Olive and Pearl Handmade

here we go...

2012-01-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

THIS is how I feel today ;)

so 2 days til the MOVE. oh did I even mention we are moving!!?? yes AGAIN ;)

originally I was sooo mixed and anxious about moving AGAIN, Gosh we have been thru this not long ago (less than 2 yrs ago!!) right? while there is such a long list of draws in moving back, at the same time so so sad to leave our Austin peeps (to say the least). We had adjusted, moved on transitioned etc and now-we'll do it again! Still a little angst about transitions ahead but overall feeling ok! And just trusting that there are big plans in moving our family back. Excited to see whats ahead and anxious for sure. So so excited about family! yay my sis and hubs are there! and yay for sweet, sweet friends. Oh and the house remodel...our new hood! (I need to blog about the new bruy-casa someday too) so many blessings and so many things to look forward to... Anyway overall really excited (its taken me a WHILE to get to this point) but ready to get settled and SO excited to see whats ahead! Can't WAIT to spend more time with sweet fam and friends!

so. lets do this! (and sorry I will really try to not be such a blog slacker after things slow down a bitty)

xoxo!

burrrrrrrr

2011-12-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

its cold today! staying warm and eyeballing these lovelies (via donna wilson!) have also been on a stocking hunt, love this one from jcrew... and ending up with an assortment of stripes from etsy that I'm pretty excited about!!

I'm just loving everyone's gift guides, could just eat them up.... anthology mag's is one of my faves. (Oh did you check out their Holiday issue yet? It's soooo cute.)

And so excited to make this tommorrow with Miss M for her room...from bloesem-chk kids area for DIY here.

Hope everyone is loving gettting into the Christmas spirit!

xo!

so thankful!

2011-11-26T11:41:00.001-08:00

so thankful for these 2 in my life. Not sure what I would do without these happy faces;)

we are so thankful for so much this year, family and friends who are just supporting us so well thru our transitions we couldn't be more appreciative. thanks everyone for all the love! hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

xoxo!!

big birthday

2011-11-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

oh wow, its been a while-so sorry! a few updates and backtracking here...

starting with my little gals birthday fun. just cannot believe this sweet girl of mine is TWO. she is so sweet and chatty and brings so much joy and fun into our lives! love you meryl! here are a few shots from her very late and very fun birthday party!

{mmmm the party really got started when we brought out the cake, this made for a very happy birthday girl!}

{2 sweeties turned TWO-such a fun party with our sweet friend Parker!}

{OH MY TWO!}

So crazy and OH so fun! Thanks everyone for partying with us! We loved it!

love that caftan!

2011-08-12T11:44:00.001-07:00

(from emersonmade)

so into this right now... oh! and these too!

(from ace and jig)

just seem so right for the "fall" weather that isn't really fall weather, such great ethnic wovens for this time of year. all look so comfortable too, right?

xoxo, happy weekend to you! any fun plans?

sis + cute house

2011-08-09T20:25:00.001-07:00

my sis inspired me to start doing a few mini home tours... just a little sneak peak into her cute house (i just snapped a few pics on my phone.) my sister is one of the most creative people i know. she is always up to something fun-either making or decorating something up, she is always inspiring me to try something different. hope you love her house, I just think its adorable. she has done such a great job making it warm, fun and so eclectic! hope you enjoy!

(hence the boxes) my sister and her hubs made a move not too long ago...

always has the cutest mix of prints and art in her place...

(cute little desk area)

they have this cute little desk area in their office, equipped with happy tape, vintage filing cabinets, poloroid snapshots and its just so fun!

(love this pouf and the zig zag rug)

ash is into all things gold these days-I love this. she is dying for some gold shoes, has gold nails, AND this lovely gold pouf-how fun!

104!!??

2011-07-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

(image via etsy)

(image via nytimes.com)

so really this weather is insane. I'm dying to bust out my scarf-stash! talked to my friend in nyc who had 70 degree weather yesterday! SO JEALOUS. happy day everyone, we are trying desperately to stay cool in the ac.

ps. check out yokoo on etsy to get prepped for that nice fall weather thats hopefully around the corner ;)

ouch...

2011-07-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

what a week last week!!?? poor miss m broke her tibia--aka shin bone-- :( thankfully this little lady is such a trooper and has such a great attitude about this. most of last week was spent at doctor's appointments and xraying, X 3!! so this is our "cute boot" is what M is calling her new cast...

thanks everyone for the love and support and the yummmm cookies!

oh sweet mama...

2011-07-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

{my mom and i, after i was born}

my sweet mama is so so great (to say the LEAST!)

she would do anything in the world for us -- and loves us sooo much. So, one thing (of the many cool things) my mom did when we were little was paint portraits of us! i love this, shows such love and care for us and i feel so honored she took the time to do this. a mommas love for her babies is the sweetest. i want so badly to keep the tradition rolling, so--we took these pics, before we moved last year, I'm starting to paint this one:

I decided to paint from a photo b/c frankly I am not quite talented enough to paint my sweet little lady in action (how can i get the detail of her sweet little expressions when she moves as fast as she does?! how did my mom do this?) so impossible i would think!!

p.s. i just loved these articles about working mommas, so inspiring...

happy week...super busy here, working on a fun handbag illustration project and a few paper goodies here and there. what a week! whew. and not to mention, my scanner completely died on me today and i just installed a new one--wish me luck!

GEO love

2011-07-07T07:55:00.001-07:00

Lately I'm inspired by all things GEO. Seeing this everywhere (for a while now!) in print/textile and vintage shops (especially accessories!) all around town. Remember this purchased at Renegade? For me--it all started with this scarf (above) found @madewell a year ago or so...it makes such a nice compliment to anything I wear, literally anything. And who would of thought this geo-thing would last so long? i love it!

oh summer!

