granola

tonight I made homemade granola. i am always amazed when i come across a recipe and i actually have all the ingredients on hand. so with no trip to the store stopping me, i proceeded to make it. it was so simple and is oh so delicious. and so much cheaper than buying it, might i add! here is the recipe i followed out of Real Simple magazine:

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (preferably unsweetened)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup dried fruit (such as cherries, cranberries, raisins, or currants)
• *I also add 1 cup flax seed

Directions

Heat oven to 350° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the oats, almonds, coconut, and seeds with the maple syrup, oil, and salt. Bake, tossing once, until golden and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the dried fruit and toss to combine. Let cool.

my new appendage

check out my new appendage. it's the only thing i asked for for Christmas. feeling grateful. now to read the manual from front to back. :)

oh beautiful driftwood

While shopping at my local thrift store, this beautiful painting stopped me dead in my tracks. I mean, come on, that's some beautiful driftwood. Psych. Remember saying that in elementary school? I'm bringing it back.

What really stopped me dead in my tracks was the size of this painting and the fact that the frame wouldn't need to be refinished. Visions of a huge chalkboard to go with my non-existent dining table ensued.

Lucky for me, not only was the frame in great condition, but the material of the actual painting was perfect for covering with chalkboard paint. No priming needed. One coat would have done it, but I did two for good measure.

I'm super pleased with the results. So, I encourage you when you're out and about to see past the driftwood - look for the potential in things!

baby bowman

in one month from today, my bff katie's baby boy is due to grace the world with his presence!! i had the pleasure of designing the baby shower invitations recently:

The theme was "Babies are a hoot" to correlate with baby bowman's manly/woodsy nursery theme. Included with the invites were "WHOOO loves you baby?" cards for parental advice keepsakes for Katie and Adam. Clever, right? Katie and her mom are quite witty, I must admit.

Although I was admittedly impressed with my own cleverness in this print I designed for Baby Bowman's room. His room is going to be awesome! Katie is super creative and has a great sense of style and from what i know/have seen already, this nursery is gonna rock.

old wreath, new take

i decided to do something a little untraditional with my oh-so-traditional grapevine wreath this holiday season. i thought it would be a great base for an ornament chandelier! and i love the way it looks hanging over my kitchen table. all i did was string it up with pretty christmas ribbon and then hang various ornaments and viola! did you try to mix it up with your decorations this year? do tell!

proudest monkey

yes, i am the proudest monkey. (and yes, i love dave matthews band.)

i made these. i know, i can't believe it either. my amateur sewing skills got me through.

it all started when i spotted these beauts on PB's website:

not willing to shell out $39 a pop, I decided to make my own. this meant a trip to the thrift store in search of discarded cable-knit sweaters. and lo and behold, a men's large cable-knit vest was just the ticket:

after seeing this photo, you may be asking yourself, "why would she cover up such a beautiful pillow?" ah-hem. no, the only reason i hung on to these 'beauties' that came with my couch is that their one redeeming quality is that they are actually pretty sturdy.

the red pillow is actually made from a last-season old navy sweater that i got for $1.97 when winter was turning into spring.

a simplified step-by-step for those who might want to attempt this:

1. Find sweater you want to use and pillow insert.

2. Measure how big to make your cover.

3. Cut sweater to appropriate size.

4. Fold over raw edges and sew a straight line.

5. insert pillow

6. hand sew final side using a blind stitch

7. admire your stitch

8. Love your new pillow!

so, i'd like to dedicate this post to my highschool home-ec teacher: Mrs. Sargent, thank you for teaching me how to sew. I am forever indebted to you.

note to self

family head shots

do this. only with smiles. yeah, i think smiles would be better.

i wish

braids

my braids looked this cool. i braid my hair often when i don't feel like washing/doing it but i haven't quite mastered that i-did-my-hair-to-look-messy-on-purpose look. although, that third one looks semi-achievable.

ovaries, be still.

as if my friends having adorable babies isn't enough to give me baby fever, then there's this:

etsy

etsy

etsy

etsy

etsy

baby gap

have you laughed today?

if not, here's a healthy dosage of the hilarity that is kristin wiig:

browser beware

tastespotting.com

I love to peruse this website and get ideas for stuff to make for dinner. I also love to admire the oh-so-beautifully photographed food. So get on over there and get some dinner inspiration...browser beware, it will make you very hungry!

