Outdoor Altars

I love the idea of outdoor altars, but can't help but have visions of the tornado from The Wizard of Oz anytime I see something like this. What do y'all think?

via Green Wedding Shoes

kitchens

In between work I'vebeen daydreaming about kitchens. Yes, I'm still on the house kick (but then again I don't think I will ever be off of the house kick so bear with me...)

I'm not like most people when it comes to "the perfect kitchen." I don't really prefer granite (and if I had to pick something rock like, I'd always go for poured concrete because of how cool and unique it is) and when it comes to wood, well I am very particular. I don't really like anything super dark, but I think there is a very fine line between beautiful light wood cabinets and then cabinets that look veneered or straight out of the 80's. I like white, but not super modern and nothing too country-esque (and by country, I mean everything covered in needle points of apples and lots of frilly doilies.) Overall I really like things to feel airy and cozy at the same time.

If you can't tell by now, it's difficult to find something like I would call "perfect."

Now please don't get me wrong. In other people's homes I have no problem with any of the things I just mentioned (well except the 80's thing. home decor in the 80's just wasn't great), but for our house it's just not my style.

So after looking through decor blogs and magazines, and wandering around ikea and through home decor showrooms, I stumbled across a kitchen that I just fell in love with. The barely gray open cabinets? the natural light? the industrial juxtaposed with the vintage?

Lovely. Just lovely.

Oh! And if all of the counters were butcher block counters? and if the back splash was white subway tile? Well then it would be perfect...

thank you a gift wrapped life for showing me this beauty.

And a few runners up:

via urban grace interiors

I really like gray kitchens and I'm not sure why. Kind of reminds me of Paris, and personally, I would love to cook anywhere that feels like Paris.

via the city sage

I really really love the counters. Esp. if they weren't so heavily varnished.

via urban grace (again!)

I love all of the colorful cookbooks! Mine are hidden away right now, but I'd love to show them off. (Oh and I don't think I even have to say how much I love the subway tile again.)

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

who says pumpkins are only for halloween?

I think they make awesome decorations for a fall wedding- esp AFTER halloween.

row 1: car with pumpkins via real simple, stirrers via oncewed
row 2: boutonniere via martha stewart, country living pumpkin via mintage home, photo via auralee dallas
row 3: cake via oncewed, car via martha stewart

the little things

via le love

I normally wake up right after my husband gets out of the shower, but today I woke up just a few seconds after him and found him quietly replacing the space he was just lying in with pillows. I asked him what he was doing and he said,

"I do this every morning. I never want you to feel alone."

I melted right then and there.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Combining Traditions

via panoramio

I got to see one of my good friends yesterday (and meet her beautiful new puppy) and had a blast talking and rearranging/styling bookshelves (I'm being 100% honest when I say I love that kind of stuff). Being mid November, the topic of celebrating the holidays with our families quickly came up.

Being newlyweds, this is the first time we've both actually had to decide "where to be" and"who to be with" for the holidays and it's kind of hard. We both have traditions with our parents and siblings that we want to continue, but at the same time we also really want to start our own traditions as well. Of course, we also want this without creating tension or hurt feelings.

And that is really really hard to do that.

Have any of y'all felt this way?

I know personally, J and I come from very close knit families and we both love each others families. Luckily for us, our families like each other as well so we don't have to worry about everyone coming together, but the issue for me lies in how do you honor your past traditions while still leaving room for new ones? And whose home town do you start those traditions?

Take this example. The day after Thanksgiving my family of 4 (read small and close) goes and picks up our Christmas tree. We then lug it in the door (and by we, I mean my dad and my sister. I'm more of the help Mom move stuff out of the way/ hold the door open kind of person :)) and then decorate it.

This is what we did every year for, well almost ever. But things change. First change, we always got our Christmas tree from the same place and now that place no longer exists. Second change, my sister and I have gotten older. She usually travels after Thanksgiving dinner since she actually can take a mini vacation from the firm and this past year- due to work- was the very first year I wasn't with my parents. I had to work the day before and the day after, so it wasn't really possible to drive to them and then back home in the same day, so instead I spent it with my aunt and uncle and two cousins who live like 30 minutes away. It was great to be with them, but weird to be without my parents and sister.

As for Christmas, J and I were in Costa Rica on our honeymoon so that in itself was different. Wonderful and relaxing, but we both thought it was a little strange to be next to a pool on Christmas day (still remember how excited my family was that we called. haha like we wouldn't call on Christmas...)

So now it is the first year that we are actually having to "mesh our family traditions."

Luckily this year hasn't really posed too many issues which is great, but it has brought up how difficult it will be when we move away after he graduates. His parents are retiring to Florida, my parents will still be in my hometown and our siblings will most likely both be in Atlanta. Combine that with the fact that J will have to work at least a 1/2 day on either Thanksgiving or Christmas (I mean, people still get sick on the holidays!) it is bound to be a little difficult to work out.

So how do y'all do it? What traditions have you kept? What about ones you've created?

Anyhow, now that I've brought on a "heavy thinking post" I'll wish everyone a happy weekend! I hope it is both beautiful and filled with joy! Happy Friday!!

"See you" Monday!

Organizing

via this is glamorous

I've been searching around for interesting organizing solutions (also known as procrastinating from doing the closet swap) when I came across these. Aren't they cool? Maybe it's just me, but I love old wooden boxes. Who would have thought just to put simple casters on them and make something as functional as this?

I will admit, seeing where the wild things are in the box on the right may have made me love them even more...

Swapping closets

Now if you are one of those people with really huge closets (or maybe just a more reasonable amount of clothing...), this probably isn't an issue for you, but for me, swapping my spring/summer clothes out for fall/winter clothes is a full day's worth of effort. I meant to do this a few weeks ago, but thanks to Georgia's annoying weather (one day it rains, the next it's 50 degrees, the next day its 82 degrees) it's kind of hard to do a full swap for fear of the moment your short sleeved shirts and flip flops are put away you'll be forced to dig them out due to some random summer-like weather. This weekend, I am determined to do it. It's November people. I want to wear cute sweaters and boots and my trench coats. I want to layer and accessorize with scarfs. I want to drink hot chocolate without having the air conditioner on.

Okay. sorry for the melodramatic rant... back to the point of the post.

In an attempt to motivate myself to get to swapping out the seasons (which entails trying on every piece of clothing I wear to make sure a) it still fits b) I still like it c) I'll still wear it*) I starting looking at beautifully organized closets. (Have I mentioned I'm a little neurotic about my closets? my clothes are arranged by color. as in ROY G BIV. Yep, not only am I an artist but I am a nerd about organization as well...)

That's when I stumbled across this lovely over on Urban Grace.

via urban grace

Hello awesomeness. A room just for shoes.

Talk about organization. I would looove this. (I would also love a reason to own that many shoes, because as of now I have absolutely no reason for the insane amount I have collected thus far). I can imagine a whole accessories wall on the other side, along with a vanity and beautiful bench (for dressing of course.)

Anyone else have closet envy?