blue+red = lovely

Growing up, my mom went through an *americana* decorating phase. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Late 80's/early 90's. Lots of navy. Lots of deep reds. Lots of cheesiness, IMO. Luckily that phase passed, but I've always been very conscience not to decorate any where near there. I think I was scarred as a kid ;). So blue and red have never been big on my radar. Until recently.

  

This styling is just perfection. Of course. It's from Domino. For me, I think it's the red plus a lighter aqua blue. It really revives the combo and makes it fresh and cheery. The black accents really help ground both colors and bring the room to life, for me.

  

Here is Ish and Chi's version of red and blue. So eye-catching. And, isn't that headboard just amazing?!

  

There little candy buttons are so cute! The buttons, as are the colors, perfect for a kiddos birthday party. From Bake It Pretty. Again, bright red plus light aqua keeps it fresh.

  

 I know. Again with the balloons, but I just love this picture. From here.

  

A more muted take on reds and blues, but still stunning. I like the pops of really light blue and yellow thrown in. From Oh Brooke.

I also love how Little Green Notebook has decorated her office. The beautiful red is subtly accented with blues and yellows, giving the office a bright, cheery and most importantly, modern, outlook. I could spend hours a day in this room.

Examples such as these have really helped me see red and blue in a different light and opened my eyes to a whole new color combination. If you are a product of the *americana* movement I hope these have helped you as well.

Happy Friday friends! 

{inspired} eye candy

Simply stunning . . .

 

  

 

More amazing images here: Nomadic Wonderland.



**Images from Eunsuk Hur via the lovely design is mine**

a starry night indeed

Okay, don't laugh. Today, I'm featuring a prom mood board. That's right. Prom. See, my brother is a teacher and class adviser. His class is now in their junior year, which means: prom. hosts. So my bro asked me to come up with some ideas for decorations. He has a decorating committee, but I think he's a little worried about their attention to detail, and he is, admittedly, completely clueless. 

This was way more fun than I thought it would be. I don't even want to know what that says about me ;). Their chosen theme is Starry Night. Doesn't that just scream prom?! Hilarious! And, their colors are black, white and silver.

This is the room:

I've been to a wedding in this room and it is GINORMOUS. Beautiful, but huge. You can probably tell by looking at it, but it sort of *eats* any decorations. So my goal in looking for decorations were to 1. make this super affordable (this is a public school, after all) 2. make it tasteful, just because this is prom doesn't mean it has to be cheesy, 3. make an impact, and 4. close the space off a little and make it appear more intimate. Because that's what high schoolers need at prom, right?  Intimacy. Oh, I don't even want to think about it. Let's just say, for the teachers sake, make it appear more cozy.

And here is what I imagine a *starry night* to be:

1. The tables will be covered in black, which is perfect backdrop for setting everything off. Silver fabric as runners would make a great impact.

2. The ceiling needs to be brought down a bunch, visually. White hanging lanterns are perfect for this. I especially love them bunched, as above. A bunch over the dance floor, a bunch over the food table, etc. would really make an impression.

3. Balloons! What's a good high school event with out them? I have a couple ideas for balloons. The first is to add bunches of them, on really long strings, to a few of the centerpieces (more on this in a minute) to draw the eye up and close off the huge gap between table and ceiling. The second is to make some sort of *photobooth* wall - the type that is all the rage at weddings right now - out of balloons and provide lots of props for kids to pose and have fun with.

4. Next, add lots and lots of twinkly lights. One idea I have for these is to create a pergola of sorts around/over the dance floor to create a wonderful romantic *starry* vibe.

5. For the table decorations, like I said above in the balloons section, this is a great spot to add needed height and drama. I think these table decorations are a great starting point for inspiration. A simple silver spray-painted pot filled with shooting stars and branches is easy to dyi and makes an impact. Completely simple, yet striking against the black and silver fabrics on the table. 

6. Stars similar to these, which I've seen at craft stores, would also be great painted and used as low-level table decor. Stars could also be grouped, by sizes, on common tables, such as food and beverage.

7. And of course, they can't forget candles! Tealights on tables is always a nice addition. On the common tables -- food and beverage -- larger hurricane candles would add drama and make a little more impact.

So, what do you guys think? Did I meet my goals? Did it take you back in time to your prom? What was your prom theme?

weekend

How was your weekend, friends? I have to admit, I miss the weekend. Already. Normally my weekends are friday-sunday, but I actually worked on friday and it threw off my entire weekend. As in, made it entirely too short!

Enough of my whining. I have a couple things to share.

First. I planted flowers! And, I want them to grow. Quickly. Now. {Please.}

I planted dahlia bulbs.

And, peony bulbs.

Second. We had a couple friends over for dinner and the recipe I tried was outstanding! I first spotted it over at Suz's blog blog and it looked so good. And when I discovered it was a PW recipe, I knew I had to make it soon. Who doesn't love PW? 

Oh goodness. This was a hit! Make this soon. Recipe here. I know. There's lots of butter and heavy cream. So worth it.

