goodbye

As much as I hate to say this, the time has come for me to stop blogging on olive & a so that I can focus on my family and school. It has been a decision I knew I had to make but have been putting it off for a while. I've finally come to terms with it but it still makes me sad. I love blogging as it has allowed me to learn more about myself, feel inspired, and "meet" new people. I hope to be able to blog again (outside of our family blog) in the future.

I really just want to thank you sweet readers for reading. It's been two and a half years since I started olive & a and I've loved getting to know my readers over that time. I truly appreciate the comments you leave and your nice emails, they all make my day.

If you still want to keep in contact you can always email me, find me pinning away over on pinterest, instagram @oliveanda, and on facebook as I may post links to things I am loving, sort of like the mashups I do.

I wish you all the best and thanks for reading olive & a!

fresh

These spaces designed by Porchlight Interiors have such a fresh feeling to them.

I love the use of color through out, just enough to keep things interesting.

what i love most about my home

Ah sorry to just disappear last week. I had a school final that I had to study and stress over but it's over with so now I can breath again. How was your weekend? We finally had rain here and that in itself made my weekend. I don't think we've had a good solid rain storm since May.

A while back I shared a little teaser of a wood stained painting that I did using Nicole's tutorial. We finally hung it up yesterday on a tiny blank wall and I thought I'd share the result. I'll be honest, my writing is not straight nor perfect and at first I let that bother me but now that I've been staring at it I think I like it that way, gives it a little more character (at least that's what I keep telling myself).

 The quote is a spin off of the quote 'What I love most about my home is who I share it with' first seen here in this design*sponge sneak peek. I was going to do the original quote but knew I was going to run out of room so I had to change it up a bit. Now it's a little more me I guess. :) 

beside the bed

These two photos featuring pretty nightstands caught my eye recently. I really like seeing how people style these little intimate areas. Often times it seems that these little tables get forgotten when it comes to decor but they have the potential to play a big role in how the room looks and feels if styled.

Right now I'm trying to figure out what I want to do for the bedside tables in my room. I've been thinking of doing something with stacked art like this first photo but haven't found the right thing(s) to frame. Decisions, decisions, right? ;)

 

Source: kerrisdaledesign.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: stylebyemilyhenderson.com via Heather on Pinterest

Tell me: What books are currently on your nightstand? I have a break in school semesters coming up and I want to read something just for the fun of it.

p.s. Thanks for your kind comments about my stripey skirt. :)

THE skirt!

When I confessed my love for a certain striped skirt (in this post), I never thought it would actually end up hanging in my closet. I can't really justify buying a $160 skirt right now so while in Utah this summer, my mother in law Linda and I put our heads together and figured out a way to make one, for about $18. Yes!

 Please disregard the disheveled look, I'd had kids crawling all over me for three hours at church.

I purchased two yards (although I probably could've just got away with one) of this Premier Prints vertical stripe in white/navy which for this skirt was turned on the horizontal. The inspiration skirt was studied until we felt that we had a generally good idea of what we needed to do to make the skirt and then played around with the fabric until we got what we wanted.. I am so, so happy with how it turned out and honestly wouldn't have this skirt without Linda's help. I hope that my sewing knowledge can match hers one day.

group discussion : plate walls

In my dining room I have two small walls that meet together (hope that makes sense) and I've been trying to figure out what I want to put on them. Plate walls are so pretty me thinks and has been something I've wanted to try in my home. Those two walls might be good contenders for something like the above. I especially love plate walls when they are more of an eclectic nature, with a good mix of prints, patterns and colors.

Are you a fan of plate walls? Have any of you ever tried this and what would be the best (and cheapest) way to hang the plates? I know you can get the metal spring type ones that wrap behind the plate but is that my only option? Please help a girl out! :)

this kitchen...

                             makes me all sorts of happy. I think it's all the bright colors and that tile backsplash.

p.s. I'm back-ish. I say that because there might be a chance my computer will die again. Sad.

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Out of service

I planned to post a couple fun things this week but wouldn't you know it, my computer died. Since blogging from a phone isn't really fun, I thought I would send you over to one of my favorite blogs, Star Hughes Living. She just got back from an amazing trip through several countries that I'm incredibly jealous of. It's also her birthday so go wish her a happy one. See you soon.