i have been horrible lately.

completely unable to control myself and yield willpower against the beast we all know as... 'the summer sale.'

luckily- or unluckily? my hubby totally supported my addictions this week...

check out my bargains!
**sorry for the poor photo quality!**

$5 "gift wrapped ring" from jcrew- looks like a present bow, right?

$19 felix rey tote from target... seems a little marc jacobs esque to me... and a good laptop tote?

$24 pink chucks from tj maxx! i have always wanted a pair of chucks!


so now that i've busted my budget... have you found any treasures in summer sales?

the best part of waking up

some days, waking up early and going to work just stinks. i just want to cuddle up with my blankets and pillows and hubby and stay in my bed all day.

coffee is the one saving grace. seriously, sometimes i'm getting ready in the morning thinking 'man, i can't wait to get to work and have some coffee.'

another thing that helps is a cheery coffee mug... and maybe a pretty trivet or tile to sit your mug on... i know it makes me smile to see my pretty coffee in the morning.

my mug was only $.50 at a thrift shop!

you can find lots of pretty options online at one of my most favorite places...anthropologie...

like these:

happy coffee!

the most perfect bike

if i only had $600 extra dollars...

saw this beauty on a walk through carrboro yesterday afternoon. the leather seat! the leather handles! the color! the creamy wheel wells! the vintagey amazingness!

olde town art fair

hand blown glass in all different fabulous colors... i love glass. these would look beautiful all lined up in groups atop an all white fireplace...
this next one is a graphite drawing- as in pencil- and was as tall as me. that's not saying much, but DANG i bet that took a long time.
these next paintings were fabulous. i saw someone buy one and was so super jealous. my favorite was the yak... but there was also a beautiful minty-blue cup that i didn't get a pic of...
these pretty orbs were handblown glass, and on a pole so you could put them in your garden. what a pretty modern take on a gazing ball!

so on my free day in chicago, i checked out this super cool art fair in old town.

"The Old Town Art Fair will celebrate its 60th anniversary on June 13th and 14th as the charming, tree-lined streets of the city's historic Old Town Triangle District will set the stage for 260 nationally acclaimed artists and an estimated 50,000 art lovers."

Chicago!

sorry for the lack of posting last week... i was in the lovely chi-town on business (neocon 2009!).

here is one of my most favorite things that i saw in chicago... the bean! or, 'cloud gate' which is its official name. i think it's one of the coolest public artworks out there... especially as far as involving the public, getting people to interact with it and each other- it's amazing. you can read all about the artist and its construction here.

i'll try to be back for good... and post every day this week! possibly more pictures from chicago...?

the smell of summer

the day june 1 hits... i miss the beach something fierce. i miss the beaming sunshine, the sand between my toes, running from the waves, hunting for seashells, and even the moody clouds when a storm is coming...

i also miss being able to just head out to wrightsville beach on a whim, driving along in my yellow beetle with the windows down and the music blasting...

one thing that helps bring me back to the beach is the smell of hawaiian tropic.

lately, i've been slathering it on my arms every morning- it's actually super light and moisturizing, has spf (duh!) AND that amazing summery coconut-y smell that takes me right back to the waters' edge.

really, you should try it. you'll be driving to work, catch a whiff, and suddenly you're on vacation :)

music i like right now

after a bit of a hiatus... i'm back. and i'm going to be posting about all kinds of randomness... the usual crafty things, plus great design, do it yourself ideas, and things i just plain like.

speaking of things i just plain like- check out lisa hannigan's new solo album. super cute name, super cute cover art, and check out this super cute video. amazing use of arts and crafts (pop up book! yes!) in a really creative and fabulous way, i think.

oh yeah- and it's super cute.