wedding wednesday: white polka dot love

the sweetest little vintage-y wedding dress, with beautiful little white-on-white polka dot all over.  just too sweet.  {by etsy designer pure magnolia couture}

full shot

detail of polka dotted mesh

purely lovely.

*find it here

i want: love from IL postcards

found this on caitlin wilson's design blog & instantly fell in love.  all of etsy artist lily gene's cards are incredible but i was (obviously) drawn to this postcard ::

obvious, indeed, considering i live in the IL but the vast majority of my friends are spread out around the country/world.  think long-distance romantic relationships are hard?  well i would argue that LDFs (that's "long-distance-friendships" for all you not into abbreviating/acronym-ing literally everything.  and also making up words.) can be harder.  our culture puts such a high premium on romantic relationships, and when you are in love you will contact your partner as often as possible, especially if they are far away.  but with all the busy-busy of daily life, we can tend to neglect our dear friends, again, especially if they are far away.

well i say, enough!  so, dear all my friends in indiana, iowa, wisconsin, minnesota, florida, california, utah, colorodo, ireland, korea, and beyond -- there is someone in illinois who loves you very, very much.  and she will be sending you cards in the snail mail very soon.  because there is something particularly special about receiving real cards, don't you think?  i sure do.  all my love, illinois kait

p.s.  sorry but they probably won't be the exact postcard shown.  although $3 really isn't bad for something so adorable and really perfect, we all know that my strict bujay limits me to target & the dollar store.  one day though...

p.p.s. joelley, hope you know that you were the "florida" friend to whom i was referring :)

art: amy rice

i'm just loving the work of mixed-media artist amy rice.  just.loving.  her etsy shop is just filled with beautiful, interesting, and inspirational prints, but my most fave pieces are created with the help of atlases and cut outs....

and we rolled

go your own way

 absolutely love.

~ go check it out for yourself to see more beauty ~

amy rice website

first discovered on poppy talk, where you can find a lot more on amy/her work

 

wedding wednesday: peony hair fascinator

i was first introduced to the term "hair fascinator" last year by my dear mother.  she and my father were headed across the pond to attend a wedding and she was in a frenzy to either buy or concoct one of her own.  although we don't see too many fascinators here in the states, she wanted to respect british tradition and join in the fun.  together, we created a pretty cool (if i do say so myself!!) beaded clip for her lovely curly hair.  ever since then, i've been fascinated by fascinators ~

today's wedding wednesday is short & sweet: just one lovely hair fascinator by the etsy shop garden of whimsy.  p.s.  how cute is that shop name?!  and expect to see more posts on their incredible pieces.

take a look at the pretty pink peony hair piece ::

so what do you think?

discovered on the blog emmaline bride

etc: giveaways this week

typically i include the week's best giveaways during my friday faves feature, but this week there were sooo many fab ones that i felt they needed their own post!  i woke up sick and ended up doing something i never ever do - i took a sick day.  while bed-bound all day, i of course took to my google reader and scanned through all my fave blogs.  i realized that there are a LOT of giveaways going on right now, so i wanted to compile a list for you all :)

so here it goes, great giveaways from around the blogosphere, most of which are ending soon [so get on it!!] ::

 ~giveaways~

~ lovely kimono-style robe ~

 

robe by plum pretty sugar loungerie, courtesy of the sweet blogger dawn, aka the alternative wife.  enter for yourself -- here

~ homegoods gift card ~

the sweet domestic jenny is giving away an awesome $25 gift card to the affordable & still fabulous HomeGoods - sweet!  head on over & enter here

p.s. she'll be picking a second winner if she can get 100 followers by the end of the giveaway next friday.  soo, if you're not already a follower, get to it! 

~ another fab stella & dot stylist sponsored giveaway! ~

#1 for a turquoise & coral bangle, courtesy of stylist tara ermark. enter here at the zhush!

~ hand stamped cards ~

the blog alice's adventures in wonderland is giving away a set of beautiful hand stamped cards, made by blogger suze [enter here]

~ curly calligraphy thank you stamp ~

 lovely thank you stamp by primele, from the blog lee la la [enter here]

~ cute bag giveaway ~

IHOD is hosting yet another fabulous giveaway, this time by the company odyssa.  the winner gets their choice of a shoe or lingerie bag!

