I recently came across this Etsy Shop called Dear Colleen.  The name itself is near and dear to my heart because it is the name of one of my grandmothers!  She has a collection of prints, posters, towels, totes and stationary.  I love her designs!  Check them out for yourself here.

Source: etsy.com via Monica on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Monica on Pinterest

Cartolina iPhone App

Have heard of Cartolina ? I recently downloading the popular iPhone app and used it to send cute little Valentine notes!  It is the perfect way to beautify a special text, email or facebook post!

Butterflies!

After a horrifying candle in the bathroom accident last year (which is actually kind of funny now looking back on it) my beautiful white hotel collection shower curtain was ruined! I finally broke down and bought this lovely shower curtain from West Elm last week! I LOVE IT! 

Source: westelm.com via Monica on Pinterest

Holiday Greeting Cards

I have been told many times in my life that I am an old soul.  Admittedly, I do conform to some old traditions and there are times when I act like an old lady!  Hand-made touches are the best and people really appreciate them when you put in the effort. I believe that you should always show up to dinner parties, cocktail parties, etc. with something in-hand.....a host/hostess gift, appetizer, dessert, bottle of wine....something!  I feel naked showing up to an event empty-handed!  I believe hand-made dishes are the best and most heartfelt.  If you can't make it, please don't bring the food in the Safeway box you bought it in....present it on a nice serving dish!

I believe in sending out birthday cards.....although lately this "old tradition" has changed a little since I am now a member of cocodot.com,  I try to send out email cards and invitations.  I justify sending the emails since it is better for the environment (but occasionally it is still nice to receive an invitation by snail mail and hold it in your hands)!  I send out lots of cards and evites via cocodot..... it is an excellent site!

Another tradition I have kept up over the last few years is sending out holiday cards.  I think it is a great way to keep in touch and let people know you're thinking of them during this magical time of year!  Tiny Prints. is one of my favorite online printers!  In the past, I have used them for my business cards and holiday cards.  Their finished product always meet my expectations and look great!  Tiny Prints also has some excellent deals and discounts on their products that I receive via email or Facebook.  So naturally, I selected them to print my holiday card this year!  There are so many choices when it comes to picking out a card it is hard to select one design.  I picked the Iron Gate Flat Holiday Greeting Card in Blue.  The flat card is printed as a postcard which eliminates the hassle of licking and stuffing envelopes....and the postage is conveniently .28 cents!    The postcard also has space on the back to type a note!  The turn-around time on orders is pretty quick (I think I could my cards within 4 or 5 days of ordering).  Here's what my finished product looks like!

Iron Gate Flat Holiday Greeting Cards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Get Well Arrangement

I had the opportunity to put together a "Get Well" arrangement this weekend.  I wanted it to be beautiful, full, bright and cheerful with a lot of variety in the flowers. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.  This time of year can be quite overwhelming (one reason I haven't posted much lately).  I did accomplish a few things this weekend....Christmas shopping is nearly done, lights are on the house and the tree is up!

Halloween Eve...Spooooky

 Saturday evening we hosted a Halloween Eve Party/Giants Party (works out great since their colors are black and orange).  I got resourceful by borrowing decorations and using things I already had from previous parties.  I had a bunch of red fabric and decor left from a 50th birthday party I put together last year.  It worked out great with black decor as a vampir-ish look!

 I think balloons, fabric and candles go a long way to make an area look decorated.  I also stretched spiderwebs across the room to give a spooky Halloween feel!

 Since the house is a little on the small size we decided to open up and decorate the garage as another room.  We hung orange and red lights from the rafters, added chairs, balloons, spider webs, music and a fog machine. 

The fog machine was the perfect accessory!

Also, we used the washer/dryer as a table and the wash basin as a drink tub!  It worked out perfectly by draping fabric and table cloths over the fixtures and created a nice flow of traffic into the extra space.

Decisions, Decisions

 I'm looking for fabric to use on the chairs I'm working on.  Here are the fabrics I am considering!  What do you think?  I am looking for something with a little bit of a modern feel to offset the classic form of the chairs.  The best part about these fabrics is they are all on sale at Joanne's right now!  I have looked at tons of different fabric websites but I really don't want to spend too much money on my first try at reupholstering!  If you have any suggestions I would appreciate them!

 Waverly Bedazzle/Silver

  Waverly Bedazzle/Clover

 Waverly Moorea/ Lapis