Its been a long week

I've been missing lately and am just now finally feeling up to having a computer in front of me. Thank goodness for my iPhone or I would have been completely out of the loop for over a week! Last week I was admitted to the hospital, seems the pain I was having wasn't as normal as I had originally thought and had to be monitored, poked and prodded for 3 days. Talk about stressful. But the good news is that baby was always doing just fine, it was me that was having a few issues. Now we just have to focus on having her stay put, at only 8 months she's still a wee bit too little to be making her big appearance. Since last Wednesday I have been on official bed rest, I even have to limit the amount of crafting thanks to a doctor that thinks its just more work. So I've been laying in bed with the dog watching hour upon hour of Netflix and Hulu...anyone have any recommendations I could check out???
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I was thankfully able to be released from the hospital Monday afternoon a mere hours before my family's big Christmas dinner. And even though I had to sit on the couch all night and have everything brought to me it was so nice to be able to spend time with my family and get my mind off of hospitals and test results.
Now I'm off for another round of laying around and doing a whole lot of nothing, my poor husband has had to work major overtime around here getting me meals, walking the dog and doing countless chores all while keeping up with his regular work schedule. What a guy.

image by our designed life on instagram 

Celebrating my Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday and I wanted to give her a little shout out as she has always been an avid reader of Our designed life. Last week my Dad and brother were able to surprise her with a visit {my brother lives in Utah and she hasn't seen him in many moons} and a few days of family time together. We shopped for birthday's and baby and sat around the dinner table laughing and enjoying each others company.  She has always been my biggest fan and with her grandbaby on the way she has been filled with even more love and excitement; the baby even has her own nursery in my old bedroom at my parents house! So please, join me in wishing my Mom a lovely birthday filled with many many more to come, because she is simply awesome.

image by oh hello friend

Eye candy

I am a huge fan of gigantic and fancy centerpieces for holidays and this beautiful tablescape from Camille Styles is simply fabulous for fall. Something like this would be a perfect wow factor for any Thanksgiving table don't you think? Using fall colors, different textures and lots of greenery makes and classic vessals for a beautiful arrangement. Be sure to stop by Camille Styles for the full inspiration for your next party.

images by camille styles

Kari Herer photography

I've mentioned artist and photographer Kari Herer here before and while perusing her shop again noticed all her new and beautiful images. I like to visit shops frequently since you never know when they will be updated  and I was not disappointed with Kari's newest and greatest. With a mix of soft colors, fresh florals and simple illustrations, these would be perfect to add a little pizzazz to any wall. We have been collecting unique animal findings for our growing girl and one of these might just have to be purchased for her little area. They are just so colorful and detailed, perfect for growing eyes.

images via kari herer

Lovely

Could you imagine an entire fence line like this!? Found at Pascuala Lira, this beautiful flowered piece may be more suited for an indoor hanging installment but I sure would love to see this in my neighborhood as I walk the dog. Such beautiful detail.

image via pascuala lira

Now these are flowers

Wednesday the husband and I celebrated our anniversary with a simply amazing meal at Millennium though I think my favorite part was dessert- a white and dark chocolate mousse almond cake with raspberry and espresso sauce served with a scoop each of fig and almond olive oil ice cream {say what!}. Pure bliss!  Upon arriving I was greeted with these stunning beauties. The husband cleverly arranged for a florist to drop off this incredible bouquet just for me...I didn't get it at first, we walked up I smiled and the hostess said something like they sure are big and smell wonderful. It took a second for it to click that they weren't just table decor and I was indeed going to be making my way home with this giant bouquet- I think I even said something like oh, they are mine to take? haha. He's such a great guy and now they are sitting nice and pretty in my place making it smell oh so fresh. We sure did turn a few heads on the train ride home.

Look at the size of these babies! I had to get the full scale photo just so you could see the massiveness, they are more then half the size of my body. And in case you are wondering why we have a stuffed animal just hanging out its our new baby shelf. Baby already has a fun collection of books going!

images by our designed life

Frances and Francis

I have always had a thing for paper flowers...I have fond memories of being surrounded by crepe paper as a kid trying my hardest to get it to turn into something that resemble a flower, but these florals from Frances & Francis simply blew me away. Personally handcrafted from London based designer Helen Frances, each bloom has a look of their own and will last forever unlike those beautiful buds we cherish only to toss after a few days. These are perfect for weddings, parties or even a tabletop or two around the home. Do check out Helen's online shop as well for her whole line of blooms both for display and to wear.

images via frances & francis

Hanging beauties

These hanging balls of beauty are simply stunning don't you think? Created by String Gardens, the basic concept is a hanging ball of moss and blooms that you soak and enjoy. I would love a wall of blooms and the thought of a hanging fruit orchard just blows my mind.

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images via string garden

Milk glass

If I had tons of storage to spare there is no doubt I would have a giant milk glass collection. I fell in love with these goodies from Barking Sands Vintage, they would be perfect for colorful and fragrant summer blooms...and I have yet so see a teal beauty pop up in my local vintage shops! There is just something about the textures, shapes and colors that completely draw me in...I currently have a few milk glass pieces and they are by far my favorite table top accessories. Do you have any home decor collections that just make you smile?

images via barking sands vintage

Create: Jazzing up ceramics

Oh boy I've fallen terribly behind on uploading my creativeness. I've got a slue of projects that I am working feverishly to finish, seems I can't seem to finish one full thing in a day...my mind is going a mile a minute on what to make. Anyway, I found this white ceramic vase at our local dollar store {or $1.50 store I should say} and with a few pieces of tape and sharpies I created myself a one of a kind modern vessel. To get the softer look, I rubbed a napkin over the ink right after I applied to get rid of the excess color.
On a side note, a few water drops fell down the back side of it and it did run so be sure to seal it to keep your handy work in tact. Since I found this out too late, I'm going to let it do what its going to do ink wise and just re-ink with a new design. It has a bit of a water color look as its running down so I'm actually a bit excited to see how it finally turns out. Happy creating people.

