pop star power

the two songs tied at first place for best pop song of 2009. show some love.



Bad Romance, presented by Lady GaGa.



She Wolf, presented by Shakira.

bee inspired!

Holy crap. This is the cutest tea pot in the world!! The second I get a paycheck I'm buying!! Find the honey comb tea set at victorian trading along with other vintage inspired nick nacks.
















check out this honeycomb plate and other adorable inventions by jason neufeld. all inspired by green!

two humans on my mind...

hannah. I miss you. I love you for your laugh, your silliness, your kindness, and your fantastic company.













Dani. I miss you. I love you for your integrity, your spirit, your honesty, and your amazing loyal friendship.

Hannah and Dani,
I look forward to the many happy memories we will make together in the future. see you both soon.

WOO!!

my favorite commercial of all time.

more from martha

homemade cookies and personalized cookie packages. so cute. template found at martha stewart.com.























these lights are so simple! fashion a handle around a clean jam jar by twisting wire around the rim, drop a tea light candle inside, and hang the jars from small chains under your umbrella or porch. amazing.























miniature gardens! these would look lovely inside the home too.























fire and ice center piece. so easy! simply find two glass cylinders with slight size difference, place the smaller inside the larger and fill the space between with dyed water, and drop in a candle.























I love this idea for tiki torch planters! You could put torches anywhere using this trick.























this is such a cute idea for a garden party! serve snacks using house plant pottery!

love for handmade cards

I've never been much of a card sender, but recently I've been involved with a few collaborative handmade journals. Now, handmade cards are moving up on my to-do list. Here are a few from the amazing martha:























I had forgotten the idea of pressed flowers. This craft reminds me of childhood so much...I might make these just for the nostalgic joy of it. Pressed Pansy party anyone?? Instructions for pressed pansy card here.























I thought this yarn card was especially cute, particularly the floral pattern. I'm not crazy about the paper chosen for these cards, but I think an organic rugged handmade paper would be splendid!























Not sure why you would send a card like this...perhaps for a "happy spring"? Maybe earth day? Whatever the occasion, the garden seed card is freaking adorable!























These amazing messenger bird cards could be sent for any occasion. LOVE them.

thumbs up lip stain

my new favorite toy...outlast lip stain by cover girl. I can't believe I've never used a stain before now! It's undetectable and kiss proof, and looks much more natural than thick glossy lipsticks. It IS a bit tricky to apply, especially on the cupids bow of the upper lip...I would compare the process to coloring your lips with a magic marker. I applied a red tinted lip balm (Nivea kiss of flavor in cherry, my second favorite toy) which blurred the edges of the stain a bit. The color I picked up last night, which I think is called "wild berry wink", is much too red for daily wear...but I'm excited to use it for a glam evening look. I think I'll be heading back to good old walgreens again tonight to pick up the "flirty nude" shade, which I hope to be more natural with more of a pink tint rather than red.

more from flora hanitijo

photospiration

Some photographs pulled from feaverish photography that I found to be particularly lovely.


© Flora Hanitijo

© Logan White

© Luis Sanchis

© Alena Chendler

real human women who inspire me.

Deb, for her patience and grace.


Catharine, for her confidence and good nature.


Molly, for her fire and compassion.

Land of Blood and Sunshine presents...

Check out this amaaaaazing collaboration from my hometown in Iowa here. Spread this music like wildfire, these kids are going places.

celebrity women who inspire me

Tina Fey for her wit and honesty.






















Kate Winslet for her talent and grit.






















Ashley Olsen for her class and amazing sense of style.























Jennifer Coolidge for her humility and sense of humor.

























Angelina Jolie for her generosity (so its a little corny, but hey).













Britney Spears for her optimism and perseverance.

to brow or not to brow?

30 bucks for an eyebrow kit IS a bit steep, but I'm getting pretty close to throwing in the towel and trying out the brow box by Urban Decay. I know it's pricey, but honestly, brows are like a reeeally nice pair of jeans for your face. A gorgeous pair of pants can make a B- body an A+ body, and great eyebrows do the same for your face!

Pretty in Polish

First of all, living away from home makes you really appreciate good cooking (and a loving person to cook it for you!). Second of all, learning how to cook well on your own makes you really appreciate pretty dishes, and isn't this Polish pottery amazing?? Expensive, but amazing. Art and homemade food; what a fantastic combination.

and on the subject of film...

A must-see-before-the-Oscars movie list. I give all these films two thumbs way up.

1. A Serious Man (best film of the year, seriously)
2. Up in the Air
3. Coraline
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, my hero)
5. A Single Man (Vogue in motion, simply gorgeous)
6. District 9 (visually a little bit disturbing, but kudos for a very unique take on alien/race vs. race social commentary. Avatar, I'm pointing at YOU when I say CLICHE)


film still from A Serious Man, presented by the Coen Brothers


film still from Fantastic Mr. Fox, presented by Wes Anderson

feel good films for february

Spring is right around the corner, and I don't know about you, but winter is really raining on my parade. Here are some films that put a smile on my face and remind me that summer is coming!


Vicky Christina Barcelona. Warm and romantic, this is the best film to spend the afternoon watching with a glass of wine in hand.


500 Days of Summer. Tragic maybe, but an uplifting message delivered by an adorable Zooey Dashanel make it a spring time best.


Julie & Julia. I avoided this movie until recently because of it's chick-flicky-block-busterness, but it really was lovely, charming, and inspiring, and Meryl Streep was totally fantastic.


Georgia Rule. I know...Lindsay Lohan? Really? I assure you, this role was PERFECT for her. Although it could be the last good role we ever see her play (the other as Caddy in Mean Girls by the fantastic Tina Fey), fortunately for the sake of this film LiLo was at the top her crazy bitch A-Game. Co-starring Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman, the three women deliver a heart wrenching yet inspiring and funny story about mother/daughter-hood.

Easter crafting

I stumbled across these adorable marbled eggs on kaboose this morning. Super easy instructions, and you could really get creative with the colors. If you're really up for a challenge, you might try this amaaaazing idea (below) for your marbled eggs.























Learn how to make your Easter eggs into chocolate treats here.























I love this tiered bouquet by Martha Stewart. Honestly, I love tiered center pieces period. How great is it to be able to mix flowers with appetizers and not have to worry about space in the middle of the table? Martha didn't add treats to this center piece, but I think a few more elegant white dishes (or perhaps mini birds nests found at a craft store!) filled with goodies would be a nice and functional addition. For a smaller setting those cute eggcup bouquet's would still be lovely arranged right on the table!
























Jelly bean carrot favors...love it!!

Miss Olsen: fashion idol

could these women be ANY classier? Hmmm, well, Mary Kate could lighten up on the heroine-chic look, but Ashley will always be my number one go-to for fashion inspiration. Super sophisticated with soft and sexy edges, complete genius.

Alice in Etsyland

Check out this awesome Etsy page, For the Cross Jewelry Designs. Charming vintage style necklaces such as this amazing Alice in Wonderland necklace (above). Also, a percentage of the proceeds go to charity. Bonus!

Cloudy Side Down photography blog

cloudy side down is a photography blog featuring a lovely collection of diverse and colorful work. surprisingly, I came across one of my own! (shown below) One artist I particularly enjoyed/discovered from this blog is Laura Swanson (shown above). More of her work can be viewed here.