Happy weekend!

This week has been challenging in all sorts of ordinary ways.  What is that they say about living with small children? The days are long, but the years are short?  The days seemed a little longer than normal this week.

On the bright side, we picked up a little lemon tree and enjoyed some delicious meals, including this amazing recipe for three pea chicken salad (a new favorite!).  We also spent a rainy Tuesday in SF exploring with our girls.  I started a calligraphy class Tuesday night and have been practicing hard every afternoon (so much harder than it looks!).

This weekend I plan on making these muffins, and this pretty little garland.  What are you up to?

I've got a few fun projects in store next week, meet me here?  Here's to the weekend!

Color Story No. 6

I love a pop of saturated color as much as the next girl, but I must say I'm starting to fall in love with the softest of pastel tones too.  Those little cookies are the cutest!

Hope Thursday is treating you well!  Are there cheery blossoms where you are?

Photo by Emilie Guelpa for decor8, via Nani's beautiful pinboard

The results are in:

Our babe-to-be is officially a boy!  We found out this weekend while we were in Seattle (more on that later) and my mind has been spinning ever since. 

My Mom and I couldn't resist picking up a few sweet little things while we were together.  Can you believe I've hardly ever been to that side of the store? 

Naturally dyed beads.

 

The girls and I have been playing with unfinished wooden beads for the past few weeks.  The girls make necklaces with them, count them, and play all sorts of games with them.  Best $3 I've spent in a while!

The other night I thought it would be fun to add some color to them.  I tried painting them a while back and the process was messy and I wasn't very happy with the finished look (if you have tricks to share, please do!).

I remembered these recipes for natural egg-dyeing and decided to try it out with beads.  I wish I had more ingredients on hand, but I love how these turned out.  I used turmeric, paprika, frozen cranberries, and dried lavender as dye (following the recipe instructions for similar products), and left the beads soaking overnight.

I decided to string about 6 beads on to elastic cording to make some festive napkin rings, but the possibilities are endless!

P.S. We're on a plane to Seattle this morning, so I'm signing off a bit early this week.  Best wishes for your weekend!

Modern tea time.

I'm attending a tea party this weekend and it has me dreaming of ways to freshen up the traditional take on tea time.  To be honest, I'm still in the early phases of being a tea drinker, but I've found with enough honey and a splash of milk it's doable.  I do love the idea of taking a time out during the day to eat and drink things served on pretty dishes! 

1. Yarn dyed organic napkins  2. Tru Bee Honey  3. Organic Hibiscus Twist loose leaf tea  4.Whistler Cork Teapot, creamer,and tea cup  5. Tea Sandwiches made by Camille Becerra, in collaboration with Sunday Suppers and Lonny Mag.

Affordable art.

Happy first day of Spring!

I'm always looking for cheap ways to change things up in our apartment, especially in the art department.  The total cost for this project was only $1.49! 

I love looking through the photos we've taken at the beach over the last six months, and decided we needed one on display.  Did you know you can have photos printed at a local shop (like Fedex Office or Kinkos) on regular paper for really cheap? I really like the poster-like look of this form of printing, especially for nature pictures and landscapes.  

I already had a matted frame that fit an 11x17 photo, so I had mine printed to that size, but there are many sizes available.  I wanted to print mine in color, but I think black and white would be even cheaper. 

P.S. If you're wondering how to "cut" a photo into a circle using Photoshop, you can find a simple tutorial here.

On dressing a baby bump.

An alternative title to this post would be "how to stretch your non-maternity wardrobe as far as you can, while still looking cute," but that seemed a bit long.

When I was pregnant with my first, I couldn't wait to go to that special maternity aisle and pick something out.  I bought a few outfits within the first couple of months, long before they were needed.  It felt great to acknowledge my special baby secret that was still hidden from the outside world.  I started wearing those over sized clothes way too early, too. Maybe if someone would have told me I would be wearing those same outfits for six months straight and grow to loathe the very sight of them, I would have waited a little longer.

I threw out/gave away most of those outfits from pregnancy #1 because I knew I would want to start over next time (also, turns out Old Navy clothes don't hold up so well to heavy use!).  I waited until the last possible moment to wear maternity clothes with my second and surprisingly felt much more fashionable and pretty in my fitted, normal clothes. 

I have more thoughts and tricks to share on that another day, but for now I thought I would share a few inspirational resources I've been looking to as my third bump continues to appear.  Perhaps they will give you ideas for your own closet now or in the future.

Sydney from the Daybook (pictured in top photo above) had to be the cutest little pregnant dresser ever!  It looks to me like she incorporated a lot of her non-maternity wear into her pregnancy wardrobe using layers and belts.  It doesn't hurt that her hair and makeup always look adorable too!  If you start on this page and look forward in the posts you can see her throughout her pregnancy-did I mention she's also hilarious?  You won't be disappointed.

