wedding invites – steph + chris

i thought i would start sharing some of my design work. this was an invitation suite that i created for steph and chris. she was a peach to work with! she was planning a omaha wedding all the way from new york city. she wanted a classic clean wedding but with a twist. we decided on letterpress…which turned out AMAZING! spark letterpress did the beautiful work. GORGE! i will keep digging up some work to share with you, although they are mostly wedding invites…but who doesn’t love weddings??…anyone?…that’s what i thought 🙂

over the week

over the week…

1. taking pictures of my cats is pretty much my second job. i mean how can you not snap photos of your pets when they are looking so sweet!?
2. i seriously love when brian wears his glasses. he does too, but they start bothering his little ears after a while. but doesn’t he looks so cute with them on and that new haircut!
3. this is what is left of breakfast in bed. isn’t brian the sweetest! well it’s not all roses and cotton candy…but it’s the little things that make him so special
4. my pattern mixing. polka dots and leopard print. the polka dots are really hard to see but they are black jeans with big grey dots. love them…oh and i got them at forever21. you seriously can’t go wrong with that store. if you are wanting to try new styles but don’t want to break the bank, this is the place to go.
5. craigslist chair (there is another one, same style but green) that goes in my living room and i love. they are rockers and crazy comfy. i also love my deer pillow…can’t get enough of wild animals.
6. crazy pillow patterns. i kind of have an obsession with patterns and bright colors. these pillows are in my living room and i just can’t get enough of them! when i was planning out the color scheme (or lack there of “scheme”) i wanted fun bright colors but in our bedroom i wanted to try to keep it calm and serene. it was hard…let me tell you…i was tempted many times with fun duvet covers…but i HELD BACK! i will share a little project i have done in the bedroom soon.

hope you enjoyed!

feelin’ pretty

all of these AMAZINGLY sexy intimates are from anthropologie. geez i just can’t get enough of that store, but my pocket book sure can ha! how times have you heard that stupid saying. wouldn’t it be blissful to slip into these sexy little numbers and then slide into these cozy looking beds? i say yes.

i usually sleep in a tank top…super sexy. but i think it feels good sometimes to go to bed in something that you feel pretty in. i mean in your dreams you do some pretty awesome things so you might as well look good right? also your partner would like it i am sure 🙂 try to go to bed feeling sexy and pretty this week! quick before that tan fades!

out west

i got back from scottsbluff late sunday night. it was a long drive, but i am really glad i did it. i drove out with my dad, which was nice to have 6.5 hours of talking time and then drove back with my mom, another 6.5 hours of talking time. i don’t have any really “fun” pictures because the trip pretty much consisted of going through my grandma’s belongings trying to figure out what needs to go/sell/keep and going to visit my grandma in the hospital.

it was really hard to see my grandma hooked up to all those IV’s. she is really sick. i just held her hand and talked to her, trying to be positive and up beat the whole time. she is pretty mad about life right now. she is pissed that her body isn’t cooperating with her. her mind is all there though which is great. she used to be a nurse, and so she is very aware of things that are going on. she is also pretty stubborn…saying the food is bad, wants nothing to do with watching the news or anything that could provide “relief” for her.

at my grandma’s house we got to go through some old photos, which was soo fun! my mom is a photographer and my family has always had TONS of photos, but it never gets old. seeing photos of my mom and aunt when they were babies, in their cheerleading outfits and cap and gowns, old photos of my grandpa, grandma and old relatives. my mom used (well she still is) one cool lady! she was a looker too 🙂

before we left we went to see my grandma one last time. this is when i kind of lost it. i tried really hard not to show it in her room, but once we left i just broke down. it was hard for me to think of her laying in this hospital bed; alone and sad with no family to come see you everyday. it’s hard getting old; it’s hard watching your loved ones get old. i just want to keep my family and friends close to me for a long time. remember not to fret about losing someone you love, just make sure you hold them in your hearts and always let them know how important they are to you.

paint is a tricky thing

ugh please forgive this hideous photo! i will take a better one for the “before & after” 🙂

so brian and i have lived in our house for almost 4 months now and although i have done a lot (decorating and what not) i haven’t made any major commitments yet. the whole house was redone before we moved in, it’s not exactly my style, but very livable. they painted every wall in the house a mauve or tan color. don’t get me wrong, it’s not bright purple and hideous, but i just want to add some variety. my dining room i think is the best place to start…well mainly because it’s the easiest…i don’t like to paint. there is also a wainscot in this room. they painted it black and then have the trim in the room painted white. i was TOTALLY against this when we were looking at the house and thought it would be the first thing to go. BUT once we got our rug in there it actually kind of worked. so here is kind of what i am thinking:

i love the starkness of this room with the black and white rug. wainscot would have to painted white for this to work

i love this blue/aqua color with the white trim! but i think the wainscot would have to be white to make this work.

i love the dark wall here! i wonder if it would work to keep the wainscot black and then use a really dark grey for the top part of the wall…not sure…

i also HATE the chandelier. these are my ideas of what would be cool in the space

found here

found here

found here

not really sure which way to go…but i need to get motivated NOW! so hopefully soon i will be able to you some before and after pictures! i will keep you updated.

tomorrow i am headed to scottsbluff. i will try to take some good photos so that you all can see how beautiful western nebraska is! desolate but really pretty!

diy striped antler

i have seen these ridiculously cute little antlers all over pinterest. i really wanted to take a stab at creating a striped one like this. let me tell you, this is probably the easiest most self explanatory thing ever…but it’s always fun to share. i actually found a set of three antlers on etsy for fairly cheap.

