Favorite House in Town

Living in a small town you learn the lay of the land pretty quickly and after many evening walks in the same ol' neighborhood, I have fallen in love with one special little house. We call it Pink! 

I guess every town has that one little pink house and I think our towns pink house is just darling. It has been this shade for as long as I can remember and although it could use a little TLC, I hope they never change it. If I was daring enough I would love to change my little home color to pink but I think TJ would not be on board for it:( Booo

Below are a few other pink house's that are as sweet as candy.

Magazine Rack Re-Do

 A few weeks back I stumbled upon this little magazine rack gem for only $2.00 at a favorite thrift shop. 

I really loved the shape but I wasn't loving the color, so a few layers of spray paint later and I have a clean looking rack! I used a 1" strip of lace, but I think it would pretty great doing an all over lace pattern as well.

Music Video Tuesday

Meet Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's. A musically inclined bunch with feeling and a pinch of soul in their music.

Recently TJ received a very beat up but super cool guitar as a little gift and has been practicing some tunes. He is not at all ready for a concert debut but I am excited for the possibility of us having a little band. Basically this video is a view of what we hope to be doing in no time. Maybe a little far fetched, but a girl can dream. Please Enjoy!

Life Long Dreams

I once read this quote " Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives"- Charles William Dement

I am a huge dreamer, awake or sleeping, those babies are popping out left and right. Admittedly, my sleeping dreams are kind of weird sometimes but the day dreams are the "special ones". The dreams I want to become reality.

Daily I like to fantasize about what life will be like for TJ and I in 5 to 10 years and this is what I usually come up with....

In case my collage isn't clear, we plan to move to the West Coast (preferably Oregon), ride our bikes on beautiful days, travel to new destinations on the weekends, have a beautiful garden, eat our home grown food under the stars, and basically just live a peaceful life.

Someone once told me that the best part of life is the dreaming and don't rush to get to the next chapter.  I am trying to live by that advise:)

DIY Sack Pillow

I have collected over the years quite a few vintage grain sacks. It could be the faded colors, and patterns, but mostly I love the idea that it was used for such a simple product and yet is a beautiful piece of cloth (at least I think so).

I decided to use one of my favorite sacks and make a decrotive bed pillow. This project was super easy and required NO sewing machine.

I first ripped some scrap fabric for the ties on the open end of the sack and did a simple stitch to connect them.

Next, I choose my favorite details and hand stitched on top of them. I decided to use tone on tone thread for a more muted look but it would be just as great to use contrasting colors!

Last but not least, I stuffed the sack with a extra long pillow and taaa daaaa, a beautiful decrotive accent for my bed!

Music Video Tuesday

If you are not from the Midwest, please try and understand that when we are graced with sweet breezes and loving sunshine, we go crazy...in the good kind of way! This past weekend was just glorious and this video gets me thinking all about summertime.

Does anyone remember Gidget? It was a Nick at Night favorite of mine, but I miss the TV shows where a little bit of cheesiness was required. Don't you? 

Our Family Portraits

I love to be creative, but my artistic skills are a bit questionable at times, and below you will see why! I had an urge a few weeks ago to do some family portraits. At the time I thought they where amazing but now looking back, we all look a bit creepy.

It was fun anyhow and it gave us a really great laugh. Sorry TJ, you are definitely the most creepy out of the bunch! Just a little funny to wipe away those Munday Blues:)

Neon Now

My May obsession is NEON! I haven't found an occasion where I can rock out in head to toe neon yet but I have added bits and pieces into my wardrobe (when appropriate).

These images are just a few examples on how to add neon into your life without blinding any onlookers. Some of the pics are a little much but you do not have to dive into the color scheme, just try and dip those toes a bit!

Clense Yourself

I have been busy, busy, busy, lately so it was time to pay a little more attention to skin and my sense of fun. I looked up some natural skin remedies and called in my go-to gal pal, Paula. 

Mask 1:   Egg White, Lemon Juice, and Honey       Mask 2: Oats, Tomato, and Lemon Juice

End result: A great time with a good friend where laughs where shared PLUS our skin felt amazing afterwards! There are plenty of other masks we are dying to try but for now these two are definite keepers. 

My Mask: Great for tightening pores and gives some lift

(Egg, Honey & Lemon Juice)

Beat 1 egg white until stiff

2 tsp. of Honey

1 tsp. of Lemon Juice

Leave on your skin for 15-20 minutes and rinse with warm water

Paula's Mask: Removes excess oil and refines pores

(Tomato, Lemon Juice & Oatmeal)

1 Ripe Tomato

1 tsp. of Lemon Juice

2 T. of Oatmeal 

Blend whole tomato with the lemon juice. Mix in the oatmeal until paste is formed. 

Leave on your skin for 15-20 minutes and rinse with warm water.

