Mood Board Monday - 'Bamboo'zle

It's Mood Board Monday!

Today for the first time I'm not featuring a color combo, but a sustainable material instead...bamboo! Also, these are items that I recently featured in my first etsy treasury, if you want to check it out there. (Thanks to Sarah for introducing me to the world of etsy treasuries. They tie in perfectly with my mood boards!)




Here are the sources of my inspiration...

Top (from left to right):
1. Modern Baby Clock - Owl, by decoylab, etsy seller
2. Large White Blossom Bamboo Earrings, from theharbingerco, etsy seller
3. handmade bamboo glasses frame, from TAKEMOTO, etsy seller
4. Recycled Skateboard Bamboo Cuff Links, by sevenply, etsy seller
5. laptop stand in bamboo wood, by bbTuna, etsy seller
6. Eco-Retro Desk Clock, by VectorCloud, etsy seller
7. Forest Friends-Bamboo Mobile, from petitcollage, etsy seller
8. Slice Necklaces, by designerica, etsy seller
9. Addison Bamboo Wall Clock, by pilotdesign, etsy seller

Enjoy!

Mood Board Monday - Pale Pink & Gold

It's Mood Board Monday!

I'm not usually a big pink person, but today I was feeling a little girly so I threw this together. I love the soft, feminine, vintage feel of this combo of pale pink and gold.



Here are the sources of my inspiration...

Top (from left to right):
1. Elexia Flower Doorknobs, Pink, from Anthropologie
2. Gold Capiz Hanging Lamp, from ZGallerie
3. Helianthus Goblet, Amber, from Anthropologie
4. Wide-Eyed Dishtowel, Pink, from Anthropologie
5. Kenneth Jay Lane A Secret Affair Ring, Pink/Gold, from Zappos
6. Vintage Leaf Ceramic Dish - Pink, by moxiethrift, etsy seller
7. Squirnuts- 3 blank note cards, by wonting, etsy seller

Enjoy!

And the winner is...

The Petit Rococo Necklace giveaway ended 5/24 @ midnight CST. We had 25 entries for the free bowtie necklace and the winner, chosen by random.org is....

#4 "Red"! Congrats, Red! You chose the clear necklace, so if you are out there leave a comment with your email address or a way to get in touch with you and Petit Rococo will get you your winnings :-)

And for the rest of you, if you are totally bummed just remember the Petit Rococo bowtie necklace is still for sale online in any color for only $18 right here.

This was fun! I hope to feature more giveaways in the future, so stay tuned.

Mood Board Monday - Midnight & Violet

It's Mood Board Monday!

For my second edition, I'm featuring a mood board I created withthe color combo midnight blue and violet.



Below are the sources of my inspiration...

Top (from left to right):
1. Baby Leg Warmers Gray with Blue and Purple Argyle, by BarefootClips, etsy seller
2. Kimchi Blue Printed Empire Halter Tank in Purple, Urban Outfitters
3. Liberty of London Blue, Purple & Red Toddler Swimsuit, Target
4. Tissue Pom Kit shown in Boysenberry, Navy & Grey, by prosttothehost, etsy seller
5. Lucienne Bracelet - Navy blue silk rose with frosted purple beads, by EternalEden, etsy seller
6. Print Color Options Blue Jay & Eggplant (my fave is 'Keep Calm and Blog On'), by KeepCalmShop, etsy seller
7. Fountain in Midnight Wallpaper by Amy Butler (my inspiration for this whole board!), for Graham & Brown

While this color combo could be viewed as dark or become overwhelming, I love the way it's used above and actually find the berry tones to be romantic yet cheerful. Although unintentional at first, I also really like the accent color of grey that appears in many of these images.

Hope you feel inspired to consider this combo in your own little crevice of the creative world.

Friendly Giveaway Reminder - One Week Left!

Just a friendly necklace giveaway reminder!

Only one week left to "friend" our featured jewelry designer Petit Rococo on Facebook and leave a comment on my other post here for a chance to win this Bowtie necklace.

Reminder: The giveaway will close ONE WEEK from today on Monday 5/24 at midnight CST. On Tuesday 5/25, I'll randomly select a winner to receive one Petit Rococo Bowtie necklace in the color of their choice.

A Lovely Giveaway: Petit Rococo Jewelry

Tonight, I'm posting my first giveaway! I am excited to feature some amazing, handmade pieces from Petit Rococo Jewelry.

A Chicagoland native, designer Madeleine "Maddie" Maciag is inspired by her time spent traveling abroad specifically to Vienna & Paris. Thus, she decided to put together a jewelry line that captures her style and love of historical architecture & romantic clothing, and I for one am a BIG FAN!

Here are some of my favorites...

Busy Bees Earrings - $18

Fandangle Earrings - $22

Charming Charms Bracelet - $32

I think this next one would be great to wear to a summer wedding as a guest, bridesmaid or even the bride!

Icy Lilac Necklace - $58

And last but not least, THE GIVEAWAY :-)

Petit Rococo is offering up a beautiful Bowtie Necklace to one of my lucky readers this week, which can be ordered in the winner's choice of Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Clear, Purple and Peridot. Here it is in a variety of colors...

