Moving commences tomorrow! Be back soon!
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
BEST TURKEY DAY WISHES!
Happiest Thanksgiving y'all! Hope your day is filled with family and/or friends and lots of delicious treats! With love from a very unseasonably warm Houston (srsly, is like..80 outside...I'm wearing flip flops, my Saints t-shirt and a demin skirt... so festive...)!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'm Thankful For: Part II
II: by Lena
"I am thankful for my sweet baby girl, Claire. She is my little sunshine and I have many reasons to be thankful for her. One of my favorite times with her is the nights I get to tuck her into bed. I have come to cherish and love our little routine of reading a book, scratching her back, and singing “You are my Sunshine.” It’s in this moment that I know she knows just how loved she really is."
Thanks so much for your story, Lena!
To read more from Lena, hop on over to her blog Stella Sola!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
I'm Thankful For: Part I
This is the first of a special set of Thanksgiving posts dedicated to highlighting what my friends and family are thankful for (since I'm so thankful for them!). I'll be posting them throughout today and tomorrow and encourage you to let the people you're thankful for know how much they mean to you!
I: by Stacy
"I am thankful for my wonderful grandmother and that I get to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with her! She’s been through a lot over the last few years – breast cancer, a double mastectomy, and now bladder cancer twice, which unfortunately isn’t responding well to radiation and chemotherapy this second time around. We have to be realistic in that this may be our last Thanksgiving with her and although that makes me sad and angry and a whole mix of other emotions, I have to also think that I’m lucky to have had her in my life for the last 24 years. She’s always been there for me, we have a very close relationship, and besides always being supportive of me and full of words of wisdom, she’s never failed to make me laugh. She’s a typical Jewish grandmother, originally from The Bronx, and I will always think of her when I drink my cwoffee and walk my dwawg. Oy vey. I’m getting verklempt..."
Thanks so much for your story, lady! To read more from Stacy, be sure to visit her at Stacy Says!
She's good people.
Stay tuned for more stories of thanks to come!
Crafty Christmas Bonanzaaaaa
Hello sweet visitors! I know Thanksgiving is in two days, but I'm still thinking a month down the road.
Christmas 2010 = D. I. freaking Y. With Ryan and I moving into a new apartment next week, our moneys will be a bit smaller this Christmas, but there will be no stressing out. There will only be...busy!
I got a bit of a jump start this year since I anticipated the move...I had about 75% of my gift shopping done and my Christmas cards made at the beginning of November. But there's still a fair bit to be done, like decorating the apartment after all the boxes unpacked. Decorating my home for Christmas is one of my favorite things about the holidays. I absolutely watching (or maybe directing? "More of the colorful lights! More on the bottom!") Dad string the lights and garland on the tree so we could dive into the boxes of ornaments, carefully unwrap the delicate Kleenex-packed ones are get-to-decoratin'.
This year will be the first time Ryan and I get to spend the Christmas season together. I'm determined to go (a bit) overboard with the cheer and super determined to use mostly handmade, vintage and re-purposed items to do it
There's no limit to what you can do or make, just google Christmas DIY or look up tutorials and go nuts! Etsy has an endless supply of amazing vintage pieces and supplies, even pre-made kits, like this Winter Wonderland cupcake kit , this Holiday journal kit, and this needle felted snowman kit just to name a few, that can be shipped to your doorstep in days!
If you like to shop local, hit up any antique shop. I guarantee they will have lots of vintage Christmas ornaments, figurines, cards and books. Last weekend Ryan and I snagged this 3 foot Santa
at August Antiques in the Heights (If you're in the Houston area, I recommend stopping by; they have tons of Christmas items from the 50s and 60s!
I also bought a handful of these vintage Santa cut-outs to string up in the apartment.
At the moment, I'm waiting (not so patiently) for my Jenni Bowlin chipboard buttons to come in the mail (via Etsy!) so I can make this awesome garland per Amanda's awesome tutorial found here.
So if you'd like to get your hands dirty this December, here are just a few of the hundreds of ideas and tips to help make your Christmas super DIY and unique:
Reuse broken or old ornaments to make a beautiful wreath!
Use scrap yarn to wrap foam balls!
I LOVE the candy cane candle in the upper left had corner! I think the evergreen pieces on the outside of the glass adds such a classy touch to a table setting.
This is what I'm working on now...crocheting Christmas tree garland. I chose fluffy white sparkly yarn to look like snow!