2011-07-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

{photo via you are my fave!}

so nice to have a short week and long holiday weekend! I gotta say ours was so chill and so fun! started with a great girls night out... then to a super fun parade, and one fun local spot on a date with my sweet hubs! other than that we got sick-again! eek.

dreaming about a summer vacay! beachy-yes! short flight w/ sweet little gal-yes! oh where to go??

and icecream!

remember these amazing umbrellas?

love this summer braid...

oh and my sweet parents on their honeymoon, my sis just posted these adorable pics i couldn't resist...

;) happy short week + happy dreaming of vacay!

three for $25

2011-06-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

yes thats right, 3 shirts for 25 bucks. what a steal!

these are my new finds, I ran into buffalo exchange the other day to check it out and walked out with these 3 pretties...

{boxy button down, w/ sweet little white floral print}

{these sleeves are awesome, full w/ buttons @ shoulder in pretty olive}

{long denim shirt...tab up gathered sleeve, love}

i was just so excited about my finds, how come I always forget about buffalo exchange?

happy week! ;)

madewell monday

2011-06-20T13:49:00.001-07:00

so, for today i'm just loving madewell's check tank! my sis just bought a real cute check bedspread that i'm also loving ...so soon, watch out for some new checkered items--soooo into checks! feels so great for summer.

today we are celebrating ONE YEAR IN ATX! Yeah-what an adventure it has been, a really great and challenging year too. I will follow up this week with some new Austin faves.

happy monday my dears!

oh tuesday...

2011-06-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

oh today i want to throw on my floppy hat and head to the pool...! i did this a few weeks ago and it was fab.

had such a fun weekend with my sweet fam...lots of good time in and lots of yummy food.

(Including 3 trips (YES 3X!) to taco villa, my LBK FAVE. Oh how I miss Lubbock.)

Whats going on this week with u?

-We are celebrating my sweet friend, KAT's bday-starting tomorrow, we will celebrate it up for a week! pretty excited about this!

-Also working on a few things, including a clutch project for my sweet Richardson neighbor Jen who gets married in 2 WEEKS! So excited about this will post pics later this week!

happy week!

the sis

2011-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

a few weekends ago we had the most fab weekend visit from my sis. we just love it when she comes to see us (we sure did miss her hubs tho). had a full weekend of fun activities planned including new yummy mexican spots...visiting some fave shops...and the highlight of the weekend was renegade craft fair on saturday! we bought some cutie little goodies from here, molly m cool geo cut outs are amazing-I esecially love my new art for my mantle-as above. Both my sis and I are so loving leah duncan too. We all know I'm such a sucker for prints, but her use of pastels and delicate lines are so unique-i just love her textiles... after a long day of shopping whew! my sweet hubs made us the most yummy dinner--fried chicken! fried green tomatoes! tomato-cucmber salad! yum! not so healthy but oh so delish.

so thankful for my sweet sis, we were able to get some great time in over the weekend. meryl just loves her auntie. thx to ash now all meryl wants to do is bou-bounce!! on the bed! gotta luv it!

oh and so sorry for the long break. things have been nutty around here! today we are working a bit and resting up as we've been sick. We are all getting ready for a fun trip to see my sweet fam for a long weekend! cannot wait!!

we HEART CCP!

2011-05-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

We just love that Cristy Cross! And love the way her tees turned out. Love the peach. Love the hearts! Just finished a big order a few weeks ago for her and had so much fun. There were tees on EVERY surface in our apt. I loved it. Thankfully my hubs happened to be out of town during crunch-time otherwise he would have had a HAY DAY! ;)

So Cristy and I have known eachother since oh, 7th grade? We have done all kinds of craftiness together, including painting crazy things on our toenails and decoupaging (sp?)! She is such a sweet and talented friend. She took some amazing family pics when Meryl was 3 months old. seriously-my fave baby in my fave chair-love it. And then more recently family pics for fun! (Doesn't get any better than a vw bus!) She is just SO TALENTED and really one of the most creative people I know. So inspiring as a Mom and artist. Best of luck to her in her 1st Art show this wk! SO WISH we could be there :)

happy day to u!

Wednesday BAG-love

2011-04-27T12:11:00.001-07:00

just a good day for some vintage bag love!

Bought this little cutie a few weeks ago in nyc. so into small crossbody bags right now-they.are.everywhere. Its just the perfect size for my wallet, phone, lipgloss and a diaper! love it!

aint no party like the CAMPISE party!

2011-04-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

well, we just love those campises.

my best friend Kathrin and her hubs David have just finished renovating their home and have recently been licensed for Foster Care/Adoption! We are all just so excited for them to wrap up renovations on their cute Craftsman house-which we LOVE! And cannot wait to meet the lucky kiddo(s) who get placed in their home.

Kathrin and I met at orientation before I began Freshman year at Tech (my parents refer to her as "Kathrin from Orientation") gotta love it ;) She has been the best friend to me no matter what I am going thru, or what she is going thru. She is so loyal and so encouraging and has just been there for me-so thankful for this girl! We are just so blessed to know her and her sweet husband Dave. Mike and I (and Meryl) have been so lucky to live closer to them over the past year. We have loved getting to spend more time with these 2 who mean so much to us! AND gosh, Meryl loves these 2. Thinks Kat is hilarious (we all do right?) I mean-who else can entertain your kiddos with kid song after kid song-?!?! I have so many great stories w/ this girl, clearly cannot say enough-so lets get on with the pics! We all threw them a housewarming/Prep for Foster Care party...and we had a blast!

