May 2012 Desktop Calendar

One day early...your May 2012 desktop calendar is here!  This one is for all you list makers out there.  (No worries, I include myself in the List Maker-aholic Anonymous group.)  May is a month full of parties, celebrations, and holidays - which means it is the perfect time to whip out those post-it notes and start decorating the house with to do lists, grocery lists, etc.  While you're at it, why not get your computer in the mood, as well?

Happy Listing! :)

Weekend Snapshot: Party Time

One of my favorite rules of life to live by is "find a reason to celebrate."  This weekend, I totally fulfilled this.  Saying goodbye to your first car and "hello" to a shiny new one is quite the emotional experience.  (Perhaps not for all people, but I had a unique attachment to my first car.)  Thus, what better way to celebrate the bittersweet occasion than with a few balloons and cupcakes??

I hope you found your own reason to celebrate this weekend!  Trust me, there's never an occasion too small. :)

Vintage Beach Tablescape

Happy Thursday!  This post isn't in the norm for me, BUT I came across this super cute tablescape last night and just had to share.  It's almost the weekend, and I think that calls for a little inspiration to give us all that extra oomph...enjoy!

Photo courtesy of bollea.com. Thanks for sharing! ;)

New Design: Floral Eclectic

Know of someone opening a floral boutique in the near future?

Me neither.  But if I DID, these invitations to the shop opening would be too perfect.  Pretty pastels + geek chic glasses = eclectic perfection.  And yes, the name "Blooms + Buds" popped out of nowhere...but it's starting to grow on me.  Anyone up for opening a cute little flower shop? ;)

Design inspiration:

Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl"

Chandeliers

Pastels

Geek Chic

Peonies

Desktop Wallpaper: Mix it Up

Here's a little freebie I wanted to share with my oh-so-loyal readers!  A super cute new wallpaper for your desktop.  Or laptop.  Or whatever you may be reading this from at the moment.

Dealing with change is rarely a piece of cake, even if it's good change.  Stress can (and will) happen regardless, so to lighten the mood a bit, I made us all a little something pretty to look at.  Just a teensy reminder that sometimes, it's ok to "mix things up" and embrace change.  Don't be afraid to do something different or try something new.  Wear gold instead of yellow for once.

As Hilary Duff asked us several years ago, "Why Not?" ;)  
(PS, You're not allowed to judge me on that one.)

Weekend Snapshot: Art Museum

No matter how many times I stroll the St. Louis Art Museum, there is always new inspiration to be found or lesson to be learned.  My recent trip yesterday afternoon provided a little of both.  

This Andy Warhol print was hanging solo in the Art Museum Shop, and I couldn't resist snapping a quick photo.  Always a good reminder when being patient seems like the hardest thing in the world...down the road, you may just be glad you did.

Happy Weekend!

New Design: April Showers + May Flowers

Feeling like spring where you are?  (It's Friday, that must be somewhat spring-like!)  Then this stationery duo was made for you!  Inspired by a request of a loyal Twitter follower, these designs are just in time for April showers and May flowers.  How could you resist writing cute little notes on these coordinating cards??  You'll find every excuse to say hello to your friends, family, and coworkers.

Link Love

Sharing a little link lovin' on the blog today!  Just a sampling of places where I've been spending my time lately. Descriptions and links to these fabulous sites are below.  Enjoy!

(1) Love flipping through pages of wedding magazines?  You will simply adore Reverie, the first UK online wedding magazine.  Read and swoon.

(2) I'm a HUGE fan of watches.  And these little beauties have me lusting after their innovative and eye-catching design.

(3) Ceci Johnson is quite the businesswoman and portrays the perfect mix of chic and savvy.

(4) A blog from which I find pure enjoyment on a daily basis.

(5) Lilly Pulitzer and Barnum's Animals have teamed up once again for the annual Cracker Tracker.  I stumbled across my box just yesterday at the store and simply couldn't resist.

(6) I have been addicted to the little time waster we call "Draw Something."  I'm no pro, but love looking at the Best Of that others have created!

(7) Did anyone else fall passionately in love with Vera Wang's Spring 2013 bridal collection??

(8) A song I find comforting with the Michelle Branch-esque vocals and soothing rhythm.

Inspiration Board: Letters to Juliet

Familiar with the movie "Letters to Juliet"?  If you're not, you should know that I have a little obsession with this romantic chick flick.  And if you, too, hold a soft place in your heart for teary-eyed love stories set in Italy featuring adorable Amanda Seyfried - please make this your next movie night.

This week's inspiration board was inspired by "Letters to Juliet," and is filled with pinks and peaches, flowy gowns and flowers, and a taste of Italy.  My favorite detail?  The long table set for the reception dinner, every guest side by side.  Such a beautiful way to bring together friends and family for an Italian feast.

Have an amazing week, all!!

Weekend Snapshot: Chinese Takeout

Happy Weekend!  I must confess: when the boyfriend is in town, Chinese food is always on the agenda.  We have been searching all over St. Louis for a go-to takeout option...and I think we may have finally found our place.  Showok is a fantastic little Chinese carryout restaurant located on Manchester Road (if you're familiar with the St. Louis area), just east of Kirkwood.  This place is tried and true, previously rated by many Yelp users - often the source of my influenced eating decisions.

This little Buddha was hanging out at the cash register while we waited for our sweet n' sour chicken and pot stickers.  I couldn't resist.

