"the secrets of living"

I'm absolutely loving this print by Raw Art Letterpress.  The words are sort of jumbled up, but it's based upon this line by e.e. cummings (my favorite poet): 

"may my heart (all ways) always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living..."

A lovely sentiment for Spring, isn't it?

xo,

Pretty fabrics by Laura Gunn

With less than three months to go, wedding planning has officially kicked into high gear.  As part of a wedding-related project (it's a secret, so I can't describe it in detail!), I've been browsing through fabrics on Etsy and came across these gorgeous designs by Laura Gunn.  Aren't they beautiful?  It's almost enough to make me want a sewing machine...

Images via Etsy.

Sweet vintage cake stand, by Olivia

I was so excited when Olivia contacted me to let me know I'd won her cake stand giveaway! Olivia makes the most beautiful vintage cake stands from unique plates that she finds at antique and thrift stores. It was so hard to choose just one. I finally decided on the Isabella cake stand. Isn't she a beauty?

I'm finding that it's perfect for storing the jewelry and other odds and ends that seem to collect on our dining room table. (I take off my jewelry at random times and can never seem to put it back in my jewelry box.)

Thank you Olivia! I love it so much!

P.S. Be sure to check out Olivia's lovely shop and her equally lovely blog where she muses about her daily adventures in baking, exploring her town, and other inspirations. I promise you'll be as smitten as I am!

The NEO-traditionalist Manifesto

I recently stumbled upon the loveliest blog. The NEO-traditionalist is penned by Kate, whose interests include "reading biographies, scouring rummage sales, listening to NPR's This American Life, eating banana cupcakes, quoting Diana Vreeland, and dreaming up whimsical names for her future children." Clearly, we were meant to be best friends, don't you think?

I totally swooned over her Neo-traditionalist Manifesto, which Kate kindly gave me permission to share with you all.

We believe...

We believe in being glass-half-full sorts of girls.

We believe that often times, granny is chic.

We believe in peddling vintage Schwinns with flower baskets.

We believe in poetry, picnics, and piñatas.

We believe one is never too old to keep a diary, the secrets only grow more scandalous.

We believe in arranging fresh flowers unruly like an English garden.

We believe in adventure and traveling the globe, be it to Marrakech or Malibu.

We believe in mixing lucite with oriental rugs. Thrift store finds with heirlooms.

We believe in handwritten thank you notes, better late than never.

We believe in needlepoint, letterpress, decoupage and forgiving Martha Stewart.

We believe in piggy banks and cookie jars.

We believe in book clubs full of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Austen and Woolf.

We believe station wagons are hopelessly chic.

We believe in recycling our Grandmothers’ names. Eloise, Jackie, Faye…

We believe in collecting: stamps, shells, books, big glittering diamonds…

We believe in marrying the boy that writes us the best love letters.

We believe in highly competitive board games—Chess, Scrabble, Chutes & Ladders.

We believe in spontaneous road trips and charming, chintzy bed & breakfasts.

We believe there’s something to fortune cookies, wishbones and 4 leaf clovers.

We believe in classics, shaken and stirred.

Love, love, love. Definitely hop on over and check out Kate's blog and her adorable vintage Etsy shop!

Image via Kate's Etsy shop.

Etsy pick: evapaul

A couple weeks ago, I was browsing wedding invitations on Etsy and fell in love with the work of evapaul (a super cute husband and wife team, Nic and Kirsten, who work together to design wedding invitations and such).

After emailing them some questions and receiving an incredibly thorough and friendly response, I decided to have evapaul design my wedding invitations and programs. If there are any brides to be out there, take note: evapaul has been an absolute dream to work with. Super responsive and professional. And I just adore their fresh, modern style that's cute without being cutesy. Let's have a look...

(This is the design we chose.)

If you're in the market for pretty save-the-dates, invitations, programs, etc., I super duper 100% times a million recommend evapaul!

P.S. For more evapaul awesomeness, check out their fun blog or follow them on twitter!

All images via evapaul.

26 Olive Street

So I just stumbled upon this adorable little vintage shop called 26 Olive Street via Apartment Therapy. I love the way the photos are styled. Very simple, yet beautiful.

Images via 26 Olive Street.

Details, details

I've been pouring over my copy of the Domino Book of Decorating, and getting really excited about decorating the new place. I suppose I should be most concerned about the big items at this point - bed, dressers, bookshelves, etc. However, I find that I love picking out the little things even more. The finishing touches. The details. The rugs and pillows and lamps and even the salt and pepper shakers ( I love these, by Jonathan Adler!)

I've spent this evening scouring Etsy for cute, handmade stuff. Don't you love this print by rosiemusic? Jason and I often hang out side-by-side, just working on our computers or reading (yes, we're both introverts...), so of course, I had to order it.


I also snapped up this print by Sooooound. Isn't it pretty? I think I'll hang it above my desk.



Images via Etsy.

Gennine's Art Blog

I am really excited about this new blog I stumbled across (new to me, anyway): Geninne's Art Blog. Geninne is a freelance illustrator/designer, who blogs about her creations and shares neat little visual vignettes from her everyday life.

One of Geninne's illustrations. Pretty, huh?


And this is her studio, which I am kind of obsessed with.

Check out Geninne's Etsy shop for more bee-yoo-ti-ful stuff!

Images via Geninne's Art Blog.

Etsy Pick of the Week

I absolutely love bright, colorful jewelry. It's really the perfect accent for any outfit, especially in the summer. For running errands on the weekend, I'll throw on a white tunic and jeans and dress it up with dangly beaded red earrings. For dinner or cocktails, a simple black dress with a statement-making turquoise necklace never fails me. For work, i'll jazz up a white button-down-shirt with oversized pink pearls or a vintage charm bracelet.

So, I adore these pieces by Etsy designer Ecstatic, don't you? So versatile and pretty! I'm thinking they would make a great addition to my vacation wardrobe this summer. I'm going to be traveling to San Francisco and Napa Valley for a week with Jason and his family and have vowed to myself that I will pack lightly (or try!), so jewelry will add some nice variety to the mix!

Ocean Spray Necklace

Hot summery turquoise bracelet

La Pluie

It's definitely an umbrella sort of day here in DC! I used to despise rainy days because they are totally inconducive to 1) doing anything with my hair besides throwing it into a wet ponytail after the shower 2) wearing cute shoes, or really any shoes besides clunky rain boots. Sometime in the past couple years, the rain and I have developed a somewhat more friendly relationship. There is something nice about sitting at my desk, doing research or writing a proposal, sipping some green tea, and listening to the gentle pitter-patter of the rain on the roof. I'm lucky enough to work in an office with a huge vaulted ceiling and enormous skylight so on rainy days, the overcast sky creates a sort of grey-ish, moody tint in the room, which is pleasant and cozy in a strange way. I've also come to appreciate the stillness after the rain stops, when everything is quiet and dewy and the foilage is newly green. And I love, love, love cute umbrellas, like the one above, available from UmbrellaHeaven on Etsy.

What about you? Do you love rainy days or hate 'em?