Outdoors vs. Indoors

Finally we have some sun and heat here in the Northwest!!! We are starting to use our outside patio again and it seems like summer is half over already! In my longing to be outside, I have been looking at outdoor furniture and decorations online. What I have been noticing is there has been a dramatic style step in the outdoor decor department. Many of the items being sold as outdoor, I would gladly have inside my home to offer a rustic approach. One of my birthday gifts that I adore is technically to be dawned outside, but it has found it's home on my living room coffee table. The rustic finial and large scale is just the ticket to offset the more formal lines of my sofa and chairs.


I have even seen furniture pieces I wouldn't mind having in my home. Restoration Hardware recently revamped their outdoor and garden wears and some of their pieces are stunning. My friend actually got this side table for her living room and I absolutely love it! The bonus of finding outdoor decor is that it's usually priced less than indoor decor...it makes as much sense as men's dry cleaning costing less than women's. Don't get me started!!!


Here is another finial from Wisteria that is deserving of the indoors.

Shower Invites. Check.

Here is a follow up on my progress for my friends shower. I finally got the invitations in the mail yesterday - phew! I feel better that that checked off my list. I think they turned out pretty well and have a slight nod to Hawaii without it being in your face Hawaii overload. My new favorite paper to print homemade invitations on is Paper Source's Luxe cover stock. It has a slight texture which adds a little extra professional touch and masks some of the home printer inabilities. But I must say, if you can choose to print between a laser vs. an ink jet, go ink jet!! The ink lays soooo much better and is closer to offset printing.

I also found these sweet beige labels in a random drawer of our laundry room at the last second. They worked perfectly with my invites and added an extra touch to the envelopes. What a find! And in my own home no less. The next step to my party planning is to make labels/tags for the food and then some garland. You can't have a party without garland!

Rainy Day Projects: Rain, Rain Go Away!

I don't know how the weather is for the rest of the country, but here in the NW it has been down right gross! So to pass the time of not being able to enjoy the outdoors and sunshine (I am still wearing long pants and sweaters on a regular basis!), I have been busy with some projects around the house.





I mentioned in my last pot that I got a new sewing machine for my birthday and it has been both fun and frustrating! That's another story. I said I would take some pictures of a few of my frustrations, I mean projects. Soooo...I doctored these curtains I found at Ikea for $15 a pair for our guest room. Yeah, you heard right! $15 for both of them!! They are a bit on the plain side so I found some cream ruffle trim and sewed it along the edges to give it just a hint of interest. I thought about doing a colorful or patterned border, but my commitment issues kicked in and I had to go on the neutral train...again. This room won't be a guest room forever, so I haven't wanted to invest much of anything to it. That said, I still want it to be a comfortable place for guests. Mainly my parents :) Also, in the picture, I made some shams to redo euro pillows I have had for ages. I don't love the tone of green with the green of the front pillow, but for now, it will do. I am trying to find a berry colored throw blanket for the edge of the bed, but it is proving to be a hard color to locate. Is someone trying to tell me something?


Also, I have been planning my dear friends wedding shower next month and am trying to start on making some of the little details that I can do ahead of time. She is getting married in Hawaii so I thought it would be fun to incorporate a little bit of the tropical theme. It forces me out of my neutral world - this is good! We are going to serve mimosas tropical style with tropical fruit juice instead of the typical orange juice. To make them even more festive I found the idea of making my own cocktail umbrellas on Martha Stewart's site. They were super easy and I they will be cute perched in our champagne glasses! The possibilities are endless with these! I'll try and post some of my other treats I intend to make as I go along...I hope my friend will be reading this!?

Gilty As Charged: Gilt Group

Hello there strangers! I have been on hiatus this last month. I have been busy planning for a dear friends bridal shower. It's not for another month, but I want the pots on our deck to look nice since I haven't given any attention to them in the last several years. I think I have them almost up to par. Just one more to consider ;) Also, demanding my time over the last several weeks, has been an early birthday gift from my husband. I got a new sewing machine and so I have been getting to all of those little projects I had on the back burner, ie hemming pants here and there, pillows, and curtain modification. It has been fun, but it takes up "sew" (sorry, couldn't help the lame pun) much time!

