fancy sparkle shorts

That's what this photo is saved as on my computer.  Google reverse image search didn't turn up a source, so I have no idea where it came from, but I luuurve it.

I don't know if I could pull off an outfit like this, but I could definitely live in this room.  Duh, I am totally this glamourous.

The Deep Dream Velvet Sofa from Graham & Green is sleek and feminine, but still looks comfortable (difficult combination to find!) and is available in a million gorgeous colors.

These Waterfall Ruffle Curtains from Urban Outfitters also come in a blush pink that would be even prettier/girly-er in the room, but I wanted to stay with the photo's color scheme.  For a little girls room?  Totally...

My favorite sequined pillow from a random internet bedding store... Looked good here too.  (Funny story: at least 5 people a day come to this blog by searching "denim couch" and finding that post.)  This is a smaller touch of sparkle than the photo's shirt, but a big, glittering chandelier would have the same effect.

This Classic Glass Top Coffee Table from ABC Home (awesome online store that I can't afford anything from, but... whatev) is a little pricey, but Nate Berkus makes a similar one for a few less bucks.

Search "hanging lotus lamp" or "tulip lamp" on ebay or etsy and you'll find lots of gorgeous lamps like this brass one. The lamp and the table echo the brass buttons from the jacket and add some of the shine from that killer top.

Some deep red garden and cabbage roses give a little nod to the maroon lining of the jacket (and of course, every room needs flowers!)  Maybe an arrangement in a pretty cut glass bowl?  I love the color combination between the white, navy, gold and pinky-red.

it's so genetic

The whole "we make good faces" thing?  It's not just limited to my brother or the old roomie, this is a family-wide trait.  See?

I love this.  I love Evane being a model while the rest of us are being as ridiculous as possible.  I love that we're all squished in together as only family can be.  I love Hannah's face and how Larisa and Campbell have the same raised eyebrows.  I love us.

How could you not love these people?  This is late night self-portrait taking at its finest.

As I sit here in class, refusing to listen to my South African music professor (who is objectively the worst educator I have ever encountered), I'm starting to get a little teary...  I have the best family in the world.  The kids in these pictures are not only amazing people, but they love me in a way I can never deserve.  It's the best feeling in the world.

I can't wait to see what husbands and wives join this classy, classy group of individuals.  Wouldn't you want to be a part of this? Hannah, Evane, Campbell and Larisa... You'd better pick well, because I'm not letting just anybody steal you away from me.

It got even better when, at 20 years old, I gained more siblings to bother, laugh with, and blame for starting fights.  (I mean... to love).  When I was about 9 and I really wanted a big brother (I don't know exactly how I thought I was going to do that) I didn't realize that I'd have 2.  Terry and Danny, thanks for being as obnoxious as every older brother on tv was. :) Thanks for marrying beautiful, amazing women like Tiffany and Esme - they make our family so much better.  Grace, you're hot (you know that, though) and funny and such a great addition to these sisters of mine.

Of course, I love all of you new sibs, but I'd pick Justin over every one of you.  (You know you'd do the same!)  Having a nephew is so much fun, but I never knew there could be a little boy as loving and affectionate and sweet as this one.  Everyone else needs to start having kids so I can do this more often. You and your kids should live in the same city as me too.  I'd like that.

So, all that to say, I love you guys.  Thanks for making my life better.  Thanks for setting the gold standard in good face-making.  Nobody contorts their facial features quite like you kids.

Also, thanks for overwhelming my ASL professor when he asked me to name all of my siblings when we were learning the signs for family members...  It was really funny and he never picked on me again while practicing that lesson.

thanks-lazing.

how my iphone saw the day...

Thanksgiving was fantastic.  I went all Julia Childs with Larisa and made a delicious dinner on Wednesday.  (My mother's Thanksgiving plans for Thursday were cancelled, but we went ahead with Thanksgiving a day early)  I refused to do anything on Thursday but lay around and take naps.  It was glorious!  Mama and I played Rummikub while Larisa made fancy hot chocolate.  We played old standards and sang "Someone to Watch Over Me."  (She has the best voice...)

