Love and Nature

I just found a reason to have a child. I was in Target today picking up a few things, and I happened to walk by the kids decor aisle, and stopped dead in my tracks. There, on sale, was the cutest lamp I've ever seen. It had owls and squirrels and was a lovely shade of green. When I got home I looked up the rest of the collection and truly fell in love.


The collection is called Love and Nature, by Circo. Here is one example of the bedding available.

Look at this pink owl bank! You don't even need a child as an excuse to buy this.

Hedgehog Bean Bag!

And the aforementioned lamp. This picture does not do it justice. It has an inner shade with three cutouts, two owls and a squirrel. The green seemed to be more of a sage in the store. I absolutely adore this. It was on sale for $17.99, too! I should have snagged it.

Here is, arguably, the cutest item in the whole collection. A mushroom nightlight. Another must have.

You can find the whole collection at Target.

Hour-Glass Fabulous

The September issue of Marie Claire had one photo on the last page of the magazine that totally inspired me.


I absolutely LOVE these dresses. I doubt I could afford one, or that I could even find a shop that carries one within a 500 mile radius, but a girl can look, a girl can dream....


From Mary Katrantzou, these perfume bottle print dresses create an amazing, feminine hour glass illusion.


Plus they have incredible colors and look like they would be comfortable to boot. Too perfect.




See the full collection on her website. I immediately fell in love with this designer when I saw this quote on the front page of her website:

"A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future." --Coco Chanel

Don't you want to go spritz something on now? Such glamour in perfume, and in these fabulous dresses. If anyone wants to donate one to me, I'd be forever your girl.

Adventures in Baking!

Am I the only one who has never heard of this? Apparently you can make a cake with only a box of cake mix and a can of soda! People who are on Weight Watchers diets love this because you can mix cake mix (you can even use a reduced sugar mix) with a can of diet soda, and cut out all the calories from the eggs, oil, etc. If you make it in a muffin pan, each cupcake is only 1 point. How cool is that? As I am a horrible dieter, this is not what is intriguing to me, however. I'm thinking of all the great flavor possibilities. Just think of the wide array of soda flavors these days....lime, strawberry, ginger ale, blackberry, etc. A box of cheap cake mix and a cheap can of soda and you get a fantastically cheap and innovative dessert! I love this! There are plenty of low-cal recipes for frosting out there....using fat free cool whip or various other great ideas. I'm thinking an icing made of powdered sugar, a little milk and a splash of vanilla would be delicious on a ginger ale cake. Mmmmm. Many thanks to my facebook pal Daina for enlightening me! :)

Mad Men Yourself

Another long absence....sigh....sorry dear reader. The real world got in the way again. The good news is that Mad Men is back on AMC! Check out this website that allows you to make yourself as fabulous as our favorite Sterling Cooper employees.

Here's me and Don Draper.

Have a great weekend!

Here's to fabulous you!

tiny + clever = cool

I know I'm not the only one who is obsessed with miniature art. These clever artists seem to be popping up everywhere! Here is another example from UK artist Dan Jackson. His photographs have definitely captured my imagination. You can buy them here as a print or greeting card. Lucky you!

le chat et le chapeau

I found this adorable pom-pom hat at an antique mall for a quarter. My Sampson kitty decided he must be included in the picture. I just knew you'd find this adorable.

Mad Men

If you don't watch AMC's Mad Men, you should really consider it. Not only is it a fantastic drama which has won numerous awards for its fabulosity, but it is also a major source of inspiration due to the spot on set designs and costuming, set in the late '50's/early 60's. There is nothing I don't love about this show. Season 2 just came out on DVD, so put it on your Netflix queue pronto, because Season 3 starts August 16th!



Every time I watch it all I can think is, "I want that. I want that. I want that."



The Mad women.



I have a major girl-crush on Joan. Her clothes are to die for. And she's just so together. I love a girl who knows what she wants.

Today's Temptress

So you know how you can buy fabric on Etsy? Look what I found. Do I even need to say that these are all of my favorite things combined in one delicious textile? It is a limited edition print by Lara Cameron from Australia. I found it here. And they have other colors. And more birds. If only I could take out a loan for fabric.

long time, no blog

I know it's been a long time since we talked, but let's try to not make this awkward. I moved, life got busy, but I never forgot you, I promise. Let's yadda yadda yadda over all that and get to the good stuff.



So I found this fantastic Etsy shop that specializes in "modern screen printed textiles" based on original artwork. It's quirky and vintage and modern and just plain cool. It's called Branch Handmade and was created by Todd Kamps and Ashley Redmond. They also have their own website.

There are tea towels (which I am kind of obsessed with). LOVE the poison bottle design.



Fabulous clothing!



That scarf must be mine. I crave it.



Lovely bedding.

