Favorite Things Friday: Plate Wall

I love the idea of this freeflowing plate wall as quirky decor, and if I had a kitchen with any extra wall space (mine's completely covered in cabinetry), I'd certainly already have one, or at least the beginnings of one, already up. But my lack of usable wall space won't keep me from dreaming and planning for future glories.

Any overview of plate walls has to begin, of course, with the semi-famous Lisa Congdon installation which spawned so many imitations:

I found these pretties on flickr:

(photo credit: Laura Hartrich)

(photo credit: jowrites365)

(photo credit: reesedixon)

And the following are from the Domino Magazine Archive files, found via automatism.

I have a "tray wall" in my dining room -- a small patch of space where I've hung some of the vintage tole trays I've collected. I like it, and would like to enlarge my collection further. But I would really love to do something free and colorful and asymmetrical with plates of all shapes and sizes. I'm thinking I need a bigger kitchen.

Happy Friday all! Please come back next week, when I have another beautiful Etsy shop to showcase, and a pink street jewelry giveaway in honor of my 200th post! Tell all your friends!

DIY Thursday: Caramel Apples

Seeing this post yesterday at A Field Journal really made me miss (and crave) caramel apples. We used to make them every year around Halloween at home growing up, and for the past three years, I've said to Nate, "I'm going to make caramel apples this year! Yum!" But we get busy, and I forget, and another autumn passes. But this year -- this month -- I'm going to do it!

This is the beautiful post that inspired me:

Head over to A Field Journal for Livy's instructions. She's doing a full week of apple posts, so if you prefer candied apples to caramel, you must check out today's post for the shiny red goodness. Enjoy! (I will too, oh so much.)

I Heart the Classics

"Besides it serves as my induction/Into the literate world/I am a literate girl ..."

-- From the song, "Musician Please Take Heed," on the fantastic album, God Help the Girl, which Nathan got me for my birthday, and with which I am in love.
It's wonderful, and serves as the perfect introduction to this wonderful find: pretty Penguin clothbound classics at Anthropologie, found in their new and very cheeky "Marvels and Wonders" category. How adorable are these!?

I have copies (even multiple copies) of all of these, and yet I can't help wishing for these charming cloth-bound editions. What do you think: tempting?

Etsy Treasure Tuesday: Heart of Light

I'm in love with the beautiful accessories made out of organza and crepe in the Heart of Light Etsy shop. I'd like to accrue a complete collection, to include all of the following and more:

It's a beautiful shop with beautiful items; see for yourself here.

(All images by heart of light.)

Oy.

Holy moly, what a morning.

The beginning of my today does not bode well for the rest of the week. Please send your happy thoughts my way.

In the meantime, I've been attempting to restore my shaken equilibrium by focusing on lovely and tranquil images, like these, by Traci French of blissful images. In case you also have a case of the Mondays and/or the crazies, maybe they will help you to relax too.

Favorite Things Friday: Art Trail!

I want to extend an invitation to all of you -- at least all of you who live nearby -- to come and visit me tonight at the First Friday Art Trail. I'll be hanging out at Alderson Mercedes on 17th & Texas from 6:00 to 9:00pm, and I have so many beautiful new things to which I'd love to introduce you. I can't wait, and I hope I'll get to chat with all of you there.

Aaaaannd . . . check out the new items recently listed in my Etsy shop. They're scattered about, as I've color-coordinated the shop a little to make it prettier. Let me know what you think. More silver? Less pink? Chunkier pieces?

And a sparkly new addition to the pink street Bridal Line.

DIY Thursday: Ruffle Tee

I think ruffles should be put on everything. Shower curtains, pillows, purses, and tees. So I'm determined to try my hand at this DIY project, maybe this weekend.

I found two different versions of the DIY Ruffle Tee, at say Yes! to hoboken, and My Mama Made It. Here are photos of the two final versions, and as the instructions for each vary slightly, you can decide for yourself which one you like best.

I think I might try a combination of the two. I like the idea of the double ruffle, like the second version, but I like the way the ruffles don't stick to just the neckline, as in the first. And I think I may try it with a v-neck rather than a scoop-neck tee. And maybe even with patterned fabric rather than solid; I'll have to check my stash and see what I have on hand. What do you think? Any ideas?

Wish List Wednesday

I'm enjoying the cooler weather, and looking forward to the warm and cozy holidays. But when I start to see winter whites everywhere, I make a little more effort to put pops of color into my wardrobe and my home, so I've curated a collection of beautiful turquoise and aqua for you today; and as I'm a pragmatist, naturally, they're practical items for use and wear.

A fantastic turquoise suede shoulder bag, from the amazing bagonia atelier.

A pretty wall clock featuring aqua flowers by decoylab.

A sweet aqua apron, in which to do your holiday baking! From spice rak designs.

I've admired so many of the gorgeous stationery items in the Turtle Papers shop for two years now. One day, one of their beautiful monogrammed correspondence sets will be mine.

This beautiful print of flowering branches can hang on your wall as a lovely reminder that spring will return. By honeytree.

