Hello hello! Sorry I have been MIA this week. We got back to STL yesterday after a fabulous Christmas celebration. Now, I am looking forward to our next celebration... NYE 2011!

Do you all love New Year's Eve as much as I do? A new year brings new beginnings, new challenges and new opportunities. I love the possibility you feel on New Year's Eve! (the champagne isn't bad either!)

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(Thailand's celebration of the New Year)

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Tomorrow, we are off to Tulsa to attend what I know will be a very fun wedding/NYE celebration. I will be wearing this sparkly dress and I can't wait to get all gussied up for a night on the town!

What are ya'lls plans? Any New Year's resolutions? Whatever you are doing to celebrate- going out, hanging at home, staying up late or going to bed early.... here's to a fabulous 2012! I hope it brings you all many blessings :)

See you next year!

Dreaming of a white Christmas...

We had a last minute change in travel plans and will no longer be headed to New Mexico to celebrate the holiday... so instead, we are off to Dallas! Even though we won't be in the mountains, I'm still hoping our Christmas will be a white one...

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Merry Christmas to you all! Wherever in the world you are and whatever you are doing to celebrate, I hope your holiday is full of blessings and love!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be call Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

                      -- Isaiah 9:6

Mod Christmas Wreath

Today, you can find my DIY for this mod Christmas wreath at A Complete Waste of Make-Up. Thanks to Neely for having me on her blog, I LOVED doing this project!

Original here.

Merry {almost} Christmas, everyone!

Sweet Isabel

I just had to share this...



A freader (thats friend + reader) gave the DIY pet portrait a try and it turned out SO cute. Isabel's ears are just too precious!

Thanks for sharing, Steph!

Pet portraits

It's no secret that I am a certified, kind of loony about it, over the top animal lover. This is my crazy flag and I wave it proudly. This love has been showcased a lot here in blog land, but most notably in the pet portrait I DIYed of my little nugget Daisy.

Since I feel every pet deserves a special place in the home they live in, I have made a few other pet portraits. I thought I might share them with you all...

Here is Teddy, the most stylish cavalier in Houston... well, he's actually the most stylish cavalier anywhere.

Jake, the super fun golden retriever that lives in Tulsa.

And Simon and Sebastian, two sweet kitties who live in my neighborhood in STL.

And of course, my little nugget Daisy, who turned 2 last week! Oh how time flies!

I think a pet portrait makes an awesome and so personal Christmas gift. If you are interested in trying one out, you can find my tutorial here.

Wreath round-up

What's better than a good Christmas wreath? Not alot, I'd say. Especially when there are so many that you can DIY! Wanted to share some of my favs that I've seen around the interwebs...

Love this one with the black/white combo. So unexpected for Christmas, but fabulous for sure! Definitely wouldn't be hard to just add a b/w bow to a pre-made wreath.



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 I think this one would be really cool in gold.

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For the hippies out there.


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My mom would love this one- sticks!


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 I think this one would smell good too. Double duty. Can't beat it.

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I practiced what I preach and DIYed this really mod-looking wreath last weekend.


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(yes, those are lima beans!) The tutorial will be posted next week! Have you seen any great Christmas wreaths out there that I missed??

OMM aka On My Mind

So, I'm going to start a new series. I might as well call it RANDOM bc that's surely what it will be. But because I like acronyms, we will call it OMM. Today, we are going to start with oriental/persian/kilim rugs, mostly of the red variety.

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You see, I would love to have a rug like this in our living room. As it is now, our sad Target rug is too small for the space. I would remedy this instantly, however, we have a huge beam that kind of makes rug placement a problem...

(PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT HOW OUR LIVING ROOM LOOKS NOW- THIS IS A PICTURE I FOUND ON ZILLOW WHEN THE HOUSE WAS ON THE MARKET. But the pole remains. Sorry, just had to make that known....)

That was just a minor tangent. This whole pole issue hasn't stopped me from day dreaming about the beautiful aforementioned rugs.

Anyway. We'll see how this whole series thing goes... What I am randomly thinking about on any given day? Could get scary. Happy Friday everyone!

My first attempt at custom fabric

The November issue of Matchbook Magazine gave me a problem... It made me OBSESSED with the awesome b/w pillows on Kate and Andy Spade's couch.

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I would looooooove to have these pillows in my home. The lions are so quirky and whimsical- I just adore them! The problem is, I cannot find the fabric ANYWHERE. I've found lots of pics of it used in the Spade's home, but no source list. Grrrrr. I even asked a friend who works in a showroom if she could place it. No luck. And did LOTS of internet searching. Still no luck.

So this girl (read: me) took matters into her own hands. After discovering Spoonflower a while back, I thought maybe... just maybe I could recreate this fabric myself.

