i love a good spruce.

as promised, here are a few snap shots of the newly spruced living room...
but first! check out the "BEFORE":

The wall above the couch was filled with vintage family photos. I liked the idea, but it looked a little heavy.
Here is the "AFTER":  miss-matched white frames with some of my favorite papers.

I can hardly stand how cute Leo looks, too. He is so big now!

This lamp is sitting on an old wooden crate. The opening is used to store magazines.

Cute little fellow.

This is a baby fan. Found it in my parent's basement.

what are your recent re-dos?
xxo
ps who else is excited about the long weekend coming up?!

surviving on happiness

happiness is my state of mind. it's how i've been getting through
the 9hrs of class, the 3.5 hr commute, the nightly homework.

to whine and complain about how difficult it all is, now that is the easy part.
not this week! i am focusing on the happy. thats right.
strong morning coffee. wonderful music filling my ears during the commute. hearing birdies chirping in the sunshine. filling pages of notes with colorful highlighting. its all in the details.

this morning, i took some pictures for you!

5:30am. you can see the tired in my eyes.

one of the most gorgeous drives in oregon. have you been here? hwy 22. on my way to i-5!

taking pictures while driving. takes a bit of talent, and a bit of delirium to attempt such a task.

check out the color of that sky. gorgeous.

for those of you who dont know this tidbit - just a few months ago I was hired at State Farm in Salem. this week, i am working on Life and Health insurance licensing. if any of you have your license in this area, you know what i am talking about. definitely not for wimps! and boy, do i feel like a wimp some days. i test june 1st. until then, you will find my nose in the textbooks...

it has helped my brain so much to keep design magazines and an inspiration notebook in my car. the perfect little boost after long periods of lecture to give my mind what it is really craving:).
 
up next: before and after photos of a little home decorating project i finished last weekend. plus, sneak peaks on a few new art pieces i've been working on!

xxo

good times and gold jewels

the prettiest jewelry in the world arrived yesterday from Stella and Dot. heard of them? i hadn't, before my good friend Megan became a stylist. (check out the website!)   http://www.stelladot.com/sites/meganmcdevitt.
mom and i hosted a jewelry party a few weekends back. it was so much fun! 

the packaging is great and the jewels are even better!
i am incorporating gold into my collection this year. when pouring over the catalog, i kept coming back to this beauty. stunning!

are you a gold or silver person?
xxo

peaceful mind

it may just be the best feeling in the entire world to wake up slowly..knowing in that moment, there is nothing to do except listen to the sweet birdies chirping outside, and watch the rain fall against the window.

i have the hardest time quieting my brain; making it almost impossible to do the whole sleeping-in thing. weekends are the few precious hours in my week where I focus on creativity, and usually Im ready to go by the early hour of 6am. this saturday morning proved a very happy exception for me. my brain was so quiet...it felt like heaven. I was able to read in bed for two glorious hours! sipping coffee and just being in the moment. My mom recently started a book club- am LOVING our first book by emily giffen. (ps: I have a confession to make: I could not finish EatPrayLove...After toting it around with me for 3 months; still only halfway through, I decided it was time to throw in the towel.)

you may have read some of her other books: something borrowed (a personal all time fav), something blue, baby proof, love the one you're with. all highly recommended!


I spent a good portion of the day yesterday rearranging our home. I cannot wait to share pictures with you! Stay tuned for those...:)

These gorgeous purple wildflowers certainly make washing dishes a bit nicer.

Happy, happy mothers day to you, friends! are you doing anything special?
xxo