Friday's Fancies + Have an Enjoyable Weekend!

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dress // bag // sandals // sunglasses 

 Happy Friday + Long Weekend, everyone!  The holiday is finally upon us and I'm sure many of you are hightailing it out of town for a weekend of fun aplenty.  While I have no big plans for the weekend, I'm so excited for the extra day off to catch up on life.  I'm anxious to spend some time cooped up with Stevie and Gus, reading a book and listening the rain we're expecting.  Sounds pretty nice, right?  Husband is off having a guys trip with his dad and grandpa (pretty cute, right?) down at the lake so it's just us ladies (and chief!) to hold down the fort.  What exciting plans do you have?

This week's Friday's Fancies is a true representative of what I'd love to be wearing all weekend long.  Comfort + style all in one!  If it weren't the end of summer I might consider purchasing both the dress and the sandals - I can't stop staring at that bright pop of yellow!  What is your ideal Labor Day look? I'd love to hear!

Here's to a fantastic long weekend, my friends! Safe travels to those of you with awesome adventures scheduled and all of you be safe and try to stay dry!  xoxo

Thursday Loves

I am pretty hungry right now and the thought of eating this is making me mad! Mad for eggs, that is. Via

Last night we caught the opening monologue of Conan for the first time in ages and I am still laughing about this. Nick Offerman (the beloved Ron Swanson) read young female celebrity tweets while working in his shop.  That was all it was and it was awesome.  Definitely the only rewarding bit of Conan last night, in our opinion.

You may have seen this floating around the interwebs lately, but I find it to be NUTS!  Artist Bryan Saunders Lewis took every drug known to man (though most of these seem to be medications than street drugs) and drew a self portrait while under the influence.  It's fascinating, I tell you, and definitely worrisome.  We as a nation are prescribed these medications every day...and these are the portrayals! Yikes!  Source

I desperately wish this was me this weekend.  Alas, I'll be home alone with no plans of putting my feet in water and letting the waves crash over them.  Alas.  Via

I literally love everything about this image.  Seriously.  That is all.  Via

Hope you all have are having a lovely Thursday (and week).  Only one more day until the long weekend!

Oh Deer!

nail art // sweater // ring // figurine // linens // photograph // cardboard antler // pin

We see so much deer around our neck of the woods and they really are as adorable as they are portrayed (except when they frantically run in front of your moving car or when they munch on your plants and flowers).  Don't you just kind of wish you could keep a deer as a pet and snuggle with it at night?  Or maybe the allure of seeing a deer in the flesh would be lost if you were always around it.  Either way, a deer could never replace the love in my heart for my Stevie and Gus!

Weekend Recap

Hey, everybody! Hope you guys all had a great weekend.  We sure did and I tried to capture some of the best moments.  Stevie really hammed it up for the camera this weekend and I couldn't resist sharing her adorableness with you all.  Some highlights of the weekend include ::

• Friday night birthday celebration with family - we ate delicious dinner, cooed at baby Ava and re-watched Bridesmaids (it gets me every time).  
• Lunch at Salsarita's (I recommend this place when you're in the Qdoba/Chipotle kind of mood)
• It took us all weekend but we (and by we I mean my awesome husband) rearranged our living room in anticipation of the furniture we're still planning to order.  This included rerouting the speaker wire, cable/internet and rehanging the tv.  Oof, what a chore! But it was SO worth it!
• We may or may not have gone on an online shopping spree for said living room project.  Hello West Elm frames and accessories!  
• Sunday morning walk on the trail with the pooch
• New porch swing! Husband's grandpa crafted us a beautiful swing that you can see above.  Hanging it up wasn't easy, and husband and his dad cursed the builders of this house for inconsistent studs galore.  It's up and in studs though, just on the wrong side.  But that's cool.  It looks BEAUTIFUL!
• Playing with Stevie in the front yard is so much more enjoyable for some reason.  Maybe it's because of the porch that I can sit comfortably on?  Yeah, that's probably it.
• Video chat with two of our favorite people :)
• Breaking Bad - seriously, if you don't watch this show by now there is something wrong.  Something seriously wrong.

So I kind of caught up on sleep, had some laid back fun, tried not to think about work and enjoyed myself thoroughly.  What did you get up to this weekend? I'd love to hear!  

Here's to a great week ahead!

Friday's Fancies + Have a Happy Weekend!

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Hello, Friday! You're looking REAL good today, let me tell you.  I've waited so long for it to be this special day, for the work week to end and for sleeping in to commence.  Lord knows I need it.  That and some good old fashioned r n' r.  

Today's Friday's Fancies is channeling my favorite kind of outfit.  The casual, laid-back look I love.  Aviators, an adorable weekender, comfy worn-in jeans, a chic sweater and fun slip-on shoes.  It makes me want to take a road trip just looking at it!  What's your road trip style?

