ohhh baby!

i was just browsing my recently hearted items on etsy and realized that anyone else looking at them may come to the conclusion that i am with child. well let me tell you, that just ain't so!

my brother and his wife are expecting in may and they've decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise. so that leaves me favoriting items for girls and boys all over the place, just waiting for the day i can scoop them up!

here are some top faves...

whenever evan and i do decide to pop out a few little ones, i would pretty much like for them to own every single bit of clothing from the measure's shop. this little summer romper with its ruffled bum is just way too cute for words!

if it's a little girl they have, these super cute flower booties, from gracious may, are going to be ordered stat! oh so adorable on chubby little baby feet!

apericots shop speaks to the former nyc girl in me. this awesome "stay fresh" onesie is just too much! i know my brother would be stoked to dress his new little dude or lady in this one.

the good ship lollipop has some of the most adorable vintage inspired dresses i've ever seen. i must secretly admit that i wish they came in adult sizes too! they're even upcycled as well, so they're good for your little ones fashion AND good for the earth!

i'm not totally positive if i hearted this traditional tattoo style onesie from truly sanctuary, for my brother, or myself. i'm pretty darn sure i need one of these for my unborn child. how tough would your baby be sporting this little number! ahhh, love it!

seeing as they'll have a summer baby, i think raegun's little gingham sunsuit would be a perfect gift. it comes in a variety of colors so i just need to wait until we find out girl or boy.

and now onto the toys...

i'm saying it now, i do not like plastic toys! i'm a firm believer in the fact that if you give children fewer, really well made, beautiful toys they will start to learn about value and respect right from the get go. with that said, here are my personal favorites...

little sapling toys makes these gorgeous stackers out of maple and walnut. they also have a whole shop full of other beautiful wooden goodies like rattles, teethers, cars and even bowling sets! the great thing about toys is that i can purchase them now! no waiting to find out the sex of the new addition!

ok, don't tell anyone, but i already scooped up this amazing brass knuckle teether/shaker from ecoayris. i know that my brother will just get a kick out of it, and i'm pretty darn sure that he doesn't read this, so i think i'm safe sharing it with you. he's going to have one brutal little baby if i can help it!

i've been in love with this sweet 1930's style wooden truck from the wood garden for quite sometime now. you can teach your kids about good quality toys, and the awesomeness of old cars, all in one shot. fabulous!

what kid doesn't love dinosaurs right? now dinosaurs on wheels, you simply can't go wrong! happy squash toys has so many gorgeous wooden cars and pull toys in their shop, and i just love any shop that is a husband and wife team. i purchased the duck pull toy for my niece this past christmas and it was beautifully and impeccably made. i will certainly be back for more goodies!

and just one last gift, perhaps a little something for my brother. this tiny trinket from humblebea is just the perfect thing. he is an amazing father to one gorgeous girl already, and i know that whether it be a little boy, or little girl that he and my sister-in-law end up having, it is going to be one lucky baby to have parents like them.

oh and who doesn't love the movie mr.mom right?

oh, hello kitchen!

this weekend some big progress was made here on the home front...

on saturday evan, and two of his brothers, installed our new floor. they were a determined bunch and busted the whole thing out in about 6 or so hours. gotta love these boys!

here's the new floor in all of its finished glory...

the cabinets have also all been installed. we still have to put in shelves and the fronts, but we're getting there! oh and it's of course still an absolute mess!

look at that butcher block counter top, and all that storage space... it's a thing of wonder!

we're really excited that an end is now in sight. no more cooking every meal in a toaster oven or microwave perhaps?

you can check out all of our progress HERE...

a little more here and there...

a few additions to some previous posts...


the studio makeover is still on going, and some new organizational goodies have been added.


i had a large cork board that i just no longer had any space for. so i cut it down and put bits of it in some old salvaged frames that i repainted. this size is much more to my liking!



ahhh... gotta love a makeover!





i've added onto my teacup collection that i started on our trip to asheville a few weekends ago.


i'm now only missing one green teacup and saucer. i'm currently bidding on one on ebay and i guess we'll see how that turns out!



now i just need to have a tea party, perhaps with wine though. a wine party with these little cups sounds just about perfect!




i also added a few more goodies to my skeleton key collection. 10 newbies to be exact. scooped these bad boys up from miss emily gene over on etsy. somehow i still feel that i need more!!!


ahhh... i just love 'em!



garden update... lots more of our little seedlings out grew their starter pots and were ready to get movin' on up to the east side! they're all real stoked on their new larger homes...



