{What I Love Wednesday, #15}

Just some things I'm loving this week...

a great list of weekly planners, menu planners,

and cleaning checklists.

this girl loves a good list. :)

this yarn bowl.

perfect for my crochet projects!

this idea for pennant bunting stamps.

so cute!

source

and, I can't help but include my new phone.

it is quite fascinating. ;)

What are you loving today?

an update

{a small peek at all the prep work}

I've mentioned here & here that I'm supposed to

have a table at a craft fair in October {2 weeks after we get married!},

and that my goal was to finish all of my "inventory" prep by September 1st.

Well, it was a lot of work. 

A LOT of work.

But, I got it done, and I got it done early!

I've been working like crazy

cutting, sewing, gluing, attaching, finishing, etc, etc, etc.

It is so nice to have it all done.

Now I can focus on all of the wedding projects that I still need to finish,

and not have to worry about prepping for the craft fair at the same time.

Whew.

The good news for you?

Whatever doesn't sell at the craft fair will be listed in the shop. ;)

*****

I noticed that the my little blog now has 402 followers!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to all of you, new & old.

I so appreciate each and every one of you!

Happy Tuesday!

Hope your day is lovely...

happy birthday.

This guy means everything to me,

and today is his birthday.

Babe, I love you so much.

I hope this birthday is an amazing one!

{even if I get more excited about your birthday than you do...}

Also? He spoils me.

He surprised me with my very own iPhone 4 yesterday!!

I've reassured him that that is not the reason I love him,

but it is pretty fantastic. ;)

Happy birthday!

6 weeks.

6 weeks from today, I'll be marrying my best friend. I couldn't be more excited. :)

but it's crazy how quickly time goes by...

{color love} my favorites

It's no secret that I looove color.

It's beautiful & inspiring.

BUT, my least favorite question is "So, what's your favorite color?"

Purely because I never know what to say!

So, here's my top four favorite colors....

{pinned here}

Pink has been a favorite of mine for years.

It's feminine, soft & lovely.

{source}

Natalie inspired my love of yellow!

It's bright & happy & cheerful.

{source}

I love the depth of teal.

To me, it's gorgeous & slightly mysterious.

{source}

This is another deep & lovely color, plum.

Definitely a favorite, especially in the fall and winter.

Those are my top favorite colors,

although not my only favorite colors. ;)

I hope they inspire you a little today!

{WILW} clever ideas

I love when I stumble across an idea and think, "Wow, that a really neat way to do that!"

Most of these are then pinned to my {clever ideas} board so I'll actually remember to use them. ;)

Here are a few of my favorites...

{1} use a shower cap to wrap shoes so your clothes stay clean.

{2} use a paper clip dispenser as a bobby pin holder.

{3} a great way to organize embroidery floss.

{4} use a gift box as a cupcake carrier.

{5} using jars as organizers (several fun ideas here!).

{6} love this idea to store bracelets - simple & easy!

Do you have some clever ideas to share? Please do!

I'd love to hear/see them. :)

linking up with Krystina...

{feeling blessed}

I'm definitely feeling blessed after this weekend...

my bridal shower was on Saturday morning,

and it was just wonderful.

{my bride-to-be "costume", put together by my sister;

all the essentials for cooking/baking in one easy place! *wink*}

We had a great turn-out {so thankful for all the ladies who came!},

lots of yummy food, fun games, and all the other fun shower "stuff".

Unfortunately, a lot of the pictures on my camera turned out really blurry,

so I'll have to track down some more pictures I can share.

We received a lot of the things we need for our new home,

and I couldn't be more excited about setting up our new place. :)

Now we just have to find that place....

How was your weekend? Hope it was lovely!

{color love} dreaming of fall

I love Fall.

Here in Florida, the weather doesn't get cooler right away,

but it's still my favorite season.

I think one of my favorite things about Fall is the colors.

Color is always an inspiration to me, but I definitely gravitate toward the Fall shades...

...so I was excited to see these Pantone Fall 2011 colors!

What are your favorites?

I'm loving honeysuckle, phlox, deep teal & quarry. :)

Happy Friday, all!

{WILW} birds of a feather

1. tiny chickadee necklace

2. songbird on flower bag

3. lovebirds from vintage green limited

4. hand-stamped muslin ribbon

5. personalized lovebirds poster

What are you loving today?

me {A to Z}

I saw this on Casey's blog last week, and I just had to share.

I always love learning random facts about people! :)

{a} age :: 20

{b} bed size :: currently, twin. when we get married, queen.

{c} chore you hate :: scrubbing pots & pans

{d} dogs :: the sweetest black lab ever

{e} essential start to your day :: coffee!

{f} favorite color :: a lot! especially pink, grey, yellow, teal & plum.

{g} gold or silver :: silver

{h} height :: 5'4"

{i} instruments you play :: piano {been playing for 10+ years}, a little guitar

{j} job title :: ummm...handmade shop owner, babysitter, house-cleaner extraordinaire, wife-to-be

{k} kids :: not yet!

{l} live :: the Sunshine State

{m} maiden name :: same as my last name for now. :)

{n} nicknames :: I'm not a fan of nicknames...Jacky if you must have one.

{o} overnight hospital stays :: never. and the prospect scares me!

{p} pet peeve :: unnecessary noise, misspelled words

{q} quote :: "if you want to be happy, BE." {no idea who said it, I heard it from Gussy} &

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." {Jeremiah 29:11}

{r} righty or lefty :: right

{s} siblings :: four younger sisters

{t} time you wake up :: my first alarm goes off at 7:30, and then I get up at 7:50 {I like to push snooze...}

{u} university attended :: none

{v} vegetables you dislike: I'm not the biggest fan of veggies...I especially dislike broccoli.

