fav etsy finds: december

Maybe it's the grey skies, or the snowy white landscape, but my finds this month are all very neutral and natural.  I may (or may not have) purchased some of these items as gifts for my family and friends this Christmas . . . 

1_Black Heart Organic Bodysuit in Natural, Eleventy-Five
2_Nest Table, Petrified Design
3_Crystal White Hexagon Stud Earring, Mocha's Friends
4_Solid Wood Wall Clock, Design Atelier Article
5_Flower Coasters Set, Decoy Lab
6_Set of 3 Porcelain and Cotton Rope Hanging Planters, Light and Ladder
7_Ornament Pastel Wooden Blocks x4, Sketch Inc.

Happy Holiday's (and happy shopping or making - however you chose to give)!

fav etsy finds: november

I had planned to show you the plans for our bathroom renovation today but I've been so busy working with our contractors on the kitchen and getting new projects going that my own are beginning to take a backseat.  So today I'll give you tomorrow's post: my favorite Etsy finds for November.

I am an admitted Etsy scavenger.  I love finding amazing, handmade goods that aren't widely available at your local big box or chain stores.  And this holiday season, everyone on my gift list better count on receiving at least one handmade item from a shall shop.

So here we go - my favorite Etsy finds for November:

1_ Dandelion Watercolor Print by Marisa Redondo, River Luna

2_ Wall Storage Pockets, Lost Pigeon

3_ Cream Layered Scallop Bucket, Jenna Rose Handmade

4_ Petite Coffee Table in White, Solid Mfg Co.

5_ Seafoam Green Dot Bowl with Handle, Fringe and Fettle Ceramics

6_ Chevy Pillow Cover, Leah Duncan

mid-century shadiness

I picked up this lamp shade at Target earlier this week.  Yay or nay?  I like the color - a greyish brown - but I'm not sure about the proportions.  The shade hides much of the wood piece at the top of the lamp base.  This might be simply solved with a new, longer harp.

It's amazing what a little lamp can do for a console, anyway.  I feel like it really helped to make the surface not feel so empty.  But now, it's time to pack it up!  We just got word yesterday that our contractors are ready to get moving on the kitchen right away.  Only two weeks ahead of schedule!!  I can't remember the last time I met a contractor ready to start a project ahead of schedule.  No arguing here.  Let demolition commence . . .

We'll pick this whole dining room project back up in, oh, about five weeks.

found: bloom florist collective

This past Tuesday I attended a BYOC (Bring Your Own Container) class sponsored by Bloom Florist Collective and hosted at Pot & Box's cozy event space here in Ann Arbor. The Collective was created to "educate and inspire," and is made up of four independent florists: Susan of Passionflower, Holly of Sweet Pea, Tracy of Red Poppy, and Lisa of Pot & Box. Read more about the Collective here.

I decided to bring a bright yellow vintage teapot I found at an antique mall several years ago. At my previous house, the teapot graced the open shelving in my kitchen but, when we moved, I couldn't find a place for it. Sadly, it has been living hidden in my dining room sideboard, which isn't a bad home if you love midcentury modern.

Thanks to the experience and wisdom of our instructor Tracy, of Red Poppy Floral Design, I brought this home:

found: paper eskimo baking cups

i love to bake, though i would hardly call myself a pro. sometimes i have great successes, and other times, gigantic flops (and usually when it counts). so when i see a product that might entice an eater to be brave and try what lies beyond the thin wall of a paper baking cup, i snatch it up. easy style for something that, knowing me, might not always turn out so pretty.

enter: paper eskimo baking cups! remember my obsession with navy? i picked these up precisely as a result of this. i love these small rigid baking cups in navy and white stripes with a scalloped edge. but if navy, or stripes for that matter, aren't you're thing, paper eskimo has a myriad of other options.

tonight, i'll be serving up a vanilla cupcake with a chocolate buttercream frosting to a room of soon-to-be-lawyers. and thankfully, today was one of my successes!

found: pot & box

i've posted a few "found" posts in the past and i quite like the motivation they give me to find new things and explore the world around me. plus, who doesn't love a good find! so i've deemed every friday {found friday} and can't wait to share with you my latest finds.

today i stopped in at a local favorite, pot & box, to check out their floral shop and event space. ive been, ahem, stalking them, if you will, online for months now but had yet to drop in. and what better reason than for their terrarium bar!

i have been coveting a terrarium for, oh, forever. finding the container is easy but who wants to buy a gigantic bag of gravel or potting soil and use just a few scoops? this was the perfect opportunity to create a beautiful addition to my dining room table in just fifteen minutes without having a huge mess to clean up at home. the young lady in the store was fantastically helpful and showed me exactly how much of everything to add and gave me instructions on how to care for it (which is quite important as i seem to have only black thumbs - is that a thing?).

i would highly recommend a visit, even if its just for the bird pants. yes, i said "bird pants."

found//hand dipped beeswax candles

spotted while sampling the delicious goodies in sugar bakeshop here in charleston, south carolina! this assortment of tiny, delicate, hand dipped, local beeswax candles will look so adorable on ella's first birthday cake! i've already decided to use one candle for each month. these things are far too cute to use just one!