Carnivale

 

We ventured down to Fort Edmonton last week on a warm afternoon to bask in the great weather and go back in time to a 1920's midway. It is the perfect place for a little person, no intimidating fast rides, no lines, and lots of sights and colors to take in.

 

 

 

(caught the poor guy mid-chew LOL)

 

Enjoying our race on 'Belle' and 'Wild Rose'. I won, just for the record, by a hair.

 

As we were leaving I fell in LOVE with this ceiling. The colors just make me happy and feels totally 'sea punk'. We will have to discuss sea punk one of these days... I am OBSESSED with this trend.

Long live these magical summer days!

Ring Giveaway Winners!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and instagramed this contest! I had so much fun, I definitely prefer doing giveaways like this (not that there is anything wrong with sponsored giveaways), where I truly feel like I am giving something back for all the wonderful love you show me.

Our first two winners come courtesy of Instagram:

@erininwonderland 

@jenstefani

And our other three winners were randomly chosen via rafflecopter. I will fire off each of you an email just to be sure you see this!

Congratulations ladies and thanks again for entering!

Sharpie/Wrapping Paper Art

My leaning wall of art is coming along nicely (and by nicely I mean super affordably). I am trying to mix a few types of  'art' here so I want to do different mediums. As of yet I don't have a photograph, which I would like to do on a large scale in this Ikea Odby frame. I LOVE how big this frame is, and the funky curved corners are a good way to differentiate it from the other styles of frames leaning here.

 

Until I find just the right shot and get it printed I didn't want to leave the frame sadly vacant!

 

So I literally grabbed a sharpie and some leftover wrapping paper I love (this one is from Rifle Paper Co.)

to do my own custom print. The fact that it cost virtually nothing makes it the perfect temporary (or maybe permanent???) addition to a gallery wall. 

 

I love all the cute typography prints in Etsy shops nowadays, but most do not come in this large of a size. Plus, this way you can really give some personal meaning to whatever words or phrase you do. 

Mine is a good representation of how my sassy side and Sean's romantic and caring side are perfectly suited. To some people it may just be words, but we know the deal LOL.

Can we talk about how much bigger the room feels without a piece of furniture here? LOVE IT!

I am thinking this little stretch of wall is complete.

by Holly standards.

for now.

 I will be back later with our ring giveaway winners, so check back to see if you're one!

Friday

Sometimes you cross paths with people on this blogging journey that you are so very grateful to have met.

Amanda is actually someone I came to know through Instagram. I think that if we weren't living in two different countries and just a little closer we would be inseperable, life long besties. You see, Amanda has a studio in Minneapolis where she hosts wonderful, fun craft events and she has a never ending supply of creativity.

And she has a most generous heart. 

 

Last month Amanda whipped up countless camera straps, all to benefit a family in need (I had to restrict myself to only ordering one, they were soooo cute and fun!). Last week she drizzled glitter and happiness in the streets of Chicago. And this week I opened up my mail to find a special parcel. 

 

Surely Amanda is one of those people. Because spreading cheer and happiness is her forte. 

Wren and I spent the better part of an hour playing with all the little goodies. Making lemonade topped with umbrellas, care of Amanda. 

 

Feeling pretty lucky to have crossed paths with such a dear, new friend. 

Please be sure to head over to Amanda's blog, Oh My Little Dears, I promise you will find it refreshing, inspirational and fun.

And now Wren and I are dreaming up some way to 'pay it forward'

Thanks so much for making our week Amanda!

Casual, Silky, Summer Style

I'm not sure if you've seen this trend, the one where it is cool to wear silk PJ bottoms around town now? I was a skeptic. And I have never actually seen anyone give it a go in person, yet.

But I am not about to pass up an excuse to spend these hot, sticky summer days in the most airy and delightfully soft trousers man ever created. There will probably still be stares, but whatev.

Here is the outfit I plan on rocking for the last half of summer (notice it's all on sale? I love a good sale!)

1/2/3/4/5

Just in case you're not fully convinced, maybe I can tempt you to join us on the dark side (or maybe it is the light side, all things considered) by showing you a slew of wonderfully comfy ladies in their silky pants. 

