shower [p]inspiration!

as you may have heard, 

I am throwing my BFF a baby shower sprinkle tomorrow. 

I am DIYing about 90% of the decor, and adding tons of 

little touches of cuteness that I discovered via Pinterest. 

come back here next week for a plethora of Pinterest projects! 

and say that three times fast. :) 

some things I'm taking on (or have already completed): 

veggie dippers:

mason jar lemonade: 

marshmallow pops:

onesie cookies: 

candy buffet: 

onesie decorating: 

I've also delved into the world of handmade banners, cupcake toppers, favor tags, game sheets, and lots of other goodies! I can't wait to show you all! 

have you created any Pinterest inspired ideas lately?

Happy Friday! 

fill in the blank Friday!

yay, Friday! 

yay for tomorrow being Kaley's baby shower!

yay, for blanks over with Lauren!

1.   My favorite color is       green... always has been! 

2.  My travel destination of choice is    the beach. I could spend everyday of my life laying on the beach, soaking up the sun, and plowing my way through literature.

3.  My favorite  food is     Maryland blue crabs.

4.  My happy place is   the beach. and my bed. 

5.  My favorite saying is      "rudeness is the weak person's imitation of strength."

6.  My dirty little secret is     that I participate in No-Shower-Sunday. HAHA! 

7.  Something friends might say about me is that I       will have to censor my sailor mouth when we have kids. I'm always getting the side eye when I'm around kids because I forget to say safe words. hahaha

clothespins

scrapbook paper covered decorative clothespins for the baby shower?

CHECK. 

tidbits fo-fidbits

just a warning: I am going to be extremely busy this week, and therefore, blogging will suffer. I'll probably have time for Wee Bits and Fill in the Blank, but Friday Loves will return next week. 

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I'm trucking through The Book Thief now. I'm finally adjusting to the weird narration and the story is picking up and getting pretty exciting. I can't wait to review it when I'm finished. 

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baby shower update: most of the decorations are made (banner, cupcake toppers - see below, favor tags, game sheets, clothespins a la YHL, and the signs for the onesie decorating table and the game instructions). I went to the grocery store last night and got most of the food, so I can start on the cookies and the marshmallow pops tonight. 

cupcake toppers - all 40 of those little onesies were cut out by hand! :)

thankfully, a bunch of folks have offered to help out, and I've graciously accepted. I've got someone making pasta salad & chocolate covered pretzels, another friend making meatballs, another making deviled eggs, and someone else getting drinks and ice. all of those things being done by others takes a HUGE weight off my shoulders! 

all in all, everything is working out perfectly, and I'm loving all the crafts I get to take part in! I can't wait to put it all together and give Kaley a great shower. 

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exercise update: pretty much non-existent, outside of house work and chasing kittens. been eating very healthy though - summer is great, because we have tons of local farmers who set up road-side stands in our area. we've been chowing down on lots of fresh produce! 

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kitty update: Skillet is the only kitten we have left, and I got a call yesterday from a woman who is interested in adopting him. she's coming to meet him on Friday. I'm excited to have my bedroom/sanity back, but I sure am going to miss that little guy. how could I not be a little sad to say goodbye? look at this face!

Buckwheat went to his forever home a few weeks ago, and luckily, his Mama lives literally right down the street from me. we plan on having kitty play dates in the future... I'm so happy I'll be able to watch Buckwheat grow up! one of the hardest parts of fostering kittens (besides all the hard work that goes into it, haha) is that you rarely get to see the kitties when they find their new homes. 

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we officially have less than 2 weeks until we leave for the beach for vacation. 

I'm almost certain that it will be the longest two weeks of my LIFE. I'm so ready to just lay on the beach for a week and relax. 

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I'm already planning my next tattoo idea. I really want to pay tribute to both sides of my family, my mom's and my dad's. every male on my mom's side of the family (grandfather, uncles, etc) has served in the military, most of them enlisting and serving in the US Coast Guard, so naturally, I'm leaning towards something to represent that. I'd also like something to portray the American Indian heritage on my dad's side. 

so I think I've got it - I'm going to get traditional style pin-up girls on the back of each of my calves - one will be a sailor girl, and one will be a Native American girl. I'll add some other things like an anchor and a dream catcher or something, but that's the main idea I have so far. I'm pretty stoked about it! 

inspiration:

source

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all our favorite TV shows are back on right now and it's seriously making me feel like a couch potato. on a weekly basis, we/I watch: 

- Big Brother

- True Blood

- Breaking Bad

- Hell's Kitchen

- Master Chef

- Design Star

- Deadliest Catch

anyone feeling like a lazy bum thanks to the awesome 

TV selections that air this time of year?

