Archives: October 2012


THE PERFECT DESK CHAIR

I’ve never been too much of a modern girl when it comes to home decor.  But lately, I’ve been loving all of the stark white rooms I’ve been seeing, with touches of modern decor mixed with vintage.  Just check out AMM if you don’t know what I’m talking about.  I am still slowly working on adding pieces to my office, and next on the list is a desk chair.  This is where I feel like my style totally leans to modern.  I’m on the hunt for the perfect one to match the style of my office (going for something like this or this).  These are a few I had my eye on.

1.  Modernica Prince Charles Side Shell Chair – This one might be my favorite.  Modern meets classic.  Just my style….but it comes with a price tag!  2.  Marais Arm Chair / Wood Seat – Maybe more practical for dining, but I think this chair would look pretty great in an all white workroom  3.  Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair by Herman Miller – Who doesn’t love an Eames chair?  I love this Aqua color.  I did some further hunting and found a handful of replica Eames chairs for cheaper:  here / here / here + a kids size!  But who knows the quality  4.  School Chair by STYLEGARAGE  5.  Eames Molded Plastic Arm Chair with Wood Dowel Base / replica  6.  Original Cherner Side Chair or the replica

What would you choose!?


DIY BLEACH PEN FRINGE TEE

Rylee is growing like a weed these days.  She has grown out most of her clothes and a major shopping spree is in order!  But before beginning the hunt, I wanted to take a stab at making a few cute tees for her on my own.  I had bookmarked this post forever ago and have always wanted to try something similar.  I went to the fabric store and I bought some fine jersey cotton fabric (t-shirt fabric), and a bleach pen from the grocery store.  Literally, that’s all you need for this DIY!  I am not going to go in detail about how I created the fringe tank and tee….because it was a lot of guesswork. But the obvious thing to note here is the fringe, and how you create that is kind of self explanatory.  An even easier route would be to just use an existing plain black tee and fringing the bottom, but it’s not quite the same!

So now is the fun part.  Before you start with your bleach pen, make sure you put a piece of wax paper or cardboard in between your top so that the bleach doesn’t leek onto the back of the shirt.  In true form, I decided to go with cats for our graphic theme (shocker, huh?)  Depending on your design, you can use either the thick side of the pen or the thin side.  Leave on the bleach for about 25 minutes or so.  The longer you leave it on the lighter it will be.  The bleach pen bleeds a little bit (or it did with me at least)  but I didn’t mind that effect.  After the 25 minutes are up, wash out all the bleach and toss it in the washer and dryer.

For the tee with the cat silhouette, after I washed and dried it,  I used a black paint pen to go over my design and add in the eyes, nose and whiskers.  For the tank top, I only used the bleach pen.

And here’s my lil model…terribly hard to get her to stand still these days!

You can see how the tank fits in this post.

Hope you have fun with this one!  I’m envisioning some cute halloween costumes that could come out of this too!

 


OCEANSIDE PIER

It’s been so long since I’ve taken my camera with me on a family outing.  I am trying to get better at that!  I was all about it when Rylee was tiny.  I wanted to capture every moment!  But in the last few months, I’ve gotten pretty bad about it.  The only photos I take when we are out and about are on my phone (hello instagram)….and I’ve noticed i’ve got a decent gap going between 7 and 13 months where I don’t have many good photos documenting our family life or Rylee’s growth.  I’ve got to get in the habit again of lugging that thing around again!  No matter how inconvenient that sometimes is.  Those photos are precious to me.

This weekend we celebrated my brother in law’s 30th birthday.  We had a small get together at their home in Oceanside.  They live just a few blocks from the Oceanside Pier…so we decided to head that way after.  It was such a perfect night.  Luckily, I brought my camera along this time.  Rylee used to be really scared of the sand (a pretty big bummer for living in a beach town!) … but she is finally warming up to it!  This weekend was the first time she walked around the beach without having to clutch onto my hand.  She still prefers the clutch, but she is well on her way to conquering her fear! haha.  Good news for the both of us.  Sometimes, I forget how lucky we are to live here.  The beauty of the ocean never ceases to amaze me.  It has a way of bringing me back to reality and quieting all the many distractions that life can bring.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. xo.

(p.s. Come back tomorrow because I’ll be sharing a DIY on how I made the fringe top Rylee is wearing is these photos!) So fun and easy.


BLACK CAT BANNER

Obviously, we like cats around here.  When saw Ruby Ellen’s Black Cat lights on instagram, I about died.  Perfect halloween decor….for a girl that’s not that into halloween decor! But instead of the lights, I decided to make a simple garland using black and white bakers twine.  While on my halloween cat kick, I wanted to also make a felt cat mask for Rylee.  I drew up a template that you can download here if you want to make your own.  (note – it’s sized to fit a one year old).  I just traced the mask onto felt and cut it out.  I actually cut out two identical masks and glued one on top of the other just to make it more sturdy.  Then I attached some elastic.  BOOM!  And it only takes about 15 minutes!  Rylee wasn’t that into having the mask over her eyes though.  She actually freaked out when she saw herself in the mirror…and who can blame her!  So we just left it sitting on top of her head….and well, that was almost cuter anyway.  Now I need to start thinking of ideas for what I can make for her actual halloween costume.  (I feel like I need to be more clever than a black cat!)  What are you guys planning!??

 Star tights are from Target and fringe top was made by me

 


HELLO AUTUMN 
Photos by Acres of Hope Photography
wearing : Maxi Skirt - Anthropologie  //  Tee - H&M  //  Flower Crown - DIY

 

Today was the first day it actually felt like Autumn to me.  The sun was still shining & warm, but the air had that chill that I love so much.  It’s just the best combination.  I get so silly excited this time of year.  Thoughts of Christmas are already running through my head, and the itch to bake sugar cookies and pies is creeping up on me!  I think I’m ready for my 5 pound winter weight gain already! ha!  (I hope it’s not just me that this happens to every year!)  I guess last year I had more of a 20 pound weight gain….but that was for obvious reasons associated with growing a human.

Well, it’s been SO long since I’ve done an outfit post.  I guess things have just been hectic around here with work and babies that i’ve been a little less than inspired in the clothing department.  But the change in season always brings about my love for fashion tenfold…especially when it’s boots and knits we are talking about.  We’re not quite there yet, but I’m anxiously awaiting!

I was all about the flower crowns this summer, but I might even like them more for fall.  I made this caramel colored one using the same method I always do.  And I wore it with my favorite maxi and cotton tee.  Knotted of course.  I’ve been wearing everything knotted.  My style definitely favors the more muted and often darker palates that accompany the fall and winter months.  I have been wanting to make a flower crown or jersey head wrap in that Oxblood color that’s been getting so much hype in the blogsphere (what a terrible name though, right?).  Anyway, hooray for colder days and more fall inspired outfit posts to come!

Thank you Erica for being so crazy talented.