Happy Weekend, Happy Day!

It's Friday and besides that and the long weekend ahead, these are some things making me happy today.

Sunshine!
It is supposed to be a b-e-a-utiful day here in Columbus, and Mother Nature, for that, I thank you. Since sunshine has been so rare these past few months I have really come to appreciate it when it is here.

Flowers! 

Since I am seriously lacking any kind of green thumb, I am grateful that my neighbors are not, so I can enjoy their beautiful flowers and be happy spring has sprung!

Lobstaaaa!
I'm heading to Boston this weekend and cannot wait for a giant, delicious, juicy New England lobster roll from the Barking Crab. One of my favorite summer treats!

Glitter nails! 

Because why not add a little sparkle to the weekend?

 

Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!!! 

Singing the Praises of All Saints

I first discovered All Saints when I was living in London my junior year of college and the brand has recently been making its way into the fashion scene here on this side of the pond. The architecture of the beautifully designed stores is absolutely amazing! Walking into an All Saints feels like you have walked into a totally awesome Brooklyn loft that also doubles as a saloon in the wild wild west. An open airy space with lots of wood and metal, a wall of vintage singer machines, giant wooden doors and just all around gorgeous fixtures, it really is so well done. I am almost more intrigued by the store design than the clothes!

But not completely...I'm still a sucker for great fashion design. The style of design is extremely conceptual and their designers sure do know their way around a dress form since every piece is so intricately draped and structured. Rooted in music and art, the brand has sharp tailoring, the softest knits and beautifully washed leathers.Their style is definitely not for everyone, but their dresses and shoes have definitely got my attention! My Vala pumps are probably my favorite pair of shoes in my closet, and these pieces would be a nice addition. 

This collection of Aztec inspired embellished dresses and skirts is amazing! The beads, the sequins, the colors and patterns! Ahhh that dress, I die!

The Making of a Bachelorette Party Cake

I loooove to bake and have a serious weakness when it comes to desserts or any kind of baked good! I have recently tried my hand at cake decorating - we're talking fondant, sculpting, the whole shebang. It's almost embarassing how much time I have spent in the cake deocrating section of Sir La Table oohing and aahing over all of the fun tools that I definitely do not have room for in my kitchen. I have only experimented with fondant a few times before, but for the bachelorette party I went to a few weekends ago, I tried something a little crazy. I brought this guy with me to our little shindig...a man made of cake! (Well, part of a man). Some pretty strange things pop up on your computer screen when googling "man torso cake"...so after some awkward moments at work, I kind of just winged it. Made out of fun fetti with chocolate muscles and vanilla buttercream frosting, this guy was a pretty delicious hit!

Some great places for baking inspiration and delicious recipes - Bakerella, Cupcakes Take The Cake and the Hello Cupcake book.

Guest Post: Cornflake Dreams

Hi Friends! Let me introduce you to Jillian from Cornflake Dreams. We are doing a blog swap today, guest posting on each others blogs, with our inspiration for the perfect Memorial Day party. Enjoy her post below and be sure to check out my inspiration over on her blog!

hello there! it's jillian from cornflake dreams. much like miss. kristin i live in the midwest and i have been counting down the days til summer time. sure we get a few spring days here and there but chicago doesn't really heat up til the end of may. what better way to celebrate the sun (AND our military veterans and solders) by planning the perfect memorial day weekend party?! 

here's what i have in mind: 

a good grill space, a cute outfit. 

via, via

great food. 

bbq pizza, cilantro lime corn, orza salad, bbq bacon burger

some tasty drinks and desserts to finish it off! 

via, via, via, peach sangria

i hope all of you can enjoy this long weekend we have coming up. stop by and visit me over at cornflake dreams any time for more design, fashion, and travel inspiration. 

xoxo, 

jillian

Chalkboard walls and sparkley band-aids

Happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend. The weather in Columbus was absolutely perfect the past two days and I really wish it did not come to an end. But alas, back to rainy reality on this stormy Monday morning. Just a little inspiration to kick off your week, I have become obsessed with Pinterest lately (if you couldn't tell from all of my image links!). For any of you who have not yet discovered the magic, Pinterest is an amazing photo sharing website where you can catalog images from the web, essentially a virtual inspiration board. Sometimes I love how images or "pins"I collect just happen to work so perfectly together, like these two below, love the colors! A gorgeous hand-dyed colorful quilt set off of a chalk-board wall and even more amazing, Cynthia Rowley designer band-aids. Completely random, I know :-)

Images {1 , 2}

You can check out all of my pins here!