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Happy Tuesday!

fill in the blank Friday!

play with Lauren here! 

1.   One of my happiest moments ever was       our wedding day. it may have been hot as hell, but our wedding day was amazing, and magical, and perfect. I still get butterflies thinking about it. 

2.  Summer is wedding season and weddings are    a reason to celebrate!

3.  This summer     is going way too fast. I can't believe it's almost August already! also? it's been fucking HOT AS SHIT. 

4.  My summer food of choice has been   Italian ice. it's like crack. summer crack. 

5.  My summer uniform has been     summer dresses. I don't think I've ever worn dresses as much as I have this summer. 

6.  If I could spend the entire summer in one location I would choose      Hawaii, dude . if I could bring my cats, of course. 

7.  My summer anthem is       oh I don't know... I don't really have "anthems." 

kitchen prints

I promised to show you a picture when I got them hung, so here you go!

yes, it's blurry. thank you water logged Droid X. 

and yes, there's a Lily in the picture. 

and yes, that's the gallery wall in the background. 

I would have taken a picture of the entire kitchen, including the prints, 

but uh... it was dark. 

andplusalso, my kitchen was a mess at the time. 

the vintage inspired crate label prints are from Vol25. 

I got all four prints (uhhh, in April 2010) for $65. 

and the frames from Home Goods for $7.99 a piece. 

Happy Thursday! 

wee bit Wednesday!

{one} what is your dream job?having my own business designing upscale restaurants and bars.
{two} how many best friends do you have?I have three best friends: Sean, Kaley, and Kaycie.
{three} what’s the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?a friend from high school & I took a road trip to Savannah, Georgia to take a tour of SCAD when we were 17, which took about 12 hours total. 
{four} if you had to do one single thing every day for the next year, what would it be?tell my husband I love him. mawwww. 
{five} what’s one story your family always tells about you?ugh... my dad always tells people about the time when I was in my crib (maybe a year old?) and I pooped in my diaper. and then I dug it out and played with it. and wiped it all over myself. and the walls. 
{six} how did your parents pick your name?I'm not sure. all I know is that my dad wanted to name me Candace (so he could call me Candy) and I am very grateful that my mom won that argument. 
{seven} what’s the one thing that scares you more than anything?losing someone I love. 
{eight} are you a good cook?sometimes. I can fuck up a recipe pretty well too though.
{nine} where do you see yourself in 20 years?happy and successful.
{ten} what’s your best childhood memory?spending time in Virginia every summer with my grandparents and my cousins. we had the best time together growing up, and I hope our kids will be close like that one day. 

Homer's Odyssey [book review]

one of my dear friends, Jen, who also happens to be my wedding photographer, sent me this book in the mail (also? I love getting mail!) on a whim after seeing it in her local bookstore. she knows how much I love cats and thought Homer's Odyssey (the full name of the book is Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love & Life With a Blind Wonder Cat), by Gwen Cooper, would be a good match for me... and she was right! you may have heard of Homer before - he's been featured in publication a few times, including USA Today.

image via gwencooper.com

SUMMARY: 
Homer's Odyssey, written by fellow cat lady Beth Cooper, is the story of her blind (and not only blind, but completely eye-less) kitty, who, despite the odds stacked against him, persevered to live a happy and adventure filled life. 


The kitten who barely survived quickly surprised everyone around him as he became a fearless daredevil - scaling tall bookshelves and attacking middle-of-night intruders. His giant heart and playful nature won over each and every single person who met him, including those who were not so fond of felines to begin with. He proved every doubtful mind wrong as he overcame even the simplest daily obstacles, all the while teaching Beth about love, loyalty, and above all, hope. 

"And by the time she met the man she would marry, she realized Homer had taught her the most important lesson of all: Love isn’t something you see with your eyes." 

REVIEW:
let me start off by saying that you do not to be completely infatuated with the domestic feline to love this book, because it's not just a book about a cat. it is so much more. it's a story about the companionship between the pet and his owner. it's a story of triumph when defeat is assumed. it's the tale of the lessons learned from owning a pet, and furthermore, loving that pet like a child. 

I think the reason I loved this book so much was because of the similarities between Homer and Bear. while Bear has been lucky enough to have full use of his eyes his entire life, he faced many struggles because of his neurological and balance issues... like climbing stairs and jumping onto the bed. but like Homer, he has defeated his speed bumps, and has truly become our little miracle cat. 


the jaw dropping stories of Homer's antics is what really sucked me into this book (like his pouncing across furniture and sniffing out tuna in an unopened can), but the novel itself was well written. it was organized nicely, considering that it basically tells about Homer's entire life in random points of time. I felt very attached to Homer, and to Beth as well, and found myself really worrying about his well-being while reading. Homer's Odyssey is what I like to call a "feel-good" book... it made me feel very inspired and hopeful, and definitely happy. 


