Happy (Memorial Day) Weekend.

Happy weekend lovebugs! 

Tis' Memorial Day on Monday so we will be spending 

the long weekend relaxing, organizing our place a bit more

 & tracking down an American flag & flag pole to hang off our front porch.

Oh & I almost forgot, we are having a mini BBQ with some good friends too!

{ Can't remember where this is from... If you know please, do tell! } 

How bout' you? What fabulous things do you have planned for the weekend?

Whatever they may be I hope you have fun & get some time to relax too!

xoxo

Grace Kelly.

Just spotted these amazing vintage photographs of Grace Kelly...

{ Via }

Was she gorgeous or what?! 

I love the feel of the photographs.

So laid back, relaxed & just plain beautiful.

xoxo

Nan Lawson.

I love me some Nan Lawson illustrations. 

Especially the custom portraits she creates like these...

I am so super excited that our custom portrait complete

 with Piper Dog & Sophie Cat will be arriving shortly!

I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that Nan also creates other illustrations as well.

For example I'm personally smitten with her Row Houses Pen & Ink piece.

Head on over to Nan's shop to check out the rest of her stuff

 & if you are in the mood for even more of her talent 

check out her photography print shop as well!

xoxo

Can I have S'more Please?

I kinda have a lil' bit of a ridiculous love for S'mores. 

Sometimes I make them in the microwave or over a stove burner 

in the winter if I can't get outside to make one over a camp fire. 

So when I spotted these perfect, fancy, mini S'mores over on 

Oh Joy Eats, I instantly began craving them...

I don't know about you but these are officially added to my summer "To Eat" list. 

Nom. Nom. Nom.

xoxo

IKEA.

I've had plenty of people make fun of us for our love of IKEA.

Which kinda makes me laugh...

 Why would we want to spend thousands on furniture when we move a lot? (Thank you, Army) 

Why would we do that when we know that we want to have kiddos who will more than 

likely bang up our furniture? (& lets be honest, we bang up our furniture a lot too!)

So people can laugh all they want but I think we are smart.

 The fact of the matter is IKEA offers super functional pieces at super affordable prices.

Plus in my opinion, the majority of their pieces offer up a really great, modern contemporary base 

for the rest of our vintage, handmade & non-IKEA decor to really stand out.

When you combine what we had before we moved & what we've purchased since, 

I think it is pretty safe to say that there is at least one thing from IKEA in every room of our house.
(& we are very, very happy about that... we love our IKEA furniture & such!)

 Want to see what we've been putting together lately? Take a look...

The 3-Door Aspelund Wardrobe now has a home in our master bedroom.

(In fact we put it together last night!)

The  Leksvik Bar Table & Ingolf Barstools are in our kitchen.

(Along with some Ekby Jarpen Shelves too!)

Last but not least the Klingsbo Side Table

 & the Lack Coffee Table reside in our living room.

Oh & please don't ask me how to really say any of the names of our pieces by the way... 

I pretty much butcher them every time I even try to say them. Tee hee hee.

xoxo

DIY - Flower Caddy.

I love DIY projects!

Especially when they involve up-cycled materials just like this lil' gem...

Meet the up-cycled flower caddy made from a 

cardboard drink holder & created by Dandee Designs. Super cute right?!

Head on over to Dandee Designs for the full tutorial 

& a link for the free "Hello!" banner download.

Yippy skippy!

xoxo

All The Time Actually.

{ Via designismine }

Yes for me, it isn't just sometimes it is ALL. THE. TIME actually.

How about you?

xoxo

Happy (Birthday To Me!) Weekend.

Happy Weekend Lovebugs!

I hope you had a stellar week & have an equally stellar weekend planned.

{ Via }

As for me, yes, tis' true  as you may have read in previous posts, 

I am officially over the quarter century hill on Sunday. 