It's Friday...let's get fancy

Weather.com let me in on a little secret. It is going to be 75 and sunny here all weekend!!! I am so excited I could just run around outside waving my arms and screaming with joy! Okay so I probably won't do that, but I am going to spend as much time outside as possible soaking up lots of vitamin D. Tonight I am going to an outdoor concert and will be spending time tomorrow on some fabulous DIY projects that I can't wait to share with you next week! The amazing weather calls for an even more amazing outfit and here is my take on getting fancy this Friday. I absolutely love the color scheme of this room and thought it would translate perfectly into an outfit from head to toe. Loving all of these pieces of course! Have a happy weekend!
Check out {av's} Friday's Fancies link up here for more Friday's Fancies weekend inspiration.

 

Hide 'n Seek

Dear Spring,

You can't keep hiding forever. This is just getting ridiculous and your little games are not so funny anymore. Please just come on out and show your bright sunshining face and show this rain who is boss!

Love,

Kristin

PS. In the meantime, I will continue to rock super bright springtime colors, skirts and sundresses even if my navy blue rainboots are permanently attached to my feet.

Images via Pinterest

Wish I Was Here

Today is one of those days I am just not into work. I am feeling great after an awesome workout and a delicious smoothie on this rainy Wednesday morning, but would love to spend the rest of my day relaxing, enjoying the sun somewhere and just catching up on things. This is what I am thinking...

Has anyone read Tina's book yet? I have heard great things, but would love to hear more!

Images via Pinterest

Enough Said

These guys simply speak for themselves. Hilarious!

1. Amazon.com "Cabbie" napkin 

2. Jcrew Archie grand notebook

3. Rebecca Minkoff Benjamins Pouch

Off The Wall

Happy Tuesday! I spent this past weekend with my girlfriends in Sag Harbor, NY in an ahhhhmazingly ridiculous house that belonged to the Aunt of one of my friends. This ultra modern dream house was absolutely gorgeous - minimalist style with lots of white played off rustic wooden floors and super sleek furniture - definitely one of the nicer houses I have been a guest in! Since the house was so stark, it left plenty of room for my imagination to run wild with decorating ideas and would be the perfect canvas for the design feature I am currently loving - painted ceilings! All of my ceilings in every home I have ever lived in have always been white and I am not quite sure why I have always ignored this surface. Painting the ceiling is a great way to add dimension to a space and really brighten things up. I especially love pop color ceilings played off of neutral walls or stark white cabinets. Here are some of my favorite inspirations for painted ceilings in an array of vibrant hues.

Images via Pinterest & Apartment Therapy

Happy Weekend!

I am off to the Hamptons this weekend for the bachelorette party of my best friend Caroline! I cannot believe we are celebrating her wedding. It seems like just last week we were having sleepovers in her basement talking about boys, learning the tricks of the perfect make out from the pages of cosmo, and going to parties that our mothers definitely would not have approved of! I am so excited for a fun weekend at the beach and even more to be part of this amazing time in her life! Oh yeah and her fiancee Gordon is pretty awesome too. Love you guys!!!

Sweet Dreams

I would seriously have the sweetest dreams resting my head upon these glorious beds. My bed is the most comfortable in the world, but these fantasy boudouirs are proving to be some stiff competition. I could sleep the whole day away here!

G is for Gwyneth

From the pages of last month's UK Bazaar to the Met Gala, Ms. Paltrow is one woman who has been looking absolutely fabulous lately.  Style crush? Guilty.

Weekend In Photos

Happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! 

Hey Mama

Happy Mother's Day!
Sending love to all of the mothers today! Especially to the best mother out there...mine!

Hello weekend, I am so happy you have arrived! I feel like this week has been waaaaay too long, probably because it is the first five day work week I have had in a while. (I really need to figure out how to make 3-day weekends and vacations a more regular occurance).

So many fun things going on this weekend! I plan to continue my new-found obsession with "fascinators" while watching the Derby tomorrow. These ladies better bring their A-game after all of those Royal wedding show-stoppers we saw last week! I will also be cheering like mad woman for my bf and friends who are running the Columbus half marathon and keeping my fringers crossed that the sun will show his face at least once in the next two days!

Have a great weekend!

Bienvenido a Miami

Best birthday surprise EVER!

Some photos from our little weekend getaway which was mostly filled with eating, drinking and relaxing in the sun. I'm not sure why we ever came home!

Cycle Chic

May is bike month! The glorious spring weather typically makes me want to jump on my bicycle and ride down to the farmers market, basket full of flowers, wind in my hair and looking ever so glamorous like the ladies in these lovely photos! (Although technically I don't live near a farmer's market, don't normally ride in mini skirts, my hair is usually hidden under an unattractive helmet and it has been raining non-stop for the past month). But that is a moot point. Are you going to participate in bike month? Ride to work? Ride for fun? If you haven't ridden in a while, you know what they always say... I for one am totally loving all of these fabulous vintage cruisers.

Images via Pinterest