Come Pin With Me

Dear Blog Readers,

Last week during our little sharing time I invited you to find me over on Pinterest if you use the site. This week I am asking why the heck aren't you Pinning yet. You guys I like totally love, love, love this site. I have used it to pull together redecorating ideas for my guest bedroom, to collect fashion inspiration and to find sweet prints and quotes and a million other little things it would take a million years to find on your own online. Plus (as you might have noticed) I use it to put together expanded lists of "find something good" finds.

In closing what I am saying friends is, request an invite and start pinning already - and let me know when you do so I can follow your boards!

xoxo,

Libby

The Real Long Necks

If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen my tweet last week asking if Giraffes are the new Owls. When I did a quick search at Anthropologie and it came back with 17 items I knew I was on a roll. So here you are a full gallery of Giraffe goodness, and when Giraffes blow up later this year you'll know I totally called it! There really is a lot of cute giraffe stuff out there. Like this toothbrush cover I like how the candle holder part kinda looks like a top hat! Not much to say about this necklace, it is just perfectly giraffe-y.

Sleeping giraffe salt and pepper shakers.

For more details on these and many other giraffe items check out my "Giraffes Everywhere" board over on pinterest.

Make: The Waiting Baby Sweater

On Saturday I drove almost 100 (one way!) to deliver this tiny sweater and some other things to my college friend Beth at her baby shower. It was great to see her and I am so looking forward to meeting her little bundle of joy.

This sweater is named for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song "The Waiting". I'll post more details over on my Ravelry.

Lovely all around

I thought I'd keep the Sunday love fest going for another week. This week a few things I'm always loving: 1. Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee - I like "That Funny Feeling" best of their films plus aren't they just so cute! 2. Lily of the Valley - smells like spring 3. When my mom makes iced coffee 4. Sister sleepovers with the loverly Phoebe 5. Sunny Sunday afternoons spent in my mom and dad's library

Take A Peek

Next week I'll have a springy flowery project to share with you! Happy Weekend.

I don't have time for anything else

I have fallen head over heals in love with Downton Abbey. I watched every episode of this great British (I think it is an ITV show not a BBC show) program. This aired in the US on PBS this past winter, but I don't receive broadcast television so I had to wait and watch it on Netflix streaming. If you love Gosford Park, Remains of the Day or well just about any Brit movie that takes place in time leading up to either WWI or WWII set in a large country home of a crazy rich (or as is often the case once rich) important family, you will love this show.
The show follows the Crowley family and their many servants over a few years starting with the sinking of the Titanic and how their lives are changed forever by it. I don't want to give to much away, but here are a few reasons why I love it so much.
I adore the relationship between Lady Mary and her father's heir Cousin Matthew. I don't think I have wished for two fictional characters to get together so badly since Elizabeth and Darcy or Jo and Laurie.

Their relationship is made extra tricky because he stands to inherit not only her fathers title and the family estate, but also all of her mother's inheridenace. So Mary of course has to hate him and everyone else has to want them to get married. Sigh I so hope that she an ending fitting of all Austen's women she gets to marry for Love and Money! (PS if you start watching and you hate her and think no no no cousin Matthew should totally marry Edith, do not be fooled Edith is the worst and Mary gets better.)
His hair is so cute.
I'm also totally invested in the maybe relationship between Mr Bates and Anna the head house maid. I want them to have a happy ending so badly. She is the sweetest and he is oddly noble.
Oh and please you know I'd be crazy about the clothes. I don't even really like horses and have never been interested in hunting, but I would be the first in line if people still dressed like this when they went hunting on horse back.
Even the maids change like two or three times a day. Which makes you wonder why old houses (even large ones) have such small closets.
Lord and Lady Bampton are so cute here. I actually really like their story, you can totally see why they work and why they both feel the way they do about the Mary issue.
Lady Sybil with her daring "new frock".
The sisters wear a lot of blues and purples. I love Edith's short hair.
The dresses from that era are flattering. The girls garden party dresses seem both light and airy.
This is the house used for the exterior shots, I think it is also used for the rooms where the family lives. As a girl from the mid-west that has always made the Great Lakes state my home I find myself a little amazed that not that long ago this was the home of one family (and the 20+ people in their employ).

All and all I can not recommend this show enough, it is so my style.

Hi, Lets Be Friends

Well folks in my ever growing quest to be friends with you in every medium possible; today I'm asking you to be my friend on Twitter, Pinterest and Ravelry.

I'm Tweeting as: libbysomething or you can find me by searching for Elizabeth Fink

I'm can be found Pinning: epfink

And you can find me on Ravelry as: LibbyLu

If you are a user of any of these sites and would like to befriend or follow me I'd love to return the favor, so please leave a comment and I'll find you and share the love!

P.S. How cute is this print from LoveSugar?

P.P.S. Happy St. Patty's day friends!

Girls and Toy Horses

I am rather smitten with this new fabric from Heather Ross over on Spoonflower. I've never been a horse lover - I think they are lovely animals, but I never dreamed of riding or owning a horse farm when I grew up or even really played with toy horses, but I have visions of these little horse playing girls in a quilt for a little girls bedroom or sewn into a child's jumper or a woman's skirt. Sign - so cute.

London Calling

As soon as I saw the latest Boden catalog I was smitten with this lovely print on the cover by Wayne Pate. I have never traveled to London, but I feel completely certain that if I did go I would feel at home. When ever I see the city in films or read about it in books I am so drawn to it.

You can go here to enter for a trip to London on Boden. But if you win you'd need to take me with you because I told you about it, that is how it works right.

humph

image

Posting might be a little light this week. I feel totally jet lagged (from Day Light Savings - yes still complaining about that) and like I need to nap all day long. Now I'm just waiting for the biggest before and after of them all empty branches becoming a world of leafy wonder.

