Date a Different Way

Arrows & Flowers | Water Bottles | Large Planter & Hearts Planter | Confetti Pops | Pizza | Bags

I'm always ready to dress up and go out  for a special occasion, what girl isn't? Although  I love receiving gifts and flowers, I'm finding  the gift of experiencing things ( like concerts, activities, places, ect. ) with the people I love are more special to me. Instead of planning the typical one night dinner this Valentines Day, why not take a walk on the wild side with these fun ideas:

A Day at the Museum : Whether its the museum of art, science, or local history - you will find a variety of ways to spend your day learning, interacting, and enjoying being with your loved ones with a handful of options that everyone will enjoy. My favorites include the Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry. Find out what museums are near you with museum link.

An Activity Together : Chocolates and sweet treats are great, but with the holidays over and the New Years resolutions holding on by a thread, why not get out and do an activity together? For those in the warmer states - rent bikes, go hiking, or go to the batting cages. For those states that are still covered in the snow ( like mine ) enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor activities like skiing, ice skating, indoor go-karting, play indoor bocci, or find an indoor swimming pool.

The Conservatory or Gardens : Fresh cut flowers are great! I will always be the first to buy flowers, but with your flowers give the promise of spending the day at the conservatory or local gardens. Getting out of the house and walking around in the beautifully kept gardens will be a cherished memory long after those flowers fade.

Are gardens not your thing? Try finding a local forest preserve and go hiking for the afternoon. Whatever you do, just go soak in the fresh air and rays of sunshine!

A Party With All Your Friends : Why not celebrate everyone you love in your life? Throw a fun themed party - like 80's prom or murder mystery - and celebrate with fun themed treats. You could go big by creating your own decorations, have a card making station, and even set up a cool photo booth backdrop for your friends to remember the night by! Check out some creative and easy backdrops here, here, or here!

Send A Piece of Your City : Not everyone in your life lives close.Tell them you are thinking about them by sending them a care packaged of your home city or the city where you met filled with city themed items! Among my favorite goodies from Chicago would include a tasty pizza from Giordanos! For Valentines week, they are sending their famous deep-dish pizzas in a shape of a heart!

A Weekend Away : Whether it's a weekend getaway to your favorite spot, local downtown hotel, or a staycation watching movies - taking time together is important. Find new places for you and your love by exploring the local shops and restaurants. You will be surprised what you find together! If you could getaway where would you go?

Color Companions: Pink and White

Lettering | Necklace | Cake | Dresses

The color combination of white and pink have long been the more youthful pair associated with Valentines Day. Typically associated with loud, overly feminine brands and barbie dolls, I viewed pink as a color for little girls. Lately, with the recent surge of softer pinks - such as rose, blush, and even coral - I have found the color hard to stay away from.

When paired with a soft white or a sultry creme, pink instantly becomes more mature and relatable in the grown-up world while still retaining its whimsical, girlish self.

Valentines Week!

Valentines Day is Friday and I thought it would be fun to pull some fun aspects of the holiday (like the fun decor, recipes, vibrant colors, and cool crafts) and celebrate them here on the blog.

No, I have never one to go nuts for the holiday, but I do appreciate the aspect of a day to remind those we love that they are special in our lives, and shower them with pink and red candies. Winter is long enough my friends, especially this year. Why not have a fun, festive, but goofy holiday to break up the winter chill?

calligraphy by Linalulu Paperie

Living in the Midwest my entire life you would think that when winter came I would be well equipped to face the cold. Thankfully, lots of hot tea and cocoa have kept me sane and warm through this unusually cold season. It doesn't hurt either when they are served in a pretty or eye catching mug! Do you have a go-to mug or desiring to find a new favorite?

Here are a few I would love to ad to my ever growing collection:
1. Fox  2.Handwritten  3. Monogram 4. Tree 5. Owl 6. Orange 7. Heart 8. Geometric

Creative Quotes

How simple this quote is from such a great man. It is a good reminder that there is always an end, maybe not in site at first - but there is always an end. An end to each project, season, trip, or feeling.

Color Companions: Spring Colors 2014

Looking for inspiration, I strolled into West Elm this weekend. Now, I have received catalogs for West Elm for a few years, but a catalog can not do these beautiful pieces justice like the real life store can! The open show room displayed the modern lines of the furniture and accessories perfectly. I could see each space being in my future home! The store also boasted West Elm's signature "living" wall display  (Top right picture). I just swooned over the lush green back drop.

I was most impressed by the cheerful and sensational color pallet displayed for the 2014 Spring season. ( Is it too soon to be thinking about spring admits these chilly winter days? I don't think so) Among the popular choices:  Raindrop Blue, Tanager Red, Proper Grey, Parakeet Green, and Lemon Twist Yellow. These cheery color combinations popped against the lovely patterns scattered on kitchen goods and home linens alike. Instant inspiration! Among my favorites on display were the mid-century printed bowls, Hive vases, and basically all their lovely pillows.  I snagged my own piece of inspirations with this adorable ceramic plant holder and succulent.

Check out more upcoming color inspiration for Spring & Summer 2014 by Sherwin Williams for West Elm here.

I'm so excited for today! After months of gathering inspiration, talking about wanting to launch an Etsy shop, and finding the courage to finally set a launch date - today is the day!

