"We were sailing, sailing, over the bounding main...

...but now we're not." Cabin Fever from Muppet Treasure Island (1996). 

Wow, July went by me in a flash! I can't believe the summer is winding down...and the beginning of the end was marked (in our part of the world!) by the World's Longest Yard Sale on route 127!

Baby and I hopped in and out of the car all along the nearest 20 miles of 127, and we found several treasures, one of which is this darling antique silver sugar bowl.

Not being used for sugar, as you can see.

And Irony is dismayed in the background (James was hollering "Kitty!") Also, on the shelf just below the cat, onions from some amazing (green thumbed) neighbors! 

The house is a general disaster right now, as I bought a bunch of bulk stuff and we're in the throes of canning from our fruit 'n veggie bonanza (thanks again to those neighbors!) so there's crates of tomatoes and squash scattered throughout the house amongst huge packages of paper towels and boxes of water bottles, but after this weekend hopefully order will be restored and we'll have more pretties (and baby) to show you!

For now, this will have to do. Baby is practicing his in-line-skating skills.

Love!

"Follow me...

...everything is all right." Follow Me by Uncle Kracker.

Hello lovelies!!! Happy Monday. :)

So, one of my favorite things for roadtrip travel is...a matching set luggage (especially vintage, if you can find it)! There is something very glamourous about arriving at your destination in a cute little sundress, oversized sunglasses, and having a trunkful of matching luggage!

Izzy is hiding from Irony.

His hiding spot may be compromised.

Irony waiting for Izzy to show himself.

My mother-in-law was cleaning out their basement and she found this lovely set of luggage that she doesn't use any more! I was so excited when she offered it to me - I love it! As you can see, the kitties also love it. This set is definitely coming on our next little roadtrip, though I probably wouldn't ever fly with it because there are no wheels. Beauty has its' price, ya'll, but I do draw the line at carrying my luggage through those ginormous airports.

Much love!

"Yo soy un hombre sincero...

...De donde crecen las palmas." Guantanamera performed by Doc Severninson.

Hello, lovelies!!!

I was reorganizing some cabinet space the other day, and back in a dark recess I re-discovered one of my most amazing antique store finds - a full 8-place set of china for $15! Why have I not been spoiling myself with the use of these little pretties?! 

Irony helping me while I wash the dishes.

My cynical husband reminded me that it is because they have to be handwashed. Aha. 

So anyway. :) We're back from our various trips, though we have one more in-state trip for Ryan's work next week, then we'll be here for duration until the baby comes. :) 

Love!

"He's a soft spoken guy...

...also seems kinda shy." He's So Fine by the Chiffons.

So...we've been working like crazy on Sweet Baby James's nursery! Here's how it looks so far:

So as you can see, rocketship themed, with bright happy colors, and all our furniture is done! (Still planning to get a little bookshelf but I haven't found one I like yet.) Obviously the girlie curtains must go - they match surprisingly well, but I want something solid and destructible, not my cactus-fiber blankets from Morocco. Sorry baby, I love you, but I don't want you to have my blankets.

Still working on the decor and stocking various things, obviously. But overall...we're very pleased! Izzy is in for a nasty shock, though - he thinks it's his room.

Much love!

"It's happening all the time when I open my eyes...

...I'm still taken by surprise." Brightly Wound by Eisley.

And what do you suppose our sweet neighbor has done now?

She went on vacation to Florida and came back...

...with a heap of clothes for baby James!!!!!

 I can't get over how tiny-precious they all are!!!! I'm so excited about dressing him in his cute little baby outfits!!! Thanks, neighbor!

"I must stay deep...

...cuz talk is cheap." Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega.

Hello lovelies!

So, you'll never guess what I've been doing with my less-than-energetic time.

(My mom has probably already guessed it.)

Organizing!!!

Yes, yes. I love so much sorting things and making them prettier! And since I spend a lot of time these days in my room staring (alternately) out the window at our (brown) fence and then, when that side of me gets tired, at the bulletin board where all my necklaces live. So I re-arranged all my jewelry on the board so it's so much more attractive to look at now, and I got rid of a heap-o-stuff that has been taking up space since high school and I am never, ever, ever going to be caught dead in it.

And then once I'd done that, I was just on a role and went ahead and did my earrings too. And once that was done, I suddenly thought of that particular bowl being stored in the kitchen downstairs doing NOTHING with its life, and all my bangle bracelets draped over various corners of things and being chased around the floor by the cats, so I ribboned each set together and voila! I am pleased.

