saturday projects

I don't know what it is exactly, but I've been going to town the last couple of weeks in making our apartment more like home*. I've been hanging pictures, moving furniture, and arranging trinkets to give our place a more polished look and make it ours. I guess it's high time, considering we've been here for over 5 months now. :) Additionally, I also had time the last couple of Saturdays to work on some projects, which was fantastic!

First up is this Petal Pillow. It really was quite easy, although I made a few alterations from the tutorial posted for it on V and Co. First, instead of using felt I used some white fabric sturdified and made fray-proof (hopefully) with fusible interfacing. Second, I added a button to the front. And finally, I added a pretty yellow jewel button to the back to secure it. I really like how it turned out, much better than the old one I made about 6 years ago that no longer matches our decor. Although I will say Jeff was disappointed when I told him he couldn't actually lay on this pillow - for decoration only!



Next is this sweet little Valentine garland. It took me longer than I expected, but it turned out very cute. I'm not sure the pictures quite do it justice.

Finally, this is something from our time back in Boise that I never posted about (haha - not the first time I haven't posted a project). This bookcase, given to us by some friends, started out as one of those cheap $20 Walmart speicals. While I love Walmart and cheap furniture has its virtues (believe you me we have plenty of these items scattered around the house) I wanted to give it something to make it extra special. A small can of paint and some Snow & Graham wrapping paper, adhered with Mod Podge, did just the trick. Who needs fancy pre-assembled furniture when you can whip up something like this? Then again, pre-assembled furniture does sound pretty amazing. Someday... :)

*While we're on the topic of home, our LDS Family Services caseworker came to our place last week to update our home study. For those who don't speak adoptionese, that means we are VERY close to having all our paperwork done to get approved to adopt in the state of Maryland. That doesn't mean we have a baby all lined up to adopt, but at that point our online profile will be reactivated and we'll ready when a birthmom chooses us, whenever that is. Fingers crossed we're approved soon!

dresses!

Ah, I do love dresses! Every year at this time I start dreaming of spring and what beautiful skirts and dresses I would like to wear in the warmer, sunnier days ahead. Here are some lovely ones I've spied over at Shabby Apple.

Let's start with an everyday dress. Enter L'Artiste dress. This is one I can see myself wearing all the time, whether to the grocery store, an outdoor party, or on a Sunday afternoon. I think that's part of the reason I love it so much - casual and wearable for everyday, but just enough femininity to make it something special.

As for the next step up in formality I like the Sierra Nevada dress. Not sure how the flowers on top would actually look on me, but I just love the cut and the belt.

Now this is a dress I've had my eye on forever, the Antiquated dress. I would love to have this as my "little black dress" that could be dressed up for fancier events like weddings and parties, but not so formal I couldn't wear it to church on Sunday.

What is your favorite Shabby Apple dress? Post about it on your blog and get a free pair of earrings. Details here.

i heart idaho

What a wonderful Christmas break it was! Jeff and I were lucky enough to spend lots of time in Idaho with family, friends, and loved ones. It was so nice to be home. :) While we were there Jeff gave me this lovely necklace. He got it from Etsy seller Truche, who makes all sorts of amazingness with metal. It is truly exquisite! It makes me so happy to carry such a beautiful little reminder of home around my neck.

As for some of my other favorite things from the trip, please see below.

Reed's Dairy Ice Cream! Not sure I will ever be able to restrain myself from the double scoop waffle cone. Mmm...mmm...mmm!


I made all sorts of fun snowflakes for my Mom. Here is the octopus one I came up with.


Pomegranate lemonade from Applebee's. Oh yes, it is tasty. Especially when you get free refills.


Snowshoeing - blessed, blessed snowshoeing. Here I managed to do a little quasi-sledding on the snowshoes. Don't tell the rental joint.

I took too many pictures to post them all on my blog, but you can see pictures of our snowshoeing adventure here and just general pics here.

Is it bad that I'm already excited to go back?

i - k - k - kea*

Ooh - I'm loving me some Ikea fabric right now. I particularly enjoy the following two fabric lines, Kajsastina and Annamoa. Nevermind the fact that I already have more fabric than I know what to do with. A girl can always use more fabric, right? Especially when it's as hip and cute as this:


I'd love to use this gray and yellow color scheme to make curtains and pillows to decorate a room.


And I think these little motifs are quite charming. I think they have potential for a child's room, though I wouldn't use all of them together.
While we're on the topic of Ikea, these are the curtains I bought a few months ago. I love the pop of color they add to my front room. And being 1/8th Swedish makes me a feel a bit like I'm bringing a reminder of Sweden into my home with the blue and white. :)

* When I talk about Ikea Jeff often says, "k-k-k-kea," to the tune of the Chia Pet jingle. Love that boy.