Cheese Please

Head over to one of my favorite daily doses of inspiration, A Cup of Jo, for some fabulous tips on creating the perfect cheese plate. 

   

{images via A Cup of Jo} 

Then and Now: Mustard Yellow Dress

                                   

{Left: Oscar de La Renta - 1979, Right: ModCloth - Main Squeeze dress}

Feather Hair Extensions

I love the feather hair extension trend right now but I'll have to wait until summer to try and pull it off.  

If you're up for the trend now, the Feather Junkie will be putting in extensions for $20 at Flirt Boutique in Dallas tomorrow. There's also a great selection of feather hair extensions from several sellers on Etsy. 

What do you think of feather hair extensions? 

Sweet Valley Confidential

As a child of the 80s, I was extremely fascinated by the blonde twins of Sweet Valley High, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. With their sparkling blue eyes, California tans, and "perfect size six" figures, I was hooked on reading this mind candy once I had graduated from The Baby-Sitters Club.

The Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal is back again with a sequel, Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later. The twins are now in their late-20s and are apparently at odds with each other. Sweet and smart Elizabeth versus cool and scandalous Jessica? Sounds like perfect poolside summer reading to me!

Did you read the Sweet Valley High series? Do you think you'll read Sweet Valley Confidential?

Cowgirl Cuties

I went to the Dallas Flea this morning and left with my first pair of cowgirl boots! After four years of living in Texas, it's about time I got an authentic pair. For $50 and already broken-in, I just had to nab them from Cowgirl Cuties. 

What's your favorite flea market find? 

Crimson and Blue

As the Jayhawks head to the Sweet 16, jazz up your KU gear with an extra pop of crimson and blue! 

{1. Essie nail polish in Mezmerised 2. Rebecca Minkoff The BF bag - $100 of each bag purchased is donated to the Red Cross 3. Kate Spade Lido espadrelle flat  3. Clinique Chubby Stick in Chunky Cherry}

Rock Chalk! 

Royal Wedding Donut

The upcoming royal wedding of William and Kate has produced a lot of interesting stuff. From a fridge to nail decals to the classic china plates, don't they deserve a donut too?

{via Foodbeast} 

Dunkin' Donuts has revealed plans for a "Royal Wedding Donut", a heart-shaped donut filled with red jelly and drizzled with chocolate. This royal treat will be available the week of April 24-29. Make sure pick them up for your late-night royal wedding watch party.

The Dallas Flea

I'm looking forward to attending the Dallas Flea for the first time on Saturday!

{via SMU Style}

I've only been to a couple of flea markets before but I've always have so much fun at them. If this flier by Southern Fried Paper is any indication of the flea's cuteness, then I'm sure it will be a winner. 

What's your favorite flea market find? 

Sweet Shampoo: Honey'Do

Call me a sucker for cute packaging, but I am in need of some new shampoo. 

Honey'do Shampoo and Conditioner is sold at A Beautiful Life for $18 each, or $30 for both. Sweet temptation. 

Sprinkles Cupcakes to benefit the American Red Cross

On Tuesday, March 22, Sprinkles is donating all of the proceeds from their Red Cross Red Velvet Cupcakes to the American Red Cross to support Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. 

{Cupcakes via Sprinkles}

Red Velvet is my absolute favorite cupcake from Sprinkles! The fact that 100% of the proceeds from this cupcake is going to a good cause will make it even sweeter. This isn't the first time Sprinkles has stepped up in their giving to charity. Since opening, Sprinkles has donated more than $2 million in cash and cupcakes to their communities! 

love: vintage typewriters

My friend Katy of Floor To Ceiling recently purchased a vintage typewriter that I'm totally swooning over. I have always had a special place in my heart for typewriters since I had my first typing experiences on them.

{via Oh Happy Day!}

One day I'll get a vintage typewriter of my own, but it will be for purely aesthetic purposes. I like my modern tech devices. Oh, and I'm really bad with white out. 

What are your typewriter memories?

Searching for Billy Buttons

I really enjoy having fresh flowers at home but it be pricey to maintain. My latest DIY project is to create a faux flower arrangement made up of dried flowers. Of course the flower that strikes my fancy is uncommon and I'm having a tough time finding them. 

{Images: Portobello Bride, Elizabeth Anne Designs, Ruffled, Santa Barbara Chic}

Crasperia, Billy Balls, Billy Buttons, whatever silly name you want to call them, these yellow ball flowers are so quirky and fun!

Let me know if you know of a place where I can find them!

Sweet on the Jayhawks

March Madness is here and there aren't many things I like more than my Kansas Jayhawks.

In our goodie baskets for our out-of-town wedding guests, we included a Jayhawk cookie from Aunt T's  Sweet Creations in Topeka, Kansas. They were a great deal at less than $1 each. I would highly recommend Aunt T's if you're looking for a KU-themed sweet treat! 

