martha stewart spring ipad videos

Erin Jang is so talented! For her art director position at Martha Stewart Living she has been coming up with these short and crafty iPad videos that are very inspiring. Whether it's stop motion origami, disappearing chocolates, or swirly and colorful soap suds, it's neat to see a lighter side to Martha. And the music selection is pretty great too.

striped goodness

I haven't posted in a while - life has been busier than ever, workwise and preparing for the little one too. Also some family health emergencies came up as well, so my focus has been scattered.

In any case, I wanted to post all about stripes, since I've been pinning a lot of them on my Pinterest boards lately. Gotta love a great striped pattern. It's classic, fun, and dynamic! On a bag or on a shirt, it's the graphic nature of it that I like. Check 'em out.






sources: madewell, jack spade, target, old navy

loving me some mint!

I am on the lookout for mint these days, I just am loving the color, at this point it is definitely going into the nursery. Here are a few things that are full of minty goodness that I've been eyeing.

walk all over me + crisp white

We've been very busy spending the last 2 weeks getting our condo ready to list on the market and now it's up! I'm a bit sad, but also happy that we did it! To put some finishing touches on the house, I made some quick runs to Marshalls and TJ Maxx Home Goods for some accessories and other fun home decor items. I bought this cherry blossom coir doormat from Cost Plus World Market - even though I don't like coir! It sheds too easily. Does anyone have suggestions for cute alternatives? This one will do for now with it's cute simple blooms, but I am dreading the little pieces that are going to come off of it and litter my front porch!


And then I bought this adorable striped bath mat from Marshalls for $10 - with all the colors of our bathroom in it! Chocolate brown, seafoam green, bright white, and light turquoise with a pop of bright green. Super cute. I was on a mission for rugs, I think.

And to top it all off I bit the bullet and bought a great king sheet set for $30 in white -- which I was always hesitant to purchase for fear that it would get dirty, but they look crisp and clean. For the future, I will now always invest in some classic white sheets! I think my hesitancy stemmed from the advice my mother gave about not buying clothes, sheets or towels in white ...

We're waiting to see if anyone will bid on our place in this market, but I really do love our cozy home and will be sad to part with it. We'll see what happens!

cheery iphone wallpapers

Now first things first - I don't own an iPhone. But when I saw these awesome wallpapers on the photography blog From Me To You, I was immediately smitten. These small images don't do them justice at all. Photographer Jamie Beck captured the essence of New York Christmas in these poignant and striking photo vignettes. Check more of them out here, and download them (for free!) for your iPhone if you have one. I know I'd be rockin' these wallpapers for the entire month to keep the holiday cheer going.

friday photo: love on a string

photo by whisper graphics and purchase their apple green baker's twine here

in the woods

Fall is SO here! And I'm seriously feeling natural and beautiful woods and textures. Wood necklaces, leaves suspended in mid-air, cozy scarves, cable knit blankets, soft light, chilly nights. Here are a few lovely pieces that have been inspiring me, click on the photos for more info.


from ruche, dores, pioneer woman, and claire richardson

sweet drawn style

I love these terribly chic fashion illustrations by Miss Capricho. The simple drawings paired with the gorgeous watercolor patterns are inspiring and beautiful. Watercolor is one of my favorite mediums and these sketches make it so modern. Love!

If you subscribe to DailyCandy, you've probably seen Miss Capricho's work before.

inspired outfits

I don't generally think about fashion much, but I do enjoy and appreciate it. I think I would consider it more if I had more time - especially to go thrifting. Finding fun treasures and clothing you can re-purpose is so appealing. For fall clothing in general, I'm feeling ruffles, vests, graphic tees, blazers, striped cardis and Minnetonka trampers.

Here are a few fun outfits that I have been saving in my inspiration folder:

From The Sartorialist
Love the graphic tee, olive green leather jacket and boyfriend jeans! This girl looks effortless, and I love that.

From Weardrobe User Tania
The trampers are great mixed with a jean vest (80's!) and a folk-inspired floral dress. I like the color palette here.

From Weardrobe User Greta Eagan
The trench coat is classic fall, and I love the plaid shirt paired with a unexpected orange belt. The pop of color is great. I've always wanted a yellow belt, but orange? Great idea.

So everyone knows The Sartorialist's blog, but my sister introduced me to Weardrobe, and I love that it's like a whole bunch of fashion photo blogs for real people. You can click through and get tons of up to date fashion inspiration for the season. I don't shop much since I'm so busy, but I do like being inspired by different patterns and textures together. Especially when it's Chic for Cheap! I mean, fashion is art, and I like myself some art! Also check out my fashionista and all-around thrifty gal pal Davina's blog, Douceur Vivre. She's always throwing sweet outfits together on a whim and it's such fun.

g shower photos

Remember the invites I did earlier? The shower turned out beautifully and it was such a good time! The baby is coming any day now, so it's very exciting.