Use blank cards and scrap booking stickers or chipboard pieces to create your own unique cards!
Chose pretty holiday fabric to make your own cheery bunting. Here is a no-sew tutorial!
Even if your gifts aren't handmade, you can add your own personal accents to the packaging! Use stamps, ribbons, buttons, or stickers to create your own gift tags. Blank tags can be found at Hobby Lobby or any craft store.
This is a great idea if you have kids and even if you don't making paper ornaments or decorative (using pretty holiday scrapbook paper) paper chains is a fun and easy way to add a handmade touch to your decor.
Happy Christmas crafting!
[photos from google images, light up Santa is mine]
Movin' on up ( movin' on up...) to the East side.. (of I-045)
{notes from the past...my future home}
It's official!! After 2 wonderful years in Montrose, as of Monday November 29th, Ryan and I will be residents of Tennison Lofts. We even get a shiny new zip code! 77002 downtown whaaaaat! We're vurrrry happy...but this whole process wasn't without it's "hairpulling" moments, I kept telling myself it would be worth it. It's such a cool old building, originally the Tennison Hotel, built in 1921. From the Tennison family site "Henry Booker Tennison commissioned architect Joseph Finger to build the Tennison Hotel at 110 Bagby Street in downtown Houston, TX. The Tennison Hotel opened for business in 1922, and was among the closest of all hotels to Houston's Grand Central Station"
I'm super in love with the fact that the original brick is exposed in the loft:
View from outside, facing the Northwest:
On top of the parking garage is a fantastic, huge patio area with a beautiful view of downtown. I can't wait to see what it looks like at night.
Tennison Hotel:
Found this newspaper clipping regarding the funeral of H.B Tennison!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Found these today at Goodwill....
But...I didn't buy them... and I find myself thinking about them...posing questions to myself like "If you go back...and they're gone... will you kick yourself?"...
the answer may be yes.
I just feel like I could give them a good home and they could continue to spread their sassy 70s joy to my guests....
I just hope no one that sees them between now and 4 feels the same way
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Amazingness
Want your own? The process is really easy... you simply send her a few photos of you and your sweetie, describe what clothing you'd like to be wearing in the drawing, and Voilà, you will receive a custom 8 X 10 illustration, plus a digital copy (to use however you like) for around $50!
The save-the-date cards and thank you notes above were created by Make Merry from south Florida.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Giveaway winner and beautiful Emma Watson
Happiest Monday everyone! How was the weekend? Mine was grrrreat AND productive! Friday after work the boy and I went downtown to view a loft! I turned our applications in today so now we're just keeping our fingers crossed!
Saturday Mom and I went to the Houston Ballet's Nutcracker Market. I got a teeny bit more Christmas shopping done but I didn't do as promised...I took like.. 4 photos. IT'S SO HARD TO SNAP PHOTOS WHEN YOU'RE HANDS ARE FULL OF GOODIES, YOU'RE TASTING THINGS LEFT AT RIGHT AND YOU'RE HOLDING A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE!
First news! Congrats to Whitney from Sparkles and Frosting for winning the Thanksgiveaway that was hosted on Stacy's blog! Your ring and note card are coming straight from the heart of Montrose, hitting your mailbox soon!
In super-pretty news, I flipped through the new Marie Claire on lunch today and was stunned by how beautiful Emma Watson looks. I LOVE this hair on her.. the color, the cut.. everything. The styling and color palette they used in this spread is amazing... TOPS.
Ok so one day closer to Friday, y'all. We should find out tomorrow if we're approved for the loft and if so we can start getting things in there.
STOKED.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Shop update and Nutcracker Market excitement!
Three new rings in the Notes from the Republic shop today!
Up for grabs we have....
This lovely floral fabric rosette ring...
and this miniature vinyl ring.
Yaaayy new things!
Happiest Friday everyone! Any big plans for the weekend? After work today Ryan and I are going to look at more lofts (exciting!!)
Tomorrow is the much anticipated 30th annual Nutcracker Market. If you live in Houston and have never been, GO. ohmygod GO. It's fantastic!! So much to see, buy, taste, smell, and oh... you can drink champagne while you peruse aisle and aisle of wonderful goods from national and international vendors. It's so inspiring, too! One of my favorites is a Russian shop, they have such pretty handmade wooden ornaments, hand painted brooches, nesting dolls...there's also a vintage glass ornament shop that I go nuts over. I can't wait. I didn't take many photos last year but I promise I will this year.
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