a thought that's stuck with me & will now be a guiding principle.

all pinned up.

bobbi pins are a staple in my life. i can't live without them. i use them daily.

i'm loving the fancy pins i've been seeing online and in stores like anthroplogie, but $15 - $28 for a single bobbi pin? come on. so i did what any crafty girl would do - i decided to matters into my own hands and create my own fancy pins using things i had around the house. it almost feels silly to consider this a DIY project because it's insanely simple. hopefully it will inspire you to create yourself some hair flair for pennies. 

all you need... 

super glue / a glue gun - if you don't already own one, go buy one now. they're like a dollar and the best tool ever. 

buttons, rhinestones, ribbon, yarn, sequins stretch... - $.25 a yard for this stuff*. that's a ton of bobbi pins. 

bobbi pins - small or large 

*if you're in phoenix, locate your nearest SAS fabrics wholesale warehouse and thank me later.

{my new bobbi pins using a variety of materials. get creative. tie bows, wrap with ribbon or do a single sequin}

{looks just like these here, huh? $.15 vs. $28. your choice}

{makes a boring messy bun just a little more fun}

{an extra button from an old dress i'll never wear again}

{a piece of yarn tied into a bow & glued to a pin... easy as that}

insta-art.

about a month ago i decided to turn art inspiration into a reality. remember this post? well, i loved the personal photo collage piece so much that i did a little research and found prinstagram, a company that turns your iPhone Instagram prints into a poster for you. all you have to do is log-in, select which of your photos (50 - 400 depending on how big/small you want the photos), and they do the rest - to the tune of only $25.

i went with 200 images and got my awesome 20"x40" poster within a week. and thennnn, i went to have it framed. newsflash: 20x40 is not a standard poster frame size. therefore, my $25 print turned into a $155 piece of art when i had to pay $130 (with a 60% off coupon) to get a custom frame made. and i went with the most inexpensive metal frame and glass combo i could. whoops. but, i do love it.

if you're considering making one, an idea for you - perhaps get two posters with different photos and have them laid side-by-side and framed to create one big 40"x80" piece of art or one really tall & skinny floor frame (of course the custom frame will be spendy).  

here's the finished product. i do love how each photo is something personal just to us. 

as you gear up for the weekend...

...keep this in mind.

easy enough, right?

wedding soaked brain.

I sometimes forget that not everyone is a 20-something girl who's really into weddings and blogs. I falsely assume that everyone knows what an "inspiration board" is and what the latest trends in party planning are.

I'm currently in the midst of planning my best friend's bridal shower and bachelorette party. The best part is that everyone loves Colby and wants to help. Together with her mom, sister and grandma, we've divided and conquered the list of shower to-do's in an effort to host the best event possible for our Colbs. The event is this weekend (eeek!) in Dana Point, California and I couldn't be more excited. We started our DIY projects months ago and are ready to go. I wish it was tomorrow!

Thinking back to the beginning of the planning, I realize how insane I probably looked. Unlike me and my girlfriends, these women (a mom, a college student and a grandma) haven't logged insane amounts of internet hours looking at StyleMePretty, GreenWeddingShoes, HostessWithTheMostess, Pinterest and other inspiring blogs. I immediately bombarded them with our "inspiration board," because everyone knows what an inspiration board is, right? Here's ours for the bridal shower...

I immediately started talking to the planning crew about certain types of chairs, linens, games and oh, we're not going to do x, y and z because they're totally overplayed but we're going to do a, b and c because these trends are fresh and new.

Whoops! Calm down, psycho. What do you call a brideszilla bridesmaid? Yikes.

It was a bit of a learning for us all, but we've honestly had an absolute blast planning and getting creative! Colby's mom's background in interior design has been really helpful. Since we're all in different states, there have been tons of excited emails, phone calls and text messages. A lot. I was away from my phone for a while and came back to this screen from Colby's mom, Susan. Totally awesome.

After we nailed down the final date and location, we immediately got started on the invitations. I collaborated with Lydia, the owner of Paper Joy a local paper boutique, who had helped me bring mine and Danny's wedding invitations and programs to life. During one of our meetings years ago, I saw a boxed bridal shower invitation and fell in love with it. I thought a little box verses and envelope was such a fun idea - it's like getting a little present in the mail!  For years, I've kept this idea in the back of my mind for one of Colby's wedding events and I'm so happy with how they turned out.

{all packaged up and ready for the post office}

Lately, many of my nights and weekends have been dedicated to bridal shower crafts - and I'm loving every minute of it. It's such a fun creative release for me. I can't wait to see everything come together this weekend! 

I'd love to share more, but one of the best parts is that Colby knows almost nothing about this event except for the location and color scheme - yellow, gray, white and black - so there are lots of surprises coming her way! 

french decor.

Late last year we fell in love with and purchased two prints on Etsy (from different designers). They seemed perfect for our family. After a few months we finally found frames, got them matted and hung. 

The first is our little man and my handy hubby painting the house - husband in sneakers. So appropriate.

{French Bulldog Works, through Etsy}

If the beach cruiser bike was pink this would be spot-on me and our late little Sydney.

{Janet Hill Studio in Canada, through Etsy}

beautiful.

We're in love with this kitchen. Isn't it perfect? The cozy couch for family and friends while you cook and prepare dinner at your gorgeous island? I want this exact layout in our home one day.

{image from decor pad}

daydreaming.

Dreaming of the day I host fabulous wine nights and Sunday brunches in my dining room that looks like this...

{nathan egan interiors}

happy sunday.