La Vie en Rose- Louis Armstrong

....& Crazy Love- Van Morrison.

EmersonMade

Last night I found EmersonMade. I swear I may have never seen a more beautiful collection of pieces. The four above are on my wish list... and I think I may just not spend any money on anything else just so I can save up to have these lovelies!

Ciao Bella!

My Etsy discovery of the day--Ciao Bella Photography--captures that farmhouse summer comfort I love. So relaxed, and still so beautiful. Ranunculus is also, decidedly, one of my new favorite flowers.

Pizzeria Lola & Other Note-Worthy Links

Featured above: Pizzeria Lola--if you live in the cities, you MUST must try! I'll probably rope you into a double date before you even have a chance to try it for yourself...that's how badly I want to go back to try the house-made vanilla ice cream with olive oil and fleur de sel...can you think of anything more heavenly? Perhaps whipped brie with truffles...? My roommate's latest recommendation at Barbette...

Came across this link to an UP inspired/ balloon suspended house!

Saw a fashion-savvy woman in Target grocery shopping today wearing TOM's and I was reminded how much I really need to get a pair- thinking I'll be these for spring/summer.

Rediscovered Good Simple & Tasty as I've been on a foodie website binge for the last hour, and then caught sight of Corner Table, which I've heard snippets about, but never felt so surely that I needed to try out...this weekend? No better time to be planning my next weekend than Sunday night!

weekend (stuck inside)

i have spent the better part of my weekend in the company of tylenol sinus, netflix romance movies and marthastewart.com (apart from a surprise get-well visit from matt, and hancock fabric run with mary.) downing multiple glasses of oj, in hopes of building energy for noon mass and a trip to the grocery store. hope you had a more adventurous weekend!!

new home: i'm moving..

White pallets

I like white room pallets. They're the simplest way to make the most impact of colorful framed artwork, and framed window views. The contrast and interest guides you to the smallest of details, and allows you to hone in on texture. Natural light, and nature in general feels most highlighted here. I love it. And I don't think it's boring either.

i want whimsy, i want breakfast in bed

ny map journal...a series?

A project for myself once I get settled in my new place. Love the idea of framing my trip to NY with Matt last winter. Pending on whether or not it turns out the way I want it, I think it would be meaningful and colorful to have in an office someday, documenting all our trips in frames along the wall. Just need some stickers to make notes of where we went, where we ate, what we did...and date the month/year of our trip. Cheap too! I got my idea from the wedding invites above...! I'm thinking white frames for the maps, but wouldn't a coral-orange frame thrown into the mix be awesome?

roots

how many, how long

lemon

lemon. also loving this color lately. i feel like my preferences are sometimes color-dehydrated, and i need a little yellow to balance out the neutrals...love the bakers twine for diy valentines or invites?

cardboard-colored

How is cardboard sleek and stylish? I don't know. But I like it.

february is love.

Matt and I are making homemade valentines.

New York Poem

My birthday is two weeks from tomorrow. Christmas Eve is two weeks from Friday. Christmas is two weeks from Saturday. And New York, well, New York follows all of that craziness. How did it all come so fast?

I am going to New York after Christmas and I am still in awe of the fact. I probably will be until I land there, and then my awestruck-en-ness will continue throughout my whole trip. I am debating first, which camera to bring...mine, or my dad's. And I am debating what to pack, which is always the dilemma with traveling. I have gotten better over time.

Usually when I travel, I do a lot of lounging, and I think this trip will be the opposite- it'll have me on my feet quite a bit. Any tips? I will have to dress warm. And because I know I need to be somewhat fashionable in one of the most style savvy cities in the world, I ordered a J.Crew pea coat in my very favorite color for my time exploring the city. I can't wait for it to be delivered!

Whites too blah?

All of the interior pictures I was saving for a while from different blogs were pure white rooms with only subtle pops of color in accents. I still find myself drawn to that look, but a part of me is attracted to boho-chic, eclectic worldly style-blends of faded jewel tones, worn in textiles and antiques. And I think that's more naturally me. Not that I need to define myself under a certain style at all, why do people always do that? I somehow feel obligated. Probably the Catholic in me or something. I don't know. Anyway, while I was watching Hanna Montana with my eleven-year-old sister after dinner tonight, I pulled up Anthro's sale section and found this gorgeous Mila rug. Thinking it fits in with that whole boho-chic theme? Makes me think of Mandy Moore's house a little in the movie Because I Said So. I love the way they styled her and her life in that movie.

