In the summertime when the weather is high

With yesterday's holiday, the swimming pools opening up all around, 90 degree days and sticky hot nights, thunderstorms, baseball, grilling on the patio (though in my family we will do this in 40 degrees!) and the fan blowing while I sleep it is beginning to feel a lot like summer in these here parts. I hope that my summer will involve lots of long days enjoying time with family and friends, maybe some camping, lots of reading, a dip or two in a lake and tons of sunshine. How do you hope to spend your summer?

Hedgehog Your Bets

I picked up an amigurumi book at the library last week and just had to make this little guy. He is, lets say, a little lopsided, but I think he is cute anyway!

Hello Friends!

Well friends just in time for our weekly sharing time a fun new website has hit the internets! Hello Giggles looks to be one of those websites that will prove hours of entertainment. Hello Giggles comes from the mind of some very cool girls and with at least 15 authors it should be teaming with up dates.

I haven't sold you on it yet check out their about blurb:

Founded by actress/musician ZOOEY DESCHANEL, producer SOPHIA ROSSI and blogger/Internet Sensation MOLLY MCALEER, hellogiggles.com is the ultimate entertainment destination for smart, independent and creative females. Everything hosted on the site will be lady-friendly, so visitors need not worry about finding the standard Boys Club content that makes many entertainment sites unappealing to so many of us.

P.S. My camera is back up in functioning so I plan on taking lots of before and after and project related pictures over the weekend. So be ready for that, it will be awesome.

P.P.S. I am thinking about changing my auto posts from the morning to lunch time (maybe you have noticed, though most likely you have not and that is cool, I have been testing other posting times). What do you think? Do you like to read blogs with your morning coffee or over lunch?

I told you so . . .

See this Giraffe print dress from Kate Spade? It is just one of many new items from Kate Spade with a giraffe print. I am taking that as my earlier prediction about giraffes being the new owls as confirmed. You can check out all of the animal inspired collection by Kate Spade right here.

Green With Envy

Watch this and tell me if you aren't a little less grumpy about a movie you thought might suck. I had no idea this would be so cute, now I'm looking forward to seeing it!

P.S. I am leaving out why this is surprisingly cute so you can have the same moment of awe that I had.

lazing . . .

I wish I could say that my posting is a little lack luster this week because I am spending my days like this gal, doesn't it look like she is having a grand old time? But alas it is because I have a cold and am therefore grumpy and sleepy. So real quick this week I'm enjoying:

The Library (and long trips there with my soon to be sister in-law Kelsey!)

Veronica Mars (watching this great show for the first time)

Books on tape (and how much I can get done while listening)

Strawberries (the first good ones of the year have come out and they are lovely - more on the later)

Plain Frozen Yogurt (with strawberries and chocolate - delish)

One way to recycle a sweater

Do you have any wool sweaters that you have accidentally shrunk or one that has unrepairable moth holes? May I recommend that before you toss that sweater you try something like this bag that I made by sewing across the sweater just under the arm holes and adding handles that can be picked up at any craft store. I embellished mine with a few crochet and fabric flowers and a little bow or two.

And she does it again . . .

I know I'm not alone in my Anna Maria Horner love. Her latest fabric line is of course no exception, check out a sneak peak over on her blog and tell me you don't love it!

The Look for Less

Do you remember the fantastic Kate Spade earrings from last week? They are so cute, but a little out of my normal earring price range (and with my habit of misplacing earrings not a good "investment"). But look what I found.
This is a definite look for less option, these semi precious stone earrings from Urban Outfitters have exactly the same feel and at $20 they are a fraction of the price.

Fly the friendly skies

I am oddly (okay not that oddly I do love me some TV) excited for this new show airing in the fall. I was once asked to describe "my decor style" and all I could come up with was that I thought my apartment looked like it would be the home of a 1960's flight attendant. What do you think would you watch a show set in the by gone years where you had to be an unmarried woman under the age of 32 to strut up and down the plane isle? Will it fill your Mad Men fix?

