A Glimpse

Well, unfortunately Christmas is over and I hope you all had a wonderful time spent giving with family and friends. This Christmas was a little different for me, but one of the best ones I've had.  I got to see my closest friends, and my family time was wonderful. I think what made this Christmas more special than others was the fact that I truly embraced my time home.  Time goes by so quickly, and not to have the long two month break I used to have while I was in college makes my time spent at home that much more valuable.

The holiday went by in the blink of an eye, and here I am back in the city getting ready for New Years.  I can honestly say I am a little ready to slip back into my routine.  Here are a few snap shots I took in New York before I left and some that I took at home :)

This was the little decorative area in the cute home of my friend who lives in Brooklyn. So adorable!

I did some gift wrapping with recycled shopping bags.  

This is one of the little paper trees I told you about that I was going to make. I made mine with some sparkly paper. I couldn't get a big tree, so the paper ones did just fine, and they are super cute!  Thank you Martha Stewart Holiday Craft book!

  

Our tree at home in Alabama

 I got festive and did my nails on Christmas day (it was a stocking stuffer!) If you guys haven't tried the stick-ons they work really well, last for 10 days and comes off with nail polish removal. Cool stuff. Mine are done gold right now for New Years! Speaking of which I hope you all have a fun New Year's Eve night and and wonderful New Year's Day!

Cheers to 2012! Wishing you a great start to a healthy new year!

xo
Andrea

You Inspire Me

Hi Readers!

I hope you are all doing well preparing for the holidays! SO much to prepare...our minds, our budgets, our sanity, and most important of all... our stomachs!! How was your Thanksgivings!? I completely skipped out on following up with that! My apologies.  I really enjoyed Philly. I was able to see everywhere around city hall and performed a pretty epic reenactment of Rocky and his victory up the museum steps with my friends (I think that was one of my favorite parts of the trip aside from the amazing meal we had!) Anyway, it was very precious time spent with some wonderful people.

I really wanted to take the time right now and thank all of you so much for all your support and interest in reading my blog.  I saw today that I already have over 1000 views!! It literally almost knocked my slippers off! I was actually on the phone when I found out and gasped so loud that I choked on my own air, and there was definitely a minor heart attack on the other end..(woops! I was just so super excited!).

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 It makes me feel so joyful and happy to know that I am keeping you all inspired through this blog.  It is pure bliss that I can come here and get excited about sharing something creative with you or just share a small venture I went on during the week or weekend. All of your support is what really inspires me to keep going, and it means so much knowing that you all care. I love reading all of your sweet comments and emails. My day is always made when I receive your feedback and experiences, so keep them coming!

You are all so wonderful, and I hope that we can continue to inspire each other in our journeys together.
Keep creating, sharing, and inspiring.  Passion is found when and where passion is shared.

Again, thank you thank you!! Have an exciting, fabulous weekend!

xo,
andrea

Style Profile: Zooey Deschanel

I absolutely love Zooey Deschanel's style. Her sense of fashion has a vintage, eclectic feel, and I 100% agree with her when she says "You can never have too many cardigans", quoted in Lucky Magazine. Check out her style book at the Cotton: Fabric of our Lives website. Find out what her favorite colors and fabrics are, how she forms her style, and what kind of details she uses to complete her look. You can even create your own stylebook. Fun fun!

Etsy Picks from Jennifer Romolini

Jennifer Romolini is Lucky's resident eBay blogger, and has added the wonderful world of Etsy to her site. Here are some of her Etsy picks that I thought were great as well!

These dreamy dresses are found on Etsy by Sarah Seven. The fabric manipulation and soft lines create a very romantic feel for these dresses. So beautiful.

These little goodies are by Skinny Laminx, based on South Africa and is a great source for colorful screenprinted kitchen towels, pillows, and linen. The fun little guy on the bottom left is called a ScrapEep, made from the scraps of the printed fabric, and can be used as a baby toy or a pin cushion. Very creative!

This playful jewelry is by Make Pie Not War. I love the vintage feel and lightheartedness of each of these pieces. I love the personal touch of the text in some of her jewelry. The material makes the text represent itself more significantly and powerfully. It's a nice touch.

