hearts again

I seem to have an unintentional theme going on this week!

I wore this yesterday when I visited my apartment for the first time that it could really be called MY apartment. After I gave my parents a little tour we went out for dinner and then came back to my place for dessert. It's currently completely empty except for 7 cans of paint on the floor, whipped cream and chocolate pudding in the fridge, and a pink feather wreath on the door. A nice start, if I do say so myself ;)

Despite all the hustle and bustle going on right now with moving I'm also working on so many projects! I finally finished part of my 2014 calendar (thank goodness, I was worried it would be 2016 before I got around to it!!) and I have a really exciting new sweet & lovely project I'm hoping to have ready in the next couple of weeks. I kind of neglected that shop for a while.. I think the last time I added anything new was in the spring, but all of a sudden my ideas notebook is overflowing. And me and Kyle are working on opening a new joint etsy shop! That last one might take a little while but the wheels are in motion and we're both so excited about it!

ps. Ever + Mi Crush is having a 40% off sale, so if you still haven't snagged a Hypatia dress now would definitely be the perfect time ;) Just use code "autumn40" at checkout!

dress - trollied dolly | shirt - h&m | tie - flapper girl | shoes - urban outfitters

Read More

new digs

Today I get the keys to my apartment! ahh! I'm a complete bundle of nervousness and excitement right now. I picked out my paint colors and I'm planning on tarping and blue-painters-taping the whole place tomorrow so it's ready to paint Thursday. They actually told me it was fine if I painted as long as I put it back to white before leaving. Honestly though I would have probably done it anyway... I can't even imagine living somewhere without color surrounding me like a big happy hug.

However! I am actually leaving my studio area white (gasp!) I settled on white chalkboard paint after seeing it on A Beautiful Mess a little while ago. This way I can still add pops of color whenever I want (imagine the possibilities -- snowflakes all over in the winter, easter eggs in the spring, etc.!) but wipe it away for a plain white photo background whenever I need one. Plus I'm planning on having colorful furniture to counterbalance the plain walls, and the trim is going to be pink! :D

I've been obsessing over my dream home board on pinterest all week, soaking up ideas and inspiration and, frankly, getting a little overwhelmed by the many things I want to do when I can't possibly do them all! I want wallpaper somewhere, giant statement art (I already painted a huge portrait of Dwight Schrute for my hallway!) family photos, colorful furniture, white furniture, pastels everywhere but also bright colors? I think I'm going to end up meticulously planning some things (like my kitchen design is already pretty solid) and then letting others evolve as I live there for a while. My bedroom took years to end up exactly the way that I wanted, and I'm sure my apartment will be the same way. But I think that's part of the fun! Waiting to see how rooms grow to suit your ever-changing needs and tastes!

Anyway, these are some of my absolute favorite pins that definitely represent the direction I want to take. Pastel, feminine, slightly kitschy and kind of retro. The photos link back to the source (except for two that I couldn't track down.)

Read More

denim hearts

My brother's cell phone broke last week so I gave him mine and upgraded to the iphone 5C. I forgot that it's a completely different size than my old one (I had a 4S) so in addition to needing a new case (I'm going to miss my perfect pink hello kitty one so much!) it doesn't fit in my tripod iphone attachment anymore. For these photos I put my self-timer on and then taped my cell phone to my computer screen with blue painter's tape so it would stay upright. Neccesity is the mother of invention right? ;p

Speaking of blue painter's tape, I got all of my paint and painting supplies yesterday! I get the apartment tomorrow night (!!!!) so I'll probably start painting on Wednesday. I'm so excited about this part! The moving-all-my-stuff and finding-furniture parts are a little more daunting. I did start cleaning out my closet, though, and I have a big giant heap of things for a shop my closet update later this week! I figured I might as well clear out some things I don't wear instead of mindlessly moving everything into the new place :)



I've mentioned this before, but I still can't get over this sweet furry friendship. Hubble and Arrietty are such cute little pals! They're almost always hanging out together, playing, or napping near each other (still not cuddling but I'm hoping that's on the horizon.)

dress - modcloth | shoes - bait footwear | cat collar clips - c/o i love crafty

Read More

recipe: pumpkin pie ice cream

Last weekend I got a text from Yogurtland saying they had a new pumpkin pie flavor of frozen yogurt and I was dying to try it! I went on Wednesday and the cashier told me the flavor was already gone for the season (what?!) so, heartbroken, I went to the grocery store to see if they had any. They didn't! Then I remembered that I got my dad an ice cream maker for his birthday this spring and we had yet to try it out.

