I think Holly says it best...

"...if you are a blog author and you worry about how you present your life online and get so caught up in it that family members get ignored, chores go undone, your stress level soars, or anything else negative is resulting from your own quest to please others and have some pretend amazing life then let me tell you it’s absolutely nuts and a waste of time to bother. Just be yourself, show your friends and readers your real life and be proud of it and own it."

--Holly Becker, decor8

Home Decorating Inspiration

I have been taking some much needed time these past few months to focus on the people and things closest to me, one of which is a very stressful project that will hopefully come into fruition early next year. I have been gathering images like those above for inspiration and storing them away in my mind for when the time is just right. Where are you fidning the most inspiration these days?

Photo credits:le dans la, the brick house and design*sponge.

Estate Sale Finds

Today's finds demonstrating once again that Friday is the best day to hit the sales!

Have any of you seen this film?

My New Favorite VIdeo

Death is Hard, Even of the Littlest Creatures

Henry was SO excited when he won this little guy at the fair last month. Unfortunately, that excitement shifted to absolute heartache when the fish died 24 hours later. Even though it was just a little creature and had only been with us a short time, the death brought up lots of questions ("wait--you mean everything dies? even M.E.?") and was tough for Henry to deal with. The thought of flushing him down the toilet (as Mommy suggested) was too much to handle.

So, instead, we planted a geranium and placed Sterling beneath the plant to fertilize it. Henry loves history and the stories of Native Americans, so he was happy to do something similar to what was taught by them to the early settlers of this country. And, even though his fish is not here anymore, he is not completely gone, either.

This was a moment of both difficulty and growth for both of us, and yet another reminder that the challenges of parenthood are completely impossibly to imagine until you are right in the middle of it.

Have your children had to deal with the loss of a pet? Does anyone else have fish planted in their yards?

XO

Home Decorating Wishlist

I am having some design envy right now. If money were no issue I would want this pretty yellow hutch...

this yellow striped sheet (source unknown)...

a recycled teak screen...

all of these rugs...
a collection of baskets around the house to keep all of the junk in check...
an oval Sarrinen marble table...

Lovely Leaves by Oh Joy! wallpaper...

and a Fleabag Bed for the pup (as if that would keep him off the sofa!)

What's on your wishlist right now?

My Work for Red Velvet Art

I have not mentioned this before because I was so excited that it was happening that I was afraid to say it out loud until it actually happened. But I am so fantastically thrilled and honored that Miss Elsie Flannigan accepted me into the Red Velvet Art consignment program and is now carrying some of my items in her pretty shop!
In addition to my Bubble Yarn (18 continuous yards of hand dyed cotton jersey yarn), there are also a few of my little clutches. These are made from vintage, hand-stitched quilt blocks and are the perfect size for all of the necessities (cell phone, wallet, & lipstick) for a night out!

Be sure to check out all of the new items from consignors such as Lori Marie, Late to the Revolution, Laura of Violet Bella, Caitlin Betsy Bell, Kendra of Loni Mae and Corey Marie. It is so exciting and inspiring for me to be included in this group with so many talented artists. Thank you, Elsie!
Be sure to keep an eye on the What's New section of Red Velvet Art this week for more new work from different artists.

Yard Sale Loot!

Stopped at a yard sale this morning and all of these things followed me home. That little pink & white trash can is going straight in my craft room, there is a little boy who will go bananas over that leather shirt & the black biker boots are just Josh's size. All in all, a good Friday morning!

Super Easy (and Delicious!) Pickle Recipe

My sister and I have both been making these tasty refrigerator pickles lately, and decided to share the recipe with you! She also designed these adorable labels. Just print them onto sticker paper, cut them out & slap 'em on your jars.
We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
P.S. I especially love them dipped in homemade ranch dressing. :)

Easy Pickles

Pretty Zakka Shop Update & Fall/Winter 2010 Lookbook

Open publication - Free publishing - More vintage

Pretty Zakka Shop has been updated with new handmade and vintage items and has a fancy new Lookbook!

