Thirty.

Source: cilantropist.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Today is the official day. I'm 30. I'd like to thank my Mom & Dad (especially Mom for those 9 months) for making this possible. I'm off to celebrate at a little birthday lunch with them. I'll be extending the celebration with my husband & friends this weekend at mi casa. I'll have to remember to snap pics of all the party goodness.

Some thoughts on hitting a milestone...

Super excited to be 30. Like Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30, yo. Although you won't see me doing the Thriller dance anytime soon. Too young. I suppose the closest for my generation is The Macarena, but you won't see me doing that anytime soon either.

30 is better than 29.

Featured

Monday I received an email from Kate over at Design Sponge about featuring my watercolor party cup project on the site. I couldn't be more ecstatic! Read the post here. 

A big Thank You to Kate & Design Sponge for featuring my project.

Personal Shopper

In this charming date scene from Going the Distance, Drew Barrymore's character is sporting this oh-so-adorable black bow tie. Would you dare to try this menswear style? Here's four Etsy options for the real world...

Leather bow tie; $15

Linen bow tie; $20

Velvet bow tie; $30

Satin bow tie; $5

365 project: 4/17-4/24

I'm including an extra day on this post because I am really excited about the cake I made for Easter. Enjoy!

Aesthetics are important. My grocery list.

chicks & bunnies. Love.

I was having breakfast at Norms while waiting for my car to be serviced when an old man told me "Without the hat, you're worth half the money." Note: I was wearing a fedora.

Made some whole wheat pecan waffles from scratch. Grandma Pat would be proud.

Hung out with Jasmine & Gary, playing Scrabble, watching Going the Distance & Return to Oz, sipping on Shirley Temples. 

Gary put on a mini concert. I miss hearing him play. 

Now this is some boxed wine I can get behind. Spotted these stacked lovelies on a quick Trader Joe's shopping trip with Gary for Easter supplies. 

Baked this devil's food cake with coffee frosting & toffee bits for Easter. It was a big hit.

Style Parade 4.25.11

I have to admit. It was nice to dress up and have somewhere to go yesterday after slumming it all week. I've been getting pretty adventurous with colors lately. For this ensemble I wanted to incorporate colors from spring - sort of a human flower. haha. Green on the bottom (stem) and bright orange & peach on top (bloom).

I went very neutral on the accessories, as not to distract. I resisted this bag purchase with all my might, but my will gave out. I mean, do I really need another bag? Not really, but I'm glad I did because it goes with everything. It's not real leather, but it sure looks like it.

Cardigan: Banana Republic

Peach blouse/bag/skirt: Target; $19/$27/$29

Heels: Seychelles

Earrings: Vintage, gift from Auntie

Nail color: Essie "Lollipop"

Happy Friday

Isn't this the cutest little chevron zipper pouch? I picked up one for myself from Elliven's etsy shop for my receipts and such.

Sorry to have been somewhat absent this week. My little niece Jasmine was staying with us the last 2 days for spring break, so we've been having fun getting messy in the kitchen, playing Mario Kart on Wii and watching movies. Have you seen Going the Distance? Hilarious. I was really surprised by how good it was for a romantic comedy. Look at me, the bad Auntie, letting my 11 year old niece watch an R-rated movie. She's so adorable though - she doesn't even curse. She exclaims "Kittens!" when she drives off a cliff in Mario Kart.

I'm looking forward to spending Easter weekend with both our families and eating lots of good food. I've been feeling a bit down lately and I think a holiday is just what the doctor ordered.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

xx, Stephanie

New curtains...and a bowl

So, hey look! New curtains in the breakfast nook. I shared a little sneak peak in my latest 365 post, but here's the full monty. I was super proud of myself because I hung these sans husband. Even more impressive after my office curtain fail last year.

The difficult part of this endeavor was finding curtains that were a) long enough b) stylish c) not too thick or sheer d) inexpensive. Target had some amazing black & white patterned ones, but alas way too short. I felt like the Goldilocks of home decorating for a while. At least I knew that Ikea would come through for me with this curtain rod. At 79" in a minimal silver finish, I was sold. They also came through with the perfect curtains, meeting all my before mentioned criteria. Even though they have a sheer quality, the weight is more substantial. Plus I love the neutral shade. Doesn't it look great with the bar stools & wall clock?

