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 here again 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 (email me if you want an invite to pinterest), 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!

a skirt, but not THE skirt

So I won't pretend to be a fashion blogger but on Monday I posted a small peek at the skirt I made last weekend and had a couple people who wanted to see the finished skirt.  I've been in need of a black skirt for a while but haven't been able to find what I really wanted so I decided to make one following this tutorial. Have I mentioned that I love those thoughtful people around the blogosphere who share their skills with the rest of us via tutorials? Love!

 

Anyway...here it is. I hope you have a great weekend!

my (insta)weekend

Hello! Happy Monday to you. I thought I'd share a couple snippets of my weekend with you through instagram. Kind of a fun app. Anyone else an instagram-er?

1.On Saturdays all summer my hometown has a gardner's market in a local park where people can sell produce, handmade items and food. It'd been a long time since I've been so we stopped by and picked up some yummy peas and a couple gorgeous flower bouquets. I love farmer's markets!

2. This little paint project has been on my list to do ever since I posted about it. I'm on the fence about whether I like it or not. I think I'll have to hang it up and live with it for a while and then decide if I like it or not.

3. I started a simple black skirt last weekend using this tutorial and finally finished it this weekend. It has been a while since I've sat at a sewing machine so I'm thinking it was a good precursor to my new sewing project.

in the works

I have a couple of projects that I'm working on right now. Here is a little math equation to show you one...

 a bit of this fabric (flipped so the stripe is horizontal)

+

and this tutorial as a guide

=

hopefully will equal something like this skirt that I loved so much!

I'd love to know what you are currently working on!

Happy 4th of July

My sweet Dad, 1942

designing for little ones

I mentioned a while back that we'll be moving into a new (to us) house soon. The kids will be sharing a bedroom in our new place and I've been trying to figure out how to make the space come together. My goal is to try and make the room clean and unfussy but still fun. If you're interested, I'll share how it (hopefully) comes together. 

One of these days, Landon will have his own dedicated space and I would love to do something similar to this room. It's youthful but not childish. That wood plank wall is pretty much awesome and I'm a big fan of the color scheme. I'll need to remember this for when that day does come.

modern kids design by san francisco interior designer Jute Interior Design

Speaking of my little guy, here he is swinging his heart out.  Hard to believe he's 7 months.

happy friday!

Hi friends! Happy friday to you. Any big plans for you this weekend? Me? I will be in the car most of the weekend. No bueno. My little family and I are off on an adventure. We (as a family) survived the first year of medical school so we are outta here! Woo hoo! So, next week we'll be graced with the presence of a few of my favorite bloggers who will be participating in a little series I like to call the essentials. I am excited for it and hope you enjoy it. Have a wonderful weekend!

{image}

not being afraid to fail

Thought this was too perfect not to share after Wednesday's post.

Source: flickr.com via Heather on Pinterest

favorite things

Hello friends! Did you have a lovely weekend? We spent yesterday afternoon having a picnic with some friends at our local botanic gardens. It is one of our favorite way to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon.

I don't have much by way of post, Olivia woke up sick in the middle of the night. But if you feel so inclined, I can send you over to My Favorite Things where I shared my list of favorite things.

Happy {President's Day} Monday!

{image}

why thank you

It seems we've got some new readers around here lately thanks to a couple sweet girls who've mentioned olive & a, so a big welcome to you if you've found us recently!

The lovely Barb over at The Mom Blog kindly awarded me the versatile blogger award. One of the responsibilities of accepting the award is to share 7 things about myself….so here goes!

7 things that you might not know about me:

1. I played the violin from 4th to 7th grade. I didn't enjoy it and never practiced. When I told my parents I wanted to quit they said I'd regret it. I haven't. Is that sad?

2. I am left handed.

3. I am currently working on getting my bachelors in family life studies and am tttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiissssssssss close to graduating. When I finish, I'd like to study interior design.

4. I LOVE to read but haven't picked up a "fun" book for about 2 1/2 years. The last book(s) I read was the Twilight series. Not a good note to end on. I'll soon be done with my textbooks and back to the fun books.

