"Pin"teresting...

Pinterest is a new place I have come to love and have spent a long time gathering ideas and inspiration from. If only I time took half the time to pursue some of the ideas I have acquired from this site, that I spend just looking at them. However, most of the fun is just browsing at people's collection of beautiful things.

What is Pinterest? Its a place where people can catalogue things that they love, anything from food ideas, beautiful photos, party ideas, home decor, stuff for the kidlets. If you start "pinning" people can follow your collections and you can follow other people. Here are some "Pin"teresting things I have found as of late.

This diy dollhouse is fashioned out of a storage unit...so simple!

I just thought this photo was stunning

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes! Oh My!

This photograph was taken using a technique call "bokeh" that blurry affect of the hearts in the backround. Love bokeh!

Love these wallpapered stairs!

This little message board is made simply by using a photo frame with a piece of scrapbooking paper lining the inside! Why didn't I think of that?

http://www.pinterest.com/

Till next time,

P.S. How cute is this flippin' baby hippo photo!

Love this site...Stumble Upon

Ever have those moments when you are bored on your computer, and want to browse through something on the world wide web but you just aren't sure what to look up? Well, I'm not sure if it's old news or not but if you haven't discovered Stumble Upon you have to check it out. Basically, you sign up and they ask you for your personal interests ie. decorating, food, wine, crafts...and then you press the "Stumble!" icon and it takes you directly to articles or webpages from websites and blogs that correspond to your interests. Here are some recent great things I have stumbled upon!

This cinnamon pull apart recipe looks delish! From a great site called http://www.joythebaker.com/

This picture made me seriously lol...I don't know if you can see the little girl in the middle sticking up her middle finger! http://www.ellen.warnerbros.com/

How cool is this kids bedroom...the bed is in the tree house! I found this at http://www.dornob.com/

I really want to try this photograpy idea that I found on http://www.pinterest.com/

Happy Stumbling!

www.stumbleupon.com

Love this site! Restoration Hardware

This beautiful chandelier is made from a reclaimed french oak wine barrel

I came across a catalog in the staff room at work today for a store called Restoration Hardware. I've come across some of their stuff on my random online adventures however I didn't quite get what it was that they do. Once I looked further I realized the true beauty and quality and fell in love. Restoration Hardware began nearly 30 years ago when out of frustration, founder; Stephen Gordon was restoring his Queen Anne Victorian house in Eureka, California. Gordon spent days finding authentic period hardware, lighting fixtures and finishes, Gordon found there were a lot of people with the same problems. I love this company that reclaims old metal, iron and wood items and restores them into gorgeous furniture, lighting, hardware and other accessories.A bench created from a centuries old wooden sleigh! WoW!

Love This Site!

http://www.restorationhardware.com/

Joy Blog...Olioboard

So I found this website, that is so much fun to let your creative juices flow or can also be used as a tool for inspiration for designers or people like me who just have a passion for design and decor. I had so much fun gathering items to put together this olioboard as posted above which tells a story of a fresh kitchen/dining room in green, white and blue. It is a fantastic way to get to know the things that you love and put them all together. If you are on a path of getting to know your true self, you'll notice that there are usually some themes in what speaks to you. Is the clean lines of the modern furniture, or like me are you drawn to white furniture, and chandeliers. The site offers the items to put on your olioboard however there is also the option to upload your own photos which I had a hard time figuring out. There were plenty of furniture and accessories to choose from, all from stores like crate and barrel and restoration hardware. The best thing is, like a collage, there is no right or wrong. It's whatever you want to put together, what inspires you?

www.olioboard.com

Happy Creating!

Feeling Inspired By...Our Best Bites

So I've mentioned this site before because I just LOVE all of their great food ideas, the photography is great and there are some really wonderful gift ideas. This week I plan on doing a little baking and creating for gifts for my children's daycare teachers, as well as some other collegues, friends and acquaintances. Here are some great things I found on ourbestbites.com and I hope it inspires you as well.

These look delectable! They are called Easy Pretzel Turtles. Essentially you take a small pretzel and top it with a rolo, place them in a preheated 350 degree oven for around 3 mins. When the outside looks a bit melty, take them out and press a pecan half right in the middle!

I thought this was such a great idea for a gift, it's called fruity candied popcorn, which happens to be pretty easy as well. Using Jello powder as the secret ingredient! See http://www.ourbestbites.com/ for the tutorial on this.

Aren't these homemade marshmallows great !?! I thought it would be great, paired up with a nice gourmet hot chocolate mix and a beautiful mug for thoughtful Christmas present for teachers, or co-workers.

Okay, so this recipe is not as cut and dry as sticking a rolo on top of a pretzel but I thought they looked so pretty and delicious. ourbestbites, gives a recipe to make these brownies from scratch. I have to admit I was thinking about cheating and using a mix to make the brownie and then adding the pink peppermint frosting, chocolate and candycanes.

These darling little things are individual pies baked right in the mason jar! I thought this was a great gift idea for a hostess or a dessert idea if you happen to be hosting a holiday dinner of your own. There are a ton of great ideas on this site but these are just a few that I'm thinking about attempting in my holiday kitchen this week.

Love This Site!

Celebrating your authentic style: Dresses

"To choose clothes, either in a store or at home, is to define and describe ourselves."

-Alison Lurie

Despite the fact that I am a busy working mom I try to outfit myself in clothes that make me feel confident and speak to my inner spirit. I truly believe that being a busy mom is no reason to not take care of yourself and wear clothes that make you feel good. Of course, yoga pants and a super soft cotton-t shirt have their time and place in the daily grind of mommyville. However, sweat pants that are a size too big and faded t-shirts make you feel just as crappy as you look. I like to choose clothes and accessories that make me feel pretty and sexy. Just like home decor, I like to don clothes that make me feel happy and are authentically me!

With the jolly holidays just around the corner I am busy searching for the "perfect" Christmas dress for my daughter Ruby to wear. Then it occured to me that I deserve a holiday too! I found this web site http://www.modcloth.com/ and it inspired to me to imagine how stunning I might look on New Year's or a Christmas Eve open house in one of these charming dresses. Even if I never actually end of purchasing one of these dresses, how fun are they to just admire. These dresses have classic lines and something about them has a certain vintage appeal. Here are just a couple of the dresses that I am particularly enchanted by...Loving this site!