Design Seeds

My sister mentioned this site to me a few weeks ago and I've been addicted ever since. The concept is simple - Jessica, the writer of Design Seeds, uses her art school education and design knowledge to put together beautiful color palettes. And we enjoy the eye candy. Easy peasy.



As someone who loves color, but isn't always that adept at putting color combinations together, this kind of inspiration is a gold mine. I can peruse the archives of this one site and find palette after palette of fantastic choices. Whether it's for personal style (of which I have none) or design style (only a smidge of that in me), this will be a go to site for sure.



I think it's genius to use combinations you see around you, especially those occurring in nature, to create a color board. That's why I think it's great that Jessica includes a beautiful photo with every palette. A while back I'd bookmarked a site that would allow you to upload a photo and the site would generate a palette for you based on that photo. I lost that bookmark when switching computers, but like this concept even better since the work is completely done and I don't even have to find an inspiration image. Laziness at its best.



I've included some of my favorite combos and have only gone back through two months of posts. I sense a new addiction.

For the Love of Blogs: April

We're nearing the end of the month and that means I'm ready to share a few more blogs I love.



First up is The Yvestown Blog. Yvonne blogs from Belgium and as she says it, she's busy changing her house to an old ladies home replacing a lot of brown with pink and white. Her whole place, but especially her kitchen, is beyond belief gorgeous. As is her photography. So sunny and bright! Her style seems too perfect for words, but is something I aspire to achieve one day. Check out her blog and you're bound to feel the same way!



If Yvonne's blog shows my goal for photography, Rachel's blog shows my goal for decorating my home. On Smile and Wave she shows room after room of loveliness! She's recently moved and so is sharing fresh, new spaces yet again. Yay! I love that she mixes old family pieces and thrifted, vintage finds to create a look that is granny chic. And she just released a new e-course called "Style Your Space" that I'm dying to get (coughcoughMother'sDaycough). Definitely head on over and take a look!

This last blog is one I've just recently discovered. The Artful Parent is all about instilling creativity in your children. Jean is a momma to two girls and seems to have a never-ending flow of artsy ideas to share with the world. From painting with wheels (what kid, boy especially, wouldn't love this?) to doily t-shirts, I've gotten more ideas for kid crafts than I could ever have asked for. Read more to find some inspiration of your own.

Peep Show

Every year the Washington Post, along with some other newspapers around the country, hold Peeps contests. Here's what the WP directed entrants to do: "Make a diorama of a famous occurrence, scene or pop culture phenomenon. It can be a historic, current or future event; it can nod to something local, national, global or intergalactic. The one rule is that all the characters in the diorama must be played by Peeps."

My friends and I thought about taking part in this year's contest, but time got away from us and we never got around to it (although Regina did make an awesome diorama of the Norwegian Curling Team last year). The winner of this year's contest is scheduled to be announced later today. Until then, here are some of my favorite entries from years past:







So what theme do you think we should focus on for our diorama? You'd better believe we're gearing up for next year's competition already!

Getting Party Ready

Charlotte turns 3 in just a month (what?!?) so we're in full party planning mode at my house. For a while now our plan has been to go with a Peter Pan theme, as Charlotte's love for all things Neverland-related still runs deep. I've spent the last few days scouring the net for party ideas. Here's what I've gathered together so far:


The goal is to turn our backyard into party central. The treed area of the yard will become Pixie Hollow and the shed will be revamped into the Lost Boys' hideaway. There'll be twinkle lights and costumes and treasure hunts. Not to mention an outdoor viewing of the movie, assuming the weather cooperates.

Aside from fruit skewers that'll serve as fairy wands, pirate ship cupcakes and "steins" of ginger ale, I'm a bit stuck on the food side of things. What would you serve at a Peter Pan party?

And just because no post about Charlotte would be complete without a photo of the munchkin, here's a spare from Sunday's Ten on Ten photos. She really looks like a little girl instead of a baby in this one. Makes me sad. But, she'll be a super cute Peter Pan come party day!

Ten on Ten: April 2011

Rebekah is once again hosting her Ten on Ten Challenge. I participated last month and am shocked (and super pleased) to say I remembered to do it this month too. Here are ten photos from today:

10:00am hour - Mark driving us to church. On time for once.
11:00am hour - I was serving in the nursery today.

12:00pm hour - Whoever happens to drive on any given day gets Charlotte pressing on their back.
1:00pm hour - A stop at the store (ok, two stores).

2:00pm hour - Charlotte thought it was hilarious when I stood over her for a picture.
3:00pm hour - She pretends to sleep cartoon-style, with a whistling exhale. She can't do it without laughing.

4:00pm hour - Mark bought some new Lego people and Chuckles was very excited!
5:00pm hour - She was pretty happy to rediscover the bunny mask I bought the other day too.

6:00pm hour - Charlotte was hungry earlier than normal and tried to help herself.
7:00pm hour - She also tried to help me by "reading" from the cookbook.

