garden party

speaking of presley's birthday

i have been brainstorming and planning her party coming up

we decided to keep it very small this year with only family

and her godmother, of course.

but i am still bummed it is not a big bash like her first birthday!

next year friends...

i decided to have a garden party in honor of baby girl

presley loves nothing more than exploring the garden path near our place

and watering the plants in our little garden daily

so i thought the theme would be perfect!

these are the invites i whipped up real fast...

it goes without saying i am not a graphic designer 

so no judgements please!

 i can't help but thinking how perfect our party would be if

 dan were sporting the above

and i was in the below

i am a long time fan of emersonmade, and wish this could have been the occasion to splurge!

here's to dreaming...

loving

my baby girl's birthday is right around the corner...

I still am in shock she is going to be two!

Gigi took her shopping for her birthday, and we got some darling things!

I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

all the above are from crewcuts, and the teenie weenie bikini is from janie and jack

current read

I picked this book up yesterday and can't wait to start it!

I have been dying to read this, 

and I'm so glad I finally have time in between book club reads.

Have you read it?

dream table

I was lucky enough to get my dream table a few months ago!

I have been obsessing over this Oly table since I first laid eyes on it about a couple years ago.

I found it at Alice Lane Home - one of my all time favorite shops!

It is a piece I will have forever, and I still can't believe I own it in my home.

The color, texture, and shape of the table and legs makes my heart swell.

Literally.

I hope you love it as well!

After getting the table, it was apparent I was definitely going to need to do something with my existing chairs.

I decided to do a white (surprise surprise) slip cover with a short skirt.

I wanted the skirt to be pleated, but that upped the price, so I went for a very simple slipcover

and added detail with a black monogram.

I am really happy with the monograms - I think they add so much to the chairs!

Eventually we will get two accent chairs for the head of the table.

Enjoy your weekend!

xo!

Father's Day

I just went over to Twig & Thistle and saw these darling Father's Day craft.

I love this and am hoping I have time to make a few!

press play

have you guys seen this video yet on j crew's home page?

love.

i'll take one of each article of clothing shown please.

summer break

School is out for Summer!

Only three little weeks of summer, but I'll take it.

Our days are going to be filled with sunscreen, watermelon, swimming lessons, days at the beach, pool, and waterpark, chasing bubbles, boating, reading, baby bikinis, watercoloring, toe nail painting, and giggles.  

I love this time with my girl after all the stress and too much boob tube babysitting. 

What are your days going to be filled with?

photos from this lovely etsy shop, simply hue designs.

DIY Bubble Chandelier

A lot of you asked about the DIY chandelier.

I can't remember the site I found it on, but this is the tutorial.

It was surprisingly easy ... just time consuming.

Try it out!

(I had to go back and buy more rope to braid, the amount they suggest was not at all close to being long enough, I would measure that out to the space where you want the chandelier before you cut!)

Fashion Styling Final

I just got back some of the images from my Fashion Styling class final.

We worked in a group of four girls and had the theme "Romanticism"

We studied the era, and then came up with our idea, and finally executed a photo shoot.

I think they turned out pretty.  

We decided against a lot of props other than lots of white sheets and pillows

everything on the model was made by us.

My friend just whipped up the dress one week.

(not fair, or normal!)

Happy Monday!

P.S.  I just wanted to say hello and thank you to all of my new blogging friends!  All of your comments and kind words make my day, thank you thank you!

powder + mr. winston

I wanted to share with you our downstairs powder.

I was waiting to wallpaper, but a few months ago decided to paint.

The walls and ceiling are painted in a high gloss black.

I was somewhat nervous to do such a bold color, but I love bold colors in small spaces, so I went for it!

This was the last towel bar to get the boot in our home.

I am not a fan, I prefer a hook to a bar any day.

The mirror was an incredible find by my mom at a thrift store.

I love the size of it in our tiny powder.

The chandelier I made for a school project.

A lot of my classmates made more kitschy luminaires, but I wanted to make something that I could use.

I'm so glad I did, I really love the modern feel -- and I love a good DIY.

And now, we'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family ...

Our dog Mr. Winston!

Presley could not be more obsessed with dogs, and since we are not ready, nor do we have the room, for a dog I thought this would suffice!

(and, I really wanted a dog statue for a while now)

A day doesn't go by that I hear Presley in the powder giving Winston kisses and talking to "doggie"

She is in love.

Here are some detail shots.

The powder is almost complete,

my next project is to paint a floral piece with lots of color for above the toilet.

And I'm searching for an affordable colorful rug with a dark background.

I have had the one I'm using for five years now.

Have a great weekend

xo!

family photos

We are still trying to narrow down the images we want,

but here is a little teaser of the shots from our master bedroom until then.

Thanks to Ashlee for capturing our little family in our humble home!

I think this is my favorite image out of all of them.

I love it, and it is so typical of what goes on around here.

all photos by ashlee raubach

Bottega Louie

I'm heading up to LA today for class, and am already thinking about stopping by Bottega Louie during break.

My friend and I stumbled upon this place last quarter.

You feel like you stepped into a patisserie in New York City or London.

BL is so well put together, everything is perfectly packaged, and the customer service is insane.

The gourmet market is attached to the restaurant, I can only imagine how good it is.

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it!

It is the perfect escape from the busy downtown.

I mainly took photos of the sweet treats, but I go there for lunch.

Last week was the first time we tried the macaroons.

Can you believe those colors?

(turns out they have a blog)

all photos taken with my iphone

post-edit:

I went for lunch again yesterday

and tried the Modena Salad

(they had me at butter lettuce)

and a multi grain pretzel.

It was delish!

happy weekend

See you Monday!

photo