number punching

i'm doing something really fun today, tell you all about it next week!

sneak peak

prepping for an event this weekend, so here's a little preview of pictures coming next week!

is it spring yet?

. . .because I'm ready for some green.

1. stained glass necklace
2. measuring spoons
3. rollerskate doorstop
4. granny smith jar
5. kiddie set

across the map.

1. stitachable postcard
2. DC plate
3. here mat
4. NY in a bag

make a statement.

I'd love to throw a a wine & cheese party with these conversation pieces:

1. incense holder
2. chat plates
3. chandelier
4. wine within

chair love.

i've admired egg chairs (hanging, stationary floor, and outdoor models alike) for years. i want one for my house or a set for my porch when we get a house. but when it comes down to it my wallets looking sadly empty. pottery barn's outdoor version just went on sale - still a bit out of my price range, tempting as it is.

these are inspired by the 1950's originals:

1. hanging wicker chair

2. leather egg chair

perhaps one day I'll have the perfect spot for an egg chair but in the meantime i'll stare dreamily at this image which just completely appeals to all that my heart desires in an egg chair:

valentine of mine

I'm not sure why exactly but Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Perhaps it's the ideas I got into my head about it when I was a little girl, thoughts of tiny mailboxes filled with silly notes of kindness and love with their little red mailbox flags waving triumphantly, announcing that they were full to the brim. Victorian valentine's with a few too many floral motifs framing their edges and splashed with nudie babies armed with bows and arrows, little envelopes with perforated cards stuffed into school desks. Red lollipops with white sugar messages that melted away on your tongue. Perhaps these idea got stuck in my brain and never left. I know most people think it's a hallmark holiday created for the purpose of commercialism and maybe it is, alright it probably is. but you'll have a hard time convincing me not to get giddy like a school girl when the date approaches.

My sweetheart and I forget all the hallmark notions and overpriced candy, we forgo the marked-up, cliched roses (not that we object to anyone else's celebrating with these) and just use the day to remind each other why we fell in love.

And I still enjoy thinking up silly valentine notes to send so here's this years:
It's a rebus puzzle, each of the pieces has little sticky dots so they can be stuck onto the card.

brownie bites

I didn't spend a lot of time making these from scratch because really the fun part, the 'homemade' part comes at the end.

Brownie Bits and Bites

What you'll need:

1. Brownie Mix - (I used store bought)
2. Chocolate Frosting
3. Milk Chocolate Chips or candy melts

What to do:

Mix the Brownie batter adding just a splash (as in maybe a tablespoon) of extra oil to the mix - this makes them a little more fudgy then normal. Then spread the batter thin and bake them in a large sheet pan. I used a 12 x 15 pan that was about an inch high. The batter spread very thin and made thin brownies which makes cutting shapes out of them much easier. I baked mine as directed on the box and just checked often with a toothpick until it came out clean.

After baking, let them cool and then spread with a can of chocolate frosting. Again, I just used a store-bought one. Then refrigerate the whole thing, until firm. Use a heart-shaped cutter to cut out hearts and put them onto a cookie sheet lined with a piece of waxed paper, then take the remaining bits and put them into a bowl (icing and all)I covered this and let it sit out a bit to allow the crumbly bits of brownie to absorb some of the moisture from the frosting.

Now melt the chocolate chips or candy melts in a plastic bag in the microwave - leaving the top unsealed, massaging the bag after every 20 seconds until melted. Then snip a corner from the bag and drizzle the chocolate on top of the brownie hearts - put these back in the fridge - those are done. Cover them after a few minutes.

Now take the bowl of crumbly bits and frosting all mixed together and mix it until it forms a dough that you can roll into 1" balls. Place the balls onto waxed paper and poke a toothpick into each one. place these in the freezer. Take the rest of your melted chocolate and pour it into a bowl. Melt more if it doesn't look like enough to cover the brownie balls. Dip the balls into the chocolate to coat and place back onto waxed paper. removing toothpick before the chocolate hardens. Decorate with sprinkles, nuts or candies to cover the spot where the toothpick was.

make me a cake.

1. personalized apron
2. heart measuring spoons
3. cupcake jar

strung along.

I absolutely loved this post from Design*Sponge a while back and was inspired to do a little variation just right for Valentine's Day, so now that I've strung you along for a couple of days: here's what we're making: Cute, i know. They're great because they are inexpensive, look pretty spiffy and on top of the that they are super easy to make. Here's the instructions:

Gather your materials:
- paper or lightweight cardstock
- stapler
- x-acto knife
- metal ruler
- cutting mat
- thread or some fishing line

Here's what to do:
Set out your cutting mat and use your x-acto knife and metal ruler to cut the paper or cardstock into 1" strips. I used a few different colors obviously but I think this would be beautiful even if you just used all white copy paper and strung them up in front of a dark wall!

Lay out your color combinations, I used a few colors per ornament, and sometimes repeated the colors on the inside, but do what you think looks best. Cut 2 strips that are 11"long, 2 that are 9" long, 2 that are 7" long and one that is about 4" long. Once you make one you can vary the sizes so that you have larger and smaller hearts. After I made a few and started to really get into it, I began to vary the width of the strips too. Stack the strips with the longest on the inside followed by the shorter ones on either side. Line up the tops by tapping them on your mat, then place the shortest strip in reverse so that it's end is sticking out of the stack in the opposite direction, staple these together. Next loop the strips around and line up the bottom edges on the opposite side, so that they are flush, and staple that end too. I trimmed mine on the bottoms because I left some uneven tails.

Now make a bunch more hearts- repeat lining up and stapling to turn the rest of your paper strips into hearts too.

I got so excited I made a whole pile, which was good because when I was finished I wanted some to hang in the window in my office as well as a few for the window in my kitchen!

Tie the thread or fishing line at the top of the heart - you can punch holes if you like or just thread it through the spot where the strips are joined. Hang them in your window, door, or anywhere you like, they'll add a touch of Valentine sweetness to any place you put them!

I can see the hearts hanging in my kitchen window from my side of the bed, so when I wake up and the light is streaming through the blinds it looks so beautiful!

Be sure to leave me a comment linking to pics if you make these, cuz' I'd love to see yours!

i'm so happy . . .

that it is the weekend, it just makes me go to bits.

actually I'm mostly excited because I've been working on this totally cute valentine's decoration project that I can't wait to show you on monday.

sneak peak

a little preview of a how-to project coming on monday. . . stay tuned.

sweet thoughts

some sweet little things for your valentine. guess which one of these I want?

1. red mug

2. graphic plates

3. forget me knot

4. pop-up card

ikea style

I just took the Ikea style quiz thanks to John & Sherry's post about it on the This Young House blog and here's my results:

I'm apparently a modern minimalist, I don't know how I ended up with more country then I did Scandinavian! Take the quiz here.

be mine outfit

1. j.crew pink sweater

2. glass beaded necklace

3. flirty flats

4. drop earrings

winter wear

1. ae jeans

2. circle belt
3. navy zip-up
4. warm wellies