I'm pondering using a matching bowl for small scarves, but there's only so much space on my dresser. On the other hand, scarves are so pretty, what's the point of having them all tucked in a drawer and only coming out when I remember to wear one? So that may be next. What I really want is like two hanging fruit basket from the ceiling, one on either side of my vanity (but they have to look more chandelier-y than fruit basket-y) and then I can put all kinds of pretty things in them and have them handy for wearing! It looks great in my mind, but yeah. It's like those good ideas on pinterest that never quite work.

Any fun re-organizing projects you've been working on lately?

Irony all decked out. :)  

Much Love!

"You said we're playing house...

...now you still say we are." Do You Remember by Jack Johnson.

Happy Wednesday, lovelies!

Can you imagine what our sweet neighbor did this time?

She put dirt in our flower pots and planted flowers on our front porch!!! She is too sweet!

Irony, meanwhiles, felt she ought to be allowed outside to admire the flowers with me. So I let her wallow on the porch for a little while.

So yeah, if you ever have a neighbor who is super-morning-sicky and her porch is looking bare and unloved and you want to do something nice for her...plant some flowers. She will weep with joy and gratitude, and maybe even blog about you. :)

Love!

"See what there is to see...

...life is just a melody." Breakdown by Jack Johnson.

While I was feeling so sick, our wonderful, angelic neighbor brought me a gorgeous bouquet from her garden. I just love it!!!

She is such a blessing! (And an amazing gardner - you should see her yard!)

I know I've bragged about this neighbor before, but really, I cannot sing her praises enough. She is so thoughtful and generous, and always such an encouragement! I walked out on our front porch the other day to find her filling all my flower pots with dirt, which she claimed she'd "bought too much, and had to put it somewhere." The next morning, I came out to see that she had planted all my pots with gorgeous flowers (because I'd mentioned the day before that I was bummed that I didn't feel good enough to do anything outside this year.) Unbelievable!

She keeps an eye on which days I don't open the curtains and get up and about, and she particularly brings over meals or goodies on those days - she really has the gift of mercy! I hope I can learn to be as good of a neighbor someday!

Love!

"You must look feminine, dress feminine...

...you're at your best feminine." Femininity by Hayley Mills.

Hello lovelies! 

Let's talk about makeup! (It's one of my very favorite things.) 

I've discovered some products that I'm obsessed with, but I want to talk about those later. For now I want to talk about Estée Lauder. 

 Luckily for me (since makeup can be SO expensive!) my grandmother is a card-carrying (figuratively) die-hard Estée Lauder fan. She religiously buys her makeup regimin from the Dillards Estée Lauder counter, and though she's too polite to say it, I'm pretty sure she considers MAC, Mary Kay, and Bobby Brown to be makeup for the young, hip, undiscerning makeup-wearers of the world. She grudgingly allows Clinique into her makeup world, finding some of their cleansers to be better for her skin-type, but she blatantly prefers all Estée Lauder fragrances over any other brand.

My mother has more catholic tastes, and I remember many experiments finding the "perfect" combination of products from Mary Kay and other more exclusive brands down to the $.88 BonBon eyeshadows from Walmart. But Granma continued to buy her Estée Lauder and this meant she got SAMPLES.

Oh, how I love samples. Most of my makeup collection began as samples - and it accomplishes just what the strategic advertisers from these makeup companies want. I am addicted to my Estée Lauder staples. And I love the variety of colors I get to experiment with till I find my absolute favorites.

Above you see my EL Double Wear Stay-in-Place Eye Pencil, my EL Lash Primer Plus and Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara, EL Signature Silky Powder Blush, and various Eyecolors.* 

Irony loves to be with me when I'm putting on makeup.

In other news, the baby is making itself known!

15 weeks

That's all my news! I haven't really felt like figuring out clothes style posts, but I can talk about makeup FOREVER. The makeup aisle is my happy place, and I love experimenting till I find things I LOVE. I still haven't found a regimin that always works for me, but I'm getting steadily closer!

Anyhow, I hope you're having a great Wednesday! Love!

*My Eyeshadow sets are the "Sand Quad." "Sage Duo," which are no longer sold as such, and a huge combo gift set including Ivory Slipper Satin, Silver Bell Shimmer, Tranquil Moon Satin, Smoky Ember Shimmer, Candy Crave Satin, Polished Platinum Shimmer, Enchanted Forest Shimmer, Hot Cinnamon Shimmer, Peacock Blue Shimmer, Sugar Biscuit Satin, Amethyst Spark Shimmer, French Vanilla Satin, Wild Sable Matte, Nude Fresco Satin, Berry Burst Shimmer, Safari Green Shimmer, Tempting Mocha Shimmer, and Provocative Plum Matte, all of which can be found here. 