I did a quick google search on my phone but couldn't find any recipes that used real pumpkin pie. Most have pumpkin filling and graham cracker crumbs or something like that, but I wanted actual pie in my ice cream. So I decided to just wing it and BOY am I glad that I did. I used the milk measurements from a peanut butter ice cream recipe that came with the ice cream machine and then eyeballed the rest. It came out so great I can't wait to try other flavors now! I want to try apple next but my dad is campaigning for garlic (yup, garlic!) We'll see..

Here's my recipe for pumpkin pie ice cream:

1 pumpkin pie, pre-cooked
1 cup fat free half-and-half
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup brown sugar
red and yellow food coloring (optional)

Cut 1/4 slice of the pie and eat it. If you want to save it for later or give it away that's fine too, but I recommend eating it immediately. Then scoop out the entire center of the pie, including the bottom crust (leaving only the crust edges in the pan) and mash it up in your mixing bowl with a fork. Add brown sugar and mix. Then add the half-and-half and combine with a hand mixer on low speed. Then add the heavy cream and continue mixing on low for about a minute. Cover your bowl and store in the fridge for a couple hours (I left mine in overnight.)

When the batter is cool, add it to your ice cream machine and watch the magic happen! My ice cream maker (this one) is open at the top (I don't know if all of them are? I'm new to this) so I could see the batter transforming into ice cream right before my eyes. It was SO cool! While it was churning I added 3 drops of yellow and 3 drops of red food coloring to make the ice cream a little bit more pumpkin-looking. I was also planning on adding some crumbs from the leftover crust edges a few minutes before the ice cream was done but it ended up getting too thick for me to add anything! I definitely want to try that in my next batch for some added texture.

Read More

friday favorites

This is so pretty! I'm tempted to go get some fake flowers and dress up my own car bumper!


Mint green cat shoes. 'nuff said.



I LOVE The Oatmeal's new comic about Columbus Day!



Amy Poehler and Jon Hamm thew an "Emmy Losers Party" this year and I think it's one of the coolest things ever. They seem like such good sports!



Danielle from Kitschy Digitals has a really neat (and free!) Halloween printable to get all of your household portraits in the holiday spirit!



Peter Pan + galaxy print = one of the coolest dresses ever.



These confetti pops are so awesome! I think if cat-friendly confetti existed I'd be throwing it around my home all the time. They're available from Emerging Thoughts who, by the way, are also carrying The Hypatia dress now!! eep!



I think I need this sweater and these socks are so neat!



This is such a clever DIY idea! Recycle old VHS plastic cases into a one of a kind clutch!



I am definitely doing this awesome David Bowie skull project when I decorate my apartment for Halloween!

Read More

sweatshirt weather

What do you do when you like how comfy sweatshirts are, but prefer how dresses look? You get a sweatshirt dress, of course! This dress is SO comfortable I might have even worn it to bed a couple times ... oops :) But I love that somehow it's still really structured, with this really cool collar and fitted waist. Oh and it has a tiny little white faux leather detail at the neckline which I think is absolutely perfect for showcasing tiny brooches! I used it to display a little unicorn pin I have that's usually too small to wear as a normal brooch.

I'm still feeling under the weather so I've been spending a lot of time sleeping and drinking hot chocolate & tea. I think I bring this up every time I'm not feeling well, but it really sucks to be sick and self employed at the same time. You can't really call in sick, but it's pretty much impossible to get all of my work done and get better at the same time. I've been trying to maintain a regular routine -- get up, get dressed, work -- and just get as much done as possible before I need to turn in for the night, usually a LOT earlier than usual. Anyway, 'tis the season for pumpkin spice everything and whining about health issues, I guess? ;)

dress- asos | socks - forever 21 | hat - handmade gift from casey | pin - thrifted

Read More

october wishlist

1. my sweet art dress from modcloth
2. ruffle front mint top from topshop
3. dash of dapper flats from modcloth
4. pastel blue & pink bow tie from flapper girl
5. cat crazy compact mirror from forever 21
6. perfect plus one bag from modcloth
7. little animal ring from urban outfitters
8. ice cream parlor dress from bonne chance
9. harmonica chain necklace from forever 21
10. magical unicorn brooch from andsmile
11. vintage mint clutch from fancy that vintage

Read More