Monday Inspiration: Photo Books

Mother's Day is just around the corner and I thought these photo books from BLURB would be great inspiration for Mother's Day gifts. I only have our wedding book as an example but their website it full of inspiration. There are so many options to choose from on BLURB. Small books to big books. You can use their templates or make your own if you have the software to do so. I used BLURB for our wedding books to our parents and they turned out better than I expected and their turn around from order to delivery was so fast. 

I recommend their upgrade to ProLine premium paper. I think it made a huge difference and worth the extra money. 

Another idea I would like to do in the future is design a family cookbook on BLURB. I saw an example on their site. Very cool!

If you sign up on their website they often send lots of discounts around the holidays. Usually 25% off. 

Have a great Monday!

Menage à Trois Wine.

If you are looking for good wine on a budget, let me introduce you to Menage à Trois. That's if you haven't been introduced already! Costco sells this wine for around $7. I'm not a well seasoned WINE O, but I do think this is a good wine for the price. This Red wine is a blend of three grapes, get it?! Zinfandel, Merlot, & Cabernet Sauvignon. Its smooth and I could easily drink way too much.

I'm not going to get into the tasting notes because like I said, I'm not seasoned. I rarely drink a glass of wine and pick up jammy notes, hints of raspberry, cherries, or vanilla undertones. Maybe I'll get there some day. I do live in wine country now. Goal number 57, LEARN MORE ABOUT WINE. If you know of any other great wine's on a budget, let me know. Goal number 58, Blog about our local wineries. Tiff, if you are reading, you can be my tasting buddy:) She knows I can't always taste due to sinus issues. And sometimes my chest gets covered in hives when I drink wine, she knows about this issue also! Has never really stopped me though...

Enjoy a glass of wine tonight! 

Monday Inspiration: Lay Baby Lay

HAVE YOU SEEN? Seen these adorable, creative and unexpected nursery style boards by Lay Baby Lay? Not that I'm planning a nursery or anything. I get lost in all of Lay Baby Lay's designs. All of her ideas for nurseries can easily be transferred to your home decor. I Love this one:

Source: Lay Baby Lay

And this one, another fav.

Source: Lay Baby Lay

Note to self, find the Big Sur pillow.

Save browsing her site for when you have an extra 15 min or an HOUR to spare, its well worth the look. I have found so much inspiration in her style boards, color choices, and unexpected themes. I can't get enough! I'm always excited for her new posts. Why didn't I think of creating style boards for decorating our home? I'm thinking if I make style boards and stay true to them, we'll spend less money decorating. We will need to stay FOCUSED, which I have a hard time doing. If it were my way, I'd have a painting project going on the same time I had a sewing project going on, the same time I have a furniture refinishing project going on, the same time I'd be antiquing. 

Hope you all had a very Happy Easter! 

Painting for Cionna.

Sorry, this post was going to be for yesterday but did not have access to internet! But since today is "I Love" Thursday, this works. My best friend and now cousin Lindsay has been asking me for a painting for her daughter's nursery for awhile now. This painting is for our newest family member Cionna. Isn't her name pretty. 

We call her "Jersey" because well, she's Italian, has that beautiful dark skin we all long for and looks like her Mommy who could pass as a Manzo sibling. Lindsay has had two boy's so its only fair for Lindsay that she has some fun dressing her little Cionna like a Teressa Guidice child. I have every intension on spoiling this little one with leopard print everything and a gaudy fascinator or two.

It makes me so happy and almost teary eyed thinking about how beautiful, inside and out, our family is. It keeps growing and growing! The bigger the better in my eyes. 

Casey and Cionna. How about Cionna's distinct brows? And Casey's burns. I feel inlove with those years ago;) Precious, both of them! 

The BEST Ice Cream!

Ice cream is a perfectly ok food group to talk about on this food and bev Tuesday isn't it? Like I said yesterday, since we've been moving and living away from decent grocery stores, our healthy cooking has gone by the wayside for two weeks, so why not top it off with a carton of ice cream! 

This is my ALL TIME favorite ice cream. Ben and Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch. Doesn't get much better than the oozing heath bar in the creamy, coffee decadence. 

What is your ice cream of choice? Are you a Ben and Jerry's lover too? So many options on the isle these days like gelato and all of the dairy free options like coconut ice cream. I always look for a far too long and then always decide on my favorite. Never fails! Or Casey and I stand and stare and then he says, "pick what you want, I don't care." Then I say, "you know I want the coffee one." Then he says, "you know I don't like coffee ice cream." Then we reach for our own cartons. 

Pinterest Inspiration

A few things on Pinterest I'm adoring. This curtain rod made from copper plumbing is one of my favorite pins. 

Via Pinterest

We'll need a headboard for our giant cal king when we move. Thought this would be very easy to do. I was thinking instead of the "love" to attach some cool animal antlers or long horns. Yeah, I might of noticed Tim Riggin's bed on Friday Night Lights. Did you? Or have you watched Friday Night Lights? Slightly addicted on Netflix. Anyways, above Tim's bed was a set of long horns with rope lights strung around them. 

via gadorawilder.com

I've been on the look out for vintage light signs. How cool is this. You could just tell your guests to follow the sign to the bathroom! Or a "D" would be an amazing find.

via design sponge

Saw this DIY string heart last week over at Green Wedding Shoes. I might be married but I still can't get enough of the endless inspiration on this site. You can take a wedding you love and transform those ideas into a cool party, decorating ideas, nursery ideas, the possibilities are endless! 

via green wedding shoesHope this Monday leads me to think of a better dinner for us. We moved AGAIN to a temporary spot (Dad's House.) And since we've moved our dinner has consisted of mostly Salad. I'm very regular. I might have to head over to Pioneer Woman for some dinner inspiration. I feel the need for some good down home food. Something with some substance. Like a chicken pot pie or something like that. Pioneer Woman is best place for that. 

I Love Vintage Glasses.

Don't you love a good vintage find? That is why I love antiquing and thrifing, surprises around every corner. I found these whiskey glasses for Casey as a Valentine's gift. They were a great deal. Looked like they were never used and in the original box. 

Love the platinum rim.

The original box was an added bonus.

My eyes seem to wonder towards glassware at the antique store. I especially love vintage glasses that come in the cool carriers. And small juice glasses. My grandparents would drink wine out of them. Who needs those fancy stem wine glasses?