5. When I was little I won a Crayola Crayon color naming contest. The winning crayon name? Bedazzled Blue.

6. I am the wife of a medical student.

7. If I could eat one thing, and only one thing it would be potatoes (hashbrowns, french fries, mashed potatoes...you get the idea).

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.

{image}

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}

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.

{image}

announcing...

Landon K

Born November 22nd at 10:05 pm

9 lbs 14 oz

21" long

We are in love with our (not so) little baby boy!

a modge podge post

:: Happy October! I can not believe that it is already here. I need to start thinking about what Olivia is going to be for halloween this year and if i'm feeling up to making it or not. I'm thinking she'll be some sort of animal as she is slightly obsessed with them right now.

:: Sorry about being MIA yesterday but I was able to spend some time with my two favorite people. We headed to the Texas State Fair in Dallas for some fried food and lots of stuff to see and do. With my husband in medical school, we have to take advantage of any opportunity we can to spend time together.

Big Tex and I (currently 32 weeks pregnant)

:: Real Simple had an article on everyday deals in their October issue and one that caught my eye was J.Crew offers 15% off for college students. Sweet!

:: Happy Weekend! I am feeling the urge to nest so I'll most likely be doing some projects around the house. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! I'll see you back here next week!

things that make me happy!

desserts that are almost too pretty to eat

colorful balloons

sweet florals

swinging with Olivia at the park

sewing projects that turn out right

welcoming entries (and cute puppies!)

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

{all photos via mary ruffle, a blog that makes me happy as well}

postal birthday party

My sister in law had a birthday recently and since we couldn't be there to help celebrate her birthday, we thought we'd send a little something her way. That little something morphed into a birthday party in a box.

I had so much fun putting this kit together . I don't scrapbook but I do like pretty paper so I found some papers that I liked and took it from there. I sadly had to take this picture at night so I don't think the colors came out very true but I thought it all looked pretty together. If I'd had more time, I think I could've kept adding more things to the kit...

The kit included: paper bunting banner, set of note cards, birthday party in a box "instructions", cupcake toppers, candles, cupcake liners, a mini birthday card, and a pair of handmade earrings. {Not pictured is a cake mix.}

What is your most favorite things you've ever received or sent in the mail?

flora

One of my goals in the next year is to take a floral design class or even a semester course just for fun. I love trying to arrange my own florals. So much so that my sweet husband has taken to buy me flowers in bulk instead of a pre-made bouquet just so I can do the arranging myself.

I've scouted a few local shops that offer classes but if I were anywhere near NYC I'd love to take a class from Little Flower School. The classes are taught by the talented Sarah of Saipua and Nicolette of Nicolette Camille Floral Design.

And because I love good design, how great is the Saipua shop/workshop?

Any skills you'd love to learn, just for fun?

{photos 1, 2-4}

what's in the bag?

I finally went through my bursting-at-the-seams makeup bag the other night and purged a ton of stuff. I'm not really a hoarder of makeup but I can't seem to get rid of stuff thinking that I'll need to use it sometime. I usually never do and it just sits there, and sits there, and well you get the idea.

I was thinking about how I have really pared down my makeup routine and product use since getting married and especially since becoming a mom. I also realized that I'm lacking a few good things in my bag: Mascara that I love, blush that looks natural, and a great everyday eyeshadow.

So...help a girl out! I want to know...what are your tried and true products? I only have one and that is bare minerals foundation. Love that stuff!

I feel like I'm baring my soul but here is what I ended up with after the purge.

A while back, I mentioned that I had made pickles. I've had a few inquiries so I thought I'd share how they turned out.

Never having made nor eaten homemade pickles before I'll be honest in saying that I'm not quite sure how exactly they are supposed to turn out (besides tasting like a pickle). That being said I thought they turned out pretty good! I only wish they had a bit more crunch to them but I'm sure that can be achieved with a little more practice/research. 

The dill pickle recipe I used came from tasty kitchen and found it to be really user friendly. We received a grocery sack of garden fresh cucumbers this weekend so I'm thinking of trying a different recipe. Here are a few I've found if you are interested...

Bread and Butter Pickles

Almost Hands-Free Dill Pickles

Slightly Sweet Dill Refrigerator Pickles

On a related note...How perfect is this printed pickle jar from terrain? I might need it!