To The Max

Maxi dresses in lots of fun patterns make me very happy.

Bring on summer!

Design Your Own Fabric

Check out this great post over on BabyCenter where John and Sherry from Young House Love talk about the custom fabric they designed for their daughter Clara's first birthday party. Using her own handwriting, Sherry created this print of her daughter's name which she customized with colors, duplicated for the layout, and sent over to Spoonflower to have created. 

photo courtesy of Young House Love

Isn't that the coolest idea? John and Sherry used the fabric as a backdrop for pictures during the birthday party. But it would be just as great to create your own throw pillows or curtains (or anything really) with this fabric. 


Some of the details Spoonflower lists on their website for creating your own fabric:

• no minimum order
• $18-$32 per yard (or a swatch for $5)
• made of premium natural fabrics
• uses eco-friendly textile printing
• weekly fabric design contests

I'm itching to create a fabric of my own although I haven't decided what design I want. I may go the same route at YHL and design a print using our little one's name. I will definitely be relying on a carefully selected font as I hate my own handwriting and can't write in cursive to save my life. I also like the idea of creating some sort of abstract floral design using the same colors I used for the pom-pom project: pinks with gold and splash of teal. Maybe I could even incorporate both ideas into the design. Some abstract design with her name laced into it. 

Check out Spoonflower and take a peek at some of the fabrics that have been made. You can even order someone else's designed fabrics.

Things I'm Digging: Fishtail Braids

Pregnancy hormones and prenatal vitamins have kindly graced me with ever-growing locks. My hair is probably the longest it has been in some time. I officially have mermaid hair! (That's what I call the length when your hair is long enough to cover your boobs.) While I don't want to cut it, summer is coming quickly and I need to find an easy solution to the heat. 

Enter the fishtail braid.

source unknown

Having been born with stringy, stick straight hair, I have always relied on braids to add the thickness and texture I've craved to my locks. When I was in grade school I was the girl who always french braided every one's hair for them. I've worn some form of braids in my hair for years now. Whether is be a low braided pony tail, a thick braid of my bangs, or a few simple tiny braids in the side of my head. Fishtail braids have always caught my eye as being one of the prettiest, simplest looking hairstyles, and it wasn't until last summer that I finally taught myself how to do them.

I prefer a messy tousled braid over the perfect, tightly braided version.

Moni Souris

Melissa McKenzie


Even many celebs are sporting these trendy tresses.

Angela Simmons via The Weave Bar

Mattieologie

Fergie via Stiletto Chic

Mary-Kate via Nona Ellin

Here are some other great, bold braids that are hot this season if the side-pony fishtail doesn't work for you:

whowhatwear

I see myself sporting lots of braids this summer.

The "Baby Countdown is On" To-do List

This past Saturday marked 8 weeks until our little girl is due. At our last ultrasound our due date moved from July 13th to July 9th. Time is flying and there is still a good amount that I was hoping to get done before she came. I figure I'm due for a good old to-do list. 


Realistically I know that not everything on the list will get done in the next two months. But being able to knock a few things off the list will make me feel accomplished and a little more prepared.

• Work on guest room for potential post-baby overnight guests
• Organize decor on new living room shelves
• Bonus points if I can do the above without purchasing anything new
• Finishing touches in nursery (paint touch-up, fix window treatments, etc)
• Ceiling fan for nursery
• Blinds for skylight in nursery
• Find a mirror for nursery (currently liking this one from IKEA
• Clean and spruce up outside (front and back upstairs and down)
• Hang family wedding photos in upstairs hallway
• Decide on a spot and hang Jordan's anniversary gift
• Reupholster dining room chairs
• FInd pillows for dining room bench
• De-clutter dining room (which has become the new junk room for things we have yet to find a home for or have yet to donate)
• Purchase final frame for wedding wall collage in living room (still have a picture of my family that needs to be framed and added to the wall)
• Re-organize linen closet

Now these are all just home-renovation-type projects. There's a whole separate 'preparing for baby' list that we also have.


I am thinking about tackling a few more nursery projects - if time allows of course. I don't plan to reveal any more nursery pictures until the room is completely done, but I can let you in on a few mini projects I have in the works. More about those in another post.  

Crazy Love

I gave you this sneak peek yesterday at Jordan's anniversary gift.

When planning his gift, I knew immediately that I wanted to do something sentimental to us. The traditional first anniversary wedding present is 'paper,' so my initial thought was to print and frame the sheet music to our wedding song - Van Morrison's "Crazy Love." Thoughtful, but a little boring and too easy. 

The same day I was brainstorming his gift, Nicole over at Me oh My posted a DIY Tutorial for Wood Stained Painting. Perfect! Why not do a painted version of our wedding song? Sometimes I honestly have the strangest luck when it comes to projects. Technically not a paper gift, but paper and wood both come from trees. Does that count?? It took me a few days to decide whether or not this was a feasible project to tackle. And if it didn't work out as easy as she made it look, I needed a back-up gift.

Finally last Wednesday (way to procrastinate, Jessica!) I purchased my supplies and went to work. Jordan was out for a good portion of the night at a Philadelphia Union soccer game, so I knew I could work uninterrupted. I finished most of it that night before he came home and did the last few touches the following day. 

I'm really proud of it. And it helps that the hubby loved it.

Last step is finding where to hang the piece.

Be sure to check out Nicole's blog My Oh My!