giveaway : CSN Stores

Thank you all for your sweet comments and wishes for my birthday. I had a wonderful day with friends and family.

Want a little money to spend?  How about a $35 gift certificate? With 200+ stores, you can shop for everything from a swing set to tools to home decor all in just one click...literally a one stop shop at CSN Stores.

To enter for the CSN Stores $35 gift certificate simply leave a comment. Perhaps telling me what you'd put the gift card towards.

Giveaway ends at midnight (CST) on Thursday, February 3rd. I will randomly select a winner the next day.

Good Luck!

two six

I feel lucky to be celebrating a birthday today.

I also feel old. Ha!

I hope that you have a very happy weekend!

Oh and do tell...If you had to make a fun wish today, what would you wish for?

Me? A trip around the world with my husband.

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mashup

Hello my dears! Here are a few random links of things I've seen around and wanted to share. I hope you have a great day!

:: Who doesn't love a good glitter diy project? I have a pair of flats begging for me to do this. {via}

:: How fun would it be to channel grade school and make/give these necklaces to your girl friends for Valentines Day?

:: Looking for a charming new read? May I suggest Matchbook Magazine.

:: Olivia and I have this sweet song on repeat. Dance party anyone?

:: Love this vintage/Anthropologie inspired master bedroom makeover.

{Photo by Sara Westbrook}

on the mark

I couldn't help but think of cupid and his arrows when I saw this necklace.  

He can shoot one my way if he wants. I really would not mind.

{via perpetually engaged }

well hello there...

 aren't you pretty

{ 1, 2, 3, 4 }

crazyboy handbags

These pleated handbags are just my cup of tea...simple but with just the right amount of sweet details. 

rise and shine

Some mornings, okay most mornings, I could use a gentle reminder to wake up with a smile on my face.

This print could be my esthetically pleasing gentle reminder.

shop talk : lovely nest

shop : blog

I am having a major love-fest moment for yarn wreaths. Enter Lovely Nest, a shop which features some very lovely wreaths indeed. The styles are perfect for holidays and days in between. My favorite is the green wreath pictured below. Wouldn't the red flower napkin rings be sweet for a Valentines Day dinner party?

Amy is being very generous and is offering a 20% discount to olive & a readers on Lovely Nest products. Use OLIVEANDA20 as the coupon code at checkout.

Also check out Amy's blog Shutterly Lovely where she shares her adventures of decorating her home and some fun DIY's along the way. I am in love with her most recent project and wish I had the space in my own home to make and use one.

hello dolly :: black apple doll

This little lady here was a labor of love. I mentioned a while back that I wanted to make Olivia a Black Apple Doll (using this free pattern) for Christmas. I started to make her the week of but then became really sick and didn't have it in me to finish. She unfortunately sat there for a couple of days until she was finally done. Better late than never though! I had a lot of fun making the doll for Olivia and am happy to see that she likes it.  It's always rewarding to see that a project you make for someone else is appreciated so it makes me excited to hear her talk about "my dolly", play with and give it hugs.

If you are interested in making one, I found this doll to be an easy project, easy to customize, and so cute! I can see myself making these for (girl) baby shower gifts.

cabin fever

It is amazing what simple white paint can do to a space. In the case of this Montana cabin, it lightened and updated the traditional cabin look to something much more modern.

things that make me happy

 This print

sweet treats

stripes

parties

flowers

I'd love to hear what's making you happy today?

{all images via mary ruffle}

happy weekend

Aren't these floral arrangements so pretty? They are from the newest issue of Nonpariel Magazine. I saw lots of gorgeousness when I was flipping through but this 'From Farm to Table' story was by far my favorite. So romantic.

Hooray for three day weekends! I hope that you have a lovely one.

pasta shells florentine

I spotted this recipe on my friend Jackie's blog a while back and bookmarked it to try. I finally got around to making it last month and I am so glad that I did. It is really simple to put together and it tastes wonderful. Definitely a recipe that will be in heavy rotation around our house.

Need

• 10 oz. frozen spinach 
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 2 cups cottage cheese 
• 2 T. parmesan cheese 
• 2 egg whites 
• 1 box jumbo pasta shells, cooked 
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Make

Mix cheeses, spinach and egg whites. Stuff into cooked shells and arrange into a 9×13 pan. Cover with spaghetti sauce. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.

mashup

Happy hump day! I hope this post finds you well and warm. I have a feeling that I will be consuming unusual amounts of hot chocolate today in order to keep warm. It's chilly here in Fort Worth today!

Here are just a few things that I've seen around and feel like sharing:

:: These salted golden caramels bars are so on my list to make. I just need an excuse to make them, other wise I'd probably devour them by myself and that wouldn't be good.

:: An adorable 'cute as a button' party and dessert table.

:: Get your design fix with the latest Lonny mag.

:: I am in love with the details of this wedding here and here.

bold, bright and colorful

I am a fan of this very girly bold, bright and colorful room c/o designer Amanda Nisbet.

general store

I would love to spend an afternoon in Sydney browsing (and shopping) around the donna hay general store. The clean, fresh look of the shop really appeals to me and the products look just as nice.

If you aren't familiar with Hay, I'd venture to say that she is Australia's Martha Stewart. Her website is full of recipes I want to try and pretty style ideas to use.

currently loving...

these pretty hand blocked/printed wares from Inklore.  

diy project : map art

A while back Alli posted about some map hearts she had come across and I have wanted to make one ever since. I love the idea of using maps because we are big into traveling around here and loved the idea of using locals that are special to our family. Almost a year later I finally got around to making one.  

This project was super simple and cost me next to nothing using some frames that were collecting dust in a closet. If you have maps lying around and don't want/need you could cut those up and use but since I didn't I found a place online where you can download maps for free. I decided to frame places we've lived thus far in our marriage. Once I found my locations, I had to measure the frame to see what size hearts would be best, then went into microsoft word to create a heart using the basic shapes tool and printed it off to use as my template. I then cut the maps out and glued them on some white cardstock. Done and done!

Since I love a good diy project I thought I'd share another photo of my most recent BIG project. :)

Landon at 6 weeks.

workplace envy

I so wouldn't mind being the coffee girl if it meant I had the opportunity to work at the headquarters of Urban Outfitters (including Anthropologie and Free People). Okay...that isn't entirely true, I would more prefer to be something like the in-house clothing tester but any job would be amazing. Can you imagine working in a place like this? Totally inspiring!

The company moved its headquarters from downtown Philadelphia to the city's decommissioned Navy shipyards. In repurposing the buildings for use, they tried to leave as many elements of the buildings as they could...even graffiti on the walls. I love that!

For an interesting read on the headquarters and more photos head here. 

{via: Haven and Home}

caitlin wilson design

Interior Tuesday is back with lovely spaces from Caitlin Wilson.

Hello and Happy New Year!

{ a great  list of things to resolve to do no matter the year or time }

It amazes me that it is already a new year but I am excited for it! I have been thinking about resolutions and goals, etc. and if there were any that I wanted to make. After thinking it over I decided on one resolution to make a stronger effort to not procrastinate and a goal to craft/sew at least one project a month for the next year.

So that I don't procrastinate I plan to share my craft/sewing projects with you (whether good or bad) so you all can hold me accountable for completing them. :) Stay tuned for one this week!

Thanks for letting me take a blog break for the last couple of months. It was much needed but I missed blogging and am happy to be back.

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