{Kat had the super fun idea to place progress pics of the house renovations all over so guests could see for themselves the amazing progress!}

{pics were posted in each room of the progress}

{and DAVE slaving away in their cute kitchen on his amazing spaghetti and meatballs.they made a whopping record of 130 for the party! ummmm I think they need to go into resturant biz-what do you think?}

{hosts doing some party prep-how cute is their dining room! Dave built this table for Kat a few years ago, light fixture is original-from the '30s, and Brandie made this adorable felted wool dot banner-as seen in above 2 pics!}

{food table after most had been devoured}

{yummm spaghetti on the stove!}

{Meryl LOVES Kat, Dave and Dave's spaghetti too}

{invite, fun decs and favors!}

{sweet sweet friends!}

{Love these 2}

We had so much fun.

Thanks Brandie for sharing your pics! My camera was at the photobooth for most of the party-the photobooth just may have to be a separate posting-it was so cute!

hope everyone is having a great Monday!

happy easter/happy good friday!

2011-04-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

{M's sweet easter sandals from saltwater}

so glad its friday! so so glad. its been a long week of having colds/working/whew! any fun easter plans? we are headed to church, then off to some fun potlucks sunday-with friends. as we are super excited to celebrate easter, so thankful this year, for christ's resurrection and the new life we are given thru him.

happy easter everyone...and have a super weekend ;)

vintage cuties

2011-04-20T11:20:00.001-07:00

{sweet pucci-esq printed dress!}

{lovin this vintage clutch with metal flap tipping}

just needed a good vintage pick-me up mid-week- found these the other day on South Congress!

how much do I love my friends diy here?

and yum, these look delish. and, gosh-you know the HEART is my FAVE!

...we're heading to a few Easter potlucks and trying to decide what to bring!

hello sweet baby girl!

2011-04-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

ok, seriously overdue! this sweet girl is now over a month old--miss isla baker! isn't she a doll? seriously precious just cannot get enough of that sweet little face!

{Isla with PROUD Momma and Daddy!}

{Auntie Kat and Auntie Aims SO EXCITED to be there. Sweet Meryl is sporting her "isla" tee! b/c she is sooooo excited about her new sweet friend!}

Welcome ISLA flag! We all (joint effort of Kat/Dave/Mike/Aim) crafted this up for the Bakers front porch. Fabric is from the bast Taylor fabric store ever. Back is solid cream muslin. Attached are 2 felt tabs to hang flag. (The boys contribution was adding rocks to the bottom tip of the heart to weigh it down). Finished off with Yellow Bias tape to create wording!

Just love this sweet little fam! :)

back and back

2011-04-18T10:01:00.001-07:00

hi there...took a slight break from blog-land for the past month+ (reading and blogging). too much going on! and NOW, so ready to get back in the groove. social media is so much fun! but OH-so distracting! in the meantime, we adjusted a few slight things on the blog-what do we think?

also made it back from nyc last week. such a great and productive trip! I have never been so thankful for my sweet and supportive hubs-he is the greatest. And missed my baby girl so MUCH. AND--so thankful to be in a career I love so much. This was such a great reminder of why I do the crazy Momma juggle. Balancing family+life+work gets so nutty and overwhelming sometimes. This trip was a good reminder that I SO love what I'm doing in life and feel lucky to be in this exact spot.

so...a HUGE highlight of the trip was meeting up with these cool girls, in nolita one evening. (thx steph!) you must go check out their site and blog. so many great ideas from these two. we all have similar goals in that we love people and love fashion. Moni has been around the block-from TX, having lived in BKLYN 10 yrs- she has worked w/ Lucky, Barneys and now, runs her own show (just opened her new shop in Brooklyn!) Anyway-so inspiring, you will for sure hear much more about this! (and the rest of nyc too)

hope everyone is having a great Monday!

just minty

2011-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

catchin' up on some invite postings ;) ... we did this a while ago for miss sweet shan and that baby smith. polished off with some cute dotted happy tape... can't wait to meet that sweet baby (girl? boy?)

so excited about this with the sis!

never been here, but planning on it this yr....

dropped by this cute new local shoppe the other day! loving the mod prints. they sell lots of that mod green pod fabric I love so much--(also local!)

get excited...

hope the week has started off just lovely. so far so good here ;) !

a little sunshine and big bling

2011-02-14T13:52:00.001-08:00

{yes, even mere soaked up some rays}

so this weekend was mixed as we are still a little sick-booooo...

we still managed to go on an amazing walk @ redbud isle park and do a little birthday celebratin' (happy birthday to my sweet hubs tomorrow!)

we had a fun night out in hyde park--made it to hp bar + grill and asti for dinner. (YUM!)

the chef has a food blog thats pretty awesome here...

any fun vday plans? well-we r scrapping our plans of a yummy steak dinner b/c my hubs is sick :(

hope everyone has a super fun week--on the agenda for me-well ofcourse more bags and a new hat project! so different for me and I'm so, so excited about it!

happy monday (and vday!) to you ;) my sees wore this amazing bling today to celebrate (eh mock??) the big day! silly goose...

oh FEBRUARY!

2011-02-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

It's so cold here this week, we went from 70 to 30 degrees just like that. Today I want to snuggle with this hot pink warmer ;) {did u see my sweet heart-art on top of my hot chocolate this am?}

working and came across some fun findings...

so, what do we think of Anthro's wedding dresses? I have heard of Anthro's wedding line for some time now and was wondering when they were officially coming out--aren't they super fun and frilly?

getting excited about fashion week?

{just love that Proenza Schouler, cannot wait to see everyone else!}

oh, and a little shout out from mycakies!