~ a positively perfect pillow ~

dilly dallas is hosting a giveaway for this awesome A-Z pillow, made by magpie lovely

~ bright & personalized phone cover ~

6th street design school is giving away an adorable monogramed iPhone cover by dani notes.  if i were to win, i would most likely choose either

this or this cover:

~ filigree hair pins ~

 adorable hand-made bobby pins - perfect to add a great pop of color into a messy bun!  pins made by etsy crafter sandy.  

enter on the great blog, be merry kate

~ advanced copy of the book - a collection a day ~

even though this great project-turned-book doesn't come out until march, micaela at the always-amazing blog, the drifter and the gypsy, got her hands on an advanced copy and is giving it away to a lucky blog reader!  i had not heard of this cool project prior to her blog post, but now that i know about it, i soooo want this book!

~ print by magalerie ~

head on over to moon face to enter to win your choice of prints - personally, i would choose the sweet life is beautiful print

~ adorable pillow ~

enter at danielle oakey interiors to get your very own adorable pillow by simple sage

my fave is the pink giraffe pillow, shown in the bottom left corner in the above photo

~ cute AND practical leather purse ~

one lucky gypsy*diaries reader gets their very own jet set purse - in either black, tawny, or nude pearl.  personally, i would definitely get the nude pearl - love its soft pink color.

just head on over to gypsy*diaries to enter for yourself!

not one, but TWO giveaways for credit @ joss & main!

~ $50 to joss & main ~

this is a great website, offering quick deals on home goods.

if i won, my credit would go towards a coffee table book, most likely living in style: paris

awesome giveaway courtesy of JourneyChic

~ $150 e-spree ~

$150?? WOAH!! this giveaway is found over at deliciously organized

whew!

time to get yourself entered into all these incredible giveaways - fingers crossed at least one of us wins at least one of these prizes!!

happy thursday, hope you are all feeling better than i am :)

etsy spotlight: mary wangerin

i am absolutely in love with the work of mixed media artist/painter mary wangerin.  here are my 2 fave pieces for sale on her etsy site ~

she is brave in all things:

all my light shines for you:

completely in love.

more info: facebook page

blog

~ glad to have found this beautiful artwork on lovely happenings ~

etsy spotlight: nangijala jewelry

the rings from this etsy shop are incredible.  here are just a few of my faves ~

 

see more gorgeous jewelry of all sorts at their etsy shop here

decor: bonjour sign

in a kitchen ~

simple, chic, french!  loves it.

from the etsy seller signs of a daydreamer

found vi una bella vita

i want: royal tenenbaums pencils

remember when i stumbled across those awesome rushmore-themed pencils?  well now there are royal tenenbaums pencils!

my only gripe?  i want more!

i mean, it is one of my top-ten fave movies...

buy here

p.s. there's also some awesome "pick flick" pencils from election. heck yes!

p.p.s.  i think it's time for a wes anderson movie marathon!  perfect for this blizzard-y day.

i want: rushmore pencils

 things i love: wes anderson movies, overachievers, & quirky stationary.

now let's add to the list: these pencils.

 first found here

the creators' etsy page

i want: renegade art fair - laura berger

chicago artist laura berger's prints are beautifully simple illustrations, full of affirmation & pure happiness - perfect decor for any room.

^ my sentiments exactly.  + books, that is.

 ^ (complete text reads: 1:You are stressed. You go do some yoga, ok? 2: Sit down. Breathe. Think about nice things. Like donuts and hippos. 3: Go to a place and have them put needles in your head. 4: Now take a bath. You were pretty dirty anyway. 5: Now drink a very large and soothing beverage. 6: Now go dance for several hours. Repeat step 5 as needed. You are cured!)

 i want this print framed in my room:

it's kinda impossible to look at her work & not smile :)

etsy

flickr

blog

etsy spotlight: blue bird heaven

architectural designer jessica, and founder of blue bird heaven, takes vintage printer drawers and turns them into absolutely beautiful jewelry holders.  here are a couple of her items currently on sale at her etsy shop:

these are seriously incredible works of [practical AND pretty] art!  my parents actually have an older printer drawer in their house, hung on the wall by the door -- i wonder if they would let me steal it...!  if not, i can always save up my pennies for one of the blue bird heaven designs :)