Trick-or-Treat

Halloween 1994

What were you as a little kid for this spooktacular holiday?! I was a princess {multiple years in a row}, ballerina, cheerleader, or Minnie Mouse.


Anytime you have the excuse to wear a crown, I say take it (:
Have a wonderful Halloween full of lots of fun, candy, trick-or-treating, costumes, & desserts! 
Love,

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{Thankful}

Today I'm continuing in the journey of my Thankful Challenge. My goal is to write down 1000 things that I'm thankful for, that I love, that I'm blessed by, or that make me smile.  1000 things is quite a lot, which is why I have so much fun literally naming every little thing I can think of! Here's a few on my list...

51. Dresses
...
58. Frames
...
60. Dahlias
....


65. Black & white photos
66. Schedules


69. Perfume
...
71. Turquoise
72. Freshly baked cookies
73. Monograms
...
75. Post cards
76. Kind-hearted people
...
80. Stripes (:
...
88. Old barns
...
98. Skyscrapers
...
100. Making lists (:
101. Pumpkins at Halloween
102. Meeting good blogging friends in the airport (:

me and Rhi from Hey Gorgeous

What are you thankful for?
Love,



PS. The winner of the Love Stitched Giveaway is Shannau. I'll email you soon!
And for all the rest of you, be sure to utilize the discount code CRAFTING15 at checkout for 15% off!
xoxo

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Fashion Friday & Birthday Wishes

Last week when my mama was in town, we went shopping {what we do best!} and she bought me this sweet black dress from Meadow- the boutique I work at in Seattle. It's my birthday dress, which means I'm wearing it for my family party on Sunday, but of course I had to give it a test run (:

I love that it will ease right into winter time, too, with the addition of a long coat, scarf, & an extra pair of leggings.


Now about that birthday coming up next week....
Here's my Birthday Wish List:


1. Oh, Lola by Marc Jacobs OR Twirl by Kate Spade perfume. Preferences anyone?!

2. Boots- one of my fave looks is wearing leg warmers or socks coming out of tall boots.

3. Colored Jeans

Source: net-a-porter.com via Danielle on Pinterest

4. Design Sponge at Home

5. New Fall/Winter jacket

Source: us.asos.com via Bethany on Pinterest

I'll let ya know how I fare after the weekend (:


Today I'm flying home to California for the weekend. I can't wait to see the family and chill.  Rhiannon from Hey Gorg is also in San Francisco right now, so we're planning a really classy meet up at the SF airport right after I land (: Hooray!


Happy Halloween weekend, everyone! 
Love,

46

Put it on the Shelf

So far this quarter, I've learned a lot. But you know what one thing in particular has really hit me?! As a designer, I need a lot of books. Lots and lots and lots. Not just text books, but also home magazines, other design texts, business books {for running my residential firm one day!}, catalogues, coffee table books, binders and files for clients....the list goes on and on!


You know what lots of books mean, though, right? Pretty bookshelves. And some fun accessories and styling. 


You know how little jars, vases, accessories and trinkets thrill me, so I've rounded up a few of my favorite styled bookshelves as of lately. Mine is down at the bottom (:


Slight gray background, mix of books and collectables. 

via

Bold color, books galore!

via

Well balanced and well layered.

Fun color and favorite things displayed.

via

Display of boxes, pottery, trays and more!

via

In my opinion, the keys to great bookshelf displays are:
Relatively organized {start clean, take down what you have and put things back in an orderly manner}
Well balanced {leaning some books horizontal and some vertical, skipping shelves in which you put books on, using color to help the decor feel balanced}
Layer {stack books, then put an accessory on top of the stack, put a picture frame toward the back of the shelf and display accessories in front...}
Personalize {display things you love or that have importance to you!}


I can't wait to have a wall of custom designed, built-in shelving, but for now this will due:

Along with this shabby chic box for extra storage:

room photos via

Do you love bookcases as much as me? What's your favorite way to display?