{thx for loving and supporting our sweet little car printed pouch!}

--while you are there, you MUST read about Soul's birthday bash, cutest party EVER.--

Well, we are looking forward to a fun weekend in the ATX! Some sweet friends coming in town all week and weekend long! just love it ;)) AND a little bday celebration for my sweet hubs birthday!

hope everyone is staying warm...

burrrrrrr

2011-02-01T18:39:00.001-08:00

so cold today!

my sweet little gal all bundled up ;)

really wanting to make this.

loving these. ordered some and now maybe need some more?

so sweet.

and sorry but I just can't get enough of j. crew and their fun catalog for spring.

happy week to you!

in luv

2011-01-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

with j crew's spring look book!

{love the bag! love the quirky mixes!}

oh! the soft pink and the print mixes are just. gorgeous.

hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend ;)

14 dolla beauty.

2011-01-21T09:10:00.001-08:00

oh hello. this is my new 14 dollar find i was bragging about earlier in the week, needs a little love but i'm pretty excited about this. planning on wearing it this weekend. {mostly love the sleeves and the color is just beautiful!}

found it here.

what are you up to this weekend?

we are checking out a yummy new spot tonite and doing some shopping and so, so excited!

happy friday!

{OH P.S. i'm getting excited about valentines day...just love this emersonmade tee!}

in the groove

2011-01-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

well, we are back to the land of the living in 2011! :) we have been sick for 2 wks (meryl + the momma, no one could have prepared me for that-whew.)

Anyway-we are real excited to be back on our feet!!

Doing some spring research here and came across these lovely antlers yesterday...really thinking about investing in some! Also found a vintage dress for $14, pretty exciting day-not to mention so much other great inspiration-I am SO. READY. FOR. SPRING.

Also working on my list like this for 2011...

Happy week to you and so sorry for the blog break.

a lil holly jolly...

2010-12-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

{the mantle}

{felt trees --totally copied anthro!-- and meryls stocking i made last year}

{our mini-tree... this year we went for a four-footer. it's perfect with a little gal who likes to grab ornaments. it's a fresh cypress sitting on a table, we only used our non-breakable ornaments this yr.}

{and the wrapping...and paperwhites-thanks to my lovely mama!}

christmas decs

2010-12-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

this morning as i was thumbing thru my new christmas living etc. mag...

i'm really loving this song.

also ash pointed us here-a really great article on advent by rob bell.

so here in the b house, we are cleaning out still and trying to keep things simple and in perspective. got the tree up and had a lovely evening of getting our decs up and feasting on some yummy appetizers with my sweet fam...

hope everyone is having a lovely week.

{our christmas decs to come later this wk...}

christmas card mode

2010-12-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

i hope everyone had a really great thanksgiving. we had a great time in the LBK with my fam. lots of catching up and eating going on there. we made it to meryl's first tech game--fun and freezing at the same time! Got to take some fun family pics with this sweet gal. It was so much fun. we had a really great time with my fam, i'm super blessed-to say the least. Even did some crafting with my sweet momma and sis. Ash is making this super cool wreath so we worked on the little roved pom balls. OH, and I really wanna make this.

So, all this to say Thanksgiving was great, and the Christmas season is here. (wahooo we chopped down our tree last night!) We are in Christmas card mode (and baby announcement mode too!). So please let us know asap if you'd like to order Christmas cards! I'm going to stop taking orders early next week-we are just about maxed out! So just a few recent invites, some I may have posted-some maybe not.

yeah :) excited about this cozy party for my sweet friends this weekend ;) will post more next week about this super fun partay!

happy thursday everyone!

i wonder

2010-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

if my hair would do thissssss?

to simplify

2010-11-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

this is my new years resolution for the big 2011 (yes, a little early). I just have way to much going on right now-it's all fun, but gosh lots to keep up w/! and "the holidays" haven't really arrived. whew.

i really need to start prioritizing. oh my-my brain feels a tad cluttered. lately my prioritizing includes about 10-15 things at #1, and then you can only imagine the rest of the list. so indeed, something to work on!

+so above pic is symbolic in many ways+

1. on a shallow note, i just love this living space. it's so Simple! so not cluttered! the pieces in this room are statement pieces, they mean something and have character, it's warm and inviting at the same time. O how wonderful to be so simple and refreshing!

2.My sweet hubs pointed out you can actually count the items in this room. Nope, I don't think I can count the # of things on my to do list right now (or in my living room for that matter), or in my head.

so my goal for next year is to clean out! simplify! and really focus on what's important. literally and figuratively. oh i can't wait for 2011!

on a super fun note! a shop update (finally)--coming later today!!

happy week + cheers to simplicity.

just some new faves...

2010-11-11T13:57:00.001-08:00

Austin faves, that is...some old and new discoveries ;)

kick pleat, love their styling. they have many japanese inspired silhouettes, great bags, and amazing shoes.

mozarts coffee on lbj...especially great with some of your best friends...and especially great when they already have christmas lights that blink to mannheim steamroller (we were able to experience this on sat night!)

ranch 616, yum and the san jose's hh (ps the hotel is amazin)--remember our date?

and ofcourse there's uncommon objects. fell in love with a 50 dolla danish chair there today! (on far right! needs recovering--it's hard to see with the basket in the seat...what do you think?)

happy thursday!!

goodbye october...

2010-10-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

wow oct has flown by...i've been putting some final touches on miss m's little costume and i should be good to go after today!!...will post pics next week!

(above invite we created for little p's birthday party)

oh hello nyc, i'm missing you especially in the fall. for now i will live vicariously through these lovely pics. they had an amazin' time. see for yourself.

chk out darkly dramatic. such the perfect vibe for this time of year ;)

hope everyone has had a lovely week...and sorry for the lack of posts-it's been a busy one.

inspired

2010-10-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

after looking around for miss m's birthday-I'm just amazed at how creative people get with kids toys...we bought above card board house for meryl (bought here) and also picked up these cute abc cards here...