New Design: Color Blocking Farewell Invitation

Before you ask questions, NO, I am not moving from Indiana to Boston.  I'm stationed in Saint Louis, and here I'll be.  For now at least.

Ombre and transparency are two trends I've just fallen head over heels for.  Thus, stemmed the inspiration for this colorful little going away card.  Plus color blocking.  (That's not out of style yet, is it?) By the way, recognize how the peace sign fits in there?  Just another way to say "see ya later."  Peace, dude.

Click on the image to see every last detail.

Fashion Sketch

Warm weather and bright colors in the stores have me yearning for summer days filled with shopping, sunbathing, and trips to the nearest outdoor cafe.  It also has me prepping my closet for the upcoming season...but until I can bust out those neon-colored threads and short shorts, sketches of fashion models will just have to do.

I love the white shorts and flowy, neon yellow top this one is sporting.  All she needs are a pair of Kate Spade Gayla sunglasses and she's set for a Saturday stroll at the outlet mall. ;)

Nail Polish Wish List

As an extreme organizer who prides herself on not collecting any "stuff"...I bite my tongue.  There is one thing I do indeed collect to an obsessive degree, and that thing is called nail polish.  At one time, I counted well over 80 bottles of nail polish stashed under my bed.  Hoarding?  I don't like that word.  Let's just call it a "salon-worthy reservoir."

Believe it or not, there are still nail polish colors out there I'm constantly lusting after.  With all of my research in brands and colors (am I at expert status yet?), I thought I'd share my current nail polish wish list with you for spring 2012!  If you start falling in love with these colors and feel the urge to dramatically expand your nail polish collection...please avoid placing the entirety of the blame on me.  50% is acceptable. ;)

Have a colorful Monday!  And hop on over to Essie to pick out your favorite nail polish obsessions!

California Coral

Lapiz of Luxury

Funny Face

French Affair

Tart Deco

  

Navigate Her

School of Hard Rocks

Weekend Snapshot: Happy Easter

For all of those celebrating this weekend, Happy Easter and Passover!  The Easter bunny left a few goodies in our yard this morning...what a thoughtful rabbit.  Enjoy the sunshine and feel free to indulge in yummy food today!  You better believe I will be.  Why, hello there, dirt pudding... ;)

Bunny droppings.

DIY: "Lovely Days" Wall Hanging

If you're like me, you like to lead life with a truly positive viewpoint.  Why let the little things get to you when the big picture is so much prettier?  But I get it.  It's impossible to keep up that cheery, optimistic attitude every second of the day, every day.  (Who has the energy for that?  Sometimes, a good venting period is just essential.)  
So what's the solution?  Surround yourself and your home with pictures of loved ones, relaxing scents...and upbeat words!  The first two, you probably already have adorning every space you can.  The last one?  A DIY project that will take you under an hour, from start to finish.  

Besides, who doesn't love colorful wall art?  

I spelled out the words "Lovely Days," but the possibilities are endless for word and phrase ideas!  Just keep in mind: mine was only 10 characters and was more than enough letter cutting for me. ;)

First, you'll want to start off with the following items (you probably already have most of this around the house):

colored paper | ribbon or string | scissors | pencil | tape

Now.  I drew my letters by hand, using a ruler and eyesight.  If you're not comfortable doing this, I highly suggest printing letters off from your computer, one big one per page.  You'll want to keep the letters fairly simple in form, as you'll be cutting them out, as well.

Here are my letters!  I sort of adore the imperfection. :)

Next, I used my tape and just secured the ribbon to the back of each letter; one small piece worked just fine.  You don't want the letters to be too stiff hanging from the ribbon.

Because I had two words, I did one stretch of ribbon per word, then tied the ends together into a bow.  It took a couple of tries to get the second word at the correct hanging level, so make sure you give enough slack if you're doing a similar structure. 

I then secured the hanging to the wall using just 2 of those little double-sided mounting squares by 3M.  (Their products were seriously made for crafty DIYer's such as you and I.)

Ta da!  Easy peasy, and cute as a button.  This is a great little DIY that can be changed throughout the year, depending on the season or upcoming holiday.  Think of all the cute phrases and words you can make into hanging wall art!!

Now Playing: Call Me Maybe

Do you ever have that moment when you hear a song come on the radio or Pandora (or in my case, I Heart Radio), and you instantly stop what you're doing to spend the next three minutes and twenty seconds dancing around like a crazy person?

Yeah.  You know exactly what I'm talking about.

THIS is one of those songs.  Thank you, Carly Rae Jepsen, for encouraging physical activity with your overly adorable pop song, "Call Me Maybe."  

Click play.  Dance your little heart out.  Pause for breath.  Repeat.

Just in case you need a little more inspiration.  My friends know me too well.

April 2012 Desktop Calendar

Happy Monday!  It's APRIL!!  You know what that means...hello, new desktop calendar!  April's calendar is super spring-y and fun, so if dark colors and somber moods are your thing, you may want to pass on this month's freebie. ;)  

Just click on the image to enlarge, then you can "Save As" to your computer or "Set as desktop background"...whatever tickles your fancy.  I hope this gets your week off to a bright and beautiful start!

Enjoy, friends!

Weekend Snapshot

I adore spring.  Who doesn't?  Several months spent buddying up to winter has my body craving sunshine, bare legs, dresses, bright colors...

What's not to love?  If spring were represented in Sharpie colors, below is an ideal combo.  And yes, my fingernail polish color is included.  Go break out the flip flops and enjoy your spring!  Live colorfully.

If spring was a Sharpie color.