So, I consulted "the book of knowledge" (aka Google) to find pictures of "lion for crest" and came up with this gem.

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Then, I used MS Paint to create a mock-up of the original fabric and came up with this.

I call it... Lions!

Essentially, I just used the original image and rotated it and spaced them accordingly.

Then, I uploaded the JPG into Spoonflower. One thing that is super helpful about the site is it gives you a measuring tape next to your fabric so you can see how big your design will be once it is printed. It also gives you lots of printing options (repeat, center, etc). I had to play around in Paint a few times to get the lions how big I wanted them (about 3 inches high) and also to get the spacing right. I'm sure there's a more scientific way to go about this process, but whatevs.

I haven't ordered it yet, but I gotta say I'm pretty pumped about the whole thing!

Oh and PS, if you happen to know what fabric KS used, PLEASE tell me!!

(p)Leather leggings

On a recent trip to H&M (with a very fabulous friend who was visiting me- COME BACK please!), I picked up a pair of leather leggings. Ok, ok, they are pleather. But that is just fine by me. When it comes to trendy items, I always prefer to get a less expensive version initially. Then if I totally fall in love with a certain style, I can always splurge later on.

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The ones I found have a really cool stretchy detail on each side- which makes moving in them a little bit easier than if they were all leather. They are quite similar to the ones above.

Here are a few ways I am looking forward to wearing them once it gets coooooold out (which is pretty much today- geez its chilly!). Because if you have ever had (p)leather leggings on, you know how hot it can get! leather + leg sweat= no one is a happy camper.

Loving them paired with an over sized sweater and chambray shirt.

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Camel sweater and heels.

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Paired with a blazer and simple top.

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 Tone on tone.

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With tennies.

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And chunky knits.

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I busted them out this past weekend at the tailgate (GO POKES!) and they were super fab.

Anyone else loving leather leggings as much as I am?? Thanks for reading ♥

Gift Guide: for the guys

One of my sweet friends from Houston recently told me she needed some help with Christmas present ideas for her Hubs. I personally think that guys can be SO hard to shop for. But, I have seen some great gift ideas out there so I thought it might be a good idea to compile them here for easy access :)

The JCrew Gift Guide for Men is pretty much perfection. But my favorite pick off the list are the fleece lined lodge moccasins. I also love their cashmere scarf... maybe I could actually get my Hubs to wear this one bc it's so soft!

Moccasins.

Keeping in the footwear arena- it seems like my Hubs always needs new socks. This sock bouquet is a great way to jazz up a not so cool but totally necessary gift. 

Sock bouquet.

This is SUCH a cool new take on the classic Ray Ban Wayfarer. Seems a little James Bond/Mission Impossible. "Look! My sunglasses fold up!" Totally plays to the little boy in every man. Genius.

Ray Ban Folding Wayfarer

I got a new watch for Christmas (yes, I am a cheater and am already wearing it). When we were in the Fossil store the other day getting it sized, I saw some awesome gift ideas that I am filing away for future use.

This travel bag is stunning in person. I think it will wear really well over time and is pretty but manly at the same time. A win/win.

Fossil Alpine Duffle

 While we were in the store, this watch also caught my eye. Such amazing price point-- really can't beat it!

Fossil Men's Ansel Leather Watch

The Cavallini Vintage Map easel would be great on any desk.

Find it at PaperSource or Amazon.

Is my husband the only one who loves these things??? I owe him a new one because the little nugget Daisy ate his when she was a puppy.

Remote controlled helicopter.

Jack Black products are awesome. If he doesn't use this, you probably will!

Jack Black Gift Set

I think these whiskey stones are cool, but since I don't like whiskey, it's kind of hard for me to say. PS- the description for these things is just awful... is that really how companies market to guys? Horrifying. But a cool product nonetheless.

Whiskey Stones

 This is a fun gift for a guy who likes to grill.

Custom Monogram Branding Iron.

Keeping it with the monograms- golf club links.

Customized Golf Club links.

For the tail-gate lover/college guy...

Beer holster.

When it comes to buying for the Hubs, I also really like experience gifts. Hot air balloon ride? Fly fishing lesson? Couples massage? The sky is the limit! (hot air balloon ride... anyone? ha!)

Alright, ladies! That's the best I've got this year. If you are looking for more splurge-worthy items, check out the Mens Health Gift Guide. Red Envelope has a pretty good list going as well. And for clothes/accessories, JCrew's list is fab. Good luck!

PS- Did you check out my gift guide for design lovers? Be sure to see it in the new issue of Twenty Something Magazine!

Lastly, I just want to share what I think Christmas is really about: the birth of Jesus Christ! To celebrate His birth in a way that I think is more fitting than gifts or decorating your home with bows and sparkles, please consider donating your time, talent or treasure to a worthy cause! I like this one, this one and this one.