Jcrew outlet sale

Just a heads up, if you have a Jcrew outlet in your area, every. single. thing. in the store is 50% today and tomorrow. Even the sale is an additional 50% off the already reduced price. So, if you are in a shopping mood and need some summer essentials, you now have some nice Saturday plans. Ty and I went last night, and I picked me up some of these in brown leather (honestly, my staple summer footwear).

Happy weekend

I hope you all have great weekend plans. Ty's birthday is tomorrow, so we will be doing a bit of celebrating around these parts. He's turning the big old 28! Whoa! And we plan to have a little fancy breakfast at home followed by golfing in the afternoon and a sushi dinner (since Ty ALWAYS wants to go to sushi, but we rarely get the chance). I hope you have great times planned with you and your love ones! Here are a few links to kick off the weekend.

For pet lovers: seriously so true.
Radiolab rebroadcast my favorite episode last week. The story at the beginning sounds like absolute magic to me.
Be good.
I tried this protein packed breakfast. Delicious.
And I want to try this for dinner.
This swimsuit may need to be mine for summer.
Just picked up these to keep my feet dry and cozy this spring (I got black)
Have you seen this backwards stroll through Jerusalem yet? Mesmerizing.
When we have kids, I hope they are as cute as this. These posts from her honestly make my week.
Unicorn.

PHOTO VIA

Cute pajama alert

You guys. I just spotted these Gillian & O'Malleys at Target, and let me tell you. They are CUTE. And only $25!  If you've been looking for a cute, affordable pajama set, look no further. Target has you covered. Just wanted to spread the good news.

NOTE: THE CORAL ONES ARE A BIT MORE PINK IN COLOR, AND BOTH SETS ARE MUCH MORE VIBRANT THAN THE PHOTOS SHOW.

Suspended coffees

I came across this story today and I thought it was perfect. This is how we should live our lives. I wish I had a diner so I could start this. Maybe I will walk around our local eating places and see if anyone is interested. Maybe I could make them a sign that says "Suspended Supported Here" that they could display in their windows. I suppose that is what the soup kitchen is for, but still. I love it.

We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we’re aproaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter:
‘Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended’ They pay for their order, take the two and leave.

I ask my friend: “What are those ‘suspended’ coffees?”
My friend: “Wait for it and you will see.”

Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers - three for them and four ‘suspended’. While I still wonder what’s the deal with those ‘suspended’ coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square infront of the café. Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in throught the door and kindly asks ‘Do you have a suspended coffee ?’

It’s simple - people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who can not afford a warm bevarage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwitch or a whole meal.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have such cafés or even grocery stores in every town where the less fortunate will find hope and support ? If you own a business why don’t you offer it to your clients… I am sure many of them will like it.

VIA A WELL TRAVELED WOMAN

The Dapper Dog

I dream of one day opening a pet accessories store called The Dapper Dog. And just hanging out with Hank all day and selling great looking pet accessories at good prices. Who knows how feasible that is, but I have a few backup plans too (living in Costa Rica and owning a surf camp, or just living in Costa Rica and surfing with my little tan babies. We'll see.) But either way, when I came across Free People's pet line the other day, I was smitten. I especially love their collars and leads. And pooch poncho? Shut the front door.

Happy Weekend

Happy weekend, everyone! The snow is coming down in buckets in these parts today -- huge white flakes. Millions of them. Thank goodness all our plans for the weekend are inside. Tonight I am taking my sweet niece indoor climbing to show her the ropes and help her get out of her comfort zone (way to go, Meg). And then tomorrow Ty and I are heading up to Salt Lake for dinner and the symphony with one of my favorite couple friends, Anna and David. Ty and I have been talking about going to something like the symphony for ages, so when we got an email from another dear friend saying she was going to be playing in her last performance on Saturday, we quickly scooped up tickets. Can't wait. What about you? Anything fun? Here are some links to start it all off:

This DIY fabric light cover is awesome.
Thoughtful glasses packaging.
Clever children's posters.
Madewell is having 25% off + free shipping right now. I am loving these boots of theirs
(in cadet).
The most adorable carrot cake for Easter.
Dying Easter eggs naturally.
Good thinking President Hinckley.
Dance. Dance. Dance.
Bear family.