All of the Lookbook (and a portion of the product) photography was shot by Nicole McIntosh Bruce of i heart napa. Thank you, Nicole!

Thank you also to the cutest family around for modelling for us. I could not have asked for anything better. :)

psssst... $10 dresses!

With the relaunch of Pretty Zakka Shop coming soon, I have marked the remaining dresses in At Home With Henry down to $10. Take a peek!

**update: OOPS! link was broken but has been fixed. thank you, rachel!

xo

Giveaway Winner

The randomly drawn winner of the sewing calendar is...

April Kennedy

Yay, April! I will get your calendar to you ASAP.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! If you are interested in purchasing the calendar when it is available on Amazon.com I believe it will retail for around $14. There are some very cute projects from a lot of my favorite bloggers.

New Favorite Spot

After this platform bed frame had been sitting here for months waiting for me to finally spend the money on foam to make a giant cushion, the decision was made to check the camping section at Walmart for something suitable. An $11 aerobed and $3 sheet later and we have my new favorite spot in the house.



Now to convince someone that this is not in fact a giant dog bed...

Hmmm... The resemblances here can't be denied...

2011 Sewing Calendar GIVEAWAY!

My ruffled shower curtain was included in this awesome 2011 Sewing Calendar by Accord Publishing, and I would love to send one of you a copy!

The calendar has more than 100 DIY sewing projects and they are really cute! It will soon be available to purchase on amazon.com, but in the meantime enter to win one here by leaving a comment on THIS POST.

Winner will be announced Friday morning. Good luck!

XO

For Sale: Blythe dolly

Hey, there! After much thought, I have decided to part with my pretty little doll and offer her up to a home where she will receive more attention than I can give her right now.

She is a stardancer, but has had her hair dyed (by her previous owner) and had a gentle face customization by frankie*darling. I fell in love with her because her hair looks like mine. Narcissism at its finest!



I am asking $275 for the doll and all of her accessories (including shipping). The accessories she comes with are:
*black converse sneakers
*red converse sneakers
*adorable handmade black mary jane shoes
*one vintage green, pink & white dress
*one blue dress
*one ADORABLE hooded coat
*one pair of jeans
*beanie crocheted by me
*small pink sweater handknit by a local old lady and purchased by me not so much because the sweater was cute, but the lady was adorable
*a few hangers
*white tulip dining table and two chairs (one pink, one green)
*Re-Ments miniatures teacups and plates (from Fairy Tale Set #5)
*anything else i find that belongs to her!



SOLD--THANK YOU!
XOXO

It's Napa Town & Country Fair time again...

Progress Report...

I have been working recently with Nicole McIntosh Bruce of iheartnapa on some photographs for the new and improved Pretty Zakka Shop and this is one of the images to come out of our shoot a few weeks ago. Stay tuned for vintage, handmade and imports all in one spot!

XO

New Old Truck & SK8 Hi

Take note, ladies...

Because this is how it's done.

(and... this is seriously making me want to keep <-----that red jumpsuit over there)

**image via Scissor Quirk.

Here is a little peek at what we were up to yesterday... Real photos soon! There are over 400 of them!

Vintage Dress Love

These are just a few of the dresses I have stumbled upon in my size in the past few weeks. I buy them for the shop, but somehow once I get home they end up in my own closet! Greedy girl!

I have a photo shoot planned for this week with the cutest family ever, and then a lot of behind the scenes work to do over here.

Thank you for your patience while I spend time with Henry this summer. He has four weeks until he returns to school, and I want to spend as much time as possible with him before I have to hand him over to his new teacher.

Being out of sight does not mean that this blog is out of mind... I have been thinking a lot about starting a community cookbook where we all contribute our family's favorite recipes to share with each other. No charge to participate, of course, just a way to collect ideas and have them on hand when we need some inspiration in the kitchen. What do you think? Would you like to contribute a recipe? If so, please click the "email me" button above and let me know. I will put together a formal post about it, but in the mean time please feel free to send your ideas my way.

Hope your summer has been lovely so far!

xoxoxo