What have you got planned for the weekend?  We're celebrating a family member's birthday tonight (happy 19th, Sara!), I'm definitely going to do some sleeping this weekend and maybe some other fun stuff will commence.  But for now, no big plans after tonight.  Just the way I like it :)

Happy weekend, everyone! 

Thursday Loves

My stomach is growling just looking at this. I used to not consider myself a fan of beets but that has all changed.  Our homegrown beets were superb, especially paired with goat cheese.  So honestly, this sandwich looks pretty much perfect.  Via

Oh J.Crew sweater, I need you in my closet!  You are the epitome of my style - especially paired with those jeans and messy side pony.  I definitely wish I had $95 lying around to spend on a sweater.  Maybe I'll do some extra chores around the house ;)

Oh. My. God. I looooove these illustrations!  Tutti Confetti, you make my heart flutter!

This is random, but I'm totes diggin' this chick's effortless hair.  It looks part ratty (like mine usually does) but with the perfect amount of wave in the perfect places.  Rarely does my hair do this but when it does I feel like I should go out and paint the town red.

Last but not least, I thought I'd leave you with a drool-worthy image of amazing barstools.  That's all.  Via

Relish in the Details :: Zara

It might just be me (no, it certainly can't be!) but the details of the dress and the sweater from Zara have got it going on.  Seriously.  They're the kind of embellishments that anyone could wear and it can leave you feeling any way.  They're the perfect combination of soft and tough mixed together and I'm in love.

Weekend Recap

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Hello, everybody!  Here we go with another week.  Hopefully Wednesday comes fast because my baby has left me for work yet again.  Stevie and I shall do tons of snuggling together while bumming it up on the couch.  Or maybe we'll be awesome and go for long walks and be social.  Although the last time he was out of town we did go to a bar and she did sneak behind the bar and bark at the bartender after she barked at guys on the patio and then she escaped through the back door and ran down the street with me chasing her like a crazy person.  Maybe we shouldn't let that happen again.  Where was I again? Oh yes, the weekend.  It was a good one, folks. Some highlights include ::

• The Campaign - we had free tickets so we figured a comedy would be the best way to spend them.  It was funny but I'm not going to tell you all to go rush out and see it.  It is definitely Netflix worthy and you will definitely laugh.  I'm also sure that whenever you see pugs you will think of this movie.  
• Douglass Loop Farmers Market - we traveled down to the Highlands to get our farmers market fix.  It's not quite as easy for us to go to one here as it was in Chicago.  I mean, we just walked two blocks and voila - the Logan Square Farmers Market and all its glory was right there!  This one may not have been as big as the LS one, or as many people or as much variety, but it still made me happy and we still made it home with flowers and beets (we have no shortage on tomatoes this year!).  
• Tom + Chee - this is a new grilled cheese restaurant in town that is all the rage.  We were so close to getting food from the taco truck but when I realized I was planning to eat the same meal for lunch and dinner we opted to hightail it over to grilled cheese heaven.  It was pretty great but considering the fact that grilled cheese is my vegetarian staple I was a little disappointed with the lack of options for myself.  It was a meaty grilled cheese paradise, much to my chagrin.  But still delish - and cheap!
• We painted our stairwell! What a task.  We used this color again and it really brightened it up a lot.  It was so much of a task that we honestly only did one coat.  It could probably benefit another coat but if you saw how tall this stairwell was and how hard it was for my 6'4" husband to reach you'd opt to not paint another coat as well :)
• Captain's Quarters - what a strange place this is.  Going to this restaurant was like being on vacation in Florida mixed with a weekend at Kentucky Lake.  Insert a 1992 high school reunion, a one man cover band and people walking around in suits, bikinis and resort wear and you can easily fool yourself into believing that you've left Louisville and gone on a very weird vacation.  On the Ohio river, no less.  But hey, the weather was nice and a rich old sleazy man with very bad jokes bought my husband a tequila shot and a beer!
• After a Sunday brunch at home featuring biscuits and gravy, we got productive and did our chores.  But then I took advantage of the sunny Sunday afternoon and baked this and made the whole house smell heavenly!

Apparently this Monday is all about really super long sentences (see above).  How were your weekends? Thanks for all the good vibes you sent Anna-Maria's way, that lady is now a DOCTOR!  Holy guacamole, congrats, my friend!  

Here's to a wonderful week ahead, my friends.  Remember...wake up and be awesome.

Friday's Fancies + Have a Colorful Weekend!

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It's FRIDAY!  I am incredibly thankful for the fact that it is Friday and that I can put that super rough work week behind me.  Obviously I survived, but I'm going to be truthful - we are all hanging on by a thread at this point.  Hopefully in a month or so we can look back on this week and laugh, because it sounds much better than crying!  Thank goodness we're a small office and all know each other pretty well.  I was remembering a time at my old job where we went through something similar and I thought about how awful it was because we were a big department with young and old working together.  Now that was rough.  But I digress.