Kitchen facelift

Lately Ty and I have been talking about giving our kitchen (pictured above) a little TLC this spring, and it makes me REALLY happy. Since I moved in more than 3 years ago, I've been pining for an update; so catching wind it may take place in the near future has me imagining all sorts of different color combinations; white cabinets? dark cabinets? NEW CABINETS?! Maybe a marble countertop? Butcher block? Oooooo...butcher block. Both? We will see, but I love picturing the myriad of possibilities in my head. I think we are leaning toward a dark cabinet color and some brass hardware. Then maybe a light countertop and possibly a farmhouse sink? Hmmmmmm? So many options. I'm just happy our serious lack of counter space is actually a good thing when it comes to a kitchen update. Here are a few kitchens I have been digging.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Bisquick coffee cake

Sunday morning I woke up craving coffee cake. You know, coffee cake? That delicious breakfast food your mom made on special days when you were a kid? From the recipe printed on the side of the Bisquick box? Man, that was the best. So, I got myself out of bed, sauntered into the kitchen, grabbed the Bisquick, and was sadly confronted with a coffe-cake-recipieless box. Curses. It turns out they took the recipe off a few years ago, but thankfully there are fellow Bisquick coffee cake lovers (I'm telling you, guys, this stuff is tasty) who have access to the internet, and "bungalowten" was kind enough to have placed the recipe online for everyone. Thank you, friend.

This is perfect for a little Sunday breakfast snack. It's super easy to make, doesn't take too long, and as long as you have Bisquick, it's made with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. These are my most favorite types of recipes. Just make sure you have a banana or something too to make up for its total lack of nutrients. And a cool, hefty glass of milk -- coffee cake and milk really just belong together. Enjoy!

Happy weekend

Hey friends! Happy weekend! Anything fun planned on your ends? Ours is a mix of fun and utilitarian duties. Tonight we are going to try out a cute little ice cream shop Ty has been wanting to take me to, then we're meeting up with some close friends to see Lincoln (I think we may be the very last people on the planet who haven't seen it yet). Then Saturday we need to run some errands (order some shoes for Ty at the store, get Hank his vaccination boosters) and then we're going to visit Ty's sweet grandpa, Elmo, in his care center; I can't wait to see him, he really is the sweetest man. Last time we were there, as we were saying our goodbyes he reached out his arms to give me a hug and told me he loved me. Melt. My. heart. I hope you all have a great times over the next few days. It looks like we'll be losing our 60s temperatures and getting some rain in these parts, but I kind love the rain so I don't mind. Here are a few links to jump start your weekend:

This bicycle scooter is kiinnddaaa neat.
I have been learning this on the guitar.
Loving the architectural curb appeal of this home.
Sweet family photo.
Love this bridesmaid outfit.
Lately I've been using magazines as boot trees.
Ty says this porch decoration is trying too hard, but I dig it.
Just picked up a few of these for our porch this spring.
I dream about kayaking with whales.
I loved these when I was little. Definitely on my to-make list.
Reminds me of Ty.
World's most insane rope swing. Would you do it? I SO would.
Nature takes my breath away.

Google Reader replacements

I'm sure you've heard already, but just in case, I will break the news that Google has decided to stop offering their Reader service starting July 1st. I'm not gonna lie, this made me VERY sad when I first heard. But, after a little research this morning, the sun is shining a little brighter because I have found 2 fantastic alternatives. Both Feedly and Bloglovin' work great, and both will import your Google Reader blogs that you have already painstakingly imported and set up.

Feedly is organized quite a bit differently than Reader, but it will keep your folder settings when you transition over and I think it's actually a bit prettier. The navigating isn't quite as intuitive, but I might prefer the way it is organized (more research still must be done) and it allows you to view full blogposts without clicking through to the individual blog sites. Feedly has been preparing for the closing of Reeder and will seamlessly transition to be your main blog reader come July. I think I am leaning toward feedly for my reader of choice.

Bloglovin' is ultimately just a much prettier version of Google Reader, but it won't preserve your categories or organization when you import from Reader. The main feed area shows all unread posts at once so you can just scroll through them without having to hit individual titles or arrow buttons, which is really convenient  But the post preview windows only show a small portion of each blogpost and require you to click out onto the main blog page to view the entire post...not sure how much I love that, but I will give it a chance.

So fret not, my friends! All will be AOK in our Readerless world come July. I'm going to feel out both options a little more before I decide on my one and only, but it's so nice to know there are great alternatives out there to take the place of our beloved Google Reader.

Home wares by Joinery

I came across these beautiful home wares by New York based Joinery today and was a bit taken aback. Their simplicity and natural earthiness sing to the live-simply part of my soul. Everything is just so clean and lovely. Nothing over the top, but everything perfectly designed to be just right (according to my aesthetic, at least). And they remind me that I want to build a rug loom in the near future.