Happy Spring!

Tomorrow officially marks the first day of spring - yay! Don't these 1940s pin-up girls look like they are enjoying a beautiful spring day?

{via katespadeny tumblr}

For Japan With Love

It's such a small thing, but I'm participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence tomorrow to raise awareness about disaster relief in Japan. For Japan With Love is a grassroots effort from my blogging community to raise money for Shelter Box, one of the first aid agencies to help in the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan and Pacific tsunami. If you haven't donated already, consider donating to the cause. 

You can also donate to the Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10. Even cooler: LivingSocial is matching $5 donations to the Red Cross for the next couple of days. Win-win! 

Every little bit helps!

green things

There are so many beautiful shades of green. 

{Candy Bar via Amy Atlas}

Emerald:  

{Spring Ready Dress from Anthropologie}

Olive: 

{Butter London Dash}

Kelly:

{Pants from Zara}

Army: 

{Sperry Top-Sider}

Mint, lime, neon, hunter... The list could go on. What's your favorite shade of green? 

Rainbow Bright

If it weren't for rainbows, where leprechauns store their pots o'gold?

Rainbow Cake via Whisk Kid

Rainbow Flowers via A Little Sussy

Old Fashioned Soda Bar via Oh Happy Day!

Rainbow Garland via Mini-Eco

If you're really into rainbows, you might like this rainbow umbrella. 

Cupcakes: There's an App For That

{via imgfav}

Yummy tech love. 

Fashion Plates

Did anyone else play fashion designer as a kid by tracing and coloring Fashion Plates? I had so much fun creating all sorts of ensembles back in the day. 

Photograph by A Pattern of Life

Beautiful Bracketology

March Madness is here! Have you filled in your brackets?

Although you can fill in most brackets online these days, I still carry around a hard copy with my picks filled in on it throughout March. Lauren of Rhythm and Daisies spotted this lovely NCAA Tournament Bracket on Vanity Fair. Even if your bracket gets busted, at least it will look pretty!

Download the printable version from Vanity Fair 

Outfitting the iPad

My trusty Incase sleeve is great for my MacBook but I want something a little more fun and fashionable for my new toy. Here are a few of my favorite iPad 2 cases: 

        

Salvatore Ferragamo iPad Case 

Graphic Image Personalized Case for iPad 

Case-Mate 'Venture' iPad case

booq Boa Skin for iPad 

Garden of Love Stamps

I've mentioned before that I have become a bit of a philatelist recently. After spending many hours searching through the collection of vintage stamps from Park Cities Stamps for our wedding stationery, I really began to appreciate the small tiny bits of artwork affixed to personal notes and cards. 

The Garden of Love stamps by Jose Ortega is the most lovely stamp that I've seen in recent collections. They will be released as Forever stamps on May 19th. 

USPS

You may also like my other stamp posts:
Adopt-A-Shelter Stamp and Kansas 150th Anniversary Stamp

Thanks Hello!Lucky for the inspiration.

Zoya: Maura

My nail polish color of the week: Maura, a cherry red nail lacquer from Zoya. A perfect springtime juicy red!

Monogram iPhone Cases

I love these preppy monogram iPhone cases from Dani Notes Stationery.     

                    

A Picture-Perfect Classroom

It's hard to believe that a classroom this adorable really exists. 

{from A Little Sussy} 

Minted Wedding Invitations

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I worked with Stamped Paper Co. in designing our wedding invitations.  At that time, I was constantly sending them ideas and inspiration from the many designs I swooned over. 

One of my favorite resources for inspiration came from Minted. They recently released some new lovely new invitation from indie designers. Head over to 100 Layer Cake who is sponsoring a $250 Minted giveaway! 

Red Carpet Style: Black Swan

Without a doubt, Black Swan was my favorite movie nominated this Academy Awards season. Both actresses looked fantastic at the Oscars.

The strikingly gorgeous Mila Kunis is absolutely flawless in lavender. 

Natalie Portman's tassel earrings are fab! 

{images via InStyle}

How about combining the two elements (lavender and tassels) with these lovely earrings? 

{Purple Passion earrings on Etsy from sharonclancydesigns}

If you're feeling ambitious, Stripes and Sequins posted a great DIY on making your own tassel jewelry.

Who was your favorite swan on the red carpet: Mila or Natalie? Or Bjork in 2001? :)

bright winter

Not that I have any right to complain about winter (afterall, I do live in Dallas), but it is nice to see these relatively cold months come to an end. By my Texas version of "cold", I really mean 50 degrees. In defense of that statement, we did receive a record low of 13 degrees during our record high four school snow days in a row!

A big welcome to upcoming arrival of spring! 

{via katespadeny tumblr from Uprooted Photographer}