Third. Have you seen these notebooks? So much cuteness.

Fourth. Am totally loving the festive vibe this little ensemble creates. Beautiful!

 

Happy Monday!

{loving}

Happy friday! To celebrate the weekend, I wanted to share some of the things that I've really been loving this week. 

{sunshine}

ainasa

Oregon can be kinda gloomy and rainy in the winter. I am LOVING the sun we've had all week. Feels like my vitamin D levels are kicking back up to normal.

{flower button}

Little Pink House

My new favorite accessory. I bought this as a little gift for myself earlier in the month. I've practically worn it every day this week. LOVE!

{the olympics}

rock star lindsey vonn

Along with everyone else, right? I love the competition and seeing what these amazing athletes can accomplish. And, I can't help it. I tear up when I watch an awards ceremony. Every. Single. Time. Which is a little awkward when you're watching an awards ceremony at the gym and you're working out next to a perfect stranger tough guy. Just sayin.

{yoga}

bakasana

I started taking yoga classes this week, after a few years off of organized classes. I'm completely loving it and my body feels so amazing.

{caramel}

lille belle farms

This quaint little farm in Oregon makes the best.caramels.ever. Seriously. We have some in our house right now and they are amazing. Especially the salted lavendar and cayenne caramels. Oh yum.

I'd love to hear from you all ... what are some things that you're loving this week?

{inspired} I couldn't help it . . .

I know it's not time to plant yet. But it's 60 degrees and sunny here today (are we the ONLY ones in the country with nice weather?!) and it's hard to remember that we'll still have some pretty chilly weather to deal with before I can plant any lovelies in the ground. But I couldn't help myself. Last night I just had to start looking at which flowers I would like to welcome into my yard this spring.

 

  

Dahlias (both two above) are a MUST for me this year. They are my favorite.flower.ever. They remind me of my grandmother and were the basis for all my wedding flowers. Last year I missed them completely and was so sad. I have a big problem remembering that bulbs need to go into the ground in the fall! So this year I'm going to put in a few plants and then hopefully remember the bulb thing when it's time.

  

And of course, peonies! I bought a couple peony plants last year and am so excited to see what they do this year. The flowers are simply amazing and I wish they had a longer blooming season.

  

The above are digitalis. Beautiful, right? I want to create a cutting garden of sorts, so I'm looking at all different types of flowers that not only add texture and dimension to our yard, but also to a bouquet.

  

There are a couple places that I'd like to see climbing flowers. Clematis is my favorite. And, from what I understand, grows quickly! Perfect, because the spots where I'd plant climbers need to be hidden ;).

  

Begonias! Love! Another reminder of my grandmother. See a theme here? She was an amazing gardener. I wish I had 1/90th of her green thumb. Did that even make sense? You guys know what I mean.

 

Last year I completely fell for hollyhocks. I discovered them, randomly, on a business trip and have been wanting them in my yard since. I love the name, for starters and they're just so cheery!

So, here's where I need help. These are just some ideas floating around my head. And, I'm by no means a gardener or have any clue about flowers for that matter. What is your favorite flowers? And, what are some other flowers I should plant to create beautiful summer bouquets?

{inspired} odds and ends

A couple pictures that I am finding particularly inspiring on this sunny Wednesday. It feels like spring here. I could not love it more.

 

I'm still searching high and low for back porch inspiration. These two pictures are the closest I've come to hitting the nail on the head. In fact, the table and chairs in the above photo are practically identical to the table and chairs that we're planning on moving to the porch. 

 

Love the green and yellow. So cheery, especially for pops of color amongst mostly white.

Happy day to you all!


**images via Apartment Therapy and Yes, Please**

red velvet-y

Confession: I really do NOT like store bought cake. As in, cake that is made in the store bakery. If this makes me some sort of snob, I'm okay with it, as long as I never have to eat the stuff. No matter how *good* people claim these cakes to be, they just taste fake to me. And, they smell fake too. 

(On a side note, this was huge ordeal when planning our wedding. I found my one store-bought exception: St. Cupcake in Portland. Oh goodness. Yumm. If you are ever in Portland, make sure you stop by and try their coconut cupcake. Oh fantastic -- now I'm craving a coconut cupcake!)

My neurosis aside, I absolutely think that everyone should have cake for their birthday! Birthdays are sort of huge and important for me. I love them. They are the one day that gets to be all about you. And, how can that not be fun? So, a couple years ago, I started baking my family their choice of cake for their birthday party. It's become a super fun tradition, and it gives me a great excuse to bake.

Last week I mentioned that I was baking a red velvet cake. It was my aunt's birthday and this was her choice. Now, before last weekend I had never eaten red velvet cake, much less made one. But I'm here today to share this recipe with you because this cake was AWESOME.

From the super moist *PINK* cakes (I'm pretty sure I put too much food coloring in, and I wish the pics better reflected the pinkness) . . .