We lost our power last night during a pretty severe thunderstorm.  When I took Stevie out this morning I noticed a massive tree branch had fallen and missed our truck by inches.  Thank goodness the Subaru is under the carport!  We took advantage of our power being out though - we played Yahtzee by the candlelight and I went to bed rather early with the sound of rain and thunder off in the distance.

Now on to Friday's Fancies!  This week's theme is "summer sunset" and I basically took that theme rather literally.  I'd totally wear this though, and I'm almost positive that I desperately need that Calypso St. Barth's tank in my closet.

What have you got planned this weekend? I think we'll be working on some more house stuff (after living here for over a year, I have a serious urge to FINISH but it's still so much work and money), hopefully going to the movies and hanging out with awesome people.  Whatever you get up to this weekend I hope you have a fabulous one!  xoxo.

PS - everybody send some good vibes out to my dear friend Anna-Maria, who is defending her dissertation today!  Break a leg, AM!

Inspired + Finds Under $50

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I am so enamored by the artwork coming out of Snedker Studio.  The image above is a tiny example of all the awesomeness they consist of.  Click on the link and check it out for yourself! And go ahead and buy me some prints while you're at it.

* Thanks for all your encouraging comments about work for me this week! We're surviving, but not without early bed times and lots of deep breaths.  Eek...at least we're starting to grasp it all.  But seriously, you guys are the best.

Weekend Recap

I can honestly say that I have dreaded this particular Monday for quite a while.  That's such a terrible way to start a post but it's the honest truth!  We're going live with electronic medical records today at work and it is going to be one gigantic change.  I know it will be worth it, and we're already getting the hang of all the computer stuff.  But man.  All I can say is...please wish us luck!  Anyway, this post is supposed to be about the weekend, right?  It was a lovely weekend.  A lovely weekend indeed.  Some highlights include ::

• Dinner + drinks with lovely friends at The Holy Grale - the threat of rain lingered for awhile (hence the skies above) but it was a very pleasant evening sipping brews in the adorable beer garden.  
• I totally made a dork of myself in front of Gunnar from the current season of Project Runway as we exited the Holy Grale.  Yeah, he was there.  No big deal (Alex, I know you're making fun of me right now).  I gave him the thumbs up as I said "Project Runway!" and he put his hands over his mouth and said..."yes".  I have no idea how to interpret that.  And it makes me laugh to think about how excited I got/am over a silly contestant on a reality TV show.  
• Saturday I did not feel well all day so we kind of took it easy.  We did manage to buy some paint and curtain rods from good ole Home Depot.
• Pizza + Olympics (I'm pretty sure we eat pizza every weekend - don't judge!)
• Perseid Shower!  It was not easy to stay up so late but it was worth it.  I saw multiple shooting stars as a result as we watched in the country silence atop our roof.  I even had to put a long-sleeved shirt on.  Say what!?
• Hallway painted? Check.  That's how we spent our Sunday afternoon.  It looks so clean and fresh in that upstairs hallway now and I am so into it!
• Roasted veggie tacos - these were particularly delicious because we used our homegrown carnival peppers and added in some pineapple.  I'll be dreaming about these all week long.
• Dairy Queen and a walk in the park at dusk.  Some day we'll be able to walk Stevie together without her going crazy, right?!

All in all a terrific weekend.  So here goes nothing with the week ahead.  How were your weekends? Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Friday's Fancies + Have a Glorious Weekend!

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Happy Friday, friends! We've made it through another long week and another glorious weekend is upon us.  Whew!  This weekend I'm excited to do a whole lot of nothing.  We'll likely take it easy and enjoy our alone time - maybe we'll even find some time to catch a movie or play outside.  What do you have planned?

This week's Friday's Fancies is focused on gingham.  I'm not the biggest fan, personally, but I do really love these vintage shorts.  This whole ensemble feels like a modern-day Audrey Hepburn to me, and I'd love to frolic around feeling glamorous yet totally ready for a spontaneous picnic in the park.  How 'bout you, are you a fan of gingham?

Cheers to a lovely weekend ahead - I hope you get to enjoy it thoroughly! Until Monday...

Thursday Loves

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I love this room for so many reasons.  We have been talking about our screened-in porch for quite some time now and still haven't quite settled on one specific idea.  We want to transform it into another room that we can lounge in when the weather is nice and not use it as a catch-all for all the things that have no home (we have a terrible habit of this).  Since we don't have a shed yet, or a garage (only a carport), the porch has to serve as storage for tools and the mower.  But once we figure out how to get that stuff out of there, we plan to lay tile or some sort of flooring, add furniture and maybe even a curtain and decorate it nicely.  I'm finding tons of inspiration from this one image alone but am VERY open to your lovely suggestions :)  Via

Seeing as though it's the perfect time of the year to eat corn, this recipe from A Beautiful Mess seems a pretty delicious way to eat some corn on the cob.  We had some last night but we still have several more ears left to eat.  I'm thinking that this might be the way to go next time!  