That Feeling

We bought our first house this year. It was such an exciting experience. Coupled with a fabulous realtor, we had so much fun touring potential homes and picturing where we put down some roots in this town. Our one request in the search parameters, besides the price, of course, was no brick ranches. The town is littered with them and we just weren't interested.

But when we set foot in our house, we knew - we had that feeling. I never did get that feeling with my wedding dress like everyone said I would, so maybe that feeling was rightfully due to me. Either way, we were in love and we said 'i do' weeks later....to our 1959 brick ranch. i know, i know, but ours is different...it's cute.

This beautifully flipped blank canvas wooed us. With hardwood floors and a fireplace, we had so many ideas for making this place home.

Now, watch me arrange, re-arrange, buy used furniture, find it doesn't work and sell it on craigslist, spray paint, craft, attempt to sew, buy more stuff off craigslist, thrift, and spray paint some more in an effort to call this place ours.

I'm not the first...

...but i'm probably not the last either because after you see this you are most definitely going to want to make it. this fabulous book wreath comes to us from living with lindsay...she even posts a little video!

what you will need: an old book, a wreath form, a hot glue gun, plenty of glue sticks, and some motivation. (pictured but not necessary: last night's leftovers of chicken & noodles and mashed potatoes...yum!)

what i'm going to recommend to you is to do all the mindless page rolling while watching your favorite show....it makes this project feel less time-consuming. but somehow doing something in front of the tv instead of just watching feels so productive. might i suggest glee or law and order:svu? those are just a couple of this girl's faves.

also, even though i'm not new to hot glue, i still find myself having mini panic attacks thinking that somehow i've gotten a spiderweb on me. note to self: hot glue can be very stringy and spiderweb-like.

(i know, i know...i need curtains for my kitchen. i'm still searching for something just right.)

the end result is well worth it, n'est pas? the twinge of guilt i felt ripping up that book was quickly replaced with feeling like i somehow did this book a favor and saved it from a boring life at the dollar store. in fact, i believe it would thank me if it could.

what shall i wear?

jcrew

did anyone ever play that game when they were little? what shall i wear? i have such fond memories of playing that game with my grandma....and i guess i still sort of play it in a way. whenever i'm going to go somewhere special or feel like i'm in a rut of wearing the same thing...i like to search for outfit inspiration. my go-to spot is jcrew.com. i love their unique combinations and the fact that the items are displayed on models, unlike anthropologie.com, my other love. plus, i reside in the j.crew mecca...lynchburg, va - home of the sample sale. so the odds of me having something similar are high.

tonight i was searching for help with this transitional weather we've been having...it's definitely not summer anymore, but it's also not quite fall...much to my chagrin. jcrew had some great inspiration - lightweight long cardis, scarves, skirts, and shorts with tights. i was too chicken to try to the shorts and tights thing last year, but this season i just might. maybe.

hello pretty

lovely package

as a designer, it is incredibly difficult to design something that defines you, i think. if you even knew how long it took me to design my first business card in college, you would be shocked and appalled. i've grown since then, though. i know a lot more about who i am and what i am about. i still feel like i'm growing and evolving though....i still get caught up in trends and want to change my logo or my business cards with the seasons.

in the midst of it all one thing remains: i love clean, beautiful, simple design. it's what i'm always drawn to and tend, more often than not, to go back to. and that is why i am, and probably forever will be, a sucker for well-designed packaging.

even in my frugality, with coupon file in tow, i can still be aesthetically persuaded. take this wine for example, i don't care what it tastes like....that's a good looking bottle of wine. who wouldn't want to enter a party holding this? i mean, i'd be your friend.

honeysuckle

home

honeysuckle. pretty flower. funny word. yet, the word evokes a sense of nostalgia for me. it's the name of the street our first home was on. josh carried me over the threshold and then we spent our first two years of marriage there growing as friends and partners. so, honeysuckle carries a sense of comfort and home for me. and that's what i want this blog to be...my little niche in cyberspace.

it's here i want to express my sense of design, to share my artwork and adventures in crafting, to fill these pages with beautiful pictures, to pass along some artistic inspiration, and to document all things lovely.

so, wake up and smell the honeysuckle.