I'm so thankful for all the people in my life who continue to encourage me and support me on this new adventure! Thank you for joining me - now go take a look around!

Portfolio: Aagaard Wedding | Invitation Suite

A while back I gave you a glimpse of the process I went through to come to this beautiful invitation suite, here and here.

The bride was inspired by the mix of antique finds of her own and the bold mix of patterns seen at such stores like Anthropologie and J.Crew. With this in mind, we created a pattern and monogram that was repeated through out the suite.

The finish product was a sweet mix of hand-done elements - like the screen printed booklet cover, and the engraved invitation- with an elegant simplicity to allow the importance of the text to shine through. The mix of the subtle but bold nature of the pattern on each piece gave a modern feel to this classic style of invite.

Color Companion: Mint and White

In the dead of winter, it seems as if only a mix of grays and blues appear after the Christmas season. Admits the seasonal blues, I love the sweetness and dreamy combination of Mint and White that hint of the Springtime to come.

Clockwise: Quote | Cake | Macaroons | Umbrella

I came across these beautiful packaging designs for honey. I love the unexpected aspects of each design and package. It makes me want to collect them for my own cabinets.

1. Klein Constantia Farm by Terence Kitching

2. Cosmopollen by Louise Twizell

3. Hexagon Honey by Maks Arbuzov

Creative Quotes

With a new year comes new beginnings and new perspective. Here is to continuing to work hard, and produce great things. I'm looking forward to what you have to offer 2014!

Happy New Year everyone!

The new year always feels like a clean start. New Calendar, new year, new beginnings.

Looking back at 2013, it has been a great growing year, and I look forward to the year ahead. I'm so excited for the things to come, and this new start that is ushered in with 2014!

Need a quick and inexpensive change to your room? Pillows can change any room in an instanceinstant! With a variety of shapes, patterns, colors, and textures - there is a pillow for every occasion and every person. I love the way the colors and patterns you choose for your pillows can change the whole mood of the room. Mix and match solids,  and patterns, and colors, and textures to create a fun conversation piece. I'm just gushing over that fox pillow!

Check out  some of these fun pillows for your own home:

Top Row: Red Flowers, Flock of Birds, Black Flowers, Red Berries, Whale, Dipped-Dye

Bottom Row: Tassel, Geometric, Yellow, Tree House, Fox, Ampersand

Advent: Love

The shortest week in Christmas is the fourth week, which symbolizes love. This candle signifiesy the love of God that surrounds and fills us at all times, but  we recognize it in a special way in the Christmas story. There is no greater power than love. We love, because God loves us.

Life Lately in Pictures

I haven't had my iPhone long, but it has become a necessary tool in my daily design work. It is fun to to go back through and see the small fragments of memories captured in everyday pictures

With Christmas and the New Year approaching quickly, there has been a lot of gift wrapping, snow shoveling, and ever increasing more work on projects for my Etsy shop (coming 2014!) I'm thankful for these small blinks of life captured, and they make me excited to share with you what is to come

A different Kinda' Christmas Tree

The thought came across my mind that maybe this year we wouldn't have get a tree - and then it immediately vanished out of my mind. Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without the glow of the lights between the branches of the evergreen ( real or fake) and the nostalgia of hanging up ornaments collected from years gone by. Though I'm a traditionalist (this year), I love the idea of the unconventional Christmas tree and the fun way it could add to the decor of the Christmas season. Check out some of these unconventional trees:

-  A lovely gathering of flora and fauna, this tree would be a fun Saturday morning craft

- I love the vintage tinsel, white Christmas trees - and how this one is decorated in golden hues, so fun!

- If you don't have room for a real Christmas tree, this fun string alternative tree would be great for any office cubicle or dorm room

- I've never seen a better looking brown tree; how great is this wooden beauty! The gorgeous white ornaments really makes it pop!

- If you seem to not have space for a tree - this flat, wooden tree allows you to still have the warm glow of the tree in a space saving way.

Creative Quotes

Advent: Joy

In the third week of advent, the theme is "Rejoice" or "Joy" . The spirit of joy  comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.”  This joyful spirit is marked by the third candle of our Advent wreath, which is typically rose colored.  One moves through this week feeling a part of the waiting world that rejoices because our longing has prepared us to believe the reign of God is close and reminds us that Christmas is only a week away

Interesting Pinteresting : Office Space

I currently have two (small) office spaces - one at my full-time job and a personal one at home - that I recently started to decorate. I love the shape and size of each - but when it comes to decorations, it's a mess of odds and ends,  pictures, and electrical cords. Naturally, I took to  Pinterest to see the options and creativity of other offices out there. I love the pops of colors in the unexpected places like lamps and flower pots against the clean environments of neutral wall colors. It's given me a lot of inspiration for my own spaces! Check out more office space on my  Office Pinterest board.

Row 1 ( 1, 2, 3, ) Row 2 ( 1, 2, 3 ) Row 3 ( 1, 2, 3 )

Color Companions: Radiant Orchid

Pantone announced their color of the year 2014 this last week, and it is the beautiful Radiant Orchid. In honor of this fabulous color, I have found some beautiful examples  used in a range of everyday life. Here is to a beautiful "year of confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination.(Pantone Website) "

Left to Right: Letter A, Dress, Paint Colors, Drink Glasses