Patio Days

What I love most about summer are simple weekends on the patio. A patio feels like an entire new, fresh room to your house! Ballard designs has a great site full of amazing decorating ideas. I have a Ballard rug on our covered front porch that has stayed like new through several seasons. Their outdoor collection is just timeless.
 

Another Ballard idea: A simple table is transformed into stunning with the addition of this cloth. Their site has so many amazing entertaining gems!

On a recipe note: I was grilling sliders and crab cakes last night and made a great homemade remoulade sauce. Mixed together: 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard, smoked paprika to taste and a tablespoon of worcestershire. Super easy & yummy!

Monday Morning

I spend a huge chunk of my summer evenings on my front porch. I love how cozy it is...how quiet...perfect for reading or knitting. There have been a couple cool nights lately where I've wanted to grab a light scarf to throw over me...nothing heavy...just a tiny, breezy layer to take the chill away.

I love this scarf here that is from an Etsy shop, called Iki Scarves, located in Bulgaria. The scarves offered are so unique and pretty. You can peek at the shop here! This floral scarf is my favorite....great pattern and the perfect weight for warmer months. Plus it would look super cute all wrapped and knotted in the autumn with jeans and boots.

Beautiful Summer

It seems like every summer you cannot help but want to simplify your beauty routine. Stick to a few good products that look fabulous and hold up under the hot summer heat. Everywhere I turn, I hear the praises of RMS...their products are hailed as summer favorites. J.Crew swears by them for their catalog models.

I cannot wait to try both their Buriti Bronzer and their Living Luminizer. They look amazing! Take a peek at the RMS site here!

Buriti Bronze cream bronzer.

Perfect Addition

I don't really buy lots of jewelry. I constantly gravitate toward the same favorite pieces. I'm obsessed lately with druzy....I have a long druzy pendant necklace I wear nearly daily. I'm thinking I could use another...here are some of my favorites I've come across...

Love this shimmery pendant dipped in gold! Found it in the Etsy shop FriedaSophie

The following three necklaces are all from Etsy as well. Came across them in the beautiful shop created by Julianne Blumlo. The artist is located in New York. Her works is brilliant. Peek at her shop here!

Inspiring

I recently came across an Etsy shop that I completely love. The artist's work is just amazing. Located in Budapest, Foldi offers beautiful knit items that are created on a vintage knitting machine. I love the featherweight of these wraps as well as the dreamy colors. Looking through Etsy, I'm just constantly stunned by the talent and creativity offered there....xo

Bringing Sexy Back

With the exception of when I heard Ryan Gosling was a knitter....this pattern may be the sexiest thing to come to knitting in a long time! I am obsessed with this drapey top. The whispery lace weight yarn, the rich color and the asymmetrical design...total perfection. Alone or with a tiny open cardigan...so beautiful! You can purchase the pattern for this Pianissimo sleeveless top on Ravelry. I am so in love....this certainly isn't your grandmothers knitting. xo

This Pianissimo project was created by several other knitters on Ravelry as well. This great yarn photo is on emmacr's page.

New Week

I cannot believe it's Monday already....the weekend simply flew by! Cool temps are suppose to give way (a bit!) to slightly warmer days this week. I was on Etsy and I found these super cute, super charming blankets from YarningMade. I love them all! Handknit in Canada...they are a cozy wool blend. Great idea as stroller blankets or for a little one napping in the car. I love these for bringing to an outdoor sports game...how fun for sitting on the sidelines and keeping toasty! xo

Jewelry Love

I don't wear a lot of jewelry but the items I have I completely love. Not very long ago bought a long druzy pendant necklace and I wear it with everything from dresses to v-neck white tee shirts. It's a grey on gold...so pretty!

I just found these bracelets on Etsy in the shop Stiacouture....this shop is simply amazing. The artist lives in New Jersey and handcrafts the most beautiful creations. Worn alone or stacked...these bracelets are so pretty! Here are three of my favorites.....love! xo

Tie One On

Over the weekend, I came across the beautiful work of the Etsy shop Doloris Petunia. I was on Pinterest and saw all these amazing bracelets, necklaces and cuffs. Too many favorites to feature here.....this shop has an amazing collection. Peek here to look at the work of this California based artist. Here are a handful of the bracelets I just love. Cannot wait to order

 this week! Happy Sunday! xo

Perfect Wellie

I love my Hunter boots....I wear them constantly. I have a basic black pair that seem to go with everything this time of year..though both these pairs would be a happily welcomed addition to my spring wardrobe!

Earning Your Stripes

It has been a long winter of heavy coats, shearling boots and thick scarfs. After several months of this I am in the mood for lighter, wrappy scarves. Some of my favorites are striped scarves and those with lots of tiny fringe. These two recent finds have both! Love this soft cashmere navy scarf from Nordstrom's! Find out details about it here.