Hey! Put some new shoes on

The unthinkable is finally happening. A promotion at work I was promised back in March is actually, physically GOING TO take place. Never thought I'd see the day. I'm going to be a NAM. At the office, that stands for National Account Manager, and let's just say I have a pretty bomb account. I'll tell you one thing- my account jives on coffee beans.

I painted my nails tonight, and somehow that makes me feel prepared for the big day. Don't ask me why. And, no, I don't have new shoes for tomorrow, but the idea of "filling new shoes" is what I was getting at. I swapped all my stuff over to my new office space before leaving work this evening. It's your standard cubicle, nothing special. But the whole process of cleaning out one space, and moving to the next is exhilarating in the same sense as decorating a pristine white room is in a new house. It's the whole blank slate thing. Tabula rasa. The same mentality that makes people seek simplicity in January after the new year has set in and fresh goals have been engineered. You know what I'm talking about? In any case, I can't wait!

The Happiness Project

Saturday morning of this past weekend, my MR. and I walked to a park near his neighborhood. If there's one thing that I particularly like about the location of his new home, it's that he's within walking distance of some really great places. Not to mention his parent's house. Not too far off from Everybody Loves Raymond, actually. This particular Saturday we decided to go for a morning stroll to Centennial Lakes. While its not your natural kind of historical pretty park, it really does have some positive elements. The first is that it's a really manageable walking distance, unlike some parks where you're walking, walking, walking and build up anxiety over wondering when the path is ever going to end. The second is that a fair share of elderly couples live in the town homes surrounding the path. Whenever Matt and I go, we without fail see an old couple holding hands walking. I get such a heart warming sensation over seeing that. It's one of my favorite things. No matter how hard of a week I've had, when I see an old love like that,that can withstand time, nothing else seems to matter. The third really great aspect to the park is that at one point of the path, the sidewalk veers directly towards a couple small shops. One is West Elm. I took my MR., my latte, and my beaming attitude right into that gorgeous store and oh boy was I enthralled. Outside of offering home furnishings that tempt you around every corner, in the middle of the store is a small gadget and book area where I found myself starting to page through this book called The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. The concept caught me at once. I have plans to buy this book soon, with a gift card my generous cousin gave me, but in the meantime I've been reading the author's corresponding blog. Check out this post on 12 tips for getting regular exercise, and the benefits for happiness and fitness...I've listed this 12 tips below- pretty genius! As the author says, the first key to happiness is plenty of sleep and regular exercise!

1. Always exercise on a Monday
2. If at all possible, exercise first thing in the morning
3. Never skip exercising for two days in a row
4. Give yourself credit for the smallest effort
5. Think about context
6. Exercise several times a week
7. Find a way to exercise that doesn't require you to shower afterward
8. Look for affordable ways to make exercising more pleasant or satisfying
9. Think of exercise as part of your essential preparation
10. Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good
11. Suit up
12. Don't kid yourself

sketching again

Vintage posters like the above always make me inspired.
I'm starting to collect images of a particular style to use as reference for a painting.
My Mr. has asked me to paint something for his new house, and, well, I'm kind of freaking out.
It's a lot of pressure!

wishing...

Wishing.

There are experiences in my life that make me grateful for what I have, and cause me to think that I should live with less and appreciate all of the small things. To be creative with my resources, and focus my money on charity and on savings for the future.

Then, there always comes that longing for something new. Something you crave. Something you saw on someone else that you just have to go buy for yourself. Something you saw in the latest J Crew catalog that for a split second you really think you won't be able to live without.

Then your senses hit you and you realize you can't spend $300 for whatever that item is. So maybe you get the knock-off or cheaper version at Target or some sort of thrift store. Then, since cheap things usually perform cheaply in the end, you end up with a purchase that doesn't withstand wear, or fades, or frays around the edges. So, I'm asking-wishing- I knew when to spend my money and/or splurge, and when to save. There are thousands of blogs about this very topic but I feel like I can hardly ever relate to their writing. Help!

I'm trying to think of something I've paid full price for that I've never regretted in the end. I can't! Can you?