Also pictured above is a blog I came across via Pinterest called Aura Joon.  Isn't she lovely?  She has some great ideas for dressing a bump in this post here.  I found myself scrolling through the many beautiful, calming photos, and wise words throughout her blog as well!

Do you have any tips or tricks for looking fashionable during pregnancy without spending a fortune? 

Porch Makeover: Before

If you missed this post earlier this week, I'm doing a low-budget makeover on our little back porch.  The goal is to make it pretty + liveable for spring and summer, without spending a lot of money. 

I had to fight all urges to clean up the porch a little before taking these photos!  I decided to leave it completely as-is in hopes that the "after" photos will be that much more dramatic.

This is the right side of the porch.  The small door on the left is our tiny "storage unit," and the larger door on the right is a door that leads to the master bedroom.

Here's a view of the porch, head-on, taken from the slider in our living room.  This is the mess we've been looking at from the living room everyday!  Wish I could paint that red trim, but we can't have it all, right?

Here is the left side of the porch, including a door that opens to the girls' room.  As you can see, the girls enjoy playing out here!

To do list:
-clear out unwanted furniture/storage items
-scrub dust/dirt left over from winter
-add a rug + outdoor pillows
-add toy storage/organization so the girls can play on porch, but toys are kept in check
-add potted plants

I can't wait to get started!  Do you have any spring cleaning projects in the works? 

Pinterest picks: Feeling green

I'm not one to go all out for St. Patrick's Day, but have always loved the color green.  It totally pops when paired with neutrals in a calm sort of way, and goes with everything.

I plan on whipping up some mint ice-cream (found below) this weekend and wearing my favorite green shirt.  How about you?

 

1. From Talbots fall 2011 lookbook, found here  2. Lovely green + neutral living space designed by Urban Grace  3. Children's Day in Seoul by Garbo. Yau  4. Frankie's Olive Oil from Terrain  5. The flatstack platform from Madewell  6. Recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip creamsicles (vegan!) by Hannah Mendenhall

Spring in the shop!

I've added a few Spring-like things to the shop!  First up are these printed drawstring bags in a few of my favorite Spring colors.  I think these would be darling for a party or filled with candy for children on Easter morning.

I've also added a few sets of these Linen Bunny mini-cards.  The other day, E asked me to draw some pictures for her so she could trace and color them.  I drew a bunny for her that I loved so much I had it turned into a stamp!  A piece of striped linen is stitched to each little card with yellow thread.

Hop over to the shop to see more!

Porch Makeover

Even though we have a tiny apartment, we're lucky to have a spacious deck out back.  When we first moved in and it was warm out I imagined making the space an extension of our living room.  I dreamed of brightly colored pillows and potted plants. 

But, as fall and winter have come and (almost!) gone, the porch is in a pretty sad state.  Since there is very little rain here and the deck is well-protected, it has become a playroom of sorts.  I love having that space, but the only natural light we have in our apartment comes from having the blinds on the porch slider open and staring at piles of toys is less than inspiring.

I don't want to do much, since we have five short months left in this little home.  Can you believe that?  Five months until graduation, moving day and the due date of this little babe!  Anyway, I wanted to keep you in the loop of my little project.  I will post some before pictures and ideas soon.

It's been very interesting to enter the nesting phase of pregnancy with no real place for that energy to go.   If you come across any images of small decks or have any ideas for maximizing small outdoor spaces, send them my way!

image one/image two

A cardboard birthday for Reid

Happy Monday!  I thought I would start the week off by showing you this adorable birthday party for 1 year old Reid.  A friend texted me the link to this party a few weeks ago (Reid's parents are friends of a friend) and I think it's too adorable not to post.

I sometimes struggle with little boy's parties and how to keep them classy, but still boyish.  I love this cardboard box theme so much and think it does the job of being creative and chic at the same time!  It doesn't hurt that the party was planned by a photographer either.

I don't want to give away all the fun details here, so be sure to click over to Sean Walker Photography to see the rest!

All photos by Sean Walker for Sean Walker Photography

Peter Pan party hats

 

I've had several people ask about the little paper hats I made for Abby's party last year.   I thought I would put together a little tutorial to show you how to make your own.  These are so easy and fun, there's no reason to wait for a party to make them for your little ones.

For the hats: I used a letter sized piece of kraft paper and this tutorial.  I discovered the hat didn't stay on very well, so I punched a hole in each side of the hat (near the middle) and tied about 18" of embroidery floss to each side (you could also use twine or ribbon).  

You still may have trouble keeping these on the heads of active tots (like most party hats), so don't be surprised if they fall off once the party gets rolling.  I haven't tried it, but I think if the hat was made with a larger piece of paper it might have more staying power.

My favorite part of the hat is the feather.  At the time of the party I was unable to find attractive red ribbons in my town so I decided to make my own. I think using a bunch of different bright colors on the feathers would be really cute! 

Do you want to make some too?