For the Love of Blogs: March

I mentioned before that I follow tons and tons of blogs. I'm back to share three more of my favorites:


Shawni blogs about her life over at 71 Toes. I really love her photography and how she seems to capture images of everything, while still enjoying her time with her family. And the fact that she's keeping track of 5 kids' schedules, posting something new and interesting to read just about every day, and keeping up with her I Love Lucy Project blows my mind. Click on over to see more.


I love a good project (even though I don't get around to doing them as often as I'd like) and Jen has devoted her Vintage Sheet Blog to projects involving just that, vintage sheets. I discovered her blog when she featured my pants become skirt tutorial back in July of last year and have been on the edge of my seat to see what else she links to (and what giveaways she has) ever since. Go check it out!



Benita over at Chez Larsson has a big following. And for good reason. She's got awesome style and is a master at DIY. Furniture, accessories, pillows. If it's home-related, she's got a how-to for it. As of late she's been sharing the plans for her new home. I can't wait to see what she has in the works! Follow along here.

That's it for this month. Check back towards the end of April as I focus on some more of my favorites.

Ten on Ten: March 2011

Rebekah over at A Bit of Sunshine has encouraged everyone to make time on the 10th of each month to take ten photos - one an hour over a ten hour period - as a way to find the beauty in every day. Reading all about the project has inspired me to take part. So here we go with today's photos:

1:00pm hour - Nursing a Coke at work.
2:00pm hour - View of the cube farm.

3:00pm hour - Some down time at work.
4:00pm hour - Touching up the lip gloss.

5:00pm hour - The rainy car ride home.
6:00pm hour - Charlotte getting ready to head out.

7:00pm hour - Aunt Mandy helps Chuckles get her coat on.
8:00pm hour - Dinner at Brian Boru.

9:00pm hour - Our version of March Madness (more on this next week).
10:00pm hour - Sweet dreams.

On the Home Front...

Things are slowly but surely moving along around the house. We painted our dining room and master bedroom (I'll share pictures soon), and have our eye on the kitchen and living room next. My mind has been moving a hundred different directions as I try to pick out curtains, light fixtures and more (which my mom and sister can attest to since they get multiple emails a day on this most pressing matter).

There's lots of stores out there to choose from, but as of late I've zeroed in on CSN Stores based on the recommendation of tons of other bloggers. They've got everything from wooden swing sets to sweet toddler beds (to include the one that Charlotte's currently using). With more than 200 stores to choose from, I'm bound to find the perfect curtains, light fixtures, etc for my space.


So check back soon to see what my selections are and how they look in the space. And by soon I mean the next few weeks, not the next few days. I'm too indecisive to get moving on anything that quickly! Although with a before picture like the one below, I've got a little more pep in my step than normal!!

For the Love of Blogs: February

I'm back by popular demand with a few more of my favorite blogs. Click here if you missed last month's post, and be sure to check back towards the end of March for another list of bloggy goodness!


First up, the blog I go to any time I need a little pick me up. Color Me Katie never ceases to bring a smile to my face! Between her crazy friends, lovable cat and awesome photography, there's just no way you can read one of her posts without feeling a little happier (and without wanting to be a part of a flash mob). Go check her out!


And now, a place to check out if you've got a sweet tooth. Amanda of I Am Baker makes some really amazing things, from mouth-watering iced cookies to perfectly frosted cakes. She even decorates the insides of her cakes! Makes me wish I knew how to bake anything other than brownies. Visit her to see her beautiful goodies!


And last, but not least, Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day. I've been thinking up plans for Charlotte's third birthday party lately (yes, I realize it's still 3 months away) and Jordan's blog has all sorts of wonderful inspiration! Check it out for ideas for themes, tutorials for decor, and just all-around happy stuff.

And now it's your turn... share some of your favorite blogs!

For the Love of Blogs: January

I desperately need to update my Link Love page. Hard to believe, but there's tons more than the 60 or so blogs I have listed that I actually follow. I'll get around to that soon! In the meantime, I plan to take my mom's lead and spend some time each month showcasing a couple of my favorites. Here we go...



One of the first blogs I started reading with any regularity was A Thousand Words. Jen is a native of South Africa, currently living in England, planning her family's move to New Zealand. Makes me tired just thinking about it! Her beautiful photography (especially of food - yum!) and her organizational skills are to be coveted, and her Inspiration for Decoration blog was what motivated me to create my Droolworthy Decor blog. If you haven't happened upon her blog before, definitely give it a look. It's sure to be one that you add to your list of everday reads!



Daily Drop Cap is just that - a blog where each day designer and illustrator Jessica Hische showcases another letter graphic that you can use as a drop cap on your blog. She's working on the 12th alphabet now, so there's tons of letters to choose from. Go check it out!



Rounding out this month's favorites is the first blog I go to each day - Under the Sycamore. Ashley is a momma of four little ones and is crafty to the core. She's a regular contributor over at Design*Sponge and Design Aglow, but I think her real claim to fame (aside from her loving heart, as is showcased in post after post) is how she's designed her own house with vintage, thrifted pieces and good old creativity. Definitely head her way for some good reading!

