Have a sunny weekend

{Photo by Emily W.}

Hi everyone, the weekend has arrived!  Do you have any plans?  I will be catching up on some sleep, and re-organizing the house, and maybe will have our first outside grilling (meatless, of course).  The days are turning warmer and with them, outdoor activities have us doing garden and yard work, but everyone seems giddy about it, at least around here.  I have to sit down and do some serious vacation planning, as well as come up with ideas for a petite celebration for Emilu's first birthday. Also, do you know of anyone who's interested in adopting a handsome male chihuahua puppy?  He's not here with me, he's actually with my mother in the DR, but the poor chap hasn't found a home yet.  I though maybe someone might give him a little chance? As always, these links have brighten my week. Peruse away.

A little note on blogging and images

Celebrities with cameras

Clive and Nicole = hotness

Decorating with ribbon

Some words to live by

I'm drooling over these pillows

Boxing cookies never looked so beautiful!

Oh so yummy sandwich I will making this weekend

Seriously, I'm want to live in this beautiful California cabin

20 stylish ways to wear stripes and polka dots 

Fresh flowers

I love fresh flowers, I got these on Sunday and they are still pretty intact. The problem is I forgot to ask what type of flower it was, and now I'm trying to identify them in the internet with no luck.They remind me of peonies, but in a smaller version. Do you know the name of this flower?
{All photos by me}

Women who make beautiful things

I came across this jewelry shop while watching bits of the Today showing the other day.  Kathy Lee was wearing a beaded necklace, which she revealed was made by a group of Ugandan women.  Now that I'm DIYing bracelets and other jewelry pieces, I was intrigued by their work.

The company is called Thirty One Bits and their mission is simple, to empower women to rise above poverty, thanks to these women, who made it possible. Did I mentioned the beads are made of paper!
I have my eyes on a couple of bracelets for this Summer. Would you buy from these amazing women? Mother's Day is a good excuse to get a beautiful necklace, and you will be helping a worthy cause.

Homecompanion: Bookshelves

Source: blissful.tumblr.com 

I'm loving this bookshelf. The position, in the corner of the room, and the grand wall of framed art next to it, blends so well with the soft color palette of the room.  And the books are organized by color, a trend that seems to be on the rise.

Farmer's market

We went to the green market last Sunday and brought home some yummy apples, fresh, cage-free brown eggs, some stem flowers, a small Jade plant and the first outside shots taken with my first D-SLR camera.  Have you heard of farm shares?  It's basically a community supported agriculture.  By becoming a member of a farm share, you receive a portion of the farm's season harvest for a fixed price.  It comes in a box delivered to you weekly and it contains seasonal, organic, and fresh items from the farm you pick.  I have been researching this idea, but it turns out that right now we cannot afford to participate in one, so we make weekly trips to Dupont market for a taste of organic and fresh produce.  I'd love to hear more about it, if you or someone you know participates in a farm share.

Instagram weekend

Hello, friends, I've had a late start this week.  Monday came and I was busy at home with the flooring guy, whose job of putting a new floor also meant I had to take care of the post cleaning.  The interrupted routine also affected Emilu's meal and nap times, which basically pushed everything aside, including my Monday post.

Everything is done now.  I have a new kitchen floor and it looks fabulous!  How was your weekend? Mine included a bit of everything from some DIY, a night outing to grab dinner on Friday the 13th (spooky!) and some relaxing time on Sunday afternoon. Here's mine in a few snapshots:

Have a fantastic weekend

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{Image via This Brick House }

Woohoo, the weekend starts now!  I'm so happy that things are returning to a good normal.  Emilu's cold is almost gone, thank God it didn't go to her chest, hence no need for cough syrup.  We have had a week of small demo and renovation here.  The landlord changed our washer/dryer combo for new energy efficient ones, and because the hallway flooring got damaged due to the leaky old washer, they replaced the damaged floor with new hardwood floor tiles.  And next week, we are getting a new kitchen floor!  I chose a nice Home Depot concrete-looking resilient floor (I know, they let us choose) This has inspired me to repaint the kitchen and install a pegboard (Julia Child style) on the wall for our pots and pans, freeing space on our already tight cabinets for other important things, like more pantry items or my new crafts. I will also be trying this banana ice cream recipe and if time allows would like to try this DIY  as well. How about you, friends?  Any exciting plans?  As always, here a few links that brightly inspired me.  Enjoy and see you back on Monday!

Easter has past, but isn't this Danish Easter picnic so lovely!

 The most stylish brood on the blogsphere block!

Gratitude

Penguin Books is not just about books

DIY:  Painted wooden spoons (I'm totally doing this)

Dreamy countryside I want to live in

This salad is out of this world

Bilinguals are smarter

Painted pastels

Did you know Reading in a dream is impossible

Cute tinted mason jars

Op-pres-sion 
 

Source: mashable.com