{Wish List}

Santa ... are you reading this? I found this {adorable} apron today on {Hostess with the Mostess} and fell in love ...



Like {HWTM} mentions, it would make a perfect hostess, shower or birthday gift!

{Personalized Gift Idea}

I love this sweet + simple project from {Lowe's Creative Ideas}! It would make a great Christmas present ... fill it with food, trinkets, candy, etc ... AND they get a super-cute personalized basket. You could really put your creativity to use with this and get as elaborate as you'd like ... the sky is the limit!



I also love using baskets for decorating + storage ... this would be a great solution!

Follow the link for step-by-step directions.

{Gift Ideas}

Like most things in my life, I typically put {gift buying} off until the last possible minute ... scramble to find something that is even remotely relevant ... and am rarely satisfied with the lackluster results. Soooooo this Christmas is going to be different! I've started brainstorming and browsing unique . creative . orginial . meaningful gift ideas for the special people in my life ... and naturally I will share:

{for the dog lover...or dog}


Sporty K9 - Officially licensed canine apparel & gifts

{for the fashionable college football fan}


Sports Scarf - Show team spirit during those chilly fall games with a double-sided high-quality scarf, emblazoned with school colors & logos

{for the trendy & vintage & nostalgic}


Tokens & Icons - These guys take anything from old typewriter keys to tokens & coins to used game balls & such to scrabble tiles ... and everything in between ... and transform them into jewelry, pens, cuff links, home decor and other nifty gift ideas. My personal favorite is the typewriter key toggle bracelet ... with an {A}, of course!

{for the wine lover}


Lowe's Creative Ideas - Make Cork Toppers: Select several small lampshade finials and celing fixture pull chains found in the lighting department. Secure to the top of each cork with a dab of Liquid Nails. Allow adhesive to dry. My 2-cents: Drawer knobs also work. Pair with a bottle of their favorite wine and ... tah-dah!

{To be continued ...}

{Thanksgiving Inspired Wedding}

I love this time of year for countless reasons ... but I particularly love decorating and working with {and dressing in} the warm fall hues. I came across this beautiful Thanksgiving inspired wedding by {The Perfect Palette} and couldn't resist sharing!


This lovely tablescape is perfect for your own family feast!

{In Vino Veritas}

Love, love, looooove this post on {Hostess with the Mostess} ... a winery themed dinner party event by {Beth Helmstetter} that could easily inspire weddings, bridal showers, engagement parties, and so on ...

{A Piggy Party!}

One of my {favorite} things to do is plan themed parties!

My best friend's daugther, Ashlyn, recently celebrated her first birthday ... and we threw her a party fit for a {princess}! For whatever reason, the girl l-o-v-e-s piggies ... which made it easy to choose a theme!

The {handmade} invitations set the tone for the party. Looking back, I think we could have brainstormed some better wording for the invites, but we were scrambling to get them in the mail!

I Google'd {piggy party ideas} and filtered through countless blogs looking for inspiration ... to find that there aren't many documented piggy-themed parties out there. After pulling ideas from farm + barnyard parties, we came up with some original twists to make it our own ... I wanted to share with anyone who might have a {piggy} lover in their life!

To keep it {girly}, we stuck with a pink + brown palette and had fun mixing patterns ... polka dots, stripes, solids ... in almost every element. And we just happened to find the most perfect brown + pink polka dot dress for the birthday girl!

All of the food centered around the {piggy} theme ... piggy cupcakes, pigs in a blanket, potato sticks for hay, curly fries for tails ... and so on.

I could go on and on ... but they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at the album and hopefully find some inspiration for your next party! Enjoy!

Click here to view these pictures larger

{Photo Books}

I love photos ... and I love organizing them ... thus I love photobooks! I don't have enough patience (yet) to start scrapbooking, but photobooks are a quick + easy alternative that still allow for some creativity. There are a lot of options out there, but I am particularly fond of the selection at Shutterfly. This is one that I made for my trip back home this summer. Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

{Frame Collage}

After nearly a year of living in my apartment, I finally decided in September to jump head first into home decorating. And, wouldn't you know, I decided in October not to renew my lease when it expires at the end of the year. Story of my life. Anyhow ... this is my favorite piece of work. I l-o-v-e photos ... oh, and the letter {A}.

{Welcome to my humble ... blog}

Take a look around, make yourself at home, and stay a while ... Enjoy! :)