paper crown

it's no secret that i love lauren conrad. she is so gorgeous, impeccably dressed, wrote a few books (which weren't half bad), and is now working away on an amazingly versatile and feminine collection called paper crown. she also just seems so down to earth, which i happen to love. don't get me wrong, i realize that celebs can be completely different than they are presented to the public through gossip mags, but for some reason, i've got a hunch that LC is just as sweet and cool as she comes off being on television and in the glossy mags. someday, in my dreams, i will have hair like her, look like her, and have not only her entire wardrobe, but the entire paper crown collection, which can be viewed here... http://hillsfreak.blogspot.com/2011/02/first-look-at-lauren-conrads-new.html.

*pics and link via http://hillsfreak.blogspot.com

add a little flare to your life

personally, I could not be more pleased about the recent fashion trend upon us for the Spring of 2011; high waisted, flare leg jeans. sure, the skinny is useful for all those winter months when boots are the best option day in and day out, but when spring and summer show up, i just can't feel great about my thighs when they are squished into skinny's with no buffer like a boot to make them look somewhat slimmer. i am especially thrilled because this spring i will be fresh off the baby delivering boat, and probably won't be feeling so "skinny." i really think there is something adorably hippie chic about pairing high waisted flare leg demin with a blousy top tucked in with a skinny belt. love it. i plan to exhaust that look particularly this spring and into summer. i just ordered a pair of said jeans from Gap.com with an extra 25% off for a mere $54 with shipping...not too shabby if i do say so myself. here are some other options...peace.

gap.com $79.50

shopbop.com Jbrand demin $203

shopbop.com current/elliot denim $189

gap.com on sale for $55

all tops from shopruche.com $34-$49

happy valentine's day.

ok, ok, i know...everyone posts these sappy love messages on their blogs today about their wonderful spouses and how much they love them, but it is kinda sweet, isn't it? i love hearing that marriages are working out there and people are in love. my little high schoolers are so hopped up on sugar right now, that love and valentine's day is all they can manage to think about. maybe we all need to think about love a little more, and all the other stresses of life a little less, you know? i just opened my email to find a sweet little love note for the husband...which is very unexpected considering he gets into his email about once every 8 months. tonight i plan to make dinner, followed by a long overdue lemon meringue pie that he has been asking me to make for months now...hopefully i won't mess it up. i also can't help but feel a little extra giddy this valentine's day since one of my sweetest girlfriends, who i have known since we were 15, got engaged yesterday. happy engagement L + G. i could not be more thrilled! so here is my little note to my really kind of amazing husband...

thank you for being you. thank you for loving me the way you do. thank you for making me want to be better everyday and always encouraging me in everything i do. you make me laugh. you make me smile. you make our baby girl kick everytime you feel my belly because she already knows how much you love her. and i am so thankful to always know how much you love me. you truly are amazing. my best friend. i love you more than words.

happy valentine's day everyone. now go love someone:)

dreamy spaces.

love this duvet. my plan is to make a little crib size version to cover the little baby feather comforter i got from PotteryBarn Kids.
lovely little vinette. i love the picture collage.

love this little library wall. i am obsessed with books and have already written a few for little baby s.

what a great nook. i love the grays too.

i love this yellow and white room. the little peak of red is a beautiful touch as well.

isn't this nursery dreamy? lately i feel like my creative juices are flowing a million miles a minute, but i lack the energy to carry any of it out. i will prevail though. i have to.

*all pictures curtesy of http://moth-design.blogspot.com

and http://littlemothdesign.blogspot.com

the mane attraction.

Speaking of hair...or at least we were yesterday, I am loving some of the fresh little hair accessories available all over the world wide web these days. Of course etsy has some really lovely little pieces, but there are a few of my new and old favorite shops that carry some really beautiful things. Of course, I must mention my own line of flower hair accessories called Chloe Belle, which will undoubtedly be returning to an etsy shop near you once I've got a tiny little model at my disposal at all times....but more to come on that in a few weeks. In the meantime, here are some that I am loving...

shopruche.com $17.99

shopruche.com $34.99

etsy shop brydferth $16

etsy shop brydferth

There's a baby moving in!

Yesterday my sweet husband assembled our babies soon to be sleeping place...the crib. Since I am not going for a complete matchy matchy look in the nursery, I didn't want all matching furniture...besides the fact that it can get very pricey. So I found this little beauty at meijier.com and I really love it! Now we just need everything else! Oh well...it will come.

The pillows were made by a darling gal named Kallie from the etsy shop Urban Fringe. She is also making my a coral one so that I have have one in each of the nursery colors...navy, mustard, and coral.

In other news...I hate my hair. It has always been subject of distaste to myself, being that it's just so fine and thin and completely broken...everywhere. So now I wish came the line where I tell you about some miraculous treatment I have discovered that has given me a long thick mane, but alas, I must disappoint, i have nothing. Needless to say, the fact that I am pregnant really holds me back from any kind of experimental hair growth treatment, but I thought for sure the pregnancy in and of itself would be the cure! I mean hello...every pregnant lady I've seen lately says how her hair is just out of control it's growing so much. Apparently mine did not get the memo that this was supposed to happen. Yes I take prenatal vitamins...religiously, prescription ones, and no that isn't helping. So for now I must bide my time and fill my thoughts with much more worth while fantasies, like my baby, instead of my hair. But i'm totally open to suggestions....

head in the clouds...

My head has been in the clouds lately for so many reasons. First of all I've got a cold, so my brain is feeling pretty foggy. I've been faced with the quandry of which is worse for my baby girl...my incessant coughing that sometimes sends me into contractions, or taking one small dose of cough syrup ( approved by my doc). I have managed thus far to not take any kind of medication during my pregnancy, even when me doctor has said it's perfectly fine, but I just can't imagine that these violent coughing outbursts could be good for the baby.

Enough of that. The other reason my head is in the clouds also has to do with baby. I'm 28 weeks as of this Friday, and I cannot believe that she will be joining our little family so soon! I constantly find myself sitting there waiting for her movements and watching my tummy with a gaze of anticipation just hoping for a glance of a little poke from the inside out.

Some of my other favorite things as of late are:

1.) Sweet Potatoe Fries. I cannot get enough of them...I could eat these little gems like it was my job. My favs are from Max's Bistro and Slate's. I've tried about 6 times in the last two weeks to make these at home, but to no avail. I refuse to buy the store one's because they are just full of extra stuff I don't need, so if you have any good recipes...I would love to know what it is!

2.) Vanilla Roiboos hot tea from Starbuck's. You totally have to try this...but get a packet of honey in it...it's spicy and sweet and delicious!!

3.) http://taza-and-husband.blogspot.com/ and http://www.youngmarriedchic.com/. Two great websites. The latter is rich with ideas and recipes, while the preceeding one is about an adorable couple who live in DC and she just had a baby girl...yesterday! (maybe that's why I love it especially).

4.)Raw vegan almond butter snacks. I got this recipe from http://www.ohsheglows.com/, and I just love them. It's basically organic brown puffed rice, brown rice syrup, almond butter, and vanilla and you make little balls out of them and freeze them and I eat them right out of the freezer for a sweet treat! I also dipped half of the ball into raw chocolate which really threw them over the edge into deliciousness!

5.) my "new soul" pandora radio station. Try it...you'll like it. Well I suppose you'll only like it if you groove to the likes of Regina Spector, Lilly Allen, Joshua Radin, Eric Hutchinson, Adele, and Ben Folds.

yes that is my classroom...isn't it so industrial chic?