Great cozy scarf in rust and black! Perfect neutral color combination. I found it originally on Pinterest. It's from Le Tote. You can take a look here!

Fine Lines

I've posted before about my love of stacking rings. They have such a fresh, organic feel. I came across some beautiful ones created by the Etsy shop LexLuxe. Their artistry is just amazing....I love the hammered silver paired with gold. The simplicity of the lines of these rings is stunning. These are my very favorite ones for Spring! xo

Saturday Afternoon

I am so focused right now on mohair yarns and how beautifully they drape. I love this poncho....the color is just simply stunning and I love the cowl neck and front diagonal detailing! You can peek at it here on Etsy in the shop Renavere....this artist creates amazing pieces that are hand knit in Lithuania. Happy Knitting...xo

 

Small Details

I was watching a movie the other evening that opened with a quote from the haunting Edgar Allan Poe poem The Raven:

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary..."

I think I'm starting to find this winter a bit long and dismal. And dreary. 

So I decided I needed a good house project...something to warm things up a bit. I started by first ripping up the rug in the bedroom. A previous owner covered the beautiful hardwood with a flat brown carpet. So, that long overdue change was my first move. Carpet gone....a new color scheme was needed. I love grey but sometimes find it too cool, a bit austere. But lately I've seen it paired with tan. While I would have thought the warm and cool don't work....I was totally wrong. They create such a great balance! So, I've worked a bit with what I have, hunted through the attic for tucked away linens and added some new purchases. Although this is a project that will take a bit of time...I'm all happy for some new details.  

For starters, I ordered a super soft throw blanket from Pottery Barn that is done in a great knit stitch. The color is Smoke Grey. I already had two grey wool cable knit pillows that I loved. I added those in with a large black faux fur bolster pillow that is perfect for reading. I found two amazing decorative pillows at TJMaxx/Home Goods. One is a shimmery tan with a grey print. The other is cream with grey sequins in a tile design. I feel like I'm well under way....

Happy Weekend! xo

My more than slightly frozen street...

Pottery Barn Blanket in Smoke Grey.

Cozy pillows for the tan reading chair.

Cable knit pillow that I found at Pottery Barn years ago. Sequin pillow from Home Goods.

Desk Job

I've been hoping to find a lucite tray that would do the job of keeping my desk area looking organized and still be pretty. I've come across two that I love! This gold tile print tray perfectly pulls things together and has such a bold, brilliant look to it. From Etsy...peek here to see all the beautiful trays this shop offers!

This one is perfect too! Again, a great Etsy shop with beautiful trays to pick from!

All That Glitters

I am addicted to glitter vases...there is a certain blend of sparkle and simplicity that just draws me in. They enhance the flowers that they hold...they are just perfect to me. I found this one in a great Etsy shop called Southern Gold. Shimmering and compact...it's the perfect size for a handful of blooms! xoxo

Tiny Treasure

I do not wear a lot of jewelry but I am a big fan of Alex & Ani bracelets. I have two that are gold and I wear them daily. I stack them with my tortoise shell watch and I adore the warm tones. I was on Etsy today peeking at this great shop and I came across a set of bracelets that I love. I love shopping local and handmade and these bracelets would be a perfect gift for any of my girlfriends. One of the bracelets opens as a charming tiny locket. The bracelets are gold toned over copper wire. So unique and clever! xo

Cashmere Gloves

I think I'm completely addicted to the color grey right now. I love these 6 ply cashmere gloves. Perfect fingerless gloves for guys...great smokey color and super soft. I seldom see fingerless gloves that are so simple in design and masculine....you can take a peek at the other colors these come in right here. 

I love this table that I saw on Pinterest. From the Etsy shop CanalSideStudio, it's a perfect blend of warmth and rustic.... Happy weekend! xo

Snowy Night

With it literally zero degrees out and snow blowing everywhere, I find myself thinking of scarves a lot. I just came across Lyst. This site is amazing...the scarves are simply stunning! I love all of them....but here are two of my favorites!

Tory Burch...found on Lyst

Sequined Valentino Scarf...also discovered on Lyst!

An Amazing Book

I'm completely addicted to The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro. This historical fiction novel takes place between London and Paris in the 1920's and mid 1950's. In part, it chronicles perfumist Madame Zed and the mystery behind her. I am such a perfume person...I cannot go a day without wearing it. (My current favorite is Tocca's Margaux.) This novel is so engaging right from page one. Hugely recommend if you are looking for a good read for book club!

Margaux by Tocca...warm, spicy..ideal for cold days...

"My Sin" by the perfume house Lanvin. Famously created by Madame Zed.