And last, Primavera: a sweet new necklace I've just listed in the shop, featuring a golden twig accompanied by three tiny aqua czech glass bellflowers.

Etsy Treasure Tuesday: Little White Dresser

The items offered and so beautifully photographed in Israel-based Etsy shop Little White Dresser seriously look like they came straight out of a high-end wedding magazine. Makes me almost wish I could do my wedding over again. (With the same lovely husband, of course.)

And there's so much glowing prettiness I didn't even have room for. See more here.

(All images pulled from Little White Dresser.)

How I Spent My Halloween

I've never really liked Halloween. Even as a kid, I only remember two or three years when I dressed up and went door-to-door for treats, and I don't even recall what any of my costumes were. I didn't get as excited as the other kids did about "what I was going to be," and I remember mostly being cold walking around with my plastic pumpkin, not really seeing much fun in the idea of knocking on strangers' doors asking for handouts. {I also think my views of the holiday in general were colored by the memory of the year our dogs got into the chocolate my brother and I brought home from school, with the result that the living room carpet was a stinky mess and the dogs miserable when we got home from trick-or-treating. That and the fact that throughout my entire childhood, I was terrified to the point of immobility by witches, and any holiday which encourages hoards of people to dress up like them is obviously not going to be a happy one for me.}

So this Halloween, I did what I have done since junior high: stay in, make sure the porch light is quite conspicuously off, and watch a happy movie. My happy movie this year was actually one of the most charming TV shows I've seen in a long time, and which sadly, has already been cancelled and ran for only two seasons. I was snuggled up cozy on the couch with a mug of cocoa watching Season One of Pushing Daisies, a story about a fellow who can bring the dead back to life by touching them, the caveat being that they go back to being dead forever if he touches them a second time.

The central plot of the show centers around the fact that Ned, the main character, brings his childhood sweetheart Chuck (short for Charlotte Charles) back to life after her mysterious death on a cruise ship. They haven't seen each other in years, but fall in love again, and the ironic catch is that they can never touch each other or she dies again for good. The clever secondary plot is that Emerson Cod, Private Investigator, finds out about Ned's special gift, and convinces him to partner in his murder-solving business, at which Ned is of course, a natural, as he can touch the victims and actually ask them who committed their murders.

Normally, I don't really go for 'bring the dead back to life' stories, but this show is made so incredible by the bright colors, retro settings, endearing characters, and the fabulous costuming. Chuck wears the most amazing fifties and sixties dresses and outfits, and all of the sets are so colorful and original. The sets, mood, and staging remind me of Amelie, and Chuck's costumes are straight out of a Doris Day or Audrey Hepburn movie. 'Charming' is definitely the best word, in my opinion, to describe the show. I highly recommend it. Much more fun than running down the sidewalk, tripping on your jedi robe, trying to beat the other kids to the one house on the block with Butterfingers.

Giveaway Winner

Samantha wins!

Thanks for entering, everyone!

I'll be doing another giveaway for a pink street piece soon, so stay tuned!

And by the way, I wanted to mention also that I'm running a special holiday sale: all domestic orders receive FREE SHIPPING now through December, and returning customers receive a 10% discount on their purchases! Stop by and see what's new in the shop!

Friday Reminder

I'm sorry, friends -- my week has been insane at work and as crazy afterward, so I haven't had a lot of time to plan anything for you since the Giveaway post on Tuesday. But today, I have some loveliness from Livy at A Field Journal to share, and also, a reminder to enter this week's giveaway before it ends tonight at 10:00pm! Our winner will be drawn tomorrow!

I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend.

Wish List Wednesday: Autumn Lovelies

I usually don't really decorate much for the changing of the seasons, with the exception of maybe exchanging a pine-scented candle for the mint chocolate one and putting up the Christmas tree around the holidays. Mostly, my ambivalence about seasonal decorating springs from a dislike I have for putting an abundance of useless things in my home that will just sit there and serve no purpose. I do have candlesticks on my dining room table, but we use them for nice meals. And I do have a vintage globe on my coffee table, but we occasionally use it for geographical reference.

But I've been looking around for easy, simple, and practical ways to bring a little more fall into our house, because I love it so outside, and have curated this charming little collection of Etsy items for you today.

I'm such a fan of these fabric floor cushions, available in several different fabrics, from Branch and Birdie. This one features pretty autumn leaves and hues.

These fantastic stained wooden wall cutouts would probably stay up in my house year-round. By JinxMurphy Designs. It's an awesome shop; you should really go and take a look.

Pretty painted golden shabby candlesticks at the broken house, which has several different colors of these available. I like the pretty moss green ones as well.

These awesome fabric leaf stems by Jane Joss (Texas artist!) would make a lovely centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table, and the individual leaves themselves would be pretty tied with jute twine around your linen napkins.

And a fun twist on the Christmas wreath is this wonderful vintage paper autumn wreath accented with a sweet little silver pumpkin and fall-colored flowers. By fern and flora designs.

What are some of your favorite fall decorating finds or traditions?