It was all I wanted in a vacation.  For future reference, if anyone wants to impress anyone with their culinary skills, feel free to use this menu: slow-cooker turkey (I was super happy to have one less thing to schedule the oven for), HEB's pecan praline spiral-cut ham (the best decision I made), macaroni and cheese (from scratch!), roasted garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry-pomegranate sauce (A: why would you ever use the canned stuff when this is so easy? B: mine turned out a cranberry-orange-apple sauce 'cause I forgot the pomegranate juice), green bean casserole (nothing fancy, just the recipe on the can of fried onions... don't judge, it's my favorite!), and those magical canned crescent rolls with some rosemary-garlic butter.  

My favorite dishes (beside that fantastic ham) were the whipped sweet potatoes with coconut milk from The Kitchn and cornbread stuffing with sausage and apples from The Pioneer Woman.

this is what it would all look like if I was a professional food photographer...

via pioneer woman and the kitchn

The last two years I made Bobby Flay's pumpkin bread pudding with spicy caramel apple sauce and my brother said it was the best thing he'd ever eaten... So there's that.

I found it!

I lost the link to the tutorial I used to make all my skirts.  I haven't needed to look at the tutorial in so long that it got lost on the internet... (or I deleted the bookmark, whatever!)  This is the one I used to make skirts for Jen and Adriane.

This blog, Freshly Picked, actually has the best tutorials around.  Pockets!  Pockets, I tell you!

Freshly Picked's elastic waist skirt tutorial... Go!  Read!  Make!

who needs a sub-zero?

photo via Design Sponge

Who needs a fancy new refrigerator when you can make your heinous old one look so charming.  (Ok, maybe a Smeg would still be worth it.)

The "I love pretty things!" part of me likes the composition and colors of the photo, but what I really love about this is the ingenuity.  Think about it.  You move into a new home, but you can't always (never can) afford to fix everthing you don't like about it.  You can stress about the janky 15 year old fridge, and save every penny to buy a fancy stainless steel one or you can put a little thought and creativity in it. (Save your money for something important and practical like a vacation to NYC to come and see me next year!)

This is genius, obviously.

dude, I'm so helpful (the not-so-helpful t-shirt pillow edition)

When my future-interior-design-business-partner sister Evane left for college a few years ago, she was concerned (and rightly so) about how to make her dorm look less dorm-like.  We found comfy gray bedding and ruffly white blankets at Target and IKEA, but went lazy diy on the pillows.

I call this a not-so-helpful "dude, I'm so helpful" because I've got no pictures of the process.  We did this years ago, but there are a million different tutorials online how to make a pillow (ruffled or not) out of a t-shirt.  (This one is great.)  However, you don't need any (badly-lit) photos from me to do it yourself; it's so easy.  Now, if you need to make a bunch of pillows, you could go to the regular fabric store, but the thrift store is full of shirts (which are inherently shaped perfectly for pillow-making.)  You can find funky old designs/prints and if you go on a sale day, you can go super cheap-o.  I love the soft jersey of a washed-a-million-times t-shirt.  (So many dashes!)

Evane and I started out with neutrals (duvet, blankets and sheets), so we walked into the thrift store with a pretty open color palette. She loved a floral t-shirt that ended up as that pillow in the back, so we started there, finding different t-shirts and a few button ups in great bright colors.  We used IKEA pillow inserts for $3 a pop, but if you go to a thrift store, they have dozens of cheap (and ugly!) throw pillows if you need a different/larger size.  Don't worry about the heinous print on the fabric, just choose one that's smooth (something super bumpy will show through a thin cotton or jersey cover) and that doesn't have piping (makes your edges weird).  You don't have to only look at the x-large shirts, but if you're doing ruffles, the bigger (more fabric) the better.  Look at a couple of tutorials or pinterest for inspiration; get a little creative and go!

Thanks Evi, for the (much better than usual) photos

another little one

You know how I said I'd only have kids if they turned out like this? Well, I decided I'll take one of these too.

Max costume via The Radical Thread Co.