I'm no longer freaking out about it though

 & have actually decided it is pretty cool, 

thanks mostly to my best girl friend

 in the whole wide world, The SMB. 

(Thank you my, dear. I love you tons!)

 Plus as she pointed out, they often say that

 "Maturity & grace come with age..." 

So I'll take both with an extra dose of grateful on top too please.

(Since you can never have enough of any of those qualities in my humble opinion)

 As far as I am concerned, being closer to thirty 

is the new I can't wait till I turn twenty-one!

Happy Weekend!

xoxo

Amusement.

{ Via } 

The Husband just revealed that he wants to take me to a local amusement park for my birthday.

Well gosh I do love me  some amusement, thrills, cotton candy, 

funnel cake,  holding hands & people watching. 

I guess I'll say yes.

 (like there was any question)

P.S. - He is the best. I like him- a lot!

xoxo

Alexandra Ferguson.

I absolutely adore these pillows created by the lovely Alexandra Ferguson.

****

Since I consider myself very much a person who "says what they mean 

& means what they say", I think these pillows are pretty much perfect for just that...

Head on over to Alexandra's Shop for even more pillow options, 

including some great creature & botanical motifs.

xoxo

Time For A Trim.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing & the bees are buzzing...

Oh yes & the plants around our house are overgrowing!

 Time to go out & trim back all the budding beauties so we can

 pull out of the driveway without scratching the car or hurting the flowers.

{ Via RobotHeart }

What are you up to today?

xoxo

The Uniform Project. (Video)

Chances are you've heard of Sheena & The Uniform Project 

at some point over the past year.  (if not you are in for a treat!)

****

One girl, one dress (well 7 identical dresses), 

re-invented everyday with layers, accessories 

& various vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.  

 All in an effort to raise money to send kids in India to school. 

Sheena & The U.P. Crew just wrapped up the first year & posted 

this lovely video which is a picture book of every outfit - check it out!

Awesome right?! She is so very, very inspiring.
Plus, I can't stop watching the video- I notice something new every time!

To donate money to the cause head on over here.

xoxo

Birthday Dreams.

My family & friends keep asking,

 "What do you want for your birthday?"

 I keep saying the same thing,

 "Money for a camera or hey if you are feeling particularly spunky

 & generous an actual camera or umm three would be great!"

In order of want or should I say need (at least I think so) here are 

the three cameras I would love to get my lil' birthday girl fingers on!

  

{ Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera }

{ Fuji Instax Mini Instant Film Camera }

{ Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder }

How bout' you my lovebugs?

 Is there a camera your dying to get a chance to play with?

 Or maybe you already have one you can't live without? 

Do tell!

xoxo

Welcome Mat.

I love this "welcome" mat of sorts. 

One mat, two possibilities- "Come In" or "Go Away" written in a lovely script.

Tee hee hee

Spotted on Sfgirlbybay's Pinterest Come To My New House

xoxo

Birthday Week.

{ Me on my birthday last year with cupcakes via The Sister-in-Law} 

As you may have read in my Giraffe Manor post yesterday, my birthday is this week. Sunday to be exact. 
I'm getting old & I have yet to learn to embrace it. Le sigh. I'm working on it, I swear.


Thank goodness for this suggestion from the lovely Melanie from You Are My Fave 
Melanie is a May baby too (Happy Belated B-day Mel!)  & she suggested a few weeks ago 
to start the traditionof purchasing yourself something special every year to 
mark the day of your  birth. Be it a party dress, a pair of shoes or  a piece of art...
 Just something you love & wouldn't ordinarily buy for yourself.


So I decided for the next several years or maybe every year from here on out to purchase pieces of art. 
Why? Because I love art. It makes my little heart go pitter patter & my eyes go ooo-la-la!
This year I chose this piece:

It is fittingly titled: "Present"  
& it is by one of my new fave artists, Blanca Gomez. 
(I posted about her work before, here)


I am so excited for it to arrive in the mail.


xoxo