THEIR BAGS ARE ALSO PRETTY GREAT. FOR ME. FOR TY.

Fjällräven Backpacks

Are these Fjällräven backpacks not the cutest? While we were in Iceland last year, Ty and I spotted them at a few gift shops around the country and FELL. IN. LOVE. "These would be THE CUTEST backpacks for little kids!" I exclaimed. "We should get them for the nieces and nephews!" Ty confirmed. Sadly, the $100+ price tag kept us from fulfilling our gift-giving dreams, so we instead snapped a photo and vowed to look them up on ebay when we got home. However, upon return to the US we realized there was no need; Jcrew beat us to it (and at a far more reasonable pricetag, at that). And I just spotted them again over at Modcloth. I still absolutely love them. And bonus, they make them for adults too!

Happy weekend

Can you believe it is Friday again!? I was almost giddy this morning as I mentally started welcoming the weekend. Fridays really are the greatest. This evening I'm headed out for a girls night while Ty stays home to work (wha wha), and then Saturday night I am learning how to cable-knit at a knitting night with some friends; I can't wait! Ty has been requesting a cable knit scarf, plus it just feels kinda great to learn new things. This week's links are courtesy of my sweet husband, Ty.

Uh huh.
Yis.
Oh yeah.
FREAK YES.
Yep.
Mmmmmm...no thanks.

So in love with these

SO in love.

MARGARET HOWELL S/S 13 BY MARK SANDERS

The National

The National has been on play a lot at our house lately. There's just something about its moody, melodic vibe that makes it the perfect soundtrack to life, especially in this winter-about-to-turn-spring we've been experiencing lately (hurray!). I swear, sometimes certain songs make my soul just sing. You know how that goes? Like, the song comes on, and you find yourself getting a little teary just cause it makes you so happy? And you're thinking "this is ridiculous" but really you wouldn't change it for anything because "Jeez, this song is just so good!" Are you picking up what I am putting down? Cause man, does The National do to me sometimes. Hope you enjoy too, in that soul-singing sort of way. Here are a few other favorites of ours if that one up there doesn't get you.

Weekend recap + printables

 

 

I spent the first part of the weekend at the St. Regis Deer Valley for one last hurrah with my girlfriends before two of them go off and get married. My friend Jules (wearing the paint-splattered shirt up there) was keen to make the weekend extra special, so we brought decorations along to spice up the room, and I was put in charge of personalizing eats and drinks for the weekend. I opted to make personalized water bottle labels (you better believe those babies read "Let your thirst for marriage be quenched") since none of us really love soda, and I made little cupcake topers that read "isn't life sweet?" for our desserts. When it comes to decorations for a girls weekend, I'm all for the cheesier the better. After a dinner out, as girls do, we cozied up in our beds in our swanky hotel room and chatted the night and morning away about all things marriage and love (cause, really, what else would we do?).

After girls weekend wrapped up Saturday afternoon, Ty and I took a walk up the canyon with Hank to enjoy the 50-degree weather (!). Then just lounged around the remainder of the weekend, which was highly welcome in my book. Don't you just love loungy Sundays? PS, I indeed did make this soup, and it was super tasty.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE WATER BOTTLE LABEL HERE -- IT FITS A 1L FIJI WATER BOTTLE
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE CUPCAKE TOPPER CIRCLES HERE -- THERE ARE A FRONT AND A BACK THAT YOU SANDWICH A TOOTHPICK BETWEEN 

ST. REGIS PHOTOS COURTESY OF JULIA SMITH

Happy weekend

Friday is here again! Such great news. This week was packed full for me, but it still managed to fly by. Ty and I drove up to SLC at least once every day, so I am looking forward to less time in the car next week. Tonight Ty and I are parting ways and I am heading up to Park City for a girls weekend; a couple of my favorite ladies are getting married, so we thought we would celebrate with a weekend away. We are planning on getting some fantastic pizza at Maxwell's (have you tried it? It's honestly DELICIOUS) and spending a fair amount of time in the hotel hot tub. Hope you have something great planned too! Here are a few links to start off your weekend.

My brother guest posted over on Stay At Home Paranoid Mom this week about how his family lives sans car with multiple family bikes. He's seriously my hero.
The "I ♥ YOU" sign is still up in our house cause we just aren't ready to take it down yet.
Thanks for the sweet mention this week, Mara. It made my week.
5 stylish home theaters. #3 is my favorite.
Paper Art.
I'm going be making this Rainbow Soup for dinner on Sunday.