Some Things To Love

I really kinda hate Day Light Savings, so I'm trying to shrug off by thinking of things I love instead:

1. Coffee

2. Nights spend enjoying the company of aunts, uncles and cousins (and more than a few rounds of Bananagrams)

3. The super cute videos my brother Ike (age 17) puts up of himself playing piano and singing on facebook.

4. Shakespeare adaptations.

5. Sundays spent with my family.

Make: The Year of the Rabbit

I have set myself a little goal for 2011, it is my plan to make one of these little fellows for every special baby in my life (at last count that would be 12, but I guess we still have a few weeks to find out if any more are on their way).
All the year of rabbit bunny details can by found here on my Ravelry.

Tweet - Tweet

I don't wear many necklaces and I only wear bracelets if I don't wear my watch and I hardly ever put a ring on it. But earrings, earring I do. I'm a little crazy about the weight of an earring, I'm oddly worried about getting those slit or droopy earlobes that some old women have. With that in mind I stick to posts and light fishing hook styles (my paranoia is so great I have been known to bring earrings with me to an event, put them on in the car right before I go in and take them off as soon as my tush hits the seat). With all those crazy earring issues in mind I think this little pair of birds from Rebecca - whimsical beauty.

For Traveling in Style or Staying Home in the Back Yard

Today I can't get enough of this awesome caravan. I so want one for my back yard.

Making it Personal

This is a fairly quick and easy project all you need is a pre-made magazine holder, some craft paint and a printer.

I had an Ikea magazine holder, I then printed out a big "E" in a fount I like from word, finally after cutting out the "E" to make a stencil I painted onto the magazine holder. So easy and just that little extra that make something seem that much more like me.

It is all my fault

Okay I think I might be to blame for the snow that keeps coming and coming. You see I have yet to take down the paper snowflakes in my dining room window. So I'm sorry, very sorry and it is making me sad. But to make up for it I've put together a little list of things that are making me happy!
1. Sun shine! Sun Sun Sun - we may have snow on the ground, but the sun is shining bright today.
2. The fact that my dad has added an 8 track player to his stereo set up - if you have a song you are dying to hear on any format come on over to my parents house, they will most likely have the device needed to play it.
3. This candle that I picked up at Target that smells like spring - I think the sent is called green grass, but I'm not sure.
4. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - When ever I have one of those days when everything seems to go wrong I think of this story, so I picked this book up at Border's on sale last week with the idea that I would pack it away to give as a gift, but after reading it again I think I'm going to keep it.
5. Crocheting tiny baby sweaters - I have a few half finished sweaters I look forward to sharing in the next few weeks.
6. A very interesting bio of Edith Head I have been reading - you can find it here. I don't really know why I am so interested in her story, but I am.
7. This flickr photo stream - mostly the vintage car ad ones.
8. Random texts from my brother James - I like when he messages me silly pop culture facts he thinks I should know.
9. That the Kratts Creatures Guys are still on TV - the new show seems to be mostly in cartoon, which might be a good thing as those guys are not at all as cute as I remember them being.
10. Having lots and lots of cousins - I love that I can talk about books and garden gnomes with half a dozen of them on facebook, plus sit by a few more at church as we all become smitten with a totally way to cute baby at church, and have hang around my mom and dads sunny Library on a Sunday afternoon with another. What do people do without lots o' cousins!

Time to Read

This month I will be reading Swamplandia by Karen Russell. The title alone made me want to pick up this book. I have heard nothing but good things about it.

For Your Listening Enjoyment

Well friends today I'd like to talk about podcasts. I have been looking to expand my podcast listening. I grew up listening to a lot of books on tape, we often had tapes playing during the day, when we traveled or as we drifted off to sleep. To this day my mom listens to books on tape (books on cd/disc doesn't have the same ring, does it?) when she does housework or sews. I have some of the same habits, only I find that books on tape distract me to much so I've been trying podcasts. Here are a few that I have been enjoying, but I'm looking for suggestions. Are there any that you just love? Please share.

Podcasts that I have been enjoying lately:

Pop Culture Happy Hour - I love their "what's making me happy this week"

Craftsanity - Conversations with all your fave crafters

This American Life - You know about his right

Crafty Reads

Our local (well the whole company is local, but the store closest to me) Border's is one of the stores that the company is closing this spring. At one time I did a lot of shopping there, well before the days of Amazon and online shopping, so I guess I thought I would stop by for old times sake and take a little look-see. I hate to say this, but I still think the prices even at the discount rates are far to high so I didn't really pick anything up, but it did give me a chance to flip through a few crafty books, by a few crafty ladies I have had in my Amazon cart/wishlist for a while. The problem with buying craft books, in my opinion, is that you don't really know what you are getting. Sure you know that the author is someone who's work you like, or has a style that attracts you, but you don't know if the projects within the book will be anything you would actually like to make. And lets face it, if you aren't going to make anything from the book, what is the point in having it. Here are a few titles that after browsing through I still think would be worth adding to your craft room library (or to that ever growing stack of books at the side of your bed).

Little Stitches for Little Ones by Amy Butler
Wee Wonderfuls by Hilary Lang
Embroidery Companion by Alicia Paulson
The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer by Emily Martin

Of course all other these ladies have wonderful blogs and websites that I have linked above.

The Spring Cleaning is Coming!

Now that February is finally over (why is it that the shortest month of the year always feels like the longest?) my thoughts have turned to spring. Spring cleaning that is. So I'm wondering if you have any tips to share, an organizing method that you use, a task you really hate to do?
P.S. That is the inside of my medicine cabinet.