Music Video Tuesday

Raw and very unfiltered, this video featuring Jeff Pianki is a little musical jewel.  In this video you will see him play more then one instrument, but if you get a chance to visit any number of his youtube self made videos, you will see him belt out the xylophone, drum, guitar, keyboard, and many more musical tools.

What makes this person very interesting is that you can find many of his songs and albums on itunes but this humble soal still continues to write and record from his parents home and if you are really lucky, you can find him singing a diddy with his little sister Carrie who is the cutest thing ever. I hope you enjoy!

i heart jeans

Everyone owns those broken in pair of jeans that will never make it to the giveaway pile for shear comfort reasons. The jeans pictures above happen to be that pair for me and through out the past year or two, these jeans have taken quite a beating. Finally the knee hole which started out a mere 1 inch in length grew and grew.

Not wanting to part with these comfort jeans, I decided to make a DIY solution. Patch it!

I used a scrap lighter piece of denim, cut my desired shape and stitched them together with multi colored thread. No sewing machine required:)

Happy Mom's Day

We wish every mother/ mother to be, a glorious mothers day! 

Sprinkles

My favorite part of this week was going to Sprinkles Cupcakes and chowing down ( I didn't even breath in between bites, seriously) a chocolate and coconut piece of heaven!

If you haven't already had one of these delicious treats, visit one of their many stores and fall in love with Sprinkles.

Stores in: Beverly Hills, Chicago, Dallas, Georgetown, Houston, La Jolla, New York, Newport Beach, Palo Alto, & Scotsdale

Living with Love & Peace

Recently I had coffee with a friend and had one of those great conversations where dreams are shared and understood. The topic of living with out inhibitions and traveling the world meeting new friends and living new experiences was discussed with pure joy!

This got me thinking about what it would be like to live the hippie lifestyle but in this present day. Enjoying organic food but with a fine culinary touch, driving a eco-friendly vehicle, living in a commune, singing, dancing, and doing daily yoga sessions. It sounds glorious, doesn't it?

As of today, I still need a job that will pay for that very high morgage, so moveing West on a hippie whim may not be practical right now, but it makes one think of how to incorperate bit and pieces into my lifestyle:)

Garden Trellis

This project was eco friendly and really fun. The only required supplies are:

1. Large Sticks/ Smaller Bridging Sticks    2. Acrylic Paint    3. Scrap Leather (or twine)  

 Let your tomatoes and peppers grow this season with style!

Music Video Tuesday

This post puts a smile on my face:) I found this little gem through my sisters blog and had to share with you all......Meet Deb "Spoons" Perry, a matured older woman who has an extra pep in her step and loves to play her spoons to popular tracks. 

Deb's new favorite track is "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys. Please enjoy!

Lunch with the Birds and Bees

Grab what is around you and have a beautiful, nature inspired lunch with your friends and family. What did this cost you ask: NOTHING! We used old dishes and random pieces of furniture to create this scape and believe me, lunch tasted deeeelish!

Weekend Pics

This past weekend was a busy one. Traveling, working & most importantly, having fun with friends and family. 

My I Phone goes everywhere with me and here is the proof: My weekend in IPhone pics!

DIY Coloring Book

I have collected so many addorable pics of my niece and nephew over the years and needed to do something fun with them, so we made a colloring book!

 There are many options for transforming a picture in to a soft outlined finish. I chose photoshop and did these steps: 1. I used Artistic- Colored Pencil and adjusted the strengh to the desired look and feel I was trying to acheive 2. I used a BW filter and earased any gray splotches.

 It was super easy, and the kids had a blast (uh, ok, I had just as much fun)!There may be a easier way, so if you know of one, please share!

What I Want- Right Now

On a day like today, breeze running ramp-id, curtain blowing gently against window sill, birds singing in the distance, and the smell of newly bloomed flowers in the air, all I want to do is crawl into bed and enjoy. There is one problem.....I do not have an outdoor bed like these below:(  Waaaaaaaaaaaa

DIY Hanging Garden

 I have had these really beautiful mercury glass bottles that are meant for hanging candles, but once the votive was inside and lit, you could barely see the inner glow. I really love the idea of a hanging herb garden (see others here) so I finally created my own!

I found two easy grow herbs from which I will be making tea (will post this at a later date) and had to cut a large amount of the root ball so that I could easily fit it inside the bottles opening. Note: If you are dealing with a sensitive herb, you can use mason jars so that the opening is way more forgiving.

With the bottle opening being at the top, rain water will do its job and perfectly moisten the plant. I can't wait to make delicious things with my new herbs!

Music Video Tuesday

HEEELLLLOOOO Angus Stone! 

I may be a bit obsessed with this man, but can you blame me? His voice is as soothing as a piece of chocolate cake and he isn't bad to look at either:) Please enjoy!

Paul Lung's Drawings

Want to see something neat? Hong Kong based artist Paul Lung's pencil drawings! 

Lung's artwork is so realistic that they are often mistaken as actual photographs but what's even more impressive is that his only materials are simple paper and a mechanical pencil.

So what do you think?