pretty things

I love everything going on in this picture above. A long time ago I pinned the monogrammed "D" pillow and found this picture with it. The pillow is Luxury Monograms (luxurymonograms.com). I also love the gold sunburst mirror. I found a Martha Stewart Living one at Home Deport for under $40 that I think I may have to go back and get. I believe the black and white rug is Ikea.

This is another one of my favorite images that I have pinned. Everything about this room is cozy and clean to me and I want to jump into this photo and live here! Ironically it also shows some gorgeous monogramming. I also spy a J Crew panama hat that I own myself and am slightly obsessed with. The Audubon bird prints are what make the room in my opinion. Someone I follow on instagram (saramuellerdesigns.com) recently posted that she came across two Audubon prints at Homegoods.

Clutches like these K.slademade (www.kslademade.com) ones above are becoming more popular. A lot of people are loving Clare Vivier's which I love too, but I like the tassel on the K.slademade.

still hooked on pink

I can't get enough of this pretty azalea pink. I am dying for these Tibi pants but I'm not about to try and justify paying so much for a pair of pink pants. But I can't stop looking at them. I guess that's all I'll be able to do. Then there is the J Crew neon azalea skirt.

Why the heck does J Crew have to go and make these stand-out colored skirts wool? 

Don't they know I want to wear this stuff in the spring and summer. Not in the winter. Since they're wool, they are on sale right now - and then an extra 30 percent off. I also want to know why J Crew has to price their flats so high. I go to look for these flats below because I'm also dying for this exact outfit {to wear to work}.

Find them. On sale. But still $158. That's a little bit ridiculous for a J Crew flat. Am I wrong?

But I love them for wearing to work with pencil skirts. A pink pencil skirt.

i officially joined the club

This club, that is.

I don't really pin any of all the creative ideas and do-it-yourself's that are all over Pinterest. I'm more into pinning anything that makes me happy or inspires me instead of collecting tons of DIY ideas. I do use the Pinterest search engine every now and then though if I'm interested in looking for something specific. Like window valances.

I was just going to have one made. I even went to a fabric store on Saturday to put in my order. Then, today I started getting curious if there might be some easy way for me to make it myself. Because that would be much quicker than waiting on someone else to sew one. So I typed in "window valances" into the search option.

I knew I found a winner when all that was needed was fabric, a hot glue-gun, straight pins and a polystyrene panel from Lowes {6 panels for $10!}. I went by Lowes on my way home and got the Perma foam panels and ran by the dollar store for a bunch of straight pins. I followed this tutorial and it literally took me under 30 minutes before I had a window valance on my window.

Notice the fabric? I've had it a while. The only thing I did different from the tutorial is that instead of nailing or straight pinning the valance to the window molding, I just made sure the two sides I hot-glued to the panel were tight enough for me to just slide the panel over the molding. So simple.

colored jeans

Colored jeans are all over the place right now and at first I wasn't so sure how I felt about the bold statement they make. This picture above {that I found here} pretty much had my mind settled though. It not only makes me want some turquoise jeans, it makes me want teal pumps too!

But when I started looking at all the options out there, it was hard to make a decision on just one color.

Luckily, when I was browsing here last week, I wasn't in a hurry to make that decision, and then I ended up stumbling upon a light pink pair of J Brands at UAL while I was in New Orleans this past weekend . If you've ever been to a UAL store, you know that they have awesome prices on high end designer brands - so I paid around $55 for them! They had so much great stuff so I left with my hands full and when I was about to leave Isla Fischer {the wild red-head in Wedding Crashers and wife to Sasha Baron Cohen} was standing right beside me in the store - turns out she is there filming a movie!

liking pink lately

I've never considered myself a girl that loves pink. It's never been my favorite color, but I have been liking it a lot lately. In fact, most everything I find myself admiring these days involves pink.

luxurymonograms.com

Carlisle likes pink too!

 Bee Eadie {Atlantic-Pacific}  can do no wrong and is probably the reason why I'm loving pink so much.  I'm kind of obsessed with her hot pink pom-pom shawl.

gift wrapping 

 More pink on Bee.

pink + mercury glass

 dahlia placemats + pink + Haviland china

black and white and...

 pink all over

 neutral all over

 fur all over

 turquoise all over

pregnancy chic all over

pastel pink in the workplace

I'm always drawn to pastel pink in the form of professional work clothes. I think it's because professional work clothes are usually thought to be black, gray or navy pant or skirt suits and pastel pink is obviously on the whole other side of the spectrum. Pairing it with neutrals creates a perfect combination and a refreshing change for the workplace {J.Crew uses tan, or with gray like Bar Refaeli}. I finally got my hands on a pastel pink blazer, similar to the more blush colored one on Whitney Port, and I absolutely love it.

bracelet bargains

I have a new collection of bracelets. I was inspired after I got a viewing of some of the best bracelet collections in the fashion world.

It just so happened that the next day I spotted some Tory Burch look-a-likes on major clearance for around $10 each. Then today, I remembered a mention that LOFT had some great looking pieces. I had a feeling I was going to be too late since they were all sold out on the website due to "overwhelming popularity".  But I lucked out and there were just two left  - on clearance too.

With all that $ saved, maybe I should consider a splurge on one of my inspiration pieces...

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blending blues

 Remember this fabric I got back at the end of last year? 

 I haven't used it yet. I got 3 yards to cover the 6 chairs in our kitchen, but I can't decide if that's where I want to use it. Especially when I saw these curtains.

I would never have thought that mixing the more turquoise-y blue fabric on the chairs with the lighter blue in the zig-zag would look so good, or even be acceptable at all.  I love both of those variations of blue a lot, so I'm glad to know that mixing them is a "do"! And, look, same goes for styling yourself, not just inside your home!

which is better?

Skinny ...

or flare ...

Such a toughie for me right now. Not that I get to wear jeans everyday, but just in general I've been thinking flare jeans are a really good look and a refreshing change from the long lasting skinny jean style. And I absolutely love the flare look extra long in length with heels. Now I'm not ready to side just yet, the skinny jeans still look the best with ballet flats and flip flops and that's mostly what you will see on my feet!

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" Hebrews 13:2

touch of gold