My friend Jasmin took some awesome photos to capture the day - it's wonderful to have someone taking photos when you aren't able to. She did a great job! The highlights of the party were the fun games we played and the sweet garland made of paper circles that were sewn together. And the oh-so-large balloons that are so popular now were perfect to fill our large wooded party area. Check out more photos here.

desktop wallpaper love: part deux

I'm using my own photo for my desktop wallpaper again, based on a few shots I took but didn't use for our collaborative photoblog assignment. I'm really enjoying it, especially with the lovely fabric background. So here it is, just click to see it a little bit larger.

The fabric is a hand screen printed remnant from Ink & Spindle, a studio in Melbourne, Australia. The lovely Lara Cameron who designed it gave it to me while we were visiting the studio back in March because I wanted to know if there was any more of this print. I love that it's so free form and simple. Just so sweet, really. Seeing their work space and meeting the designers/screen printers in person was a real treat as well, I love seeing the process. And they were so friendly too, which sometimes you don't find with other artists.

Melbourne was a great city and one of my favorite stops on our trip. I enjoyed the Royal Botanic Gardens, the craft and art scene, and the Queen Victoria Market. Here are a few photos from our trip there:

I miss it! Hope to go again!

bike love by urban outfitters

In the last few years, it seems like everything old is new again -- fashion trends are coming back around (leggings, harem pants?!), crafts are returning to the old techniques (letterpress, screen printing by hand!) and old pastimes are being revisited. Urban Outfitters is jumping back in time by bringing a new spin to a favorite pastime, biking! They are partnering with Republic Bike to customize and build bikes. The colors are brilliant and the combinations are modern and vintage all at the same time. You pick the colors of the handlebars, seat, wheels, rims, chain, and frame - and you can make it look just like you want it for $399.


I have such fond memories of biking through my neighborhood with the wind blowing and my heart racing. We always had hand-me-downs but they were wonderful. So two years ago, I bought my first new bike. A pearl white Raleigh. Fun fun fun. Go check these fun bikes out in their gallery.

bunting

I am loving fabric bunting for parties and decor - you can find some really cute ones on Etsy. But I just saw this over on Greenlaundry and it was too cute for words. And if I was really being punny, I'd just come out and say it - it's baby bunting! Melly cut out these tiny little bunting flags. Super sweet and a cute addition to your desk or hung over the bed like she did.

photos via greenlaundry

graphic grow poster

The clean lines and sweet color palette get this poster's message across. I really like that it's a tree, but not obviously so. And who doesn't need the reminder that we all need to grow a little? Only $14.95 for a 18 x 24 poster here.

from right brain terrain

friday photo: stephanie williams

I love the light and silhouette shapes in this photo by Stephanie Williams. (the flouncy dress!) Check out her blog, great photography with a vintage feel. This most recent post is my favorite so far. Love it! Happy Friday!

photo by stephanie williams

in a jam

Ever since the strawberry post I've been craving homemade jam and have been perusing the web for homemade recipes. And then I came across a new blog via Style Me Pretty called Sunday Suppers, which features great recipes and food styling and there it was. This post had me drooling over buttermilk biscuits. But the thing about the biscuits that really had me going was the super simple recipe for the accompanying jam butters. Just mix jam and good quality butter and voila! You've got yourself a sweet breakfast. Pictured here are strawberry, apricot, and blueberry butters. Such beautiful summer colors. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

And almost as if they were reading my bloggy mind, they also posted a menu with zabaglione and strawberries.

image via sunday suppers

naturally occurring awesomeness

Sometimes it just astounds me when I see patterns and intricacies in nature that seem absolutely impossible to dream up. It makes me very certain that there is a God out there, and he's crafted us so carefully and wonderfully ... with finely drawn lines and beautifully chosen colors. I came across these shells that are sold at this online shop (it has an ironic name, however), and they were just so indicative of the creativity of our Creator! Brilliant!

And wouldn't these photos make great prints? I'd love to hang them in our bathroom.

all images via evolution store

wonder boards: inspiring interiors

I've wanted to redo our master bedroom for a while, but since we aren't sure how long we'll be staying in our place I've decided to wait. Until then, here are a few ideas floating around in my head for the color palette and look of our room.

I've been collecting these photos for a while because I'm really drawn to the gray, caramel, and cream colors. The overall lightness of these rooms is so soothing. And that's definitely something I'd like to have for our room in the future. Currently our bedroom has a dark navy accent wall, which is great for sleeping, but doesn't make me want to relax there. We also have a black bed frame with a chocolate brown pleather headboard, which adds to the dark mood. Hope I'll get to do this makeover project soon and get my chillaxin' on!