I'm making this

Found on Oh, Hello friend. I'm going to get the pattern tomorrow, purchase fabric on Saturday, and get to work on Sunday. I need a project this weekend.

(Or, you could click on the link above to Oh, Hello friend and enter her wicked cool contest!)

India Rose

I am completely and totally in love with this duvet. But, unfortunately, the $260 price tag isn't in my budget right now. Do you think I could spice up a simple white duvet? I think I might have to try.

Simply Lovely

How did I miss this blog for so long? Such inspiration! And, I'm sorry, but I can not resist her little girl!

Ferns

I LOVE this cake!


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New Year's resolutions

So, I know I'm a couple of months late for this post, but I blame it on my blogging absence. I've actually been quite good about keeping up with this year's resolutions.

One, I'm finding, is particularly popular with my family and friends. Rather than make my yearly promise to loose weigh (which is rarely an attainable goal for me), I decided instead to do a 180, throw caution to the wind, and bake! I've latched on to Tuesday's with Dorie, albeit a little late (I started in mid-January), and just on my terms: one recipe, once a week, any day of my choosing.

If you're in the market for the best baking book, be it for gift or a treat for yourself, this comes highly recommended.

Week 1: Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

Week 2: Peanut Butter Torte

Week 3: Creme Brulee

Week 4: Brownie Buttons

Week 5: Carrot Spice Muffins

Week 6: French Pear Torte

Starting this week I will share my own creations with you!

And a few other resolutions - laugh if you must - 1)gym 3-4 days a week (Seriously, I'm eating a lot of baked goods); 2) read more (see previous entries!) 3) take a knife skills course (I cut myself frequently); 4) do puzzles (I love a big mug of tea and a puzzle, and I rarely take the time to myself); 5) knit more; and 6) cook a rack of lamb (my favorite meal that I've never attempted to make myself).

Cookies and milk = Brilliant

Found on Kirtsy...adorable baby shower:

I love the stitching on the bags. Such a cute idea.

My latest friend crush(es)

I wish these bloggers lived by me. We'd be great friends and would get together regularly to drink Mariebelle hot chocolate.

Flags

Insanely cute, right? I think I'm going to attempt to make.

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What's all the fuss?

Have any of you been following the hub-bub over Gwyneth's Web site and e-mail Goop? I can't exactly say I understand the site, but I kinda like it. It's well designed, the recipes are good, the travel recommendations...fantastic. I've bookmarked a few of my e-mails in the event that I ever go Vegan or have a truckload of money to spend in NYC.

Here's a little more of the back and forth to get you up to speed.

Our hometown newspaper is even writing about it today. I confess, I read it over some one's shoulder on the train.

I love sales!

Did you know that spending money actually helps with emotional problems? I guess I now fully understand the term "retail therapy." Unfortunately, our current economy isn't really supporting my need. So, I'm shopping the sales! And TJMax and Marshalls ... thank God for Homegoods.

So, dining room renovations, part I... new curtains! On sale for dirt cheap at West Elm. What do you think?

(Oh, and yes...that's a new paint color too. Kind of latte/cappuccino-ish, don't you think?)

I covet...

That ribbon...

Those boxes...

That chair...

This office!

Hmm, come to think of it, I kinda want to BE Mackenzie Sala.

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Snarkiness abounds

Books get me through it, so I've been a voracious reader lately. And I have a few recommendations that will be coming your way. Today, two:

Bitter is the New Black.

She writes all those things you think but never dare say. And, believe it or not, this one might make you feel a little better about things. Or, it could freak you out if you know a lot of people currently losing their jobs. But heck, either way you with laugh (out loud)! (Bonus: author's blog is a hoot!)

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.

This, I promise, you will not be able to put down. But be sure you can clear your calendar for it, because you will be addicted, 50 pages in. You think I'm kidding? Evidence: I woke up at 4 a.m. one Sunday to finish and read straight through until 11 a.m. AND we had guests that weekend!

Lovely pottery

Loving these organic pieces.

A few lovelies

We are in the market for some one-of-a-kind artwork for our house ... and what better place to spend hours shopping/hunting that Etsy. Oh, etsy, how I've missed you.

A few that caught my eye:

Rachel Austin

Lori Mirabelli (how awesome is that name!?)

Karen Fields Gallery

Where I've been...

Where to start? I don't usually like to mix my personal life with my "professional," but alas I feel as though I must explain my absence from this blog. And really, who am I kidding? Everything about this blog is personal! How many times have you all seen my kitchen and wedding pics?

Long story short (operative word), it all comes down to having a little one. For about a year, my husband and I have been struggling with infertility - daily doctor's appointments, injections, and other sordid procedures. It's been an adventure, to say the least; and I've been hidden in this scarred and worried little world, unable to break out, unable to see the light.

I will save you the details of the ebbs and flows of this "journey," but suffice it to say I am learning and growing a lot. I've been very open about this, telling almost anyone who will listen, because I just don't think that people talk about it enough. We are extremely hopefully that good things will happen for us, but that is now out of our control.

So, I hope you will understand why my blog roll has been crowded with fertility blogs lately and why, though I've drafted a million and one posts, I haven't made anything live since Thanksgiving (pathetic, really.) At the end of the day, the bottom line is that blogging made me happy, and I'm trying - very hard - to get back on the horse. I hope you all will forgive an occasional rant, and that I can fill in the space with wonderful finds for the home, kitchen, baby, bride, you-name-it!

(My husband just saw that I was blogging and screamed "YAYYYYY!" Cute, right? Also, he said I should post a picture of my new computer ... another motivating factor to getting on here again!)