{w} what makes you run late :: my mom. the fiance'. last minute projects. {but I hate being late...}

{x} x-rays you’ve had :: I've fractured my arm & my leg {at separate times}

{y} yummy food :: fettucine alfredo, chicken & dumplings, almost anything with chicken

{z} zoo animal favorite :: not really any...I like penguins, but I'm not sure if that's a zoo animal.

*****

Hope your Monday is a lovely one!

{color love} grape

I think this is just a lovely color...

{ grape }

{found}

{found}

{found}

{pinned - not sure of original source}

{found}

{found}

{WILW} dress up your hair

I've got headbands on the brain this week!

I'm participating in the Pink Lemonade headband swap,

so I've been working on a couple of headbands for my partner, Ally. :)

I just love dressing up my hair with pretty things,

so here's a few of my favorite handmade headbands I've found:

1. carnation felt headband from Ordinary Mommy

2. tess antique purple headband from paisleelane

3. Come & Ruffle headband in Mustard from Come & Knock

4. Kerigan headband from Elizabeth St.

5. Aunt Helen headband from Little Penelope Lane

6. claire yellow ruffled poppy headband from Rouge & Whimsy

If you have a favorite shop that sells lovely headbands, I'd love to hear about it! :)

for you...

Just wanted to let you all know...

Right now there's a giveaway on Time of Your Life;

You could win your choice of bloom from my shop!

I'd love it if you stopped by & entered...good luck!

{currently...}

Just a little list of "currently"...

currently reading this

currently loving her voice

currently watching this

currently excited about this!

currently wishing I had the time to make this

and, of course, currently missing this guy terribly.

What are you up to currently?

{color love} lemon

This bright lemon-y yellow makes me think Summer...so pretty!

lemons

vintage earrings

pretty clutch

a yellow party

sweet dress

Tell me, what is your favorite color right now?

{shop update} yo-yo bobbies

Finally, a little shop update!

Petunia Blooms is so dear to my heart,

and I know there is so much more I could be doing to make my shop better.

BUT, with the wedding fast approaching, some things have to be put on hold.

After we get married, I plan on doing a lot of work for Petunia Blooms,

which is so exciting to me. :)

Anyway, I finally was able to snap some photos and get these adorable yo-yo bobby pins listed!

I love them. They're super sweet & a perfect little pop of color for a plainer outfit.

See them all here.

{tropical & pink} {plum swirl} {mint} {confetti} {colorful floral}

What I Love Wednesday {Jane Austen}

I love Jane Austen.

I remember the first time I tried to read Pride & Prejudice,

and I hated it. I was also only about 10, so I couldn't truly appreciate it. ;)

Of course, now, I love anything Austen...

{one} this Mr. Darcy's Proposal tee needs to be a part of my life.

{two} I shared this image in this post, and it's dreamy...a perfect afternoon activity.

{three} a Jane Austen party. How perfect!

{four} I love this Emma mini-series. So entertaining, so lovely. I've seen it about 5 times.

{five} "...how ardently I admire & love you." *swoon*

My coffee would be very happy in this mug.

So, how about you - are you a fellow Austen admirer?

If so, what is your favorite title of hers?

I love them all, but Persuasion is definitely near the top for me. :)

a list

found here

  --  I love making lists. I usually don't need a list to help me remember the things I want to get done, but there's something very satisfying about crossing off each task.

  --  I'm finally home after 2 weeks of house/pet-sitting. I enjoyed my time away, but I'm happy to be back to "normal" life. I have lots to do!

  --  I'm making a list of sewing projects, most of them wedding related. Things like skirts & pennant bunting. Having lovely fabric to work with makes it even more exciting. :)

  --  Have you read any good books lately? I just finished The Shell Seekers & really enjoyed it.

  --  My man's birthday is in 28 days...and I have no idea what to get him! I love giving gifts, but he is SO hard to shop for. If you have any gift suggestions for the men in our lives, I'd love to hear them! {I'm thinking about getting him these since we'll be married pretty soon...} 

  --  My little sister {she's 7} had never seen Mary Poppins until a couple of weeks ago when I watched it with her. Now she sings the songs all the time. I love it. :)

  --  My cheerful yellow coffee mug {filled with coffee, of course!} is one of my favorite things about mornings.

  --  The winner of the Seek First giveaway is Amy! Congratulations! {sending you an email now...}

  --  I have a lot to do today, so I'd better get to it. Have an absolutely lovely Tuesday!

{sponsor love} Mandipidy

Another edition of {sponsor love} for you today...

I personally love this sweet shop & the lovely lady behind it!

I'm Mandy, and I blog over at Mandipidy. I love to share my life as it unfolds through my craft projects, life with the hubs, and what God is teaching me throughout the week.

I also have a shop on etsy where I sell illustrated prints.

If you could only choose 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?

spontaneous, creative, joyful

{I actually got this print for a friend's birthday, and I kinda wanted to keep it myself...}

As you work on lovelies for your shop, how do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration in all sorts of places, but they usually are very practical. My shop's best sellers are the "Place I Love" prints, and the original idea came about when my husband and I were driving from VA to CO a few months ago. When we crossed the Georgia border, I decided to draw the state with the phrase "Georgia on my Mind." I never would have dreamed that my car ride entertainment would blossom into a whole print series!

What is your favorite item in your shop right now?

I love the Bushel and a Peck print... I'm 9 months pregnant and have been singing that song to my baby ever since we found out that we were expecting. I can't wait to sing it to her face-to-face!

*****

Don't you love it?

Be sure to check out Mandy's shop & visit her adorable blog!