I also picked up 2 of these bowls while I was there. A while back Husband mentioned that he'd like a large wide bowl to eat pasta out of. Who am I to turn down a request that results in future dish purchases? haha. Anyhow these are 'fine china' and they were a bit on the expensive side for Ikea, but I love the irregular shape of them. Food looks extra appetizing in them and Husband was impressed.

365 project: 4/10-4/16

Melinda was sure to feed Brianne & myself before putting us to work hanging heavy picture frames sans level.

In bloom.

Earned my 'badass' points of the day after installing this curtain in the breakfast nook all by myself.

New print for my side of the master bath.

Goat cheese, walnut & beet salad with arugula. 

Just dessert. I love strawberry season.

Dined out with Gary's dad & brother Eric at the Spectrum.

Come and knock on our door

Do you miss Three's Company as much as I do? Oh that Jack Tripper...always with the shenanigans. When I worked in an office, we used to speculate what Hollywood's next "great idea" for a film was, usually circling around TV shows from decades past. Imagine...Ryan Reynolds as Jack, Jessica Simpson as Chrissy Snow and Anna Faris as Janet. Perhaps Matthew McConaughey as Larry. haha.

Anyways...I revamped the front door entry to our house. I was totally inspired to pick up these doormat tiles from Ikea after seeing them at my friend Christina's house. Our old doormat was looking pretty sorry after 5+ years, not exactly a best first impression.

I made these concrete block planters a while back, but they seemed to get lost in the yard, visually speaking of course - I didn't actually lose them. Their skinny 6" width is perfect for our small entryway. Good thing I moved them too - a scary spider was living in the empty one with an egg sack! I'm getting the wiggins just thinking about it...shiver.

Style Parade 4.13.11

I've been on an organizing kick all day. There is just something satisfying about putting everything in its place. Of course that has nothing to do with what I'm wearing, but that's about the most interesting thing I did today. Oh, I almost forgot...I also ate breakfast. Oooh and lunch!

Don't you love the little pleats?

And a splash of color.

Dress & necklace: Kohl's. Heels: Target; $29

Future travels

Wouldn't this make an amazing road trip? Gary & I could fly from California, then drive up the east coast. Starting in Philadelphia and ending in Boston, stopping in New York and Providence. Just day dreaming about future travels...Happy midweek.

Living Room updates

The living room was feeling kind of bland. Don't get me wrong, I love a neutral palette, but sometimes you just find yourself craving something BOLD. I find the easiest way to change the feel of a room is throw pillows. Brown leather is a tricky color to work with, but I'm loving how all the patterns are mixed, yet somehow work together (at least I think so).

Another element I wanted to incorporate into this room was symmetry. Although it's not perfect symmetry, adding the matching lamps above the couch does the trick. Ignore the lamp cords for now, I'll likely wrap the cords with white electrical tape to minimize their intrusion. The lamps are from Target. The old lamps are getting a new home in a different room.

Lets take a closer look at these fabulous pillows. I considered making them myself, but after factoring the cost of fabric, shipping and time, it was honestly not much more expensive to order from an etsy seller. The citron colored one on the left is from Ikea and the two on the right are from this etsy shop.

Here's the Enormous Champion print from my last 365 post in action. The faux antler is ELLE Decor from Kohl's and the crystal candlesticks are from Home Goods.

365 project: 4/3-4/9

Nephew, little J. turns 3.

A new print arrived today from Enormous Champion.

Started my neighborhood walks again. Stopped here to make a wish.

Leisurely solo lunching followed by grocery shopping.

Spring is everywhere.

On a mission to find some curtains for the kitchen nook. I was successful.

Shopping with Melinda for new apartment odds & ends. These clever napkins came home with her.

Honoring a pet

You may have noticed in one of my recent 365 project posts that my cat Buffy passed. After I moved out from my parent's house she continued to live there because it didn't seem fair for me to uproot her from a big house with a yard and other animals to play with, only to be trapped in apartment living. Anyway, I've had that little kitty since I was 16, so I made a little memory box to honor her.

I wanted something classy that I could display. Starting with a 5x5" paper box from Michael's, I created a cat silhouette (download below), then trimmed using an exacto knife. Then I added a decorative paper backing and glued to the top of the box. I finished it off with some velvet ribbon trim using a glue gun.

click here to download the cat silhouette template

Buffy's picture, collar and favorite toy.

Pets can often become part of the family dynamic. Is there a special way you've honored a pet's passing? Share in the comments below.