.

It will be a short trip as we need to get back to finish the bathroom and move on to bigger, scarier kitchen renovations. We finally went down to Ikea and made final decisions on sinks, counter tops, and accessories. Now we just need a big ole' SUV and a contractor to finish the job. I also have some exciting custom orders to work on when we get home and I am anxious and ready to get back in the studio and get some work made, it feels like it has been a long couple of unproductive weeks in that department.
Above: shower-curtain custom stenciling in progress. Finished bathroom pictures to come!

summer dinner

One of my favorite parts about being off in the summer is being able to cook and then enjoy our meals outside. This summer has been so busy so far that I have not done much in the way of cooking and decided to remedy that yesterday by making a massive grocery store run. Besides what has been coming out of our garden we have had pretty much no food around here for two weeks- hence the lack of gourmet meals. But my craving for avocado and tomato sandwiches got to me yesterday and I had to drop some cash and refill our cupboards.

Last night we made two pizzas, using store bought crust, homemade sauce and tomatoes and herbs from our gardens. I know the store bought crusts are a cheat but I am just not really into baking in the summer, it feels like more of a cozy winter activity to me, plus I honestly have not mastered the pizza crust and store bought ones just taste a little better still...
The first of the two pies was a caesar salad pizza, I know it sounds gross but we get it at Mellow Mushroom and it is delicious! I just baked the crust with a little bit of olive oil and garlic, while toasting the croutons, and made the salad and set to the side to marinate. After the crust had cooled for a few minutes I topped it with the salad and croutons.
The second was an easy old margherita pizza with sauce I made from crushed tomatoes, garlic, and oregano- and then topped that with chunks of mozzarella and large tomatoes from the garden and basil once it came out of the oven. Both were easy and scrumptious and made even better with a glass of white wine.

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!

designed: bathroom

Ever since we bought the house over a year ago, I have put off doing anything in the bathroom because I was waiting until we could do everything. Everything would include new shower, new tile, new floors, new vanity, lighting and sinks. A year later I have finally realized those plans are nowhere in our new future for time, budget, and man power reasons, so I have decided it is finally time to do some decorating. I am tired of the all-white bathroom with outdated fixtures and a shower curtain I have had since college. Here is what I have come up with for inspiration and where it all came from:
I began my inspiration board with two prints that I am ordering from artist Leah Duncan's etsy shop, which I posted about here. They are Hills and Darling, I'm Leaving, and I think they are going to fit our little house perfectly. We already knew we wanted gray walls and picked up a gallon of extra Valspar Nimbus Cloud that my sister had left over from her recent house buy. From there I pulled the honey and aqua accent colors from the prints they will be used in small accents around the room. After searching through curtains, fabric, and even tablecloths; I think I have decided to go with a white shower curtain that I will add some of my own illustrated prints to. This way I can add some color and design without it being overwhelming. We'll finish with gray towels and a rug and possibly some new jars or accessories like the ones pictured above from Ikea. Seems easy enough, right? Ok, we'll see and I will let you know how it turns out.