(how fun + graphic are these cards?) It's hard for me not to hang them on the wall i love them so much.

a few other fave kids shops:

Kid O NYC (nyc)

Little Bean (dallas)

Romp (brooklyn)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We are headed to LA (as in louisiana) to hang with mike's sweet fam and meet 2 sweet new babies!

Hope everyone has a great one!

new do?

2010-10-19T08:01:00.001-07:00

liking this, we'll see. my mangey hair is in need of somethin! ;)

oh and how fun is this?

more tees and paper this week!

Happy Tuesday everyone...

finished!

2010-10-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

whew, friday! gotta finish the week off right with some pretty yellow chairs! how fun are these?

happy weekend!

nyc

2010-10-14T14:19:00.001-07:00

thinkin about my sis in nyc today! (image from here.) happy anni and happy times in nyc! ;)

meanwhile in texas I'm cranking out stationary and some screen printing this week!

dreamin' of fringe

2010-10-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

oh monday.

i have been on a quest to find a bedspread like this for a few years now. I love the fringe, LOVE it. My grandma had something like this in her guest bedroom and she GOT RID OF IT! Ahhggggggg.

Maybe someday.

Oh and did you see my sister's list? I like it. Happy Anni to she and the hubs tomorrow! they are headed to nyc to celebrate!

Happy day to you!

oh happy friday!

2010-10-08T08:34:00.001-07:00

SO excited, this is coming in the mail today. Ordered it last week with FREE SHIPPING! Yeah, I love free shipping. From Madewell.

Also loving these. Especially the Military Parka.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Ours will be pretty low-key. I'm hoping to eat tapas--have especially been craving them lately!

Happy Weekend to you!

happy day

2010-10-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

how excited was I to get my awesome necklace in the mail from mothhouse. Ash+Austin gave this to me and i LOVE it. I had been a little hard on it, and needed some repairs. Thanks Sharina for getting it back to me so quickly!

_____________________________________

On the other hand it's a very exciting day!

-It's my Dad's BIRTHDAY! HAPPY DAY!

-we got blogged about-thanks fort and field!

-AND...SADIE is here! Congrats Steph+Jaime, cannot wait to meet this sweet little lady!

-ps. how cute is this little oilily coat??!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet gal!

2010-10-01T09:13:00.001-07:00

so finally here's the recap--we worked off of a grey+pink+yellow scheme, subtle polka-dot theme (without being too theme-y) and wanted lots of crafted details. So that's what we did. It was low key and we just played at the pool and picnic-ed on saturday! lots of fun. we still cannot believe this little gal is ONE.

(oh my! we still cannot. believe. it.)

sweet birthday girl/table-o-food=YUM!

menu included:

-mimi's famous chicken salad sandwiches and auntie ash's famous pimento cheese sandwiches cut into hearts on wheat!

-ash's yum spinach dip w/ pita chips and veggies

-adams yum homeade salsa

-7 layer dip

-the cakes, meryl's lil cake was chocolate w/ cream cheese frosting

the big cake for everyone else, aunt vanessa's yum white almond cake w/ raspberry filling and almond cream cheese frosting

-M cookies, my aunt Betty's recipe they are the BEST and FLUFFIEST!

centerpieces with labels!-can never remember the name of these flowers but luv them/sweet birthday girl, her skirt (fabric from here)+handmade #1 dollie match!

labels everywhere/succulent garden as one of the table centerpieces

aunt betty's sour cream sugar cookies, M cutter from here.

convo blurb-one of my fav details/grey+white straws from fort and field

handmade scallop birthday banner (some fabric bought here), we're gonna use this for all future family birthdays!/favors-striped bags from fort and field

my sweet birthday gal really didn't love her cake. i was messier than she was!

my grandma's quilt-love this quilt

tablecloth-we made with grey broadcloth and felt dots, best hubs ever cut out 65+ felt dots!

and the photo booth...

(uncle austin downloaded this app, super great app--triggers the shutter on your camera when downloaded on your iphone...he is the BEST!)

we had a blast! thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate our sweet little gal!

birthday girl!

2010-09-28T13:07:00.001-07:00

(sweet birthday gal + birthday doll on my grandma's quilt)

(just before the cake-feast)

(m's little cake)

happy birthday to my sweet girl!

we had a great time with sweet fam + friends this weekend.

here are a few party pics from my sis's camera!

more to come tomorrow :)

today we celebrated with a fun trip to read lots of books, to meet mikey for lunch, and then austin art museum. Right now my little birthday gal is napping away.

Happy Day to my sweet girl!

it started with a bow tie

2010-09-22T20:01:00.001-07:00

so mikey and i had a fun little date last week! he opened a little pkg like this

(vintage bowtie enclosed!)

he looked so cute! just couldn't get him to wear it all night ;)

first stop...

the san jose for a little drink!

Second stop...

Ranch 616. Yum- we have never eaten oysters, lobster, steak, quail, and enchiladas in the same meal. Dessert: spicy peach pie-YUM. So delicious.

excited

2010-09-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

about this...

parties on my mind...

2010-09-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

so, ive been finishing up the bruyninckx fam birthday banner, nothing too crazy + exciting (I'm sure you've seen these all over blogland lately)! something like this is the end result! So there are a few more details I'm working on, only 10 days til the big 1st birthday bash!

also loving these amazing ideas!!

love cheese

fall football

art party

and p.s. I am so excited fall is almost officially here. Made Chex mix this weekend which is such an indicator of Fall in our house.

:) happy wed everyone!

p.s. i have a hot date with my hubs tonite!!