IKEA Inspiration & Other Random Ideas

I have been really busy packing and cleaning for the move to the new house, so I apologize that I've fallen short of my daily blog goal. Today I was browsing around the internet looking for lighting ideas, and I found myself on the IKEA website. As per usual, I ended up in the fabric section and found these great curtains. I must share.

These are three separate panels. They suggested layering them to create a different effect...how cool would that look as a room divider???


The next one had me so excited I was exclaiming to my pets about it. I love birch trees and the woodsy look in general. I believe these were made for me!

I would also recommend picking up the June issue of Elle Decor. They did a spread (called "Country Club") on the weekend house of couple Dale Saylor and Joe Williamson in upstate New York. (Of course, this is not one of the stories they chose to feature on their website.) It is filled with delicious ideas that incorporate my love for the natural/scientific and Midcentury Modern decor. There are grain sack pillows, twisted root coffee tables, a gigantic antique globe, terrariums, real turtle shells on the wall, and my favorite, a rustic mudroom with a collection of old buckets and watering cans. Along with a stainless steel tripod lamp, Eames chair, nested end tables, and other clean line furniture. I really love how they combined a Midcentury Modern look with the found-treasure country natural look. Although for me personally, I would have leaned towards a more modern look with just a few of these rustic touches. The best part about this stylish couple is that they got all this great stuff the same way those of us that can't afford country homes do....on ebay, flea markets and the like. Very inspirational.

The Bird Nerd is the Word

I found this wonderful Etsy store and must share. It is called BirdNerd, and if you love birds like I do, you will be in heaven. I urge you all to run there now and drool! And then buy something! These works of art are the creations of Chelsea Grove.

A lovely collage. She also has beautiful prints of her work available.


Birdie Jewelry!


Awesome plush!


There are many stickers and note cards for sale. She has collections of note cards, or there is a "choose your own" option as well.


I am in love with these tea towels! There are many birds to choose from, but this Starling really speaks to me.

Magical Ideas for Kids Rooms

A friend of mine is pregnant and got me thinking about how to decorate a child's room. I found these wonderful items on the Pottery Barn Kids website. What a magical environment for a kid to grow up in!

Here are some great tree and butterfly wall decals. I think it would be easy enough to create a similar design on your own to paint directly on the wall. Of course, with the wall decals, you could switch up the look with less hassle. The tree wall decals are on sale right now for $39.99-59.99.


I love the 3-D butterflies! They are $32.


Here is a truly magical butterfly chandelier, for $79, with the butterfly silhouette wall decals on sale right now for $39.99. Because I am always trying to think of ways to save money, I would suggest again that this idea could be created on your own. I would get some heavy transparent velum paper and cut out shapes, and hang them with fishing line. You wouldn't have to use butterflies (maybe you have a boy and think it's too girlie)....you could use leaf shapes, or birds, or just free-form shapes. You could use a glass bead to weigh each one down.

This look reminds me of the scene in the kids movie The Spiderwick Chronicles, where the sylphs swarm around the kids and carry them away. Very enchanting.


Another picture of the fabulous designs on the 3-D butterflies.


The website showed another creative way to use the 3-D butterflies. There are countless other creatures that could be created with some cool paper. You can find all kinds of great designer papers in the scrapbook section of any store, even Walmart. You could also use fabric glued to heavy paper to create different animals or shapes!

Copycat Art

Like most people in their 30's, I am at an in-between stage as far as wall art goes. During my college years, my walls were adorned with band posters and a few framed art prints from museums I had visited. Your typical Dali's, Van Gogh's, Monet's and the like. And of course I used to get creative with hanging sarongs and other repurposed items....it looked funky, yes, but it was very obviously a college girl's place. Since then I have slowly transitioned into purchasing a few original art pieces, mirrors, and other more "adult" wall pieces. However, I was missing a nice, large painting for the central wall of our house. It seemed like everything I saw in stores screamed Doctor's Office. I decided to take matters into my own hands.

While I was flipping through an issue of Elle Decor last year, I came across this advertisement for Plantation, which is a furniture store and website. I am not necessarily crazy about the furnishings in this ad, but I fell in love with the tree wallpaper. I decided that this would be a cheap and easy solution to my art problem.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a very large canvas and some black paint. I then penciled in the trees and birdies, using the ad as my guide. Painting was easy, and the design is such a simple one, it was easy to fix any mistakes by adding a new branch or whatever.



I am very pleased with the results, I love the simple and elegant look in my living room! This project was so cheap, even if I would have really messed up and needed a new canvas, or needed to paint over it all and start again, I would have only been out a few bucks!



I encourage everyone to try some copycat art for yourself! It doesn't take much artistic ability to do a simple design like this. And if you have a more complicated design you'd like to use but don't trust your own abilities, one thing you can do is get an overhead projector. I've seen these at thrift stores, but you may also be able to borrow one (from a school, maybe?) or rent one. Project your design onto the canvas (or wall if you are making a mural or painting on the wall directly) and pencil it in. From there you just have to fill in your sketch with paint!