Weekend Treats!

For some odd reason, I was craving some really good cupcakes, specifically Back in the Day Bakery cupcakes that I get to have in Savannah. I guess the lack of those scrumptious cupcakes was the reasoning for my craving, so I decided to make some. My family had a tin of old-fashioned vanilla cupcake mix that had never been used, so I used it to make the batter. Of course, the icing is what makes a cupcake, so I made my own. I eyeballed the amount of butter and confectioners sugar, and added a tad bit of water. Once I got the consistency I wanted, I added some red food dye to make them pink, and then topped it off with flat circular sugar sprinkles! The look of these cupcakes are inspired by Back in the Day Bakery's old-fashioned cupcakes (via Shabby Scraps). These of course weren't a comparison in taste, but they were still yummy and a perfect treat for me and my family's weekend.

Happy Songs for a Happy Weekend!

So I got an itouch for free this week and i've been putting together a fun playlist, and I'm enjoying this one so much that I thought I'd share them with you guys for your weekend! It's a happy little playlist. I find myself either bouncing, swaying, or dancing with these songs! I hope they brighten up your weekend, because I know they'll be brightening up mine!

photo by Danielle (aka: queen's lace)

Happy Songs:

Pocket Philosopher-Mandy Moore
La Bamba -Leon Thomas
By and By - Lay Low
Grace Kelly- Mika
Mushaboom- Feist
Speeding Cars- Imogen Heap
Shine- Rosi Golan & Human
You Make My Dreams Come True- Hall & Oats
Upside Down- Jack Johnson
Pony (It's Ok) - Erin McCarley
Nothin from Nothin- Billy Preston

Vegetable Gardens and a Tree Swings

the vegetable garden:
I don't think I could eat for another month! Today I went to my grandparents house. We ate fresh vegetables picked straight from their garden (the decision to go down there was on the spur of the moment, so I didn't get a chance to grab my camera. If I had thought fast enough, I would have grabbed it and taken pictures of the garden to share with you guys..dang it.) We had black-eyed peas, corn, green beans, okra, tomatoes, and squash; the perfect southern meal. It was savory, delicious, heavenly. I enjoyed myself, because I knew it would be a while before getting to eat something so deliciously home-cooked once I got back to Savannah.

Oh yes. I can't forget., for desert, we had old-fashioned blackberry cobbler. The blackberries were picked as well right outside from the vine! I remembered to save room for it. My mouth waters thinking about how wonderful it was. Are your mouths watering yet? After we ate, my granddad wanted me to take some fresh veggies home (no hesitation there), so we went out back to the garden and picked corn, tomatoes, and peas. I can't wait to cook them! He also gave me some home-made blackberry jam he and my grandmother just made. I had a little taste-it was perfect. (Thank you both so much! I love you!)

With this, I've always wanted to have my own little garden. My goal is to eventually have one after I am settled in my own home in the future. I think gardens are wonderful and a perfectly sustainable way to live. No preservatives or pesticides, and its like your own little market in your backyard! I can't wait. Oh yes, and I found a website about organic vegetable gardening that is very informative if you want to start creating your own!

My Grandparents garden looks a little something like this one, plus corn.

Home-grown tomatoes are so sweet and juicy!

the tree swing:

Another thing that I've always wanted growning up is a tree swing. On the way back from my grandparent's house, I saw the perfect tree for a swing. I thought to myself, "If only we had had that tree in our back yard." Living in town, we don't really have wide open spaces like in the country where my grandparents live.

I got to swing on one at a family reunion we had down by a creek when I was around 7 or 8 years old. The location is vivid, but I definitely remember the swing. It was plain and simple. Some rope and part of a 2x4. You could walk the swing up a huge hill, settle yourself, and then drop. Oh, it was so fun, and I could swing so high. I loved how free I felt on the swing. The perfect technique is leaning back with your head tilted back as well. Then you close your eyes and imagine yourself flying as the breeze hits your face from the momentum. That was the best swing I'd ever been on. Oh, to find another.

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