follow the glow

i'm still quite taken with the look of a luminary-lined walkway for any sort of gathering. of course a wedding for sure, but even a casual summer barbecue. what a treat for guests to follow the glowy lights to where the action is. it reminds me of being a kid and following the balloons to the backyard. it's like a visual version of following your nose to where the delicious smells are coming from or your ears to where the music and dancing are. and if it were all of the above? well would be some party!

and as an extension on the idea, i love the thought of using luminaries as placecards...each guest would pick theirs up (the paper bag variety is best since they don't get hot like jars) and would walk to their with it, so there would be a glowing, ethereal sense of motion in the room for just a few precious moments. then they could set them down at their table (hello, incidental centerpiece!) and the tables would each be glowy beacons.

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a squeeze of lemon

one of my favorite parts of getting a manicure or pedicure is when they bust out the steamed towels...i find it exhilarating, and the hotter the better. i particularly love when the towels are faintly scented with lemon and ginger. similarly, i love to breathe deeply when towels like that are passed around at asian restaurants, and i fondly remember the chilled towels in the gym at this resort being scented that way as well. i just love multi-sensory experiences like that, don't you?

i've often considered buying a towel warmer for my own home...i've come shockingly close to doing it more than once. maybe one day...for now, though, i might just take a page from the resort gym and chill some lemon towels this summer...want to join me?

rose colored glasses...and blue and purple and white and green....

i'm a little taken with colored glass bottles right now...they're so pretty, especially in lovely pastel shades like these.



i love how this collection is all in shades of blue...so collected and grown-over-time looking, isn't it?

tag sales and flea markets are great places to find glass like this, but it can be challenging to amass a sizable collection upon deciding you want to have one so i like the idea of being on the lookout for good finds at places like that while also picking up a few here and there in retail settings like these and these from west elm. all together they look a little too mass-produced, but mixed in with vintage and mismatching pieces, they totally work.





pier 1 also sells glass bottles, seen below, and in small doses, they can contribute nicely to a collection. these feel more kitcheny feel, right?


and possibly some of the nicest are from pottery barn, like these:






love!

still life

aren't these photos the loveliest? they're from ahsley, of the blog butterflyfood, and she also (thankfully) sells her gorgeous photos on etsy. i just adore her work. i love the way her artistic eye has perfectly captured the extraordinary nature of truly ordinary things.

 

 

 

i would love to have a few of these framed simply and hanging in my kitchen. hmm....perhaps i will, since they're unbelievably affordable ($10.95 each or 3 for $25).

 

 

ashley has been sweet enough to offer the 5x7 black and white wooden spoons print to one lucky reader...comment on this post and be entered to win!

friday thoughts and links

what are you up to this weekend dolls? mitchell and i are going extreme couponing (grocery shopping) tonight and we have our youngest friend's birthday party tomorrow - she's turning 2. then on sunday, we're taking a walk to the dock near our house and sipping coffee and talking. in between all that, i wouldn't mind a few naps, some reading and some DVR catch-up.

 i've been seeing ads everywhere for tiffany's new lock collection...i guess they figured the keys worked, so this seems a natural extension.

this watch makes me smile. this one makes me drool.

seeds of change was giving away 100 million organic seeds for only $4.99 yesterday (really just the shipping) and i'm glad to say i got some! they're out now, but you can buy their regular seeds (here's a dollar coupon), and i love their whole mission. i love that they care about what the recipients do with the seeds...it underscores the ways we're all connected, especially through nature. love!

 

and while we're on all things green...check out cycleberry joe. organic produced delivered by bicycle. obsessed.

how cute is this as a way to tell your parents your pregnant? i love the slow unfolding of the realization...

aren't these alice prints cute? they come framed.

on weddings...

check out all this lovely ombre styling from the broke-ass bride.

i'm loving loving loving the modern monogram invitation suite from the wedding chicks. i love the interplay of the traditional block lettering with the flirty, modern handwritten style. play around with the colors...so much fun.

check out the collection BRIDEfinds curated for reese witherspoon-esque, rustic-chic wedding decor.

what are your thoughts on animal prints and weddings? celebrity wedding reporter has pictures, and the thoughts of an event stylist with some pointers.

 

i love love love this engagement session shot by suzanna march and featured on bwed. the groom is a baseball coach, and while normally i don't love overly themed photo shoots, i think this one does a really nice job balancing what's clearly a passion with a more multi-purpose style.

 

some of the shots are decidedly baseball related, but others are not at all, so it's a great mix. i also love that they're not wearing jerseys or war paint or something...they're just dressed normally and it's actually really easy to believe that they are each truly dressed the way they normally do, given that she's a little dressier than he is...it seems like something that just happened, rather than being planned that way.

 

 

and isn't this one so sweet? look how sweet and sincere he looks. 

have a sweet and sincere weekend.

top image, all others from linked sites

above the line

 

today, i'm loving this bathroom i spotted on absolutely beautiful things. isn't it great the way the wallpaper doesn't start until well above the eyeline? i love that it draws the eye up, and also that it provides an interesting visual perspective even when you're seated in the room...because we mostly are seated in bathrooms, us ladies, right?

i'll share again a concept i shared a while back told to me by a reader...that bathrooms are some of the only places we're ever alone, so they should be beautiful. don't you agree?

some more bathrooms...and more still, with stripes.

to the max(field)

you know how i feel about things having a collected-over-time feeling (in a nutshell, i adore it). so the maxfield flatware from pottery barn has always made my heart sing. too bad i made its acquaintance after i received every kitchen item under the sun from my wedding registry. if i were to register now, these would be at the very top of my list. the set is comprised of five different place setting styles, and is perfectly mismatched in that timeless, vintage way so many of us strive for in our homes. what i also love about it is that if you eventually inherit flatware pieces or serving pieces from your parents or grandparents, they can mix right in and they make it all that much more authentic.


well since my registry ship has sailed (several years ago at this point), i'm going for the next best thing by collecting mismatched flatware whenever i can find it super cheap. last time i was up in woodstock, i scored an entire basket of old flatware for $1. can't beat that. i recently started polishing it...not easy. i get the whole elbow grease thing now. so i'll do it over time, and one day maybe i'll have a set as lovely as the maxfield.

for the birds

there's something utterly charming about birds, isn't there? a few weeks ago, the arrival of the sounds of birds - with their curious chirping and foraging - was a real pick-me-up. i'm starting to form my birdfeeding plan (remember my last attempt?)...definitely included is an abundant supply of birdseed in my standing feeder, or maybe this one which i still think about.

oh, and a hummingbird feeder. i had the pleasure of seeing real hummingbirds for the first time last summer at my parents' house and they are truly amazing looking, aren't they? my mom put red food coloring in the water which seemed to attract them like crazy, moreso than just the red tip of the feeder.


i love all these bird figures for little spots inside and outside the home, don't you? of course as easter approaches we see everything adorned with birds and their nests - cake plates, pillows, serving bowls - but to me, the ones that are most appealing are like those pictured here, made of natural, organic looking materials, because it's in these cases that they actually look like real, live birds. i don't need bird salt and pepper shakers or candle holders, birds pretending to be something else. to me, that erodes at their natural charm. they're perfect, and enough, just as they are - simply as flying, walking, chirping little creatures.

i love their still, quiet serenity here and the sense of privilege i feel looking at these...it's a frozen close-up look at the likeness of birds which never stay still long enough to admire.




i'm also obsessing about the idea of framed bird print like this one or these to lean on a nightable like this one or this one, perhaps on a low stack of books.

yet another reason to be happy spring is on the horizon.

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