Oh finally, Friday!

2010-09-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

(my stag-staghorn fern has recovered from the move!)

This has been the longest, short week in the world! OH MY! I still have a sick little baby girl-poor thing. Just made it back from round 2 at the doctor and 1 1/2hrs later at walgreens, we now have MEDS! I think we are on the mend. Hope we all and you too! have a very happy weekend!

p.s. check out these awesome etsy shops-i discovered this week and am pretty excited!

OliveManna (LOVE KRAFT paper)!

Purple Deer Vintage (love the little watermelon coin)

Knot and Bow (yes to heart stickers and twine!)

Enjoy!

inspired by Florence Broadhurst

2010-09-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

So, I have always been a fan of Florence Broadhurst. In my second career one day, I'd love to be a full time textile designer. I've dabbled in this a bit, so I've always loved this gal. She was really a pioneer and well before her time in the pattern design world. She created modern, bold prints long before they became so popular. I was lucky to score this book (which I've been eyeballing for years) for 10 bucks at Anthro over the weekend! (Pretty excited about this purchase). Isn't the cover just beautiful??!!

"Butterflies"

"Honeycomb" one of my faves

"Romanesque"

my most favorite "Ikeda"

Florence was such a talented gal.

So, we did actually have a lovely labor day weekend, but since then we have all been sick. I still need to catch you up on some fun parties in Dallas!

Happy Thursday!

crush

2010-09-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

--so comfy from women's sale--

--from j. crew girls, wish this came in my size--

(feeling the stripes today!)

--kids moccs, i think I just found some like this in my size--

we made it back, and have a crush on jcrew sale today :) check it out!

yep-made it back...i think we are caught up on work and laundry as of this moment. had a great time on our trip, worked alot and managed to help out w/some super fun parties, for super special friends. will update you more on this later in the week! last week flew by and it was crazy!

break

2010-08-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

hope everyone had a great weekend!

we had a lovely din with some family friends here, at their home and made a trip to barton springs...so fun. What else can you do in this crazy heat?

i'll be back in a few weeks after some work travel + fam/friend time! will have many fun things to talk about... a super fun baby shower we have been working on + new shops and other secrets.

until then! check out this scribble menu from ollibird. i have been trying SO HARD to plan meals and who knows...maybe this will inspire me?? (P.S. it's free! and CUTE!)

recent invites

2010-08-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

(shower for lil sadie)

(parker's baby dedication)

(meryl's baby dedication)

...for some of my fav babies! :) happy friday!

vintage find

2010-08-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

(check out that awesome raglan sleeve.)

(p.s. sweet steph gave me this amazing Mexican blanket! Isn't it great!??!!)

I mentioned this last week... such a good find from Feathers!

Who could pass up this cute little jacket?? These pockets+Those sleeves= amazing ;)

Can't wait to wear this when it cools off a tid bitty. My fav clothing find in a while.

Had a lovely weekend at home :) It was so nice, got to see some sweet family and great friends who came in town for quick visits! Made some homeade salsa-the Adams recipe. Found a great dive spot to get burgers, and relaxed. It was great.

I started a new crafty project--a quilt for Miss M. Made from the finest fabrics from the big T (as in Taylor) fabric store, just around the corner from Kat. Will post more on this later in the week. I'm excited!! I haven't crafted since I have moved--isn't that TERRIBLE??

Loving Ash's recap from Austin's big bash. She's cute.

Also dreaming about this cottage or something like it for a little vacay in a few months!

AND Last but not LEAST-starting to plan a lil' birthday party for my lil' lady.

Happy Tues! :)

fall

2010-08-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

this week was full of research for fall (2011). Busy and messy around here, shipped everything out on time ;) whew. a few pics of the work in progress AND some good finds...

(tube plant in amazing planter)

(great lighting, both above from this lovely shop)

a little tempted to get these lovely vintage shoes and

also loved these canisters. 1 personal purchase, a vintage top/jacket with blousey sleeves. I bought it here, will post it later b/c it's in the wash!

ready

2010-08-03T21:07:00.001-07:00

for

fall. they are cute.

wow. what a day... what a week! hoping next week will slow down.

gift-ies

2010-07-29T12:53:00.001-07:00

thanks sees. Ash bought these super cute items (journal+ candle holder) for me at a little shop she found on her travels for work to NC. According to her it's a "gift shop meets soda shop" how cute is that. i wanna go.

I have tried (many times) to start writing in this little journal, and I just can't do it. Nothing so far is worthy of it's cuteness.

Happy Thursday to you!

oh hello monday

2010-07-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

so a rough but good trip to the good ol LBK this weekend.

1. in spite of the events had some good hang out time with my sweet fam

2. made a quick stop at my 10 yr hs reunion (oh, getting so old) but soooo good to see sweet friends and at good ol Cagle's.

3. stopped to see Cameron at The Head Shoppe, oh he cuts some A.M.A.Z.I.N.G bangs and is so entertaining at the same time.

4. contemplating a family project--a food blog--my Aunt Vanessa is the BEST cook known to man, and hopefully we will get to share some of her goodness with others! Making her salad for lunchie today!

5. side note--check out these windmills? Aren't they incredible? We drove thru sweetwater and happened upon hundreds of these, who would of thought?

Hope your day is wonderful.

vacation on my mind

2010-07-20T13:52:00.001-07:00

whew.

2010-07-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

wow, last week was nuts. meryl and I were back in dallas to work and it was insane. got to catch up with a few peeps but not everyone :( we are back home now-- pooped, and poor miss m is cutting some serious teeth .

a few pics of the apt in progress...it's getting better ;)

happy monday to you!

weekend delayed

2010-07-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

(taken with my hipstamatic iphone ap-btw love this)

so better late than never...

we had a super weekend getting quality time in with auntie ash.

had a lovely time...consisted of sparklers, yummy food and the pool.