MATERIALS:
1. glass of water to wash out your paintbrush
2. paint brushes (i used three different sizes to give different widths on the stripes)
3. plate for your paint
4. paint (i just got these colors at mangelsen’s, but any craft store will carry them. also, i got specific colors, but do remember red, yellow and blue plus some white and black will get you any color! oh minus the metallics…)
5. an antler of course!
6. a scrap piece of cardboard or something you aren’t worry about about ruining

A. put something down on your surface to protect it; i used a scrap piece of chip board. i work on the floor because i seriously live on the floor. it kicks the crap out of my back and knees but i just love it. anyways…i started at the base of the antler (where it was attached to his little noggin’) and painted a larger section because the bumps make it hard to be precise. Wash out your brush every time you change colors.

B. once i got to the split in the antler i also painted a larger section. it is kind of hard to line up the strokes of your paint when going around this area. i also liked the look of sandwiching each of the colors with white. i think it makes the colors pop a bit more. keep working your way up the antler, varying in size of stripes and colors until it’s all covered. you could also leave parts of the antler “raw” (not painted) for a cool effect.

C. one your finished put your pretty little antler anywhere in your house. i have it next to my home made terrariums here (you can see i just watered them because they are all foggy). that buffet table is in our dining room and i really want to paint it…that’s another post.

D. i also thought about putting it on this little side table in my living room. but not sure it works there as well.

hope you try this yourself! super easy and adds some “fun” to anything kind of drab. oh, i also bought a wood duck at the thrift store to do this too…i saw this and loved it. that’s my next project.

waiting

this photo was taken on the beautiful beach in san diego

my grandma has been really sick the past couple of weeks. in the hospital, sick and living day by day. it makes me really sad because i haven’t seen my grandma in a long time. she lives in western nebraska, around 7 + hours away from me. there is no excuse why i haven’t gone and visited…i mean really there isn’t. my mom has been out there for a few weeks now, taking care of a million things. my sisters both made a trip out there a week ago, which unfortunately fell over the weekend of our wedding anniversary so we couldn’t go. my sister tasha said that it was a really emotional experience and that it was really hard to see grandma like that. tasha said one thing my grandma kept saying was, if you don’t like something in your life, change it or learn to love it. i have always love this notion of power over your own destiny. i have tried to practice this, but sometimes lose sight of what it really means.

live each day to your fullest. try new things, but don’t be afraid if you love the “old things”. surround yourself with good people, try to be positive and try not to worry. but waiting…for what’s to come can be painful. i am one of the least paranoid persons i know. i trust strangers, i always give people the benefit of the doubt. most of the time i don’t fret over something bad happening. i always truly believe things will work out for the best, and not just “it’s meant to be” best, but like POOF problem gone. there is serious power in positive thinking. that’s the way i have been with my grandma. never finding myself getting upset or worrying. i just know it’s going to be ok…but i know i can’t predict that. so i wait.

my dad and i are going to drive out there this weekend. my mom will still be there and hopefully we can take some of the stress off her. hopefully my grandma will be conscious and be able to talk to me. hopefully i will be able to tell her everything is going to be ok.

red rocks

have you ever been to red rocks? wowzers is that place amazing. this summer brian’s sister molly got married in morrison, colorado. it was such a beautiful and fun wedding overlooking the mountains. ugh, colorado people are so proud of their beautiful mountains, while us nebraskans are proud of our…sunsets…we’ll take what we can get! amber waves of grains it is!

while we were there we ventured to a wilco concert at red rocks. it was my first time there and i was warned hydrate-hydrate-hydrate and they weren’t a kiddin’! the walk from the parking lot to the top of the amphitheater was enough to give everybody a heart attack….and i work out people! geesh, well we had a good time and i am excited for another trip back. wilco was great too by the way. have always loved that band and to see them for the first time in a place like that was a recipe for brilliance.

oh ps. don’t wear a maxi of any kind if you are going to red rocks. talk about red dusty stuff i can’t get off my dress.

national cat day

I know no one really cares about these photos of my cats…but I heard it was national cat day and I couldn’t help it. Cats are cute and cuddly (if they are nice) and I love them. So go home and hug your cat or dangle a string around for them. And if you don’t have a cat go to cuteoverload.com and just guzzle up the cuteness.

summer time

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6

oh summer time, how i love you so! everything about summer makes me happy; the colors, the clothes, the water, the happiness. everyone just seems to be happier in the summer. i for one am so excited for summer…pool time duh! i mean a margarita just tastes better in the summer. when i was young, all i wore was a swimsuit and one of the first things i learned to read (flashcards are the bomb!) was “lots of bikinis” ??? don’t know where that came from but my parents knew i would love it, and read it, and love it.

brian thinks i am a weirdo because i tell him my body can just handle the hot weather way better than the cold. he thinks that i am saying my body is just “made” for hot weather…goof. no, i really mean that i would MUCH rather be hot than cool. the sucky thing is i live in nebraska where the cold months out-number the warm. boo.

i am sure you have met some peeps in your day that tell you the changing seasons are so great blah blah blah…well if i could go from fall to spring to summer i would just be a happy camper. the only time i can actually look out the window during a crazy snow storm and think “ahh pretty” is only when i am looking out the window at HOME! haha. snuggled up all warm. otherwise ugh, it sucks.

i always get this kind of pit in my stomach about summer ending WAY before it’s even close to being over. then i have to think “calm down you summer pyscho…it’s not even dropped below 95 in two weeks!” ha. so keep calm and carry on misc amalia…