"Hey, I've got nothing to do today...

...but smile, dum da da dum." The Only Living Boy in New York by Simon and Garfunkel.

Hey lovelies!

Not going to lie, I'm feeling pretty rotten today. My nausea medicine isn't working right now, and though I've even tried some of these, I'm still super queasy today.

Izzy, caught in his own web.

So all I've got for you today is a picture and a reborn obsession. If you've never been toe the Hermes Moodboard/Inspiration page, you are missing out. One the one hand, it's all their pretty (incredibly expensive) products, but I get sucked in for hours playing the little games, admiring the nice colors and basically enjoy perusing a clever and amusing display of feminine finery. If you need an brief escape into a world with pretty things, run over there and enjoy. You don't need to sign up for anything (though they'll ask if you want to) and you can peruse at your leisure!

Much love!

"I've got so much left to say...

...if every simple song I wrote to you would take you're breath away I'd write it all." Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's.

Happy Tuesday!

I have another little DIY for you - all you need is pretty papers, stamps, and some random treasures to make it yours. <3

I used some of the Stampabilities "House Mouse" stamps and K&Company Paper (all from Hobby Lobby). The charms are just punched out or hand cut and stamped, and the ring was a favor decoration for wedding showers (Michael's). The sweetness of this card is all in the textures (which don't photograph as well, so it's harder to see) but using a variety of papers in very complimentary colors lends the the romance of the design.

Love!

"We'll listen to it twice...

...cuz the DJ is asleep." On The Radio by Regina Spektor. 

Happy Thursday, Lovelies! 

I am seriously pleased with my latest little home inspiration. 

I was reading my Southern Living (or was it Better Homes and Gardens?) and I noticed all featured houses had sideboards with little whimsical displays of some form of alcohol, charming knick-knacks, and other such sideboard-y items. It looked so Winston Churchill--so Downton Abbey--so Lord Peter Whimsey--so Jeeves and Wooster!

I must have one.

We aren't particularly frequent drinkers, understand (I mean, I'm a complete tee-totaler these days anyhow) but when I foraged beneath the cabinets I found that we had a bottle of Crown Royal and a cute little raspberry liquor and some shot glasses we'd got on our cruise so...I set them on a tray, put our pretty cork collection in a vase, added a few candle holders, the Irony bottle, and a silver-leaf camel figurine and viola! Sideboard! The table/shelf itself is a black bookshelf we recently moved to the dining room to extend our china and cookbook storage room.

So now if you stagger in from the rain and need a medicinal whiskey, I can take you right to it.

(A Critic informs me that I should technically put out little tumblers instead of shot glasses, because you don't exactly take shots of Crown. But I stand by my shot glasses. I use our tumblers as juice glasses, so they are Occupied Elsewhere.)

Notice the nice little allusions to classic shapes? I'm really quite proud of it - the oversized stemware style candleholders, the carafe vase for the corks, and the nice striking black-and-tan color scheme. Ha.

Love!

"We will see it through...

...for our love is true." Grow Old Along With Me by the Postal Service.

To kick off the fun things I have to share with ya'll this week, I want to let you have a little viewing of the book I made as a present for my sweetheart on our two year anniversary last week.

Irony is so helpful with creating the book.

The lyrics are from our first dance song at our wedding (the same as the title lyrics, above).  I was inspired by a valentine's book my mom made for my dad last year. <3

Love!

"Maybe I'm just a pilgrim who is trying to make sense of you now...

...pray the wind will take me where the space meets up with time." How The West Was Won by Katie Herzig.

It's been so pretty outside lately we've been spending a good part of the day on our balcony, enjoying the warm weather and the goings on of all the neighbors. I feel like Jeff from Rear Window sometimes,  calling the police when one of the more notorious deadbeats arrives at one of the unsavory addresses across the hill. It's all very exciting. I've only ever seen them arrest one person.

Pineapple and Cherry Juice...and a cherry on top.

Today my sweet husband made me a delicious "mocktail" to perk me up. Didn't he do amazingly with the garnish? What a sweetie.

Speaking of garnish, I know I've raved about this site before, but I am in love with The Garnish Blog and all their little pretties. I want my life to be full of garnish! It's the little things that make it special!

Asian Persuasion Fever - Bamboo Serving Pieces 

"Say What?!" - Wooden Disposable Cutlery with Stamped Messages

Sippy-De-Do-Dah - Paper Straws

How cute are all these things? Little things like that add so much to the presentation of goodies. I wonder when we'll feel up to having a party next...

Love!