I've lived there

No before and after today (I say this every week maybe I should just drop them), but rather a tour through the places I have lived in my post college I no longer share a bathroom with 5 other girls years.
The first two images are from my very little apartment in Grand Rapids, I don't think I have a picture of the livingroom/bedroom/everythingroom (sad), but I do love that bathroom and the kitchen had the tiniest sink ever. The two frames with the four pictures of me, my cousins Lydia and Hannah and our friend Mel have hung in the bathroom of everyone of the places in the post, I love them so much.
Yellow bedroom in my Ypsi apartment, I have been lucky to have great south facing windows in every bedroom that I've had so I get lots of morning sunshine!
Apartment living room right after I moved in with my beloved pink plaid chairs, they are looking a little ragged these days, but I can't get them recovered until I can find the perfect pink plaid because I love them just they way they are!
Another yellow bedroom (every bedroom I have ever picked the paint for has been painted yellow, I had a light pink and yellow bedroom in middle school as well).
I love this corner of my kitchen can't get enough of that hot air balloon mobile.

Well I hope you've enjoyed this little virtual tour. I think it is fun to see a personal style evolve.

The Civil Wars

Reposted in-case you missed it with the blogger issues this week:

Mostly I'm just super amazed with this song right now. The Jackson 5 original is one of my all time faves, but this cover is so lovely and unique I don't even think you would realized it was the same song. I really encourage you to check out some of their music if you haven't heard of them before.

Randomness

Florance

Blogger has been down, so I didn't get a chance to pull together a project/make something good post. So in it's place enjoy a little collection of pictures from my trip to Italy during my junior year of college.

I think this is Verona

Rome

The Vatican

I just got around to finally pulling these off an old camera. Sometimes I'm a little slow.

The Civil Wars

Mostly I'm just super amazed with this song right now. The Jackson 5 original is one of my all time faves, but this cover is so lovely and unique I don't even think you would realized it was the same song. I really encourage you to check out some of their music if you haven't heard of them before.

hard rock!

Oh how I love these new earrings from Kate Spade. I'd like any pair, I think they are a perfect everyday earring!

my mom is great!

In honor of my devotion to celebrate good things this year I wanted to mark mother's day with a celebration of my mother. So to do so I've made a little list of the things that my mother has tought me. (By the way, if you haven't guessed, that is the lady herself! Isn't she lovely?)

• to love the way ironing smells
• to make a lasagna
• that making things by hand is a way of showing love
• to open your home to people who feel alone
• to make pie dough
• to sew
• how to set the table
• to read
• how to thicken up fruit for a sauces or filling
• what plants to plant when and where
• how to frost a cake
• that sometimes being a friend is just about being available
• to eat frozen green beans right out of the freezer
• how to braid my hair
• how to tie a square knot
• to love historical dramas
• to swear (for real and to say "swear word" when upset)
• how to bake cookies
• how to make a French knot
• to love making things with my hands
• to make sure the mixer is turned off before you stick your hand in it
• how to do a cartwheel
• to love listening to books on tape

That is just the tip of the iceberg of all the wonderful things my mom had taught me. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I hope you get to spend it with a mom that you love!

P.S. yesterday was my mom and dad's 29th wedding anniversary. They were married 3 1/2 months after they started dating, I guess sometimes when you know, you know!

Read Something Good: May

Okay confession, I actually already read May's book over Easter when I was visiting with my brothers family. I could hardly put it down. So here you are if you are looking for a book to read, try The Help.

The internet can be up lifting!

I discovered this fun little blog devoted to all the little things that make life good. Read them all here: little things

Guesting

You might remember last week that I said something about redoing my guest bedroom. Its current state has always been a stop over to something more my style. I picked a color pallet a few months ago. And then I found this perfect illustration of those colors over at Creature Comforts and have been inspired to really get working on it.
I fell in love with 1960's style peacock head boards when I was on a That Girl kick in the fall and would really like to have one against my "French Gray" walls.

And while I'm on the wishin' and hopin' for new furniture I would also like to have this table and chairs from Urban Outfitters for my guests to have a cup of tea and enjoy a good book! What do you think? I'll be taking reservations once the paint dries!

You can see more of my Guest Bedroom plotting over on pinterest.

Just my fave show, no big

My big dorky heart is so excited to watch the season finale of Fringe this week! Love that show.

oooops

I posted todays planned before and after yesterday to I'm posting a little sneak peek at a before and after I am working on at my own house.
It is getting a little more Libby-a-fide. What do you think? (the 0 is hanging funny because it never had a second hole drilled so it is still a work in progress!)

cubed

This before and after project has been making the bloggy rounds the past month or so and I love it.

I've picked up a few of these simple plywood boxes all my own to put a gray and pink book shelf together for my guest bedroom library! You can read all about the project on the Ikea blog right here. (ps if you use google chrome it will translate the site for you -love it!)