This dress is so darling - and for all you lucky ladies with backs like hers, I think it would be hard to resist the urge to snatch this up at once!  Via

Before my family was in town, the mister and I had been doing a great deal of reading in bed.  I read all the time but he rarely reads.  Last night we did just this and it felt so good.  Any good book suggestions for when I'm through reading my current book?  Via

Last, for all you mamas and papas out there, this article about raising successful children is pretty good.  

Sorry for my absence this week, but it's been one of those weeks where I have just been living my life away from the computer.  My family left Tuesday so we went to celebrate our anniversary the proper way on Tuesday night with a delicious prix fixe meal from Harvest - a farm-to-table restaurant here in Louisville.  It was a special event with the Bluegrass Brewing Company that night, which paired four beers with four courses that were SUPERB.  All I can say is...smoked deviled egg...holy wow!

Also, we've been completely sucked into the Olympics every single night.  How about you?  How have you been?  Hope your weeks are going great!

Weekend Recap + Something Special

What a weekend it was!  Needless to say, I am EXHAUSTED from all the craziness the weekend brought.  Family is great.  Family visits in the summer are really great! Some highlights of the weekend include ::

• Friday night welcome, grilled dinner, hanging out and lots of love
• After a lazy start to the day, we spent the afternoon switching between the pool and the hot tub (the threat of rain cooled things off enough).  It was a ton of fun and it really wore the kids out (and by kids I mean me, it definitely wore me out).  
• Board games and Olympics on a Saturday night.  Awesome!
• Sunday trip to Cincinnati - my family is pretty big into baseball so we journeyed to Ohio to catch a Reds game.  It was fun, we ate hot dogs/veggie dogs/nachos/cotton candy/dippin' dots, etc.  That was between all 7 of us, btw ;)
• Chinese food and Olympics.  We were all so tired after sitting in the sun all afternoon, with the exception of the occasional downpour at the stadium, so we pretty much just stared at the tv until it was time for bed.  Unfortunately, our hearts broke after seeing McKayla Maroney's disappointing landing which cost her the medal she really deserved.  Poor girl.  

Obviously it was a pretty great weekend and I'm not ready for it to be over! We're all so tired - even Stevie is utterly exhausted!  

And guess what today is?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?  

Two years ago I married my favorite person in the world and two years later we're as happy as can be.  I love you, husbadge, to the moon and back.  ♥

Friday's Fancies + Have an Endearing Weekend!

tee // shorts // studs // sandals

Happy Friday, errbody!  I'm so so so excited that it's the weekend because by the end of today, I'll be reunited with family! It's been so long since I've seen my nieces and nephew, and it's been even longer since I've seen my parents.  They're staying through Tuesday and it's official - we're going to have an awesome time together.  On the agenda? Swimming, a Cincinnati Reds game, board games, ice cream, Olympics and lots of laughs.

This week's Friday's Fancies is basically me to a T.  T-shirts being the theme, it couldn't be more apt for my definitive summer wardrobe.  I've been sporting a lot of solid t-shirts with colored shorts and sandals.  What about you? What has been your summer wardrobe?  

What have you planned this weekend? Something wonderful, I hope!  Here's to lots of love this weekend :)

Thursday Loves

Have you seen these funny diver faces floating around the internet? I can't stop sharing them with people, they make for such good laughs.  Sorry, divers.  You are thoroughly entertaining us though, and I"m not just talking about these photos.  Also, were you lucky enough to see this happen live? We were and I admit...I haven't been able to stop talking about it either.  Tuesday was such a fantastic night for US Olympic gold!

I love the way this brightly-colored eclectic room makes me feel.  I want to curl up in the bed and read a good book for hours and hours.  I also feel like it would spark creativity at every chance, don't you? Via

Loving the looks of this screen printed shirt by Etsy artist Veronica de Arriba.  Such a fun, playful pattern and a great way to dress up "t-shirt and jeans".

Scarab Urn

what better way to present the ashen remains of your lamented relative

than hung within an ancient egyptian dung beetle artifact?

under the protective spell of the solar diety Khepri

your loved one will be encouraged 

with sweet notions of creation and rebirth

$800

Have you guys seen Anthroparodie? It really cracks me up! I love Anthropologie as much as the next person but they really do have some easy stuff to make tons of fun of!

Last, I thought I'd leave you all with a very uplifting quote from one of the best.  Positive thoughts, my friends!  Via

Hope your weeks are going great!