Also, throughout the week I have been checking out a new (to me) online designer duds discount site along with all the others I now subscribe too. Gilt Group carries a broader scope of wears that includes women, children, the home, men AND vacation sites. I haven't paid too much attention to the women's section, but the children and home sites have had some wonderful items so far. I am hooked!

I'll try and remember to take some pictures of my recent, but feeble sewing projects. I have also been busy planning for a br

OXO Tot: Smart yet Again

I went to the spring Seattle Home and Gift show this weekend. It was my first time attending something like this and it was sort of a bizarre world. It was made up of all these small showrooms with various products like any other store would be, but the prices were wholesale (yay!). The catch being that you had to order crazy amounts, however I still had fun taking it all in. There really wasn't much there to drool over, but there was one merchant who carried some great children and baby products that was a little more up my alley.

We are all familiar with the OXO brand and the smart designs they bring to the table. They have been continually expanding their wares and I have to say they may have done it again. OXO is coming out with a new line of foodwares for babies and toddlers called OXO Tot. It's not available to the consumer yet, nor is it available for viewing on their website, but I was able to get a glimpse in person and the designs and functionality look very promising. Their bottles transition from baby to toddler (fantastic!) and they have a super cool high chair that I wish were out when I bought ours, which I really don't like...let's just say hate. I don't have any pictures to show you, but you can sign up with their website to be notified when the line is released.

One other cool product that could have proven gimmicky, but actually has merit is the Tiny Tongs. A woman from the Seattle area designed it for her youngster. They are meant to help ease tots in to using actual utensils which can be a tricky transition. To a one year old, a spoon is more like a toy than a tool. I was lucky enough to snag a pair and my daughter has used hers a few times and she actually can pick up a piece of food here and there. She will get better with time of course, but for now she is loving feeling like a "big girl". Pretty clever design I say.

Peacoat from Oliver + S

It took me a while to remember to put Viv's coat on and take a picture and now I remember why I procrastinated. It is so hard to get her to sit still! At any rate, here is the winter coat my mother-in-law made for her and she wore it ALL winter long. She did an amazing job and Viv got comments on it where ever we went. The pattern is from Oliver + S. The only modifications my MIL made were adding a little length to the body, shortening the sleeves (oddly long) and then adding a soft flannel paisley lining.

It is so hard to find classically tailored clothing for little people these days. Sometimes I wish I lived in Europe...just one of many reasons ;) She now has a spring version in camel with a sweet cotton lining of little birds in trees and shell colored buttons and wears it all the time. That is the one thing about patterns - you can just make the next size up when your child grows out of the last.

Berry Cool!: Jayson Home and Garden

Sorry, I missed posting last week. It got away from me and I hadn't been inspired until...I thought these were the coolest thing when I saw them in a magazine! These farmers market baskets from Jayson Home and Garden are perfect for the upcoming berry season. Why not display them on your counter for guests to nibble on in these uber cool baskets that are reusable? They somehow look vintage and modern all in the same vibe don't they? That's always a selling point for me! Hmmm...Mother's Day is coming up ;)

Velvet & Tweed

I don't know about you, but I find most of the clothing for little peeps out there...well...less than desirable. It is so hard to find simple yet sweet clothing for little ones these days and so I am always on the look out. You pretty much have to make them yourself if you want classic childrens clothing in quality fabrics...that's if (big if) you can find a decent pattern and fabric to create such a thing. My mother-in-law made a grey wool peacoat for my daughter this winter. It has been the best coat to wear with anything and everything and she reminds me of a little european baby. It's getting too warm to wear it now, but she has the spring version already made and ready to wear! I'll take a picture of my daughter modeling her coat and post in the next day or two, so check back for a peak.

Velvet and Tweed is an exception however, and creates sweet little clothing that is sophisticated, yet innocent. And if they don't use the absolute cutest models - geesh they are cute little peeps! Currently in Washington there aren't any retailers that carry their wears, but hopefully one day there will be. But keep an eye out on the Mini Social. I have seen them on there occasionally.