images by our designed life

Creative challenge: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4

My creative challenge

Every now and then I like to challenge myself by doing something a bit out of the ordinary and slightly difficult. I've taken on my 200 step staircase, 5 reps on up and down and your legs both turn to jello and steel. And turns out I am a pretty decent natural cook, I had no idea but thanks to challenging myself to 2 new recipes a week I've got a slue of tasty bits up my sleeve.
So now I'm challenging myself to be creative. Yep, sounds simple but its the follow through that is having me nervous, I mean, how many projects have you started and then abandoned shortly after finding an even better project? So for the month of June I am going to attempt to be creative in any way, shape or form. Whether its an art project, an organizational tip, a DIY I've been dying to try- if I've wanted to do it, I am. And I'm going to finish each and every one. Hopefully. So welcome to my 30 days of creativeness, I encourage you to push yourself to do something different.

image by our designed life 

A beautiful garden inspired wedding

My heart skipped a beat when I stumbled upon this gorgeous botanical wedding. Bride and groom Josi and Jamess celebrated their nuptials in some serious floral style thanks to the creative minds at Fleur de Cordeur, the mix of garden blooms, fruit and veggies set a beautiful stage for a magical evening. There is something so beautiful and pure about single stems in clear glass that is not only charming and romantic but totally practical for those who want to create major bang for your buck.

images via we love pictures, flowers by fleur de cordeur

Beautiful blooms: Stephmodo

I'm a sucker for beautiful packages and these fresh florals are the perfect accessory for any gift giving opportunity. Sometimes the simplest is best and Steph of Stephmodo has certainly gotten creative with a few buds, some washi tape and a few craft boxes. Filing this one under beautiful and simple packaging!

images via stephmodo

Welcome to my home

Its been a while since I invited you in and figured now that we have been here for very close to one year, I'd better get on in. Besides, its been this way for a while now so who knows when its going to change...my bet is sometime soon. As you can tell, I have a huge love for flowers and the color purple, its always been one of my favorite colors and I'm finding that its turning up in different hues all over the house. It may seem a bit strange, but one of my favorite items we have is this vintage record/8 track/radio/fireplace thing we got from a family friend. The husband wired it up so we can also run the computer and dvd sound through it, such a fun entertainment center! I've been meaning to change its exterior just haven't found the right solution yet...any ideas?

photos by our designed life

Easter crafts, daffodils

I've been trying to get all my Easter goodies together, yesterday's craft sort of fell through so I'm trying round two today...paper artichokes are proving to be a little more difficult then I thought. But these adorable daffodils from Martha Stewart's craft department are a great way to bring in a little color and tasty morsels to your Easter decor. They seem pretty simple, perhaps I should make up a bouquet for our hostess. Are you making anything fun for the holiday?

photo via martha stewart 

Happy 2012

Happy new year friends, hope you all had a nice and relaxing weekend while ringing in a brand new year. Though we planned to go out, the husband and I ended up falling asleep on the couch and woke up just in time to watch the ball drop and then go to bed. Though we made up for it the following night by going on an 'adventure' and walked around the city...5 miles to be exact! The rest of the days were spent with the dog in the park and digging in dirt at our garden, and if you follow me on twitter you may have heard of our peculiar thefts too. Woke up to 1 hubcap missing on the car new years day and when we went to the garden discovered entire plants had vanished. Completely gone! A little digging proved a giant gopher hole under our veggie bed, seems a little critter had the munchies for some red cabbage, stole 3 entire plants!
And with the weekend spent in nature, I thought I would continue it along with these amazing photographs from Qi Wei, a brilliant artist out of Singapore. I've always had a love for nature photography, there are always details you miss in real life, but have never tried deconstructing my focal point. Don't you just love these? You can find his entire exploded flower collection here and can purchase prints here as well as read a great interview with the artist and his artistic process. I just love his philosophies behind photography and how it has a beginning and end and I too agree, a photo isn't a true photo till its printed out.

photos via qi wei

Happy weekend friends

The husband and I are taking today and Monday off to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary {2 years married 9 1/2 together!} and now all I can think about are beautiful flowers and love. Don't you just love weddings? I've got one wedding to attend before the year is up and I cannot wait to see the beautiful decor, the bride and her Mom are notorious for being super crafty- I mean just look at the cookies my Aunt made for my bridal shower! Before I unplug I had to get a few pretty pictures in since its so dark and overcast here and lets face it, I love looking through others big days. Plus that groom is just too adorable, captured it just about right don't you think?

photos via pinterst, peacock feathers and jonathan young weddings

Photo of the day, Plucked from the garden

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When we first started laying out our garden, one of my top priorities was to have my own space for fresh flowers that I could just snip off and fill vase after vase.  And today, after a long rainstorm, I grabbed these white and orange ranunculas to spruce up the bedroom.  Nothing beats fresh flowers... although the pincher bug that was living in the bloom had to go asap.

Photo of the day, Peach blossoms

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A over the last weekend, the husband pruned back the peach tree and stuck a few small limbs into one of my vintage bottles.  Days later, I am now in full bloom indoors!

Photo of the day, A little treat

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Treated myself to a few bunches of flowers today from the market.  I love that everything is beginning to bloom, my new favorite place to go is the nursery!  I also bought a few plant-able ranunculus' that I cannot wait to get into the ground.