I would recommend this book for everyone, but especially for my animal loving friends. I was thrilled to find out (after the book ended) that Homer is still alive and healthy, and still causing a ruckus in New York. 

around the house & random tidbits

- I finished our gallery wall in the entryway! thanks to 3M Command Strips and these guys from Amazon, it was a piece of cake. the most time consuming part was the planning process - figuring out where to put each frame. and then my OCD kicking in, which meant I had to map everything out and then measure between each frame and break out the mini level to make sure everything was perfect. and it was. 

this picture sucks (ever since I dropped/plunged my cell phone into the river, the camera is wonky), but you get the idea. most of the frames are still empty, and I will be working this week to find permanent art prints for them! 

paint color: Sparrow by Behr. 

- because I've discovered the awesomeness that is the 3M Strip, I also have these prints (scroll to the bottom) ready to hang in the kitchen. will photograph when complete. 

- our new curtains arrived and they are AMAZING. the quality is just so much nicer than the cheapos we bought from JC Penny a few years back. they are a silk/rayon blend, are lined in the back, and have sewn in weights to keep them hanging correctly. 

the only problem is that they're a smidge too long... an inch and a half, maybe two inches too long. I'm debating on whether to have them dry cleaned in the hopes that they shrink juuuust enough (and risk them being too short or never hanging right again and paying a pretty penny) or to just buy an iron hem kit and bring them up an inch or so. 

thoughts? does anyone know how much rayon/silk shrinks up when washed? 

- we still haven't put together the dining room table yet. slackin' big time, I know, but hopefully this weekend, it'll get done. 

- remember back when I started that wee little ink project? well, you probably don't remember the start, since I wasn't blogging back then, but you probably remember the beginning if you've been here a while. 

well, it's finished. I went up to Black Anchor on Saturday for my last sleeve session EVER, and I am honestly so happy it's finally complete. I sat for another 3.5 hours, which was rough, considering the longest I've sat under the needle previously was 4 hours. total chair time for this piece was about 14 hours! 

again, horrible cell phone pictures, but my camera has been in Sean's truck for weeks and I keep forgetting to grab it! I am so, so, so excited that it's finished, and now I can move onto the next! ha! I'm thinking I'll move onto the lower half for my next tattoo(s)... I really want to put something on my calves next. 

- I suck at reading lately. I'm still making my way through The Book Thief and while it is definitely getting better, it's still kind of a slow read. in my defense though, little kitty Skillet has been taking up a lot of my time in the evenings too. 

- I'm on the hunt for a local CSA to deliver organic fruits & veggies (and possibly farm fresh eggs) to us. there are a lot in the state of Maryland and even in DC, but none that deliver to the city where we live OR where I work. super bummed about it, but I'm still searching! 

fill in the blank Friday!

play along here! 

1.   I am a (morning, evening, middle of the day person)       night person. I feel more relaxed in the evenings, and am definitely a night owl. 

2.  My favorite Pandora stations are    Adele, The Band Perry, Counting Crows, and Kings of Leon.

3.  3 of my "must-have" songs for a road trip playlist are     "Country Grammar" by Nelly, at least one Tom Petty song, and "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.

4.  My favorite pattern is   chevron, ikat, imperial trellis, greek key... pretty much anything geometric. although I love me some suzani too, which is more organic. oh, and stripes. I can't pick and you can't make me. 

5.  My favorite perfume is     Love Spell by Victoria's Secret .

6.  Rules are      created by people afraid to take risks  .

7.  My most overused phrase or punctuation is      ... I'm not sure about punctuation, but I say "dude" a LOT. like way more often than anyone should .

Friday loves

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this blog post by Danielle @ Sometimes Sweet. short version? stop comparing yourself to other bloggers in a competitive sort of way. blogging is not a contest, and there is no winner. blog for YOU and support others who do so. the end. 


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this tattoo that I discovered here. it is the perfect representation of my heritage, tying together my family's devotion to the USCG and my American Indian roots. 

if I were brave enough to tattoo my other rib cage, I would definitely get it there, but I'm thinking the side of my leg would be a good spot too. 

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two of my Nestie friends gave birth to baby boys this week! 

congratulations to Adriane & Laura (and their husbands, too)! 

and welcome to the world Darian & Noah!

