i so miss...

...the days when supermodels were on magazine covers and not celebrities.  remember when amber valleta and shalom harlow were gracing vogue every other issue?  it's always surprising how much better a photograph of a model is versus a celebrity.  models really make something of interest while celebrities just sort of...stand there, smiling?  i am so tired of our country's obsession with celebrities.  so, i'll have to admire european taste sensibilities until we can grow some of our own.

i'm not expecting...

...BUT i keep seeing the cutest things for a baby girl.

i need...

...a new haircut!  really, really badly.  i've decided i'm ready to chop a sizable chunk of my hair off and get my color closer to my natural color.  obviously, not my actual natural color because who goes into a salon and says they want to go a more dishwater brown?  so, here's my inspiration.

my appointment isn't for another week and a half so i have time to back out but i did run it by jim and he, like a good husband, said to "go for it."  i guess that means he doesn't hate it?

the photo is of nine de la fressange.  this may seem a bit overstated but i think my hair could do this without too much effort.  right now, it takes so much effort to straighten my hair that i end up just pulling it up into a bun every single day.  as for the color change, my lack of commitment to my hair spurred that on as the sheer maintenance of having to get roots touched up every six weeks just isn't something i'm into (and, let's be honest, it's way too expensive).  so, here's to trying a bit of the french way.

how...

...great does this asian scene behind antiqued mirror/glass look?  and, how can i recreate it?  {design by ruthie sommers}

andrea galvani

...more...

summer suit

loving this white summer "suit" with white jeans and espadrille flats.  casual & chic.

pawleys island

last night, we returned from a short trip to pawleys island, sc.  as usual, it was beyond amazing.  i was a little worried about the plane rides but they both went about as well as they could have and the vacation was so, so wonderful.  i have about two hundred photos so i've only just started editing but i will be sure to post more soon.

party boy!

here are some of my favorite shots from the day.  zach goodyear is so amazing.  he literally makes your life appear through rose colored glasses and i'm always so pleasantly surprised by how great he makes everything look.

holden's buddy, campbell (my best friend amy's little boy who is exactly one month older than holden), stopped by and i can't even tell you how much it warms my heart to see my baby playing with my best friend's baby.

enjoy!

party leftovers

it's so much fun to have little bits of holden's party still hanging around.  on saturday morning, i popped over to import flowers and snatched up these gorgeous blue hydrangeas.  then, i came home and hung the tissue pom poms and felt bunting for the party.  i have no plans to take down the little decorations because it makes for the happiest view every time i enter the house.

sneak peek of the birthday boy

holden turned one on mother's day so i put off a little family/close friend celebration one week to this past weekend.  everyone was so kind to come by and tell the little guy "happy birthday."  i had zach goodyear, the photographer who has taken holden's photos since the beginning, take his one year shots just before the party so that he could get a few good snaps of friends and family with the birthday boy.

i'll post the photos that zach took once they are ready.  i can't wait to see them!  below, you'll see that turning one ain't too shabby.  our little boy racked up...i think he'll be entertained for a little while, at least.

holden's newest obsession...

...the plastic dish drawer.

easter

yeah, yeah, yeah...so, it's been a while...a LONG while since i last posted.  things have been a little wild around here but they are all good things and i'm so grateful for them all.  i'll try to catch you up on all of the happenings post by post.

first, easter.  holden was such a trooper and even got to hunt his first easter eggs thanks to his aunt mandi who supplied him with a hunting ground that had several key features:

1. close proximity
2. even terrain
3. eggs filled with baby-friendly treats like puffs and yogurt melts

he was adorable, of course, and played the entire time with the first (and pretty much last) egg that he encountered.  so many facets of interest in an easter egg: the hard outer shell, the fact that it breaks in two, before it breaks into two pieces, it rattles, etc.  his attention span is fleeting but the eggs definitely kept his interest.  at least for about 6 minutes.

meet the new coffee table

i went to my go-to table guy, keith merry, and sketched out what i was hoping he could create for me.  he was game, as usual, and the table turned out perfectly.  i sort of merged the inset tray from willy rizzo's designs with the casual/functional property of reclaimed wood and topped the design off with a bit of "elegance" in the form of antique brass rivets.  so...there.  isn't she pretty?

i am already thinking of all the cool things i could put in the tray.  hmmm...

click here to learn more & purchase

holden's new obsession...

...our neighbor's cat.  if you merely mention the word kitty or kitty cat, he immediately heads for the front door in hopes that indie (our neighbor's cat) will be sitting at our front door.  to clarify, our next door neighbors actually lived in our house, walked next door to the newly built home during an open house, decided to buy it, and sold their house to us.  so, you can imagine that little indie gets confused as what was once her home, is now our home.  however, she has an admirer in holden.  he stands at one window...crawls to the other window flanking the front door...crawls back.  free entertainment is a good thing.

indie is actually one of the only cats i've ever liked in my life (just not a "cat person") and my neighbor even said she lets children pick her up by her tail.  i'm impressed.  she also meanders into our home if i ever leave the front door open while i'm getting holden out of the car.  i can't blame her...it's a great house.

on another note, as i strolled into the home after an errand, jim mentioned that there was an owl in our backyard and that the dogs were going nuts.  so, he put them in their kennel in the garage and proceeded to take a few photos.  he mentioned they were on my camera and i just didn't get a chance to actually look at them until now.  i imagined a baby owl had simply had a little trouble in the flight department but, as it turns out, this was no baby.  look at this bird!  amazing.

how lucky am i...

...to get to walk into this little scenario three times a day?  holden has made huge strides in the mobility department.  he's into everything and pulls up to a standing position as much as possible.  he's starting to cruise around things so i wouldn't be surprised if it's not too long before he's taking his first big boy steps.  nothing short of the world's most precious little man, holden is growing up way too fast.  i need to find a way to put the skids on, pronto!

dining room in progress

here are some shots of the dining room getting its wallpaper "outfit."  crazy thing to watch someone hang wallpaper.