Paint Over Paintings

The incredibly talented interior stylist, Jenny, of The Little Green Notebook, picked up a mid-century abstract oil painting at a flea market, and used her own personal touch to bring it to life. She realized that the painting's colors were a bit more muted than she intended for the vibrant space it was to placed in. So to make the piece work, she painted directly on top of it! It's such a simple and inexpensive way to give a dated piece of art a modern new life! And it's really hard to go wrong when it's an abstract! All of her interiors are a feast for the eyes, but it's little hand-crafted treasures like this that make them really come to life. Beautiful work Jenny!

DIY Post-It Pinanta

Love love love this DIY Post-It Piñata found over at Brooklyn Bride! Love the idea of using all these fun bright colors, but it can also be coordinated to any event simply by changing the post-it colors! Click on any of the images below for further instructions.

Farmers Market Shopper Basket

This weekend is full of a flea and farmer's markets all over Los Angeles. They're some of my all-time favorite things to do. But I always think to myself once I'm there, "I really need to get something cute to carry all of my stuff in!" So I think I might snag one of THESE little beauties found over at one of my new favorite online shops Pretty Mommy! They're hand-made in Ghana, super durable, and even with a ton of wear- you can easily reshape the basket by quickly submerging in water! Can't wait to finally be prepared for my weekend shopping adventures!

Today Is Gray

from left to right

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

The Marion House Book - Home Tour

I love a good house tour... like this one from the beautiful blog The Marion House Book. It has all the elements that get me excited about a home- a little vintage, great pops of color and a ton of personality. Click on any of the images below to read interviews of home owners Sarah Keenleyside and Jesse Boyer. So many inspiring ideas!!

Vanilla Ice (Ice Baby)

Typical bipolar Los Angeles weather- today is 88°F outside with a slight chance of lightning and thunder later?! What's a Cali girl to do when she just wants to snuggle up on a couch and enjoy the storm outside... when it's THIS HOT OUT? Do I reach for the iced tea or a hot vanilla latte? Welp, here's a cool solution found over at the blog Oh My Veggies. Try making Vanilla Ice Cubes! That warm and creamy vanilla taste combined with the frozen almond milk is sure to keep you cool and satisfied! Kiersten, blogger of Oh My Veggies, recommends adding the cubes to root beer, iced coffee or even lemonade.

As I can only imagine Vanilla Ice saying this best, "Yo, if you have a problem *this recipe* will solve it!" I believe it does indeed! Have a great weekend :)

{RECIPE FOUND HERE}

The Wardrobe Basket

Love anything that can make a messy room look this sylish... by Maria Boddin.

Wine-Tasting Party Printables + Give-Away

I'm still smiling ear-to-ear reminiscing about the fun I had last night! I invited some girlfriends over for an evening of much-needed wine & cheese indulgence. I decided to create some wrappers for the wine bottles so we could have a real "blind" tasting- just like the real pros. I'm actually so thrilled with how they turned out, I'm sharing them with you as a free-printable! We also used some products that really added to fun- a Rate That Wine Pad to keep track of our tasting (it's not so easy when you're a few glasses in ;p) AND the adorable Indelicate Doily Coasters. AND guess what!? Knock Knock is giving away a free wine-tasting party kit to one of you! Simply comment on this post and I'll announce the winner next Wednesday, August 8th! Cheers to that! (photo credit: Mandee Leslie)

{CLICK HERE TO PRINT YOUR OWN}

Update on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 3:17PM by Summer

Congratulations to Diana of The Dreamery Blog for winning this give-away! Hope you and your wine-tasting friend enjoy this at her Bridal Shower :)

Olympian Meals

Designer Sarah Parker teamed up with photographer Micheal Bodiam to create these dishes based off the diets recommended for athletes by nutritionist Dan Benardot... I'm definitely taking notes... but where to find a banana that small!?!

{olympian dish}

{runner dish}

{hammer thrower dish}

{gymnast dish}

{tri-athlete dish}

Girly-Glam Dressing Room

"Girly and Glam" are two adjectives I would not typically use to describe my personal style. However, THIS dressing room has me re-considering my position. The father-daughter team of Design Manifest did such a beautiful job of balancing the elegance of pastels and golds with fresh pops of neon color. My favorite pieces are the unique vintage finds- like the marble top coffee table snagged off of ebay! Looks like I can get on board with this girly-glam stuff after all...