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while this isn't a new discovery on my part, I'm just now actually getting around using Vintage Printable for the first time. I'm finally putting together our gallery wall in the entryway and headed over to VP for free artwork to hang up.

I must say, I am impressed with the collection of art they have there! this little guy will definitely be making his way to my wall.

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Google+. I don't know if it'll actually be the next big social networking site, but it's getting tons of great reviews from techie gurus out there (according to my nerdy husband, at least), so I figured, "hey, why not?" still trying to figure everything out on there, but it's kind of confusing at the moment. then again, all sites are generally confusing at first, so it shouldn't take long to get the hang of things. 

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this anchor pillow would look great on my bed. but I think I need to take a break from pillow shopping. I decided to go ahead and buy ALL the pillows I talked about this post. eeks. 

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speaking of baby boys, I am totally making this blue punch for Kaley's baby sprinkle and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I've got the menu all figured out... now I just need to get my ass in gear and start shopping/DIYing decorations! 

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I got an email this morning informing me that our new living room curtains have shipped. because they're a little more expensive at $70 a pop, we've decided to buy two panels at a time every couple weeks. so yes, we will have mis-matched curtains possibly, but they are chevron and they are amazing. 

AND I AM SO EXCITED. 

Teramo Curtain Panel

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Happy Friday, ya'll! 

wee bit Wednesday!

woohoo! so glad Leigh is back with WBW posts this week! 

I was definitely missing them!

{one} what’s the #1 most played song on your iPod (or whatever you use)?I live in the 90's and don't own one. but I've been listening to a lot of Adele on Pandora.
{two} what’s your favorite type of exercise?I love spin class. and more recently, hiking.
{three} what’s your least favorite mode of transportation?I imagine that taking a bus somewhere far away would suck.
{four} if you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what would it be?I really like being 25, so let's go with that.
{five} when you have 30 minutes of free time, what do you use it to do?read! sadly, I haven't had any lately, so my books are lonely and neglected.
{six} what do you miss the most about being a kid?The lack of responsibility. That’s the only thing that semi-sucks about being an adult. I wish I could go back to not having to worry about things. <---- this, exactly. also, summer vacation.
{seven} when was the last time you were nervous?when I got pulled over last week. luckily, I drove away with a warning.
{eight} what was the first thing you bough with your own money when you were young?probably toys or candy with my birthday money.
{nine} what is your favorite month of the year?May. it's the perfect weather and the beginning of summer.
{ten} what are 3 songs from the soundtrack of your life?crap, that's a hard question to answer. I'm going to go with "Long December" by Counting Crows, "Right to be Wrong" by Joss Stone, and "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews. 

pillow talk [Etsy goods]

I'm a little obsessed with throw pillows. 

I like to switch them out frequently, and even have some holiday printed ones that I display in the winter (seen here). 

so when I received the new C&B catalog, I knew I had to have the Savona stripe pillow, which I mentioned in my Friday loves post last week. I recently bought the orange storage boxes from IKEA and knew I wanted to bring a little more brightness to the room in general. I already have tons of yellow decor and accessories, so I went on a hunt for some orange and purple toned pillows to tie everything together. 

also? I'm kinda cheap when it comes to pillows. the Savona pillow is really a stretch for me - I don't normally spend $30 on pillows. I figured this time around, I'd get smarter and just buy pillow covers for the pillows that I already own. duh... why didn't I think of that before? 

I have a few greens, a few browns, one brown polka dot, some tans, and a red pillow, but they're all just solid colors and I want to bring in some funky patterns. I knew I wanted to get one 16" x 16" cover, three 18" x 18" covers, and a 20" x 20" cover, so I went where I always go for cheap and creative solutions - Etsy. here's what I'm envisioning. 

16" x 16": 

orange happy flower pillow cover from Etsy seller sweetnaturedesigns

18" x 18":

grey chevron pillow cover from Etsy seller TheLaceyPlacey

vintage rust flower pillow cover from Etsy seller TheHomeCentric

yellow suzani pillow cover from Etsy seller thefarley4

20" x 20":

plum ocean pillow cover from Etsy seller TheHomeCentric

I love all the colors of the above pillows, but I also love that some of them (mainly the plum and rust ones) bring a little bit more texture to the room, which is just as important as color schemes. so that's where my head is at right now. 

I already purchased the yellow & grey ones for less than $30 combined, but I'm having a hard time with the rest because they are a little more expensive... 

I find it kind of difficult to pull the trigger on a $24+ pillow cover (not including shipping) when I could get an entire pillow for that much, know what I mean?

please tell me I'm not the only one who 

1: has an obscene pillow obsession, 

and 2: agonizes over small purchases like a crazy person. 

Happy Tuesday!