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What do you think? Have I pulled you off the fence?

Inthefunlane + Anthropologie

{ going back forth from smiling nervously in anticipation and wondering if they made a mistake }

If you are in the area I'm hoping you will join me for some fun, snacks and an all around great time at the West Edmonton Anthropologie store on August 1! We are going to dream up and make headbands that will help us manage our tresses for the rest of the Summer (we all know I need all the help I can get!). 

There are limited spaces available for this free workshop so don't dilly-dally, get RSVP-ing tout suite!

{simply click on the image below to book a spot}

The days are hot, our makeup isn't staying put, so the least we can do is rock some pretty hair, right?

can you tell I've given up make up all together? I blame it on Gwyneth's new cook book

{damn, she's cute}

See you on August 1, fellow Anthro-addicts!

Berry, Scones, and Cream. Oh my!

 

We had a little break in the heat this morning! Wren and I hadn't enjoyed a good baking session in a while (I don't think turning on the oven is wise when you don't have AC...) so we quickly mixed up a batch of our go-to favorite: scones. 

 

When you think about it, scones are actually one of the most versatile things to bake! You can add things to the mix, or top afterwards for endless options. But our classic favorite is plain scones with fresh, warm berries and whipped cream!

 

If you are interested in making a batch of your own here is our little twist on the recipe:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup of milk

1. mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together

2. dice up the butter into little cubes and add to the flour mixture, mix until just starting to look like pea-sized dough balls

3. add in your milk and mix until it is nice and even.

4. make 6-8  1/2 inch thick rounds out of your dough and bake at 240 for approximately 7-10 minutes (until golden). You can use a cookie cutter if you like but Wren enjoys shaping hers by herself and it is a good project that doesn't require perfection so encourage the kids to get messy here!

To make the hot berry topping we just throw some fresh berries in a frying pan with a little water and a tablespoon of sugar. Stir as they simmer for about 3-5 minutes and serve on your fresh scones!

Little confession: they are better as breakfast.

I hope you try to make some on your next cool summer morning!

DIY Painted Pillows

 

This weekend I had an amazing crafternoon with my sister in law, Kate (you may remember her condo makeover we did last winter which you can check out here). We did an Ikea run not too long ago and picked up a handful of throw pillows in white to do a future craft with and we came up with the idea of 'painting' the covers in fabric dye. 

It is a really fun project if you want to hang out and be creative for an afternoon with a buddy.

The only supplies we needed were dye (we tried three different shades of pink and mixed various combos) and brushes.

 

We had NO idea how the dye would look being brushed on. Would it bleed? look weird? 

In the end it actually resembles water colors! (which I am madly obsessed with right now, so it was a win)

Obviously my creativity stalled out at first with a series of hearts. You know I love them.... but they just didn't look that cool. 

 

So I splattered the case once I was all done for a graffiti twist. The other case got a simple plaid treatment. I intentionally let some stripes be faint or worn out looking. Perfection is not the aim here!

 

Kate whipped up a gorgeous ombre effect on her cases! I LOVE the brush strokes that show through. You may recall that I did an ombre pillow tutorial last summer (check it out here), but I think this is a very cool and unique take on it. Now we just need to bug Kate into getting her own blog up and going!

Shades of Happy!

 

When Kate and I make a date we always seem to end up hunting down treasures and Saturday was no different. We hit up a handful of garage sales on our way to Michael's for supplies and she ended up with a cute vintage duvet and sham set. It was cream with little polka dots and flowers, also printed in white, so we tossed them into the sink with all our left over dye to see what would happen. They turned out super cute if, I say so myself! The original white pattern showed up much better on the pink background.

 

After tossing all our creations in the wash with some vinegar to set the dyes they all lightened up a little. They also took on a light, sorbet pink shade (which we thought might happen). 

 

Would I want a whole couch filled with them? Probably not, but mixed up with my new peachy-pink and white pillows they add a bit of a modern-art-vibe.

 

I have been obsessed with BlueBelleGrey's creations for the past few months, but can't really justify $80 on a pillow so these should hold me over.

I will say that they have the Wren stamp of approval! She has asked to keep the heart one in her room.

 

xoxo

Holly