One year ago I worked on Ryan’s 1st birthday party invitations and cannot believe his second birthday is already here. His mom is having his party at a local gym so to mix our simple modern taste with bold vibrant colors I played off the simplicity and innocence of wooden toy blocks. Ryan’s mom loved the idea! It feels great to capture their vision on the first try.

Happy birthday Ryan!

Impulse purchases. Don’t you love them?

Typically I come home with buyers remorse but my last ‘must-have-last-minute-decision’ purchase from a local bookstore sparked a whole new wave of creativity that just made my husband eyes roll. do it yourself or diy is a magazine full of creative ideas on how to spruce up your home without spending tons of money. I couldn’t get past the first few pages before I began drooling over the patterning Anna Marie does with fabrics. I immediately checked out her blog and shop and instantly fell in love…sorry honey! But her use of color and design makes anyone want to whip out their sewing machine or glue gun, if that’s your instrument of choice. Bessie, also known as my sewing machine, will be dusted off when free time becomes available.

But after you get past the few pages there are many more inspirational ideas that had my wheels turning. I’ll divulge the baby steps I took to revamp the kitchen next. But in the meantime head over to formspring.me and ask me anything you want! Really, go ahead.

I don’t see her as having big shoes to fill but rather I have little feet to grow and nuture.

This weekend was full of activities that warmed the heart and fed the soul. After a busy start with errands and a birthday party for a six year old, I left the family to tend to themselves while I spent quality time with some girlfriends. We all arrived in our pajamas, ordered pizza and wings, indulged in brownie sundaes and just talked. It was exactly what we all needed: girl time. Topics ranged from pregnancy to home makeovers but the conversation never ceased. Well of course until we realized it was 11:30pm. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Then I finally got my rain check and had a date with the mister to see Avatar. It’s been awhile since we’ve been out by ourselves and it was long overdue. That is by far my new favorite movie. I know some of you might not get caught up in blockbusters and follow the trend but this is one film where you want to set all that aside and simply escape reality and enjoy a great movie. If you are sci-fi lover, you’ll love this movie. If you like romance, you’ll love this movie. If you like action-packed scenes, you’ll love this movie. It’s truly a movie for everyone.

Have you seen it yet? What do you think?

The timing of girls night and quality time with my husband couldn’t have come during a more perfect time. As you all know, I’m enrolled in Holly’s Blogging Your Way class and already within the first week I’ve been inspired, moved, and ready for change. Prior to taking this class I got the wheels in motion to set up my e-commerce website to ease transactions and solidify my brand prescense on the web. And while taking this class I’m realizing how important my blog is, not only for business purposes but for personal outlets. I’ve tried consistent features such as ‘Modern Monday‘ to reviews. And all worked and were fun for awhile but in the long run I realized that’s not me. After one week I realized I need to be true to myself and be me on this blog. I don’t know yet what that entails but stay tuned…

I took this picture over the weekend and have been struggling with finding a witty and clever saying to accompany it. With no such luck I’ll leave it up to your imagination. Share, if you will, what this picture makes you think of.

Hope you all have a great Monday!

This beauty was a gift from my mother in law who recently took a trip to Italy. Among the sweaters, dresses, and bags was this delicate handmade ceramic. There isn’t any information on the store or seller she got it from but I envision this unique piece has a compelling story behind it.

Akiko Mano has 25 simple sewing projects outlined beautifully in her book, Linen Wool Cotton. I purchased this book way before receiving my sewing machine so occasionally I just drooled over the beautiful pictures. The first project out of her book I tackled was the pillow. And coming from a novice this was very simple! I will definitely will be making it again. A slight alteration to the design was needed since buttons aren’t in my sewing vocabulary just yet.

Since the little one went down early last night due to no nap during the day I had time and energy to take on another new project. Amy Butler too has some gorgeous photographs in her book, InStitches, that I swooned over endlessly. Her design for a giftable recipe card bag was ingenious! As soon as I perfect it and find the fun fabric I might build up the confidence to give as a gift along with some of my personalized recipe cards.

Now I need to figure out what to make next…

Some days, don’t you just feel like curling up in bed and not think about the laundry list of things that need to be done? I’ve been feeling that way for awhile now with the new year beginning and still having so much to wrap up from 2009. From accounting and taxes to new ideas brewing that still need to be developed. It can get quite overwhelming at times, and when I get overwhelmed, I shut down. Activities that used to be fun aren’t fun any more and everything suddenly becomes a chore. So I’m trying to break my habit of ignoring the world and drift off into a state of hibernation by listing out (ha! isn’t that funny? I’m trying to break down the list of lists…ok maybe that’s only funny to me) and tackle things one at a time starting with this bloggity blog. I’ve signed up for Holly’s Blogging Your Way e-course that begins Monday. I’m looking forward to the inspiration that lies ahead that will instill direction and change around here. So excited to see what Holly has up her sleeve!

I recently joined the flickr group, Blognistas. I am no fashionista by any means but thought it would be fun. My outfit I submitted today is symbolic of a typical suburban mom rocking her favorite shoes, which I recently went back and bought 2 more in the same style but different color. Flats are my new best friend.

And how humbling is my husband for getting in on the fun. I’ll be the first to admit he has way more style (and clothes) than I do.

This is a custom invitation design for a princess party paired with coordinating plum envelopes. The mom gave me full reign in terms of design that was based around the princess theme and pastel colors. Together we nailed it on the first try! Love when that happens.