biscuits and tea...

Sophisticated tea:

{from the dieline}

Fun tea:

{from the dieline}

And a little something delectable:

{from the dieline}

"Take your taste buds somewhere scrumptious."

let there be light

I love these.

things I'm loving from around the bloggosphere

Seriously one of the cutest Christmas photoshoots I've ever seen!
{click here} to see the rest of the pictures!
I think this chalkboard background
would be nice for a DIY "faux-tobooth" too

Personalized Stationary for a very hip Grandma
{known by all the kids as Grandma Latté}
via alee and press

Super cute pincushion
sold at TheBlueDaisy on Etsy

"French" Goodness
I have yet to make these but they look de.lic.ious.
{See the recipe here}

Sweetest. Tattoo. Ever.
Read the *short* story {here}

This great wooden headboard
found at Say Yes! to Hoboken

Backyard fun

Oh the joys of Brooklyn (as opposed to Manhattan)
Say Yes to Hoboken via Little Green Notebook
{I'm loving that Pottery Barn kitchen set in the playhouse too!}

Vintage Wall Art
- - hearts made out of ticket stubs - -
Blue Bell Bazaar via A Little Sussy

Cute little bunting crayon roll
{see the tutorial here}

something new

I recently stumbled across a new (to me) blog
run by Jeanie of The Paper Nut.

I found quite a few cute things lurking throughout her archives...

Her brilliantly fun lettering:

{click it to enlarge the letter-goodness}

{Paper Nut Letters found here here and here}

My favorite among her wedding invitation suites:

{Great Wedding Suite by The Paper Nut}

The most awesome pair of girls pants I've ever seen!

{Crankypants on Etsy}


Some fantastic wooden finds...

{Plastica}

And, last but not least, something kind of weird that I kind of like...

{Little felt toys from AsherJasper on Etsy}

my imaginary home: details, details, details!

There is nothing I love more than unexpected touches throughout a home.
Molding, carving, engraving; beautiful tiles, door knobs, outlet covers...
There are so many fantastically understated elegances possible.

One of my favorite little somethings about the house I grew up in
was the cut glass window-in-a-wall right above the doorway
between my bedroom and the connected bathroom.
It was incredible. So detailed and spectacular yet totally understated.

There were a lot of things I loved about that house.

My mom called me up the other day
to say that it is on the market once again.
The folks who bought it from us intended all along
to "fix it up" and shoot for a profit.

Looking at the listing
literally brought tears to my eyes and blow to the heart.

Almost everything I love most about the house they changed.
The ceiling to floor, wall to wall mirrors - - gone.
The enormous gold chandelier in the entry way - - gone.
The stairway railing - - changed.
The unusual kitchen flooring - - changed.

I guess beautiful design and decor really is in the eye of the beholder.

{like that hallway arch via Cup of Jo}

{I adore pretty molding - - aren't those stairs fantastic?! via D,D,&D}

{love those doors! via D,D,&D}

{awesome... and kind of dangerous via tumblr.}

{ok. maybe not just for my imaginary home. Those spiky globes are cool! via tumblr}

Happy New Year!

{photo via tumblr}

Wow. Here we are almost a full week in to 2010.

Hard. to. believe.*
* how much things are going to change
* how much I've got to do
* how much worrying I've done
* how excited I am
Hard. to. believe.

It is also hard to believe the *BANG*
with which this new year, and this last quarter at UW, has begun.
On my way to French 202 on the first day of the quarter (Monday)
an oblivious stranger
did me the favor of jamming a heavy wooden door into my big right toe.
OUCH. Turns out, I have wimpy toes
(or else said stranger was the Hulk in disguise)
because the entirety of my toe nail + some turned DARK blueberry
and the tip, sides, and bottom of the end bruised black.

{my toe a few hours in. sadly, it got much worse.
See that normal looking skin at the tip?
it turned black by sundown Monday night.}

It hurt. BAD. And I cried.
24 hours later I broke down and went to Hall Health.
Upon arrive I received a few 5x7 glossies of my bones
and then had a hole drilled...err burned... through my toe nail.

But you know what?
I've got a feeling
2010 is going to be a good year!*

And, to start the year off right I've decided to de-clutter my desktop
(because de-cluttering my real desk is going to take more than an hour)
and make it pretty once again
(because I'm happier when my surroundings are colorful!).

{my computer. click it to enlarge!}

My philosopher thinks it is "silly"
but I LLLLOOOOOVEEEE customizing my computer.
What I didn't know until today
was how to customize all the various icons.
I'm so excited. Now, every time I open up an application
I can't help but smile.
{Those of you with macs should try it!!}