happy birthday!

a few images from this weekend... a surprise birthday party for my mom! i hope she enjoyed it, i know we sure did enjoy planning it (and just being sneaky in general). we love you mom!

and extra thanks to lachelle for the cake and flowers and dallas and aubrey for hosting!

things i'm loving.

this paper pot maker from etsian woodelements. great way to recycle those newspapers, and you don't have to buy a bunch of little plastic pots whenever you start planting seeds...

sweet (and simple!) diy tutorial on making a pouch to attach to your dog's collar.

from the b-line, found via mint

another great d*s diy project: homemade citronella candles

this will certainly be added to my project list... we have lots pesky little mosquitoes that we can't seem to get rid of!

woolly wally pocket gardening systems. i can imagine having these taking over the walls of the storage shed...

this beautiful sneak peek of shay (from fossil)'s home on d*s. it's so great to see such a bold use of color and stuff!

and... my mooncup (caution: this is just for the ladies!) if you have not ever heard of this, it's about time that you have, i wouldn't trade mine for anything... thank-you, to the ladies of etsy, for making me aware of such things. they certainly don't teach you any alternatives in school. 

flowers.

some pretty purple flowers from the front flower bed. it's a shame i don't know what they're called... i got them at home depot this spring and guess i lost the tag. i think i'll snoop around the hd and see if i can find these again... unless anyone else knows what they are?

hello, friday.

this week has been super crazy and i'm ready for a little time me time. me time that includes pulling weeds in the yard, planting some more grass seed, sanding on a little nightstand and prepping the bathroom for its makeover. did i mention working on some books as well? sigh.

maybe at least there will be margaritas involved at some point this weekend... 

have a good one :)

print above (which i long to have in my office, hint hint) is by azuregrackle on etsy.

scottie time!

scottie decided he wanted to hang out in the kitchen with me as i was taking a few photos the other day. he really doesn't like the camera... but i am determined to get a few good photos of him someday. this is one of the few that isn't blurry with movement!

more books.

a few other books that i finished up recently... these went out to their brides earlier today. surprisingly, i have done quite a few books with that warm gray paper, and i love it! it seems like you can pair it with almost any bright color...

and... i've had this paper for awhile, patiently waiting for someone to pick it out (i also have it in pink) and finally got to use it! i love the way it looks paired with a simple design for the names.

outdoor furniture.

our backyard is finally starting to look like somebody cares about it! plants, furniture, a grill and a little organization will do wonders... and i am so happy to see it coming together. unfortunately, our outdoor seating is very limited and patio sets can be expensive. most of you probably saw this on d*s this morning, but i just wanted to talk about it a little more. 

these outdoor tables from lab31 really caught my eye and got me thinking... could this be a possible diy project? i have seen countless end tables and coffee tables that have a very similar metal base, and have even seen the bases sold alone when the glass had been broken or scratched. what better way to reuse them by painting them a fantastically bright color and using them outside? and while i certainly wouldn't be able to create the same caning effect (made from perforated steel) as lab31, some radiator screening could be painted and stretched diagonally to create a similar effect. do i need another project to add on top of my ever-growing list? no, but... i certainly will think twice next time i see a metal base like that... 

flocked & fabulous.

i am not normally a fan of pink... but it's growing on me. i could, however, be persuaded to put a few hot pink items in my home if they were in the right style. that being said, i would definitely put this book proudly on display in my own home. LOVE the pink flocked!

another flocked beauty. black and white is always classic and never seems to disappoint.

more books to be posted soon! i have been super busy with rush orders, out of town friends, extreme yard work... as well as plotting my next move on the downstairs bathroom. which reminds me, i need to take pics of the before... maybe i could get the before & afters featured on d*s? maybe.

weekends are too short.

i hope everyone had a nice long weekend! doug and i had friday off and got to do a few things together. i spent friday morning chopping on the last bush in the front yard (more on that later...) and then we had lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants, saigon cafe. after lunch, we went to sherwin-williams where we had borrowed some wallpaper books earlier in the week and ordered the wallpaper for our downstairs bath. (that's it above!) there were two that we really loved, but this one just felt a little more modern to me and i think it goes the best with our purple paint. we then headed off to home depot since they were having a sale on paint and bought white enamel for the trim/cabinets in the bathroom (those have to be painted because the current color totally clashes with that wallpaper...) and some ceiling paint. i am now searching for some knobs for the cabinets... really loving this one from dlawlesshardware...

at first, i wanted to do just some simple black pulls, but i think these would look really nice against the white and blend in well with the rest of the decor. we spent the rest of the day at home, watching movies and doing a few things around the house. and since i didn't get any book stuff done this weekend, i am playing catch-up this week! woo-hoo...