Crocheted Cowls

Alrighty now, I've had my faith restored that it's not cheesy to make handmade neck cowls for my friends for Christmas  :)  I hope they all like them as much as I do.  Of course the ones I've made so far are all in my classic 'go to' colors- grey, beige, and aqua (what's new).  I just finished a red one to match my new wellies, can't wait to rock it this winter.  Just thought I'd share the progress:

My Mom started out making the grey one for me, I then made my first one (the aqua), then made my first gift one, the beige.  Got more gift ones to go, better get on it!

Didn't lay it flat or quite even top to bottom, but here's the first gift:

And a peek at me enjoying both my grey cowl, hugging tightly my new white vase. After Hubby D took this pick, he said he wish he got hugs this tight (awww).  Guess I really had a 'thang' for that vase. 

What handmade items are you into?

Dreaming of......Relaxation

Relaxing at a secluded beach house.........................oh the thought!

Photo Source

Fabulously Returning

Hello lovely readers- I'm returning from that awfully tough week of struggling through a nasty sick bug.  So glad to be back, so glad.  How is your December progressing?

Hubby D and I were able to get out this weekend to enjoy some holiday shopping and festivities and it was a nice break to catch some fresh air- especially since the weather was in the 80s.  Yes, it's true.  California December.  Today's forecast?  Mid-eighties again.  Nice.

We did a bit of decorating this weekend, yet kept it minimal this year since we'll be traveling out and about and won't be spending as much time at home.  We wanted just enough pop of red and sparkles to put us in the holiday mood.  I think it worked, as I'm feeling the desire to stay in slippers and wanting to lounge around the house while eating fudge.

We added a wreath and a red cable knit throw to the bedroom- yep, that's it.

Enough to get a feel of the season.

We added a few touches to the living room as well, however my photos didn't turn out too hot, maybe I'll try again this week.  Hope you're all getting in the holiday spirit.

I have to share a tiny bit of my excitement.  Santa (in the form of hubs), brought me an early gift this year, my very own pair of Tom's.  If you're not familiar with these shoes, I'll share a bit of awesomeness about them later this week!   xoxo to D!!!  I chose them in natural burlap:

 

Photos via Google

Falling into the Season, Coastal Style

The holidays are always kickin off with festive decor in our home.  We enjoy surrounding ourselves with warm colors and cozy decor, while keeping our beach inspired look throughout the year.  Usually I leave out some shells (and rotate where they are placed), keep our picture frames out year-round and change out the matting colors, and work in the holiday accessories right along with them. 

Here are some photos (including some of our new pillows cover purchases)!  :

Our entry (darn sign makes the loudest noises when you open/close the door, but it's so dang awesome):

Living Area:

Loving this candle that's lasted us forever:

Our coffee table contents remain the same year-round.  Who doesn't love them some surfing books with holiday decor embellishing the table top?

My photo of our black side table didn't turn out too well for my "pumpkin story," however, I can assure you that we decorated with real pumpkins a few years back, and those suckers got moldy underneath and took the paint right off of our table top.  Grrrrrrrrr.  California holidays, too warm I guess.  So nothing but faux now, at least in the living area.  We did score some awesome faux black and white pumpkins this year and I'm hoping to come up with a black and white theme for next year!

We typically bring out more comfy pillows and throw blankets in abundance just in time for Thanksgiving- can't wait!

From our home to yours- Happy Spooky weekend...................hope you have something awesome planned?

Sweet

Photo via A Good Affair

Photo of Sweet Peas via Flower Art Garden

Photo via Google

Back in the Groove- For Real!

Ok, ok, ok- so I've been MIA and now I'm back in full force.  That darn computer mishap almost 2 weeks ago got me spinning like crazy.  Lots of catch up was needed and it's quite the long boring story that no one wants to hear, nor would they ever want to happen to them.   A computer crashing in any "normal" circumstance is annoying enough, but a computer crashing on a designer causes chaos of all proportions, with the simplest of things needing attention (such as reloading fonts, reinstalling programs, etc.).  Lame.  I'm still in the process of getting it all running again, but am just now feeling the end to the catch-up-crazy-madness  (crossing fingers I didn't just jinx myself).  The past week and a half has been a blur.  Did you notice my last post said Tuesday Tunes, but the post was on Wednesday??!  Um ya, it's been kinda like that.

So, moving along- there are tons of exciting things to post, although I need to get snapping with my camera to document these fun happenings.  Here are a few things that have been on my mind:

-Looking forward to getting back some real photos from the recent weddings I've designed for- some of them will be out-of-this-world!

-Faith:  please call me out on the lack of project completion, because yes, neither project has been touched. My new goal- this weekend!

-I got some new threads a few weeks back (before our computer crashed) when I felt it was acceptable to spend money on new clothes since it had been a while.  Maybe a clothing post is well overdue?

-I'm feeling the urge to purchase something on Etsy, just because I feel like it.

-I'm determined to spend at least one evening relaxing on the sofa with hubs, doing absolutely nothing, and not worry about 10 gazillion other things while doing so.

-Can't wait to go running with D after work and feel like I am doing something for myself again.

-I figured out how to save/copy photos on the Mac and pull them into a programs/paste.  This is huge!

Yay!

Photo via House Beautiful

Congrats to Mrs. Holls

My dear Hollie tied the knot a few weeks ago in Cancun and she had a gorgeous beach side wedding.  Hollie holds a special place in my heart as one of my very first clients.  She found my Etsy shop through Project Wedding and after that, we were quite unstoppable in regards to what could be designed for her wedding!  I can't wait to see her professional photos, although she was kind enough to send a teaser upon her return from her destination wedding. 

Holls, I adore you and am so happy to have established a lifelong friendship.  Wishing only the best to you and Aaron!

Here are a few designs that were made just for Hollie's special day:

I'm Here......Really

Chaos has been the past few days, and so shall the rest of the week.  Etsy is keeping me busy this week yet again, but as I continue on projects and re-connect with past clients, it keeps the excitement rolling (Jen, you know I can't wait to make your sign)!!!

So with keeping busy, I still find the little things around the house that poke at me, wanting to be done.  We still need to update several photos in frames, spruce up the bed with an additional Euro pillow and possibly new sheets, paint and re-upholster our French desk chair, and most likely lots more.  We did invest in some new sofa pillows from Pottery Barn and OH I'm loving them so much!  Keep in mind this is a big step into store-bought pillow covers, as I usually make them myself (I guess that's what busy will do to ya).  Here's what we picked out:

Bamboo buckle pillow in white:

Solid pillow in fresa blue

Coral pillow in blue

And we bought this white one last winter, but still loving it!

Small steps in updating the house, but it's comfy, hubs and I have each other, and at the moment we are content with that!  By the way, when I throw around the word "house" loosely, I'm referring to our apartment!