Just for Fun

This week I realized that I had run out of my old stationary and needed some new cards asap.  At a local paper store I picked up these fun hot pink ones by Kate Spade and have a new favorite thing now:)

I have always loved little fun home accessories, colorful notepads, and correspondence cards, and Kate Spade's line definitely hits a sweet spot of practical and whimsical.  

gift card enclosures

notepad

thermal mug

She does wonderful things with bold stripes, gold polka dots and fun color combinations, but you don't have to stick with just Kate Spade to have fun with life's little accessories.  Here are a few more favorites I've found along the same lines.

Notebook from SugarPaper

Notebook from SugarPaper

Aqua Laptop Bag

Jewelry Box from Target

Lovebirds Coffee Cup from JCrew

Gold and Pink iPhone Case

Hot Pink & Orange Stationary

Acqua Stapler

Or in Pink

Ceramic Jewelry Tray by JCrew

Because sometimes it really is the little things:)

xo

Liza

The Elephant Birthday Party

Hola! 

We are now on the other side of Henry's Elephant birthday party, and I am so happy to share our little elephant costume DIY today. I promise you, these costumes were simple and easy to pull together. Here is how it all went to down. 

UNO: EARS

I simply purchased a variety of brightly colored felt along with a fair amount of gray felt for our elephant ears. I bought all my felt at Michael's because you can find so many great colors, and at just 29 cents each, you really can't beat that price. I then decided to use headbands to attach our cut out felt ears to. I found a package of 6 headbands for 2.99 at Target. What a deal, and the headbands come in a variety of colors. 

We completed the ears easily on a Sunday afternoon. Simply make a template of a left and right ear, trace them and cut them out of felt. I used a hot glue to adhere each ear to a headband. For fun we created a variety of sizes, so we could have baby elephants, too. 

DOS: TRUNKS

I don't know about you but, I am loving ROVING WOOL these days, and Martha Stewart has a fabulous line of this soft, chunky wool yarn in a variety of colors. I was thrilled to find such fun yarn for our elephant trunks. RIGHT NOW, the same wool is on sale at Lion's Yarn at 1.99-- what a deal. 

TRUNK TIPS

I simply stitched alternating rows of PURL & ENGLISH stitches. My rows were between 15 to 20 stitches per spool of yarn.  Once I had knitted all of the forms, I stuffed them with batting to give more shape to our trunks. I then used a bright pink satin ribbon to tie the trunks around each child's head. The boys did not seem to mind the little punch of pink. 

 One mom pointed out the trunks could also function as tails-- what a great idea!

KIDS @ PLAY

With our trunks and ears in place our kids where ready to be transformed by my dear friend Jackie. Jackie is a fabulous children's drama instructor, yoga teacher, and actress.  The kids LOVE her and followed her lead into a imaginary elephant adventure, with a few yoga moves in play.

THE END

The kids had a fabulous time playing make-believe and running around the tents. With just some yarn, felt, a glue gun, and some tents our home was transformed. I love taking the simplest of textiles and turning them into something unexpected.

 Come back Thursday for our FULL decor reveal.

Mil Besos!

MEL

Spring Trends: a Trip to Zara

As Melina mentioned, last week was my birthday, and one big way I got to celebrate this year was with a quick trip to New York.  My Mom was planning to travel up there anyway, and we happily were able to combine it with a birthday getaway.  What could possibly be more fun that that?  I always find that there's just nothing like being with your mom, especially when I'm sick or on my birthday.  

We explored a museum to admire the works of an inspiring portrait artist, saw a show, walked for miles and ate (the eating out is always a highlight of any good trip, in my opinion:)).  Of course we stopped by to visit with Mel and check up in person on her party prep for her next amazing child's event.  I can't wait for her post on the elephant themed birthday party!  

Although this wasn't a big shopping trip, I always love to stop into Zara anytime I'm in New York to get to browse their fun clothes in person.  Their clothes always offer ways to explore fresh looks and new trends, but in a way that's wearable and makes sense with the wardrobe you already own, so I love to see what they're putting out there.  Here are a few of my favorite picks:

Can you own too much canary yellow?  That's a question this ladylike collarless coat has me seriously pondering.

Zara