I personally received my own Clear Bowtie necklace as a Christmas gift this year from my sister and I get compliments whenever I wear it :-)

Isn't it lovely? So, here's how to win:

• Become a Facebook Fan of Petit Rococo here or join the e-mail list to receive updates here (or both!). Then, leave a comment letting me know which color Bowtie necklace is your favorite and which way you chose to keep in touch with Petit Rococo (email or facebook).
• For a 2nd bonus entry, Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave another comment letting me know you've done so.

The giveaway will close on Monday 5/24 at midnight CST and a winner will be randomly chosen on Tuesday 5/25. At that time, I'll randomly select one winner to receive one Petit Rococo Bowtie necklace in the color of their choice.

This contest is open to all readers, Good luck!

Vintage Bits and Brooches

Yesterday, I did a quick sweep of the vendors at the Do It Your Own D*mn Self sale here in Logan Square in Chicago and came home with an unexpected stash of vintage brooches and costume jewelry! I got such a steal on a small lot of "vintage bits" and I also splurged for two other pieces, but altogether I spent $16 for a fun little collection.

{THE STEAL}

This little box of "vintage bits" was marked 2 for $1, but when I started digging through and grabbing nine or ten of the pieces, the kind seller said, "You can have the whole box for $2." Well, ok! I'll take it! So I got about 20 pieces of unique, mismatched vintage costume jewelry for less than a tall latte.

{THE SPLURGE}

Since I was on a high from my mega-steal, I apparently left my negotiating skills in the dust as I headed to the next vendor who had a few much larger vintage brooches on display. I immediately gravitated towards two, beautiful enamel floral brooches and was quoted $6 for one and $8 for the other. They were much larger, and in good condition, so I too-willingly forked over $14 for the two.

White, Green and Gold Vintage Enamel & Rhinestone Floral Brooch - $6

Pink and Yellow Vintage Enamel Floral Brooch - $8

Here's the entire stash:

So what do I plan to do with it all? Well, I said I went there to get inspired and indeed I did. I never expected to come back with what I did, I thought it was more likely for me to find paper or fabric, but now I have a few ideas for how to use vintage costume jewelry. The idea I'm most excited about is the possibility of putting together a brooch bouquet!

I found some nice inspiration pics on wedding blogs and floral sites, like Ruffled, Offbeat Bride, and Fantasy Floral Designs with their entire blog dedicated to brooch bouquets. However, since I am already married, I'd rather create individual stems to keep in a vase around the house or to add in here and there to fresh flower bouquets at home. I'm thinking all I need is some green floral wire and tape. I probably do need a few more pieces though for a full display, unless I just do a few in some bud vases. Hmm... I'll let you know how this pans out!

Letterpress Necklace

This weekend, I ordered the sweetest, vintage Letterpress "S" Necklace from etsy seller 'GwenDelicious'...

Check out the rest of her Letter Press Necklace collection here, as well as her vintage Typewriter Key Necklace collection here. If she doesn't have your letter available, just convo her and she'll let you know when she has your letter in stock. (That's what she did for me!)

I think they make a great personalized gift with some lovely vintage charm.

These are a few of my new favorite things...

This Christmas Dave gave me two of my new favorite things...

First, is this great vintage Mele jewelry box from etsy seller happydayvintage:

I just love the pretty pumpkin velvet lining and the character it has; also I do feel pretty lucky to have a husband "man enough" to have an etsy account ;-)

My next surprise was something I've been coveting since our trip to Italy in September... an espresso machine!

Dave found a great deal on my/our new Krups Espresso Machine on Amazon so I was the lucky recipient of it under the tree this season. At first I was intimidated by the thought of being my own barista, but it is incredibly user friendly and shoots out two perfect little cups of espresso in a matter of seconds. Now that we've mastered that feat, Dave has been reading up on how to properly steam & froth our milk and we had our first few test lattes today; I have to say they might even give Starbucks a run for their money in a blind taste test!

Hope your holidays also brought you a few of your favorite things :-)

Our First Wedding Anniversary: 11-08-09

The weekend of our first wedding anniversary, was a gorgeous, sunny November weekend in Chicago. So Dave and I headed to the beach with the camera to just enjoy the last of the warm weather.

That evening, we finally used my Christmas gift card from last year and went to The Chopping Block for a "Wine & Dine!" cooking class. There we learned how to prepare (and devour) Wild Mushroom and Bacon Puff Pastry Tart, Herb Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Potatoes & Root Vegetables and Chocolate Ganache Tart. Oh, and the class included wine :-) Everything was DELICIOUS. And roasting a whole chicken for the first time was a good "dry run" of sorts for our turkey we were about to prepare a few weeks later for our first Thanksgiving.

The next morning, Sunday 11-08-09, was our actual anniversary and we decided to head to the Chicago Botanic Garden. There we enjoyed a leisurely stroll, nature and each other's company.

See autumn is beautiful, too:

Peek-a-boo:

I also got a great shot of my anniversary gift, this gorgeous Tiffany Sparklers Smoky Quartz cocktail ring!

And also a shot of our wedding rings one year later:

Overall it was a wonderful weekend!