For the feathers:

Stack two sheets of tissue paper and cut a feather shape out (this feather is about 7", I wouldn't go bigger than that)

Using a glue stick, make a wide line of glue down the center of one of your feather shapes.

Cut a piece of thin gauge wire about 1/2" longer than your feather and stick it as straight as you can down the center of your glue line.  You can use white wire if you don't want it to show as much.

Stick your other feather shape on top and press into the glue to adhere.  Use your scissors to cut diagonal lines into the sides of the feather.  You can "rough up" the sides a little to achieve a more fringed look (like the one I made on the left) if you'd like.

Use a small piece of double stick tape to adhere the wire hanging out of the feather to the inner brim of the hat, and you're done!

How to enjoy cut flowers a little longer.

When it comes to caring for plant life, I pretty much wing it.  Annnnnd it never works out.

One thing I thought I had down for sure was caring for cut stems.  I often buy inexpensive bundles of flowers and put them in small jars all around the house.  It's nice to enjoy flowers without the upkeep of potted plants.  I even cut the stems carefully under water when I get them home (I think I saw that on a 1-800-flowers commercial when I was younger).  I'm practically an expert!

However, after a few short days the water in my vases would often be murky and eventually it would get so gross I would end up throwing things out.

I'm fortunate to have a mother who gardens everyday and a mother-in-law who not only gardens, but also designs landscapes for a living. A couple of years ago my mother-in-law shared a little trick with me.  She told me the reason the water in the vases containing my cut stems gets so brown and nasty has to do with the leaves and foliage left on the stems (oops).

When you bring your flowers home and cut the stems, you should also remove any leaves, etc. that will fall before the water line.  Genius, right?  If I'm the last to know this, don't tell me.

I still like to change out the water every few days, but they never rot out like the used to.

Happy flower arranging!

Highlights from a sandy weekend

We had all sorts of fun this weekend!  First up, we headed to the local flower shop on Friday morning (that counts as the weekend, right?)

My girls spent almost thirty minutes conversing with the duck in the sink.  Yes, her name was Pete and she had fun showing off for us by shaking water all over the place.  I was grateful for that duck.  She kept my little ones from "picking flowers" and allowed me the time to choose the perfect bundles of branches and flowers.  My flowers were wrapped in newspaper and tied with pretty twine-way better than cellophane!

After breakfast Saturday, we agreed that our planned day of cleaning could be put on hold.  The sunshine was too warm to stay inside.  We did clean the kitchen (a must!), then packed up some lunch and headed to the beach.

It's so fun to see my kids run free and be in an environment where I don't have to say "no" or "don't touch that" very often.  I think they need that sometimes.  We spent a long time playing in the sand, reading, chasing each other in the water, and watching the sailboats. We capped off the day with some local ice cream scooped into big waffle cones.

I'm happy to report the cleaning got done on Sunday and no one was worse off after our spontaneous trip!  I love times like this.

March {2012 month-by-month}

Happy March! 

When I think of March I think of the color green and the anticipation of Spring.  Around here, March seems to be the actual start of Spring (it's more like April in Washington) and the trees are already blooming despite the remaining chill in the air!

I hope your week has been lovely and that your weekend in the same!

P.S. My friend Danyelle of Dandee was nominated Best Family blog over on Apartment Therapy!  Join me in sending a vote her way?  You can go here to vote.

Starting in February, I embarked on a year long project called 2012 month-by-month. At the start of each month, I will make the corresponding number for the month out of something that represents that month to me.  The only rule is everything must fit on a letter sized sheet of paper.  You can see February's project here.

Catch-up

Sorry for the lack of creative posts this week, friends.  It seems that all sorts of real-life matters have taken over these past few days.  While I can't reveal the details of those matters quite yet, here are a few fun things we've been up to this week:

(instagramming as swoonstudio)

We had a nice little picnic in the slightly chilly weather (as in 55 degrees).  No big deal for a seasoned Washingtonian, but we were the only family in the park that day!

I've been sending tons of happy mail, thank you notes and packages this week and it feels good. 

I received two books in the mail and a can't wait to crack them open.  Printing by hand by Lena Corwin and Tender Hooks: Poems by Beth Ann Fennelly.  I'm exited for Lena's book for obvious reasons, and I'm hoping Beth Ann's book won't be too poetic for me.  I read one of her other books, Great with child, and loved it!

In other news, we decorated Ellie's book bag using some speedball ink and a stamp we had on hand and now I'm itching to do something more complicated and pretty (coming soon!).  I probably wouldn't have used that bright of an ink, but it was a rainy day and we used what we had.

And lastly, I am in LOVE with this kitchen!  You can find it in the latest edition of House Beautiful (March 2012).  I love the white enameled cabinets with metal trim, the copper pots, and the neutral tile.  Recently I've taken up the practice of scanning my magazine finds into the computer since I have tons of file folders of ideas already (I've been collecting pictures of interiors since middle school!).

I hope your week is treating you well!  I'll be back tomorrow with the latest installment of 2012 Month-by-month.