Brand Design Photography & Styling Clarity Consulting

friday finds & favorites // 35

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1. Read the story behind this collection and see more behind the scenes.

2. So last weekend I bought a really great silk scraf while out thrifting. Would this look stupid on my tiny pea sized head of mine?

3. A great blog to peruse to find inspiration for creative workspaces.

4. I will make this orb lantern out of wire. I will! (thanks HOMEMAKER!)

5. Looking for a small compact camera case with some style? I found it for you!

6. Mattias sketches some pretty amazing things. Check out his latest sketch of the “current city”.

7. I’m a big fan of She & Him and this polaroid picture of the two of them is just perfect. Love everything about it!

8. What’s polagraphing you ask. Check out this feature on Notcot to learn more. Beautiful form of art.

9. I think this chicken and pasta recipe is happening this weekend, and maybe even these home made toasted raviolis

10. And this….this magnificent thing is happening this weekend if everything works out as planned. This beauty will be covering have the surface of my new desk. haha. Go large or go home people!

* I wanted to thank all of you who visit  my blog on a daily/weekly basis. If you’re a blogger yourself, you all know blogging takes a lot of time and energy and when you know others appreciate what you have to say/share, it makes the whole experience that much better. So thanks to all of you. 🙂

mini DIY: framed pressed flowers





Whenever I see a pretty flower just asking to be picked, I usually take it home and press it in my hand made flower press (see my Flowerpress DIY here) I picked these flowers mid summer when they were at their best. Now after months of pressing and aging to a beautiful brown color, they are ready to be framed.

I found this frame this summer at a near by town’s annual garage sale weekend. The lady I bought it from was quite old (and wise) and said that the frame has held her highschool graduation picture all these years and she’s just now getting rid of it. The story plus the $1.00 price tag mean the frame was coming home with me.

Not sure where I’m going to put it yet, but it has  temporary seat on my nightstand so I can stare at it.

Directions: Simply find a frame you love and some flowers to press. Press the flowers for about a month for the best results. Cut to the backing to the size of your piece of glass ( I used a cream colored watercolor paper for mine). Play with multiple ways of arranging the flowers until you settle on a composition that makes you happy. Next gently sandwich the piece of paper with flowers laying on top with a piece of glass. Slide the “sandwich” into the frame. I never use a glue adhesive in my pressed flower projects because it tends to destroy the flowers over time.

Let me know if you have any questions and happy pressing!

The Restoration Committee


One of the most interesting aspects of  living in a historic district of St. Louis is that the original charm of the neighborhood still shines through after so many years. Houses have remained painted in the exact same bright colors they was paint years ago. It’s comforting knowing that you live in a neighborhood full of character and dedicated history.

Their is a committee that is responsible for keeping things the way they were. The Lafayette Square Restoration Committee restores the homes, streets and parks back to their original beauty. They also organize summer concerts and movies in the park, home and garden tours, and even a period correct baseball game. I feel lucky that the boy and I stumbled upon this great neighborhood by chance a little over two years ago.

* all photos taken at the Lafayette Square Restoration Committee neighborhood building.

rolling with the punches




I’m really horrible at rolling with the punches. It must be a skill only the most talented have the ability to do. Either that or I’m challenged in this department (most likely). What I mean by rolling with the punches is to be able to go with the flow. To not get upset and majorly discouraged when things don’t go as planned. Most of all, I think it means being strong and confident in your abilities to make things alright.

I’m a planner, an obsessive planner to put it lightly. I like to organize my life in a way that I know I’ll be pleased with the outcome. I have good intentions for my actions, but when things don’t go as planned I hope you’re wearing boxing gloves. Recently I’ve noticed that even the smallest of mishaps tend to push me off my rocker. I usually take the easy way out and blame it on daily stressor and my slightly crazy personality, but I must say…it’s hard living life like this.

My boyfriend is extremely good at rolling with the punches. All things, big or small, don’t seem to phase him. He’s shrugs it off and says things like “shit happens” and then he’s back to playing video games or watching YouTube videos. How does he do it? How can your dog barfing in the back seat of the car be a learning experience? Whaa? To me it’s more like an experience from hell! I know for a fact that it’s not a lack of passion on his part or a “who gives a fluff”  kind of attitude, because he’s one of the most passionate/dedicated people I know. It baffles me how he thinks the glass can always be half full while I’m sitting here debating with him about how I know for sure that it’s half empty. ( I have proof, y’all)

I hate this about myself. I’m becoming more aware of my flaws as I grow into my skin. I see things in myself that I don’t like, strive to change them, but out of bad habit and comfort I go back to doing things they way “I do things”. I have a hard time seeing when I’ve been successful and when I’m just missed the mark by a hair like smig. To the boy everything is a “mini-win” and nothing is a failure. Really??? Says who???

The boy reminds me on a daily basis that getting a single sale in my etsy shop or 3 people to comment on a blog post is a “mini win”. What would I do without him….oh I know. I’d go around telling myself that one etsy sale is pitiful and that 3 blog comments is nothing compared to this or that. I’m looney and I know it. I’m working on it, so don’t judge.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you see things as mini wins and how you strive to see the positive in the simple things. I’m trying to change my attitude around, but it’s been challenging. It’s kind of like working magic turning a glass half empty into a glass half full, ya know?

My workspace is on its way!


* please visit my pinterest workspace board for original image sources. Note: the desk and blow glass bottles are my images. (desk bought at Rocket Century in St. Louis)

I’ve been taking my time putting my workspace together with collected pieces that are spot on to the looking I was trying to achieve. (See my original mood board here!) I’ve recently purchased my Mid-Century stanley desk that I’ve been waiting patiently to find. Now everything is starting to fall in place because everything was going to be based on the desk I was able to find.

