What I'm looking at...

My poor little laptop is about to blow from the numerous tabs open on Firefox.  So, to "keep tabs" on what I'm checking out in the cyber-world, here is a rundown:

Fantastic nautical inspired bags by Banyon Hippo on A Room Somewhere:

 Gorgeous cake-toppers and other treasures at Over the Top Studios:

Chic and affordable mommy calling cards at Pinwheelpress.  Which one do I get?

Flipping through Adore Home Magazine - Vivienne Westwood's Union Jack rug for the Rug Company from and center on the cover of February/March 2011. 

Wishing I had a moment this weekend to pop into this fantastic show by Come Junk with Us - "Ruffles and Rust" at the Monroe State Fairgrounds.  Had a blast there in the fall and felt so inspired.

Looking forward to a birthday brunch here with my hubs on Sunday while the kids run wild with my parents.  A stroll in the wonderful farmer's market to follow.  C'est magnifique!

Made in England

Here are a few of my latest obsessions that stem from my love of England.  With the royal wedding of Will & Kate coming up soon, my brain has turned to these nostalgic designs:

First, the fantastic hand screen printed wallpaper by Lizzie Allen.  We have yet to paint or paper any of our walls in the new house, even though we just passed the year mark since our move.  However, if I had a spare chunk of change hanging around, I would instantly place my order for one of the following prints to grace at least one room in my house. 

Lizzie Allen's Changing of the Guards

My gut tells me that I would go with this "Red Buses, Black Cabs" print for our powder room

Lizzie Allen's Red Buses, Black Cabs Wallpaper

     Another item that I happened upon are these adorable mugs by Repeat Repeat in the UK. 

Really get into the spirit of the spring royal wedding with this version of the Made in England mugs. 

Perhaps a nice addition to the other many chic and fun items available both in the UK and stateside for late-night (or will it be early morning?) wedding viewing on TV.  Thank goodness for the DVR.

Valentine's Day

Munchkins at the Preschool Party

We love Valentine's Day around here.  In fact, we love any holiday that has an emphasis on hugs, kisses and chocolate.  While zipping around the Internet, checking out my list of favorite blogs, I saw this adorable (and most importantly easy) dessert at You Are My Fav: 

Photo from You Are My Fav

I made the chocolate shells yesterday with tiny Reynolds Wrap heart cake tins that I bought last year and (typically) forgot about.  We'll see if I have the time to make a few Valentine Flags like these... if I dare get up from typing and watching re-runs of Sex and the City while kids are napping.

The kids are going to love this dessert!

A small addition to the kids' bath

I mentioned recently that I found the best shower curtain in the land for the kids bathroom at our house.  Not long after that I happened upon this fantastic painting at a favorite children's store/ toy store in the area called Common Folk for Kids.  Took all of 3 minutes to convince myself it'd be a great addition to our bathroom.  Voila!

ps - the main store, Common Folk, Co. is one of my favorite stores in the whole greater-Seattle area.

Another Banner - for Valentine's Day

I love making holiday banners for the kids. In an instant, our home goes from everyday to a "big" celebration.  This time I chose some little less than traditional colored papers from my favorite craft store, and then added a few die-cut letters and hearts to add lots of love to our home.  Happy Valentine's Day!!!

The Round of Life

I apologize for not having more gripping and frequent postings on this blog. Life has taken over in the past week and thus blogging gets pushed way to the back burner.

But, life is good. Just yesterday I put a party in a bag and lugged it to my son's last day of speech therapy: graduation day after 10 months of hard work. I'm so proud of him.

I Spy An Amazing Shower Curtain!

We're finally ready to tackle paint colors in our house (it's only been a year, really).  There is definitely an order of priorities:  Living room/Kitchen first, Master Bedroom & bath second, kids rooms, etc.  The one room I haven't put one ounce of brainpower into is the kids' bath.  They don't care, no one else cares, so why should I care?!

Anyhow, while clicking around Apartment Therapy last week, I spied an adorable shower curtain:

Photo from Apartment Therapy

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this super-fun shower curtain was found at Target and still available.  A few clicks later, and it was on its way. 

Photo from Target website

The kids love the little squirrels and owls in the charming forest, and it adds just the right amount of life and color to the drab, albeit brand new, kids bath.  Who needs paint in there now?  At least not for another year...