(we had MANY things on the to do list, and didn't quite get thru it all)

AND I'm just soooo excited about my little danish find (that i didn't need ONE bit).

Loving my new side table--adds a lot to the new living room i think:

More pics to come next week on the apt progress...it is slowly coming together :)

next.

2010-07-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

sewing project--I love the bow! from Ruche

maybe after I weed thru a few more boxes (and find my shoes!) i can start sewing again.

(actually just a diff spin on these --see Cristy's blog header--we made for her shoot a few months ago!)

happy 4th weekend everyone!

the move, whew.

2010-06-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

so we're here, it's official i guess this means we are austin-ites??

our place is a wreak! the garage is packed down with who knows what (and we really thought we were going to park in the garage, WHAT were we thinking??!!) AND a side note, there are rolly-pollies everywhere! eeeeeeeekkkk. i just don't know what to do about this. other than being a little tired, all is good. meryl has a love/hate relationship with her room, but I think she will warm up. more pics to come, b/c you know I'm excited about redecorating (even though it will minimual--this is a temporary stop)

we managed to make a quick stop at Austin birthday partayyyh on Saturday. It was a blast. We feasted on sliders, fries, gummies and delish lemon meringue pie! If she doesn't blog about it soon, I will--cutest party ever.

wahooo

2010-06-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

for Madewell online shopping.

It is so exciting.

Now for the big question, will they have great online sales like their J. Crew sister?

Let's hope so.

wedding fun!

2010-05-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

dear sister,

you are one talented gal! didn't she do an amazing job on these wedding invitations??!! Way to go sees. You are good. Very cool, I don't think anyone can keep up with her coolness.

Slacker blogger here.

Too much going on in the B house lately. Hanging out with Miss M, working on some handbags, on a move and selling a little house is just too much for this gal. Regular life please come back ;// So sorry, I will try to be better in the next month!!

inspired

2010-04-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

sooooo. in the midst of the crazy times at our house, I'm trying really hard to feel inspired. This shoot, and the new lonny mag have really brought out my eclectic side. It feels so summer and so comfortable. And let me just tell you how excited I am about some summa time.

preview

2010-04-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

just a sneak peek of what we've been working on for cristy's photo shoot tomorrow :)

This gal has been dreaming up some awesome ideas for her shoot and we have been so lucky to be involved in the collaboration!! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Happy weekend!

no way.

2010-04-09T22:06:00.001-07:00

i love these.

have a happy weekend!

super fun

2010-04-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

last weekend i had such a great birthday weekend. We got in lots of good, chill family time and ate this yummy cake made by that sweet mikey. i am a sucker for anything coconut, and this recipe happens to be made by my cooking crush, ina garten. we went to some of my fave spots, amigos of course and sat on the patio, then on a hot date to hattie's :) I just love that texas cosmo and their friend green tomatoes. mike had the yummiest pecan crusted catfish in the world. so thankful for my sweet fam and friends that have made my birthday week/weekend so so special.

btw today is ash's big 26th birthday!!

____________

don't forget to check back later tonite to see who won the giveaway!

Ash's Birthday Giveaway!!

2010-04-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

OK, we mentioned earlier in the week about a little givaway...this is in honor of my sweet and favorite sees's BIRTHDAY!! This gal is back in Dallas, moved from Colorado to be closer to me! (I'm sure that's the only reason-right?) We are SOOOOO glad she is back!!!!

So, here's the deal, I wanna hear about a few things:

1. your super fun Easter weekend plans

2. your fav thing in the shoppe right now

Leave comments, to get a chance to win your fav item in the shoppe!

Come back to this posting Wed night (April 7th-Ash's BIRTHDAY!) to find out if you won!!

Happy weekend everyone!!

___________________________

congrats denae!! you won! please email me with your shipping info!! :)

check her out!

2010-03-31T07:43:00.001-07:00

props to a Fossil colleague who made a huge appearance in this month's Readymade mag!

P.S. LOVE her house.

Winner!

2010-03-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Congrats Tara for winning the giveaway! She is the new owner of this lovely aqua zippie!

K, readers. We're doing a giveaway for all of you lovelies. Stay tuned later this week for the announcement. Happy happy Monday ;)

waist skirts

2010-03-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

we're a fan of these. She found the pattern here. Very cute! We changed them up a little bit--it's comfy and cute ;) Personal FAV is the pop yellow pocket! We made Miss M a new draw-skirt too. Lots of skirt making going on here-about to make a few more for my sweet and so talented friends photo shoot! (SO EXCITED about this)...more to come.

who won the give-a-way?? we're all in suspense...

we have spring fever!

2010-03-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

excited about a few new things in the shoppe!

don't forget to sign up for the giveaway tomorrow here.

happy weekend to you! i'm headed to hh!

thinking about terrariums

2010-03-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

i have this from cb2

i want it to look like this. from Paula Hayes. Her website is amazing-especially if you are a plant/succulent lover like me :)

hello

2010-03-15T09:09:00.001-07:00

this is my new dress. can't wait to wear this :) love those pretty stripes. bought it here.

happy happy monday.

we are picnic-ing today with auntie kat!! yeah :)

that's right. auntie kat is here. we are loving her company on her spring break and feel so honored she decided to spend with us!

happy weekend.

2010-03-13T04:16:00.001-08:00

just uploaded new postcards sets on etsy! in love with peach and yellow right now. (told ya.)

happy weekend! we are headed to a flea market today with the sis and hubs and maybe doing a little sewing with a good gal later.

yeah! we are up on mycakies. look for a fun giveway here next weekend!

pretty spring.

