Thursday Loves

I love, love, love this card with all my heart!  Via

How delicious do these cherry margaritas look?  I think I'm starting to make a list of all the adult beverages I want after this baby is born.  These are moving to the top of the list, I must say!  Via

I've been really into flowy blouses lately and this one is certainly stunning.  Via

We already have our mobile/nursery theme picked out, but this happy day cloud mobile sure is darling.

Last but not least, how precious are these hand-carved stools?  Oh. My. God.  Via

I hope your weeks have been lovely.  I'm happy we're so close to the weekend - and I'm especially looking forward to tomorrow because I'm being treated to a prenatal massage!  Woo!

Happy Thursday!

Thursday Loves

You know what's both incredibly exciting and incredibly terrifying about these earrings? You're probably thinking, what is terrifying about earrings?!  Well, they're part of the spring 2013 collection from Stella & Dot.  Not terrifying, you say?  Well, imagine if you were due to give birth in spring 2013! Kind of terrifying now, right?!  I can' believe I'm seeing those words pop up everywhere.  Spring 2013.  Ah!

And if only it was warm enough outside to slip these babies on my feet.  Because I need shoes that are easy to slip on my feet.  News flash.  It's hard to bend over with a basketball in your belly, folks.  I'm thinking I need to order these Madewell sandals as my summer staple.

Why is it that when you need something and you settle on that something being something from Target that you like you but you don't love, and it's not really the best option but you go for it because you need it, and then you end up finding the perfect solution too little too late? That's what happened here.  We needed a mat for our wet shoes, we bought a mat from Target that we're all like, "eh" about, and it only kind of stays in place, and now here it is, the mat I've been yearning for.  You like my run-on sentences?  Via

Mmm, perfect-looking breakfast sandwich....mmmm.  I'm hungry.  All the time.  And this looks divine. And yeah, it has bacon on it and yeah, I've been eating occasional meat since with child.  Sue me!  Via

With Valentine's Day approaching, wouldn't this ring dish be a lovely gift to receive? Or better yet, a perfect ring bearer "pillow" for a rustic wedding.  We used a piece of carved wood with our initials in it and the rings tied on with satin ribbon.  It was lovely.  And so is this.  Via

How are you, lovelies?  I hope your weeks are going well.  I"m so thrilled to have an easy day today...the early half of the week was rather rough!  Hang in there, everyone, tomorrow is Friday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Why did the banana go out with the prune? Because it couldn't get a date!

Hope you're enjoying this commercialized day full of hearts of the red and pink variety.  Kiss your sweetheart, and if you don't have  a sweetheart, tell your mom, dad, sister, brother and/or grandma/grandpa how much you love them. 

Here's hoping your days are fabulous!

P.S. Happy 1st birthday, Liam! Uncle Mo loves and misses you! xoxoxo

Friday's Fancies + Have a Romantic Weekend!

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With Valentine's Day being next Tuesday, naturally I'm all aflutter with hearts, flowers and all things pink and red.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't always been like this.  I used to be one of the many who didn't enjoy this commercial holiday.  But I've always been fond of the candy.  Let's just make that one clear.

Seeing as though I a) never wear blazers and b) never wear heels, this outfit is definitely the definition of Friday's Fancies :: dream BIG!  Louboutins, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana lipstick.  Oh.  My.

What are you all up to this weekend? Any fun Valentine's plans for you?  This time last year we were digging our way out of the apartment and heading to Galena, IL for a romantic weekend in a cozy cottage.  We were so excited to get there that we immediately popped open a bottle of bubbly - which immediately sprayed the ceiling and spewed out half the contents of the bottle.  Just thought you might want to know that little tidbit :)

Have a great weekend, everybody!  I'm nursing a scratchy throat this weekend with lots of tea and honey.  Hopefully I'll be back to my healthy self in time for some weekend fun.  

Thursday's Randoms

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Punxsutawney Phil predicted more winter this morning but many other groundhog's seemed to offer a different opinion.  Whatever the case may be, I'll take it.  If it means winter is finally coming, well, that's fine because that's only rght and natural.  If it means warm weather is here to stay? Why complain?  Also, I can hardly believe that snowpocalypse was this time last year! What a couple of days that was.  I made us watch Groundhog Day while we were snowed in!