UPDATE: I was just watching "Dear Genevieve" on HGTV, and I saw the exact same copycat art created! The episode was called "A Functional Design and Zoning Plan in a Great Room." She used more of a tall canvas rather than the wide one like I used, and then framed it. To be honest, I only caught the last few minutes of the show and saw the reveal, so I don't know if this is wallpaper and she used a piece of it, or if she painted it herself. The end result looked great, with a framed version of my painting above. If that's not validation for a good idea, I don't know what is! :)

Tiki Chic!

Hawaiian and Polynesian culture was all the rage in the 50's and 60's, so it is no surprise that people like me who are obsessed with this time period have a big love for all things Tiki. I am not as crazy as some people.... I don't have dreams of a totally island-themed living room or bedroom, but having a set of original vintage Tiki mugs is definitely on my wish list, and a few island decorations around the house are a must as well.

Here's a picture of a book completely devoted to collecting Tiki mugs, proof of their popularity! Love that monkey mug on the cover.


Here's a 50's island bar, completely decked out in Tiki gear.


And how fabulous is this bedroom???


Here is my own personal Tiki find. This guy came from an antique mall...I can't remember the name. It is off I-35 South, at the Tennessee Road exit by Ottawa, KS. I got this beautiful carved wood mask for $17! I've seen smaller, less cool masks in other antique stores for as much as $75. I also have a fantastic Tiki totem for the patio, but it is in storage. I'll get a good picture of him when he gets his new home.


I am planning a house warming/birthday party for my husband at the new house when we are all settled in. I found these great plates and napkins a few days ago at Walmart! They have a whole line of tropical luau party decor... grass skirts, limbo kits, blow-up tiki coolers, leis, fake coconut glasses, cute plastic cups that you can write your name on to keep track of your drink, toothpick umbrellas....the works. I got these now before they run out. I will hopefully get more of this great Tiki party stuff before it's all gone!

Shout out

I want to thank my friend Mallory for assuring me that "uncool is the new cool" when I was complaining to her that my blog wasn't hip enough. Like Weezer, she said. I am going to trust that this is true and continue on. Maybe there really are other borderline hipsters out there who will appreciate the fact that my photography is sub-par, my "crafts" aren't really crafts, my colors make it kind of hard to read, and my layout is just boring. And maybe they'll appreciate it more because they wouldn't know how to fix it either. Or maybe they'll just read it out of pity. That's okay, I'll take it. And I want to give a shout out to Barb, too. I'm going to post something about Snood just for you, so stay tuned. By the way, this blog is totally free to create....it's through google....so, ladies, if you want a new project of your own, I will be a faithful reader. :)

Dog Biscuits... from scratch!

My husband and I like to try to keep as many of the nasty human chemicals and preservatives away from our animals as possible, but it's hard sometimes, especially if you can't afford to buy them the good organic dog food.... or like us, live in a small town where the only place to even buy dog food is Walmart. Here is a great way to at least provide your dog with a preservative-free snack.

I found this old "Gourmet Doggie Biscuit Kit" at an antique store in Baldwin City, KS and picked it up for a quarter. It contains recipes for homemade dog biscuits, along with a bone-shaped cookie cutter. I am going to pass along the recipes here, and I would suggest just cutting out a bone shape with a knife if you can't find a cookie cutter like this.


The instructions are great... they say, "Don't limit yourself to biscuits. Cut biscuit shaped sandwiches for the kids when they are in the doghouse, make bread dough Christmas ornaments with your dog's or a dog friends' names painted on. Let your imagination go. If your dog does not like any of the following recipes, it is time for a visit to the veterinarian."


The Master Recipe, makes 10 biscuits

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 tablespoons butter, shortening or meat drippings
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, dry milk, salt, and sugar. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal. Mix in egg. Add enough water so that mixture forms a ball.

Pat out dough 1/2 inch thick with your fingers, on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cut with doggie biscuit cutter and remove scraps. Pat out scraps and proceed as before.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on cake rack.

Variations for the master recipe:
To vary flavor and texture add one of the following:
1 cup pureed cooked green vegetables or carrots
6 tablespoons whole wheat or rye kernels
2-3 tablespoons dried soup greens
3 tablespoons liver powder
Mix in the ingredient of your choice when you add the egg, the proceed with the basic directions.


Rye Crisps

2 cups rye flour
1/2 cup soybean flour or 1/4 cup each white flour and cornmeal
6 tablespoons oil
2/3 cup warm water

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Blend flours. Mix oil with water and add to flour. Mix well, dough should form a ball.

Pat out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cut with doggie biscuit cutter and remove scraps. Pat out scraps and proceed as before.

Bake for 40 minutes, cool on wire rack.

I haven't tried these recipes yet, but I'm excited to see how my two dogs like them!

Here's Ginger and Lucky, my babies!