Be sure to check back towards the end of next month, when I'll be highlighting some more of my favorites!

Tweet Music

I picked Celine over Josh for O Holy Night, but Josh seriously has the edge when it comes to Kanye tweets. So hilarious! Thanks to Mandy for showing me this little bit of awesome! Blaaaaaack is the new black...


And not as funny, but still awesome... my American Pickers giveaway! Thursday at midnight is the last call.

Handwriting Doppelganger

I was reading through the archives of a blog that I'd just recently discovered (The Yvestown Blog), when I came upon this photo of a book that used a quote from the blog's author:


It stopped me in my tracks. Not because of the words (although they're perfectly nice and seem to fit right in with the book), but because the handwriting seemed so similar to my own. I mean ridiculously similar. So much so that I began air-writing (is that what you'd call pretending to write with no pen or paper) just so I could better visualize how alike they are.

Very alike. And it got me thinking about whether or not the handwriting could, in fact, be mine. You see, forever ago, I submitted an uppercase and lowercase alphabet to Amanda over at kevinandamanda.com and she graciously turned it into an actual font. A font called Pea Katie (because her font-making arose from message boards discussions over at Two Peas in a Bucket). So I did a little experiment to see if the handwriting was mine:


They're not the same, but they are pretty darn close. Weird.


P.S. If you want to see more handwriting fonts and maybe even download the font for yours truly, check out Fonts for Peas.

P.P.S. If you want your handwriting made into a font, get Amanda's instructions here.

Oohmoon

I love graphic prints and plan to plaster my walls with them once we move into our new place. But art can get expensive, especially if you're a little ADD about it (ahem... moi) and want to switch things out all the time.

Thank goodness for the new blog that just started up yesterday. It's called oohmoon. Every day, for at least the next year, Katie (great name, right?!) will be posting an illustration available for free. But it's only free for one day, when it'll be magically replaced with a new free illustration. No worries though, the old illustrations will still be available, just for a small fee.


I plan to check back daily, because how stinking cute is that legwarmered moose that she posted yesterday?!

Get in the Habit

We all have them don't we? Routines that we stick to like clockwork. I know I do. When I wake up in the morning and am going about getting ready for work, everything is done in a specific order. My teeth get brushed (can't ever feel clean in the shower if my teeth aren't clean first). Then I shower: shampoo on, face washed, shampoo off, conditioner on, shave, conditioner off, body washed. The same way. Every. Single. Time.

I don't think habits are a bad thing for the most part. A lot of the time they keep us productive. Like at work. The first thing I do when I arrive is check my voicemail. While doing so I turn on the computer and start up my email. Then bring up my claims processing program. (For those that don't know, I'm an insurance claims adjuster. I determine who is at fault for an accident. It's a better job than it sounds, I assure you.) Then I open up about 5-6 windows on the Wide World of Web and go about my day, having devoted just a few minutes to being ready for it.

Habits are hard to get into though. I've heard you have to repeat something 21 times before it really gets to be a habit. This list I found on WedMD of Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life seem like a good ones to put some effort into:


There are some areas that I'm pretty successful at - a Starbucks Green Tea is my favorite drink, and I've got about as many social connections as a mom of toddler who works full-time can really have. But there are some areas that I really need to work on - eating breakfast (I never do), taking daily walks (it is on my 30 Before Thirty list after all) and drinking water.

How did you fare and what do you think of the list? What habits will you be trying to get into in the coming year?

Christmas Cards

For Charlotte's first Christmas we included a photo of her in a standard card. The photo was cute, but overall the card felt a little generic. For Charlotte's second Christmas (last year), I handmade cards that included a photo of her on them. Not to pat myself on the back, but I think they turned out great! They stood out and really showcased her adorable mug. But, they were ridiculously time-consuming and required easy access to my craft supplies. I'm short on both time and supplies this year because of our move.

As a result I started this holiday season undecided on what to do about Christmas cards. Should I slip a photo in a card like year one? Try to pull together enough time and supplies like year two? After checking out the selection at shutterfly.com I'm choosing option three, purchasing holiday photo cards.

I've used Shutterfly to order prints in the past and was more than pleased with the quality, price and speed of delivery, so I have high hopes that this year's Christmas card process will go equally as smoothly. I've still got my work cut out for me though, because Shutterfly has tons of options. First up, the flat photo cards:



Of the 300+ options, the four above are among my favorites (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right). I love that there's so much variation in design, from classical and traditional to hip and modern, and the choice to use a single photo or multiple. There are similar choices for the folded cards below (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right), not to mention the option to include photos and a personal message on the inside of the card.


Have you checked out Shutterfly's offerings? Which are your faves? And don't forget to peruse their non-holiday card selection. I'm considering some of the calendars, address labels and gift tags. So cute!