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Well, it's February.  Which means many things.   Some reasons why I love this month so much are a) my mom made Valentine's Day pretty cool growing up.  I would always get a piece of jewelry or a cd or something cool along with candy.  Also, she helped out a few years at the florist so I would get pretty flowers from her.  b) it is the month that my husband and I started dating 6 years ago.  6 years? Holy wowzers!  c) I'm just a fan in general of pink and red together so seeing stores decorated for Valentine's day makes me happy.  

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Blue Moon and Corona cupakes?  Yes, please.  Here's the recipe for the Blue Moon ones.  Mayhaps I should make these?

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Through Marie Claire magazine, I discovered this beautiful (and very expensive) lingerie store - Agent Provocateur.  If only it were feasible to spend $350 on a bra and panty set....

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This chicken coop has a rooftop garden! I love how inventive people are.  I would really like to have a few chickens in our yard to go along with our soon-to-be-crafted vegetable garden.  I love the idea of being able to eat an entire meal from our backyard.  If we have the room, why not?  

What's inspiring you this Thursday? Hope your weeks are going great!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Even if you're a hater of this sweet holiday, I hope you're feeling some love today and remember to spread it yourself.  Tonight we're staying in, making gnocchi, chocolate souffle and drinking champagne.  It's sure to be a lovely evening!  I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful day!

David, I love you more than ever.  This song has been stuck in my head all day today.  Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life!

P.S. - I just received a wonderful text message...I'm on the edge of my seat in anticipation for more news and can't wait to share with all of you!

Knock Knock!

Who's there?
Sherwood.
Sherwood who?
Sherwood like to be your valentine!

Yesterday afternoon, I hunkered down with cheese and crackers, water, all of my crafting supplies and a curious cat.  I began crafting some handmade Valentine's for very special people!  For some reason, Valentine's Day really brings out the crafty side of me.  For the past several years, I've brought out the pink and red construction paper, glue and scissors and have created a special card for my sweetie.  It's the only time of the year that I really ever do this - I just love cutting out hearts and having an excuse to do so.  This year, I wanted to send some to Kansas to three little cutie pies.  After searching for inspiration, I stumbled upon these gems and decided to copy but with my own spin.

I used pieces of my 2010 calendar that I couldn't bring myself to throw away, some leftover yarn and construction paper.  I wrote silly messages on the back, similar to the knock knock joke above.  For my nephew (who always rolls his eyes at these kinds of things) I gave him some advice:

What kind of flowers do you never send on Valentine's Day?

Cauliflowers.

He'll be rolling his eyes for sure.

These were a cinch to make - I whipped up 4 in an hour or so.  It also helped me familiarize myself with crochet a little more, even if it was basically just a chain stitch all the way around...

Wednesday night was a fun night that I made fun cupcakes for.  They were super delicious and very Valentine's Day appropriate...

(I apologize for the terrible, no good, very bad picture quality)

While they may not take the cake for best decorated, the decorative sugar really did make me happy.

What about you guys - does Valentine's Day bring out the crafty side in you? I'd love to hear!

I like you

How sweet is this "I like you" pendant from Bona Drag?  It's perfect for a Valentine's gift, even if you've moved on to "I love you".  I just think it would be fun to wear around for the comments you might receive from strangers and the like!  What do you think?  Any big Valentine's plans?  

P.S. - I made this last night and it's really good.  Like, really, really good.  

I Heart You!

There's a crazy blizzard* outside so what better thing to do than to stare at pretty pictures for Valentine's Day?  I don't know about you but I totally want a chocolate panini and some champagne right about now.

My husband is actually on his way home right now since the blizzard is in full effect and things are getting nuts out there.  Chicago is actually starting to shut down...unbelievable.  Here's hoping the schools close down so our seriously pregnant Hadley doesn't have to travel to the opposite side of town to sit in an empty classroom tomorrow.  My fingers are crossed!

Stay warm, everyone!

* Just for the record, I prefer the Dairy Queen kind over the mother nature kind.

All images from Martha Stewart, Mod Cloth and Real Simple

Carnation Cones

These carnation cones from the February issue of Martha Stewart Living are so simple and sweet.  They have to be about the cutest party favor or small token of friendship I've ever seen!  They're so easy to make - just print off the template here, twist into the shape of a cone and secure the stem of a carnation inside!  

PS - these remind me of a construction paper flower bouquet that my bff made me one year.  I still have it even though it's been smushed in a box during multiple moves since she gave it to me!

:)

Happy Monday...