mmmm... squash!




i think that perhaps i actually purchased some magic beans when we went seed shopping a few weeks ago. our string beans are already about 14 inches tall, and on tuesday they grew 3 inches in one day! mind you, we planted these from seeds only one week and 4 days ago. i can see how folks grow (pun intended) to really love gardening. this is fairly amazing!



if all of our plants produce fruits and veggies as expected, we're going to be rolling in produce. i absolutely can not wait for it!




we're gearing up for another productive weekend around here. evan will be laying some new flooring and i plan to do some painting. doors, window trim, and the ceiling are all due for fresh coats. lots of coffee and good music will hopefully get us through it...

happy friday!

pics from the weekend...

evan and i had a rather productive, rather domestic kind of weekend. here are some visuals...

after just 6 short days most of our seeds had sprouted and already out grown their little "greenhouse" that i made for them. i guess it worked!

it was time for them to move into some larger pots. the great thing about these jiffy pots is that they're biodegradeable, so you just plant the whole thing, pot and all, into the ground when the time comes.

cucumbers... lookin' good!

some tomatoes and the sunflowers were also ready for a transplant...

another task that was accomplished this weekend was the studio revamp. i realized a few weeks ago that i just wasn't happy with the color or set up of the room. saturday i woke up and was ready to take on the job of repainting, rearranging and organizing. i'm pretty darn happy with the outcome...

hooks for holding my embroidery hoops that are waiting to be used...

some prints from one of my favorite artists, yoshitomo nara, and a super cute little embroidery i purchased from the great northern, on etsy.

one wall is a few shades darker then the rest....

more hooks for my most used goodies. yes, the pearls get used often. you'll notice them in quite a few of my etsy shop photos.

a shelf of goodies waiting to be photographed or painted...

little birdie shadow boxes that i made last year watch over everything...

to see the original studio, you can go HERE or HERE.

and here is what evan was working on...

the first cabinet was put up!!!

and a second, woohoo!!!

hope everyone else had a lovely weekend. now that we've got this kitchen thing on a roll i should have lots more renovation pics to come.

yaaaay!

i recant that statement...

ok, so a few weeks ago i made the statement that from now on friday would be ensemble post day because i just enjoyed doing them oh so much. well i'm already taking that back. i realized shorting after doing so, that making it a rule that fridays i must post an outfit took all of the enjoyment out of it for me. i do so love me some ensemble picks, but setting a specific day to do them just doesn't really work for my schedule. for example, today i needed to paint and tend to some light gardening and pack orders... that doesn't exactly make for cute outfit picks. i did however come across some finds that i'm just hearting and i would love to share 'em with ya!

ahhh, this scarf. i got it about 7 or so years ago when i worked at a vintage shop in nyc. it's pretty much my favorite and i couldn't find it all winter because it was packed away in a box somewhere. so naturally it turns up on the hottest day of the year so far. 76 degrees is still ok scarf wearing weather in my book!

and these sneaks are my new go to spring/summer everyday footwear. i got them at walmart of all places, for somewhere around 7 bucks. perfect for the ample bike rides i plan to have this summer. i do believe i will stock up on them because i can certainly wear me through some sneaks

so anywho, that's my stance on the outfit posts. they'll still appear on my blog, but who knows when and where. gotta love a mystery.

happy weekend one and all!

love love love!

i just stumbled upon these AMAZING linen flowers from Emerson Made and i do believe that i'm in love. i've been on a big brooch kick lately and these would satisfy my craving fully. they are just so absolutely the perfect spring accessory... a must have! well, a must have if i had any sort of spare dough to spend on such extravagances. for now i'll just drool...

here's to spring!

in bloom...

i was just outside painting and looked over to see that my mysterious little bud had opened up. it was just sitting there basking in the sunlight and i hadn't even noticed it.

i'm not sure what kind of flower this is exactly. i originally thought it was a daffodil, but now i'm not 100% on that conclusion. if anyone has some thoughts on the matter, feel free to let me know.

happy sunny days!

free stuff!!!

spring is upon us... and that means it's time to shop!

rebecca, over at The Ardent Sparrow, has got some amazing giveaways going on right now. each day a wonderful selection of etsy shops are offering up some really fabulous goodies... for free! today Monkey & Squirrel is a part of this lovely spring swag giveaway. all you need to do is hop on over to The Ardent Sparrow and see how to enter. it's as simple as leaving a comment!

here's a little peak at what's up for grabs...

so head on over and check it out. if you don't win todays giveaway you can come back tomorrow and try again. happy shopping!