feeling nest-y

Hi, and happy Saturday!
Every year around this time, I start getting really inspired to decorate.  As it gets chillier, I'm naturally indoors much more, and when I am outside, I love coming in to a cozy home.  So today I want to share some of my favorite decorating ideas and items!

I lovvvve this gold dotted curtain by Kontextür.  It's been on my 'nesting' board on Pinterest for ages, and it's so ethereal and playful! (But let's be serious-- will I be spending a hundred and fifty dollars on a shower curtain?  Gosh no, I will not.  I will be DIY-ing this for under twenty.  It's discs of gold taffeta sandwiched between a layer of tulle and a layer of organza.  Easy-peasy.)

I think painting a smallish piece is such a clever way to introduce a bold color while keeping the space feeling airy and light.

A shelf and separate mirror instead of a medicine cabinet-- such a pretty alternative, especially when sink-side essentials are kept in sweet vintage containers.

I'd love to create an embroidery hoop display with bits and pieces of vintage fabric that are too small to use for anything else, and too pretty to be hidden away in a scrap box.  (Fun fact: I actually saw this in person before Purl Soho moved to it's new location, and it was even prettier in real life!)

This fairy-tale mirror is so lovely and just the right size for on top of a dresser, and the branches would double as hooks for necklaces!

I try to always have fresh flowers around.  These non-traditional vases are simple and unpretentious and charming.  How pretty would those hanging ones be in a window?

Sheer curtains over twinkle-lights give the nicest glow while hiding the wires of the lights.  I really like the idea of having curtains around a bed, making it into a cozy little nook.

I hope your weekend is off to a great start!
♥

fill-in-the-blank friday

1. My best quality is my high energy level and productivity.  I'm always working on a zillion projects, planning and organizing and making things!

2. One of my less flattering qualities is that I'm not great at just plain relaxing.  It used to drive my mom crazy when I was home sick from school, because I don't like feeling unproductive.

3. I'd rather be decorating.  I'm feeling very nest-y lately, I think because it's getting colder outside and I want to create a cozy living space. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on decorating ideas I'd love to try!

4. Something I have been challenged with lately is cutting back on sugar.  I love hot chocolate and warm fresh-baked treats this time of year, but I also feel much better when I'm not having much sugar.  Womp womp.

5. I am looking forward to the third season of Downton Abbey!  I'm seriously emotionally invested in Mary and Matthew's relationship.  And what about Edith?  When is that poor girl going to get some male attention?  And when will she stop being such a sneaky so-and-so?

6. A super-random factoid about me is I have never had any artificial color in my hair.  No highlights, no dye, nothing.

7. I want to take a nice hot shower, get into pajamas, and knit a few hexipuffs before having my nighttime cup of tea and going to bed.

I hope you had a wonderful Friday!

♥

snippets

just a peek into my life lately...

even as it gets chilly, we've still had some beautifully sunny days

garden squash picked before the frost

the last leaves of autumn

cozy hot chocolate on cold afternoons

Have a beautiful day!

♥

much love monday

Happy Monday, ladies and gents!

Here are a few things I love this week.

these origami dresses

this beautiful photograph of dew on a dandelion

my name as performed by the mouse circus from Coraline!

this amazing dress-- the bodice is covered in real flowers

this peachy-pink globe from here

this adorable (and accurate) poster

this 1920s advertisement for baking powder

and this fantastic video for 'Now Is the Start,' a song from the latest album by A Fine Frenzy

I hope you're having a wonderful day!

♥

on the needles: busy bee blanket

Happy Saturday!

I've been knitting away on my busy bee blanket, and I'm up to 52 hexipuffs.

it's growing!  I've knitted three more hexipuffs since I took this picture yesterday.

Since it's my busy bee blanket, I naturally needed to make a bee puff!  It's one of my favorites so far.
The little guy on the left is going to be a gnome, I just need to get tiny black beads for his eyes.


And a fox puff!  I love the little black tips on his ears, and his shiny eyes.

I hope you're having a wonderful  autumn weekend!  It's chilly and gray here, so I'm going to curl up with a cup of tea and some knitting and a good book.
♥

fill-in-the-blank friday

1. I like long car trips.  I have such happy memories of seven and eight hour drives on the way to family vacations, and of long trips on the bus of the fife and drum corps I was in with lots of wonderful friends.  Although I have to admit, I fall asleep very quickly when I'm in a moving car or bus.  ....Like, almost instantly.  It's a little ridiculous but at least I'm always well-rested by the time I get where I'm going!

2. A life goal of mine is to travel all over the world.  I want to experience as many places and cultures as I can.

3. The last thing you would expect me to like (even though I secretly do) is/are certain books that are generally thought of as being more masculine, or at least as being more appealing to a male audience.  Two of my favorite books are Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, and Steppenwolfe, by Hermann Hesse.

4. Some wise words that I love are, "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." --Roald Dahl

5. Most mornings you will find me muttering to one of my (very cute but very persistent) cats, "Bucky...stop poking me.  Stop licking me.  Go back to sleep."  He likes to wake me up by gently patting my face with his paw and licking my hand.  He'll only stop when either a) I get up and give him breakfast or b) he weasels his way under the covers to snuggle.

6. Right now I am super into cozy socks and sweaters and hot tea as it starts getting chilly.  Ooh, blankets, too.

7. Right now I am super over painting my nails.  Not that I do it often to start with.  I have many talents, but doing my nails is not one of them.  The only color I like on my nails is a dark purple-y red, but since I'm always knitting or spinning or sewing, nail polish tends to chip pretty easily, and then a dark color looks terrible.  So it's generally clear nail polish or just the snazzy buffing block for me.

I've been a busy bee and this week flew by--  hope yours was fantastic!

♥

one pretty thing: vintage button jar

Hi everyone!

First: American friends, have you voted yet?  If not-- stop reading this and go vote!  It'll still be here when you get back, I promise.

Anyway.  Now that we have that taken care of, I'd like to share with you part of a lovely graduation present from my best friend Marissa's family.

It's a jar of vintage buttons!  I love it.

The buttons are all different shapes and sizes and colors.

Even the lid of the jar is pretty!  It's nice to touch, too-- it has that weathered-metal feeling.

I've collected vintage buttons for years, but this jar of them is special to me because it was such a thoughtful gift.  Then again, I shouldn't be too surprised-- it came from a wonderfully thoughtful family.

Have a fantastic afternoon!

♥