the royal wedding swag

 

Courtesy of 100 Layer Cake

I have seen a lot of the Royal Wedding souvenirs and have not been impressed by anything.  To be quite honest, I think most of it is a bunch of junk.  But today over on the beautiful 100 Layer Cake blog, I saw these gorgeous {and humorous} plates and tea towels.  And, I'm actually quite tempted to purchase some of them!  I was openly unenthusiastic about this Royal Wedding.  I was embarrassed about the amount of coverage that was going on and really could have cared less.  Until, I watched it this morning.  And now I am openly a fan.  It was just so interesting.  I loved seeing someone of "my time" get married in a Royal ceremony.  There was just something refreshing about how formal and serious it was.  I feel like we have let things get a little too casual here.  And also, my favorite part about the whole ceremony was when they were walking down the aisle after wards and William had such a grin on his face that he was trying to hide!  He was beaming with his beautiful bride, but was trying to play it cool.  I loved that.  So sweet.

 

sf

need supply co.

{need supply co.  lookbook spring  2011}

I'm pretty much in love with this look book.  Especially the second to last photo.  {love}

{yum}

Oh boy.  I have had such a sweet tooth lately.  Well, really I've been eating everything in site.  Sweet or savory.  I'm not sure why, I've always been a snacker but it's getting out of hand!  Anyways, I stumbled upon these little gems over on {Oh Joy!} and felt they must be shared with the world.  They are available at Trader Joe's and I expect to spend a part of my day hunting them down tomorrow.  But you know, I bet these would be really easy and inexpensive to make...

{michelle williams & ryan gosling}

{swoon}

d.i.y ruffle necklace via creature comforts

I saw this post over on {Creature Comforts}and just had to share it with you.  I've recently become a fan of "statement" necklaces and I think it's such an awesome way to dress up a comfy plain t-shirt!  These are basic instructions but there are really so many things you can add to this necklace to make it your own.  Some fabric flowers, buttons, vintage pins, the possibilities are endless!  And, it's super inexpensive to make.  Love it!  Here's the instructions:

Supplies needed:

• a strip of three and a half inch wide fabric
• sewing machine
• 20 gauge wire
• chain jump rings and clasp for the closure
• any buttons, ribbon, brooches to embellish your piece
• needle and thread

Directions:

1. First you need to cut a strip of fabric approx. 3" wide, the length will vary depending on the weight and how "full" you want your ruffle to be. I usually just trim the strip down as I go.

2. Iron your strip in half with the right side facing out.

3. next your are going to sew a 1/4" straight stitch along the folded end of your fabric.

4. Make sure you sew along the folded side, you are creating a sleeve for the wire.

5. Now you need to get our your wire and cut a piece approx. 12" in length. You will need to make a wire wrapped loop with one end of the wire. If you do not know how to make a wire wrapped loop check out my friend Lindsay's amazing tutorial here on the Fusion Beads website.

6. after you have wire wrapped one end of your wire, begin feeding the other end into the sleeve of the strip of fabric you have created.

7. continue until you have reached the desired rufflyness trimming off any excess fabric.

8. wire wrap the second end of the wire.

9. your pendant is now complete! At this point go ahead and add any chain, beads or ribbon that you want for the closure.

10. On my pendant I added a 3" piece of red velvet ribbon and a cameo button to make it festive.

 

11. fold the ribbon in half and with your needle and thread sew it onto your ruffle pendant.

12. when you are finished sewing on the ribbon, add your button...Congratulations your ruffle necklace is finished!

{transport me here please}

{via Unstitched}

new room project {inspirations}

I'm really trying to focus in on one style for my room.  Most of the time I lean towards the more masculine, less shabby chic style {as seen in the first few photos}.  But I am still drawn to the look of the bottom photo.  I've always loved white furniture, rustic paints, and that couch is a dream.  I'll probably end up combining the two, somehow!  The third photo down is the first thing that made me change my entire style.  I stumbled upon it while on Etsy a few months ago, and I've been obsessed with it ever since.  I don't know what it is about it, but I just love it.  It's old, rustic, masculine, and for some reason reminds me of the old South.  I guess, I am just drawn to anything that reminds me of the South.  I am seeing a trend here!  It might not be apparent to other people when they look at it, but I see the South in a lot of random things.  I'm just going to take a few elements out of all of my inspiration photo's and see what I come up with.

the national {terrible love}

The National - Music - More Music Videos

{holy goosebumps}

{dwell studio}

 

 Although I am usually all about everything old and vintage, the modern styles of {Dwell Studio} have been striking my fancy as of late.  Anytime I'm browsing through Target {although I only go there for soap, and end up searching through the linens aisles...you know you do it too}I am always immediately drawn to Dwell products.  They have the best color combination's and amazing patterns.  And they have so many products to choose from!  They even sell a line of fabrics that we are actually going to use {and not even on purpose!} to do my Niece & Nephew's new bedroom in.  Sometimes I wish I wasn't so obsessed with everything old, because I am very tempted to decorate my entire bedroom with all Dwell products!!

 

gluten free chocolate and nut cookies

I was planning on making Starbucks' recipe for oatmeal cookies this week...but then I stumbled upon these amazing Gluten Free Chocolate & Nut Cookies.  And now it's all I can think about!  I love pistachio's, hazelnuts & almonds, so these cookies are really calling my name.  And what's better than a gluten free cookie?!  They look so amazingly tasty and I can't wait to get in the kitchen to make them this week.  I found them on the lovely food blog "Cook Your Dream".  It's full of gorgeous photo's and delicious recipes.  Go check it out!!  I'll let you know how the cookies come out...and try to photograph them {if I can before I devour all of them!}.

Gluten free chocolate and nut cookies

1 1/3 c. gluten free flour blend

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

13 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c. golden cane sugar

1/3 c. dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c. chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons hazelnuts, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons almonds, roughly chopped

1. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Scrape the bowl to make sure the butter and sugar are well combined, and add the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla.

2. Slowly add your dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until it comes together.

3. Finally add in all the nuts and chocolate and mix well to combine.

4. Cover the bowl with foil and chill the dough for a few hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop a tablespoon of dough and place it on baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

current obsessions

 

The Coral & Sand Tube Dress from BHLDN.  Seriously loving this.  Coral has always been one of my favorite colors, but I never wear it.  I don't know if it would go well with red hair, but I would be willing to try!  I also love how gorgeous this color looks on you when you have a tan.  I know, I know, sun is bad.  But, everything in moderation.  Right?  I usually don't go for dresses this short or fitted, but I'm trying to embrace my body shape lately and stop hiding behind knee length dresses and skirts.  And the fact that this dress not only has amazing detail, but it also has pockets, makes this a must have for me.  I've been seriously obsessed with pockets on dresses lately.  I think it adds such a cute and unexpected look to a dress.  Add it to the wish list...