2010-03-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

made from this vintage piece. just might be my new fav.

i heart peach and yellow for spring. you will be seeing more of this in

our newness coming in the snail mail section.

So Sewing

2010-03-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

Making more of these today for the shoppe.

+ SO SO excited, we are now a sponsor of one of our fav craft blogs.

More to come on this next week! (Look for us on mycakies starting March 15th!)

skinny on the skinnies

2010-03-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

so, a few weeks ago--we posted a quick diy on skinny jeans. I'm hearing from some of you that I was a little vague ;) so here we go, step by step...

hello.

meet our old pair of flare Joe's...a little too pricey to toss-right??

ONE. Try on jeans, while standing straight up note where more excess of pant falls--to inseam or outer seam? (You might need a friend to help here) For us, we need to remove excess from inseam.

TWO. PIN 2 important points on one leg:

1.Pin around ankle-to desired ankle width.

2. Pin where jean leg becomes more fitted (usually at knee or thigh)

Be sure both points are clearly marked before removing jeans. Add 2-3 pins in between to get better fit.
THREE. Turn legs inside out, transferring pinned points on right side of denim to wrong side. Do this for both legs. Then connect points with ruler & pencil. **Pay special attention to fitted portion at knee or thigh marking. You will need to carefully blend new seam to old seam at this point so that you get a smooth finished seam.
FOUR. While inside out--Stitch both legs, starting at ankle and stitching up legs.

Depending on how extreme your flare was, you might need to trim up excess inside Jean leg. Be sure to surge this edge if you trim so that jeans don't fray when washing.

DONE! You have new and o so mod jeans. ENJOY.

Would LOVE to see pics of new skinnies gals!

well hellooo friends.

2010-02-25T19:18:00.001-08:00

New in the shoppe! Owl, doll and hair flutters will be featured on etsy tomorrow! YEAH and Happy weekend to you.

weekend shoppie shoppie

2010-02-22T13:20:00.001-08:00

rustic wooden headboard.

sweet little grouping of pear vases.

just a few pics from my favorite store Wildflower. So many great ideas, I walk in there and want to completely redo my casa.

eeeeeeeeeek.

We had such a great time with one of my best gals who I love and respect so so much. Had some quality and much needed girl time (also Meryl's FIRST girls road trip!)

Also doing some experimenting with our banner...she needed a little refresh!

hello lollie

2010-02-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

meet Meryl's new little Valentines day dolly.

we think she likes her. I had so much fun making this and now have such a

new appreciation for warm sugar. oh wow. they are so good.

hearts in the shoppe

2010-02-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

happy v-day! cranking out lots of heart pillows!

Hearts aren't just for Valentines Day...

Dallas people-don't forget shipping will be refunded if you would rather pick up your order!

sweet baby jillian.

2010-02-09T12:49:00.001-08:00

Name banner we made for sweet baby jillian over the weekend. Pray for her when you see this posting today! She was born about a week ago at 30 weeks.

windows

2010-02-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

Love these windows and wish we had some sunshine comin' through ours today :)!

Just love Amy Butler's living area.

love notes in the shoppe!

2010-02-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

(steph, such a great idea to personalize them!)

yeah! the shoppe is up on etsy!

i love snail mail :)

I should be sleeping right now...

2010-02-02T01:56:00.001-08:00

but I am so wide eyed you would think it was 7 am! Arrrgghh.

So we are making some of these for the new etsy shoppe! We are so excited this is finally happenin...it's something I have wanted to do for a long, long time :)

yeah. happy february!

Friday Find

2010-02-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

So I needed a little retail therapy on Friday, it was such a dreary day...found this at North Dallas Antique mall...

Oh I feel so so special. I feel so lucky to be on Cristy's blog today. You know I just can't get enough of her pictures.

etsy findings

2010-01-28T12:03:00.001-08:00

just bought for a lil gift...Citizenfox (free shipping people!)
love it. want it. from SparklePower

skinnies

2010-01-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

bought these jeans in flare, today they are skinnies. Whew, all the sudden we jumped forward a few years in fashion and lovin' it. If those flares feel a little old and tired, just take about 1 1/2" from the outer seam and taper in to old hipline and viola! you have skinnies. Enjoy!

Anthro sale

2010-01-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

Bought this felted wool container at the Anthro sale last week and lovin it.

forgot

2010-01-26T06:42:00.000-08:00

about how much I love this dress. From H & M.

Big Day

2010-01-24T04:22:00.000-08:00

My sis is working on somethin like this for Haley's big day...love the idea. Can't wait to see what she does with them-Ash is a talented gal!

still

2010-01-24T04:11:00.001-08:00

for sale...should I buy them?

loving...

2010-01-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

this tee.

Hearts for Haiti

2010-01-16T20:34:00.001-08:00

My sweet friend just told me Etsy has a special shop, just opened to donate to Doctors without Borders. Just type "HeartsforHaiti" into the sellers drop down menu on Etsy.com

Go here to find out more ways you can help.

(photo from dailymail.co.uk)

integration

2010-01-11T11:53:00.001-08:00

my fav shirt bought at a vintage store in austin...
japanese leather bag, given to me by my first fav boss.

i have been cleaning, my closet especially--i love these 2 pieces and really never wear them so i'm making an effort do some closet diving in 2010. o happy happy monday!

jazzy doors

2010-01-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

would love it if i had the guts to paint my front door like this. happy weekend!

in love...

2010-01-04T16:01:00.001-08:00

with CITYCRAFT @ Inwood + Lovers. They have a great selection of fab fabrics, including one of my faves!--Joel Dewberry. Bought a few things today to start crafting on--gotta start the New Year right...