I'm still in a state of bliss after the lovely day/night my sweet baby provided me with.  We agreed long ago to go ring shopping, even if it is a tad bit early.  Hey, it's free (for now) and it's romantic!  Since the store I wanted to go to was closed, we ended up going into Tiffany's!  Aaaaaaaah, Tiffany's.  He tried on rings, I tried on rings, we laughed, we smiled - we had a good time.  Oddly enough, I wasn't that into any of the rings I tried on.  Boy found some good ones but man were they shiny.  He's not so much a shiny kind of guy either.

After our afternoon of shopping, we headed to The Wit, where Badger had booked us a room for the night!! Our room was amazing and the views were stunning.  And how strange it was to wake up and walk to work. 

We ate dinner at Cibomatto, which was scrumptious, had the best cocktails at Roof (indoors of course) and then settled in for the night.  It was absolutely wonderful.  Thanks for the amazing night, babe!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! 

(photo via gothamist)

Sweet glorious weekend!

What's everyone getting up to this weekend?  It's a special weekend after all.  Whether it be Valentine's Day weekend for you, or President's day weekend or the celebration of Raegan/Anna/Bort's birthdays with a burlesque themed party.  Oooh la la!  It should be a good weekend.  And you know why?  Because it's the weekend!  Nuff said.  Aside from the burlesque birthday bash, Badger & I are skyping w/my dear sweet lovely friend Jess who is creating our invitations.  We're also going to go ring shopping (yay!) on Sunday to be romantic but away from all the crowds and such.  Then maybe we'll head back home and drink that 13-year-old bottle of Chardonnay we brought back from Calistoga.  Mmmmmmmmmm, wine. 

Whatever you get up to, enjoy yourself this weekend!  Happy Valentine's Day!  Happy Anti-Valentine's Day (if that's how you roll)!

(photo via orengblog and martha stewart)

Love is in the air

My niece and her boyfriend (as my mom puts it).  He tells her she is his 'best girl'.  So cute!

V-day Gifts

Since I posted about my love for this holiday that most people hate, I thought I would add to it with some lovely gift suggestions. 

For him:

Men our age really need a tie, whether they want it or not.  There are many occassions to wear it.  Business meetings, the obvious, necessitate a tie for a lot of young professionals.  Weddings definitely necessitate a tie for the most part.  Dates (pending on the tie - I'm thinking a black, skinny tie will do the trick). 

So thanks to Martha, you can buy a tie and wrap it with love!

A nice bottle of booze.  What man can refuse that?  Mine certainly can't.

For her (moi):

When is there a better time to buy intimate wear for your woman!?  I quite fancy these (in case you're reading, and you know who you are)

I also enjoy jewelry and perfume, accessories and wine/champagne.  While we were in Calistoga, we stopped and bought a bottle of vintage chardonnay for the occassion.  And I always love having cake on V-day.  And flowers.  And delicious food :)

Valentine's

I have to admit,  I really like Valentine's day.  Ugh you say?  I understand.  Before Badger came around, I wasn't so into it.  But I can't really say that, because when I was younger, my dear sweet mama would always provide my brother & I something really sweet.  Every year, no matter what.  Brandon & I would always get a basket full of candy, a cute card and usually I would receive a necklace or a CD or something she knew I would love.  Isn't that sweet of her?!  She also helped her friend out in the floral department at our neighborhood grocery store during the month of February just because she enjoyed working with flowers and the help was needed.  So she always made V-day a good time for us.  So I love it for that reason.  I also love it because yes, I'm in a relationship and can celebrate it for that reason.  Also, because 4 years ago, Badger invited me to hang out with him and Mr. Bort for a night of food, booze and Skat.  I knew he was into me so I was pretty stoked when he invited me up.  I stayed way longer than planned because him and I ended up talking until the wee hours of the night.  And I totally ditched class the next morning.  And now the rest is history.  So even though we don't recognize V-day as our anniversary (we chose the first kiss as the day to celebrate, which is towards the end of the month) I still enjoy the celebration with him in more ways than one. 

Anyway...onto the actual reason for this post.  For the last several years, I have made a sweet card for him out of random materials found around the apartment.  I'm insistent upon it - not too sure why, but why not?  So for inspiration and ideas, I naturally turn to Martha Stewart.  I mean, you have to admit that her ideas are usually pretty awesome.  Her cupcake recipes are always delicious and she is of treMENDOUS help with the wedding planning.  And just look at these card ideas...

PS - I just received a link to a live stream of PUPPIES!!