Love,



PS. Today is the last day to enter the Love Stitched Giveaway!

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She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Fitness Food & Faith

Good morning (or afternoon or evening!) friends! I'm excited to introduce you to one of my favorite bloggers, Sam, who blogs at

Sam writes about, well, fitness food and faith! And I love all three of those things {trying to get into the fitness one a little more with her suggestion on taking up hot yoga} She never fails to inspire me and remind me to be thankful for everything I'm blessed enough to have, as she writes a list of things she's thankful for each week. Sam's so kind and down to earth...so I know you're going to enjoy hearing what she's got her eye on and what she's not. Here she goes!

***

Hi Michaela fans, Sam here from fitness food & faith!  I’m super pumped to be sharing some of my current loves and love nots on Michaela’s adorable blog. 

She Loves Me:

source

1) Yoga –

I cannot get enough. Vinyasa, power, easy & relaxing…I’ll take it all!  I truly believe no one is too old, fat,

stiff, weak, etc. to try yoga.

source

2) Boots and blazers – my go-to fall “uniform.” I just got these

lovely boots and paired with skinny jeans/cords and a cute blazer I feel

ready to take on the fall weather (if it would ever arrive in sunny Texas!)

source

3) Anything apple – I know the blog world is all about pumpkin right now, but my favorite fall combo is apple + cinnamon. I’m loving it in muffins, pancakes, pies, breads, spreads, cakes and cider!  Check out some delicious apple recipes here.

4) Men in bowties – my hunky husband in particular. Love that Southern gentleman look.  

source

5) Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt – favorite indulgence currently (and probably forever).  Rich, creamy chocolate with just a hint of salt.  So good! 

She Loves Me Not:

source

1) Peanut butter – never have, never will.  I have tried so many times to love it…or even just tolerate it!  But hey, nutella is just as nutritious, right?!

source & source

2) 30 minute shows – we are completely obsessed with How I Met Your Mother and Modern Family.  How I wish these shows were longer than 30 minutes.  One week is just so long to wait for more!  

source

 3) Negativity and hurtfulness – as an optimist, it’s shocking to me the way that people
can lash out at others because they are insecure or jealous.  Come on now, let’s be kind and loving!  

source

 4) Traffic – I love living in a big city, but this is definitely the biggest pain that comes with that luxury! 

source

5) Scary movies and all the trailers on TV right now – I love everything about fall except all the scary movies in October.   

Thanks so much for having me, Michaela.  I think that we can all agree that besides

being one of the cutest bloggers around, you have some serious style!

***
Thanks, girl, for sharing! I've started hot yoga about a month ago and totally love it. And this is coming from a girl who does not like exercising. It's the one thing I enjoy doing! I'm also sharing your distaste for traffic and scary movies. UGH!


Head over to Fitness Food & Faith to meet Sam and get hooked on her awesome blog (:

What are you loving this week? Happy Wednesday!
Love,

13

Girls Weekend in Photos

This past weekend my mom and grandma came for a visit. We had a great girls weekend. I always love having visitors! Here are the highlights of our weekend:

I spotted  this awesome high-back settee while shopping:

We got some delicious cupcakes from Cupcake Royale!

Before:

During:

After:

Next we went to Pike Place Market:

I bought some amazing strawberries and honey crisp apples...yum!

My beautiful mama:

  
The $5 flowers we bought (:

My grandma and I:

Then we got my favorite lunch- Nordstrom kids tomato soup and grilled cheese!

And of course, we stopped for tea!
 


On top of this, we also saw a wonderful musical called Saving Aimee, written by Kathy Lee Gifford, AND we went to see Footloose.  Both amazing and totally recommend them! What a weekend!


I'm so excited to go home to California this next weekend to celebrate my birthday with the fam. What'd you do last weekend??


Have a great Tuesday!
Love,


PS. If you missed my mason jar craft tutorials, you can find them over at Love Stitched blog today! Thanks to Brittany for featuring them (:

click on the image to head on over

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