 

To the amazing brown-sugar cream cheese frosting (is there anyone out there that doesn't love homemade cream cheese frosting?! It's dangerous.) . . .

 

This cake completely exceeded my expectations. We all loved it and I'm still get rave reviews days later.

So, next time you're looking to made red velvet cake, or you just want to try it, make sure you use Joy the Baker's recipe. You will thank me. :)

So, I'm curious . . .what is your favorite type of cake friends?

*follow* me?

So, a few people have commented that I hadn't set-up the blogger/google feature that lets you follow the blog. My first thought was *wow*, you want to follow little ol' me?! THANKS! My second was, huh, how do I install that?! Luckily, blogger makes that super simple. And, come to find out I already have a few followers!

All that to say is, thank you for your interest! I have added the feature that lets you follow this little blog. It's in the right column.

Up next, Red Velvet cake. Yummmm.

blanket curtains

Happy Monday all!

Hanging a blanket as a curtain is kind of ghetto, right? Well, that's exactly what I did this weekend. On friday, I previewed my weekend projects, one of which was making curtains for our dining nook.

 

Above is the before. This little area is incredibly bright and sunny. When the sun hits the yellow walls the room glows and is my favorite spot for morning coffee. Unfortunately, we share a drive way with our neighbors and can see pretty much everything that happens in their kitchen and dining room. Which means they can see directly into our house as well. Luckily, we like our neighbors! But, we still thought a little privacy was in order. 

The problem? We didn't want to compromise on the amazing light this little room receives.  The solution? A gauzy, light IKEA blanket sewn into cafe curtains. I bought the blanket on a whim, and had no idea if this would even work. But, you know what? I'm pretty happy with the results:

  

The room still get a tremendous amount of light. The curtains are sheer enough that they let light in, but still offer up an amount of privacy. Plus the ruffle-y texture creates a soft billowy look that I'm completely loving.

  

Here's a close-up of the texture. Now, the one thing I will tell you guys is this fabric was a little frustrating. I tweeted about it yesterday (are you all following me on twitter?!).  The texture makes it really hard to sew a straight line. Luckily, the texture and the gauzy nature of the material also made it very forgiving once hung. You really can't tell that most lines aren't straight.

  

All-in-all, we're really happy with the results. And, it's just another project I can add to my list of repurposed IKEA products :).

 

And, I can't sign off without a close-up of the tulips my super-sweet mom gave me for Valentine's Day! The great spring flowers on the table in friday's post (and the first pic in this post) were not feeling their prettiest today and asked not to be photographed. The tulips were eager to take their place.

weekend projects galore

Friends, I have a confession.

here

We don't celebrate Valentine's Day. I know some people say that, but really secretly love it. I'm just not one of those people and, luckily, neither is my husband. See, I work really hard to show the people in my life that I love them every day. Every.single.day. With that said, I find it hard to know what to do with a day dedicated to this. Hmm.

But never fear. I have a couple awesome projects planned for this weekend.

1. We're attending a birthday party on Saturday night and at the request of the birthday girl, I'll be making this beautiful red velvet cake: 

2. I will attempt to turn this IKEA blanket:

Into cafe curtains for these windows:

Because this is how close our neighbors are:

We really like our neighbors, but we don't need to see right into their kitchen window when we're eating dinner, which we do. Check back on Monday to see if I can turn my vision for the curtains into reality.

Until then, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend filled with lots of love and happiness!

outdoor dining room

First of all, hello to everyone visiting from High-Heeled Foot in the Door and It's All About the Mochaface! Thank you for stopping by!

I'm so excited to be starting our first big home project of the year: our screen in back porch. I've never shown you pictures, because, well, it's bad friends. Very bad. Don't worry, there will be pictures. Just not yet. I'm working up to it. But see, my problem is that I'm sort of obsessing about this project. I'm so excited and want it to be perfect and can't stop thinking about it!

So, today I'm going to share with you some of my inspiration thus far. We're really in the beginning stages -- as in, there's actual construction that needs to be done -- but thinking about the final product gets me through the more tedious stuff. Like, replacing the back door. But I'm hoping this inspiration dump will help me move on to actual planning. And actually replacing that door!

 

I want this room to be white. It's actually a pretty dark space and goal  number 1 is a  light, airy and relaxing room. Like the room above.

 

Or, like this room. I love the pops of blue and green. That is goal number 2: bring the outdoors in so it appears to be more of an outdoor room, rather than a screened porch. This will happen through both pops of color + actual plants.

Probably, not surprising, I love the pop of yellow here. And also, all the lovely green leaves.

  

Goal number 3 is that this will be a comfortable *dining room* for us, friends and family during the warm summer months.

 

I could sit here for hours.

  

And, lastly, goal number 4 is a finished room that will have more of a romantic edge. Lots of candle light and twinkle lights and laid-back atmosphere.

Thanks for listening to my idea/inspiration dump! Make sure you check back in -- I'll be updating as we go along.

** beautiful images via Desire to Inspire and House Beautiful**