Monday Lovely: To the Sky

As a kid I was a little bit infatuated with Amelia Earhart and ordered multiple books about her from our elementary school book orders. This was pre-Google. (Do you remember ordering books? You'd fill out what you want on the thin, crinkly paper and then wait for the books to get there and it was like Christmas? At least it was for me... Best day ever.)

I used to imagine what happened to her and in my more positive thoughts she was living it up on a deserted island with some fun, castaway friends in cool Swiss Family Robinson-style treehouses.

This new-to-me online magazine Matchbook did a fun feature on Amelia-inspired style. I loved all of the items included, especially the photo of our heroine and her adorable pixie haircut and awesome airplane in the background.

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Monday Lovely: Conversations

Little A & Z yesterday at the Living Traditions festival.

Little A: Goodbye, Mama! You are going to work?

Me: Yes, honey, I am. I will see you later. Have fun with Daddy today!

Little A: My cookie monster has a hole.  He has a tear.

Me: Oh no! I can fix it. I will sew him up later when I get home.

Little A: You will?! Oh, Mama. You are the most beautiful mama in the world!

Me: Thank you! I love you so much.

Little A: I love you, too. Can I have a hug? I love your kisses.



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Monday Lovely: Now That's Making an Entrance

I know I have some catching up to do on this blog but in the meantime, I wanted to share a beautiful video. In the (almost 10! Eeek! Gasp!) years since Z & I walked down the aisle, documentary-style wedding photography has become the norm. No more posed photos (or at least, more than just the traditional, posed photos) -- candid photography is where it's at.

I'm wondering if the stunning footage (and some of the other weddings this talented company has done) below will spark a trend for artistic, music-video style mini-movies to go along with those candid photos commemorating the big day.

Adam & Eve from dolly on Vimeo.

Not only is the videography (cinematography?) beautiful, but the bride is stunning, her veil is In. Cred. Ible. and just watch how she arrives to meet her groom.

Sidenote: On our wedding day, after the ceremony, we stayed at the church to sign the license, take a few (posed) photos and then were supposed to go to our reception, about a mile away. Z & I walked out of the church only to find out that all of our friends and family left us. And, since we were young with not much experience in this sort of thing, we hadn't thought to arrange for some sort of romantic transportation (vintage Rolls Royce? Horse-drawn carriage? Bicycle-built-for-two?).

Luckily, we found my cousin who happened to be rounding up some items and was still at the church. Z rode shotgun in her Chevy Malibu and I, and my enormous hoop skirt, squished into the backseat with my then 4-year-old and 6-year-old family members.

But arriving by boat, like the French bride in the video, would be pretty cool, too.



If you are getting hitched - in FRANCE! - hire this company.


By the way, one of the first places I saw this video was on a site that's a favorite of mine, Cup of Jo.
Check her out!



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Monday Lovely: Today is the Day

Although our master bathroom has been finished for about a year and a half I haven't really gotten around to decorating it. I am s l o w l y getting back into the groove and picked up a shower curtain (we had just been using a plain white liner because I couldn't find a curtain I liked. How embarrassing. I have a severe, constant case of of Analysis Paralysis.), a towel bar (yet-to-be-hung) and some picture frames so that when I found some works of art I could just hang them quickly before I over-analyzed what kind of frames my future artwork needed.

Little A and I took a trip into Urban Outfitters to pick up some Father's Day items for Z (we found this, which he loves for its practicality and I love for its old-fashioned-key-lookingness) and I discovered a little bowl in the same shade of green that our bathroom is painted. It also features some bright reds, blues and other colors as accents. I decided this is the color scheme for our bathroom and I bought it (for $2.99 on sale). So now the hunt is on for vibrantly colored accent items.

A quick search on Etsy and I discovered a little treasure from this shop.

I love its motivational message (and, boy, could I use some motivating these days), bold color and great font.

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Monday Lovely: Florapalooza

I really really want...

This vase. It's so pretty.

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Monday Lovely: Beautiful Bistro

Are you familiar with Terrain? News of this chic home/garden/landscape shop's online arrival has been all over the Internet like (expensively priced) moss on a stone. And I'm sure its popularity isn't hurt by the fact that it happens to be a sister company to the store that is to Utah women what crack is to junkies.

I was browsing through its pages and thought this red patio set was so dreamy. Can't you just imagine lounging around in this cheery, red chair, drinking a refreshing glass of lemonade and reading a favorite magazine? Yeah, I can't either. Who has time for that? But in another life I would totally be up for it. Especially with this chair's gorgeous, high back.

And I would love to set my cool, refreshing drink on one of this adorable flower-shaped table's wire petals.

If you like this table and chair, too but don't want to drop the pretty big bones it would take to buy the whole set, check out this option from K Mart. Just as lemonade-worthy, I think.

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Monday Lovely: Better looking than the TI-85 I spent big bucks on in high school

Confession: I partially chose my college major based on the area of study that required the least amount of math classes. Yayyyyy for my bachelor's degree in communication. I do think, though, that if I could use a beautiful abacus such as this one from CB2 I would rethink my dislike for counting.

Anchored properly, I know it would be the perfect wall decoration above Little A's crib. He could slide the beads back and forth, and who knows, maybe use it to do our taxes.

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Monday Lovely: Saturday Night 'White'

It's true! It's true!

Image from CrabbyGoLightly.com

She is hosting. What is more lovely than that? Not much. Although this one time, back in St. Olaf...


