"And we frolicked about in our summer skin..."

I'm a nostalgic person by nature, and to make matters worse I become a nostalgic mess whenever I listen to Death Cab for Cutie. And by mess, I mean the good kind of mess. Each album evokes very specific memories for me so I never pass up an opportunity to see the band live. You'd think that I'd be bored by now considering I recently saw them live for the 11th time, but I know myself and it's fair to assume Death Cab for Cutie shows will never grow old to me. No matter how many eye-rolls I receive or how many times I'm the butt of a joke, they will always hold a special place in my heart.
Favorite Ben Gibbard Performance
Death Cab for Cutie's Latest Single
Top Three Death Cab for Cutie Songs
And here is an episode of Storytellers featuring Death Cab for Cutie...

OH, PEONIES...HOW I LOVE THEE

My life-long love affair with peonies and the most feminine of flowers has recently been rearing its ugly head and telling me to start my garden already. There is nothing that I love more than a fresh bouquet of flowers, however I'm very particular about what I put in my vases, especially my birthday gift from Matt's sister, Heather, this year.

These little bud vases from Pottery Barn were sent to me straight from heaven (via UPS) and I love finding the perfect little flowers for them. I keep them on my desk at work and they are a constant source of happiness throughout the day.

Currently, my main source of flowers, mainly roses, is from my parent's houses. Over the years they have tended to and nurtured some gorgeous rose bushes in a variety of colors. I tend to gravitate to the fuchsia and marigold colors, and as you can imagine their scent is out of this world. But lately I've been feeling the urge to plant my own garden so that I can make little bouquets from my own flowers and not have to rely on my parents'. Since our yard is small, I've narrowed it down to four different flowers that must grown in my garden. IN my opinion, these are the most beautiful blossoms ever and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they thrive in our hot weather and dry conditions.

PEONIES

HYDRANGEAS

SWEET PEAS

RANUNCULUS

"We moved too fast, and tripped into the guest room."

Let's face it, I have "a thing" for guest bedrooms. I love the idea of going away somewhere and still feeling like you're at home which is why I am attempting to create an overnight oasis for our future guests. I say future guests because we won't be able to offer anyone a place to sleep in our spare bedroom until I get my act together and clean it. It's sad to admit, but I still have some boxes with decor items in the room from when we first moved in and a lot of other random things I've collected. I promised myself, and Matt, that today I will be cleaning this mess and prepping it so that I can start decorating it as soon as possible.

I will be re-using the bedding from our San Francisco apartment because I still love it after three years, which says a lot coming from me. Although at first I was tempted to buy something a little more contemporary, I've decided to save some money and work around what we already have. I will however need to purchase the following:

1) Headboard (perhaps a matching footboard as well)
2) Night-stands
3) Wall art (I'm most excited about this upcoming purchase)
4) Curtains/Sheers
5) Tie-backs
6) Accent pillows
7) New sheets

Here is what I already have for the guest room:
1) Bedding
2) Lamps
3) Curtain rod
4) small knick-knacks

The guest bedroom is extremely small, so I will have to measure to see whether or not we will be able to fit any other furniture in there besides the bed and night-stands. If it doesn't work out, our guests will still have access to their own closet to hang clothes and for other storage. It's going to take me the majority of the summer to finish this project because I have a very specific look in mind, but I know that it will all be worth it. To get in the mood for decorating my own guest bedroom, I've started to collect some inspiration photos. I'll be pulling concepts from each and post the final inspiration board as soon as I'm finished.
P.S. This first one is my favorite...

via Keep on the Sunny Side

via Darling Dexter

via The Design Notebook

EIGHT WONDER OF THE WORLD: The Mustache and Beard

I suppose it's only fair to say that I'm a bit bias when it comes to facial hair. Matt has sported a mustache since we were twenty and slowly over the years also started donning a beard. He is very proud of his facial hair, as other men are, and despite my attempts at convincing him to shave for special occasions, I'll admit that I prefer him with a 5 o'clock shadow. Not only do I prefer stubble over long beard hairs, but there is something so masculine about a beard that is growing in and a mustache that, in this case, will never cease to exist. Much like his father, Matt has vowed to never shave his mustache and claims that he feels naked without it, so I've grown accustomed to his new face, facial hair and all. It's a package deal and my only request is that he kept it maintained and groomed because we all know that there is nothing worse than an unkempt beard with food and toothpaste in it.

While looking for some artwork for my office, I stumbled upon the wonderment that is facial hair art. True, mustaches and beards have both been revived in recent years and these days are a requirement if you go to San Francisco State or live in the Mission District, but I can't ignore the fact that art focusing on men's beards and mustaches has caught my attention. These little jewels are usually done by an artist specializing in "indie" art and certainly have a "cutesy" feeling to them. They are often times humorous, glamorizing, or poking fun of the recent trend and I love each of them dearly. I think that it would be great to frame a collection of say 3-5 and hang them strategically on Matt's side of the bathroom. Let's just say that I am pro-facial hair and want this fad to stay for as long as possible. After all, I've never met any man that didn't look better with some hair on his face. Here is my ode to the mustaches and beards in my life, I'll be framing a few of these little gems over the next few weeks and can't wait to see the results.

via I Made You A Beard

via Jax Beard

via Fang Found This

via Riqsane

via Lee Hansen Graphics

via Stachist

via I Love Facial Hair

via AMPERSTACHE

via Pichaus

via Lacyadair

WORK IN PROGRESS: OFFICE DESK MAKEOVER

This may be a familiar view to many; the landscape of a boring, lifeless office desk. I have been feeling the creative itch lately and it all started at my workplace. Generally, I work behind a computer and as of recently I have been daydreaming about making over my work nook. I call this a nook because it's a corner desk with white walls, a computer and a UPS thermal label printer and scanner. These "decorative items" all came with the desk and the job and not only do they lack personality, they are monochromatic. Although I keep it clean and organized, I've always wanted my office desk to reek of femininity and color.

I've started to bring in fresh flowers as often as I can to brighten up my space, but today decided to tackle this project once and for all. I ended up spending a few minutes after work brainstorming and thinking about everything that I have stored away in our spare bedroom that I could use in the office. Over the years I've acquired quite a lot of decor in a variety of colors and styles. I was excited to utilize some of the remnants of my shabby chic collection and will be going with a blue and silver color palette, with a dash of hot pink and rose pink. I'm determined to not buy any new items and recycle everything I currently own, so in other words, my budget is $0.00. Unfortunately, there are a few things that will have to stay: Ikea corner desk, computer, UPS shipping supplies and more than likely, the biggest calendar in the entire world hung above my desk.

Ideally, I would be able to wallpaper my corner or paint it, but I'll just have to work with the white walls which shouldn't be too difficult. Left over from our Livermore apartment I have a few blue-ish frames with some artwork by Egon Schiele. While he suits my personal taste, I don't know how office friendly his work is mainly due to the fact that it's very grotesque and provocative. I will have to eventually switch it out with some light-hearted art and can't wait to spend many hours scouring my new find: Vintage Printable. What I love so much about this site is that you can download any of their vintage images for free and frame them. You can probably guess what I'll be doing for the rest of the evening while Matt watches Mythbusters.

Tomorrow I plan on heading over the hill to work an hour earlier to organize, rearrange and remodel my office desk. I've been waiting to do this for awhile but only now does it feel necessary. I know that these alterations will not only help me focus better, they will lighten my mood and enhance my day in every way possible. Tune in tomorrow to see the results, but until then a little food for thought...

 via Bloomerism

 via Elle Decor

via The Design Fairy

via Room Envy

via Linen and Verbena