I’ve been visiting my Pinterest on a daily basis collecting workspaces for inspiration. I love the look of the spaces with controlled chaos, but I know I’m more of a person that likes things REALLY organized. We’ll see what I end up with.

My desk will site in a corner of our city loft and I have the surrounding walls to work with. The space is small, but very open.

Things that I’ve got so far:
Desk, standing lamp (task lighting)
Overhead barn style hanging pendant
Old black lunchbox to store mail
A vintage kitchen scale to weigh market203 product
My mint green typewriter
Amber glass bottles as book ends
Tall 2 column file cabinet
All my design books and magazine subscriptions
Vintage hanger to hang artwork
Table top clock
My new iMac desktop computer
Vintage stapler

Things I’m still trying to track down:
An industrial stool
A wire trash bin

So you can see from my list that I’m moving right along. This was a project I started months ago, but I’m so glad I’ve taken the time to slowly craft something perfect. (totally not my normal way of doing things 😉

I’d love to see your workspaces. Leave me a link in the comments section if you’d like to share! 

 

he's an new soul for sure….



I’m not one to talk about religion on my bloggity blog, but I do feel comfortable talking about spirituality when the time’s right. I know everyone has their own very personal opinions about what keeps us going, what makes us tick, who/what we came from and this and that. It can get messy quick if you start talking logistical details, so I’ll leave that for another rainy day.

I like to think that we have souls that are contained without our shells of a body. That our body is there to serve a functional need and that our soul is the part that’s doing the traveling. I like to think that there are new souls, old souls, and growing souls, that this life we are living now is only one of the many lives we will be a part of. Each life is a small section of our greater existence. Interesting concept, right? Whether we share this belief or not doesn’t mean anything.

What I’m trying to blab about is that we are always growing, always evolving, and always learning from previous events. As we move forward it’s important to remember that every single little aspect of life is special and means something. We need to remember to take nothing for granted and have open eyes to everything around us. Be observant. Be a sponge!

Note: This whole blog post spawned from the fact that I feel my golden retriever pup is DEFINITELY a new soul. The way he’s staring at me while I write this post with those clueless gorgeous eyes, the way he sits all goofy and awkward, the way he’s insanely spontaneous and unpredictable leads me to believe our pup is for sure a new soul. Let’s just say he’s got some growing to do;)

friday finds & favorites // 34

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1. This extremely cool band website brings the band’s tour to life for all of us who weren’t able to attend.

2. Poppytalk’s mini DIY round ups have become one of my favorite features.

3. A great blog to peruse to find inspiration for creative workspaces.

4. A great bow tie DIY on Mucho Bueno!

5. Rachel from Smile & Wave contributed to A Beautiful Mess blog this week offering up helpful tips for photographing your home!

6. Absolutely love this illustration (titled Hunt & Gather) by Lab Partners!

7. This workspace is really inspiring. Really great color palette and vintage (old) details.

8. There is something about this bleached arrow pattern shirt that is just calling my name!

9. Now this is a recipe I would totally eat and I’m a picky eater! Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes! Yum-o 

10. My pup and cat just got new fall wardrobe! Custom Collars from Chloe’s Collars on Etsy. (Porter got the new ones with the bow tie!) They are amazingly well crafted 🙂

1920 Hickory Street: our 95% bad idea


Just last week, the boy and I were walking out pup around our lovely neighborhood and saw a “For Rent” sign in front of one of the row home duplexes with blue shutters. It’s extremely rare for a home to come up for lease in our neighborhood. Most are for sale and WAY out of our price range. The “For Rent” sign stopped us in our tracks. We stood there looking at the beauty, took one of the sheets of paper that outlines the details of the home, and continued to ooooo and ahhh as we read what was included in the property. It had everything we wanted in our next place, including a larger space for less rent money (can’t get better than that right?).

We took the paper home and continued to talk about how great it would be to be able to rent a larger space WITH WOOD FLOORS! The bummer thing is we JUST resigned our year lease in our current loft building and breaking that lease would mean we would be out some moolah. There is also a good possibility that the boy will have a job relocation over the next year and breaking a lease and signing a new one just because we like that place better, doesn’t justify the logistics.

I fought hard. I didn’t really care that we’d have to move all our stuff literally across the street, that we’d lose out on some money, that we’d most likely break 2 leases and be moving within the year. I was just excited for the possibility of having ‘easy to clean up pet fur’ wood floors, built in book cases, free parking, in-unit washer & dryer, 2 bedrooms/2 baths, and a fireplace, yo!!!!

The boy had his ‘I’m all grown up pants on’ and told me the whole thing was 95% a bad idea. Let’s just say that’s a good way to kill the spirit. So now we walk past our dream place on a daily basis and I pout for a good long while.

Have you guys had a dream place slip out from under you recently? 

A house of thrifted treasures






As a thrifter myself, I strive to collect pieces that will make my home feel like it has a story to tell by the objects within. Adding thrifted treasures to your home happens over years of collecting and scouring cities, looking for that one piece that is like the cherry on top. I’m currently working on collecting items to redo my office/workspace area, and let me tell you… It’s an extremely fun and exhausting process. One thing I keep in mind while on the look out is to know that anything you purchase doesn’t have to be the final/ concrete piece. It’s nice to know that if you’re out and about and find something you like better, there is always the ability to swap things out. Oh, the beauty of thrifting

My dad sent me this link to this home tour that utilizes everything we both love, bright spaces, thrifted treasures, antique touches, industrial lighting, and a lived-in personality. Love it!

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