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Monday Lovely: Kinky Boots

Did you like the name of this blog post? Hopefully it got your attention. It did mine when Zach told me this was the film he watched when he was up with Little A at 2 a.m. a couple weeks ago (teething made our little guy restless so Z got up with him since this mama was working the next day). It doesn't exactly sound like a family friendly film.

But don't let the name mislead you. We watched this Sundance Film over the weekend (Z had DVR'd it, knowing that I'd probably like to watch it, too) and I fell in love. It's about a man who inherits his four-generation family shoe making business and has to come up with a plan to save it. So he decides to focus the company's efforts on a niche market: drag queens. Hey, those girls need cute shoes, too. Oh, and it's based on a true story.

Besides the drag queens' colorful, choreographed performances and the film's charming characters, it also teaches a great lesson about learning to accept others' differences.

And why 6' 4" men need extra reinforcement on their stilettos.

[Note: If you want to check it out, we found it on the Independent Film Channel on DishNetwork.]



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Monday Lovely: Snowy grandfathers + grandsons

Little A & my dad, taken just a couple weeks ago.

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Monday Lovely: Boo! (But say it with a British accent)

My talented friend Maegan took these beautiful, or should I say "boo-tiful," pictures of a cemetery in London. I thought they were quite appropriate to post just before Halloween, and with their stunning colors and textures they are a nice departure from the typical October orange-and-black everything we're used to on this side of the pond.

Photos: Maegan Leoni


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Monday Lovely: Crazy for Cabin Fever

The A Train and I walked up to Trolley Square last week when we noticed the windows at Cabin Fever. I love black + white images paired with bright colors. And I love Elvis. And butterflies.

The trifecta!

[Editor's note: This window momentarily brought me back to my childhood aspirations to be a store window decorator, a la the hit 1987 movie, Mannequin. I was actually able to live out my dream during a short-lived high school stint as a sales girl at the bustling Fashion Crossroads on Price's Main Street. Elastic waistband pants, anyone? After a few times of alternating between the oversized sunflowers and oversized crayons, I was out of props and my window displaying days kind of ran out of steam...]

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Monday Lovely: Malarie's Bridal Pictures

I know I haven't posted anything here forever. With re-opening the restaurant, working and planning my sister's wedding--not to mention caring for my favorite boy--I haven't had much time to spare.

The wedding was this weekend and it was incredible. I can't wait to share pictures on here of the big day. We had a great time and my sister, Malarie, was one of the world's most beautiful brides. Really, the Guinness Book of World Records called and confirmed it.

I have a feeling they based their decision on these photos taken by the super-talented Kirstin Roper Photography. Malarie's then-fiance (now husband!) is Japanese, so she wanted to include something from his culture in the photos and the parasol was the perfect touch. We picked up the bouquet for $10 from the farmer's market. It was gorgeous and fit her personality perfectly.

You can see more of the bridal photos on Kirstin's blog.

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Monday Lovely: Porch Pals

And in matching outfits, no less. That sound? It's my heart melting. (Just in case you were wondering.)


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Monday Lovely: Stiletto Soaker

I was reading my new issue of Elle Decor (even though Z hates this magazine because he thinks it's pretentious and snobby and features rooms with way too much toile) a week ago and actually laughed out loud when I saw the double-page ad for this over-the-top bathtub from Sicis, a mosaic art company (their work really is spectacular).


It's fabulous, ridiculous, shiny and sporting a serious heel: everything a bathtub should be, right? I have no idea how much this costs, but I assume it isn't cheap. If I had stacks and stacks of money lying around there's no doubt I would use one of them to purchase this. Just for the ability to say, "Sorry, can't talk now. I have to sit in my giant shoe and shave my legs."


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Monday Lovely: Baby Talk

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Monday Lovely: Baby Mine-Classic Songs for Bedtime CD

I may not be great at singing or staying in-tune or remembering the right words to songs (Hold me closer, Tony Danza) but I do know with absolute certainty that this is one of the best CDs ever recorded.

It's a collection of music that is perfect for lullaby-ing wee little babes to sleep without causing the parents to suffer from Elmo-Induced Psychosis. All of the songs are incredibly beautiful and Anthony loves it. I played it for him often while he was taking up residence in my abdomen and I really do believe that he still recognizes the songs even now. During one of our first nights in the hospital right after he made his grand arrival, he was fussy and nothing seemed to calm him down.

I turned to my beloved iBook (may it rest in peace) and clicked on the BabyMine CD in my iTunes. Instantly he relaxed. It's baby magic. Plus, it features the vocal stylings of one of my all-time favorite local celebrities.


You can preview the album (and then buy it instantly because you seriously won't be able to wait even one more second) on iTunes.

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Monday Lovely: Her Morning Elegance

I saw this posted on DesignMom recently and thought it was incredibly beautiful and creative.

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Monday Lovely: Marcae's Marvelous Cookies

My great friend, Marcae brought a platter full of these beautiful cookies over last week and they were almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.

(For the record, Z & I ate EVERY SINGLE ONE before the night was over. Our only regret was that we didn't have any for the next day.)


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Monday Lovely: Super smart sisters

My sister Malarie is a senior at Southern Utah University (go T-Birds!). She worked hard last semester, juggling work and school, and got straight A's--a 4.0.

Now, when people tell us apart they can officially say she's the pretty, athletic AND smart one. That makes me the uh, old one. Great.

Oh well. Congrats, Mal!


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